Trial by Kinship

by Metool Bard

Sharp Scales

Maggie slithered up to the captured dragons, observing her prize with a twinkle in her eye. The dragons roared and gnashed their teeth, but no matter how much they struggled, the net only became tighter around them.

"You see, Jacques?" said Maggie, turning to her husband. "You didn't need those hooligans after all. You complained so much about how hard it is to capture one dragon by yourself, yet now we have fifteen. Now don't you feel silly?"

"Perhaps a bit," Jacques admitted. "But the important thing is that you're happy now, my dear cobra. Happy anniversary, dear."

Braeburn raised an eyebrow. "Wait, that's what this whole thing is all about? You just wanted to get your wife an anniversary present?"

Jacques shrugged. "What can I say? She has very, shall we say, exotic tastes."

"More like barbaric," Little Strongheart said with a snort. She then felt a sharp pain in her ear, followed by Maggie pinching it three seconds later.

"That is no way to address a proper lady, you uncouth desert child," Maggie hissed. "Insult me again, and I'll feed you to the owlbears."

"Hey, leave her alone, you big bully," said Spike, standing up as straight as he could.

Maggie turned her attention to Spike and smiled. "Oh, is one of my new pets getting uppity?" she cooed, pinching Spike's cheek.

The elder dragons took notice to this and began muttering to each other.

"Look at that. If he were a real dragon, he wouldn't let her do that."

"Did he really intend to save us? I can't decide whether to admire that child's bravery or pity his stupidity."

"Normally, I'd laugh at this, but considering the situation, I'm more mad at that upstart lamia."

Spike's cheeks flushed bright red in embarrassment. Maggie's humiliating actions combined with the dragon's doubts caused him to become more and more discouraged.

"Don't let 'em get to you, Spike," Big Macintosh whispered. "Remember, you've still got plenty of friends who believe in you."

Maggie arched an eyebrow. "Did you say something?"

"Nope," said Big Macintosh flatly.

Maggie crossed her arms. "You sure? Because it looked like you were telling that dragon something."

"Nope."

Maggie waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, whatever. It doesn't matter now. I have fifteen dragons to take home and pamper to my heart's content." She then noticed Needles within the crowd. "And oh, what's this? The magician dragon is here, too. Oh, I so look forward to teaching you new tricks, you little cutie! We're gonna be best fwiends foweva and eva!"

Needles pretended to gag. "In your dreams, lady. I don't plan on— ow!"

She felt a sharp pinch on her cheek, and Maggie followed up with an actual pinch three seconds later.

"It looks like you have a lot of obedience training to go through," she growled.

Flint snickered. "You think you can train her? Ha! That's a laugh! Heck, the only one of us I can picture you actually getting to obey you is Steel, and that's because he's spineless."

"Hey!" Steel protested. "I would not listen to anything that horrible woman says! I'm a free dragon, by golly!"

"Uh, I'd pick your words more carefully, ese," said Toro, obscuring his eyes with his sombrero.

Steel blushed. "Oh, right. Sorry. Forgot for a second."

Maggie laughed. "Oh, this is just priceless! You two are automatically going to be my comedy entertainment."

"I still don't think you grasp the situation."

Maggie shifted her attention over to Trigger, who was wringing his claws.

"Oh? And why's that?" she asked.

"You're making Needles quite mad," said Trigger. "And when Needles gets mad, Ocard gets upset. And when Ocard gets upset, well... You don't want to know what happens after that. Ehheh... Ehheh..."

Needles whipped her head around. "Trigger, what the heck are you doin'?" she hissed.

"Just warning our captor about what might happen, my dear Needles" said Trigger, giving Needles a wink.

Needles stared blankly at Trigger for a moment before finally connecting the dots. She flashed him a small smile in return and turned right back towards Maggie.

"He's right, y'know," Needles proclaimed. "I have a bit of a temper problem, and so does Ocard. If you don't let us go, there's gonna be big trouble."

"Oh, I'm shaking in my skin," Maggie said mockingly. "So, where is this Ocard, hmm?"

Needles took a quick look around, only to find that her fire elemental had disappeared without a trace. She turned back to Trigger, who winked at her again. She swallowed.

"Oh, well, uh... He's hidin' in the shadows," she said. "Y'know, waitin' for the right moment to strike and such. So I reckon you'd better let us go."

"Actually, fire elementals are asexual in nature," Nova interjected. "As such, I don't think 'he' is the correct term."

Maggie turned towards Nova. "Oh? And how do you know this, pray tell?"

Needles's eyes went wide. "H-hey, eyes on me, lady!"

"Now now. We can't have you hogging all the attention," Maggie chided, pinching Needles's cheek once again.

Flint snorted. "You've got a lot of guts to try and pull that on a dragon as powerful as she is, missy. If that's how you plan to treat all of us, I predict lots and lots of bandages in your future."

"That's right!" Steel added. "This is an injustice! No dragon worth their salt is going to take this lying down!"

Spike watched as the Dragoons resisted Maggie's patronizing ways. He was so used to them bickering amongst themselves that the sight of them standing together against a common threat was almost quite shocking. Then he thought back to all the times he talked to them on his adventure. Suddenly, a large surge of confidence raced through his veins.

"Actually, you have no claim on me," he said.

Maggie turned to Spike. "Come again?"

"Well, you don't really have a claim on anyone here. But that goes double for me," said Spike. "I already live with someone else. Her name is Twilight Sparkle."

Maggie blinked. "Twilight Sparkle? The newly-coronated princess of Equestria?"

"The very same," said Spike with a nod.

The elder dragons began mumbling again.

"I knew he smelled off."

"What kind of dragon lives with a namby-pamby pony princess?"

"Wait, if he lives with a pony, why does he care about us?"

Spike ignored these comments and continued. "I just so happen to be Twilight's number one assistant. And if she saw what you were doing to these dragons right now, she'd be so mad at you. In fact, I'm mad at you."

Maggie stifled a laugh. "I-is that right?"

"You bet," Spike proclaimed. "I may not be like other dragons, but I have my Noble Dragon Code. I came out here to help these dragons because it was the right thing to do. Sure, they may not appreciate it, but at this point, that doesn't matter. At least someone does." He turned and smiled at the Dragoons before turning back to Maggie. "Besides, I see injustice here. And as a noble dragon, I'm not gonna take it lying down!"

Maggie chortled. "Is that right? Well, that's a very impressive speech, young lad. But you forget one thing."

Once again, Spike felt a sharp pinch in his cheek, followed by Maggie pinching him three seconds later.

"I. Always. Get. What. I. Want," Maggie spat. "What's more, you can't even lay a finger on me. Thanks to my time magic, I am ahead of you by three seconds. No matter what you do—"

Spike snapped his jaws, only for Maggie to draw back her hand at the last minute.

"...I always see it coming. Like that, for instance," Maggie continued, as if nothing had happened.

"There's no use fighting it," said Jacques somberly. "Believe me, I've been trying for years. Best you just surrender now before you make her really angry."

Trigger sniggered. "Need I remind you about Ocard? We wouldn't want to make it angry, now would we? Ehheh..."

Jacques looked around and scoffed. "You're bluffing. I don't see anyone else here, and my pets certainly don't detect anything."

"I think he's onto us," Needles whispered to Trigger.

"I-I know, I know," Trigger hissed back. "Wh-where is that wisp, anyway? It clearly didn't get captured with us."

"I-I dunno," said Needles. "I don't even know how to call it."

"Perhaps I can help."

Nova shuffled around within the net, doing her best to shimmy over to Needles. Needles blanched.

"Ma, no. S-stop talkin'," she stammered. "Y-you're gonna get in trouble."

"The Dragon Magi strive for the greater good, Needles," said Nova. "My safety isn't as important as you living up to your potential."

"B-but it's important to me," Needles whimpered. "If that crazy lady finds out there are more Dragon Magi out here, she's gonna make all of us slaves!"

Nova smiled. "Not if you teach her a lesson she'll never forget, Needles. Now, to summon your fire elemental, you have to link your inner fire with its outer fire. To do that, you—"

"Hey, I see that," Maggie interrupted. "What are you planning?"

"Simply this," said Nova, closing her eyes. "Agniki, Akire!"

Her eyes suddenly shot open, and a plume of fuchsia flame burst from her mouth. From the flame, another fire elemental took shape.

"You summoned me, Lady No— Tartarus's bells, what have you gotten yourself into since I was asleep?" said the wisp.

"It's a long story, Akire," said Nova. "For now, I was simply demonstrating to my daughter how to summon her fire elemental."

"Oh, no you don't!" Maggie yelled.

She was about to ready a time spell when she suddenly reared back, dodging Spike's emerald flame. She tried again, only to swerve away from Steel's claws.

"Um, just a word of advice," said Flint. "Don't just outright tell the bad guys what you're trying to do."

Nova chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry. Force of habit."

Needles shrugged and closed her eyes. She racked her brain and concentrated with all her might, trying to establish a connection while Maggie was being distracted. She detected a bright flash through her closed eyes, followed by a sinister snicker.

"There. That's better," said Maggie. "And now for y—"

"Agniki, Ocard!"

Needles's eyes shot open as a dot of amber flame zoomed out from the sky, singeing a few wyverns as it passed.

"Finally. I was waiting for you to do that," said Ocard indignantly.

Needles scowled. "Well, I didn't know how until just now, okay? Now help us out!"

"You mean free you from this net?" asked Ocard.

Needles deadpanned. "No, I mean tell me the meanin' of life."

Ocard closed its eyes. "Well, that's actually a very complicated and subjective question..."

"I was bein' sarcastic."

"Oh, I understand that. I just didn't find it funny."

Needles rolled her eyes. "You never told me my spiritual guide would be such a wisenheimer, Ma."

Nova simply shrugged her shoulders. "You'd better help, too, Akire."

The two fire elementals set to work, flying around the net and burning through it. Instead of using her magic to stop them, Maggie turned to face her husband.

"You dunderhead!" she howled. "Why didn't you use the fireproof nets?!"

"Those are the fireproof nets!" Jacques roared back.

"They don't look very fireproof to me, Jacques! Did you get them from the blue crate?"

"Well, the crate was blue-ish, I suppose."

"Blue-ish?!"

"Look, I didn't have time to sift through all the crates, okay?"

"Jacques, I'm a time mage! We could've had all the time in the world!"

Jacques blushed profusely. "Oh. Um, sorry, dear."

Maggie palmed her face. "Jacques, you are treading on thin ice right now."

"I'd be more worried about yourself, pal."

Maggie spun around. The nets were reduced to charred tatters scattered all over the ground. Now she was confronted by several angry dragons as well as Spike's posse. She glowered.

"You haven't won yet!" she bellowed. "Pets! Seize them!"

The monsters all roared as the two sides charged for one another. The dragons let loose their flames, igniting the sky with myriad colors. The antlion snapped its mandibles and fossilized any owlbear or deathstalker that got too close with its breath. Braeburn tossed apple pie after apple pie at the oncoming monsters, which proved to be most effective when the creatures took a timeout from the fight to eat. The Shielded Thundercrab rasped as it let loose a barrage of electrically-charged bubbles into the fray. However, its aim was thrown off by Flint and Steel flying circles around it.

"Yeah, take that, evildoer!" Steel cheered.

Flint groaned. "Just lay off the quips, Steel. You sound lame. Plus, I'd rather not get electrocuted today, so keep your head in the game."

"Uh, sure! Got it, Flint!" Steel called out.

Little Strongheart noticed this and charged in while the crab was distracted. With a mighty war cry, she leapt up into the air and pounded her hooves against the creature's head. With a bubbly rasp, the Shielded Thundercrab collapsed unconscious.

"Sweet moves, LS!" Flint called out.

"Yeah, good one!" Steel concurred. "We'll help you with the next one, too!"

Flint was about to protest this, but thought better of it. Little Strongheart smirked.

"Nice to see you two finally get your acts together!" she said. "Now c'mon! We're not out of this just yet!"

She galloped off to her next target while Flint and Steel followed at her heels.

***

While all that was going on, Spike rode on Big Macintosh's back, making a beeline straight for Jacques. Jacques fired his rifle again and again, but Spike made quick work of the nets with his fire breath.

"N-no, wait! Stay back!" Jacques squawked, flying up into the air. "Get away from me!"

"Nope!" Big Macintosh hollered back. He then turned to Spike. "You ready?"

Spike licked his claw and held it up to test the wind before nodding. "Ready!"

Jacques's eyes sparkled as he took aim with his gun. "Ah-ha! Got—"

Just as he was about to fire, Big Macintosh bucked Spike clear into the sky. Spike did a somersault in midair and landed right on Jacques's back. He then grabbed the griffon by the tail and yanked with all his might.

"Ow-ooh! L-let go!" Jacques cried.

"Not until you promise to leave us alone!" Spike countered.

Jacques snorted. "N-n-n-never!"

Spike shrugged and pulled even harder. Jacques squawked and shrieked, flying around wildly to try and get rid of Spike. As he flailed about, he accidentally fired his rifle several times. The misfired nets landed directly on his own pets, rendering them useless in combat. One even landed right on Maggie's head. In retaliation, Maggie froze him in time.

"You're not winning a lot of points with me, Jacques!" she hollered. "Now get your act together and round up these dragons!"

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, lady."

Maggie spun around to find Needles fiddling with her parasol. Maggie scoffed.

"And just what do you plan to do about it?" she asked.

Needles shrugged. "Simple. I'm gonna fight ya."

Maggie nearly doubled over in laughter. "Y-you are going to fight me? Didn't I already mention that I'm invincible?! This battle is only delaying the inevitable! I always get what I want, and you're going to learn that the hard way!"

Needles smirked and tossed aside her parasol. "Y'know what? Maybe you are more powerful than I am. I admit, I have no idea how to beat ya. But that Spike fella had it right. I'm a noble Dragon Mage, and I ain't standin' for this injustice against my kind."

She summoned two magic throwing stars and held them between her claws. "So c'mon. Make my day."

Maggie scoffed. "Well isn't that cute? You really think some pathetic parlor tricks can stand up to a true time mage? I'll show you what true power is."

Needles suddenly noticed that time was slowing down around her. Instead of firing her weapons, she stood her ground, staring down Maggie. Maggie did the same, wearing a mocking grin.

"Go ahead. Make your move, pet," she said, her voice dripping with venom. "I can avoid whatever you throw at me and hurt you twice as hard."

Needles smiled back, but said nothing. As soon as she felt time return to normal, she threw her stars at Maggie. Maggie swerved to the side, but the stars arched back and flew at her again. To save herself, Maggie cast another time spell to freeze the stars in place.

"Clever," she said. "It seems this little pet already knows some tricks. But it's not enough. Now bow to your mistress!"

"I'll bow to you when I'm dead!" Needles spat, standing her ground.

Maggie chuckled. "Well then, we'll just have to hope it doesn't come to that."

Needles suddenly felt several impacts racking her body, almost causing her to fall to her knees. A split second later, Maggie rushed forward and slapped her around. Needles skidded back, trying her best to stand upright.

From not too far away, Trigger watched the battle from on top of Toro's shoulder. He clenched his claws into fists.

"Toro, we have to help her!" he said.

Toro turned to where Trigger was pointing and frowned. "The magic of that cazadore is unpredictable, Señor Trigger. I'm not sure if we can even hit her."

"Perhaps I can tip the scales in your favor."

Nova leaned down to Toro and Trigger, wearing a wry smile. She then raised her claw and closed her eyes. Suddenly, a fuchsia aura engulfed Toro's cannon.

"That should provide enough speed for you to catch her off-guard," she said. "It should have a bit more power to it as well."

Trigger nodded. "Th-thank you," he said. "Alright, Toro! Take aim!"

Toro did so. "Ready when you are, Señor Trigger!"

Trigger got up and took a deep breath. "This one's for you, Needles!" he called out.

He then lit the fuse with his fire breath. The cannon roared as it unleashed its payload. Maggie tried to rear up and dodge the blast, but it still managed to graze her.

"Rah! How dare you!" she boomed, turning towards Toro and Trigger. "Now I'm furious!"

She closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye and smacked Toro's jowls. As Toro flinched, Trigger leapt up onto Maggie's hood and dug in his claws. As Needles recovered, she noticed the struggle. Her eyes widened.

"Trigger! Hang on!" she called out, running towards the battle.

Just as she was within range, Maggie managed to throw Trigger off. Needles clenched her hand into a fist and looked up at Ocard.

"Hey, you think you can turn into that dragon thing again?" she asked.

Ocard blinked. "You actually want me to do that?"

Needles gave Ocard a smirk. "Let's just say I wanna make sure there's some truth behind Trigger's bluff. Y'know, just so these poachers know never to mess with us again."

Ocard's brow furrowed. "I highly advise against this, young mage. You can't control me when I'm in that state."

"First of all, my name is Needles," said Needles. "Secondly, I don't care. I just wanna make these guys pay and free these dragons once and for all."

Ocard sighed. "Very well. I will try. It should be easier, seeing as you appear to be in full control right now, but I make no promises."

Needles sighed. "Just get over here already. I have an idea that'll really burn this into their brains."

She summoned one last throwing star and held it to her chest, gripping it tightly between her fingers. Ocard nestled itself atop the star and heaved another sigh. Needles narrowed her eyes, watching Maggie's every move as she towered over Trigger.

"Bad boy," she scolded, raising her open palm. "I think someone needs some to be disciplined."

"Now, Ocard!"

Needles threw the star with all her might. As it flew towards Maggie, Ocard changed its shape. Right when it was upon her, it was a full-sized dragon constructed of flames. Before Maggie could even hope to react, it barreled through her, leaving a flaming trail in its wake. As her scorched body hit the ground, all of her time magic was undone. She let out a cough, sending black smoke into the air.

"Maggie! Sweetheart!" Jacques called out, flying down to her. He picked her up in her talons. "Maggie, we should leave. These dragons are more trouble than they're worth."

Maggie slowly opened her eyes and gave her husband a bemused look. "Really, Jacques? What happened to making me happy no matter what?"

"That's not going to matter much if you're dead!" Jacques snapped. "C'mon, you stubborn snake. We're leaving."

Maggie's lip quivered. "B-but my dragons..."

"Sorry, dear, but I'm afraid I'll have to put my foot down," said Jacques firmly. He raised his hunting horn and rallied all of his conscious animals to him. "Come along now. Let's get you all rested up. I'll even make you those chocolates you like."

"Oh, don't even bother," Maggie huffed. "Your chocolates taste terrible."

"Then I'll buy you chocolates."

"And spend more of our money? What about my hospital bill? And the veterinary bills for our pets?"

"Maybe I wouldn't spend so much money if you weren't so darn picky."

"Oh, so now this is my fault?"

"Yes! Yes it is!"

The two of them continued to bicker and argue as Jacques flew away with his animals following suit. Once they were gone, Needles let out a sigh and scooped up her parasol.

"Hoo-wee~. I thought that would never end," she said. "Hey, Ocard. You okay?"

Ocard circled back, reverting to its original state. "That, was very dangerous, young mage."

"I told you before; I have a name," said Needles, folding her arms. "If you're gonna scold me like that, I recommend you call me by it."

She then walked over to Trigger and reached out her claw. "Hey, Trigger. Need a hand?"

Trigger grunted and shook his head. "N-no. No, I'm fine," he said, struggling to his feet.

Needles let out a dry laugh. "Don't go macho on me, Trigger. It ain't your style." She then paused. "Hey, you actually came up with some pretty good ideas back there. Thanks."

"It's my pleasure, Needles," said Trigger. He then looked over to Spike, who came in riding on Big Macintosh. Spike gave him an okay sign and a wink. Trigger winked in return and turned to Needles.

"Hey, um, Needles?"

"What is it, Trigger?"

Trigger stretched out his arms and flexed his claws. "Is, this okay?"

Needles smiled. "Sure. C'mere."

She closed the gap between them and pulled him into a hug. Toro nodded solemnly while Steel blew his nose on Flint's wing. Flint snorted in annoyance and jerked it away. After a pause, Needles released Trigger and bopped him with her parasol.

"Slow down there, lover boy," she said darkly. "We're not up to that yet."

Trigger rubbed his head. "Oh, Needles~. Why must you tease me? Ehheh... Ehheh..."

Everyone joined Trigger in his laugh. Spike looked down at Big Macintosh and smiled.

"Well, they still have a few things to learn," he said. "But all things considered, I think I did a pretty good job of setting them straight. You agree, Big Mac?"

Big Macintosh nodded. "Eeyup."

Comments

[RadicalDishonesty]

Spike's... awkward phrasing of his defense of why he can't be owned by Maggie, that he's sorta already owned by Twilight, even though it's a legitimate threat (that if Maggie captures him Twilight's going to come for her) isn't going to win him many allies among the dragons.

I'm looking forward to seeing Spike have a good talk with with Nova, though.

[Metool Bard]

5645194 That, wasn't really the point of Spike's speech, although I understand how you came to that conclusion. Next chapter, things should be a lot clearer.

[OmniFox]

I bet that Twilight's sisterly senses are a-tingling.

[ShadowLDrago]

Dragoons

Dragons.

"What kind of dragon lives with a namby-pamby pony princess?"

A namby pamby pony princess who helped defeat Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, and all this before she ascended, she then complete Starswirl's unfinished spell, if this is post Season 4, contained all the magic of all 3 other princesses and was able to fight on even terms with bucking Tirek. What was that you were saying about her being a namby pamby?

[Metool Bard]

6852158 The corrected sentence was referring to Needles's gang of reformed bandits, not the dragons.

[Dan]

So she Ryuu ga waga teki wo kurau'd the evil bitch.

I approve.