Chapter 6
-o-
"Tell me again why we're doing this?"
Applejack failed to stop her eyes from rolling. Was that the third time the question had been asked now, or fourth? She couldn't remember. With her lips drawing into a thin line, she lifted her head and glared at Rainbow Dash.
"We ain't got to do nothin'. You're the one who volunteered to come with me when I said I was comin' here. You don't have to." The words were spoken in a manner that she often acquired when speaking with her speed-loving friend. Though it was usually involuntary, Applejack's adoption of the clipped tone in this particular instance was utterly by choice.
Throwing her a small, embarrassed grin, Rainbow Dash lowered herself to the floor. A tiny clinking noise floated around the air as her hooves connected with the hard marble, and Applejack's ears flattened slightly in response. Narrowing her eyes as Rainbow Dash stood their awkwardly, shuffling from side to side, Applejack sighed.
Deciding that it would be in her best interests to change the focus of their conversation, she moved her gaze to the purple door that stood between them and their reason for being here. The wood was freshly painted, its surface spotless of grime and dust, but the handle told a different story. It did not match the cleanliness of everything else; with its polish long gone, it looked out of place next to the decorated wood it was attached to.
Reaching out to touch the knob, Applejack only halted her movements when Rainbow Dash let out an odd grunt-like snort. Looking at the pegasus with a raised eyebrow, Applejack's question did not need to be spoken aloud.
Rainbow Dash groaned. "Okay, I'm not good at this whole 'comfort' thing," she admitted, using her hooves to make air quotes. Her features were twisted in a way that conveyed displeasure, but there was another emotion hiding in the expression that Applejack couldn't quite pin down.
She frowned. "That may be true, but you got to at least try, Rainbow. She needs us right now."
"I know!" Stomping one of her back legs, Rainbow Dash huffed out an angry scoff. "But come on, Applejack. She's been cooped up in this room for nearly an hour. Even you know she's overreacting!"
"Maybe," Applejack replied. "But that doesn't change anythin', and you know it."
"What do you mean it doesn't change anything? It changes everything!" Rainbow Dash shouted, once again rising into the air as she waved her hooves dramatically.
Staring at her friend for a moment, trying to determine what in the hay had got her so riled up, Applejack gritted her teeth and shook her head in an attempt to clear up her thoughts. She needed to focus, here. What was Rainbow Dash talking about? They'd seen Fluttershy cry on countless occasions, and it always turned out alright in the end. Why was this any different?
And then she spotted it - the small emotion flashing in Rainbow's bright eyes that Applejack had seen just moments ago. Before, she hadn't managed to figure out what it was. Now, finally, Applejack could put a name to the feeling.
Guilt.
Confusion welled up within her. Why was Rainbow Dash feeling guilty? She'd done nothing to hurt Fluttershy. In fact, she was here now, about to comfort the young mare, when she hadn't even been asked to do so. So, where exactly did that guilt come from?
Applejack balked. No. That couldn't be it. There was no way that was the truth. Rainbow Dash was not feeling bad about what they'd learnt about Discord, was she?
Of course not; it was impossible. Rainbow Dash was many things, but she was most assuredly not an idiot. Only a naïve filly would let guilt claim them in response to something so... trivial? Who cared how old Discord was? It's not like it changed all the horrible things he'd ever done to them, right? He was still a menace - albeit in an annoying sense, rather than a villainous one - and his age had nothing to do with his maturity.
Did it?
Applejack scowled, before stomping a hoof harshly against the floor. The abrupt movement caused Rainbow Dash to flinch slightly in surprise, and an awful echo pierced through the corridor. She refused to care. There were more important things to worry about - namely, making sure Fluttershy didn't end up crying herself into some kind of coma.
Without any more hesitance, Applejack turned the handle and shoved the door open with a much greater force than was really necessary. Not waiting to see if Rainbow Dash would follow, she stalked into the room with a single goal in mind. The light pouring through the vast window off to side made everything easily visible; what she could see in the room made her stop dead in her tracks.
Well, in all honesty, it was more like what she couldn't see that gave her pause.
The room was empty; Fluttershy was gone.
-o-
Creeping slowly through the dark cave, with her only light source being the illumination of her horn, Twilight had to remind herself that holding her breath was a bad idea. Puffing out air and dragging it back in was not going to make a drastic change to the amount of noise she was creating. The muddy ground beneath her hooves was doing a mighty fine job of squashing the audio of her steps, but there was still a distinct squishing sound with every move she made.
She could fly to avoid making the noises - flapping wings was much quieter than normal walking - but she wasn't confident enough to do so. The space surrounding her was narrow, the walls covered in rocks and stalagmites, and she had a feeling that taking to the air would be the wrong choice, since knocking into one of the multiple pointy things would surely cause the occupant of this cave to wake up prematurely.
Crawling forwards, inch by inch, she bit her lip as beads of sweat started dripping from her chin. The smooth trickle of droplets was a constant reminder of her thirst, and she cursed silently at her own stupidity. How had she forgotten to bring a water carrier with her? She tutted. Nerves weren't making her body shake, and fright wasn't causing her to want to turn tail and run, but the heat of this place was definitely getting to her in a way she hadn't prepared for. Once again reprimanding herself with a stern, mental talking to, Twilight continued on.
It hadn't taken her long to figure out that this was where she needed to be; it had taken even less time to find the location. Luck had undoubtedly been on her side for a change, because the third book she'd picked up in her research had given her an answer she could work with. Having focused on books relating to dragons and their habits - she had many, considering she still had a lot to learn about Spike and how he would eventually develop and grow in the coming years - she'd come across a snippet of data that, before today, she would have skipped over.
The chapter had been on entertainment. One particular form of play that dragons took great pleasure in had captured her focus instantly. It seemed that dragons were fond of fireworks. Ponies had the small rockets and blasters too, but nothing at all like what the book had detailed. And, most importantly, the book had stated that dragon fireworks were invisible to ponykind.
'Dragons claim they create magnificent shows of colour and light, yet not pony has ever bear witness to these feats. When viewing a dragon's firework blast, ponies see nothing.'
That little passage was why she was here now, sneaking along at a snail's pace, getting closer and closer to the very large, very real dragon that sat at the heart of the cave's depths. Asking Spike about the fireworks had proven futile, as he knew nothing of them due to his upbringing with ponies rather than his own species. And, just for the moment, Twilight wanted to distance herself from Canterlot and the two princesses who resided there. She wasn't sure why, but the thought of facing Celestia before she got answers made her blood run cold.
She sighed, wishing that at least one of her friends had remained in Ponyville. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash's constant need for chatter would not be good in a situation such as this one, but they would have made the perfect distraction to keep her attention off the dread that was quietly overtaking her mind. Her features twisted in sorrow.
Drawing in a deep breath through her nose, then exhaling slowly through her mouth in an attempt to calm her erratic heart, Twilight made an effort to quicken her pace. The cave was getting wider as she went further inside, stretching out until it opened up into a grand, open space. Twilight's eyes widened.
The area was larger than most of the rooms in her castle. Its walls reached so high that, upon looking up, she could not see the ceiling. Around the floor lay a mass of jewels, each one sparkling against the light she was providing to the normally dark cave. And, stood right in the middle, surrounded by its vast array of prizes collected over years of hard work, was the dragon.
Its scales were a bright yellow, cleaned with enough care to make them shine greater than the diamonds and rubies beneath them. With a wing span that was probably ten times greater than Twilight's own, and a jaw that she could probably fit neatly inside, the dragon made her feel like a tiny ant in comparison.
She gulped.
Then, taking a tentative step forwards, she lifted a hoof and smiled awkwardly.
"Um, excuse me?" The whisper was pathetic, even to her own ears. Her leg waved pointlessly in the air, seemingly undecided on whether it wanted to actually touch the fantastical creature or not. When the dragon didn't make any indication that it had heard her, she placed the hoof back down and took another step towards the beast.
"Hello?" she said, making sure to add volume to the word this time.
When nothing happened, she had to stop the frustrated yell that desperately tried to claw itself up her throat. She opened her mouth to try again. Then, without warning, the dragon's eyes snapped open. Vibrant green irises rapidly focused in on her, not even taking a second to locate their target. Backing up slightly in shock, Twilight stared at the eyes with a mix of horror and awe. They kind of reminded her of Spike's, only these were scarier and much, much bigger.
Before she could react, the dragon lifted itself into a predatory stance, with its legs bent to support its weight, and its head held low to the ground. Its eyes had narrowed into slits, and its mouth was parted slightly, revealing a row of sharp teeth.
Twilight forced herself to stand tall. Keeping her chin up and her chest puffed outward, she looked the dragon straight in the eye with a confidence that she did not truly feel.
"I wish to ask you a question," she stated, silently congratulating herself when her voice didn't crack.
The dragon blinked. A dull rumbling sound began emitting from its throat, before it transformed into a deep growl. Undeterred, Twilight stood her ground. She needed to do this; she wasn't about to let a grumpy dragon get the better of her. Coming this far had been a challenge, and she was not about to fail now.
"Do you-"
Before she could finish her sentence, a blinding glow charged up in the dragon's throat. Twilight's wings spread instinctively, flapping wildly in a natural desire to flee from the immediate danger. The harsh, orange light burst out into the air, pulsing out with merciless fury, engulfing the area directly in front of where the dragon was crouched. Twilight let out a strangled yelp as the scorching heat from the flames licked at her legs.
Flying higher, she looked down at the dragon just in time to see it readjusting its aim. She gasped as white hot panic flooded her. Backing up without much thought as to where she was going, Twilight felt tears begin to well up in her eyes as the dragon raced after her, matching her speed with ease.
When her back hit the cold, hard wall of the cave, Twilight choked out a grunt. Her mind was racing, while her body was reacting against her will. No mental input seemed to be working, and it felt like she was an observer of this whole fiasco, rather than the pony actually living it.
The dragon was just a couple of metres away from her, its mouth open and ready to inflict the final blow. She eyed the glow emanating from its throat and, finally regaining some control over her own functions, decided to try and put an end to this conflict the only way she knew how - with words.
"Wait!" she screamed, closing her eyes, not wanting to see if the dragon would comply. "I'm not here to take your treasure! I just want to ask a question!"
The frustration, anger, and hysteria present in her voice would have made her embarrassed, if she'd been in the right state of mind to care. Why, oh why had she come here alone? Did she have a death wish? Keeping her eyes clamped shut, she hovered in the air, waiting for the inevitable. A second passed. And another.
Twilight swallowed the bile rising up her oesophagus. Was it going to kill her, or not? What in Equestria was taking the thing so dang long? Could it not see that she was doomed to the fate it wished to inflict on her? Yes, the magic soaring through her very being was powerful - enough to take out dozens of dragons, let alone one - but her body refused to act in a way that would save her life. She absently wondered if all ponies had bad survival instincts, or if it was just hers that were faulty.
"You should not come in here and wake me up, without expecting aggression."
Twilight's eyes darted open as the deep, accented voice reached her ears. The pronunciation of the words was thick and unnatural, as though the speaker had not used their vocal chords in a very long time.
Twilight's eye twitched. Wait... Had he just spoken to her?
Allowing her gaze to locate the dragon's enormous form - he was back on his loot, far away from her trembling body - Twilight stared dumbly at him, trying to comprehend what was happening. She wasn't dead? The dragon hadn't cooked her up, leaving her a burnt wreck that would slowly fade to nothing over time? Since when did dragons make conversation with ponies?
She shook her head. Now, that wasn't exactly fair, was it? Dragons were intelligent creatures, despite contrary belief. Just because they valued greed over compassion didn't mean that were incapable of empathy. Besides, Spike was a dragon, wasn't he? He was an exception, of course, but it would be silly to think that there weren't more dragons in the world like him, wouldn't it?
"Ask your question, then leave."
His statement brought her out of her thoughts. She frowned. "You're... not going to hurt me?" she asked, incredulous. It seemed that, despite trying to rationalise it, she honestly couldn't wrap her head around the fact that he'd shown consideration for her well being.
He blinked slowly, giving no indication of his mood. "I am not unreasonable."
But you're a dragon! She wanted to yell it to the skies, yet she chose not to. This situation needed to be handled with delicate precision. Her prejudices against dragons needed to be kept under lock and key. She was already treading on very thin ice here; being alive after his vicious greeting was a blessing in and of itself. Pushing her luck now would not do her any favours.
Pushing away from the wall, she lowered herself to the ground, never taking her eyes off him for a moment. Just because he appeared to be civil, didn't mean he wouldn't turn those flames on her again the second her guard was down. Pursing her lips, she wiped at her brow. She tried to ignore her disgust when her hoof came away soaked in moisture.
"Thank you," she said, not quite knowing what she was thanking him for. Perhaps it was his willingness to listen? She scoffed. Yes, that was clearly the reason she was grateful.
Blowing out a soft sigh, she licked her lips. "So... Um, I wanted to ask you about... dragon fireworks?"
The dragon lowered his head slightly, almost in a show of confusion. "Ponies cannot see our fireworks."
Twilight's ears perked up. Was that a confirmation? If he wasn't lying - why would he have a reason to? - then his comment was an indicator that the book was telling the truth.
"But you know how to create them, right?" Her heart rate was increasing, but this time fright was not the cause. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins, making her vibrate in anticipation. She would have laughed if she wasn't still wary of his reaction to it. Wasn't this beautiful? How was it possible that excitement could transform her so quickly? Apparently, curiosity was more powerful than terror.
He gave a slow nod. "We create it with our flames."
She knew that - it had been one of the few bits of information that the book had provided her with.
"So, it really is just finding the right magic to make them?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as a smile lit up her face; it was the first one she'd had since stepping into this cave.
The dragon laughed. The sound was loud and husky; it was a peculiar sight to witness. His scales seemed to rattle with the rough movements, though that didn't appear to cause him any discomfort.
"You fail to understand. We use our flames on another object. Only then do the fires become colours."
Twilight's eyes widened as she had a sudden epiphany. Oh, this was brilliant. He was giving her every single thing she required, and he was doing it with no hesitation or reluctance. Books were fantastic objects, but right now, nothing could compare to verbal communication in Twilight's eyes. Getting answers directly from a source who was basically a professional on the subject made such a difference.
"Does it have to be a specific object?"
He nodded once more. "A stone."
Twilight grinned up at the dragon with a sudden sparkle in her eye. "I don't suppose you have any lying around that I could borrow, do you?"
-o-
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She fucked up.
Twilight is both a huge idiot and immensely lucky. Smart to have applejack voice the opinion of at least half of your readers.
Huh. I'm pretty surprised with AJ"s reaction. Given that she herself has a little trouble making sibling, I thought she'd be more freaked out at the idea that Discord was nothing more that a colt.
6111548 Discord full grown equals Q?
bye bye twilight
your dead
Ooooooooh.
This will be interesting. Do the stones go off immediately, or do they hold the charge until, uh, "activated"? If there's no visible ignition, is the area around the firework just blasted with heat?
6118733
It's actually plausible. There are no other draconequui around. They were incredibly powerful, so what happened to them? Obviously, they figured out how to turn themselves into pure energy with their godlike powers, ran off and formed their own Continuum, except plainly they weren't paying attention and they left an egg behind. And that's why Q is so much unlike the rest of his kind -- they're all arrogant, but only Q appears to spend a lot of time toying with mortals. Because Q is basically a feral child, a Q raised mostly outside the Continuum. And that's why they sent him to deal with Amanda Rogers, because he's the only other one who could relate to having lived among mortals and having to leave them behind and join the Continuum. :-)
OK, this is probably not where LickleSoxy is going with this story, but as a Q fan I find it makes perfect sense, and I'm considering it an alternate headcanon. :-)
OK, Twilight, now that you're calm and he's not attacking, flameproof yourself. Do it now.
Is it just me, or does it look like Twilight excreted the book (or laid it like an egg) in the title picture, and is surprised and/or ashamed of what she's done?
Why didn't Twilight just cast the species swap spell on Spike? She'd be able to see the colors then. Or Discord, that'd be interesting.
Ooooh, this story looks awesome!
I am looking forward to the next chapter!
I love this story, but this chapter was... meh. I guess I was just expecting more to happen, but instead it was just two cliffhangers in one chapter.
6119302 I'm sure they all understand that there was no other choice. But either way... You can't help but feel like a jerk for turning a 9 year old into stone for 1000 years. Or threatening to turn them into stone again.... And having a crush on them. The point is, logically, it was the right thing to do, they had to. But emotionally... Wouldn't you feel bad for hurting a child, even if they had magic and were a jerk?
hmmm....
on the one hand the amount of filler in this story is enough to stuff a full sized dragon in it. On the other hand though, i'm wondering if your going to throw a plot twist at me with upcoming chapters.
If the plot remains unchanged then this story is one giant filler for a single sentence:
Discord is a child and was judged as an adult, so they feel guilty and must deal with the fact they encased a child in stone for 1000 years.
So Twilight forgot that she could shield herself from the flames?
6119403 Nope. Not at all. Especially not as he doesn't act like a child or present himself as one. Doubly especially since he's Immortal, so it's not like 1000 years is terribly much compared to literal eternity, Triply since when the Elements were used, they didn't KNOW what they'd do. The elements are sort of a grab bag. They've never done the same thing twice. Quadruply because when they did it, they didn't know he was a child Quintuply because he was threatening the lives and sanity of everything on equestria.
Being a kid only qualifies so much forgiveness and Discord blew past that threshold very early on.
6118931 It's been remarked on before, yes.
6120049
Okay, just wanted to make sure.
When she's not supercharged with the power of four great sorceresses, I highly doubt that.
Also, wrong question to ask, Twilight. Wrong. Question. You book-smart dunce.
My stupid question alarm is blaring. Think about it, she asks the dragon if she can borrow the stone thing, right after telling the dragon that she didn't want any of his horde... She just done fucked up.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
6119725 Well they did turn Discord to stone twice, so that's one thing.
s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/b9/28/48/b92848ac7d209cdd5a17ac5a282e14eb.jpg
Little confused. Just read the last two chapters as the rapid update made me want to read this again (good job by the way, Lickle) and I'm wandering if I'm not remembering something with Twilight (perfectly possible after nine months).
She's suppose to be researching Discord, right? So why is she studying dragon sight instead? I'm assuming it's to signify that she's trying to avoid the subject of Discord because it makes her uncomfortable, but if that's the case, do we really have to have this much on it? It's taken up more than half of the last two updates. I don't care about her current science project. I care about what the story promised to be about, and it's getting kind of annoying how little progress of what is suppose to be the central plot there is.
I guess it's irrational as it's only 17,000 words in, but it seems like it's been forever and still nothing of interest has happened beyond the book being found.
6120426
The book that told her that draconequui take 7000 years to grow up also said that draconequui, dragons and phoenixes can all see things that ponies can't. She is trying to confirm that piece of information because she wants some sort of independent confirmation that the book isn't totally full of crap. Presumably she'll try to see if Philomena and Discord can see the dragon fireworks, and if they can, it proves the book... isn't totally lying, though honestly, it doesn't prove much -- a book can have truths and lies mixed together, after all. But it's reasonably in character for Twilight; she needs to find some way of verifying it. I'm guessing that the next thing she'll try is to see if the smell of chocolate makes Discord relaxed and happy like the book said.
6120504
Ah, that puts this chapter into a different, much better light. I thought the author just went on the world's biggest tangent or something.
The story could really use a "Last time on DragonBall Z!" style opening after long hiatuses.
Side note: As a bonus to Twilight's current research, she can create a fireworks display for Spike and make him feel a little more connected to his dragon heritage. I mean, he's barely got to experience any of what it is to be a dragon because he's grown up in Equestria amongst ponies, so this would probably be a big deal to him. Especially after the disaster of a migration. He can finally experience a good piece of dragon culture.
Brings a tear to my eye just thinking about the feels to be had.
6118994 I think it would be a bit more complicated with a dragon than a breezie, as well as I don't think she'd be able to include something that she doesn't even know how it works into the spell.
6121179 That depends on how much information the spell gathers from the template and how accurate it is, ranging from "just enough for the shape-shifting" to "complete biological override".
6121179 Depends on how the spell works. All we know about it is that the spell exists.
6121694 But either way it wouldn't work, because can you synthesize something you don't understand?
6120261
Yeah. Poor Flutters.
6122956 Who said the spell can't work certain aspects on its own? It's always a possibility until proven otherwise.
Dragon fireworks probable work on a different light spectrum than the one ponies can see im betting or they can see certain types of magic visually in the air.
Can't wait for next chapter
6119404 This story is hopefully going to use this fact to provide a conflict of interest and provide an interesting narrative of how ponies see justice, the nature of good vs. evil, and how prejudice shapes ones opinions way too easily, otherwise it will end up being exactly as you say.
more chapters please
Well, I think it's safe to say it has been unofficially canceled. Shame. Maybe people should just stop upvoting stories they like? It seems that if a story gets popular early on, it becomes more likely that the author will get scared away.
Call the time, cause its dead
It's a shame knowing that a story with this much potential is more than likely dead when I found it. I just wish that was not the case.
8000568
I know what you mean and to boot they left without a by your leave, up yours, kiss my ....... or anything.
8000568
Yeah. I can relate.
WHY did the story end here?
Mind just blanks out......would actually open a LOT of questions while explaining parts of his actions.
Shame to see its end is right when it was getting good. Risks of reading a dead fic I suppose.
6119403
but at the same time when was he last with his kind who the best to guide him to adulthood. He not full grown and is a little kid who doesn't get why everyone so annoyed about doing something fun. Nobody besides fluttershy ever taught him anything about right and wrong so what would a little kid with the power to make the world around them whatever they wish probably do. Especially with no adult guidance. The kid would probably do whatever he wanted until someone stopped him.