A Nightmare Come True

by ShadowSprint

Chapter 26

Twilight groggily rolled over, half-asleep. Her body weak, and aching. Her chest heavy with each breath, flashes of what seemed like a dream passed through her head. At least, she wished them to be a dream. The cage, Chrysalis, then Celestia . . . a kiss, and then pain. Pain that crushed her body and sucked out her being. Then blackness. These memories ate away at Twilight’s drowsiness, until she had no choice but to open up her eyes.

The cage, they were still in the cage. Chrysalis sat beside Twilight. The queen looked to be sleeping. So calm and content, it was then that Twilight realized she’d been nuzzled up against Chrysalis’ side. Her body pressed firmly against the queen’s chitin. Why? Why weren’t alarms ringing loudly in her head? Why was she so comfortable next to Chrysalis? It almost felt natural, like she belonged here. Twilight pressed a hoof to her forehead. How much love had the queen sapped out of her?

Slowly standing on all fours, the princess wobbled away from the slumbering changeling. Twilight needed her bearings. But each step she took away from Chrysalis somehow caused a drop in temperature. By the time she’d reached the projection of her six friends, she was freezing cold. It was then that Twilight realized she’d been sleeping with Chrysalis on the opposite side of their prison. It took everything inside her to keep from running back to the queen’s warmth.

Did I do the right thing? The words of doubt were faint, just barely making it through the cracks of her clouded brain.

“Twilight. You’re up already?” Chrysalis’ voice softly carried over from the other end of the cage.

“Queen Chrysalis . . .” Twilight said, turning away from her friends at the soothing words. “What’s happened to me? Why do I feel so different?” She hadn’t even noticed that she’d addressed Chrysalis as queen. It came out just so naturally. It felt right.

“It’s your love Twilight.” Chrysalis said. “You’re probably feeling a bit drained at the moment. Come, rest next to me and you’ll feel better. Tremor is already on his way, and you’ll need your strength for what is to come.”

The invitation to rest once more next to the queen sounded wonderful. Twilight nodded her head and walked back over to Chrysalis’ side. The screaming in the back of her head warning of danger had been reduced to an inaudible whisper. Twilight seated herself next to Queen Chrysalis, her body once more pressing up against the changeling’s side.

“Why aren’t we out of here yet? I thought you said my love would be enough.”

Chrysalis only smiled. She ran a hoof through Twilight’s mane. “It is plenty, trust me on that Twilight. But we mustn’t rush things. Once we escape this prison, we’ll have Daybreaker and her Sun Flares on us. We need to be prepared for that. Don’t worry. We will be out of here shortly.”

Twilight nodded her head and closed her eyes. She’d only meant to close them for a second, but somehow managed to drift off back to sleep. This time though, her dreams were devoid of her friends. Instead, her dreams wandered off into a carefree wonderland that she hadn’t experienced since she was a filly. Books on top of books on top of books. Not a friend was in sight, not even Spike. Somehow, this didn’t bother her, didn’t phase her. She had her books, and an eternity to read through them. Nothing mattered. As Twilight flipped through page after page, she noticed a figure staring down at her from one of the second story windows. Twilight paused her reading and squinted through rays of sunlight that leaked into her study. At first, it was only a silhouette.She couldn’t make out their face. Then slowly, she realized that it wasn’t a silhouette or even a shadow but was the dark chitin of Queen Chrysalis. The queen watched Twilight, with a growing smile across her face. And it was comforting to know she was there.

The imagery soon vanished and Twilight found herself sucked into a black hole that appeared underneath her hooves. The books vanished along with the castle. They faded off into blackness. Suddenly she could see her breath, her body shivering. As if she’d been tossed out into the snow, the princess heard her teeth start to chatter.

Twilight’s eyes shot open. The cold was real. She glanced around and found that Chrysalis was no longer by her side. Just as before, she couldn’t bear to keep herself too far away from the queen. Her mind clouded, there was no longer an argument not to join Chrysalis at the edge of their prison. Though still tired, the extra nap had taken away the uneasiness in the princess’ step. “What’s going on?” She asked.

“Nothing princess.” Chrysalis answered. “My loyal changeling Tremor has just arrived.”

Sure enough, on the other side of their cage, stood the lone changeling Tremor. He held in his hoof a large pile of necklaces. Each one bore a shard of some kind of green crystal. Twilight felt as though she should recognize this gem but could not put her tongue on where she’d seen it before.

Each of the necklaces had been bound together, into one thick hoop of string and gem.

“Just as you instructed my queen, everything is ready for escape.” Tremor said, showing Chrysalis the necklaces, and bowing to her.

“Excellent.” The queen smiled. “Twilight, this is what we’ve been waiting for. It’s time for us to make our grand escape.” Then pushing the princess back, Chrysalis said, “Step back.”

Twilight did as she was told, without question. She watched the queen lower her head against the bars. Just as before, the cage glowed an angry red upon detection of magic. Chrysalis however ignored it. The queen spun out a bolt of green, electric-like magic. It fizzled and popped against the red barrier. Focusing her shot like a laser, the changeling increased her output. The thin little spark of magic soon became a winding tornado of energy, drilling into a single point on the barrier.

A sound similar to thunder echoed through the caverns. One glance about the cage and Twilight found the red barrier starting to warp. It twisted and knotted around the bars. The barrier jerked and bounced against the queen’s magic, trying to force it back in.

Chrysalis however, wasn’t done. She dug in her hooves and with a grunt forced more magic out from her horn until a steady glow of green enveloped her body. The beam of magic from her horn suddenly exploded through the barrier, creating a hole about eight inches in diameter. Gusts of wind from unknown origins swept up around the inside of the bars, trying to force the break in the dome shut.

Twilight considered adding her own magic to assist but dared not interfere or distract the queen. In fact, with the magic Chrysalis had gained, she looked far from being fatigued. Quite the opposite, when Chrysalis saw her magic penetrate the cave wall on the other side, she only chuckled. Then with a sweeping motion of her head, she grew out her beam of magic. As it bounced against the sides of the barrier, the thunderous bending and cracking of the dome only grew louder.

Chrysalis’ magic ate away at the edges, and just when she thought it might not be enough, cracks sprinkled to life around the reddened walls. Like a pony walking across a thin sheet of ice, Daybreaker’s protective spell collapsed with the same shattering sound reverberating through the caves.

“You did it!” Twilight cried out.

Chrysalis only laughed. All that was left was the cage door. Whipping her head back, the queen fired off another blast of her magic. The door stood no chance and was ripped off its hinges. Hurled into the blackness of the caves, a soft thump was heard when the door smashed into a far-off wall of stone.

Chrysalis had already stepped out of her prison when she called back, “Twilight. Come!”

Jumping at the call to her name, Twilight answered, “Yes Queen Chrysalis.” And she rushed out of the cage in time to see Tremor place the wreath of emerald shards around his queen’s neck.

Beaming proudly with the dangling shards around her chest, Chrysalis wore a smile that wrapped around her face and barred her sharp teeth. “Now is our time. Now we take back Equestria from that damned Daybreaker! Twilight, come!”

---

Derpy bolted up. Water dripped down from her fur and mane. She gasped for breath, her body shivering from the cold. Land? I’m on land? How? The pegasus stumbled onto her four hooves and then nearly fell over again. It took her several seconds to calm down. Had they made it? Was this the edge of the Dragon Lands? Derpy couldn’t tell. Everything looked exactly like the beach they’d pushed away from.

“We . . . We didn’t get turned around . . . did we?”

As if to answer her question, a loud screech from above caught Derpy’s attention. She gazed up into the darkened sky in time to spot a pair of silhouettes flying overhead. The pegasus craned her neck to follow the creatures. They flew off into the distance, over a jungle leading deep into the island, and then up the towering summit of a smoking volcano. They were gone. But they had definitely been dragons.

While the sound of the airborne behemoths had been terrifying, Derpy’s eyes widened in shock when she saw the reddest moon she’d ever seen hanging high overhead.Clouds drifted over and between, creating crimson shadows cast across the beach. What was it Maud had said about a red moon? If she remembered correctly, Maud had said something bad was going to happen. Derpy’s mind raced. Was it something with Spike? O-Or maybe with the others in Canterlot?!

“Maud!” Derpy cried out. Rejuvenated from fear alone, the pegasus leapt into the sky. “MAUD!” She cried out again, circling over the beach.

Where is she? She has to be alright. Derpy consoled herself. She didn’t know what she’d do if Maud wasn’t here. The pegasus dropped in low, combing over the beach and towards the jungle’s edge. Even with the bright blood red moon shining down from above, the night sky still obscured many of the objects in the sand. More than once, Derpy stopped, thinking she’d found her friend; only to discover it was a rock or some other formation.

“Maud!” The pegasus shouted out once more. “Where are you?! It’s me, Derpy!”

As time went on, Derpy’s heart began to sink. Her voice grew hoarse. She wasn’t finding Maud. The pony wasn’t here. No! She’s here! I’ll find her! She argued with herself, dropping in low over another patch of sand. Once more. Nothing. What would she do? She had to find Maud. What if the pony was still out at sea? She’d have to go back. But where would she search? Maud could’ve drifted anywhere. She could even be afloat some scrap of wood in the middle of the Celestial Sea! How would Derpy ever find her?!

Running out of breath, Derpy crashed landed near a small palm tree. She panted, heaving for air. Tears dripped down her face. “Maud . . .” she whimpered. Derpy couldn’t stop herself from crying. She was alone. Spike was captured and Maud was . . . who knows where Maud had drifted off to. She could be dead for all Derpy knew.

Curling up near the tree, Derpy stared up at the crimson moon. Now that she had stopped moving, she realized how cold she’d gotten. Her coat was still wet, and the air already possessed a chill that would rattle bone. She needed to keep moving, needed to press on. But suddenly she couldn’t stop shaking. The pegasus decided she’d take a rest, only for a minute, and then she’d continue. Maybe the dragons could search for Maud on the way back. That had to be it.She couldn’t lose hope. Not now.

Derpy relegated herself to watching the tide. It was rhythmic, and soothing. She found it eased her nerves by providing a distraction. That’s all she needed. Something to look at until she could muster up the strength to fly up to those dragons and . . .

Screeoonnchhh!!!

The battle cry of one of the dragons echoed down from the sky and Derpy yelped in terror. No, she didn’t want to go up there. Not alone. But I have to. I-I’m all that’s left. Her mind reminded her and the pony turned back, staring up and over the jungle of greenery and the rising summit of the island’s volcano. Derpy took in a deep breath. The sooner this was over the better right? Then everything could go back to normal . . . right?!

Derpy took in a deep breath. Maybe she was ready, maybe she wasn’t. But she was going to try. But before she could take off, the tide behind her rushed in at an alarming rate. The sea tossed up waves a foot or so high that drenched the pegasus’ hooves.

Derpy turned back to see what had happened and her mouth dropped. Rising out of the water was the head of a dragon. Its head was at least the size of Twilight’s castle back home. It’s sparkling white scales shimmered from the moon’s crimson rays. Two misty blue eyes, each the size of Derpy’s head stared back down at her. She stood motionless as the beast ran its tongue around two long pointed fangs that hung down from its upper jaw like a rattle snake.

Derpy pressed herself against the trunk of the tree she’d been resting under. If this thing had any thoughts on devouring her, she didn’t have a chance.

For a moment, the dragon just stared at her. It didn’t move, it didn’t flinch. It just stared. Its eyes briefly glanced up at the red moon, as if it knew the significance of its color. That’s when the beast lowered its head and attempted a bow at Derpy.

The pegasus sat confused, watching the dragon’s movements. But that’s when she saw something resting on the tip of its nose. Not just something, but someone! As the moon’s rays glinted across the creature’s snout, Derpy was able to make out the form of a pony. She felt her eyes go wide, and without thinking, she jumped out into the air. Flying over to the dragon, she gazed down and sure enough was Maud Pie, laying unconscious right there.

“T-T-Thank you . . .” she decided she needed to say. The beast only nodded his head in response.

Then softly, the dragon lowered his nose until the tip pressed lightly into the sand. With the change in angle, Maud slid off his scales and onto the beach. The dragon backed off from the shore and was gone. It was only after the thing had fully vanished did Derpy realize who it was. It had been the sea serpent that had followed them through the Celestial Sea.

“D-Derpy?” Came Maud’s faint voice.

“Maud!” Derpy exclaimed and flew to the earth pony’s side as fast as she could. “You’re alright!” She said, “You’re really alright!” Without thinking, she leaned in and embraced the pony. Fresh tears streamed down from her eyes. She wasn’t alone. Maud was okay. “I-I thought I’d lost you.” She whimpered into her friend’s soaking mane.

“I’m glad I didn’t.” Was Maud’s monotone reply, a tone Derpy had long grown accustomed to. “What about Spike?”

Derpy gulped. “They got him.” She whispered, hanging her head. “I’m really sorry Maud but . . .” and she gazed back over to the red moon hanging high in the sky.

When Maud’s eyes fell upon the moon, her body went limp. They’d failed. They’d come so close, so very very close, but it was too late. Had it started? Maud didn’t even want to think about it. If what Luna said was true, then right now, right this very moment . . . Maud shuddered. Even when Derpy stepped away for her to get up, she didn’t. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered anymore. “P-Pinkie . . .” she whispered.

Derpy watched her friend, watched Maud’s heart break right there. She couldn’t imagine what must be happening. What this must mean. And, she didn’t think she wanted to know. But at the same time, seeing Maud like this, Pinkie’s strongest sister, giving up like this, she couldn’t take it. “M-Maud . . . maybe it’s not too late . . .” Derpy said, trying to sound optimistic. “M-Maybe it just went red. Maybe we still have a chance.”

The earth pony turned to face Derpy. “Do you really think so?”

“Yes!” Derpy lied. Well, she wasn’t sure if she was lying, but she couldn’t give up. She couldn’t and wouldn’t let her friends down. “I’m sure of it! We can still make it! Come on! I’m sure the dragons are just up at the top of that volcano!” And she pointed up towards the sky, where the red glow of the volcano center towered over the island.

“Are you sure?”

“It has to be! I’ve heard all kinds of dragons flying overhead. That had to be where they were going!”

Derpy watched as her friend tried to stand. She didn’t know how much of what she said was believed. To be honest, she wasn’t even sure she believed it. But it didn’t matter. They had to keep moving. She had to keep moving. Derpy had almost gone crazy without Maud being here. And she was certain to go crazy if she stayed any longer.

The earth pony stumbled when she attempted to stand. Derpy reached out to catch her but Maud managed avoid toppling over. A small tremble in her left eye was the only indication Derpy saw that Maud was in pain.

“What’s wrong?”

“My leg,” Maud motioned down at her right foreleg. “I think it’s twisted.”

Maud slowly stood on three of her four hooves. She slowly lowered her hoof. Only touching it on the ground felt like she’d punctured her hoof on a thousand needles. She immediately pulled her leg up and then sat down. Maud’s ears drooped and her eyes found the sand. “I can’t walk like this.”

Derpy’s mouth dropped. “B-But you can’t just give up!”

“I’m not. But I also can’t walk.” Maud explained. She let out a sigh. “If I try to go with you, I’ll only slow you down. We’ll never make it.”

“But, I don’t want to go alone.” Derpy whispered.

“You don’t have a choice. And we’re out of time. I know you can do it Derpy.”

“B-But what about you?”

Maud simply patted the sand. “I’ll be right here. Waiting for you.”

Derpy wanted to argue. But Maud was right. She knew it. She didn’t have a choice in this, and she hated that. “Maybe we can pick you up on our way . . . uhh me and the dragons I mean.”

Maud smiled. “That’d be great.”

Silence fell between them. Derpy struggled to find something else to say. She didn’t mean to stall, but wasn’t there some kind of touching speech or advice to give at times like this? She didn’t know. She knew nothing about these situations, never considered herself meant for these kinds of situations. She wasn’t a hero, probably never would be.

“Derpy?” Maud asked, seeing the trouble in the pegasus’ eyes. “Is something wrong?”

“No, I’m fine.” Derpy quickly answered. “It’s just . . . well I’ll be back as soon as I can!”

Again, Maud nodded. “I’ll be here.”

Derpy search for something else to say, some kind of sendoff. But unable to think of anything, she stared up towards the volcano. It was now or never. Taking off into the sky, she flew as fast as she could towards the volcano, towards the dragons.

---

Chrysalis powered up her magic, focusing her energy on the large black rock that hung over Twilight’s friends. After their freedom from the cage, Chrysalis had led both Twilight and Tremor to a small room on the main floor. The queen assumed the room to be an office of some sort. What with the desk and the assortment of books scattered across it, Daybreaker had probably spent hours in here trying to prolong her abilities.

The black rock that hung over Twilight’s friends served a double purpose. It enshrouded a pearly white orb which Chrysalis only assumed to be the Seer Stone that Daybreaker had mentioned. The rest of the rock had holes drilled into it like a honeycomb. Golden dust sprinkled down from the holes and onto the ponies. It was this dust that kept them asleep.

Finally releasing her magic, Chrysalis easily blew apart the magnificent rock.

“Girls!” Twilight shouted and rushed over to meet her friends. They’d only just started to stir when she made it by their side. “Oh thank Celestia you’re all okay!”

The first one to respond as she lifted her head up from the floor was Applejack. The earth pony stretched her weary limbs. “T-Twilight? Is that really you?” She asked.

The princess nodded excitedly. “Yes Applejack, it is. It’s really me!”

“How long have I been asleep?” The farmer asked.

Before Twilight could even answer, the grunts and moans of Rainbow Dash and Rarity interrupted her. “Good morning girls.” She said. Whether or not it was truly morning didn’t matter. The princess just couldn’t help but be overjoyed with the reuniting of her friends.

“What’s going on? Where are we?” Rainbow Dash interjected. Her groggy voice going right along with her drunken attempt at flying. The spell Daybreaker had cast on the girls clearly were taking a bit of time to wear off.

“There isn’t much time to explain.” Twilight said.

“Twilight! Look out!” Spike’s sudden outburst caused the princess to fling her head around. Every one of her friends stood poised ready for attack.

Upon seeing what Spike had gotten so worked up about, Twilight released a sigh and even giggled. Her little dragon was standing cowering before Queen Chrysalis who had snuck up behind Twilight. She couldn’t help but step up to Spike and using her magic to deposit him onto her back, she said, “Oh Spike. Calm down. It’s just Queen Chrysalis.”

The dragon’s mouth dropped open. “J-Just Queen Chrysalis?! Twilight, how can you say that?”

The princess tried to brush him off but when she’d turned back to her friends, she found all of them to be in much the same state. Each one eyed her suspiciously. From Pinkie Pie to Rarity and even Fluttershy, her five friends backed away from her when she stepped towards them. “What’s wrong?”

“You can’t possibly be the real Twilight. The real Twilight would never associate herself with such a . . . such a monster!” Rarity shot back.

“You don’t understand,” Twilight said. “Queen Chrysalis is the only reason you’re free. She was imprisoned with me. We’re working together to stop Daybreaker.”

“And just why would we trust her?” Applejack asked, eyeing the princess suspiciously.

Even Spike hopped off her back and joined the others. And for some reason, Twilight struggled to understand their feelings. Something in the back of her mind itched and clawed for her attention. But something else blocked it, obscured what it was trying to communicate. When Twilight looked at Chrysalis, all she saw was the queen who helped her escape, promised to help bring down Daybreaker. Nothing else mattered right now.

When Twilight looked back to Applejack, she saw her friend was still waiting for an answer. So, she said the only thing that might convince them. “Because, she knows where the Elements of Harmony are. And we can’t beat Daybreaker without them.”

“Oh come on!” Dash cried out. “Aren’t those two working together?!”

“No.” Twilight answered. “Daybreaker turned on her and threw her in that prison with me.” A number of groans and complaints indicated her friends were anything but impressed. “Most of her changelings are probably dead.”

“I’ve seen them.” Spike answered. All eyes fell onto the little dragon. Chrysalis especially, who hadn’t expected such an outburst. Even Tremor had neglected to search for his brethren out of fear of what he’d find. “When I was passing through the Hayseed Swamps with Derpy and Maud, we stumbled on the remains of the hive . . . I think. There were changelings everywhere.”

Spike’s voice rambled off and Chrysalis took one step forward. “And? Were any alive?”

“One. But he didn’t make it.”

Chrysalis grit her teeth. Daybreaker is going to pay for this. Oh yes, she will pay dearly. “Reunion over!” The queen announced. “Daybreaker will be onto us soon if she isn’t already. Tremor!” The queen turned to her loyal subject. “Scout on ahead. Make sure the way is clear for us.”

The changeling, who’d lingered through the conversation nodded his head and disappeared out into the hallway.

“Twilight.” Applejack whispered. “Ya can’t expect us ta do this. Ya really can’t. I mean, this is Chrysalis we’re talking about here. Ya know . . . the reason the whole mess at Ponyville happened . . . the reason my family is gone.”

“And what about my sister?” Pinkie suddenly added. “Spike mentioned something about Maud?!”

The dragon only shook his head. “I’m sorry Pinkie. I don’t think we’ll see her again . . . Changelings . . .”

“Changelings who were only after you Spike because Daybreaker threatened Queen Chrysalis’ life. They had to protect their queen. Don’t you girls understand?! She’s been under just as much threat as I have. I know you can’t trust her, but she may be our only hope to finding the Elements and saving Equestria.” Turning to Applejack, Twilight added, “And like it or not, she may be the only hope you have in seeing your family again.”

The farmer cursed at such a thought. Twilight turned to the others and finished, “If we need to deal with her afterwards, then we will. But right now, we have to work together on this. It’s the only way.”

Applejack shook her head. She looked to the others, to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, to Rarity and Fluttershy. None were equipped to doll out an answer, and so the farmer took it upon herself to turn to their friend and say with a sigh, “Very well. But we’re trusting you Twilight, not her. Please . . . don’t make us regret this.”

Twilight smiled, nuzzling against Applejack to the surprise of all of her friends. “Thanks Applejack. And don’t worry, you won’t regret this.”

Before any-pony could respond, Chrysalis’s voice echoed from the doorway. “Come on! We have to get moving!”

Twilight was the first to gallop on over to the queen. She trotted right on over to Chrysalis and joined the changeling with a little too much physical contact. Applejack looked at the others and blinked. “Anyone else think something’s up with Twilight?” The others quickly nodded and AJ just turned back. Looks like they’d have to keep an eye on their friend. Something wasn’t right about this.

Spike watched his friends join Twilight alongside Chrysalis one by one. He remembered what Maud had said back in that jungle, how all of them were going to die. Did this have something to do with it? If only Spike had questioned Maud for details, maybe he’d know better how to handle this situation.

“Spike?”

A soft voice from behind the dragon caused him to spin around. “Oh . . . Pinkie Pie. What is it?” He asked the party pony.

“You said something about Maud.” She said, her voice heavy, and deflated of all enthusiasm and happiness. It was a voice that just didn’t belong to Pinkie’s lips. “What happened to her?”

“After Chrysalis invaded, her and Derpy went with me to try and get help.” Spike explained. He felt the mare’s eyes staring intently, listening to every word from his lips. He needed to be careful. He didn’t want to upset Pinkie Pie, despite the news he was about to reveal. “We tried crossing the Celestial Sea . . . but were attacked. The changelings captured me, but the boat we were on . . . sank. I didn’t see Derpy or Pinkie after that.”

“Oh.” Was Pinkie’s only response.

“Let’s go!” Chrysalis hissed from the door and that’s when Spike noticed that they were waiting on him and Pinkie Pie.

“D-Don’t worry Pinkie. I-I’m sure you sister is fine. She’s really tough. Saved me a bunch of times. Derpy too!”

Pinkie nodded and brushed away a couple tears. “Thanks Spike. I’m glad she was with you.” Then leaning down, she asked, “Ride?”

Spike gratefully accepted and Pinkie carried the little dragon on over to the others. She got a glare from Chrysalis for causing such a delay, one of which she couldn’t care less about. Then with the others, Chrysalis led them out of the room and into the castle, hopefully towards the Elements of Harmony.

---

Navigating the summit of the island’s volcano, Derpy fought to keep her body shaking with fear. Never before had she flown into dragon territory like this. With the barren dirt and escalating heat, the pegasus had little room for error, and even less room to hide. She gulped, wishing this was over with. Every flap of her wings brought the pony closer to the screeching sounds she’d heard when first she landed on this island. Do this for Maud. Do this for Spike. I have to hurry. Red moon . . . something bad could be happening. Derpy kept her mind swirling with these thoughts, as they were the only things keeping her from fleeing at the sight of fire spewing up into the air.

But just where was she supposed to go? Spike had mentioned something of a dragon princess or ruler or something a while ago. It had almost seemed like he was friends with them. Derpy though, couldn’t for the life of her remember the dragon’s name. “Just ask for help. How hard can it be?” She told herself. “Just go up to them and ask for help. We’ve got some kind of peace agreement, don’t we?”

Upon hearing a pair of voices coming from the mouth of the volcano, Derpy quickly bolted down behind a large rock. She’d been caught off guard as two teenage dragons emerged from the fiery pit. One was tall with dull red scales, a yellow underbelly, and yellow spikes that ended in a webbed crest on his head. He roared with laughter at the other dragon, a pink dragon who slithered around on her tail. Her legs dangled at her sides, wings folded up behind her rather slim body, with ram like horns protruding from her head.

“Yeah, and you should’ve seen the look on his face Ballista!” The red dragon scoffed to the pink one.

“Well knowing you Garble, I’m sure he won’t make that mistake again.”

“Ya dang right he won’t! I wiped the floor with that measly lil runt!”

Does it have to be those two?! Derpy worried. She hoped that at least the dragons she’d meet wouldn’t appear so threatening. Now she wished she hadn’t hid herself. Stepping out to speak with them was far more difficult than just being spotted straight away. Derpy wiped some sweat from her brow. She realized she needed to hurry. It was far hotter up here than she’d originally thought. Even the dirt had started to burn the bottom of her hooves.

“Come on Ballista, I’ll show where I found him!”

Derpy heard the sounds of wings flapping into the air. They were leaving! She had to speak with them before they were gone. Now’s the time. Don’t be scared. Don’t be scared. She told herself. Then jumping out from her hiding spot, Derpy rushed over to the hovering dragons. “W-Wait! Wait! I-I need to talk to you!” She shouted, her voice squeaking as she desperately tried to remain calm.

“Hey! Lookie here!” Garble shouted. “A pony! Up here in our neck of the woods!” He mocked.

“Please,” Derpy begged, jumping into the air just to save her hooves from the hot ground. “I need your help. My friends, they’re in trouble!”

Garble touched back down with the earth. His wide grin stretched across his face as he approached the pegasus. “Help? And just why should we help you? What even makes you think we want to help you?”

At the tone of the dragon’s voice, Derpy instinctively backed up. “My friends . . .” her voice lost much of the energy from before. “Daybreaker and Queen Chrysalis have taken over Equestria . . . we need help . . .”

“Chrysalis? Say I’ve heard of her!” Ballista shouted from behind Garble. “She’s one of them changelings, isn’t she?” When Derpy nodded in confirmation, the pink dragon added, “Them things can disguise themselves as whatever they want.”

In one swift motion, Garble reached out and grabbed Derpy by her hind legs. The pegasus let out a scream as the dragon yanked her out of the air and held her like a chicken strung up by the legs. “So, what I’m hearing is that you must be a changeling of some kind, here to take over our lands!”

“N-No, I’m not a changeling . . . I swear,” Derpy begged. Her heart raced, blood pumping through her body as Garble dragged her along across the volcano. His grip was so tight on her hind legs that any more pressure and he couldn’t broken some of her bones. “Please . . . my friends are in danger . . . I need help.”

Garble only laughed. “Yeah I bet you do.”

The dragon stretched out his arm and Derpy soon found herself hovering over a pit of molten lava. The heat emanating off the boiling magma singed her mane and dried out the air. She could feel her lungs burning with each breath.

“Hey! If I drop her, I basically just saved us from invasion huh?!” Garble announced.

“My hero!” Ballista played along.

“NO!” Derpy shouted, but her pleas fell onto deaf ears as the dragon flung her down towards the lava. As she plummeted down, something boiled over inside Derpy. Something that had never before erupted was overflowing inside her. Her muscles tightened and her jaw clenched. How dare they? How dare they do this to her?! To Maud and Spike! To Pinkie Pie and the others! To Boulder!

Furious and fed up with the garbage they’d all had to put up with, Derpy flung herself at the lava and at the last second, she pulled up, using her momentum to rocket back up at the big red buffoon. He’d been too busy laughing his butt off, he never saw her coming.

Derpy’s forehead connected with the dragon’s chin in a shattering CRACK that sent Garble toppling over backwards. Derpy just hovered and watched Garble grab hold of his jaw in pure shock. “I’m. So. Sick. Of this!” Derpy practically screamed. “I want help! I need a princess or dragon queen, or . . . or something!” Her body shook with rage as she ranted. “My friends are dying, and I’m just trying to help them! And all you want to do is throw me in lava! You won’t even listen to me!”

If Derpy would’ve had fingers, she’d have balled them up into fists. She just couldn’t take it anymore. She’d gotten so sick of it all, everything going wrong. Everything! And now all she needed to do was ask a couple of dragons for help, and this is how they acted! Why did Spike even want to come here if this is what they were like?!

“Ah . . . Ah fink she broke my jaww,” Garble spat out.

Derpy turned on Ballista. She didn’t know what she’d do, or even if she could do anything. But she did know one thing. She wasn’t going to be caught off guard again. But Ballista looked far from interested in fighting. Instead, the dragon backed off. Her eyes were focused on something. At first, Derpy thought the pink dragon was looking at her, but then realized she was looking past the pegasus.

Turning around, Derpy found a small blue dragon flying overhead. Much smaller than the other two, she probably wasn’t much bigger than Spike. The moment she saw Derpy and the others, she drifted down to them and asked, “What’s going on here?”

“Uhhh . . . she did it!” Ballista pointed at Derpy and then without waiting, took off into the sky and disappeared.

This left only Derpy and Garble before the blue dragon. Was it worth asking this dragon for help? With her being so small, would she even be of any help? Then again, did it matter? Derpy had long ago run out of time. Help was help.

“Who are you?” The blue dragon asked, hovering only several feet away from Derpy.

“Uhhh . . . I’m Derpy. I’m here to . . .”

“She the one who attacked mee,” Garble stuttered out, an incriminating claw directed at the pegasus. “She headbutted mee in the shin.” The dragon’s speech a bit slurred as he cupped his chin.

Derpy saw the dragon’s eyes fall back onto her. Without thinking, she immediately flew over to the dragon and grabbed onto one of her claws. The dragon tried to pull away, but Derpy held her firmly in place. “Please, I’m not a changeling! I swear. I need help! My friends . . . they’re in trouble! I need to find the dragon princess or queen or whatever . . . I need help!”

Yanking her claw out of Derpy’s hooves, the dragon backed away to grab some personal space. “I am Dragon Lord Ember.” She announced. “I am the current ruler of the dragons. What’s going on? What do you need?”

This was it. She’d found exactly who she was looking for. Derpy wasted in no time in explaining. “The changelings, and Daybreaker . . . they’ve taken over Equestria and captured every-pony. They’ve got Twilight Sparkle and her friends, Spike, Doctor Hooves probably, and . . . it’s just Maud and me. We need . . .”

Ember listened and her ears suddenly perked up when she’d heard a particular name. “They’ve got Spike?” She interrupted.

Derpy nodded. “A-And a bunch of others. They’re probably trapped in Canterlot. We need help to rescue everyone.”

Dragon Lord Ember went silent. She nodded, looking from the sulking Garble back over to Derpy. The pegasus gulped. Was she going to be tossed back into the lava again? Was this really all a waste? What would she tell Maud?

“Garble.” Ember commanded. The dragon instantly prostrated himself before her as she spoke. “Get Torch and every dragon that you can right now. We leave for Canterlot in five minutes!” The dragon opened his mouth to protest, but Ember shouted down at the dragon, “NOW!” With that, Garble was gone. Then turning back to Derpy, Ember asked, “What happened to Spike?”

“He . . . He was captured. We were crossing the Celestial Sea when a bunch of changelings dragged him off and destroyed our boat. There was a big dragon in the water, who I think tried to help but . . .”

Ember nodded. “That would’ve been Asherah. He helps guard our lands by watching the sea. He did mention something about changelings when I saw him.”

A sudden growl far off the distance was Ember’s sign that the dragons were on their way. “Come. We leave for Canterlot.”

“W-Wait! Maud! She’s on the beach. She’s hurt . . .”

“We’ll pick her up on the way.” Ember assured the pegasus. Then with a soft smile she said, “Don’t worry. We’re rescuing your friends. Let’s go.”

Derpy smiled. She wiped away a few tears and nodded excitedly. She hardly had time to flap her wings back towards the shore when a giant dragon, the size of Celestia’s castle picked up the pegasus and deposited her on its back. Derpy blinked for a few moments, confused. “W-What?”

Ember landed next to the pony. “Sorry, but you’re kinda slow. We need to be there like, now right?” Derpy nodded. Ember only chuckled. “Hold on. We’re going for a ride.”

Derpy barely had time to reach down and grab onto something when the dragon she was on picked up speed, almost flinging her off. She screamed as she was tossed about the dragon’s back, to which Ember just rolled her eyes. But that was okay. Derpy had made it. They had made it. And they were heading back to Canterlot, with help!

Author's Note:

Hey everyone! I apologize for the delay with this chapter. I actually probably would have had it finished sooner, but about a week or so ago, i became quite sick. It took a couple days away from me in regards to working on this chapter. Kind of a shame it had to happen, but it's pretty much over now except for a lingering cough.

Otherwise, I do hope that everyone enjoys it. Feel free to leave me a comment if you can. I always love to hear people's thoughts. And I'll try not to take so long with the next chapter. Anyway, thanks for reading!