57 – "I Did Say If My Thoughts Were Coherent."
"I Did Say If My Thoughts Were Coherent."
The Style Vista bar is the only bar within all of Canterlot willing to risk lawsuits from family members of drunken patrons; said patrons just so happening to leave the establishment and trip over the railing of the bottomless circle.
The door to the establishment was opened as six exhausted mares were more or less shoved inside; a click resounding from behind them. Before any one of them could rush to unlock the door, a stone-cold face appeared in the door’s sole panel.
“Orders are to keep you six safe until the Elements of Harmony are needed,” The Royal Guard said. His head turned away to the roar vibrating the ground their hooves all stood upon. He withdrew his spear. “Do not leave this tavern under any circumstance. The only time we should be seeing you outside is when The Princess has the dragon restrained and we’re ready to encase it in stone.”
There wasn’t a response nor a nod from anyone inside the bar, for the stallion had left before they even had the chance.
“Well ain’t this just fancy?” Applejack said from before the door, taking her hoof away from reaching for the handle. “Stayin’ back while everyone else is fightin’ all ‘cause we’re too precious to be scratched or bruised.”
Rainbow Dash had each of her forehooves over the necks of Pinkie Pie and Rarity, who helped drag her over to the counter, where they softly laid her against. “Take my advice, Applejack; taking on a dragon is gonna net you more than just a few cuts.”
Applejack flinched at having spoken about taking on a dragon in the presence of not one, but two friends who had risked their lives against one. It didn’t help she had chastised them earlier for five minutes on the subject, while hypocritically wanting to do the same.
Her hoof fell onto the wooden ground of the bar, feeling the rumbles of the dragon outside the walls that concealed them. “I know. It-it just bothers me that there ain’t a dang thing we can be doin’ about it.”
Rainbow Dash cracked a grin. “Tell me about it. If I weren’t so badly beaten up, then you can be guaranteed that I’d be eating my words and dashing out that door. But, hey, since you and I ain’t the waiting types, how about you narrate the action?”
“You think my watchin’ the action and describing it is gonna make anyone of us feel better?”
Rainbow managed a chuckle through her bruised lungs. “It would make me feel better to know what’s going on outside.”
She used the last of her energy to attempt to stand up, earning a glance from Applejack, before falling back against the counter. Her goal hadn’t been to actually stand up, rather accentuate her point.
“Fine.” Applejack turned her head back to the panel of glass as her eyes swept across the battlefield. “It looks like our friendly neighborhood dragon has arrived. He hasn’t quite landed yet, though none of his fire is touching any of the guards due to some spell the Princess has goin’ on.”
Twilight cleared her throat, earning everyone’s moment attention. “If my thoughts are still coherent enough to be believable, then the magic that you’re seeing, Applejack, isn’t of Celestia’s.”
Applejack remained silent as the rest of the girls waited for Twilight to continue.
“Celestia exhausted most of her magical reserves coating the city itself in her magic, replenishing any diminishing location the moment it received any damage. I like to think that this battle has been going on since last night, meaning even an alicorn would start to get tired at this point.”
The room kept quiet after her words as everyone tried to decipher the implications behind them.
“So there’s another contender at play.” Rarity discovered the hidden meaning first, resting her hoof on the edge of the window and glancing through it. “Perhaps Princess Luna has ceased her search on the dragon through the mountain tops and became overjoyed on finding him here.”
“I don’t think that’s the case, Rarity.” The said unicorn looked over to Applejack, who had been shaking her head as she spoke. “Not only have I not seen her on the battlefield, but Celestia hasn’t made a mention of her since the castle. Not only that, but that magical which-em-you-calls-it are different colors.”
“Hmm.” Rarity gazed back in the window in time to see a spew of flames to reflect off the thin faint layer of gold protecting the surrounding area. “Twilight is definitely right in that there’s something fishy going on; Celestia’s aurora has always been bold, and even when weakened, its never been this faint before.
“I very much doubt Luna being unable to reproduce her sister’s aurora down to the very hue. Every guard was instructed to place their magic on the surrounding buildings, but never to protect themselves. I can’t possibly fathom anyone else here at the moment capable of repelling a dragon’s attack.”
“Does the Princess looked concerned about this?” Despite her voice being frail, Dash still made it heard.
“No…” Applejack replied as she squinted her eyes at the Princess’s goldenly charged horn. “She seems too lost in the battle to notice, though her horn is charged, so there is a chance that Twilight is wrong.”
Twilight rose a hoof while her head remained hung. “I did say if my thoughts were coherent.”
“Either way darling.” Rarity never took her eyes away from the window and didn’t plan to again. “I’ll be keeping an eye out to make sure there are not foul tricks at play!”
Applejack nodded though it went unseen, looking back past the glass as well. “WHOA NELLY!”
“What is it?” Rainbow asked, leaning forward. “What’s going on?”
Applejack blinked, risking a glance back at her friend. “The dragon made it past the barrier and landed on the platform. The guards are stormin’ him with everything they got!”
She glanced back in time to witness the dragon’s first attack, ushering her into silence.
“Y’know, Applejack.” Rainbow Dash began. “This whole narrator thing doesn’t work out when the narrator doesn't NARRATE!”
“I’m sorry.” Applejack didn’t glance back this time around. “I just...I just witness the dragon pick up to guards who had been stabbing at his heel and threw em’ against the railing of the circle...which broke upon impact.”
Rainbow Dash reeled her head back.
“Two pegasuses just went after em’ now.” Applejack ended her speech early, not needing Twilight’s ingenious mind to calculate the difference in speed that the two parties were descending at. “But I doubt with the weight of their armor that they’ll make it in time.”
The room went silent at the realization that this would be the first situation that the girls were involved in that death had occurred. They were forced to hide away at the sidelines and helplessly watch as they’re fellow pony and stallion were beaten on and destroyed by a dragon.
The worst feeling in the world is not helplessly watching a friend endure pain for your sake. Rather, it is knowing that you can do something to alleviate the situation, but are forced to watch all the same.
Applejack slammed her hoof against the wall. “How can the Princess expect us to just stay inside?”
Rainbow had closed her eyes during the silence, only reopening to stare into the back of her friend. “Applejack?’
“Surely she’d know that when things got too cruel, that at least one of us would run outside to help.”
Rainbow Dash shook her head, straining her throat so she could speak louder. “Applejack, you know how silly it is to think you can take on a dragon. I tried it with my evasiveness as a Wonderbolt contender and still got caught in his grasp.”
Applejack finally looked away from the action and to her friend. “So we should just ignore the urge that there’s something we can do and watch ponies we can be helpin’ dyin’?”
Dash didn’t like the anger rising in her friend’s tone. “Do you think that I like I’m helpless to do anything at the moment? Even now I’d use all that I have left to ward off the dragon from the town’s folk, but I know better than to risk the power of my element: the only thing that can truly seal away the dragon.”
“Is that you or your cowardice talkin’?”
Dash shook her head while remaining in eye contact. “You just didn’t go there.”
“Girls!”
The rose and green eyes kept trained on another for a moment, before drifting to the source of the voice, which just so happened to be Twilight Sparkle.
“All of this arguing is just going to tire us! Whatever’s going on outside is going to happen, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that we’re much weaker when we’re not fighting together at full strength!”
Twilight allowed a moment’s silence to let the words sink into the ears that needed to hear them the most. “Most importantly, Rainbow Dash is right: if we let even one of us—”
A blast, akin to the sound of a sonic rainboom, resounded underneath the city that caused trembles to course through the ground at their hooves. The whistling sound below became faint yet more high pitched.
“Now what’s going on!” Rainbow Dash shouted from her spot below the counter.
Applejack swung over to the door of the establishment, resting her hoof on the handle. “That’s exactly what I plan on findin’ out!”
“Wait!” Twilight cried. “Applejack, you know better than anypony what you being knocked unconscious, or worse, could mean for everypony in the city. I feel just as bad about the situation as you do, but there’s nothing we can do about it!”
Applejack exhaled heavily, before letting a smile wash over her lips. “Twilight, you’re a very smart mare, but there are still some things you don’t understand. I promise you I won’t be goin’ against the dragon, but rather just to help up those who have fallen and keepin’ an eye on the situation.”
“But...but…” Twilight shook her head to clear away the gunk clogging her thoughts. “There’s nothing you can really do out there, so why take such a tremendous risk for so little a reward!?”
“Because of this little fact, Twilight Sparkle.” Applejack threw the door back while glancing an eye back at her friend. “Those with power must fight, so that those without it may remain safe.”
Offering her friends one last smile, Applejack looked back to the archway of the door, where she saw the dragon’s awaiting open maw, and a glow emitting from the back of his throat.
Her eyes were wide open, coming to blink twice, before uttering her last line.
“I’ve made a very grave mistake.”
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Well... shit...
Do you like your pony a little raw or well done?
8001282 my earlier chapters are a bit 'meh' due to my lower skill set and daily update schudle, so thank you for pushing through them.
WHOA NELLY that is a good phrase
Aren't dragons impervious to magic?
8003555 they've only made mention of repelling the dragon's attack with magic.
taking a break today, so the next chapter is delayed by two days.
i'm sorry to leave you dear readers hanging, but i don't feel well as of late, physically or mentally. please forgive this absence.
–B_25
8004596 another great chapter as always and get well soon bud.
8003555
If we're talking about the show canon, I don't think they're impervious to magic. Dragon seem to have high magic resistance instead, since Twilight uses magic frequently through the show. It might get strong based on their age or size. So a magical blast that would send a pony flying. A dragon however would feel like he just got smacked/punched or less.