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When a filly loves a dragon...1,500 words
Persistence, Plants, and Puke2,146 words
Draguncle2,228 words
Why Wyverns?1,694 words
The Ties That Dye1,600 words
The Importance of Being Burnished1,009 words

Why Wyverns?

The air was thick with a smell with which Twilight was familiar. Spike placed the smell, too, his nerves apparent in the way he shifted his wings against his back. Acid, stronger than anything Twilight produced, bubbled and smoked in a large pool in the center of a box canyon at the edge of the dragonlands.

“Why are we here?” Crag asked Salts, his voice low and irritated.

Salts shrugged non-apologetically. “Why are any of us here? It’s a question that stumps dragons and ponies alike.”

Crag smacked Salts’ leg with his tail. Salts moved in time to only take a glancing blow to his hind thigh. “Quit Your psuedo-dragon philosophizing! You know what I meant.”

“Well, you and I are here to help stave off any wandering wyverns. Speaking of which.” Salts turned away and nudged Spike. “Any sign of trouble?”

Spike flapped his wings and shook his head. “None in the clearing. They’re either out or in the caves.”

Salts sighed. “We better go while the getting is good. Crag, keep a lookout on the ridge in case something flies in. Sparkle, Spike and I will gather as much of the herbs around the lake as we can.”

“Ready, Twilight?” Spike asked, checking the horizon. He clenched and unclenched his claws as he shifted his feet.

Twilight glanced at him. “This should be your moment to connect with your heritage. The closest we’ve gotten was that greedy slug who lied to you.” Her muscles were taut, her face closed off and eyes distant.

Spike raised an eyebrow and folded his arms. “Is that what’s bothering you? I’ve gotten to experience a few dragon culture moments. I’ve followed the migration, belly-flopped into lava, and even was dragon-lord for a little bit. I’m in touch with both sides of my heritage. And that’s enough for me. It shouldn’t stop you from getting in touch with yours.”

Twilight wiped sweat off of her brow and shivered for a moment before catching herself. Spike reached out but she held a hoof up. “I’m fine, just another fever spell. I thought I’d left those in Ponyville. The sooner we get those plants, the better I’ll be.”

Spike patted Twilight on the shoulder. “Thankfully we only need nine. Three each. Now let’s get those herbs and get out before the wyverns show up.”

Twilight nuzzled him for a moment before nodding and turning her face to the pool. Snapping open her wings, she led the way gliding down as Salts and Spike followed. On instinct, Twilight went to light her horn before remembering that was still haywire. Reaching her hoof out, she pulled the first plant up, roots and all.

Spike and Salts made their first picks on either side of her. It was agonizing, as the plants had to be fully grown but still bearing flower bulbs. Too young and the potion would be too weak. Too old and the shelf-life would be inconsistent. Aconite’s drilling of this information into their heads echoed in Twilight’s mind.

Twilight realized they’d harvested all the suitable plants on this side but were one short. This only left the other side of the pond. Just as she spread her wings, Crag called out. “Wyverns!”

A dozen two-legged, scorpion-tailed dragon-like creatures erupted from the caves and into the sky before aiming themselves at Twilight, Spike and Salts.

“I have all I need!” Spike announced.

“Me too!” Salts said as he turned tail.

“Just one more. Go and I’ll be right behind you.” Twilight flapped her wings and lifted off, headed over the acid and away from the dive-bombing wyverns.

Twilight dodged between the wyverns. Their size meant they had to slow down or end up in the pond, which made it easier for Twilight to avoid them. Their dive bombing continued unsuccessfully, they couldn’t even manage a good swipe with their poisonous tails. Just as it looked like she might make it, a smaller wyvern took its turn.

Before Spike could cry out, the wyvern rammed its shoulder into Twilight’s back, driving her into the pool.

“Twilight!” Spike cried out. Salts turned around to see the splash of the acid. Rushing back, he grabbed Spike and turned tail again. “No, let me go I need to save her!”

“That’s concentrated spewer acid, Spike. Trust me, a pony couldn’t survive that!” Salts flared his wings and took them both to the sky. He had to maneuver sharply to avoid the attacking wyverns and their tails.

“She’s not all pony and she’s an alicorn on top!” Spike argued, finally wrestling free of Salts and making a beeline for the center of the acid pool.

“Spike!” Salts and Crag called out. Salts shook off a wyvern on his tail and another got hit by a boulder courtesy of Crag. A barrage of boulders followed and Salts looked at a non-plussed Crag. Behind him, Salts could see a line of dragon warriors. The earth movers readied another barrage as the fire-breathers took to the sky to go one on one. Leading them was a young female dragon, her scales under her armor were bright blue.

More wyverns streamed out of the caves as the fire-breathers started overwhelming the original dozen. The battle, and the air, grew heated. Salts chipped in with well-aimed shots of acid directly into wyvern eyes. Dragonlord Ember struck hard and fast, relying on her scepter to blast wyverns only when she was surrounded.

Looking back to the pool, he could see Spike dragging something to the shore. Salts hoped the body wasn’t too gruesome, but he had other worries when a large wyvern tail barely missed his face.

The smaller wyverns flew for the horizon as the big one bellowed at the intruding force. Salts cried out, “Dragonlord, we need to get Spike and Twilight away from the pool!”

She waved a claw dismissively. “Go for it, I’ll take on big daddy wyvern here and make sure he knows whose lands these are!”

Salts streaked across the sky as Ember flew to strike the ‘big daddy wyvern.’ He landed next to Spike and shook him by the shoulder. “Spike we need to go. I’m sorry about Twilight, but...” Salts’ words died in his throat as the mass of purple fur and hair coughed and shook itself.

“Tell me I’m not covered in burns and just can’t feel it,” Twilight said as she stood.

“Well, your mane is a mess and your bag is dissolved, but other than that you look okay,” Spike said, looking at Salts with a jaunty grin.

“Great, now can we...” For the second time, Salts stopped talking. Twilight’s horn erupted in a dark green glow. She blinked and her eyes took on the same hue. Opening her mouth, a blast of dark green erupted and sailed like a cannonball directly at big daddy wyvern. It struck him, seemingly only annoying him until he tried to wipe it with a claw and only succeeded in spreading it. Its eyes bulged as the sound of sizzling scales popped and snapped in the air. The large wyvern howled in anguish as it flew away.

As Twilight’s eyes and horn returned to normal, Salts’ jaw hung open. She looked at him sheepishly. “I, uh, had something stuck in my throat.”

Shaking his head, Salts flapped his wings. “By all rights, you should be a purple patch in that pool. Anything else you can do shouldn’t surprise me, but there it is.” Salts folded his arms and shook his head.

Dragonlord Ember landed beside Salts, with Crag and one of the earth movers. “Report!” She barked.

The earth mover started first. “Dragonlord, the fire breathers are chasing the wyvern swarm and making sure they leave the dragonlands.”

Ember nodded. “Good. Collapse the caves. It’s past time we retook these lands.”

“Yes, ma’am!” The earth-mover signaled his cohorts and the headed off to the caves.

Ember turned to Twilight, then held her snout. “Ugh, you wanna tell me why you smell like...” Ember stopped, eyes widening as she turned to sniff the pool of acid. Half turning back, she raised one eyebrow and shook her head. “You know what, I don’t wanna know. I really need to stop being surprised by you and your group.”

“If it makes you feel better, none of us know either,” Twilight offered with a shrug.

A familiar figure drifted down from the cliffs. Aconite landed lightly and walked slowly over to join them.

Salts huffed. “Were you here the whole time?”

Aconite snapped at him. “Had to make sure you bile-brains got the right herbs. And luckily I did because I wouldn’t have believed you if the Dragonlord herself told me that a pony survived in the acid pond. Only a real spewer could do it. And it used to be a rite of passage. So. Begrudgingly, I must accept that you’re one of us, Princess Twilight Spewer-Sparkle. Or would you prefer Sparkle-Spewer?”

Spike snorted. “Makes her sound like she’s throwing up fireworks.”

Dragonlord Ember laughed. “Well, that dark green blob certainly wasn’t a firework. Looked more like swamp tar.”

Aconite nodded and gently took hold of Twilight’s mouth. Peering inside, she made a series of noises that ranged from curious to impressed. Letting go of Twilight’s mouth, she huffed to herself.

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Well?”

Aconite shrugged, for once at a loss. “Maybe it was her exposure to the pool interacting with her innate magic or maybe it was just a very well timed sequence of events. But her body produced the type of mucus necessary to keep her acid from damaging her throat.”

“So I don’t need the herbs now?” Twilight asked, despairingly.

“Well, it wasn’t a total waste. We got the acid pool back from the wyverns. Should have an easier time now they’ve been driven out,” Salts said.

Aconite nodded, glancing around appreciatively. “Now just be careful not to spit on anything you don’t want dissolving. I suspect your magic also might have returned to normal. Next pony alicorn dragon hybrid I see with the same problem is going into the pond right off.”

Even Twilight had to laugh at the gruff suggestion.

Author's Note:

Work. Has. Been. Hell. Had I not been saving for a family vacation coming up in two weeks, I don’t think I’d have made it. Kudos to those working 50+ hours a week. I can barely do that for a month. Then again, my hours were all over the clock. Day shifts, swing shifts, graveyards, all in the same week. Anyway, I managed to put this together before August and since this is my most ~~(inexplicably)~~ popular story, I felt like I owed it to y’all to let it out earlier than anticipated. Still massively later than I wanted, but alas and alack. Hope you enjoyed❣️

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