• Published 28th Nov 2019
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The Dragonfly Hive - Silver Dragon Blade Wing



A young Changeling Prince, with the help of his allies and friends, must become strong enough to challenge and defeat Chrysalis to protect the land and the ones he loves.

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The Nightmare of the Moon Part 2

Dragonfly could only stare at the spot were the bear had been, he wasn't one to scare easily but a rabid bear was among those things that raised his fear up all the way. He wan't the only one either... Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, even Dash and Pinkie were in a tight huddle while the guards Rose, Blades, Sparks, Dusk, and Indigo had their weapons held tightly in their hooves. Grace was pressed against Dusk, wrapped in his wing shaking in fear while Belle and Dancer were hugging Dragonfly. As much as they wanted to get out of here and out of the forest they knew they had to find a way out of the lodge and reach the Castle of the Two Sisters.

If they got out of this alive.

Dragonfly gently pushed Belle and Dancer off him as he turned to the rest group.

"Okay guys, we have no choice but to get through the lodge and that means getting past the bear."

"And how are we suppose to do that?!" Blades asked, "That's a rabid Short-Faced Bear! One of if not the largest of the regular bears."

"Not to mention that bear might already know we're here!" Twilight said.

"I know... I'll try and lure it away while you guys rush past and find an exit." Dragonfly's words caused eveypony to start and looking at him with shocked faces.

"Dragonfly are you loco in the cocoa?!" Pinkie said, uncharacteristically serious.

"Not even Kirin would take on a rabid bear of any kind, let alone a Short-Face Bear, on their own!" Blades hissed.

"I know, but I lead you guys into this and its my job to get you out. If I can keep that bear focused on me you guys can get out safety."

Seeing that Dragonfly would not change his mind on this the others looked at each other then slowly and reluctantly nodded their heads. Dragonfly nodded back and after reapplying his scarf so there were no loose ends he turned around and started walking away, as he did he heard Belle softly call out.

"Dragonfly..."

He turned his head back to look at her.

"Be careful, and please come back alive." She said with worry clear in her and Dancer's eyes. He nodded back at them.

"I will."

Dragonfly then turned and walked away, the group watched as his long tail disappeared into the dark hallway. Finally a few minutes later Dusk spoke.

"The lad's got stones, that's for sure."

"Let's just hope he doesn't get himself killed." Indigo said softly.

"If he does, we're going into the afterlife to drag him back. Let's go." Rose said taking the lead with Blades covering their six, grunts of agreement to Rose's statement following.


Dragonfly

'I really hope I know what I'm doing.'

Dragonfly walked through the halls and passed a few turns before coming to a hole in the floor that dropped into what had to be the main area of the lodge. Sticking his head through the hold he saw that it was clear, and carefully lowered himself to the floor of a small bar area. He slowly stepped into the main area, he could see stacked tables, scatter chairs, crates, and other odds and ends. From the dust it was clear to him that he was probably the first creature other than maybe that bear that had been here in a looonnnnggg time. From the looks of things who ever had build this place had left in a big hurry if the opened boxes and crates that were only half unloaded said anything.

'Then again... who said they actually left in the first place.'

Why somecreature would even build a lodge, let alone even a shack, in the Everfree Forest and this deep in was beyond him. It was very well known that the Everfree was marked as a "No Entry Zone" for good reason due to how dangerous the place was, only those with special permits were even allowed past the outer zones. And even then they were not allowed to go past the castle ruins, which this was past for certain.

His best guess was it was set up by those "hunters" that wanted the creatures here for profit, though from the sate of the lodge he could tell they didn't even have the chance to finish setting up, let alone actually start their work.

As for what happened, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know or not.

He had stepped forward when his hoof landed on a weak board and the sound of wood creaking tore though the silence like a clap of thunder, and no sooner did that happen when things went done. Opposite of him was a doorway leading to a hall that was blocked with metal shelf pieces (Dragonfly's best guess was that it was hastily put up to either keep something out or in), said barricade was blasted apart as the Bear crashed through, the remains of the shelves crashing to the floor.

"OH SH-!" Dragonfly didn't even finish the curse as he turned around a corner and bolted down a side hallway, the bear behind him.

"Hooves, don't fail me now!"

He sprinted down the rather long hall, at the other end he saw a large mirror and wished it wasn't there, for because of it he saw the Bear not that far behind trying to snap at his tail, way too close for his liking. Dragonfly quickly used his magic to pull his tail next to him and then released a Flare Spell. That bought him a few seconds as he came to the end of the hall and had to stop to pick a door as the Bear crashed into walls, temporary blinded from the flare. Quickly finding the right one he bolted through what was likely an office once and into an L-shaped closet which was a dead end. Dragonfly pressed himself into the corner as far from the door as he possibly could.

It was only a few seconds later that the Bear's head came through the door but it didn't go any further, the walls, despite the lodge being abandoned for who knows how long, held strong as the Bear shoved with all its might. The light above the door broke and the shelf opposite of the door collapsed, the Bear getting sprayed with hot glass shards and what was either a large bag of flour or some other kind of white powder. The Bear stopped shoving and licked the air a few times before pulling back.

A few seconds later he heard the Bear huffing and puffing then charge again, Dragonfly pressed into the corner as the wall at the other end of the L-shaped closet burst open as the Bear crashed through a weakened spot but it retreated again as a heavy metal beam fell onto its shoulders and than its head as it retreated. Dragonfly didn't waste any time as the second the Bear pulled back and the metal beam and other debris fell, blocking the hole the Bear had just made. Slipping through another hole ahead of him he found himself in another room that had once been possibly a lounge area.

In the room he saw to his right a set of windows looking out into the night with three old couches and two chairs clustered around a small coffee table, two doors to his left that lead into a decent-sided kitchen and a staircase ahead of him going up to the next level. Now that he had a chance to catch his breath he wondered something.

'How does this place still have power?'

The sound of something crashing from the way he just came reminded him it was best to not stick around. Ducking into the kitchen he found an old logbook.

'maybe this can shred some light on way this is even here to begin with.'

After picking up the logbook and storing it away in his saddle bags he peeked out the further door closer to the stairs and let out a sigh of relief that the Bear wasn't around, he could still her the crashing from where he came as it tried to burst through so that told him the Bear was still after him. He looked around and saw the only way forward was the stairs, shrugging he starting going up, pausing only to tuck his long tail into the strap on his saddle bags.

'Best keep that out of the way so the bear can't grab it.'

He had just reached the top when he heard a very loud crash down below, he didn't even pause to look as he bolted.

Dragonfly quickly came up to a spot that was partly blocked by a shelf though thankfully there was enough space to squeeze through. He stood up on his hind legs and began to shuffle sideways through the gap, that was when he saw the Bear climbing the stairs.

"Crap a brick! This Bear ain't givin' up!"

Dragonfly tried to move faster as the Bear continued to climb, hoping the Bear would have trouble. Perhaps the First Mother was watching over him as the stairs under the Bear kept breaking and falling, taking the Bear down with it each time though Dragonfly knew it wouldn't be long before it got passed that. Still, it bought Dragonfly a few more seconds to get out of the gap and bolt. He turned to the left and ran into a bedroom, only to find a dead end. The First Mother seemly answered his pleas as he saw a hole in the wall just big enough for him to get through. He had just gotten through into a bathroom and moved to the right passed a tub leaning against the wall that the Bear's head came through the hole, though thankfully the wall somehow held.

Dragonfly on the other hoof nearly had a heart attack, if he'd been a second slower or had not tucked his tail into his saddle bag straps the Bear would have gotten him. Going through another hole and into a closet he enter another room with the door blocked by a cabinet, using his magic he moved the cabinet enough to open the door and used his magic to pull the cabinet back and shut the door. Dragonfly knew that it wouldn't last but even a few seconds could mean the difference between life and death.

And he was as sure as his black plate was silver that he did not want to die here, not to a rabid bear.

Dragonfly turned and ran down the hall, but it wasn't long before he reached the end and turned into a large room. He paused only to slide another cabinet in front of the door to buy a few more seconds then ran down another hall across from the door.

He didn't get far.

Dragonfly quickly found himself at a dead end and this time he could see no way out, he was trapped.

He heard the sounds of the Bear crashing through things as it came closer, it had his scent and was following it.

'Crap crap crap!! What do I do now?! Why haven't I learned that Teleport Spell yet??!! It would be really helpful right now and none of my other spells are powerful enough to take down something like this. I hope the others got clear okay. If only I had a weap- wait..."

Dragonfly pulled out the launcher he had shown the others, if the Dragon Core peppers worked on Timber Wolves then maybe it would work here... at least, he hoped it would. Loading the launcher with one DC pepper he pressed the stock into his shoulder and aimed at the door just as the Bear crashed through the cabinet, stopping as it sniffed the air and looked right at him.

It growled with rage and insanity as it started to slowly walked towards him.

Dragonfly started squeezing the trigger.

"Stick this in your pipe!"

The launcher fired and the pepper flew true, popping into a cloud of juice and powder just before it hit. The next thing the Bear knew as pain; horrible, burning pain as the juice splashed into its eyes and mouth and powder when up its nose. The Bear roared in pain as the burning only grew stronger, thrashing as it tried to stop the pain to no avail. Dragonfly would admit that he wasn't one for animal cruelty but this Bear was too far beyond saving and this was a life or death situation.

The Bear roared as it slammed into the wall and crashed to the floor, that was when Dragonfly felt the floor under them start to quake.

"Oh-no."

That was all he could say before the floor gave out, the last thing he felt was the impact with the muddy ground before he blacked out.


The Others

Getting through the lodge without the bear chasing them was a whole lot easier for the group of thirteen Ponies, the hard part was actually finding a way out as all the doors were either jammed or blocked. Eventually though they did find a way out, only to hear the sound of breaking wood as a raised section of the lodge collapsed. Rushing over they saw two figures fall with it.

"DRAGONFLY!"

Belle and Dancer shouted as they ran to the spot their love had landed, the others behind them. Reaching were Dragonfly lay they saw the bear too, and knew that it was no longer a threat. While Dragonfly had been throw clear and landed on muddy ground, the bear had been in the center of the collapse and it had landed on several long poles of rebar. There was no need to check, they knew just from a glance that it had moved on, finally free of the rabies that had plagued it for who knows how long.

As Blades went to burn the body so the disease wouldn't be able to spread the others run over to Dragonfly who was laying on his side, Belle and Dancer beside themselves with worry. Indigo quickly brought out his device and scanned Dragonfly, hoping that he was alive and okay. After a few seconds that were far too long for them Indigo let a huge sigh of relief.

"He's clear, the only wounds are from the fall and that's just bruising at worst. The bear never touched him."

There was a groan from the disguised Changeling as he opened his eyes and slowly stood up.

"Ow... that didn't work as I would have liked." Dragonfly said rubbing his head then pulling his tail out from the saddlebag straps.

"Dragonfly!"

He turned around only to be tackled hugged by both Belle and Dancer, the force of them combined knocking him onto his back and the two Mares tried to hug him to death. Then they started hitting him.

"Don't. You. Ever. Do. That. To. Us again!" Belle said, each world being followed by a punch from both Mares at once.

"Ow! Ouch! A little help please!" Dragonfly called, the hits didn't hurt that much but it was still embarrassing.

"Sorry Dragonfly but you're on your own there." Sparks said, her smile showing that she was enjoying this.

"I've been there once lad, and I ended up sleeping on the floor for a month." Dusk said, frowning as Grace giggled at the memory.

The others were either smiling, or trying not to laugh, expect Rainbow who was flying upside down laughing hard.


Eventually Belle and Dancer let Dragonfly up and the group of fourteen continued on, leaving the lodge and the ashes of the bear behind. It was about ten or so minutes that they had been walking that they suddenly heard familiar growls, just at the edge of their light they saw the shape of a large wolf appear as eyes glowed in the dark further way.

"Round two 'ey." Dusk growled back.

The guards readied their weapons as the others got ready to fight, the wolves started to advance, only to stop cold as they started sniffing the air. Then they started panicking and whimpering as they turned and fled, tails between their legs. The group of fourteen watched in bewilderment, unsure how to react, Dragonfly had first sensed their rage and hunger, which turned to extreme fear as they fled.

"Well, get we showed them." Rainbow said smugly.

"Miss Dash, predators like wolves don't suddenly flee like that. When they do..." Rose began.

"There's a bigger and meaner one around." Blades finished, adding "I would know from my time in the Kirin homelands."

Dash and the others looked at each other worryingly, a predator that even a large pack of insane wolves were terrified of was not something to take lightly. The group quickly decided that they didn't want to find out what scared the wolves so badly so they quickly moved on. It was after several minutes that Dusk, who was on point with Dragonfly, suddenly stopped and lifted his nose into the air, taking a few sniffs.

"What is it?" Dragonfly asked, walking up next to him.

"I smell blood, Hydra blood. And it's fresh, I'd say maybe an hour old at most."

"You sure?"

"Yes lad, I've hunted a few with my clanmates when I was a wee one so I know the smell."

By this point the others had joined them.

"What could take a Hydra down?" Sparks asked. "There aren't many creatures able to do that."

Any further talk was cut off as a sound like a cross between a bellowing roar and a shrill screech that seemed to be made of screams filled the air around them, causing everypony to jump and huddle together. Dragonfly's mane and tail stood on end as he rapidly started looking around.

"Stay quiet! I know that roar!"

"What is it Dragonfly?" Twilight asked.

"A Toxicshadow Wyvern." Dragonfly said, his wide eyes focused on their surrounds.

"What's a Toxicshadow Wyvern?"" Grace asked fearfully.

Her answer came with a second roar came and a large shape landed in front of them, far enough that it might not see them but it was close enough for them to make out details in the moonlight.

"That's a Toxicshadow Wyvern."

The creature in front of them had to be at least twice as long as the train from Ponyville and Canterlot and stood half as tall as the former's Town Hall. It was a large, bipedal Wyvern with a dark spiny, exoskeleton-plated armored hide covering the body. The talons upon its feet were long and razor sharp, same as its four long horns which were tipped with purple. Fanged jaws that are actually parts of its external armor plates were visible along its mouth, its massive wings were covered in jet-black fur that resembled a tattered and ragged cape. On the spot were the the wing thumb would be were clawed four-fingered hands that gripped its shoulders, cloaking its body with its wings and its eyes were purple with black sclera And finally, its long, thick tail which made up most of its length featured a row of angled spikes on the top and bottom with a heavy spiked club at the end.

The group watched as the Toxicshadow Wyvern looked around before looking in their direction.

"Don't move, Don't. Move. A. Muscle!" Dragonfly whispered to the group.

None of the group moved as the Toxicshadow Wyvern stared their way for a few minutes before turning and walking away. They waited for several long seconds before Dragonfly and Dusk gave the all clear. They all let out a collective sigh of relief before turning to Dragonfly for answers.

"How did you know it wouldn't see us?" Twilight asked.

"And how did you know the roar?" Rose asked.

"A year ago, I was gathering plants I needed for my teas and potions when I came across a dead Hydra, then I saw the Toxicshadow Wyvern feasting on it. I didn't stick around but once I got back home I started looking it up. The reason it didn't see us because when they hunt at night their vision changes to a "movement tracking mode", meaning that as long as one kept still the Wyvern wouldn't see them. If the sun was up then it would have seen us, we should be glad it didn't as Toxicshadow Wyverns are both solitary and very territorial, attack anything that enters their domains. The only time you will see more then one in any place is when two are mates. In that case they are always together."

The group didn't say anything but nodded their heads, understanding. They moved on, feeling that they hadn't seen the last of the Wyvern. They were soon proven right as when they were passing by a cliff the Toxicshadow Wyverns suddenly appeared from the air, roaring at them.

"Run for it!" Dragonfly shouted, the others hot on his tail. They ran down various paths as the Wyvern dive-bombed them, firing blasts of purple flame as it went. Twilight manged to block some of the fireballs with her magic but it didn't let up, Grace yelped as a blast landed in front of her and she jumped back into Dusk's forelegs. Rainbow at some point got the "bright" idea to fight the Wyvern so she flew up and gave it a right hook, the Wyvern's head didn't even move an inch. Slowly, it turned its head to glare at Dash, who was having second thoughts.

"Maybe that was a bad idea."

The Wyvern roared in her face, revealing a black maw filled with dark purple teeth and a purple mist came out, washing over her. Immediately Rainbow turned green and almost threw up.

"Augh... sweet mother of Celestia! When was the last time you brushed?!"

Then she remembered that she was in front of a maw big enough to swallow her whole, Dash screamed in fear as the Wyvern roared again, two long fangs popping out of the roof of the mouth like a viper. These fangs released streams of a purple fluid that emitted purple steam. Rainbow flew away as the Wyvern tried to chomp down on her, eventually biting into a large tree and completely destroying it in one bite. It was after a time of running and hiding that the group finally lost the Toxicshadow Wyvern. As they relaxed Dragonfly glared at Rainbow, who wilted.

"Rainbow Dash, what the buck were you thinking?!"

"I didn't know that wouldn't work." She said sheepishly.

"Dash, nothing we have would be able to so much as scratch that thing, let alone harm it." He let out a sigh, facehoofing. "Rainbow, Toxicshadow Wyverns are known as "Dragon Hunters". In fact they are one of the few things that Dragons fear."

The others, even the guards, looked at him in surprise.

"Really? Why?" Dancer asked.

"Toxicshadow Wyverns hate Dragons with a burning passion, apparently due to a group of young ones destroying several nests full of Toxicshadow Wyvern eggs a long time ago. Now, I don't know if that's the case for sure, all I know is that Toxicshadow Wyverns will attack Dragons on sight with no mercy at all. I've heard stories of fully grown Dragons being ripped to pieces by one. Their venom, while actually harmless to Ponies, is very dangerous to Dragons as it is not only toxic and poisons their blood but it has something in it that reacts to Dragon scales like acid.

The Wyverns also have something called "Frenzy", once a Wyvern enters this stage they gain a dark purple hue all over the body, their eyes become a bright red and they begin to huff a dark purple smoke from its mouth as it exhales. This "Frenzy State" as it is known, causes massively heightened aggression, speed, and strength Toxicshadow Wyverns, making them dangerously short-tempered and ferocious, even more so than usual. The Frenzy State also seems to affect their vocal cords, rendering all vocalizations shrill and harsh in sound. This Frenzy State also causes their skin to become more rigid and harder to damage, making them far more durable and they also become far more brutal and relentless than they would normally would be."

Everypony stared at him, shocked.

"Are... Are they really that dangerous?" Fluttershy asked, fear filling her voice.

"Yes, though I only saw the Frenzy state once, back when I was a Colt. That poor Dragon never had a chance, it barely even screamed as the Wyvern shredded it like a paper through a shredder."

He looked back at the group, who were looking at him with shock and fear at what he had said.

"Let's go, the map shows that we're getting close to the castle now."

Twilight smiled sheepishly.

"Well nothing else bad should happen right?... right??"


Twilight had tempted fate, as the group was currently running for their lives again. They had been walking back to the castle and and even got a few sightings, they had thought that they were home free, until they ran into an Animated Armor Golem, a bucking Alicorn one! And unlike the others before, this one was somehow still in more or less prefect shape.

Green magic bolts the size of a blowing ball slammed into things around them as they dodged and weaved around trees and rocks, jumping over roots and ducking under branches. They jumped down a rock and took cover in a small alcove, the guards in front as green magic exploded around them. Dirt and bits of rock and trees raining down.

They listened as the sound of magic exploding died out as it was replaced with the sound of heavy hoof steps.

"We're close to the castle now, but we can't move there with that pile of scrap after us." Blades hissed.

Dragonfly opened his mouth but whatever he was going to say was cut off as two hooves from two different Ponies covered it.

"You're not volunteering to distract it Mr." Belle said firmly.

"You already gave us a heart attack with the bear. You are not scaring us like that again." Dancer sad with a glare. Dragonfly just smiled sheepishly, giving the two a hoof version of thumbs up. Dusk looked up than towards the Castle.

"I'll engage."

"Dusky no." Grace said grabbing his foreleg, he reached over and gently cupped her check, rubbing it.

"I need too lass, that thing will kill us all if I don't lead it way."

Grace gripped his foreleg tighter, then reluctantly let go as tears flowed down her cheeks. Dusk looked at Dragonfly.

"Lad, since you seem to know about these things, do the Alicorn ones have any weak spots?"

Dragonfly thought about it for a second, then nodded his head.

"Yes, at the base of the neck, were the shoulders met the base." He tapped the base of his own neck to show him. "There is a gap in the armor plates, right about the Core Crystal. If you shoved something explosive in there it would shatter the Golem in pieces."

Dusk nodded, understanding as he pulled out a small black crystal.

"This should do it than."

"What's that Dusk?" Belle asked.

"A Blasting Gem, an... Anti-Dragon weapon. As Dragons eat gems this was made to destroy the lining of their stomachs and let the acid do the rest. Thankfully there hasn't been any wars with the Dragons that would warrant their use so they are in very low numbers and only trained experts are authorized to equipment them."

Twilight looked at the black gem warily, when they got back she was going to make sure that Spike never ate one.

Thumps above them signaled that the Golem was coming, Dusk stood up and got ready to run to draw it away, only for Indigo to suddenly grab his foreleg.

"No sir."

Dusk blinked looking at the young Unicorn, who looked back with an expression he couldn't read.

"I'll be the decoy." Indigo said,

"Indigo no!" Sparks said, shocked. Indigo ignored her as he continued.

"You hit it from behind."

Dusk blinked, surprised by the normally shy Unicorn's sudden bravery.

"Indigo?"

Said Unicorn stared straight ahead, a determined looking on his face.

"Indigo?" Blades asked, worry in her eyes.

The Unicorn let out some heavy breathes, before bolting into the open.

"Over here you pile of scrap!"

"INDIGO!!!" The rest of his squad shouted.

Indigo's hooves beat the dirt below him as he ran, hearing the Golem stop and charge its horn. Then the ground behind and to the right of him exploded in a blast of green energy and heated debris. He was clear of the blast but the shock wave was enough to knock him off his hooves, as he hit the ground his training kicked in and he rolled over to the side into some bushes were he had more cover. He looked up, seeing the Golem looking back.

Indigo swallowed hard, whoever had built this one had done a very good job. Its armor was silver with what he guess were some kind of power lines running all over the body colored blue, the same as its eyes. After a few seconds the Golem's horn lit up as green energy formed around the tip. Indigo's eyes widened as he moved, the Golem dissipating the energy around its horn as it moved forward and jumped down, slamming down into the ground and sending dirt flying.

Dusk stood up and ran towards the Golem, ready to active the Blasting Gem and shove it into the weak spot. But as he got ready to jump onto the Golem's back it kicked him in the chest with a back leg. Dusk's armor protected him from any damage but the impact send him flying back, hitting the ground and letting go of the gem as the Golem refocused on Indigo and charged its horn. Dusk quickly recovered and stood up, he turned to grab the gem but a clawed hand got it first. He watched as Blades, gem in hand, charged the Golem.

She leaped up, using her wings to give her a boost, and landed on the Golem's back. The weight of a Kirin threw its aim off as it fired and the magic bolt that would have hit Indigo missed, hitting the ground next to him instead. While Indigo was unharmed by the blast the shock wave sent him flying off to the side. The Golem meanwhile was trying to throw Blades off as she held on tight. She saw the weak spot Dragonfly mentioned and clicked on the gem's detonator, as the Golem reared back on its hind legs Blades shoved the gem into the spot and jumped off. The Golem landed back on all fours, stood still for a second, then...

BOOM!

The Golem went up in fire, smoke, and pieces of metal as the gem exploded. Blades brought her arm up to shield her eyes as pieces of metal bounced off her. Once the barrage stop Blades lowered her arm and stood tall over the remains of the Golem, looking no worse for the were. The others rushed out of their hiding spot towards Indigo, who was laying on his side and not moving.

"Indigo!" Sparks shouted as she rushed to the Unicorn's side, it was a few long seconds before the Stallion coughed and opened his eyes looking into Sparks' worried ones.

"Did we win?"

Sparks let out a relived sign and hugged indigo around the neck, the Unicorn blushing but quickly returned the hug. Blades gave him a hug as well and after the group made sure everypony was alright they moved towards the castle, there was a delay with a rope bridge over a ravine that Rainbow took care of though she did have an encounter with a small group of Ponies that called themselves the "Shadowbolts" that offered Rainbow a place among them if she would leave her friends but while Dash had a huge ego, one of her best traits was that she would never leave those she called friends hanging.

It took a few minutes to reach the entrance of the castle, a thousand years had not been kind to it. The roof in most areas had fallen leaving wreckage everywhere and the walls weren't in much better shape either. The group stepped into the entrance hall, Dusk and Blades leading the way. In front of the group was a main hall that even seemed to be bigger than the current royal castle in Canterlot, with large doors on the side walls that went through a huge number of interior rooms to which the main corridor was connected, however, what caught the group's attention the most were the two large banners that hung at the end of the corridor, in front of the stairs that connected to the upper floors, banners that despite the weather and the time that had passed, were still in pretty good condition despise some damage. Both banners showed the figure of an Alicorn, one was white, on a golden background, under a huge sun, symbolizing the day; the other was a light blue Alicorn, with a dark blue background, which was under a large moon with stars, obviously symbolizing the night.

"What beautiful banners." Rarity said, running her eyes over them. "Nicely crafted, certainly works of art. Do they symbolize princess Celestia taking care of the ponies in the day and in the night?"

"No..." Dusk said, his tone serious as he glared at the banners. "the one under the sun is Princess Celestia, the other..." He paused, letting out a sign through his noes as he stared at the blue banner, a hard frown on his face.

"Dusk?" Grace asked as she came up to him, gently taking his hoof in hers. He didn't say anything for a few seconds, but gently pulled Grace's hoof towards him and wrapped his wing around her, taking comfort in the warmth that slowly flowed into the limb. The others watched this, not saying a word as they waited.

Finally, after a minute passed, Dusk drew in a breath and slowly let it out again.

"What I'm about to tell you all is not widely known outside of the Thestrals, as those of you who have known me long enough would also known, me family are lorekeepers alongside Military." Dusk gently pulled from Grace as he turned around to face the others.

"And the things I 'ave learned, some of them are a might dark."

He looked at the blue banner again before continuing.

"I'm not sure 'ow you don't know about this, being the Princess' student and all. But... its time you all learn some Thestral history, that blue banner... He waved his hoof at said banner. "Shows Princess Luna, Princess Celestia's sister."

Author's Note:

Sorry it's taken me this long to put a new chapter out but I've had trouble figuring out what I wanted to do for the last part of this.

So our heroes have reached the castle, but... what's going on with Dusk, and what does he know?

Next chapter will be some Thestral history, the battle of the Castle, Nightmare Moon battle, and the aftermath.

Hopefully it wouldn't take me as long but I'm not making promises I might not be able to keep.

See you then! :pinkiehappy:

For those wondering, (and those who play or are familiar with Monster Hunter), the Toxicshadow Wyvern looks like the result of a Rathalos and a Gore Magala getting drunk one night during mating season and sleeping together.

On that note, to the Monster Hunters: How scary would this be, the Frenzy Virus in Equestria? :twilightoops: