Conquest of the Mark of the Dragon

by Fateful Pony

Two Strong Powers

After a month had passed, Derpibra was well trained, far beyond even his own unprecedented abilities that not even he knew of until he met Sanctus. He ran up and down the trail leading to the mountain for a full week, enduring blistering heat, freezing cold weather. He exercised his magic pool by casting spells, and managed to create some spells as well.

Magnus, already being a highly enlightened dragon on his own, found the training to be refreshing since he has never actually fought a true battle in some time.

It was nightfall, on the very day that would count this month, the same black abyss of space seen on normal nights sat adamant above. Only this time, the night sky seemed different- there were no stars. The mountain seemed much darker and lifeless as a result.

The two training partners circled in the air, briefly clashing together before flying back again. Derpibra’s magic was flaring, and lasted many times longer than it did a month earlier. His body seemed to yearn for more strength as if it cannot be satisfied. Glistening sweat ran down his muzzle as he laid a powerful strike against Magnus’ chest, sending him flying back.

Of course, Magnus wasn’t using his full strength, but he was still astonished by Derpibra’s rapidly increasing strength and finesse in his Dragon Magic, the name Derpibra coined himself.

“I am still afraid that you may not be strong enough to face the Darkness…”

“Why?”

“Your progress is rapid, but still not enough. The Darkness may take us all… at this rate.”

“I’m still kinda confused about this though.” He said as he wiped the salty sweat from his forehead. “You never told me why this ‘Darkness’ wants to kill us so badly.”

“Light and Dark live together in harmony. They surround us constantly. Perhaps the Darkness wants more control, but we dragons do not know. The only way you will learn is if the Dark told you itself. All we know is that it is a threat to us all.”

“We work against a problem we are blind to. That’s crazy.”

“Simply said.” Magnus’ eyes shot ajar suddenly, as if he was scared by something,

“What’s wrong big guy?”

As Magnus looked into the distance, the ocean seemed to be disappearing, being replaced by total blackness. Soon, even the moon was not visible. “...It’s drawing near…”

“What? The Darkness?”

A voice roared across the island, shaking buildings, trees, and scaring off almost every animal in range. “Hello… King Magnus!”

“You again…!”

The very same black dragon from Derpibra’s vision soared from the darkness into view. It was missing scales, had spines comparable to crude machetes, and talons so sharp it can cut through one of the buildings with extreme precision.

“Indeed, King. Seems you are cornered.” He chuckled.

“I will kill you now. I won’t miss the chance again.” Magnus firmly declared. “I will stop you, Darkness!”

He shook his head. “That is not my name. I suppose maybe I should tell you before you die?”

“What…? Bastard! You dare hide your name from me? Such cowardice! You knew I would find you eventually…!”

“It is cowardly for you to sit atop this mountain and send your dragons out while hiding, hoping you do not die.”

Magnus, despite his relaxed nature, scowled at his observation. He has had enough. “Fool!” He charged at him, and engaged in a claw struggle. They wrestled and wrestled, but Magnus seemed to be losing the struggle.

“What’s wrong? Not up to speed?”

“I may be old, but I will still be your greatest challenge.”

“Let us test that shall we?” He shoved Magnus’ claws away and kicked him with devastating force, sending him into a wild tailspin.

As he recovered, he prepared a pale yellow sphere of energy in his snout, then launched a beam of blinding light at his opponent. When the beam impacted the unnamed dragon, he felt as though he at least did damage. But, it was to the contrary. As the light faded, the dragon stood still, unphased by the force.

“Such a dull attack. Magnus, I’ve expected better from the king.”

“W-what are you…?”

“Getting cold feet already? That is to be expected… to be feared by the Great Däischtert!”

(That’s his name…? It's unlike anything I’ve ever heard of…)

The dragons charged each other and landed several hits before rebounding. Every impact generating a hard booming sound that shook Derpibra’s ribs. “You got this Magnus!” He cheered, unsure of just how disadvantaged his mentor was.

“I would be foolish to say I did not expect such a high measure of strength from you, Däischtert.” He prepared two claw-fulls of energy. “It’s impressive, even when compared to the previous forms you took back then.”

“A serpent, a horned turtle, and now a dragon. My ideas are endless, and growing in power respectively. Whatever do you plan to do with that energy of yours, by the way?”

“You’ll see!” As he thrusted his fore claws forward, he launched a volley of great magical blasts.

Däischtert stood adamant on his position, and took every hit without flinching. Once the attack was over, he crossed his forelegs and smirked. “This will never get old.”

(This is preposterous! How is he not taking any damage? Not even a scratch upon his scales whatsoever!) Magnus vanished from sight, and appeared behind Däischtert, landing a swift roundhouse punch, merely pushing his opponent away.

Däischtert laughed maniacally. “Do you not know the definition of futility, Magnus!?” He gripped Magnus with his menacing talons and twirled into the air, then threw him down with extreme force, forcing him through the mountain from one side to the other.

“Magnus!” Derpibra called as the dragon rolled down the peak.

Magnus roared as his wing snapped under the pressure from his repeated descent.

Derpibra looked over the edge and saw his mentor lying on the ground below. “Magnus! Are you okay?”

He did not respond.

“Magnus!?”

The black dragon chuckled. “So, are you the newest recruit for your fallen king? I do not remember seeing you before.”

“You...monster…!”

“Is everything okay up here!?” A mare's voice rang from the other side of the peak.

Derpibra ignored the feminine voice and decided to surge his magic instead.

Twilight and her friends rushed over to him. Rarity spoke, “Please do tell us what is going on dear.”

He dashed down to Magnus, and tried to shake his mentor awake. “Please… please don't be dead!”

The dragon coughed up dirt and blood briefly, and sluggishly slid his head across the dirt to face him. “Derpibra… you… you must forgive me…”

He trotted to the beast’s right eye as it’s body laid on the ground between trees and boulders. “W-why?”

“I was not strong enough myself… the world may be doomed…” Magnus squinted his eyes closed, and water began to fill them. “I… failed us all…”

“...No, you didn't. You trained me. I can fight in your name.”

“It is of no use… Däischtert will kill you…”

“I’ll take him… I promise!”

“Oh, will you?” A dark voice sounded from behind the two. Derpibra’s eyes widened and his breathing quickened. “Wot, scared?”

He whirled around and shouted, “No! You hurt my mentor… my best friend! You’ll pay!” He charged Däischtert and landed a impactful strike on his snout.

Däischtert was unaffected by this, merely shrugging off the attack as a flick, and pounded him into Magnus.

Derpibra smashed into Magnus’ back like a brick wall, causing him to cough blood. He fell to his knees, and tried his damndest to get up, and he barely succeeded. He began to inch forward with difficulty, his fore hooves blocking his face for anymore incoming attacks.

“Ah, so weak and vulnerable. Should I just finish you off now gray one?” Däischtert created a massive halo of black energy in his claws, cracking with purple thunder and faint screams. “Join the abyss! Abyssal Strike!”

(I have to protect Magnus…) Derpibra erected a round barrier, surrounding him and Magnus in a form of lustrous energy. The Abyssal Strike impacted the barrier and caused a magnificent explosion, bringing down half the mountain with it.

When the dark mist dispersed, the barrier was still active, but quickly faded as Derpibra fainted from his overuse of magic.

“Hmph, such futility.” Däischtert scoffed.

Twilight, Applejack, and the rest were caught in the landslide, and managed to only survive with some moderate injuries, thanks to Twilight’s magic. But now she was spent, with only a small amount of energy left.

Twilight’s vision was blurred, but she managed to make out a gray figure to be some kind of zebra creature with red hair, and promptly casted a Healing Sphere in it’s direction. She scarcely missed, the orb only landing in front of him. “C’mon Twilight… you can move it over…” She grunted as she casted Levitation to move it slightly to the left, afterwards it homed in on Derpibra and encased him in a green aura, fading directly after. She then fell unconscious.

Derpibra awoke, still feeling hazy. He spotted his friends in a pile of rubble, and sighed. His entire body ached as he crawled slowly to Magnus, who still laid dormant on the ground. “Did I save you…?”

He did not respond.

“I didn't do this… just so you could die!” He slid his hooves down Magnus’ chest as his emotions boiled over. “Why…? Why was I not strong enough?” He sobbed through his words as his mane momentarily shined golden. “I could've saved you…” It faded to red and stood still. “MAGNUS!”

“Why do you feel such strong emotion for this old pile of scales?”

His pupils shrunk in size as he was further losing control of his sorrow and anger. “Pile of scales…? Scales!? How dare you say that about him! Bastard!” His power erupted into a torrent of light, pillars of blinding magic shot up from the ground as he howled a battle cry that could be heard for miles. The ground tremored under the force of his anger, the darkness began to recede, and with one final shine of golden hair, it maintained this state of color, and his eyes turned turquoise. His body surrounded by a bright yellow aura, his mane was spiked until it’s very ends.

Däischtert again scoffed, but much more blatantly. “So, it seems I’ve angered the gray one into a new state.”

Derpibra turned about and scowled at him. “You killed him… you hurt my friends… You die, here and now! This place will be your grave!”

“Seriously? What does a simple mane change accomplish?”

“You should be scared when my mane changes like this…”

“Mm hm, sure. So, what exactly are you then?”

“I… am a Super Saiyan!”

“Such a goofy name, but I digress. If you think you stand a better chance this way, then please do come at me. I’m waiting.” He beckoned for the golden warrior’s approach.

“With pleasure!” He shot a magic sphere into the ground in front of his opponent, causing a cloud of dust to kick up. He then seemingly vanished at a high rate of speed, and stood in the dust cloud. Crossing his hooves, he began the charging of magic. Surrounded by red and yellow energy, it grew more intense. The cloud dispersed, and he spotted the dragon standing only inches from him. “Over here!”

He looked down at the source of overwhelming power, and merely smiled as he was engrossed by a violent explosion.

The magical specs flickered as they scattered about. Däischtert merely sighed. “Was that all you could manage?”

“What? But I’m a Super Saiyan! You should be… I don’t know, dead!”

“Should I?” He threw a punch with his colossal claw, but Derpibra caught the titanic attack, but not without struggling.

“D-damn it…!”

“I cannot believe Magnus put so much faith into you. An arrogant fool who easily believed in what a spell would teach him. You were chosen by chance, not by whether or not you’re actually fit for it!”

“What…?” His guard was thrown off temporarily.

Seeing this as a chance, Däischtert swung his claw up, sending Derpibra flying into the mountain. Stuck into the rock much like a snow angel, Däischtert rammed his claw into the broken peak, crushing his body and simultaneously making him a grave. Derpibra reverted to his base form, and laid there, made into a fleshy statue of sorts.

“You aren’t very challenging are you?” After a moment, Däischtert looked up in response to a powerful magic that drew closer. “Hmm…? What is that?”

“Is my intervention of the best time?” A bright red-yellow griffon with a spiked tuft of hair and a golden aura much like Derpibra’s appeared, seemingly from nowhere. “Seems that gray fellow is in trouble.”

“Who are you? Hmph, likely another insect to squash.”

“I am Gilligan, a… ‘Super Saiyan’? Is that what the stallion called it…?”

“How exciting! Now I can relish in being able to squash you too, insect!”

Derpibra’s eyes cracked open, and he spotted the Griffon. “That griffon… looks familiar…” He tumbled down the slope and face planted into the dirt and mud below. He picked himself up, despite his pains, but his body gave way again shortly after.

Gilligan witnessed the stallion collapse, and he flew down, grabbed him, and vanished behind a faraway boulder. He then reverted to his normal self to mask his energy. “Wake up you…” He whispered.

Derpibra’s nearly anemic body laid dormant in his claws.

“I hope he is not dead… I need his help to fulfill my destiny.” He withdrew what seemed to be a two-tone orange-purple feather from a pouch strapped on his back. “This is my only Pheonix Down… but he needs it more than me.” He placed the feather on Derpibra’s chest and it vanished in a mist of ethereal feathers and energy, causing his patient to awake.

“Ugh, my head… hey, w-who are you…?”

“A familiar acquaintance. Listen, were you the source of that magnificent magic earlier?”

“Maybe…?” He stepped onto the ground and dusted himself off. “Anyways, thanks for the save-”

“Come on out. No point in hiding!” Däischtert readied a purple sphere in his claw, and let loose a reign of dark energy bullets into the air, destroying everything where they landed. They scarcely missed most of his actual targets, but he did manage to hit Gilligan in the back, causing him to shout in agony. “There you are… screaming in a fit of helplessness.”

“Blast!” He exclaimed as he made a valiant effort to dodge with Derpibra swiftly following behind.

“Where are you two going?” He launched a massive black magic volley in their direction. The spell chased after them, as they swerved in several directions with the orbs exploding around them. Once the assault ceased, they floated within the air, attempting to conjure a plan.

“The only one such way we can beat him is if we work together.” Gilligan said.

“Agreed.”

They both transformed, wrapped in the familiar gold aura and spiked manes. “Together!” They howled as they soared adjacent to each other with their forehooves locked in place of one another.

“Follow my lead!” Derpibra announced as he and Gilligan charged in with their hooves glowing a bright two tone orange and gray. Flying in at lightning speeds, they landed a deafening punch into his jaw, causing the beast to fall back.

“That’s it!” Gilligan cheered.

The dragon laughed with an extremely deranged tone. He stood up on his claws, and cracked his neck. “How foolish of you to think I would die so easily.”

“Dang! Why won't you stay down?” Derpibra said, annoyed.

“Let me let you on a secret before you perish… something your mentor has never told you I’d imagine…”

“Huh?”

“I was a Dragon Rider… just like you.”

“B-but you are a dragon…!”

“Not always. I used to be a pony, but his tainted light brought me on a path of destruction! That is why I served my vengeance…”

“What? No way…! He wouldn't do that!”

“Believe what you will, but you have been tainted by his ‘Light’... condemned to a guarantee of troubling futures. But… if you intend on fighting for him still, you will die.”

“...L-lies! Lies damn you! He wouldn't do such a thing!”

“Oh? Then take this as proof.” He levitated a battered metal that was seemingly fashioned into something, but its shape was hard to understand.

“What is this?”

“A mark of the Dragon Inquisition. I was part of the organization myself.”

“This thing is not a mark! It’s so… weird looking.”

“It’s old, been around for centuries. Do a blood test on the needle that pins to wherever you put it, and it will match me.”

“Why are you telling me this? Why were you trying to kill me?”

“I was intrigued in your strength, to see how far you could go. And, I will not let him commit the same misleading crime against others as he did with me!”

“How did you become a dragon?”

“...An irreversible spell, called Dragonward.”

“That’s… he used it on you?”

“Yes. Now, do you believe me? Or do I have to crush you?”

“Do not believe him.” Gilligan advised. “He's a tricker- a player of minds. You mustn't take his words to heart.”

“But he…”

“Listen.” Däischtert started. “You will understand in time what this mark means. You will need it. I was testing your resolve, and this mark is proof. We will part for now, and cross paths again… when you least expect it. For now, I advise you leave this island.”

“Wait! I have so many questions!” Before he could get an answer, Däischtert disappeared, leaving with Derpibra a multitude of questions and a mark of seemingly worthless, or rather questionable, value.

“Damn! He got away… why didn't you attack him?”

“What he was saying… was interesting. But why would Magnus do any of this? It's all a bit much to swallow.”

“I do not know, but if what the bloke was saying was truthful at all, then we are in for one dastardly quest, might I say. But, touching on another topic, I suppose you have unanswered questions for me, yes?”

“You remembered. Well, who are you?”

“I am Gaffold the Great… or perhaps once great.”

“Gaffold…? Your name rings a bell.”

“Indeed. I sought the chance to help you since the princess of friendship was accompanying you. That is why I stand here now.”

“Ok… why are you able to become a Super Saiyan? Only me and Magnus were training together…”

“I heard talk of ‘Darkness’, and since I lacked a purpose for some time, I thought I could give my life a change… a true use.”

“That's admirable. Hey, if you are looking for a new purpose and friends, why not come with me and my friends? This is our first adventure, but hey, I’m guessing we’ll be doing more soon. Need to head home first though, by the time I get back, my rent is gonna be overdue…”

Gaffold chuckled. “I see. Thank you for the opportunity. I will prove useful, I swear by the feathers on my back.”

“Then it’s settled. Let's head back to Equestria and see what happens. If this dragon spell Magnus used on me is any good, then I’m bound to just run into it, eh?”

“I concur.”