Journey to the center of Equestria

by Rarity Belle

Chapter LXVIII

“Only those who carry their aura can return Equestria in its former state,” the pirate captain repeated. In her mind she tried to figure out what it possibly could have meant. The mare had been brooding upon the words that were spoken by the dragon for the longest of time already. Though not even she seemed to have been able to make something out of it.

They still didn’t even knew who the mysterious ‘they’ or ‘those’ were. Who know just what else was required to finally make their lands a little bit more safe. Madness itself seemed to have taken over everything that they loved and adored in the moment. Nopony had a single clue on just what could have been meant with the words or how they needed to proceed in their doings.

Rarity moved a hand to her chin and began to rub it just before she had started to pace up and down. The flow of thoughts that she had needed to keep on going if they wanted to have any chance of success. Though that perhaps was the trouble they had. They didn’t had the time to do such a thing. They were on a ticking time bomb that was the dragon itself.

While it was true that it could be calm and collected at certain times, he could also just be as unpredictable as anything else. No, they needed to play everything with caution and hope upon the fact that all would work out in their favor. Even if it meant that they would have to do some ridiculous things.

Twilight looked back in the eyes of the dragon while the whispers were caught in her ears. Naturally she wanted to reply to them because the other mares were saying the most idiotic things that they could have ever imagined. Anything and everything was said about what it could have meant and even plans to return to the surface were given off.

The soothsayer rolled her eyes before she and the dragon returned to their own conversation. “Do you happen to have any idea who might have said those words to you and for who they might have been meant? Because there is not a whole lot that we can be working from right now,” said Twilight to him. She would lie if she said she wasn’t genuinely confused.

Her mind spoke about one thing while her heart was yelling right at another. Not much made sense in the moment, that statement was more than true for her right there and then. The soothsayer released a deep exhale while her mind continued to figure out whatever it could have meant. Though she had already given herself a slim chance of discovering that very answer.

Though the dragon had also closed his eyes and let the gears rattle for the moment. He too needed to remember exactly who, what and why the words were being remembered the way they were. The longer he thought about them, the bigger the shadows ended up being. He wasn’t having a clue about who would have said the words and when they were even said.

To him it seemed like there had been four lifespans going over all of it. Four of his lifespans worthy of time that the words had been spoken to him. Four times his current age, events from that long ago had to be remembered one way or the other. It angered the creature perhaps a whole lot more than that it should have done.

A growl had come from his throat. Twilight and the rest of the mares shifted their attention back to him as they prayed on the fact that they would be left in one piece.

But as soon as the dragon rose up an arm, they all realized that it was trouble that laid ahead. Whatever would be happening afterwards, they could only guess upon. “Why does my memory fail me, every single time when I need it?! What magic did they cast over me to prevent me from remembering me?!” the dragon exclaimed in utter terror before the fingers curled up into a fist.

Fractions of seconds later did the shockwave travel through the diamond floor. The mares of the company had their difficulty to keep on standing upon her hooves as they looked over the scene. The massive fist of the dragon had travelled down to the floor and smashed it.

The eyes were granted an even more unbelievable sight the moment he removed his hand again. For at the impact point was the diamond floor actually cracked as if it was a nut. None of them could believe it as they thought that the diamonds were the purest in the land.

“Unbelievable and impossible,” the pirate captain spoke to herself, “the proof is given though. His arms are strong, the muscles are capable to producing that much energy…”

“It ain’t happening, is it?” Applejack asked aloud. She had feared that the judgment day had arrived for them all in that moment. It was a thought of terror for certain, but perhaps it was indeed the prelude to the trouble that would come if they didn’t solve the matter in time.

That primal fear then rushed through all of them before the eyes went wide. Those couple of words said by Applejack caused them all to be on high alert as Twilight dared to approach the creature again.

“Hey, hey, hey,” the soothsayer said in a calming tone before she came to standstill. With her hands she gestured that everything was alright and that everything needed to be calmed down for just a moment. The dragon watched and listened to her before he finally gave her a nod in return.

But the defeat inside of the massive beast was only bigger. Never in its life had it expected to be confronted in the way that it would have been. The massive creature just dropped all kinds of formalities and regulations that was normal for a dragon. Instead it just dropped itself down to the ground and laid down on its belly. The hands were laid cross over each other as the neck had only risen up just a little bit.

The creature was tired. He was tired of constantly forgetting the words that had to be remembered. He was tired of constantly being placed in the mental pain he would gain from it. He wanted it to be over and perhaps, Twilight and the company were just enough for him to be broken out of that dreaded circle.

Then at the other end of the spectrum, he felt that he belonged there. That he belonged in the place he had been for so long. Memory once again faded upon him as he tried to see the world as it was above.

Nothing but static took over. His memory left him once again and the head of the dragon was dropped to the ground. Twilight had to turn her body almost all the way around to keep an eye contact with him.

The unicorn looked him in the eyes once more and saw the pain he had worked himself in. The terrible pain of wanting to remember something or speaking something that laid at the tip of the tongue. Yet it simply couldn’t be done. A deep sigh was given off by her as she approached the dragon even more. Perhaps it was stupid what she would be doing next, but she felt it was the right thing to be doing in the moment.

Inch by inch she walked further towards the dragon until she was in reaching distance. Nopony had an idea of what Twilight would be doing next but they could only hope that it would have been something ‘good’, or something that wouldn’t give them a heap of trouble. The mares held their breath as they had also seen that the creature was just done with it all.

Whatever would happen next was a thing that nopony knew. A thing that had occurred so many times during their trip already. Who could possibly tell what was going through the mind of Twilight, let alone the dragon?

The arm of the soothsayer began to reach out for what was thought to be the cheek of the dragon. The hand fell upon the purple scales he carried and the touch had been made. Twilight tried to remain as calm as she could possibly be, hoping that he would notice that little fact of her.

It was an action that none had thought about, but it seemed to have been working out nicely so far. The dragon’s eyes only shifted over to the unicorn with a questioning gaze in them. But he allowed the actions to happen to him.

Twilight then began to stroke the cheek of the dragon with a slow motion while she gave him a gentle smile. Silence took the room over and the harmony between anthrony and dragon almost seemed to resonate through the magma sphere. It couldn’t have been explained through words alone, but the company felt a comfort they hadn’t felt in a long time.

They felt as if everything was going to be alright in one way or the other. Even when it all looked that everything would have just gone to hell, they still saw it that way. No words were said as the mares all closed their eyes and moved on their spots. Their bodies went slowly from right to left as if they were enjoying their favorite pieces of music.

~~~~

For a few minutes went the scene undisturbed. Even the dragon seemed to be enjoying himself. The stroking over the scales on his cheek had the effect that Twilight wanted to give him. She wanted him to be calmed down and just for a moment lose the troubles that had been building up inside of him.

Whether the dragon knew what she wanted or not, didn’t matter in the moment. He was glad that he could place the troubles of his mind behind him for a moment and just enjoy the touch of an anthrony. The lips had curled up into a toothy smile and the eye contact between the two was never broken.

Yet to every silence, there must have gotten an end to. Even their scene was no exception to it. Finally did the dragon dare to speak the words that had been haunting his mind for some time. His mouth opened up while the words were almost spoken in a whisper. “Why are you, doing this?” he asked to the soothsayer in a genuine interested and confused tone.

Though Twilight didn’t had the actual answer upon the question. At least not one that she could give to him straight away. Her mind had to think about it for a couple of seconds before she would reply to him. “You’re troubled, there’s no need to trouble you any further than that we already have. You looked like you needed some form of rest and, that’s what I hoped to give you.”

There was a single chuckle that was released from the mouth of the creature before he nodded with his head. The unicorn was right with her words, that much he could tell. “You seem to know an awful lot about dragons. Tell me, are they still roaming the skies as so many years ago?” Suddenly had the conversation taken a turn of which none thought it would have gone in.

The mares released deep gulps all of the sudden. They were brought out of their trance just like that. They all thought that he wouldn’t like the answer that they would give him. But would they have been able to lie to him? And they weren’t directly to blame for it, right? Dragons went extinct thousands of years ago according to lore. Long, long, long before any of them were even born.

None of the company’s members wanted to answer the burning question but somepony had to do the dirty job. And the appointed mare to do just that, was Twilight again. Whether she liked it or not. The fact was made apparent to her as no other mare spoke the words.

A deep exhale was released through her nostrils as her eyes went shut for a moment or two. “I, I’m afraid, that the last dragon flew away thousands of years ago. They are gone, gone from Equestria and possibly, the world,” commented Twilight in a sad tone. She struggled to fight her own tears. She took it to herself that there were no other dragons left in the skies to hold him company.

Then again, how would that have been packing out to begin with?

The ancient dragon’s eyes went wide as he was struck with confusion. “No… That can’t be. I, I’m not here for, that long. I can’t be here for that long!” he replied to her. The mind of the dragon seemed to process time a whole lot differently than the anthronies were used of it.

Twilight would have wiped her tears away before she looked back to him and nodded. “I, I’m afraid it’s true. I don’t know why you have been put here though, but you are the last, dragon.” Her tone had changed to one of utter sadness before the dragon released a deep exhale. He couldn’t believe that he was the last of his entire species.

The last one that was alive and he was locked inside of the magma sphere To the world above had the species just gone extinct while their world was basically powered by one. None knew that little twist in the tale and it was best left that way.

The soothsayer took a couple of steps back before she had a deep glance over to the company. Then there went a shock through her. Twilight had once more realized just why they had come to the place. The eyes went wide before a shake with the head was given. The unicorn turned her gaze back to him and she started to dig through his spoken words.

The contact with the creature had been broken and Twilight was pacing up and down. Six sets of eyes followed her while the train of thoughts had departed from the station. Nopony knew where it had set its destination for. All they knew was that she tried to figure out something.

Motions with her mouth were made as she constantly repeated the words of him to herself. Every last one that was spoken was vividly remembered by the mare while she snapped her fingers from time to time. “There must have been something that you have told us, that can help us stop the tremors,” mumbled Twilight aloud, though she thought to have said it mentally.

The dragon turned his head towards her just before the words left his mouth. “The reason of why, you are here. I remember that.” That opened up a whole new scale of thoughts that raced through the dragon. Anything was possible from that moment onward.

Yet one thing was figured out just as quickly: the dragon had not a clue what should or could have been done to make the tremors stop. Though the answer was perhaps a little bit too obvious. So obvious that not even the clear thinking Twilight would had figured it out.

The matter of the tremors wasn’t the only one that was going through her in the moment though. She also remembered the fact that he spoke of a group that was only labeled as ‘them’ and variations thereupon. She had gotten curious as to who those beings had been. Naturally they were from times long gone by and wouldn’t be alive anymore.

At least she hoped that they wouldn’t have been alive still. For at one end, she also desired to go back home and wake up in her bed. Yet the reality of the situation told her differently many times before. “Aura, aura, aura, those who carry their aura can bring Equestria back in its former state…” Twilight muttered up while she stroked her chin in a thoughtful way.

“Can it be that..?” Her gaze turned over to the dragon before she came to a standstill. Perhaps the answer could be given by him after all. It was another madmares idea but perhaps one that would be working out like a little charm. Twilight turned her body back to the dragon and approached him even more.

The creature looked her straight in the eyes and noticed how the madness had been evolving in them. A gentle growl was being released by him as he didn’t like what he saw. “What, have you, planned?” he asked her just before the smoke left his nostrils in a powerful way.

And once again didn’t nopony of the company dare to intervene with the events. They all saw it as something that had to be done between Twilight and the dragon. They would only have gotten in between the pair of them when the actual hostilities would happen. But when the fight would break out, if it would break out, none knew.

Which was exactly the thing that kept them all on edge. The uncertainty of the unknown and future had the five mares right in its grasp and would only let go once it had decided to do so.

“My plan, Eternal One, is quite simple actually,” started Twilight when she charged her horn in a gentle manner. The raspberry aura was summoned while she began to draw right into the thin air. Motions were made by her hands and the symbols appeared in the air.

Charts were summoned and everypony present looked at them with a baffled expression. Had Twilight completely lost her mind for real? It wouldn’t have been something new, but to lose it right there and then, in front of a dragon that could devour them like that, that was new. Hopes were kept high on the fact that she knew what she was doing. Yet silently they all prepared for the worst.

"Speak your mind, for I’m not understanding anything you show me here,” the dragon replied. It was him who actually worded all of their thoughts at once. He rose his head up and gave the unicorn the fullest of attention. His tail moved over to the other side before one of the wings stretched itself. It seemed that he was ready to take off, but then just re-positioned himself better.

Twilight nodded to the dragon as she began her explanation. One that was said in a tone of an excited scientist who had discovered the reason of why they were there. “The plan is simple and actually revealed by you. You said that only those who carried their aura can restore Equestria. Their aura’s need to be the same. Their, aura’s.”

The soothsayer kept on hammering in that one little word yet nopony understood directly what she meant with it. She could had aimed it at the ceiling and it would probably had made a whole lot more sense.

“So what is yar plan?!” exclaimed Applejack who was touching in the dark. Everything was getting once again upon her nerves. She wanted to know what would be happening next before anything else would happen. A huff was released through her nostrils as she crossed her arms and set her steam powered leg firmly upon the diamond floor.

“My plan is, to uncover our aura’s and see, whether or not it is the same as theirs. If it is, we’re having the best shot at restoring our land. It’s simple! It’s dead simple, that’s why the goddesses showed me those images… You five!” Twilight replied. She had then pointed her finger to the rest of the other mares. She seemed to have found the answers while the rest remained lingering within the darkness.

“Oh that’s clever, that’s really, really, really clever,” said Twilight to herself. Connections that hadn’t been made before, had been made. Everything began to make sense to her. Every last little bit of their journey had then began to make sense to her. That was the whole reason why she had to travel with the five of them. Though the dragon, he didn’t understand a single thing of what she said.

Twilight turned back around to face him with a mad smile going across her face. “Which brings me to you. You must know something that can reveal the aura’s of anthronies, right? I mean, they wouldn’t have put you here if you didn’t know such a thing.”

“And who are you, to know my abilities?” the dragon hissed through his own teeth. The smile in combination with the words weren’t working out for him at all. The soothsayer realized that soon afterwards and made a polite bow before him as if she was saying that she was sorry.

A huff was released by the beast as he took the words she spoke into deep consideration. Perhaps, somewhere left in a dark corner of his mind he knew that one little thing. Perhaps, perhaps not.

“Does it really matter what and what I don’t know? I’m just going with the information here that has been given to me. I am only assuming that you are having such a power and figure things out from there on outward,” added Twilight. It had to act like some sort of an apologize to the dragon. The creature nodded to her once before the thoughts took him over.

“Yet the question remains, do you have such an ability and can you use it?” Twilight was starting to push the ancient creature from that point onward. She was that close to perhaps the most amazing discovery of the whole trip. So naturally she wouldn’t let anything stand in her way to get to it. Not even a so many thousand year old dragon.

The dragon on the other end rose his head up a little bit further. “It’s a longshot, but it is worth a try. If your words ring any truth, I am indeed placed here for a reason. Whatever that one might be. And I indeed may be knowing the ability that you are requesting. But beware, dragon magic works vastly differently than yours,” the creature said to each of them.

With the warning given off did Twilight release a gentle nod. Then she walked back to the rest of the company. They would leave the dragon in silence to let him prepare for the task that laid beforehand. The soothsayer prayed on her dear life that she had made the right decisions for the events to come.

If not, they were all unable to tell how it would have ended. Though the thoughts rushed through them and it gave them all a shudder. Only once Twilight stood back by the mare was it Fluttershy who dared to ask the question that was just one of many in their minds. “Are you sure this will work, Twilight?” she asked in a truly scared sounding tone.

The soothsayer looked back in the eyes of the doctor with a calm expression. “I’m positive that it will work, Fluttershy,” the soothsayer replied with a faint smile going across her lips. The doctor calmed down from the words. They had been a massive weight on her shoulders. She turned her attention back to the dragon while Twilight did the same.

“I hope,” the soothsayer then added in an inaudible whisper.

The dragon shifted from his position countless times before he finally had taken a regal posture. The plumes of smoke that left his nostrils could have been a clear indication that something was going to happen. All of the mares just held their breaths in as they were too afraid to make even a single sound.

“You desired me to do this, you shall be to blame if something goes wrong, am I clear to the six of you?” he spoke to them. His eyes glanced over each of them. The dead serious stare in them made all of the mares just nod. He couldn’t have spoken the words more clearly to them and they all knew it. No argument happened, no words of protest, no nothing.

The dragon gave a nod back to them all before he closed his eyes. The time to reveal what he could do had fallen upon him. The deep in- and exhales that came through his mouth managed to calm the beast down as all of his scales began to lighten up.

The wave of light that started at the tip of his nose, made its way all over his body. The effect that was revealed to them was just marvelous to say the least. The company couldn’t believe that they would see the magic of the dragons in action one day. It was a wish granted of which they had never asked.

Yet it was happening right before their very eyes. The magic that the dragons carried was released by that one dragon who called himself the Eternal One. The scene was just too beautiful to look at and all wanted a piece of the pie. Which resulted in the mares quietly lining up before him. The group of mares had changed their positions into one line and held their heads high as the arms were placed behind their backs.

Why they did that was unknown to them all, but even Pinkie Pie did it. Whether it was the influence of the dragon’s magic or just a nice gesture of utter respect to him, remained an unknown fact. Their eyes just kept focused upon the creature as they awaited the judgment that would come from him.

In the darkness behind his eyes there wasn’t anything that could be seen. The dragon was staring literally in the dark, whereas the scales had turned into a lighter color. The magic that surged through him was indeed a whole lot different then what coursed through either Twilight or Rarity. His magic was more powerful, more ancient and more violent in both release and discharge.

Thousands of years he hadn’t used it and only allowed it to store or released it as flames. Then he suddenly had to apply it on his vision because some being commanded him. Perhaps the task was deemed to be a little bit difficult by him but he wouldn’t let them be disappointed.

Words were leaving his mouth in the tongue that only the dragons themselves could have understood. The words spoke of deeds long gone by and times lost in the skies themselves. The scales lost even more of their color as the eyes began to smoke gently.

Twilight had started to fear that he had tapped into the dark magic because the similarities were there. That was until she had a closer look. The very smoke that left his eyes wasn’t thin or anything the like. No, the smoke that left his eyes had the same characteristics as the dragon’s smoke they came across earlier. Would it have been possible that the smoke wasn’t just huffed and puffed out as they had always thought, but were actually the tears that the dragons shed?

If that happened to be the case, they had been mining something gruesome instead of helpful. For the moment could Twilight only speculate on the matter as she still waited for him. Perhaps she wouldn’t even get an answer to the question that was surging through her mind.

The dragon shook his head a couple of times from side to side while the eyes continued to smoke. Hidden among the darkness was it revealed to him. Six shining lights were seen behind the closed eyelids. Eyelids that only kept themselves further shut as soon as the lights were seen. The head of the dragon moved in a little bit closer to inspect every last light in the line.

“No, but that can’t be true,” he whispered to himself in the language that they could all understand. Yet they didn’t understood the words that he said. The more the dragon looked into the lights of the anthronies, the more his memory began to come back. Days of the past were suddenly unlocked just like that.

“Impossible, yet, the facts,” the dragon said in utter disbelief. For the aura’s that those six mares carried was exactly the same as from those who he had lost so long ago. It took him a great effort to keep his tears under control, but he couldn’t help himself. For thousands of years had he been all by himself and then, they had returned to him. “The elements of harmony, aren’t dead, nor reactivated.”

The company had lost the dragon way of sense completely. His words just didn’t make any sense to them whatsoever. Elements of harmony? What was he talking about? Those kind of questions would have rushed through the mares while Twilight recalled the pages of the book. The book that had been right the whole time.

She tried to remember if it ever had spoken about these mythical ‘elements of harmony’. Yet before she had found anything, the dragon spoke his words again. Her attention was immediately grasped by him again. For any bit of information from that point on would have been something they could use.

“You six, you carry them inside of you. You carry the essence, traces of those who I had lost so long ago. F-Finally,” the dragon said when a watery tear rolled down his cheek. All of the feelings that rushed through him almost seemed to have gotten too much for him. Even a sniffle from his nose could be heard as the creature had become a seemingly emotional wreck.

Which they could understand from his angle. Though they didn’t really like it.

The dragon took a deep inhale as his eyes remained shut. The scales remained dulled out but the words, the words continued to once again travel in the air. “The six bearers of harmony from my time… Twilight Sparkle.” Suddenly did the soothsayer’s eyes went wide as she heard her name in the air.

“Applejack.” The admiral’s eyes went wide as she heard her name.

“Rainbow Dash.” The major’s eyes went wide as she heard her name.

“Fluttershy.” The doctor’s eyes went wide as she heard her name.

“Pinkie Pie.” The lamia’s eyes went wide as she heard her name.

“And finally, Rarity.” The pirate’s eyes went wide as she heard her name.

Never had they even spoken to the dragon before yet he seemed to be knowing the names of all of them. If there ever had been a moment to be creeped out during the whole of the journey, it would have been that time. Nopony understood it of just how he knew their names, but they didn’t found it their place yet to question the dragon.

Perhaps, the bearers of the elements happened to share their names and only their names. But that was impossible, for they also carried the aura’s of them. There was a lot of explaining to do by pretty much every single force in the universe. The mares? They couldn’t make anything to it.

“Yes, a fitting gift, for all of them,” the dragon said just before he wiped another tear away and nodded to himself. “Hold still, please.” It was the only thing that they could be doing by then. All of the mares stood their ground as they too closed their eyes. Whatever would happen next, they were ready for it.

With all of the revelations made to them, there was still room for one more just because it could. And they were all just ready to take it. In the mouth of the dragon could the light already be witnessed. The green fire that was crawling its way up from his throat.

Only to be released in a calm manner and towards the mares. They felt the heat of the fires as it would have molten the magical ice around their hearts. But the fire didn’t burn them. Instead it was just a warm and pleasant fire. But also a fire that gave them all powers beyond their wildest imaginations.