The Legend of Spike: Dragon Quest

by DiabloGuapo

Fillydelphia

In his chambers in Rhone, Narcissus looked into a mirror. His royal blue mane had been trimmed and his white coat groomed, making him look like the prince he had once been again. Standing beside him, proudly observing her handiwork, was Honeysuckle. Narcissus had been a mess when he arrived, but she knew that she had to have him ready for that night.

“I must say, you did an excellent job,” Narcissus complimented as he turned his head side to side, checking himself from all angles.

“Thank you, my prince. I did my best,” she said, smiling at the compliment.

“I would hope so,” a voice came from behind them, the two Unicorns turning to see Hargon and Nightingale standing in the doorway. “After all, he needs to look his best for tonight.”

“Lord Hargon,” Honeysuckle greeted with a bow.

“What’s so special about tonight?” Narcissus asked the blue Unicorn.

“Why, the ceremony, of course. It’s your big night, the both of you,” Hargon reminded him.

“Our big night? Oh, that’s right. The wedding,” Narcissus said, turning to give Honeysuckle a cheeky grin. Blushing, Honeysuckle giggled and hid behind her golden mane. “Ah, the bride is already blushing.”

“Will you please excuse Sister Honeysuckle? Obviously, she needs to get ready herself,” Hargon explained, nodding to the beige mare beside him. “Sister Nightingale.”

“Come with me, child. Let’s get you ready.” The two mares left the room, leaving Narcissus with Hargon.

“So how is this going to work? You’re going to say a few words, I kiss the bride, and that’ll be it?” Narcissus asked.

“There’s a little more to it than that,” Hargon told with a smirk. “Don’t worry, though. You just have to stand there and let us do everything else.”

Looking around the room, Narcissus asked, “Is there a suit or a tux for me to wear, or do I have to wear one of those white robes your followers wear? I didn’t see anything for me to wear in here.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. You can come as you are.”

“Are you sure? I mean, if this is a wedding, then I want to look my best. I always need to look my best. I am a prince after all, and these ponies need to know how important I am,” Narcissus snobbishly told Hargon, his vanity returning now that he was free from Celestia’s dungeon.

“Oh, they certainly know how important you are,” Hargon chuckled, amused by his boundless pride. “We’re all looking forward to ceremony and what it means for the Order.”

“You mean the beginning of a new royal family,” Narcissus assumed. “I am certainly looking forward to helping your order with that. That Honeysuckle is quite the pretty little thing. I’ve had a number of lovers back in Canterlot. Noblemares, celebrities, and even the Queen of the Changelings, but she is easily one of the most beautiful ones. She’ll look nice at my side, holding onto my fore leg. The perfect bride for the perfect prince.”

“The hour is approaching. I have to see to it that everything is in order,” Hargon said before heading towards the door. “This night will be remembered always. It marks the beginning of the new world.”

“I’m sure that I’ll remember it for the rest of my life,” Narcissus remarking, a pleased smile on his face as he imagined the night he was about to have with Honeysuckle.

“Oh, I can guarantee that.” Chuckling to himself, Hargon left Narcissus to his fantasizing.

*****

Thunderbolt sat upon a bale of straw with shackles clasped above the hooves of his front legs. Sitting beside him was Mina, she too in chains. After they had been arrested the previous night, they and the inhabitants of Dragon Town were taken to the docks at Fillydelphia Harbor. A warehouse had been converted into a makeshift prison with chain link fencing dividing it into cells. With the entire dragon population of Fillydelphia corralled into one warehouse, the cells were crowded.

Hearing the jangle of keys and a gate opening, Thunderbolt and Mina looked up from the warehouse floor to see their cell being opened and Amethyst being escorted in by two police ponies. With a forceful shove, the cops pushed Amethyst into the cell and locked the gate behind them.

“Are you okay?” Thunderbolt comfortingly asked as Amethyst took a seat beside him on the bale. “What happened? What did they do to you?”

“Mayor Skinflint and his goons tried to get me to confess that my father is in league with the Dragon King,” she explained. “They kept making threats, saying that they’ll get the truth out of us one way or another.”

Amethyst then sighed wearily, strangely relieved to finally be back in the cell. After spending hours in an interrogation room being questioned mercilessly by ponies, she just wanted to sit down and not be yelled at. With her shackled claws, she rubbed her temples in attempt to relieve the pounding headache she had developed. She then looked Thunderbolt and noticed that his Wonderbolts flight suit had been taken from him. He was also sporting bruises on the side of his face.

“What happened?” Amethyst asked, pointing to his black eye. “Did they do this to you?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. When they were interrogating me, I told them where they could stick their questions. They took exception to that,” he said with a cocky grin on his face, rubbing the sore spot on his face.

“They hit you?!” Amethyst gasped, mortified.

“That’s assault!” Mina protested. She then ran to the chain link fence and yelled to the cops standing guard outside of the warehouse. “You hear me?! That’s assault!”

“Quiet in there!” an angry shout came from outside.

Ignoring Mina’s outburst, Amethyst asked Thunderbolt, “What happened to your uniform?”

“They said that traitors don’t deserve to wear it and confiscated it,” he huffed.

Amethyst then looked from her friends to the dragons in the other cells. All she could see were their depressed faces as families huddle together, trying to comfort each other. Hatchlings cried as their mothers held them in their arms. Some of the male dragons were nursing bruises they received last night from trying to protect their families as they resisted arrest.

The thought of escape had crossed her mind, as she assumed it crossed the minds of everyone else. Amethyst had powerful magic and draconic abilities; she could easily break the chains on her and everyone else. However, an escape attempt would certainly put the noncombatant dragons in harm’s way. Even if the more able-bodied prisoners managed to escaped, the injured and those with children wouldn’t be able to get away, leaving them to suffer the wrath of the prejudice mayor. A fight would also prove Skinflint right and irrevocably damage the peace between the ponies and the civilized dragons. All they could do is wait. Princess Celestia would hear of this injustice and would come to their aid soon enough. The only problem was that due to Mayor Skinflint declaring a state of emergency, he suspended their rights, preventing them from contacting anyone on the outside.

Amethyst then thought of her own mother. According to Thunderbolt, she was now the prisoner of the Dragon King. If she was being treated so poorly by ponies, she dreaded to think of the horrors her mother was being subjected to at the claws of the dragons. She wondered where was her father. Did he know that she was locked away in a cell in a cruddy warehouse?

“Lights out!” a voice called from outside. With a few loud clicks, the overhead lights of the warehouse shut off, leaving only the emergency lights on. The sudden darkness frightened the baby dragons, causing them to cry louder. With nothing else they could do, the inmates decided to settle in for the night.

“Here, you two take the bale. There isn’t enough more for all of us. I’ll sleep on the floor,” Thunderbolt told Amethyst and Mina as he slid off of the bale of straw, leaning against it as the two curled up on top of it. Amethyst yawned, realizing how exhausted she was from the stress of the past two days.

Outside the warehouse, four members of the Fillydelphia Police Department stood guard by the door. Incredibly bored, the four ponies looked out over the docks at the city’s night skyline. A noise broke the silence, alerting the four. It was the sound of wood hitting wood. In the shadows, two horned figures approached the warehouse. The larger of the two was carrying a staff shaped like a dragon. The other figure stepped into the light, revealing a bipedal red dragon with a gray underbelly and wings and purple spines running down his back. His arms were crossed and was of a muscular build. Seeing the dragons, the police brandished their batons.

“Freeze!” a cop yelled as they rushed the dragon, assuming that they were more dragons from Dragon Town. “All dragons are to be under lock-down by order of- hurk!”

The pony’s words were cut off when a red hand gripped his throat and lifted him off of the dock. With a toss, the pony went sailing through the air screaming and landed in the bay with a splash. When another cop raised his baton to strike the red dragon, it snapped like a twig upon impact. The pony looked at the broken baton and then up to dragon’s irritated face sheepishly. A red fist to the face sent the pony flying to the water like the previous pony.

The remaining two ponies faltered when they saw what a dragon fighting back could do. With their partners swimming back to the shore, they started to rethink their strategy. When a purple burst of flame set the docks in front of them ablaze, they decided to retreat.

“Sound the alarm! We need reinforcements!” the cops yelled as they ran to the nearby outpost the police had established in the harbor. Already the noise of police whistles, alarm bells, and raised voices could be heard as the police rallied. Ready to chase after the escaping ponies, the red dragon cracked his knuckles in anticipation for a fight.

“Ignore them for now, Scorn. Their punishment shall come soon enough,” the larger dragon called to him as he walked to towards the warehouse. The red dragon snorted purple flames in the cops’ direction, but followed the other dragon to the warehouse.

Inside, Amethyst was about to nod off to sleep when she was alerted to the sounds of fighting coming from outside. Amethyst rose from the bale when the door to the warehouse opened and two bipedal dragons she didn’t recognize entered. The imprisoned dragons got up from their respective places and went to the fences to get a better look at the newcomers. One was a red dragon and the other a purple dragon wearing a violet robe with a medallion around his neck, a black helmet over his horns, and carrying a dragon-shaped staff that had bloodstones for eyes. He was regal yet terrifying. Though Amethyst and Thunderbolt looked on in confusion, Mina and the rest of the dragons from Fillydelphia gasped once they recognized who it was.

“Who is that?” Amethyst whispered to Mina.

“The Dragon King,” Mina answered in a hushed tone, both in awe and fear. Learning the identity of the robed dragon, Amethyst stared at him. Thunderbolt had told her that he was enormous, but the dragon she saw wasn’t too much larger than any of the dragons present in the warehouse. She figured he must be able to change his size. This also meant that he was more powerful that his current size would have her believe. Despite the terrifying knowledge of his power, Amethyst felt anger welling up inside her; this was the dragon holding her mother captive.

The Dragon King’s red eyes scanned the warehouse, looking at the faces of his fellow dragons behind the fencing. His gaze then fell upon the shackles upon their wrists, his lips curling back into a snarl of disdain. “What do we have here, Scorn?”

“It would appear the sorcerer spoke the truth, master,” the red dragon answered. The Dragon King walked to one of the cells, inspecting the chain link fencing. With a claw, he plucked at a link, easily snapping it with a twang. Seeing the pitiful excuse of a prison, Ryuo let an unimpressed grunt.

“Who among you calls herself ‘Princess’ Amethyst?” The Dragon King asked, his red eyes searching the cells. Amethyst could see a number of the dragons shift their eyes nervously towards her. She shrank behind her friends, hoping that the Dragon King wouldn’t notice as he walked down the central aisle of the warehouse. Receiving no reply irritated the Dragon King, for he was accustomed to his subjects answering immediately.

“Defiant to the end I see. Is that it?” he asked coldly. “For nearly a century, you have lived in rebellion against me. More than that, you have all denied your true selves. You have forgotten what it means to be a wyrm.”

“We wanted to be something better. We wanted to be civilized, not to be rule our greed,” a green dragon explained.

“Civilized,” Ryuo spat. “You call it being civilized, I call it enslavement.”

“We’re not enslaved. We live in peace with the ponies under the protection of the Princesses,” another dragon spoke up. This roused the dragons’ spirits, causing them to mutter in agreement.

“Then why are you in chains?” Ryuo questioned as he waved a claw about, gesturing to the shackles around their wrists. The dragons looked down at their restraints, the small amount of spirit they still had crushed. “Celestia is a thief and a liar who concealed the truth concerning the death of a dragoness and stole her last egg.”

Hearing this, all the of the prisoners, including Amethyst, Mina, and Thunderbolt, gasped and began to murmur. However, the three could not believe that Princess Celestia was capable was such a thing. They were certain that the only liar here was the King of Dragons.

“The peace she offers you is a lie. All you have received is scorn from the ponies. I know of the injustices they have inflicted upon you. You live segregated from the rest of their society. You are accused of crimes you did not commit.” Ryuo paused to look upon a dragon covered in bruises. “They despise you, beat you, and herd you into cells. Do you really think they would ever accept you for what you are? They will always fear you. They will always hate you. It is in their nature; they are prey, and prey always fear predators. A mouse cannot live in harmony with a lion.”

His words caused the dragons to reflect upon the day of their arrest. They remembered the looks of fear and mistrust in the ponies eyes after the Dragon King’s forces had flown over Fillydelphia. It only took a few words, from other ponies no less, to destroy the trust and brotherhood the populace of the city shared as they worked to prepare for the festival. They were all too eager to lock the dragons away and interrogate them.

“You are not ponies. No matter how hard you try, you will never change what you are; you are dragons! We are not controlled by greed, we master it! It is passion! It is the drive that makes us powerful! We are the mightiest of all races! Lords of all we behold! In the legends of these lesser creatures, we are the symbols of strength! In the words of one of my ancestors, ‘My armour is like tenfold shields. My teeth are like swords. My claws spears. The shock my tails a thunderbolt. My wings a hurricane, and my breath death!’

“Look how far you all have fallen; Your fangs have dulled, your claws have shortened, and your fires have cooled. You calls us, your kin, ‘wild’ dragons, yet we have more freedom and self respect. Our power gives us our freedom. Each of us has more wealth than any of you could ever obtain by living and trading with them. No one dares threaten us. No one can threaten us. One dragon is enough to make an army of ponies flee like the cowards they are!”

The more he spoke, the more the captive dragons began to believe in his words. Amethyst could see it in their eyes. They now looked to him with hope. If she didn’t do something, they might abandoned their faith in harmony and shatter the peace that Princess Celestia worked so hard to obtain. If she exposed herself, she may find herself a captive of the Dragon King and as something else he could use against her father.

“This is the Fillydelphia Police Department! Come out with your claws up!” a voice called from outside over a megaphone. Everyone inside the makeshift prison looked to the door and then to the Dragon King, waiting to see how he would respond. Amethyst feared the worst. In her mind, she could already see the city burning to the ground, the burnt bodies of ponies scattered upon the streets.

“I see our time is short,” Ryuo announced. “I have not come to liberate you. No, you do not need me to. You have that power to free yourselves. You have the power to break your own chains. The only reason why you remain here is because you allow it. All you have to do is simply remove your chains.”

For a moment, there was silence. That silence was broken by a crack followed by the rattle of chains as a pair of shackles fell to the warehouse floor. Amethyst turned to see a teal dragon looking at their freed claws. More chains fell to the floor as all the dragons broke free one by one. To Amethyst and Thunderbolt’s shock, they heard a clank coming from beside them and turned to see Mina standing there, unbound. The burgundy dragoness looked to her friends in apologetic shame. Amethyst shook her head, silently pleading for her new friend not to give in. Mina closed her eyes and looked away.

“Outside that door are the ponies that betrayed you, the ones that mean to do you harm,” Dragon King Ryuo said, pointing outside. Amethyst watched on in horror as the dragons she came to know became enraged, egged on by the Dragon King’s words. She was sitting atop of a powder keg, and someone, either the cops outside or the Dragon King before her, was about to set a match to it. A malicious grin formed on his maw. “As your king, I will not allow that to happen. I will lead you to victory, and we shall have justice!”

“No!” Amethyst’s voice rang out, unable to stop herself. She pushed past Mina and Thunderbolt and clung to the fence with her claws. Though it would mean revealing herself to the Dragon King, she had to stop the violence before it began. Ryuo quickly turned to see which of his subjects still defied him, but froze at what he saw. His red eyes widened and his jaws hung slightly agape, speechless. In a cell down the aisle was a Kirin. Her scales were white and her mane was violet, matching the colors of Princess Rarity.

Amethyst began to doubt her decision as Dragon King Ryuo began to hurriedly marched down the aisle towards her cell. What was he going to do to her? There was a rage in his eyes that frightened her, and she backed away from the fencing. While Mina quickly jumped to the side of the cell, Thunderbolt stood protectively in front of Amethyst, ready to defend her at all costs.

With an effortless swipe of a claw, the Dragon King tore down the chain link fence that separated him from the Kirin and cast it aside. He barely realized that the one obstructing his path a pony. With aura covered flick of his wrist, the gray Pegasus was scooted out of the way, leaving only the Kirin before him. With nowhere to hide, Amethyst summoned all the courage she had and stood firm before Dragon King Ryuo. Though she was terrified, she dare not let him see weakness in her. She was a Princess of Equestria and had to represent her nation.

“You, what is your name? Who is your father? Who is your mother?” Ryuo demanded. Amethyst took a breath before answering, for once she did, there was no going back.

“I am Princess Amethyst Opal Jade of Equestria, daughter of Prince Spike and Princess Rarity,” she boldly declared. It was then that Ryuo noticed that her eyes were green, the same as Prince Spike’s eyes. They were his Xia’s eyes.

A granddaughter… I have a granddaughter… an astounded Dragon King thought as he stared at his own progeny. So that was why Rarity begged him not to hurt her. His eyes then darted to the pony in his peripheral.

“And who is this?” he asked, giving Thunderbolt a murderous glare. Thunderbolt had always believed he was brave, but the look he was receiving could make the bravest of souls lose their resolve.

“This is Thunderbolt. He’s my friend. My father assigned him to be my bodyguard,” Amethyst explained, stepping over to stand with her friend.

Giving Thunderbolt one last death glare, Ryuo turned his attention back to the Kirin. “Very well, but what are you doing here? Why would Celestia have you arrested?”

“Princess Celestia didn’t do this,” Amethyst told him, defending the Solar Alicorn’s integrity.

“Then who is responsible for this outrage if not Celestia? Is she not the ruler of this land? Have not these atrocities been allowed to continue under her reign?” Amethyst didn’t want to tell him that Mayor Skinflint had gone over Celestia’s head and declared a state of emergency without her permission. Even though he was a small-minded bigot, he didn’t deserve to perish in the Dragon King’s flames. Seeing how she wouldn’t reveal the identity for the pony responsible for the unjust imprisonment of the dragons, Ryuo vowed, “Then I shall burn down every building in this miserable city until I find out who is responsible!”

As though on queue, a fancy carriage arrived at the scene and Mayor Skinflint exited it. He saw the police had already created a perimeter around the warehouse, separating it from the rest of the harbor. All of the ponies in riot gear were ill at ease, looking at their riot shields and batons doubtfully. They were trained to apprehend pony criminals, not rampaging dragons. The only reason why they had been able to clear out Dragon Town in the first place was because said dragons didn’t fight back. A few had resisted and protested but never became violent, even when the police would hit them with batons. Looking for the pony in charge, Mayor Skinflint spotted the officer with the megaphone. Approaching him, he asked, “What’s going on here?”

“Two dragons broke into the harbor, attacked the officers guarding the internment camp, and entered,” the cop explained.

“No doubt trying to breakout their leader. Give me the megaphone.” Obeying, the officer passed the megaphone to the mayor. “This is Mayor Skinflint! Princess Amethyst, your little escape attempt has been foiled. You and your conspirators come out with your claws up or we will use force!”

“Ah! So, ‘Mayor’ Skinflint, is it?” The Dragon King exclaimed as he looked to the source of the voice with manic delight. Amethyst and Thunderbolt both slapped their own foreheads at the mayor’s horrible timing. It was like he was purposely trying to get himself killed. “Come, my brethren! It is time to cast off these stunted forms you have assumed and embrace your true natures. Tonight, we shall be avenged!”

Dragon King Ryuo's pupils contracted into narrow slits and a rumbling emitted from his throat. All of the dragons surrounding them began to tremble, their pupils contracting as well. Mina gritted her fangs and clasped the sides of her head. She shook uncontrollably as her body began to grow.

“Mina!” Amethyst and Thunderbolt called out to her. As the dragoness looked at them, her appearance became more fierce and feral. Her snout lengthened, her muscles grew, and her spines sharped.

“Run…” Mina managed to utter in a straining voice. Taking her advice, Thunderbolt and Amethyst ran out of the cell towards the door. Every dragon they passed along the way was also growing, the weak chain link fence bursting as claws, tails, and wings stretched. Behind them, the Dragon King watched as they ran. He allowed this for he didn’t wish for Amethyst to be accidental crushed during what he was about to do next. Dispelling the size changing enchantment, his red flame-like magic swirled around him and Scorn.

“Sir, we have two running out!” a cop reported. Skinflint looked to the warehouse to see two pony-shaped figures running across the docks. A spotlight was shined on them, revealing their identities as Princess Amethyst and Thunderbolt.

“Halt! Stay where you are!” the lead officer ordered over the megaphone.

“Run, you idiots! Run!” Thunderbolt shouted as he and Amethyst drew closer. The police were about to intercept and take them down, but the warehouse exploded. The police ponies took cover as debris rained down from above as a red fireball climbed up into the sky. From his crouched position on the docks, Mayor Skinflint peaked from under his hooves to see dozens of gigantic dragons glaring down at him from the sky. Under the Dragon King’s influence, the former inhabitants of Dragon Town had grown to their proper sizes, ranging from the size of train locomotives to houses. Only the hatchlings remained unchanged, riding on their mothers’ backs. The dragons that had been assaulted during their arrest looked down the ponies responsible menacingly. No longer would they be victims.

*****

“Whoa!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she, the rest of the Element Bearers, and Spike approached Fillydelphia. There was an explosion in the harbor, accompanied by a billowing red cloud of fire.

“Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy gasped, her hooves covering her mouth.

“It’s started,” Twilight stated as she looked at the red light in the distance. “Everyone, double time!”

“Hang on, sweetie! Mama’s coming!” Rarity shouted as she, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack held onto Spike’s back as he flew faster.

“Soarin, you better get here with the Princesses soon,” Rainbow Dash said to herself as she zoomed towards the city.

*****

As the towering plume of red fire dissipated, Mayor Skinflint could see two dragons larger than rest standing in the bay where the warehouse once stood. While the red dragon joined the others in circling above the harbor, the enormous purple dragon rose on his hind legs and surveyed his surroundings. Looking down, the purple dragon located Amethyst and her protector on the docks near uniformed ponies. Lowering back down onto all four legs, the massive dragon craned his neck forward to get a closer look at the ponies. The Fillydelphia police quickly stepped back as the huge head of the Dragon King loomed above them, his red eyes glowing like a furnace.

As Ryuo looked down at the uniformed ponies, he had to fight the urge to incinerate them for Amethyst was among them. Out of the gathering of ponies, one of them stood out from the rest. There was an important looking Earth Pony wearing a suit hiding behind the police. Ryuo looked away from Skinflint to the dragons behind him.

“Is this the one known as ‘Mayor’ Skinflint?” Amethyst looked up to see the dragon he was addressing was none other than Mina, who was now the size of her father. She could also see Mina look from her king down to the mayor and then to her. The two held each other's gaze for a second before Mina looked back to Skinflint and closed her blue eyes in regret. Though she had broken her chains in defiance of her pony captors, she didn’t wish to see anypony harmed. If she revealed him, she would be sentencing him to death. If she remained silent, he would kill everypony he saw until he found out anyway. She also knew that she couldn’t lie to him and that he could force the answer out of her if he so desired.

“Yes,” Mina answered reluctantly.

“Wait a minute! I-I-I…” Skinflint started to protest before he was confronted with the gigantic, snarling face of the Dragon King. The police force all circled the mayor, trying to defend him. However, their numbers didn’t matter to Ryuo. One or one hundred, he could kill them all with a single blow just as easily. As the police and the mayor moved away from the advancing Dragon King, only two stood their ground. Though she had no hope in stopping him, Amethyst was determined to do what she could and Thunderbolt refused to leave her side.

“Wait! Please, wait!” Amethyst called up to the Dragon King as he was about to step over them.

“Do not try to interfere,” he told her as he passed overhead, Amethyst and Thunderbolt beginning to run to get back in front of him.

“You can’t do this!” she yelled up to him, struggling to keep pace with his massive stride. This managed to get him to stop, but it also caused him to glare down at her.

“I most certainly can,” he asserted.

“But… but what about your Dragon Code?” she desperately asked, his response being a raised brow. “You said you would give Equestria a week. It hasn’t even been two days yet!”

“Do not impugn my honor, child. I will keep my word and not destroy all of Equestria until after the seven days, but that does not mean I cannot destroy one city before then,” he corrected her. He then returned his attention to the terrified Skinflint and his police, grinning at them with sadistic glee. “Or at the very least, one mayor.”

“But that’s just it! My father will be less inclined to surrender if you do this!” Amethyst tried to convince him. “If you kill him or anypony else, then you’re just proving you’re not a dragon of your word! How will he know that he can trust you if you can't honor your own code?”

Ryuo bristled at her words. He so longed to enact his revenge, but he found that he was once again restrained by his own Noble Dragon Code. He rued the day his ancestors established it, but he knew that it was a necessity. With a growl of frustration, he relented.

“Very well, I shall spare the city and the insect,” Dragon King Ryuo hissed venomously, briefly glaring at Skinflint. Looking back down to Amethyst, he continued, “Consider it a gift from your grandfather.”

“...Grandfather?” she asked, utterly confused. She looked to Thunderbolt, who just shrugged, being equally lost.

“But this insult will not go unpunished,” Ryuo declared. “The deadline has been moved forward from seven days to three.”

“Three?!” Amethyst and Thunderbolt exclaimed.

“But that’s less than two days from now!” Amethyst protested.

“You can’t do that!” Thunderbolt shouted.

“Do not test my patience! I have waited too long to reclaim what is mine, and I will not tolerate a pony telling me what I can and cannot do!” Ryuo roared at the Pegasus before turning back to his granddaughter. “Tell your father that he has until the sunrise of the day after tomorrow to come to my castle, and I expect you to be there as well. If you do not come, I shall come to collect the two of you myself. Farewell!”

With a mighty downbeat of his wings, the Dragon King took off. Amethyst and Thunderbolt shielded themselves from the strong wind that was kicked up by his takeoff and then watched as he led the other dragons southward towards the dragon lands. The only one who lingered behind was Mina. The dragoness looked down to Amethyst, giving her one last remorseful look before flying after her king.

Amethyst and Thunderbolt watched as the flight of dragons disappeared in the night sky. Though they managed to save the city, they felt as though this short-term victory was ultimately a long-term defeat. Any hope of peace between ponies and dragons was dead, and all of Equestria would perish in dragonfire in less than two days. The Tree of Harmony was gone, a battle between the Princesses and the Dragon King would only cause more destruction, and to top it all off, Amethyst’s mother was this monster’s hostage.

Overwhelmed by the crushing weight of the situation, Amethyst’s green eyes filled with tears and she started to weep uncontrollably. Thunderbolt placed a wing across her shoulders, yet said nothing. He knew that nothing he could say would help and that the only thing he could do was to be there for his friend. That and the situation had also rendered him speechless.

“They’re coming back!” a cop yelled. With a start, everyone looked up to see the outline of an approaching dragon. Amethyst squinted her eyes, recognizing the familiar figure along with the pony-shaped outlines that accompanied it.

“Dad!” she cried as Spike landed on the pier in front of her. Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash landed beside him as Applejack and Pinkie Pie hopped off his back. When she saw her mother descend from her father’s back as well, Amethyst uttered a sob of the utmost joy and relief.

“Where is she?! Where’s my darling daughter?!” Rarity frantically asked as she looked about the docks until she spotted her. Her eyes filling with tears of her own, Rarity ran towards Amethyst. “Mah babeh!”

Amethyst quickly found herself in the crushing embrace of her mother, who cooed and sobbed as she ran her hooves all over her mane while smothering her in kisses. At any other time, a public display of affection of this magnitude would have been mortifyingly embarrassing, but after having been dealt with such a devastating blow, it was exactly what Amethyst wanted and needed. She matched her mother’s affections and wept happy tears with her as they were reunited. As mother and daughter embraced, they felt the powerful yet comforting arms of Spike encircle about them and hold them close. For a brief moment, nothing else in the world mattered and the three of them forgot all of their troubles.

At the same time, Rainbow Dash was similarly embracing Thunderbolt, though without Rarity’s over-the-top dramatics. She was inspecting the bruises on her son’s face, particularly his black eye. Enraged, she asked, “Who did this to you?! I’m gonna knock their teeth out!”

“Arrest him!” a voice interrupted the tender moment. Looking over, everyone saw Mayor Skinflint shouting from behind the safety of the police line. The Earth Pony stallion was pointing at Spike, driven half-mad from being confronted by the Dragon King. “I want that dragon arrested! I want all of them arrested!”

“Sir, are you suggesting we arrest the Princess of Friendship and her council, the heroes of Equestria?” the lead cop asked incredulously.

“They’re obviously in league with the dragons! Look, there’s a dragon right there! Arrest them, you idiots! Arrest them all!” he ranted, now completely crazy with paranoia.

“Why I outta…” Rainbow Dash growled, ready to bolt over to the mayor and fulfill her promise of knocking the teeth out of the one responsible for her son’s bruises. Normally, Applejack would have stopped her from doing something so rash, but the someone beat her to the punch. Everyone stopped when they heard the sound of flapping wings and looked up to see Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Soarin, and the rest of the Wonderbolts flying down towards them. Seeing the Royal Alicorn Sisters, Mayor Skinflint and the Fillydelphia Police Department bowed in respect.

“We came as fast as we could. Is everypony alright?” Celestia asked urgently as she landed on the docks, inspecting the smoldering remains of a warehouse.

“Where is the Dragon King?” Princess Luna asked.

“He’s gone, along with all of the dragons from Dragon Town,” Amethyst told her, a despondent expression on her face as she recalled the crestfallen look on Mina’s face as she flew away.

“How could this have happen?” Celestia asked, lamenting the loss of the civilized dragons.

“Ask him,” Thunderbolt told her bitterly as Soarin and the rest of Wonderbolts surrounded him, checking to see if he was alright. Celestia looked to where the newest Wonderbolt had indicated to see the Mayor of Fillydelphia.

“Mister Mayor, what has happened here?” Princess Celestia demanded.

“Your Majesty, when the dragons invaded yesterday, I acted immediately and had all dragons residing within the city brought in for questioning,” Skinflint proudly announced, head held up high and chest puffed out. It was a rare sight to Princess Celestia rendered speechless. The white Alicorn stood there staring confusedly at the light gray Earth Pony as though he was babbling incoherently. The Element Bearers and Spike were filled with a righteous fury, wanting to this pony to pay for what he had done.

“You did what?” Celestia quietly asked, still reeling from her initial shock.

“Yes, we cleared out Dragon Town and brought them here for questioning. We even managed to apprehend that dragon spy’s daughter and a traitor within the Wonderbolt’s ranks!” Skinflint continued, oblivious to fact that one of Celestia’s eyes was twitching. “We just caught these two aiding the Dragon King in releasing the prisoners.”

“You. Did. WHAT?!” Celestia’s yelled in the Royal Canterlot Voice, the force of her voice blowing the mayor back like a mighty hurricane.

“B-b-but...I-I-I…” Skinflint stuttered as he righted himself after being knocked over, her reaction not being at all what he expected. He was certain that she would shower him with praises and honors. He was to be a decorated hero of Equestria. At least, that's what Miss Nightingale had led him to believe.

“Not another word!” she commanded. “I want to see you in your office first thing tomorrow morning to discuss your actions. Now, go and clean up this mess!”

“But… But… Yes, Your Majesty,” a cowed mayor said as he slunk away with his tail tucked between his legs, the police following him as they went to assess the damage to the harbor.

After taking a deep breath while placing a hoof to her heart and exhaling, Princess Celestia calmed down and turned to her beloved friends and subjects. Upon seeing Amethyst, she smiled and said, “Princess Amethyst, I’m glad to see you and Thunderbolt are...” She winced once she saw Thunderbolt’s shiner. “... mostly unharmed.” She then noticed that Rarity was with them. “And Princess Rarity, I’m so relieved to see that you’re safe and sound.”

“Yes, thanks to my friends,” Rarity responded, hugging Spike’s neck. “Princess, there’s much I have to tell you.”

“Same here,” Amethyst told the Princess.

“And us too,” Applejack added.

“We've all got something to share,” Twilight said for everyone.

“I agree,” Celestia acknowledged. “But let us reconvene at Canterlot. We can discuss it at length there.”

Nodding in agreement, they all followed the Princesses as they flew back to Equestria's mountaintop capital.

Comments

[Hillbe]

Mayor should of been relieved and arrested, Not a meeting scheduled for the next day. False imprisonment, Martial law?

[DiabloGuapo]

In this chapter, Dragon King Ryuo directly quotes Smaug and indirectly quotes the Sith Code:
"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me."

[DanvilleBengal]

I knew that there would be a combination of emotions when Ryuo descended on Fillydelphia...one the one hand, it's heartwarming that he finally meets his granddaughter (even though she doesn't quite realize that yet--I bet that Rarity is gonna have to relay that news in the next chapter, not to mention that Spike's opponent is his own father), and one the other hand, I'm saddened that what we were afraid of happening did happen because of speciest ponies that can't see past their own hooves, not to mention that because of their prejudice, we have a huge cadre of pissed off dragons that would probably come back to level Equestria..

I think I've said it before, but it needs to be said: Skinflint should NEVER BE FORGIVEN...as a matter of fact, he should be executed by dragonfire in front of all of the ponies of Fillydelphia, to show him what happens when you try to cross Princess Celestia, and to show the citizens of Fillydelphia first-hand what will happen to them when they allow prejudice to taint their thoughts. The dragons of Dragon Town didn't bother anyone at all, and yet because of their prejudice, Fillydelphia may now be severely damaged by the upcoming dragon surge, and the sad thing will be that it's all on them. I think I said it a few chapters ago, which I speculated that a pretty good part of Equestria is gonna be destroyed because of dragon rampage. Please forgive me for my sudden vindicive streak but part of would not want to have Fillydelpia rebuilt--they made their bed, and now it's time for them to sleep in it. But I know the right thing would be after all of this would be resolved, Fillydelphia can be brought back--it's not fair for the ponies of that town to suffer because of a leadership that allowed power to corrupt.

[Joeyjambo122]

When's the next chapter coming out?

[DiabloGuapo]

7319628
Production has been kind of slow because I had to house/pet sit for my sister while she was on vacation. The next chapter is halfway written, and I hope to get back on schedule soon.