A Journey Beyond Sanity

by Darkwing Dust

Chapter 150: The Dragon Inquisition

Okay, this was not what I was expecting to start the afternoon!

Dodging arrows left, right and above, my body swerved and leaped in numerous directions to avoid the onslaught of weaponry, sharp pointy sticks projecting my way with malicious intent. It's a miracle my cape has yet to be shredded by the damn things. But once again, over a year of training was starting to save me from becoming a bulls eye target board for the ponies firing these arrows my way-

Jesus! That one almost hit my neck!

It was suppose to be a simple mission; investigate the surge of imbalance which Starswirl had detected around this area and look for any clues regarding Zagreus. A nearby local village happened to be in this vast area, and you know what welcomed the sight of me upon closing in on the town?

Mad, very mad ponies and waves of arrows.

Insignificant pests. Sombra growled irritably as I continued dancing out of the way of deadly pointy sticks. We are merely wasting time here with these cretins delaying our journey.

You're telling me! I leaned back from an arrow almost cutting the fur of my underbelly. Suggestions?

Deal with them.

We won't have to settle matters barbarically. Their attacks are about to cease.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!"

Starswirl's prediction was correct. A stern-looking pony poked his head up and raised a hoof while bellowing that command, the equines hiding behind piles of sandbags thankfully ceasing with the onslaught. My hoof caught the last arrow hurled and promptly snapped it in two, lowering my body back on all fours cautiously. Thank God, it's over... For now at least.

"Does that look like a dragon to you folks?" The same stallion continued, short cropped dark orange mane and bright silver body, firm teal eyes glaring at the flustered group of ponies in clear annoyance and disapproval. "You could've harmed an innocent stallion passing through!"

They almost did.

"You almost did too!"

See? He gets it.

Shaking his head as the crowd began to rise above the bags, the tall stallion, Earth Pony I just noticed, approached my posture with a wry smirk. "Mighty fine skills you pulled off just now." He sighed in regret. "Apologies about what just happened now. The town's been on edge ever since that dragon started attacking the town."

I blinked. A dragon? Around here? "Sorry but... A dragon? Here?"

A small grin. "You know it." Before the silver Earth Pony turned to the populace observing the exchange. "Alright ponies! Get back to the village and learn from your mistakes!" The reluctant crowd grumbled vocally and proceeded to do as ordered. Looking back to me, my new friend continued. "Name's Silver Strike. Yours?"

Commanding, to the point, and takes no nonsense. My kind of guy.

I smirked. "Stardust Balance."

"Pleasure's all mine." Silver replied sincerely before resuming his gaze to the side, far off. "Again, sorry about what just occurred right now. We're all under a lot of stress of late."

"By the dragon." I stated the obvious, which he nodded towards. Hmm, would it be too obvious to conclude a connection between Zagreus and this invading dragon? Since I have little leads to go on, I decided to take a shot in the dark. "Would you mind telling me more? When did this start happening?"

Silver regarded me openly, as though searching me, before he nodded once again and motioned to the nearby village. "Tell you what, why don't I show you around our humble little town, to make up for attacking you. My treat. Then, I'll tell you everything you want to know."

---

Wow, what a... Decent looking town.

Hm, nothing worth glancing over. Sombra commented as I idly gazed around the average houses and shops we walked by. The sooner we conclude our business here, the better. I'd rather we waste no further time by entertaining our host.

"I know, it's not much." It's as if Silver had heard the silent communication, speaking to my right with a slight smile. "But it's home. In all honestly the only unique point of interest regarding this town is the harvested wood we take from Silence Forest."

Wood. How fas- Wait... 'Silence Forest?' Sombra sounded genuinely astonished. Home to the rare Silence Wood?

What...?

As though sensing my confusion, Silver explained with a note of pride. "It's home to the rare wood known as 'Silence Wood,' the same material we used as arrows which we fired at you earlier." Now he sounded more matter-of-fact than sheepish. "This wood is unique in that it can be planted and grown nowhere else, and contains special properties. For example, the ability to temporarily mute someone, hence the name."

Huh. "Sounds... Useful."

If you've listened to one of your Princess's lectures, you would know that this particular wood was utilized countless years ago as carved weaponry for defense. The wood was harvested and formed to arrows, spears and even the handles for swords with how difficult they are to break.

As a result, the forest was almost plucked of all its trees. Starswirl supplied. Too much wood was harvested and made the rare kind almost extinct. To counter this, the royals of the past ceased further harvesting and allowed the forest to regrow its trees, relying on crafting other forms of weaponry by other ingredients instead.

Silver proceeded to point to a nearby ditch, where several ponies were hard to work, carving wood with their tongues out in concentration. "It takes a long time to craft from the wood considering how hard the bark is in comparison to regular trees. But the ends results are worth the effort, I feel."

Huh... Hashtag the more you know...

"Do you always harvest the wood?"

"Not always. In fact this activity has only become recent of later since the dragon showed up."

I noted the dour mood suddenly shifting in his expression and words, glancing to him warily with a frown. "When was this?"

"About a month ago now." Silver admitted sourly, matching the look of a weary soldier. "Our town almost didn't make it if we weren't as skillful as our ancestors in crafting the Silence Wood into bows and arrows. For now we've managed to keep the overgrown lizard at bay, but for how long, we dread to imagine."

"Do you know why it started attacking your village?"

He shrugged. "Search me. The attacks were entirely unprovoked and without purpose. Maybe it's mad about something and decided to take out its anger on us."

Or maybe it's something else entirely...

"Regardless, we won't be defeated so easily. Our ancestors fought in battle before, we can do so again." The rest of the populace didn't seem to share that enthusiasm, judging by the mass emotions on anxiety, worry and wariness emanating all around the town. "No beast is going to scare us from our home."

"I admire the optimism." I said with a wry smirk. Still, imbalance could be playing a role here. An unprovoked adult dragon suddenly intending harm on an innocent village? I mean, I know dragons don't naturally get along well with ponies, but nowadays I believed the full grown ones simply stick to their own territory and don't strike without reason. So either these ponies committed some grave crime...

Or Zagreus has influenced yet another defenseless sentient being.

No time to waste then. "Do you know where the dragon's current resting place is?"

Silver looked to me curiously, brow furrowing. "In the heart of the Silence Forest itself. Thankfully it has yet to try burning it all down, but we had to harvest the wood very carefully without drawing its attention. Why do you ask?"

I nodded. "Then it's time I had words with this dragon." I proceeded to add by his protestant look. "I'm friends with the Dragon Lord herself. I'm certain this dragon will listen to me and we can reach an agreement. Trust me, everything will be resolved before the day is done, Silver."

He cocked a brow, once again searching my eyes. Then, a small nod. "I suppose I won't have to worry then." A knowing grin. "You're a fighter, I can tell by your eyes. You want some backup along the way or...?"

"Nah." I shook my head with a smirk. "Thanks anyway. But if whatever is causing this dragon to attack you all is what I think it is... Well, I can't delay any further. Which way is the forest?"

---

Stardust Balance and King Sombra walkin' through the forest. Bickerin' back and forth at what the other'ne has to say. Reminiscin', this-'n'-thattin' havin' such a swell time.

Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly, what a day!

Can't you think of a less tedious song to play in your mind...?

I'll think about it.

Trekking through, I noticed, while passing by the trees while carefully preventing any touch to the bark, how deep brown the leaves above were. Like, pure colour, not a trace of greenness anyway, as I followed the surge of imbalance directly ahead, where the dragon should be lying in wait.

Do these leaves possess magical properties too?

Indeed. Starswirl was all too happy to educate the ignorant. The leaves themselves are often plucked from the branches and crunched into an ingredient for special medicine, the same medicine which has the capability to restore muteness itself, either from the bark of the trees or otherwise. Although lacking verbal communication from physical interaction with the wood is temporary, the leaves can quickly reduce the time for that. Hence why so many ponies crafting the weapons earlier had those piles besides them.

Leaves that can cure being mute... Huh. Honestly that sounds far more useful than wood making someone mute for a brief time. Can it do anything else, like cure blindness or being deaf?

Regrettably not. There's only so much magic can restore, Jack.

That's too bad. Ah well, then why aren't these leaves delivered to hospitals and clinics around Equestria? They would be super useful in this case.

This time, Sombra answered. It is the atmosphere here. A long time away from the forest which birthed them and the leaves deteriorate.

...Then why don't the ponies here make the medicine beforehand and have them delivered instead?

A village lost to time, Jack. Clearly as centuries passed the magical abilities of this forest has been long forgotten once the royals of old prohibited their usage for warfare any longer.

...Well, at the very least, in case anyone's suffering from losing their voice, I know exactly where to go to for a cure-

"Alright, you've had your fun spying on me." I glared towards the dark silhouette within the bushes, vaguely wondering if the bushes have magical properties as well. My words were more of a demand than a request. "Show yourself now so I can determine whether to greet you or send you flying away."

A wry grin on the shadowed features. "Heh, never a dull moment with you, huh Stardust?" My posture froze. I know that voice. The pegasus revealed herself from the shadows and greeted me with a cocky expression, adorning that same adventurous outfit and jungle hat, pink eyes glinting in mirth.

"Daring!" I grinned widely. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes!"

"Hello to you too." The adventurous mare continued matching my look. "Didn't expect to see you all the way out here. Did you see the cover of my last book?"

"I did." I smirked, nodding humouredly. "Thanks again for including me in it, and with a fierce expression to boot. The artist knew what he or she was doing."

"I'll tell my friend you said that." Daring winked. "How's Rainbow Dash doing? Haven't caught up with her since we worked together alongside that fan... Quibble I think his name was."

"She's fine. The same as always." What were the chances I'd encounter Daring Do of all places, once again, in an unexpected place? Pretty high, considering her thrill to seek out far-off lands. "It's great seeing you again Daring."

"Same here." She nodded, looking over to the side. "I'm guessing you're here for the treasure too?"

"...No?" I blinked curiously, shaking my head. "Not for any treasure. There's a situation going on in the nearby settlement, and I'm here to dispute by confronting the danger."

"All by yourself?"

"You know me."

"Heh." She grinned knowingly. "Well, I've been hearing about some rare treasure being hidden in a dark cavern within the center of the Silence Forest. Of course, being me, I'm going to investigate those claims for myself. Apparently it's this treasure which grew the forest and all its magical properties to begin with." An extended offered beige hoof. "Since we seem to be heading to the same place, what do ya say we join forces once again? Two heads are better than one, as Rainbow Dash herself taught me."

...Meh. Why not? The backup would be welcomed if we're dealing with a titanic beast of fire and destruction should anything go awry. And who knows, this whole situation might also be connected with the imbalance also.

"I'd be glad to." A golden hoof met hers, sealing the deal. Smirking in satisfaction, Daring's expression when switched back to full-on serious adventurer and motioned forward, proceeding to guide down where this supposed cavern was.

Stardust Balance and Daring Do walkin' through the forest. Plannin' back and forth at what the other'ne has to say. Reminiscin', this-'n'-thattin' havin' such a swell time.

Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly, what a day!

Ay...

"So." The pegasus with pink eyes and dark grey mane started. "What exactly's going on in the nearby settlement?"

---

Well the trek didn't last long. Honestly with Daring I was expecting numerous traps or ambushes by several of our enemies. Instead, the walk through the forest was rather serene, despite the implied dangers deeper within the woods, as I briefed the pegasus whom didn't seem entirely fazed by the fact that's a rampaging dragon waiting for us. Knowing her I really shouldn't be surprised.

Our arrival towards the mouth of the cavern, mist pouring from bottom edges of the cave within was short. Sensing our opposition within, Daring and I exchanged knowing glances, myself raising a hoof as a signal for patience.

Sombra, you know what to do.

The King grunted, and luckily Daring was so fixated on the opened maw of the rocky structure to notice my shadow take on a different shape and enter into the darkness, scouting ahead. We wouldn't have to wait too long, I hope.

"We'll need a plan before we venture any further." The explorer stated, pink eyes examining the cavern critically as she spoke.

I nodded, already having laid out the details with Starswirl and Sombra. "I'm thinking while I converse with the dragon, you sneak by to grab whatever treasure you're supposedly looking for." And convince the lizard to stop attacking the nearby town in the process.

"And after I nab it, we'll make a distraction and escape when our big friend doesn't notice." Daring concluded with a satisfied smirk, looking positively confident. "Should be a piece of cake, all things considered. Think you got enough charisma to keep the huge lizard focused enough?"

"Charisma's my middle name." Daring snorted as I grinned jokingly. "Think you're brave enough to get past a full grown dragon, Daring?"

"Eh, I've faced worse." She shrugged casually. "Just try not to be terrified yourself, so much so into becoming its next lunch."

"Your vote of confidence is always welcoming, my dear."

If the pair of you are done.

Ah! Sombra! That was quick!

I imagined the King nodding forward towards the mouth of the large opening. The beast waits within. And I must caution you, it is fully awake and radiates rage.

Awake and grouchy. Got it.

"Let's go." Daring conveniently commanded, taking point as we advanced into the belly of the beast, darkness greeting our field of vision for a long while. Luckily, my pegasus guide had enough experience in exploration and venturing through dark spaces to make certain we don't hit any walls or trip over any rocks the further we ventured inside.

And the closer we walked, the stronger the imbalance became, my senses both enhancing and becoming overwhelmed by the power it emanated. A part of me hoped and dread that this time, this time, that abomination was somehow near. This game of cat and mouse between us has gone on for far too long now. I've allowed this... This mistake to continue wandering free and spread imbalance across Equestria long enough. The finale was so close, way too close for comfort, and it's bad enough already what fate befalls my friends then. But with Zagreus involved, things could get potentially worse with whatever hold that madman possessed over the Queen of Changelings.

...Starswirl... Are you sure I can't interfere if there's no imbalance then?

I understand your grievance. My teacher responded solemnly. Balance must be kept at all times, until we've apprehended Zagreus. Before that time, if we're unlucky as to make no progress over today, it is imperative we do not intervene with young Miss Glimmer's battle with her friends against Queen Chrysalis. All is as must be.

Yeah, I was afraid of that... Suppose I just have to put faith in Starlight's abilities and hope any influence I have doesn't hinder her.

I doubt that would be the case, old friend. This time, Starswirl expressed more certainty and confidence in his aged warm tone. You have become a positive source of encouragement and hope to your friends more recently than ever. Miss Glimmer, Discord, Miss Trixie and young Thorax shall triumph no matter what. I am sure of it.

...Alright, I'll take your word for that, teacher. With a tiny hopeful smile, clouded by the dark, I continued following Daring's keen sense of direction with some reinforced resolve, all thanks to the words of one whom was my mentor and Twilight's hero.

Finally, after a God knows how long trek deeper into the dampening cave, light poured from a large area, ourselves exiting the corridor to be greeted by a massive arena-like interior with the light source gleaming by shiny pointed crystals sticking out from the ceiling like an expensive chandelier. Suddenly I was having flashbacks to Sombra's secluded palace I had recently visited.

But the most noteworthy thing was the massive lizard centered in the middle of the arena. From where Daring and I stood atop what could be considered the spectator's area, the giant red dragon glared upwards at us with baleful orange eyes. Red hardened skin, yellow underbelly and pink scales, the overgrown beast kept its narrowed eyes focused on us. Well, more specifically on me, as if recognizing me. From its emotions I detected fury, distrust and recognition.

Funny thing was, this dragon also felt familiar to me...

"So much for the element of surprise." Daring commented in vague disappointment, a trace of apprehension in her tone.

I spoke while removing both my hat and cape, feeling this was going to be some battle. "Find the treasure, I'll our friend busy." And without awaiting a response, promptly leaped from the edge down onto the arena below, pushing myself off the wall to land with some grace, three hoofs slamming into the ground with one reared back in preparation.

The dragon watched, unimpressed. It loomed above, its shadows threatening to overtake me. I've had enough shadows doing exactly that, literally, for a lifetime thank you.

"You know who I am." The lizard made no response, and that was right before I finally noted the wooden... Necklace? A large unfit item hung around his neck, prompting my frown to deepen before I tried something. "Can you speak?" No reply. "Can you roar? Can your growl?" Again, not a single answer. The dragon simply regarded me with glaring orange orbs, and I shrugged helplessly before continuing with authority. "I am the Stalwart of the Dragons, friend of your kind. We can settle this without dispute, or fight to one of us is broken and beaten if you want. Either way, your unprovoked attacks on the village ends tonight."

This time, the dragon's expression shifted, opening its large mouth as if to roar... Yet no sound came out, to its evidently chagrin after glaring at its own muzzle. Knew it! The dragon was being muted by the wood around its neck.

But another voice spoke for him.

"There he is pal!" A familiar cocky, unwelcome and youthful voice of arrogance and contempt rang through the arena, atop the spectator stands. "That pony's in league with the town for taking your treasures!"

Oh I should've known...

"Garble." The smaller red lizard and his teenage cronies observed from above, arms folded in smug triumph while the other dragons watched with gleeful hatred in my direction. My muzzle twitched irritably. "Let me guess, still salty for Ember kicking you out of the clan?"

His eye twitched in turn, pointing to me balefully. "No thanks to you, pony!" Before addressing the massive reptile with a confident smile. "That pony has wronged us for making our new Dragon Lord soft and unfit for ruling, and has helped that town steal away all your treasures. Now it's time for some payback, don't you agree?" The adult dragon, in turn, leered down towards me sinisterly, posture shifting in preparation to attack.

...So that's what this was about. Garble made this dragon believe that a town of innocent equines have somehow taken all his treasure beneath his notice. Welp, that's gonna be a slight issue then, especially when this dragon clearly has some beef with me already. Guessing one of the supporters against the idea of there being a pony friend among dragon kind.

We can speculate on these matters afterwards. For now, let's concentrate on stalling this beast long enough to remove that necklace from it and for your explorer friend to find what she seeks.

Nodding, I adopted a classical human fighting stance, ready to keep this beast and his shorter friends distracted. As if taking that in challenge, the red behemoth wasted no time, rearing upwards before striking with both claws. The ground impacted with vibrations, large claws digging into the spot I had previously stood on if not for rolling away. Snapping its head in my direction, the beast made another attempt, this time with its tail. Balance was with me upon leaping over the offensive appendage, but the dragon was ready, striking again with the curled tail to my side.

Again, thanks to everything Starswirl has taught me thus far, and with assistance to my training by my wonderful friends, my raised hoof met the tail defensively, keeping me locked on the spot with grit teeth, pushing the tail back with my other hoof. The dragon retaliated with a swiping claw, prompting me to leap backwards against a wall, followed with kicking myself off said rocky wall as the dragon inadvertently stuck its claws into the structure, giving the grant opportunity to finally answer back with an attack of my own.

The shock of the assault freed the claws and sent the massive body of the beast skidding backwards across the large arena, the blow to the stomach stunning the lizard briefly. The crowd scorned and cheered from above, the latter addressed moreso to their fellow kind. Baring its teeth, the red reptile adopted a different strategy than straight-up assault this time, beginning to circle the arena and inciting me to mimic the motion, not keeping our focused narrowed eyes off one another.

Then we surged forwards, open claws impacting into hoofs, raw muscles against enhanced strength with clenched teeth and tightened posture as the show for dominance commended. Pretty certain my eyes were solid gold at this point, Balance keeping me from being crushed by the should-be overwhelming forced pushing against my hoofs. The dragon seemed positively enraged that a mere Earth Pony was holding him back, as was the crowd, booing from their seats by the lack of defeat on my part.

And then, a brown blur flew by, promptly snatching the necklace off the reptile's neck ans causing the dragon to stumble back in surprise, the off-guard gesture allowing me to push him back a few steps away, giving me time to look to the left for the mare who aided me just now. Daring Do, catching the item by the string so the Silence Wood couldn't affect her, threw it to the ground and raised up a... Golden crown?

Even my opponent froze by the sight, looking in surprised disbelief by the object that was obviously familar to him. Daring grinned confidently, ignoring the outrage by the crowd above. "Look what I found, hidden behind a wall deeper in the cave with loads of other treasures." And with well-placed aim the mare threw the glinting item to the ground between myself and the stunned dragon, the explorer continuing. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm not sure a fully grown dragon could hide all that gold in a tight space, even with his own claws. No offence big guy."

The massive red dragon carefully inspected his evident missing treasure, before orange eyes loomed upwards towards the outraged and fearful crowd, his mind obviously connecting the dots.

It appears our giant friend has realized he has been duped by dimwitted teenagers. Sombra mused with faint humour, and I grinned wryly.

"She's lying!" Garble was quick to deny, pointing hatefully and with desperation towards the pegasus who ratted him and his cronies out. "She's with him! They stole your treasure big guy!"

Daring, unfazed, smiled crookedly and nodded to a pathway above. "Why don't you check for yourself friend? You'll find an entire room of gold and treasures I'm sure without a doubt belongs to you."

Now the massive reptile was radiating fury and incredulity, orange eyes snapping balefully towards the sweating other lizards above, beginning to rise up from the arena and tower over them. Let's add some fuel to the fire, shall we?

"Deceived by your own kind." I shook my head with a wry smile. "It's no wonder why they were banished by the Dragon Lord to begin with. It appears you've been attacking innocent victims all for nothing..." My tone lowered with dark suggestiveness. "Although, nothing's preventing you from fixing that mistake."

My large friend seemed to agree, now smirking viciously and probably growling if he could, still recovering from having that special wood around his neck. Probably tricked into wearing it by these nervous clowns above so he couldn't spill anything during his fury that would give away any clues to Garble's involvement.

Said teenage dragon growled himself, extending his wings with a furious expression. "Fine! We hid the treasures ourselves! So what? The point is, whether you won or lost hereStalwart,it doesn't matter. We kept to our part of the plan."

Plan-?

"Let's get out of here!" And before I could yell for any of them to stop, or the bigger dragon could tear off their wings by his mighty teeth, the crowd of exiled reptiles flew with such speed out towards the exit, leaving our disgruntled selves to follow.

...[BEEP].

"Well on the bright side." Daring commented a second afterwards. "At least now it's a win-win for everyone." The dragon shared that sentiment, regarding one of his many gold possessions with a satisfied grin, prompting the mare's own. "C'mon big guy, I'll show you where the rest of your treasure's hidden."

---

Now I knew why this dragon was so familiar to me!

It was the same reptilian that once clouded the Ponyville skies with smoke! The one I fought and Fluttershy had told off! Jesus Christ that felt like a decade ago. It probably was with how unclear time works in this world.

"My attacks against your settlement will cease." Was his way of an apology towards the silver Earth Pony. The large dragon loomed above us before the entrance to the forest, conversing with Silver, Daring and I. "Rest assured with this misunderstanding cleared, I hope we will never express hostilities towards one another again."

"Think nothing of it." The representative for the town replied with a crooked grin. "Since nopony was actually seriously injured by your attacks, we can allow bygones to be bygones. We're glad you finally have your treasure back."

With a short nod, the dragon then regarded the tanned-coloured pegasus, letting his gratitude be expressed through his eyes. Daring grinned back with dismissive confidence, and orange gaze switched then to me expectantly, narrowing slightly but with the shadow of a smile.

"I expect next time for our long-awaited battle to conclude without interruption, Stalwart."

I smirked, nodding back in acceptance. "I look forward to it."

With everything dealt with, the dragon extended its mighty wings and, with a gust strong enough flap my cape back and our fur back, the beat rose into the air, retreating back to the depths of its forest, its temporary home until a new nest presents. Although, judging by that sick arena, it'll be staying there for a pretty long time.

So I guess that was one old wound cleared up... Maybe. Reminds me, I need to thank Fluttershy for saving mine and everyone's arses back then if I haven't already. I'm just glad this time I wasn't knocked unconscious by the sheer force of that beast today.

Hm. You've advanced far greater than back then. During that incident you were but a child playing with magic beyond your capabilities. But now... Well, as your mentor states repetitively, you have come a long way, Jack.

Praise from you, Sombra. Now there's a novelty, thanks.

"Well, I better go inform the village over the good news." Silver turned to us with a widened grin, pride shining in his teal orbs. "You two are welcome to join the upcoming celebration if you'd like. I'm sure the town would appreciate its two heroes today saving them all from the misguided wrath of a dragon."

"Heh. Sure why not?" Daring replied with mild enthusiasm.

"I'll think about it." I shrugged honestly, which Silver took with a grain of salt, nodding once again in thanks before leaving us to converse. I looked to the explorer with an amused grin. "Couldn't have succeeded today without you, Daring. Honestly you're the real hero for finding the treasure."

She scoffed in good nature. "Maybe, but I think they'll be more interested in the fact that a pony took on a giant dragon and fought as though they were equals." A wry chuckle. "That'll be something to write about back home."

My hazel eyes glinted. "Oh? So today will be published in another future edition."

"Why not?" She smirked, twirling the crown she recovered earlier in her hoof, a thank you gift by the dragon who typically wasn't all too willing to share its possessions. Guess today was full of surprises. "It's not like the typical explorations I venture through. All I need is a title for this next book."

My mind pondered briefly. "'Daring Do and the Misunderstood Dragon?'"

"Nah, too dull."

"'And the Wrath of the Misguided.'"

"Hmm a little vague..."

"'And the Cavern of Vengeance.'"

"Doesn't sound like a title the readers are normally use to seeing."

...Got it. "'Daring Do and the Dragon Inquisition.'"

"Now that's just... Perfect!" Daring perked upwards in glee, pink eyes glinting my way in amused gratitude. "Wanna be credited for the name, Stardust?"

"Nah, just putting me on the cover would be enough." We chuckled together, before Daring nodded merrily and began to hover upwards by her wings. "Meet you back in town?"

"Sure thing. I gotta hide this baby somewhere safe in the meantime. See you at the celebration." With that, the pegasus explorer flew to the skies with grace and elegance, triumph and happiness coming from her heart for a job well done today. I watched her departure with a content smile, satisfied myself.

You're not going to stay for the festivities.

Probably not... Really I'm a little tired and just want to go home more than anything.

Starswirl sounded fondly amused. A fair sensation. Today you have done well, regardless of what you believe you've contributed. We have dealt with the imbalanced hole deeper into the dragon's lair after learning something incredibly vital by one of Zagreus's hapless minions.

Yeah... Garble mentioned something about a plan, and from the sounds of it, there's an implication my being here was the first phase... Or something else? I'm not sure. Obviously Zagreus lured me all the way through you, Starswirl, but what purpose would he bring me all the way to a secluded town and forest?

Perhaps... Sombra mused, with a trace of apprehension to his normally composed regal voice. A means of keeping you far away from whatever he intends elsewhere.

But where would that-?

Argh! The [BEEP]-?!

My body almost keeled over by the massive surge in Balance, prompting me to shudder violently from the impact and forcing my own hooves to keep me steady. What in blazes was that?! It felt like a gigantic wave of energy just smacked into the force of balanced magic from a distance away.

Starswirl, what's going on?!

Imbalance. He replied gravely.

No [BEEP]! Sombra snapped, suddenly more anxious and irritated than ever. Give us the location old fool!

It almost sounded, to my dreaded ears, that my own teacher's voice was trembling from the implications behind the surge. The very place where we foolishly left without a thorough investigation. The most viable clue presented to us a short while back.

...Oh no.

Jack, we must hurry at once!

My composed legs were already on the move, the insinuation that my friends and niece was in perilous danger made me move faster than I ever felt before, never more thankful for enhanced super speed. Bile was threatening to emerge from my throat, teeth bared in agitated concentration.

No, not this time!

I'm coming Shining, Cadence, Flurry. Everyone!

Comments

[dj-pon3fan]

The big fight is coming, isn't it? The season finaly.

[everydaygamer]

8891655
I criticize because I like the story and want to see it improve, blindly praising it helps no one. But if you are gonna threaten to delete my comments and just want me to stop reading then who am I to deny you.

media3.giphy.com/media/3o6ZtjLXosp98Q6RXi/giphy.gif

[MagicLover2128]

Ohh, shits gonna go down next chapter.

Can’t wait 😆

[OblivionShadow]

I found a few typos but that's it. Otherwise as witty and fun so read as usual. Keep it up!

[Slendy]

Well I do hope someone picks up that phone, cause I [BEEP] called it! He was biding his time and waited for the season finale to lure Stardust away!