The Rise of Species: Dragons

by Zarmflamekin

Divulging Displays

“Starset.” Morning Star growled. “What do you think you’re doing?” He demanded more than asked, glaring down at his son.

“I’m doing what’s right.” Starset responded with an equal amount of disdain. “I’m doing what needs to be done. The moment I’m chief, this meeting is over.” Starset swiveled his head to glance at each clan. “And then you’re next.”

“Starset, have you finally lost it!?” Dazzle exclaimed. “What you’ve done already is-“

“Shut it invalid!” Starset snapped at the gathered trio, fire bursting from his mouth and a blaze of rage in his eyes. “You haven’t had a place before and you don’t have one now! So sit there with the other invalids and let the real dragons speak.”

Spike could only stand and stare, his eyes darting between the scale, Starset, and Dazzle.

First, the scale was something on its own. The blood and gore of before wasn’t outpouring now, and if it weren’t for before, Spike would think it was any other scale. Starset, as he was now, was holding it as Twilight would one of her books without her magic, even as it was about three times as large as himself. But as he glanced to it, he knew where it’s energy was going, for as Starset stood there berating Dazzle and threatening death on all of the clan leaders, the scale was growing smaller.

Or rather, Starset was growing larger, with the scale slowly beginning to fit into an easily holdable size. And with each passing moment, Starset was growing bit by bit just as Spike had before. His tail was inching longer, his wing tips were reaching past his head, and his horns were slowly curling into optimal points. All the while, his eyes were just as feral as any wild beast. Spike was sure no one else could see it, but the same deep red energy from Mourning Star’s eyes and Dazzle’s claw marks was freely wafting from Starset’s mouth, as if he was constantly breathing the mist.

Lastly was Dazzle, who for all of her composure and shelled emotions, couldn’t help as angry tears sprang to her eyes as her claws balled tightly at her side. Because she knew. Just by looking at him, his growth, his attitude, his past, there was nothing she could do but die facing him right now. Still, a lashing to a dragon’s pride is never an easy thing to swallow.

“Enough Starset.” Mourning Star chided as his wing swept between the two groups. “You have your challenge, and you have your right, as inopportune as it is. As this has been set as a comingling, give us just as much time as to break down and clear out.” Mourning Star’s eyes narrowed. “For the good of the clan.”

Starset snorted. “For the good of the clan.”

Spike, Twilight, and Dazzle were soon swept up by Mourning Star’s wing, showing as much coordination as any pegasus wing, as the three were held in his embrace over his shoulder, his wing being so massive that the three merely stumbled a bit as rock was replaced with membrane beneath their feet. As they were hoisted up, Spike glanced as dragons of the Dawn Star quickly disassembling their stands around the crater, and none of the guests seeming to be that perturbed.

“I can see you’re ever in the right Spike.” Mourning Star said in a much more hushed and softer tone than before as the three neared his head, his ferocious glare being replaced with concern. “This is much unlike Starset.”

“Oh scale scraps this is.” Dazzle snapped. “He’s been this arrogant and power hungry for years, you just haven’t done anything about it.”

Mourning Star contemplated Dazzle before looking away in dejection. “Perhaps. I was more than likely blind. I’ve been so… consumed with protecting the scale that I-“

“Didn’t see your children being slaughtered!? Didn’t care that your clan was divided in indifference? That you didn’t care?” Dazzle pointed accusingly at Mourning Star, tears finally beginning to fall. Out of anger, pain, or sadness, Spike couldn’t quite tell, but all three were probably a factor. Dazzle waved her hand down toward Starset. “I kept my distance because you did, but this is what I’ve dealt with. That has been the subtext of my last twenty-five years. And now it’s out here, facing you, and… and… I don’t think you can take him dad.” Dazzle’s stance drooped from exhaustion, and even Mourning Star was a bit surprised. “He’s growing too fast. And I think we all know why.”

“The scale.” Twilight stated, looking out to Starset.

“Yeah… everything is going into him.” Spike said. “Its power is practically spewing out of his head.”

Mourning Star looked back down once more before he shifted and began to walk. “The last time this happened, I was too late to stop it. But this has just begun. I may not take Starset out if this goes on too long, but I still have some size and much more experience on my side.” Mourning Star began to lower his wing down, having gotten to the edge of the crater inn a few strides. “And… to answer you Dazzle, I was blind to his arrogance, perhaps purposefully so, but his power thirst is not… unwarranted.” There was a very deliberate, contemplative pause. “I have been… using Starset.” The words seemed to pain the elderly dragon. “…I am no father.”

The three left his wing, but the statements left the three in stunned silence. Spike and Twilight were confused and concerned on where this was going. Dazzle merely wanted an answer from her once again towering father and chief.

“I suppose this has been coming for some time. Dazzle, I have not been a father for fifty years.” The implication made Dazzle’s eyes grow wide in shock and accusation. “Ever since your mother… turned, I have been jealously cautious, and Starset was the… most loyal child I had. What has happened to your siblings has been no accident.”

“Yeah, obviously. Starset killed them all.” Dazzle huffed.

“No, I did. Starset has merely been my tool.” Mourning Star leveled, sending Twilight and Spike reeling backwards and Dazzle stock still in revelation. “You may not recall, but many of your siblings were quite ruthless.”

“I… I admit I didn’t care for a lot of them, but at least Gleam and Spark were-” Dazzle haltedly admitted.

“Craftier than most of the others.” Mourning Star cut in. “I may have been blind, but I certainly was not deaf, and I am definitely not senile. I remember everything. I remember my orders.” Mourning Star paused, sorrow filling his eyes. “Dazzle, you were a consolidation pawn, a show that siblings could work together. But they never cared for you. I could hear their whispers, their schemes. They were both the simplest and hardest to kill. Both had solid confidence in each other, but once they thought the other a betrayer by Starset’s interventions, they were soon disposed of as a threat.”

“You monster!” Twilight finally snapped, stamping her hooves. “How… How could you do something like-like killing your children! And be so calm about it!” Her stance and eyes flaring with aggravation at the blasé nature of the conversation.

Mourning Star simply stared at the alicorn, giving a long, slow sigh. “You have been both lucky and naïve, pony. And as I have told myself and Starset, it has been for the good of the clan.” Mourning Star looked behind himself, seeing all the gathered structures were now gone, leaving only Starset on top of the lone center building, now taking up its entire roof. His arms were crossed and his foot tapping, waiting for Mourning Star to come back. Mourning Star turned back to the three.

“And for the good of the clan, if I lose, run.” And with those final words, Mourning Star headed back to his son.

“I can’t believe this! I can’t believe him!” Twilight exclaimed, stomping away from the edge. “I just… I just can’t! I don’t even know what to do!”

“We wait, and we see.” Dazzle said cryptically, her expression dead, but her claws still clutched hard at her sides.

Spike was more than a bit in shock. Twilight was right of course, the way in which Mourning Star bluntly told them in how he killed his children through Starset was unsettling, but at the same time he didn’t seem to feel the same amount of disgust Twilight did. But at the same time, his reaction to when he nearly killed Dazzle himself was… juxtaposing.

“Were they really all that bad?” Spike finally asked Dazzle. She was quiet as she watched her brother hop from the roof and the two combatants began to circle around the center building. Both were on all fours, wings prepped for movement, both eyeing each other’s movements, Starset having grown large enough to easily hold the scale with his tail.

“I don’t know anymore.” Dazzle replied flatly. “Spark and Gleam were always so nice to me, making sure I was okay when mom fell, they were the only ones who made sure I was eating and moving.” Dazzle gripped her head, new tears of pain coming forth. “I even remember when each tried to turn me on one another. I never knew why, I just knew Starset was to blame. They were the closest family I had after… None of the others ever seemed to care. I just…” Dazzle finally collapsed to her knees, sobs of anguish pouring out of her, eyes cleched shut, trying to deny the world. Spike was immediately by her side, so he could… he wasn’t sure.

He wanted to hug her, tell her everything was going to be fine, but things were far from and far past fine. He wanted to have a hand on her shoulder in solidarity, but he wasn’t sure he could be that much support for her. He couldn’t even imagine if… yes, yes he could, coldly, he could.

He could imagine if he found from Princess Celestia that she had Twilight murdered because of a political ploy. And suddenly there was a cold pit in his stomach. And so Spike was equally frozen in a stance of trying to offer condolence. He didn’t know for how long, but presumably not more than a few seconds, he stood there before a familiar voice shook him.

“Spike! What happened!?” Chromie’s voice rang out. Spike turned to see the dragoness quickly hurrying over to the two. She was puffing as she arrived, but seemed far more concerned for Dazzle than she looked exhausted. Spike could barely register anything else around him aside from Dazzle’s wails, but he could tell the first collision of Mourning Star and Starset had happened, both from the shockwave and some muted cheers.

“Dazzle’s… Mourning Star…” Spike tried to explain.

“Yeah, I don’t think he can take on Starset like that.” Chromie picked up. “He’s taken out pretty much everyone else, so the head’s all that’s left. I knew Dazzle still cared.” Chromie looked to her friend in pity and with a sad smile.

“No, Mourning Star put Starset up to that.” Spike distantly replied, making Chromie snap her attention to him. “He admitted it as he got us over here.”

Chromie looked stunned for a moment before looking to her grieving friend, and a bit unexpectedly, snarled at the fight. “I hope they rip each other’s throats out.” Spike jerked back at the accusation, seeming to click something in Chromie, prompting her to explain. “I knew a lot of the… of Dazzle’s siblings, and while there were some like Starset, there were some good ones too.”

“Gleam and Spark?” Spike offered.

Chromie’s eye twitched. “They were the best of them. I… knew they got paranoid at some point, Dazzle would complain about it. It was shortly after they died that their groups blamed each other that I figured out what they were paranoid about, but Dazzle pegged Starset, and I was there with her on that. He seemed to… distant after their bodies were found.” Chromie went silent, walking up to her friend as she impassively watched the brawl between father and son, placing her own hand on Dazzle’s shoulder in condolence.

Spike also watched for a moment, but it didn’t seem like much to him. Starset was now only a head shorter than Mourning Star, as evidence by his full body tackle of the elder drake. Mourning Star wasn’t one to lose his balance, instead pivoting on the spot, grabbing Starset’s shoulder’s, and shoving his son off of himself, sending Starset into the wall. He was momentarily fazed, but soon got back on all four feet, with Spike spotting the scale wedged between Starset’s own on his rump. When the two began to circle each other once more, Spike began to wonder where Twilight had gone in her huff.

In scanning for her, he actually had a bit a trouble as he noticed the rest of the Dawn Star clan had come up to the top and commingled with the visiting clans, and their massive bodies as well as some of the shinier members made spotting the comparatively smaller alicorn hard to spot. Eventually he was able to spot her flying about the heads of the Bickerfin chief, and he was quite a bit away from Spike. With no real way to flag Twilight down, Spike jogged a bit away from the rest of the clan, who had seemed to have given Dazzle a wide berth, before letting a bout of flame into the air. That seemed to get her attention, as she soon began to make her way toward Spike.

When she landed, Twilight did not seem to be any happier than when she had stomped off. “What is it Spike?” Twilight said before she recognized her tone. “Sorry.” She immediately apologized. “I’m… still getting over what Mourning Star said. And… talking with the Bickerfin chief really didn’t help.”

“What were you talking with him about?” Spike asked, not really wanting to focus on Mourning Star at the moment.

“Just… ugh, things. They really live up to that name, you know? I started with how a hydra could be a dragon, an hoo boy was that an earful before I could explain my question, then we got into how their clan came together and why he decided to come, and we got into why I came, and that got into where we’re from to which he asked how the Swampfins have been, but you got my attention before I could apparently get into offending him by not being dragon food. I… my brain really hurts Spike. That’s even the condensed version. He has nine heads, nine! And they all can talk at once! I don’t know if they or a meeting of parliament is more coherent.” Twilight sighed. “But how’s…” Twilight began to ask, but simply looking over to Chromie and Dazzle showed something wasn’t right. “Not good I guess.”

“No.” Spike stated, also looking to the collapsed Dazzle. “She’s taking it hard. I think her world view just shattered on her. It seems Starset’s been her villain for so long that Mourning Star just broke her. Even Chromie doesn’t want to see either of them come out of this.”

“That’s… troubling.” Twilight considered the back of Chromie, a dark sense emanating from around her. “But even from what I know, I don’t know the best outcome of this.”

“What do you mean?

“Well, I heard two of the heads talking about this being the death of the clan. They saw us and how only Dazzle was next to Mourning Star, so they semi-rightly guessed she’s his only heir, but with Starset coming out, openly dismissing her, and trying to take out Mourning Star, they don’t see him as a viable leader anymore. And even if the others will, they don’t see him making any more eligible heirs before he need to move on, making only Starset or Dazzle the new chief, to which neither of them predict any of the clans will follow the lead of. So either Starset wins, declares war on the six gathered clans, and leads to ruin, or Mourning Star wins with a shaky hoof with no future prospects of a clan, that will only fall apart under Dazzle.” Twilight said, looking toward the devastated Dazzle. “And I don’t know what to do about this.”

Spike also looked to the two dragonesses, but then to the other gathered dragon clans, each with their own attentive or dismissive crowds. One such dismissive dragon was the elder of the Skywalker clan, or so he seemed. While his attention looked like it was away from the fight, Spike could see his eyes twitching every so often.

“Hey Twilight? Think we could go talk to him?” Spike asked as he pointed toward the Lung dragon chief. Twilight looked to where he pointed as was a bit confused.

“Why do you want to talk to him Spike?”

“He looks… indecisive? Like when Rainbow Dash tries to look like she’s ignoring something-“

“-Except she’s not. I think I see it too. Let’s go say hello then.” Twilight offered her back once more with Spike quick on the uptake. Twilight took to the sky, but was slow to circle around the edge of the crater. When the Skywalker chief noticed the two in the air, he was quick to nudge some of the gathered dragons out of the way to allow the two to land in front of him.

He was big, but not nearly as much as Mourning Star, as the two were able to land before him and not need too much space to still see him. He was a light blue, slightly darker than the noon sky, with legs that seemed slender in comparison to dragons such as Mourning Star, but still conveyed a strong sense of power. And he looked more than a bit amused at his new arrivals.

“And what can I do for you, small ones?” The chief asked as Spike got off of Twilight.

“Just had some thoughts.” Spike said with a nonchalantness he certainly didn’t have. “How do you think this will turn out?” Spike nodded to the two wrestling dragons, to which the Lung dragon only gave a slight glance.

“A bit irrelevant, fairly annoying, seeing as they called us here.” The chief dismissed. “What I am curious about, is how a pony and a whelp from the Purge came to be together.” The chief leaned in, more than willing to ignore his surroundings, and feeling a lot less direct than other dragons the two had met to this point. Luckily for Spike and Twilight, they grew up in Canterlot, capitol of talking around people.

“Some things happened, my princesses found Spikes egg around the Badlands apparently around the time of the Purge, kept him safe since, and I helped to raise him after hatching a few years ago.” Twilight answered with enough information to be accurate, but vague enough to weave a chariot through. The chief’s mouth rose in a slight smirk.

“I can tell you haven’t had time to be influenced yet. Dragons like the Dawn Scale tend to be far to direct for my tastes. But pray tell, where are these Badlands? I’m afraid the term doesn’t have a correlation to my clan.”

“It’s a giant wasteland surrounded by cliffs a bit east of here. You probably call it something else then?” Spike informed, causing the Skywalker chiefs eyes to harden.

“As you don’t seem to know, it appears you tell quite a tale of truth. I do know of where you speak, and it’s the Purging Nest.” Spike and Twilight looked to each other in apprehension as the chief sighed. “And if that is where you’re said to be found, I can’t understand how.”

“He was just outside of the cliffs.” Twilight offered from her own memory. “The princesses tried to return him, but couldn’t find a nest.”

“Hmm, I assume not. The nest itself is said to be the entire interior of the cliffs,” The chief looked to Spike. “I imagine your egg must have been dropped by a fleeing dragon, or purposely tossed in attempted murder. Either way, you are lucky.”

“Yeah, my shell seemed to be thicker than anyone anticipated.” Spike chuckled, remembering Celestia and Luna had tried to eat him upon first finding him.

“So ponies found and kept you, but an egg unattended by a dragon is still an egg unattended, how did you survive the neglect?” The chief asked, shifting into what seemed to be a more comfortable position.

“I wasn’t neglected per se. They tried hatching me, but that didn’t really pan out.” Spiked explained when an itch started at his neck. He scratched it, but at the same time he also noticed the other lung dragon and quite a few Dawn Scales were watching them. “They didn’t actually know how to hatch me, they just tried every way they thought a dragon egg would hatch.”

“Yet here you are, so they must have done something right.” The chief eyed Twilight, who promptly chuckled and looked away. “There were no other dragons at your hatching, was there No Clan.” It wasn’t a question, merely a statement awaiting confirmation, making Spike nervously looking around to the listening dragons. He remembered what happened before and the warnings, but here was a dragon chief who had hit the nail on the head.

“No, it was an accident really.” Spike tried to worm around the subject, but the skepticism of the chief bared down on him.

“Dragon hatching is never an accident whelp. Either there is an attempt, or there is a discarded egg. So what happened?”

“I hatched him.” Twilight spoke up with a straightened posture, causing a murmur to spread. “But it really was a bit of an accident, we didn’t think anypony could hatch a dragon egg.”

The chief snorted in amusement. “And neither would I until now. But again, I also wouldn’t believe someone would commune with our Father either. Because here I thought that Dawn Star’s were just being flagrant in talking to an ancient dragon when they bragged about talking to their ‘Father’.” That seemed to rile up more than a few of the gathered dragons. “Yet you’re… different upbringing does bring quite a wrecking perspective. Where would our Father be then?”

“Ooh.” Spike looked away, garnerering a sterner look from the chief. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but rather visiting Pyrathy is rather a terrible idea.” Spike offered.

“You claim to know what’s best for-“ The Lung dragon began to rile.

“Yes.” Spike interrupted, making the Lung Chief flare his nostrils in anger. “How many dragons have you heard visiting him?” Spike countered.

The chief stared back at Spike but begrudgingly admitted “Only a few.”

“And the reason for that is that he’s cursed.” Spike flatly said. That certainly got people talking, and even got some to turn their attention away from the fight for their next chief. “When Pyrathy had to turn on his mother, she cursed him with having to experience the lives of all of his children, and by us meeting with him, it causes a feedback loop of information.” Spike sighed and chuckled darkly as something clicked for him. “Maybe that’s why he stays in the Purging Nest, so that none of you find him.”

“He’s in the Purging Nest!” The young Lung dragon exclaimed, their voice in a childlike range of androgyny. “But isn’t that place cursed dad?” The child looked to their father in confusion.

“Perhaps some things have been… skewed.” The chief considered as he chuckled at his child’s innocence. “Perhaps it is not the Nest that is cursed, but instead our Father, as for why we never go there.”

“Or perhaps its because the Nest never gets any clouds.” A new, yet familiar raspy voice chimed in. Honestly, how they hadn’t noticed the Corrupttail chief making his way over was something to be admired. He slithered across the ground silently as other dragons got out of his way. “I feel you may be giving the whelp to much credit Shogo.”

The Lung Chief turned to glared at the new arrival. “At least I’m not as openly dissmisive and crass as you Fetido. Why are you even over here?”

“I just heard some interesting things were happening over here.” The Wyrm chief coyly smiled, not a pleasant look on a serpent, Spike decided. “Even enough to make clanmates ignore who their next chief will be, so I just had to know.”

“I’m sure.” Shogo deadpanned. “Knowing you, at least two of your spawn have been sitting here since the beginning, so what do you want?”

“To see how committed this one is to his farce.” Fetido’s gaze drifted over to Spike with equal parts glee and disdain. “We all know our Father died long ago. To commune with him is of the highest insight a dragon can have to reach his spirit. To say he’s in that pit of a nest might be full blasphemy.”

“Now hold on.” Twilight interjected, rounding to face the new chief. “It’s obvious to me that there are way to many conflicts between all of the clans here on how the Purge really went down and what happened afterward. Just to be clear, where does my input sit with you? Either of you?” Twilight asked, looking between the two chiefs.

“Irrelevant.” Fetido immediately replied.

“…Negligible.” Shogo answered.

“Well… That’s nice to know I suppose.” Twilight sighed. “But for as what we know, Pyrathy had to turn against Tiamat and was then given his curse. But before that, he was stopping the Purge.” That garnered a few murmers of agreement from the gathered Dawn Scale, which in turn piqued the interest of the chiefs. “But as you put it, Pyrathy ran to help protect those of the Corrupttail race, correct?” Twilight asked Fetido.

“Yesss.” Fetido hissed. “When… other clans started to purge he shed his extremities to follow and protect my ancestors, as he could easily wrap around us and no other dragon could pierce his hide.”

“And for you Chief Shogo?” Spike asked, making the Lung chief contemplate for a moment.

“Our Father’s shedding was a lot less… optional. Those who sought to purge weakness sought to purge Him as well, as they saw Him as a font of weakness. They were only able to tear his wings away, but that allowed his might to be refocused and leap into the sky, allowing my ancestors to trail after Him.”

“Well, until someone is able to get a first-hand tale from him, the best I can say is that Pyrathy facilitated the purged’s escape as he stayed to kill those who would not stop killing others.” Spike concluded.

“But he’s dead.” Fetido stated.

“That is where I firmly disagree.” Spike pointed out.

“No one can have lived as long as you claim he has.” Fetido disputed.

“That’s getting into some iffy territory, but I will firmly assert that I have met and spoken with Pyrathy. Heck, you said only those of the highest insight can meet his spirit, right?”

“Yesss.” Fetido hissed again, quickly angering at Spike’s backtalk.

“Well he sure as heck pulled my spirit out of my body to talk with me.”

“And you know this how?” Shogo asked with skepticism.

“One of my Princesses has a natural talent for mind magics.” Twilight explained. The chiefs merely levelly stared at her. “It’s true.”

“I fail to see how that proves anything about-“ Fetido began when a large burst of flames suddenly erupted, causing the gathering’s attention to shift to the fight still going on.

Mourning Star and Starset had decided that fire was the appropriate tactic now, with the most recent blast from Starset striking close to where they were. Mourning Star seemed to keep going for his son’s legs while Starset went for the wings and face, clearly showing only one dragon cared for their surroundings, and that dragon was beginning to not look so good.

“Well, however this turns out, it looks to be finishing soon.” Fedito stated as he turned to leave. “This was at least more interesting than I was expecting, if not a bit infuriating. Perhaps I may even look into our Father a bit more. Shogo, I insist you do the same.” With that final word, the Wyrm chief made his way off as silently as he had made it in.

“He sure shares his directness with the ‘pure’, even if it is so debased.” Shogo sighed as he looked to Spike and Twilight. “If nothing else, he is right for us to scrutinize our history a bit more. I’ll even see who I can rope in to help. As it is, I believe you should rejoin your friend.” He nodded towards the way the two had come.

As Spike once more mounted Twilight, he asked the Lung Chief “Is this fight really that irrelevant to you?”

Shogo made one more observation of the fight before replying “Between them, yes. After, not so much.” Spike looked to the fight to see if he could see what the chief meant, but all he saw were two heavily breathing, and heavily beaten dragons. He then saw that Shogo wasn’t looking to them, but instead over toward Dazzle.

“Well I hope to see you after then.” Spike waved as the two took off, leaving a smirking chief behind.

“That was… a little productive… I think.” Twilight said as they made their way back to Dazzle and Chromie.

“A little, but not really relevant right now.” Spike replied as he looked toward their destination. Chromie was still beside Dazzle, but Dazzle was intently watching the fight now. As the two landed, neither dragoness gave them any attention. Twilight simply walked up to the other side of Dazzle and waited until the fight was finally over. Spike appraised Dazzle once more from up close, and as easy as it was to see she had been crying, the cold determination in her eye betrayed nothing of what she was planning to do now.

With his attention finally coming back to the fight, Spike saw that Mourning Star had been right in his assessment. Starset now dwarfed Mourning Star by a few heads at least, a shock that Mourning Star seemed to have actually lost some size in the fight, as he now used the single building as a hand hold, compared to before where his hand could have engulphed the thing. And where Mourning Star tried to use the buildingto prop himself up, Starset slammed into his father’s back with all four feet, crushing both his father and the lone building to the ground.

“Stay.” Starset said dispassionately. “This is done.”

Mourning Star huffed a few times before attempting to push himself up, but Starset grabbed his fathers head and ground it into the dirt.

“This is the end!” Starset proclaimed to the gathered dragons. “The leadership of the Dawn Sclae clan now goes to…” Starset paused as his declaration as his foot on his father’s head shook. “Is something funny old-“ Starset began as he pulled up his father’s head, but instead of a laughing old dragon, there was only a sad broken one.

“I’m sorry.” Mourning Star moaned.

“Eh?” Starset pulled Mourning Star up more, obviously stretching the drake’s neck. “What’s that?”

“I’m sorry Starset.” Mourning Star said through his tears. “I’m sorry I made you like this.”

“Like this?” Starset asked, confounded, before something clicked, and he laughed. He laughed a laugh Spike knew, devoid of humor and full of mockery. “You think you made me like this you old wyrm?” Starset kneeled into Mourning Star’s back, making the old drake groan more. “Did you think you made me kill all of my siblings? That you made me like this? Did you think you made me like this? This may come as a shock then, but I love this.”

There was now more than audible racket to Starset’s proclamations. Some of congratulations, some of concern, some of arguments. The distaste was clear in every Chief’s face. Even Dazzle’s was beginning to flare the worryingly deep red. But something Spike almost didn’t notice, was a low rumble through the air.

“I’ve been buttering you up since the day I saw cracks forming, and it was all to easy.” Starset declared with glee. “You were so paranoid that all I had to do was say two words to send you into a paranoid spiral. ‘Oh, Flash seems rather popular lately.’ ‘Glint sure has been hunting a lot recently.’ ‘Luster sure has been eating a lot.’ It was so easy! No sooner did I say something that you wanted them gone!” Starset’s joy quickly died as he glanced over to Spike’s gathering. “The only one you never seemed to doubt was that invalid runt!”

Dazzle’s claws cracked into the ground, growling audibly, tail swinging angrily. Chromie did nothing to stop the response, and neither could Spike or Twilight do anything to stop her. But the rumble was in Spike’s gut now, and even Twilight’s wings were twitching. The Lung, Wyvern and Amphithere began to look to the south-east, something obviously troubling them.

“And it just had to come down to this!” Starset continued, oblivious to the ominous rumbling. “A month! One month and this would have been seamless! She would be gone and nobody would have needed to see this! But nooooo, you have to go and ruin our clan, debase it amongst these lesser imitations and dare ask to make peace with them!” Starset continued to pull of Mourning Star’s head, his claws even piercing through the drake’s scales. “You said there was untold carnage we had never seen, and I plan to rectify that fact once you’re-“

Starset didn’t get to finish his statement, as everything seemed to happen at once.

The rumbling rose not from the ground, but from the sky, as one massive dragon flew in at speeds no one could have predicted for one as large as they were. And as fast as they were, they landed impeccably in the Dawn Star Clan crater, filling it in its near entirety, dwarfing the two combatants by triple their combined height and mass. And just as fast as they had flown and landed, they ate Starset in one bite, cutting off his monologue and dropping Mourning Star to the ground.

As the dragon straightened up, everyone else was finally able to start panicking. Mostly by screaming and running away.

Chromie, Spike, and Twilight were in awe as the pale yellow dragon seemed to swill their mouth before finally spitting Starset out into the fleeing crowds.

“My scale.” The dragoness growled.

Dazzle seemed to be stunned for a completely different reason.

“Mom?”

Comments

[RadicalDishonesty]

Oh boy.

The fact that this dragon came in to solve the conflict would be nice.

Except that this new dragon is more obsessed with the scale than anyone else... Which makes things potentially much, much worse.

Still, a good chapter, with Spike interacting with the other clan's dragons.

[StainlessKey]

Ah, I'm so happy this story is still going on. Really niece chapter!