Here be too much Dragon.

by Golden Paw

Potential Polluted.

Potential Polluted.

"There you go my dear, hope that's comfortable enough?" Night Dew asked sweetly as she finished binding the captive unicorn. The white stallion didn't look much past his foalhood, was trembling and hanging upside down from a tree branch with an inverted Night Dew before him. She had grabbed the tree with her own back hooves and was busily attaching a metal collar to the unicorn which Spike instantly recognised as a magic suppressor. Night Dew clicked the metal circlet shut before smiling once more.

Night Dew pony then produced a small cloth sack and began pulling out a number of blades along with other sharp objects which she carefully studied one after the other before the trapped pony's fear-filled eyes. The weak sunlight glinted off a curved hook which Night Dew lazily waved before the upside down pony and the stallion's ears flattened.

She carefully rubbed the stallions chin with the hook and for a small moment Spike feared she was going to us it on the hapless captive. He had heard of the unusual methods employed by the Night Guard, but until this moment had never given them any credence. Night Dew suddenly flung the sharp point away and with a little giggle covered the stallion's head with the now empty sack. Spike let out a relieved breath and watched as the Dew neatly detached herself from the overhanging branch, flipped upright in mid-air before landing with practised ease on her hooves.

Spike recalled the flight through the forest; how he and Night Dew had moved their captive a good distance after leaving leaving the excavation and the troubling events well behind. It had taken them well past dawn to get here with their captive and as the sun began to make itself known once more, Night Dew had been forced to replace her darkened goggles. With her sensitive eyes now protected, she had tied their prisoner upside down and left him hanging from the same tree she had just dismounted.

Spike watched the mare carefully; he was still unsettled by the events only a few hours ago. Night Dew had seemed only too willing to carry out her threats of a quick execution when they had first ponynapped the guard, but now she was her old joking and smiling self. Night Dew seemed to be aware of Spike's scrutiny and her grin faded as she turned her impassive lenses upon the uncomfortable dragon.

"Hey big guy don't be like that, I was doing my job okay? He would have shot you if I hadn't stop him," The hurt in Dew's voice was as evident as her muzzle formed a frown.

Spike's own face was grim and he took a few moments before he answered, "You wouldn't have really killed him would you?"

Night Dew scrunched up her nose, "Only if I didn't have any other choice Spike, but he was holding a weapon at you." Night dew picked up the 'staff' again and looked it over with growing dismay. "Looks like the reports were correct, some pony has been making dangerous 'toys' it seems."

Spike cocked an eyebrow as Night Dew brought the strange length of metal up and swung it round. The device was clearly built for a pony in mind: A strap half way down its middle to hook around a hoof with another attached to the butt of the weapon, which loop over the pony's neck.

With these fitted a pony could look down the length of metal, which had a carved groove running along it like a channel for an aqueduct. Spike continued to watch Night Dew as she explored the strange item, observing a small chamber which after some brief manipulation, opened to reveal a small crystal.

"That looks like the ones we have on the Bloomberg," Spike commented and Night Dew nodded in agreement.

Further searching of their captive produced a number of small metal balls which were just the correct size to travel along the groove. With a quick movement Night Dew had closed the chamber once more and slotted the ball into a dip near the stock which was it evidently designed for it. This done she panned the stick around looking along the weapon's length.

"I see, so it's a bit like the crossbows back at the barracks, but they need two ponies to operate one of them. I wonder how you fire this."

Spike was no student of the Equestrian armoury and had little idea of what Night Dew was referring to. He shook his head as she continued to aim the weapon around the small clearing with growing impatience, "You know I think they may have been..." She began before there was a magical flash and a nearby tree suddenly sprouted a deep crater in its bark. It looked as if a large jaw had taken a bite out of the tree that nearly severed the trunk!

As the splinters and wood chunks released from the high impact clattered all around, both creatures simply stood there, mouths open in horror before the tree gave a slow creak. What followed was a snapping groan and the top half of the stricken plant tumbled down with a final crash along with a shower of leaves.

"That trunk was as thick as your neck Spike," Night Dew whispered in dazed amazement and Spike could only nod slowly in reply as the hooded unicorn continued to whimper at the sounds of destruction around him.

Night Dew quickly removed the dangerous weapon and let it drop to the floor with a clatter. Spike saw that she was shaking, the smile totally gone from her muzzle, "This is far worse than the reports hinted at."

She glanced down at the staff once again, before looking back up to the equally shaken dragon, "Forget the hunt Spike, we need to warn the others about this."

He nodded before refocusing on the upside down unicorn, "What about our 'friend' here, we can't just leave him like this?" Both the bat pony and dragon watched the struggling pony as it gently swayed back and forth in the early morning breeze.

"Well we can't let him go either," Night Dew answered thoughtfully, "I guess we will just have to take him with us." Dew's muzzle formed another grin which Spike didn't like one bit. With that Night Dew spread her wings and quickly leaped up before firmly attaching her rear hooves to the branch once more.

The unicorn, sensing that his captor had returned began to thrash and struggle all the more. Night Dew lent forward and removed the hood, letting it fall to the ground to reveal a panicked pair of pale yellow eyes reflected in her dark goggles.

"You're not going to be any trouble are you?" Dew asked, her voice once again full of sweetness.

The unicorn shook his head and let out another "mumhph"

Satisfied Night Dew reached up and removed the gag from the stallion's mouth, "Okay first of all what's your name? I can't keep calling you 'the unicorn' if you're going to be travelling with us."

The bound pony, gasped and worked the tension out of his jaw for a few moments before replying, "'Stand Fast', mam."

"Indeed? Well Mr Fast, we're going to be travelling quickly. What assurances can you give me that you won't get in the way?" Night Dew studied him while she gently swung back and forth in time with the suspended pony.

'Stand' gulped, and licked his lips, "You could just let me go, I promise not to tell any pony and you can be on your way?"

"Sorry colt, not going to happen," Night dew rubbed her chin for a moment, "I think I have an idea that should work, Spike come here a moment please."

---

"Thank you so much minister, we will be out of your mane as soon as we get to the bottom of our stowaway problem," Twilight shut down the communications link as she leant back in her chair and eased the tension from her shoulders.

It was the second day since the Bloomberg had arrived in Baltimare and a search of the air ship was well under way, but they were still no closer to catching the creature Pip had found. Further power lines had been severed almost at random and Twilight felt her frustration growing as reports continued to filter in to her.

Whatever this thing was it was small enough to evade easy capture, three times the searchers had it cornered before it would slip through another small hole and escape. Twilight was afraid they would have to strip the whole of the Bloomberg down its bones at this rate, leaving the creature nowhere to hide.

Then there was the matter of the mage/tech weapons and everything that went with them. The griffon emissary had provided Twilight with all the information she had on the subject and it seemed that someone was supplying bandits with new and dangerous creations.

The whole idea of bandits in Equestria seemed ludicrous to Twilight, but this close to their boarders it was only to be expected. The law couldn't be everywhere at once and though seldom encountered there was always ponies who were desperate enough to turn to the life of a brigand. It had never been a major problem until now, but the balance had changed with someone giving the law breakers these new weapons.

Twilight pored over the incident reports along with Steel Resolve and the injuries caused by these 'long shots' as they had been termed made the alicorn feel sick. As of yet no long shots had been recovered intact to study, and those which had been recovered seemed to have suffered a catastrophic misfire. It seemed these things were almost as dangerous to the wielder as to the intended target.

All Twilight had been able to deduce was that they worked on a similar principle to her inventions, a magical crystal core which stored power, only with the 'long shot' it directed the energy through a very shoddy kinetic force spell. Whoever was making these things didn't seem to be at all bothered with safety.

Grinding her teeth, Twilight shuffled the reports, displaying another account which detailed more injuries and deaths. She would put a stop to this, one way or another. Twilight would not allow her discoveries to be misused in such ways. The heartless creatures responsible would be....

Twilight's rising anger was interrupted by a worried cough from Steel, "Ehm, princess might I suggest you take a break, you have been at this for nearly eight hours now."

Twilight blinked a few times to see the paper she had been holding in her magic was singed and gave off little wisps of smoke and took a steadying breath, "You are of course right Steel, could you please finish here and we can pick this up tomorrow."

Steel nodded in a sympathetic manner, "Of course your highness and don't worry we will put a stop to these crimes."

She smiled briefly at her captain before trotting her way towards the study door, "Thanks Steel, I know we will it just upsets me so much, why do creatures have to take something good and creative and turn it into a tool for destruction?"

"They're not all noble princesses like you, there will always be those who seek to take the swift route to power and don't care who they crush to get there," Steel sounded as tired as Twilight felt and she couldn't help but smile in a companionably way.

"Well princesses have to watch ourselves too, I guess that's why we have four of us ruling. No one should ever have absolute power with no one to answer too," Twilight had to stifle a yawn as she opened the door and had only just crossed the threshold when the intercom chimed once again. Whatever it is, just leave it to Steel Twilight, get some sleep.

The tired pony gave a pleading look to her captain who nodded and shooed her away with a hoof, Twilight mouthed a silent 'thank you' before closing the door behind her as Steel clicked open the channel. No longer fighting her tiredness Twilight let the building yawn finally escape and allowed her head to droop before Twilight made her slow way towards her own quarters.

Reaching her own door after side stepping the various crew members, Twilight opened it with a gentle tug and stepped inside. The room was small, everyone was on the Bloomberg which had been built for economy, not luxury.

She rolled her neck, trying to release the tension and trotted past the small desk which took up most of the wall. With another flick of power Twilight switched off her reading lamp and closed the latest book on magical theory before placing it once again on the modest bookshelf over head.

Twilight only planned for a few hours sleep, just enough to get back on top of things: With the troubles of the day still spinning around her head she slumped onto her bunk and before Twilight could even pull the covers over herself she was fast asleep.

---

Twilight's ear twitched as a tiny noise broke the silence in the darkened room, the small 'tick-tack-tick-tack' sound steadily moved around the shadowy space and only stopped when Twilight let out a small mumble before turning over to face the wall of her small bunk. All was still once again for a few moments before, much slower, the 'tick-tack' resumed.

There was a rattling as a small floor-level vent was briefly illuminated by a green glow, which grew brighter before fading once more in time with the tick-tack sounds that echoed from of it.

Twilight ruffled her feathers and stretched her legs before rolling over again so that she faced the small room, her eyes still closed in the embrace of sleep. The green light grew behind the grill and a pair of green glowing eyes peered hungrily out toward the sleeping pony.

Her ears pricked up but the princess didn't awake as the rhythmic sounds of metal being worn away sounded from the grill. Twilight did finally stir when the first length of metal gave way with a low 'chunk' sound and briefly opened her eyes which remained unfocused until she closed them once more.

There was another minute of silence before the grinding sound started up again, only much slower this time. The next couple of metal wires, being under less tension made far less noise as they were severed. After another pause the body that accompanied the pair of glowing green eyes squeezed its way through the hole it had created and slipped into the room with a cautious 'tic-tak'.

The huddled form glanced around the room, its eyes causing a green glow to flow across the darkened furniture. It stopped, letting the room fall silent apart from Twilight’s slow breathing. Reassured, the dark shape made its stealthy way towards the bunk. Twilight still remained unconscious even when the covers under her pulled taught and the creature began to climb up onto the bed with a final 'tic-tak'.

The green eyes studied the Twilight for a while longer before it silently made its way along the bed towards the sleeping princess. The glowing angular eyes moved closer and closer, past her slowly falling and rising side and on wards the twitching muzzle without a sound.

Twilight's face continued to twitch before forming a scowl with the small shape only inches from her face. The intruder paused for another moment before it leaned forward, mouth open.....

Twilight awoke to a foul smell and unpleasant wet feeling on her muzzle; blinking, the she slowly allowed her eyes to open and to Twilight's shock saw a pair of glowing green triangles floating before her just above a slimy tongue. It took only moments for the scream to fly out of her mouth and soon Twilight was flailing wildly in the darkness, where a frantic hoof knocked the huddle form off the bed which landed with a wooden 'thunk' on the floor.

She wiped her muzzle with the back of her hoof as Twilight spat out the foul tasting substance that was seeping into her mouth. From the floor below Twilight heard a whimper followed a frantic 'tak-tic-tak' as the intruder dived for the hole in the wall and freedom, but she was too quick and blocked the escape route with a hastily erected barrier..

The small creature scrabbled frantically for a few moments before diving aside knocking over a chair in its frantic efforts to find a way out. Twilight now fully awake reached out with her magic and as her horn glowed the scampering shape was briefly illuminated. The shadow cast was canine in shape and Twilight gave another yelp as the dazzled creature spun around and dived right for her again, whimpering all the while.

Twilight gathered her sleepy wits and threw up another barrier and this time was able to encase the struggling creature in a glowing orb which she cautiously lifted off the floor. Twilight reached out once again with her power and turned the lamp on and there before Twilight; held in a purple orb was a timber wolf cub. No, not just any timber wolf cub.

She knew this animal and was more relieved than scared as Twilight called out in confusion to the panicking animal, "Scratches?"

The small cub had stopped pawing at the walls of his small prison and now looked at Twilight with surprisingly fearful eyes. Not fully believing the sight before her, Twilight rotated the trapped cub to make sure she wasn't wrong. Yes she was sure this was Scratches, Tender Wood's pet timber wolf.

"What in the name of Celestia are you doing here?" Twilight asked the wooden wolf which had its ears down and was trembling with fear.

Twilight's shocked eyes were drawn from the floating cub as a heavy impact connected with her cabin door quickly followed by a frantic shout from outside, "Princess! Are you alright, we heard noises?"

She turned back to look at the small animal held in her spell and began to chuckle. This soon grew into a full blown laughing fit as the tension of the last few days began to unwind. Twilight had no idea how Scratches had come to be on board the Bloomberg, but the relief that their mysterious intruder had been found and was no more than a lost pet far outweighed the concern about his origins.

With another flick of her magic Twilight opened her cabin door to reveal a worried looking pegasus in the armour of the Day Watch. Drying her now streaming eyes Twilight did her best to reassure the guard, "Everything is fine soldier, in fact I think we have finally caught our mystery saboteur."

The guard's confused eyes travelled back and forth between his princess and the small animal that was now growling at him through the purple orb which encased it, "Um as you say your highness. I was on my way to report that Captain Steel needed to speak with you. It seems he has found another stowaway."

Twilight cocked an eyebrow as her face became just as confused as the pegasi's, "Really?" Her eyes drifted once again to the small cub who was still growling at the soldier and her mind began to race, "Let me guess, it's an earth pony stallion with a pale brown coat, amber eyes and a reddish mane?"

The pegasus guard stared at Twilight in complete awe, "How did you know your highness? I knew that alicorns had special powers and everything, but I never thought it would go as far as telling the future."

Twilight couldn't help but grin as she drifted Scratches close to her and released the cub so that he fell neatly into her awaiting fore hooves. The little wooden wolf licked her muzzle before growling at the guard once more. "Oh it wasn't magic," Twilight explained as she tried her best to prevent herself being drowned by foul smelling saliva, "I just happen to know who this little one belongs too. Come on I'll tell you on the way."

---

"Tender Wood, what are you doing here?" Twilight had finally convinced Steel that Fluttershy's second colt was of no real threat. The princess stood next to Steel as she continued to hold Scratches in one fore hoof. Both ponies looked in at the sorrowful stallion who was slumped in the ship's brig.

"I'm sorry miss Twilight, I just had to come; I didn't want to miss this chance'" Tender explained and Steel looked to Twilight who was just as confused.

"Miss what chance Tender? You wanted to be on the maiden flight of the Bloomberg? For heaven's sake if you wanted to be part of all this you could have just asked. What possessed you to sneak on board like this?" Twilight shook her head sadly as Scratches recognising his master struggled in Twilight's grip.

"Oh princess, I just wanted to see them, but I knew mum would never let me go," Tender gave Twilight a pleading look, "Please don't tell mu... Fluttershy that I snuck on board, I'll be in so much trouble!"

Twilight had to cover her face with a hoof to hide the smile forming, "And what makes you think you're not in trouble now Mr?"

Tender's ears flattened once more, "Please princess, you know how mum is with dragons, she would have never agreed with me coming along so what other choice did I have?"

Twilight sighed and shook her head, "Captain, I think we can safely say that the crisis is over. Please pass on my thanks to all the dedicated crew," Steel saluted before trotting out with an annoyed look on his muzzle.

lighting her horn, Twilight deactivated the brig's barrier spell which had been keeping Tender confined, "Okay so you were desperate to see the dragons, but that doesn't explain why you brought Scratches along Tender. Do you know how much damage this little guy has caused in just the last few days?"

Tender winced even as he stepped out of the cell, "Well Miss Twilight he was teething and none of the others know him like I do. I couldn't leave him at home now could I?" Twilight let the cub jump down and watched as it bounded over to Tender and rubbed up against the well-built pony's legs.

"Yes I can see that Tender, but how did he come to be wandering the ship by himself?" Twilight pressed, though she reckoned she already knew the answer.

"Well he kind of got away from me again Miss Twilight, you know how he is and when the soldiers and crew all started searching he got scared and wouldn't come when I called him," Tender Wood gently patted the small animal which wagged his tail happily. "Where did you find him?"

Twilight chuckled again, "Well he actually found me Tender. I woke up to big slobber and a pair of glowing eyes."

Tender Wood nodded, "Yeah he really likes you, has done since he met you at the wedding princess."

Twilight blinked a few times, not sure how Tender could know that when she hadn't seen the stallion since the aforementioned wedding. She was going to inquire further, but then remembered Fluttershy's abilities to talk with animals which evidently had been passed down to her children.

"So you're not going to tell mum about this? I told her I was going on an extended field trip to train Scratches and visit with family in 'Apple Loosa'. Please don't send me home princess, I-I can be of help here honest!"

Twilight rubbed her forehead as she mulled over everything that had happened, "I don't know yet Tender, I'm going to have to let Fluttershy and Bigmac know where you really are."

Tender's eyes filled with tears before Twilight's face softened, "Oh alright I will talk with your parents and see if I can convince them to let you stay, plus we can't turn the Bloomberg around now any way."

Tender reached forward and hugged the startled princess while Scratches barked excitedly, "Oh thank you Twilight, you're the best!"

Twilight gently patted Tender on his shoulder, "Now now, don't get ahead of yourself. I said I would try, but I can't promise anything. Now don't make me regret this Tender okay?"