Prickle Berry Tries to Be Careful

by David Silver

40 - Start Episode 10 - Dragon Watch

Prickle landed lightly on the roof of Sugarcube Corner, looking around in quick sweeps of the city. She didn't spot any obvious trouble, which was good.

With the sound of rustling feathers, Immovable landed beside her. "Looks clear so far. I thought this would be more exciting."

Prickle shook her head at her larger cohort. "We're doing it because it should be done, not for fun."

"Just because it has to be done, doesn't mean it can't be fun too." She stuck out her tongue lightly before she spread her wings wide. "Want to spar? That's way more fun."

With a dramatic rolling of her eyes, Prickle shot down the idea, "We can spar after we're sure the dragons aren't going to attack us. It won't be good if they come while we're tired." She pointed down at the ponies walking and trotting along. "Look at them. They're all happy and busy, but if we let them down, what can they do? What would, say, Misses Cake do in the face of an angry dragon?"

"Run?" Immovable's shoulders lifted a little before a sigh rolled out. "Alright, alright. I'll get back to patrolling." She leveled a hoof at Prickle's smaller snout. "You sure are bossy for a filly."

Prickle swatted the hoof aside lightly. "That's why you're my sidekick. C'mon, we have to do this right." Visions of what could go wrong if they didn't danced in Prickle's mind. "Ponyville's counting on us."

They parted ways, bounding and flying to patrol the town they had been charged with.

---

"Wonder what they're up to." Silver Spoon peered up at the two heroes and back to her friends, which included Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie shrugged. "Rarity said I should try to not be outside while she was gone."

Diamond smirked. "Which you followed very well."

Sweetie returned with a smile. "I got bored, sue me. I could be helping ponies, or hanging out, or doing anything, but not while I'm stuck inside."

Silver pointed up at the bounding figure of Prickle. "You helped her nicely."

DT perked an ear. "The crusaders helped Tiny Titan? When did that happen?!"

Sweetie internally groaned. She was tempted to just tell Diamond and be done with it. "Even superheroes have issues."

Diamond huffed softly. "What even is her cutie mark? I bet it's... a pony holding up a planet or something."

Silver Spoon fixed her friend with a wry smile across her face. "Oh, it isn't that."

"You know? Tell me!" demanded Diamond, sitting up and staring at Silver.

Silver was unaffected by the stern command, enjoying the advantage she has. "It's a secret." She stuck out her tongue at Diamond. "Sorry."

"You aren't even a little sorry." Diamond crossed her forelegs with a pout before her eyes wandered to Sweetie's amused expression. "What? Do you know too?! What kind of secret is this?" She hopped up to all fours. "Her cutie mark can't be that big of a deal."

Sweetie waved it away. "If you knew her cutie mark, then you'd figure out who she was, and that's a secret." She got up herself and started to walk back towards the boutique. "It was nice hanging out with you two, but I should get going."

Diamond watched her go a moment before turning all her attention on Silver. "Alright, enough's enough! She just admitted it. You two know who she is." She leaned in close, face to face. "Out with it."

"Nope," sang out Silver Spoon. "You have to figure it out on your own."

"That's not how it works!" Diamond grabbed Silver at her shoulders and began to shake her giggling friend. "We're BFFs! Tell me!"

Silver brushed off one of the hooves and held her head high and haughtily. "If you don't know, you weren't supposed to. I'm sorry, Diamond."

Diamond crashed down onto her haunches. Being shot down so bluntly was not something she faced often, outside of her mother. "I... but... Oh Come on! You can give a hint, right?"

Silver's brow raised smoothly as she considered. "She certainly is strong."

Diamond threw up her hooves. "That's not a hint!"

Silver's eyes fell to half-lidded. "It's the best hint I can think of. Just promise you won't be mad when you figure it out."

Diamond thumped a hoof on the ground in obvious frustration. "Does she even go to school here? She should teach Prickle how to be confident, you know, instead of... that."

Silver's cheeks puffed out as she struggled to hold in her reaction. "Yeah..." she barely managed to get out.

---

Applejack twirled a lasso above her, rope clenched in her teeth. "Stop right there!"

Rainbow came down in a streak in front of the draconic invader. "Yeah, you ain't getting nowhere."

The bulky dragon just shrugged. "Alright."

Twilight tilted her head a little. "Alright?"

He nodded at her. "Uh huh."

Applejack's lasso fell from the sky to flop by her hooves. "Well, that was easy."

Rarity looked left and right. "I don't mean to bring up unpleasantries, but weren't there supposed to be many more than one dragon on the way?"

Rainbow darted in, face to face with the one dragon they had. "Alright, 'pal', where are your buddies hiding?!"

"Oh, um, they said..." He rubbed at his chin. "Where was it, uh... Oh yeah, Baltimare, ha, that's a funny name."

Fluttershy advanced on the dragon. "I'm taking you home. No more invading pony lands, alright?"

"Um, alright."

The two went off, leaving the others to consider their next move. Applejack wobbled a hoof in the air. "That was straight forward n' all, but that leaves us a bunch of others t' deal with headin' right fer a city."

Twilight shook her head slowly. "I don't like this, not one bit."

Rarity nodded in agreement. "That dragon didn't seem to have his mind on the prize, as it were. The poor brute was left here on purpose."

Rainbow clopped her forehooves together. "So what do we do about it?"

Twilight drew in a soft breath before releasing it as she turned towards Baltimare. "There isn't a lot of choice. This is our only lead. He may be right or wrong, but we have to investigate and be sure."

"And if he's wrong?" asked Applejack as she moved beside Twilight. "What then?"

"Then they're likely going for Ponyville, and it'll be up to 'Opposing Forces' to handle it."

Rainbow flew in over Twilight upside down. "Hey, you know I like Tiny Titan, but I'm not sure she's ready to handle a whole, uh, whatever a group of dragons is called."

Rarity offered a hoof. "Thunder."

Twilight tilted her head. "I heard it was a Weyr."

"Pride." Pinkie bobbed her head. "Whatever you call it, we should get to the party before it's already over!"

With a communal rallying cry, minus one, the group set forth, ready to repel the dragons.

---

Scootaloo soared, wind whistling past her face as she cheered. It had taken weeks to finish assembling the new course, but with every hard turn, loop, and jump, she knew all the more that the effort had been worth the time. Her scooter was part of herself, her wings that let her fly in patterns that even Rainbow Dash would be jealous of, if it were actual, you know, flying instead of rolling.

Scootaloo banished the thought. She was flying. She was soaring. She hit a lip and lifted into the air. She twirled her scooter beneath her and buzzed her wings to get some extra distance as she arced through the sky. She was really flying.

Just as she reached the apex of her jump, movement drew her attention. Something else was flying. Several somethings. They were far away, but she could spy them from her new height just briefly before she came back to the earth, slamming down in the track and resuming the course. She wondered what it was she had seen. They seemed too large to be weather pegasi or mail mares. Scootaloo hopped free of her wings, er, scooter when she reached the end of the track and popped it up into her waiting hooves.

"Woo hoo!" called out Apple Bloom, who had watched Scootaloo ride her track. "That was some mighty impressive rodeo, Scoots. How'd ya like it?"

"It was great," said Scootaloo distractedly. "Hey, uh, I saw a bunch of somethings coming this way."

Apple Bloom blinked at that. "What kinda somethings?"

Scootaloo put her hooves apart. "Big somethings. They were far away, I think, but..."

Apple Bloom half-turned and pointed at the smaller forms of the two heroes buzzing around the city. "Maybe we should tell 'em?"

"Good idea!" Scootaloo dropped her scooter and hopped on. "C'mon!" Apple Bloom hurried to get on behind her friend and they were soon zipping off back into the town proper.

---

"Titan!" came a distant holler from beneath them. Prickle turned in mid-air to face it, but couldn't change her trajectory. Immovable had no such limitation and swooped in to pluck Prickle up in her hooves and descend towards the shout.

Below them was Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, both waving frantically at them.

Immovable dropped Prickle to the ground and landed beside her. "What's wrong?"

Prickle bobbed her head. "Is somepony in trouble?!"

Scootaloo pointed in the direction she had seen something. "I saw something."

Both heroes peeked in the direction of the hoof's indication, but saw little from their angle. Immovable tilted her head. "What did you see?"

Apple Bloom threw her hooves wide. "Somethings big!"

Scootaloo bobbed her head in agreement. "And heading for Ponyville."

Prickle tensed. One dragon would be trouble enough. "More than one?"

Scootaloo gave a firm nod. "For sure. They were far away, but yeah, they're coming."

Immovable suddenly let out an excited whoop of joy. "Alright! Now we get to fight something worth our time." She grabbed the stunned Prickle and squeezed her close. "This is going to be so much fun!"

Scootaloo blinked softly before a grin split her face. "You like being a hero, huh?"

Immovable was quick to bob her head at Scootaloo. "Especially as a part of this team. Now, uh, how did it go..."

Prickle recovered and squirmed her way free. "You two should get indoors and stay there. Tell anypony else you see to do the same. This is not a drill."

"Oh yeah." Immovable nodded lightly, agreeing with Prickle's words. "That's what I was going for."

Apple Bloom pointed off towards the farm. "Ah'll head home, but you two be careful, alright? I don't wanta hear either of ya got hurt."

Author's Note:

It's time for action! Will this go smoothly, or will typos be the real action of the day?

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Comments

[badninja]

Yes her first real action and she will have great backup!

[Iso_the_Werewolf]

I bet DT would be that guy who watches Clark Kent get into a phone booth, emerge as Superman and then wonder where Kent went.

[Emtu]

8192646
Reminds me a bit of this:

[Chrome Masquerade]

"Hey, you know I like Tiny Titan, but I'm not sure she's ready to handle a whole, uh, whatever a group of dragons is called."

Rarity offered a hoof. "Thunder."

Twilight tilted her head. "I heard it was a Weyr."

I thought it was a flight?

[David Silver]

8192905 All correct.

[Booster Spice]

I thought it was BBQ chicken.

This cant be Garble. He isnt smart enough to do that quality of bait and switch distraction?

[RadicalDishonesty]

I wonder if this will be a much more... intractable thing than the others. Might be a bad fight.

Either way, this does put Spike into danger and I wonder if they'll be able to repel the dragons before they get to him. Danger! Excitement! Intrigue!

Next time, on Prickle Punches Stuff Hard.

[David Silver]

8193349 Carefully.

[tsaukpaetra]

Immovable sure is excited. Our money is on the "this is a situation where words could have prevented the worst of it" situation.
It's a "friendly" exhibition, we swear!
Keep going! ;)

[Morphy]

I do hope Immovable realizes that being able to resist being moved does not mean you are also fireproof. An angry dragon with a hurt paw of broken claws will use fire on the thing that hurt them most likely... assuming the dragon can catch it's breath after a gut punch from Tiny Titan- *gaaaasp!*

Of course, that's if things get really violent. For all we know, there'll be a standoff then RD shows up, causing a fight until Twilight appears and "separates the children" so adults can talk. (Well, that would be expected if Celestia was there, not sure Twilight has the Princess-ly confidence to do that)