Secrets of the Everfree

by PaisleyPerson

Chapter 33: Rogues

Chapter 33
Rogues

There was so much excitement, nopony got to sleep that night. We almost treated everyone out to dessert with the remaining 223 bits, but Torchwood insisted it should go back to the town. He didn’t feel right taking anything more than we needed, so we decided to keep it until after the exchange, just in case. Then it would go back to the city treasury. We settled for finishing off the last of the concession stand snacks instead.

The dragons finally went home sometime after midnight that night. What happened to Gilda was yet to be decided. We feared that if we let her go home for the night, we wouldn’t find her again. Rainbow was reluctant to keep Gilda at her house, so in the end Twilight placed a tracking spell on the gryphon that would allow us to keep tabs on her position at all times. With that, we let her go, making it clear that she was expected to be present for the negotiation on Sunday.

Garble came back the next day, even though the money had already been raised. I guess he was finally feeling more at home around us. He and Blaze finally got to spend some quality time together- now that they knew their future was secure, there was nothing to get in the way of their having a good time.

That was Saturday. I was dreading tomorrow, but of course the time flew by. I didn’t get a wink of sleep. Nor did Torch, though that may have been due to all of my tossing and turning. Chances are, though, that he was as worried as I.

The morning sun seemed to taunt me as I glared at it through the window. I could only pray that everything would go smoothly today.

---

“Are you ready to go?” We found the dragons waiting for us by the fountain in the plaza, as we agreed. They all looked sick to their stomachs, and for good reason.

“No,” Soot truthfully retorted. Garble gave him a reassuring pat on the back, but he didn’t look too confident himself.

“Where’s Gilda?” Twilight momentarily appeared, the rest of our friends trailing behind her. The two magic users had split the responsibility of levitating the chest containing the payment, and now gently set it down on the cobblestone road.

“Hasn’t showed yet,” Pierce told her.

“Hang on, I’ll find her,” the alicorn promised, sparking her horn to utilize the tracking spell.

“Don’t get your feathers in a bunch, I’m here,” the gryphon growled, gliding overhead. Twilight clenched her jaw and let the magic charge dissipate.

“Now that we’re all here, we should get going,” Rainbow rigidly but diplomatically announced. I knew Gilda’s betrayal still stung her.

“Not everyone,” Twilight corrected.

“But who’re we missing?” Pinkie inquired, just as baffled as I. I quickly did a mental head count: Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie, Blaze, Garble, Soot, Pierce, Vex, Fizzle, Clump, Torch and I. That was everyone, wasn’t it?”

“I apologize if I kept you waiting,” Luna’s voice caused me to jump. I hadn’t even heard her chariot touch down.

“Your highness!” we all ducked down into a bow. Garble recognized her from the Tree of Harmony, and respectfully dipped his head. The rest of the gang followed suit.

“Rise,” she gently commanded.

“Princess, what’re you doing here?” I urgently asked. “Twilight, I thought you said you sent the letter to tell them we didn’t need the loan after all.”

“I did,” my friend assured. “But Princess Celestia wanted to make sure everything turned out alright. She couldn’t come herself, but Princess Luna volunteered to coach us through the negotiation.”

“Sister sends her regards,” Luna nodded.

“Thank you,” I bit my lip, doing my best not to cry in front of the Princess.

“Sorry, uh, Princess,” Garble’s scales had turned an extra shade of red in embarrassment. “We didn’t mean to cause so much trouble.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I comforted for the hundredth time, unintentionally finding myself glaring at Gilda instead. Luna followed my gaze, and looked down on the gryphon. She gulped and even cowered in the Night Princess’s presence.

“I presume this is Gilda,” she coldly stated.

“Yes, Princess,” Twilight confirmed when the gryphon didn’t speak up. Gilda finally had the sense to offer a weak smile that relayed more fear than joy.

“You will be dealt with later,” Luna finally decided, turning away from the quaking creature. She then turned back to Garble, not even a hint of contempt lingering in her voice. “Where did the rogues ask you to meet them?”

“On the far side of the lava geysers, west of the Dragon Craters,” he nervously answered. “We have to be there with the money by noon.”

“Then we have no time to lose,” Luna stated, turning to head off the group. Twilight led the rest of our group, but the dragons didn’t take to that idea too well.

“Wait!”

“What’s wrong?” I looked back over my shoulder to see what the problem was.

“We can’t just show up with nine ponies!”

“Especially when two of them are powerful alicorns. They’ll think we’re pulling some sort of trick.”

“Garble’s right. We appreciate everything you’ve done, but we’ve got to do this ourselves.”

“The last thing we need is a fight,” Soot shuddered.

“I am aware,” Luna solemnly agreed. “I have learned much of dragon culture from thestral ambassadors. Such a large party would appear as a threat, and would likely provoke an attack, which is why we will remain upwind, concealed under an invisibility spell just in case things go wrong.”

“But... it won’t go wrong, will it?” I trembled. Luna cast me a sympathetic glance.

“I dearly hope not, but I would rather prepare for the worst than be caught off guard.” Garble looked to his comrades to get their input. No one said anything, but Fizzle finally shrugged.

“Okay,” Garble consented. “Let’s do it.”

Luna lead the way, taking up point position as we glided through the sky. Torchwood balanced the incredibly heavy chest on his back with ease so Twilight, Luna and Rarity could use their levitation magic to tow our flightless friends.

I was flying alone, as Blaze had refused to leave Garble’s side. The lack of company found me sick with worry. I’d been relatively confident up until now. What if Luna was right, and something went wrong? I shut my eyes in an attempt to ward off such thinking. But my stomach was already tied in knots over the matter. They had to be alright.

“We should land here,” Garble advised the Princess. “The geysers are coming up fast, and I don’t want to risk them seeing any of you.”

“A wise idea,” Luna nodded, folding her wings into a dive. The rest of us followed their lead, and touched down behind a large boulder.

“There’s the geysers,” Vex pointed with a trembling claw. We looked between the rock formations, where the steam of the lava geysers had settled over the rocks like a blanket of thick fog.

“Let’s get upwind,” Twilight advised.

“That way,” Rainbow gestured, letting the breeze sift through her feathers to determine where we needed to be. Luna carefully wove through the rocks overlooking the geysers to be sure we wouldn’t be spotted. The rest of us carefully followed her lead, afraid to breathe.

“We will wait for you here,” Luna informed Garble. “Take the chest and wait. Comply with whatever they say.”

Twilight,” I interjected, stepping up. “Do you, by chance, know any transformation spells?”

“Sure,” my friend complied, somewhat confused. “Why do you ask?”

“I know we’re supposed to stay up here, out of the way, but I need to make sure they’re safe. I have to go down with them.”

“No way! We can’t bring any ponies down there,” Clump reminded.

“If Twi could use a transformation spell and give me a disguise, they’ll never know the difference.”

“No, no, no. I’m not doing that, bad idea,” Twilight definitively shook her head.

“Please, Twilight,” I pleaded, quite literally getting down on my knees to beg. “I have to do this.”

“It’s too dangerous,” Torchwood argued, draping a wing over me.

“Finally, somepony with sense,” Twilight sighed in relief.

“Let me go instead.”

“WHAT?!”

“They’re family, Twilight.”

“They do have a right to protect those they love,” Luna agreed.

“You too?” Twilight’s ears flattened in worry.

“There’s no way we’re gonna let ya go down there alone,” Applejack declared.

“Only one may accompany the dragons,” Luna ordered. “Too many will look like an ambush. Though we would then outnumber them, the rogues would still hold an advantage- none of us have ever used a dragon’s form before, myself included. We would suffer casualties.”

“You don’t have to go with us,” Garble looked panicked. “This is our problem, not yours.”

“It is our problem,” I countered, enveloping him in my wings. “Because you’re our son.” He stiffened, but eventually accepted the embrace. No one was poking fun this time.

“However,” Luna continued. “It is my understanding that a male would pose more of a threat than a female. Acrylic is the better candidate.”

“But Acrylic, what about... you know?”

“No, I don’t. What’re you talking about?”

“Can I talk to you for a second?” she tried pulling me aside, but Luna held us back with her levitation magic.

“There is no time. Twilight, please. I know you are against the idea, but she has the right. They will be fine. Just cast the spell.”

“On second thought,” Twilight backed out, “I’m not so sure my spell is powerful enough to turn you into a full size dragon.”

“Twilight,” I begged.

“No need to worry,” Luna assured. “I also know transformation magic.” Before I knew what was happening, I felt the tingling of magic run through my frame before my mind filled with white. The next thing I knew, I was looking down on my friends from a new height. Twilight fainted.

“Whoa, Nelly!” Applejack exclaimed, looking up at me with something between fear and wonder.

“You-you...” Fluttershy nervously stuttered. Remembering it was just me, though, she cleared her throat. “You’re, uh, really pretty, Acrylic.”

“You look so awesome!” Rainbow whooped.

“Quiet,” Luna barked. I’d struck the dragons speechless.

“What’re you all staring at?” I looked at the ground, shifting uncomfortably under their gaze.

“Your mom is actually kind of hot.” Garble angrily swiped the back of Pierce’s head.

“You’re just as pretty as your pony self,” Torch assured, resting his head against my giant one. I blushed.

“You look absolutely marvelous, darling. For a dragon, that is,” Rarity assured, using her own magic to temporarily transform a portion of the gritty ground into a shimmering mirror. I did a double take.

My pointed nose had carried over in the form of a small, petite snout. I still had sapphire eyes, but they almost sparkled against shimmering scales. My neck was far longer and more flexible than I was used to. I‘d have to mind it; that probably made it more flimsy. Like Garble’s mother, my hide had taken on a metallic sheen. Unlike Ignition’s radiant golden color, though, I was a glimmering silver. My body was long and slender. I wasn’t expecting the back legs to be so long, as my front limbs didn’t quite reach that length, but I found that when I bent them a certain way, it all evened out. The claws were a new acquisition, and it took me a moment to figure out how to move the individual claws rather than a single hoof. I looked back at my wings, and noted that my wing membranes had taken on a rich blue color. The long, flexible tail was something new, and I quickly found myself fascinated with it. I flexed it back and forth, getting used to the feeling when I noticed a blue scythe-shaped growth sprouting off of it, reaching past even the tail tip. I decided it was best not to poke anyone with it, and aimed it away from the group. The only other growths I had were on the ridge of my neck where my mane should have been. Instead of hair, I now had a series of thick, pointed spines running down my neck. They started small at the base, and got bigger as they neared my head. Once they reached a certain size, they began curling over to one side like hair might. That made me nervous, because the largest spine curled directly over the left side of my face, giving me a critical blind spot.

“That’s an awesome disguise!” Pinkie cheerily commented as the mirror disappeared.

“I’ll say. She even smells like a dragon,” Clump put in. All the ponies gave him a strange look, but the dragons didn’t think anything of the statement.

“Let’s hope the rogues think so, too,” Luna sighed, getting us all back on track. “Acrylic, take Gilda and the dragons down and wait with the money. The rest of us will be here in case you run into trouble. Do not worry if you don’t see us- when you leave, I will cast an invisibility spell to ensure the rogues do not find us.”

“Thank you, Luna,” I nodded, nudging the others to start heading down. I bent to pick up the chest when I felt slight resistance around my ankle. The thick scales had prevented me from realizing Blaze was still clinging to me.

“Promise you’ll come back?”

“Blaze...” I was caught off guard. “Why wouldn’t I come back?”

“It’s just... the last time Mom went out to help Garble, she didn’t come back,” he sniffed. My heart melted; now I understood. “Promise you will?”

“I promise you, Blaze, we’ll all come back. And we can be a family again, alright?” He finally let go, and nodded with damp eyes. Torch gently led him away.

“Be careful,” he said.

“You too.” With that, I clamped the chest between my teeth and slithered after the dragons.

Comments

[PersonalGamer]

You mean downwind, right? Upwind of the dragons means the dragons can more easily smell them.

Also, after the disguise, I think you meant to use "quite" instead of the "quiet" you used.

[Zilverfoss]

Somepony "laughed with the rest of him"

Soo does this mean that Gilda owes Ponyville 10K?