A Draconic Meeting

by Mystic Sunrise

A Princess Meeting/Last Night at Home

While Princess Celestia was always more than happy to spend time with her former student and fellow princess, Twilight Sparkle, today was proving the exception. And it was tearing her up inside.

She had been shocked to receive the letter she had the week before. While she and Luna were on speaking terms with Tiamat, it was a tense relationship at best, and the Dragon Queen rarely ever sent a letter.

The contents of the letter had been another shock. Why Tiamat wanted to see Twilight's student was beyond her, but it was not her place to question it. Celestia had always had good things to say about Pearl.

It was what Twilight was planning to do that scared her, and why she and Luna both were in Ponyville today, hoping that doing so in person would have more of an effect.

"Twilight. I must implore you once more. You do not know the risk you are taking by doing this," Celestia said, as the three of them stood in the Map Room.

Twilight groaned. "I am not letting Pearl go all by herself to who knows where. I don't care who it is that wants to see her. She is my student. Her safety is more important than whatever Tiamat wants."

Luna nodded. "That is a commendable outlook, Twilight. But the fact remains that you are not invited, and yet you have invited yourself. Tiamat is not known for her patience with uninvited guests."

Twilight only smiled proudly. "Well, I'm a few friendship lessons would help with that."

Celestia pinched her snout, fighting the urge to pound her head against the wall. It was a losing battle. "Twilight. A Friendship Lesson will not save you. Your magic is strong, but it will be all but useless if you must fight one of her Consorts. Let alone Tiamat herself."

Luna nodded. "We have fought her before. Even with our full power, we didn't even scratch her. Let alone land a telling blow on her. And she gave us a free shot as well. That we lived through that says much I feel."

Twilight's smile fell. She could feel that they were telling the truth. And in truth, a part of her was scared at the prospect. But her heart was still set on this, and her frown told Celestia and Luna as much. "I understand that you're both worried about me, but I'm not a little filly anymore. I'll be just fine."

At that moment, Twilight saw Pearl and Kohaku enter the Map Room. Judging by how they walked together, it seemed Pearl had learned the lessons Twilight had wanted her to learn. "Now if you will excuse me. I have to go see to my students."

Celestia's frown grew. "Twilight we are not finished with this conversation. But go and deal with your students. Luna and I will be here and we will finish this conversation," she said, a sharp edge to her voice.

"Fine," Twilight replied, turning away from her mentor in a huff. She appreciated their concern. But she hated being treated like she was still in school. "Kohaku, Pearl. Please come into my Workroom. We can talk there," she said opening a side door.

Ushering the pair inside, she groaned as Kohaku shot the sisters a rather unpleasant look. She understood how much and why he disliked them, seeing the pair as usurpers of his gods. At least she had taught him well enough that he was no longer vocal about it.

Celestia and Luna watched the trio disappear as the door closed behind Twilight. As soon as it did, Celestia's mask broke, and she sunk to her belly on the floor, no longer caring who might see her.

Luna held her close, her own mood no better. "Tia. You knew how she would react."

Celestia nodded. "I know, Luna. But I have to try. I love her too much to let her go running off on this. Of all the times I wish she still listened to me, this is the most urgent. She is going into the manticore's den."

Luna's ears wilted. "We have tried everything. Save locking her up and throwing away the key. She is set on this course, and will not change her mind. Her stubbornness is commendable if it wasn't for where it is going."

Celestia nodded, letting her tears fall now. "Twilight will not be coming home. Pearl won't be able to save her. Twilight is going..." She stopped, unable to finish the sentence. She sniffed as her head fell and her tears came faster and faster.

"Twilight is going to her death."

---

Sometime later, Twilight and Pearl returned to the Map Room. Kohaku had seen himself out, and as Twilight took one look at her mentor, she felt it might have been for the best. Celestia's eyes were red from crying, and Luna appeared to be in no better shape.

The sight of her mentor so vulnerable, so broken, took all the fight of Twilight, as her ears wilted and rushed over and gave her teacher the biggest hug she could. "Princess. I know you're worried about me. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared to death about this. But I have to see this through. To whatever end."

Celestia nodded, her usual loving smile returning. "I know, Twilight. It is one of your greatest strengths." She pulled Twilight closer. "Promise me, Princess Twilight. That you will be careful. That you will take care of yourself. Once you leave Equestria, you will be beyond anyone's help. Not even our allies will be able to help you."

Twilight bit her lip. This reminded her of her and her friends' flight from the Storm King's Invasion. But this felt like far more than that. She smiled though. "I promise, Princess Celestia."

Celestia's smile grew, as she kissed Twilight's forehead. "Then that is all I can ask for, Twilight."

That was all Pearl could take. Rummaging around her saddlebags, she soon found a certain scroll and pulled it out. "I might have something that will help, Twilight. You can thank Kohaku for helping me get it."

Blinking, Twilight took the scroll in her magic. The words didn't make any sense, for she was still years away from ever learning how to read them properly, but she knew who had written it. She looked at Pearl in surprise. "You've met Kiyoko?"

Pearl nodded, still shocked at the whole thing. "Last night. And it was as weird as it sounds, all things considered."

Twilight giggled. "I know that feeling, for I've also met her."

Celestia and Luna also took a look at the scroll. They could read the words written on it, but they could not understand what they meant. "Then what is this?" Luna asked.

Pearl looked at her teacher, her smile dropping. "The only thing that will keep Twilight alive. I'm supposed to give this to Tiamat, and she'll understand why doing anything to her is a really bad idea. At least that's what I could understand anyway."

Twilight gulped. She wasn't one to put her faith in something like this. But if Kiyoko had given it to Pearl, then she had to trust that the Seer knew what she was doing. She turned back to Celestia and Luna, for she still had questions. "Um. Do you know what we should be expecting?"

Luna sighed. "Know this, Princess Twilight and Pearl. Very few who have entered Tiamat's lair have ever come out again. Even the ones she invited herself. Finding it is all but impossible, except by chance, and if you have a guide. And then there is what guards it. Not only natural hazards but magic and traps that are not found anywhere else on Equus."

Celestia nodded. "And if by some miracle you make it through all of that, then you face her Consorts. The five dragons Tiamat chose as her mates. One to match the color of each of her heads. All are powerful beyond belief in their own right. To fight or inhibit even just one of them is an automatic death sentence for any dragon, no matter who they might be. Not even the Dragon Lord is safe if they stand against one."

Luna nodded. "Assuming you have negotiated all of that and in one piece, then you will stand before the Dragon Queen herself. What happens after that is up to whatever she has called to see you about, Pearl."

Pearl gulped. While she was excited to learn all of this, it still scared her half to death. "Well, um. Good thing I was invited then, right?"

Celestia giggled. "Indeed. I feel you have nothing to fear. Twilight must hope that what is written on that scroll works."

Pearl looked at Twilight, a question from the night before unable to leave her alone. "So who is Shenlong?"

Twilight smiled. "He is the dragon god of the eastern dragons. Eastern dragons are very different compared to the ones Equestria knows. He and Tiamat play essentially the same role, but for the two different kinds of dragons."

Pearl scratched her chin. That would explain why Kohaku's mom sounded so serious when she had read the scroll back to her. How or if Tiamat could even be killed if she broke whatever this decree was, was another story.

Twilight, though, still had one last question. "Um. Who is coming to get us? You never said, princess."

Celestia sighed. "I do not know. Very few dragons are willing to submit to their queen like this. Let alone to work with other races. Tiamat puts up with ponies even less so than most other races."

Luna nodded. "Which means that whoever is coming to get you, Twilight and Pearl is high in her confidence to be trusted with this task. And is also powerful enough to not care at all about the consequences if it decides you are not going with your student, Princess Twilight."

Twilight gulped. "And if I make to see Tiamat herself?"

Celestia's ears fell. "Then you will die if she decides you are not welcome in her lair. And it will not be a quick or painless death. You have never faced a god when they are actively trying to kill you."

Pearl scratched her chin. "What about Discord?"

Luna shook her head. "That is not his way. For everything wrong with him, and there is much, he has never once killed a single pony. Though he is very much capable of doing so." She looked at Twilight with a sorrowful look. "You and your friends would have died long before you ever got to the Elements of Harmony if he wanted you dead."

Twilight's heart dropped like a rock. She had been afraid of that ever since so-called the Day of Chaos. She would be having words with Discord about this later. No matter what Fluttershy might say.

Pearl puffed out her chest, trying to look more confident than she felt. "Good thing she has me, then. If Kohaku's mom said this will work, then I believe her."

Princess Celestia chuckled. While she didn't know the kitsune in question, she knew enough of their kind to trust this, Kiyoko, in this matter. "I hope so too, Pearl. The moment the two of you leave Ponyville, there is nothing else we can do for you."

Twilight nodded, before draping a wing over her student. "I was able to get us an extra day before we leave. We leave tomorrow morning, bright and early." Her smile softened. "I know you did very well at Sweet Apple Acres. But I too remember what it was like, the first time I slept away from home. Nothing beats sleeping in your own bed. And I know your parents will be more than happy to see you."

Pearl's smile would've made Pinkie Pie proud. She really did miss her own bed. No matter how nice the Apple Family's were. "So, um. Where exactly are we going anyway?"

Twilight bit her lip. Oh, how she wished Pearl hadn't asked that question. But now she could not answer it now. "The Scar of The Destroyer."

And just like that, all of Pearl's confidence and bravado fled, as her eyes widened in shock and horror.

---

Pearl plopped down on her pillow with a weary sigh. She was glad to be home at last. She really was. But the news of where she and Twilight were supposed to meet whoever Tiamat had sent to get them had taken all the joy out of her.

"Oh, why does it have to be there?" She asked to the room, receiving no answer. "I think I'd rather meet in Tartarus than anywhere near the Blight. If this is somebody's idea of a joke. I'm not laughing."

Pearl rolled over so she could look out her window at Ponyville. The sight was as beautiful as ever. But Pearl couldn't help but wonder if this might be the last time she would ever see the small town from this angle.

A whiff of a scent she had only smelled a few times before now came to her nose, and she rolled her eyes. "I'm not in the mood, Kohaku."

"Oh come on! Is that any way to treat your best friend? I thought we were past that?"

Pearl turned around to come face to face with the kitsune in question, who bore a worried expression. It helped calm her down somewhat. "We are. But I'm just not in the mood right now." She smirked. "And if I didn't know any better, I might question why you're in my room?"

Kohaku had the decency to keep his paws and tails to himself. "See. You are learning. But that's not why I'm here."

Pearl gave him a look. "Yeah? Then why are you here? Shouldn't you be feeling up Sweetie Belle? She's probably wondering where you ran off to. Not after this past week."

Kohaku didn't smile, though his lips quirked upwards slightly. "She knows where I am. As for why I'm here. I heard of where you and Twilight sama are going."

Pearl rolled her eyes. "Then maybe you can fill me in on why this place is so bad? Your mom is super smart I take it. Did she ever say anything?"

He shook his head. "Mother and father never spoke of the Scar. My sister once told me that it was already ancient when I was born. I once asked Discord about it. He turned white as a sheet and started babbling about 10th Dimensional beings and things that should not be and things that no one should ever know."

Pearl snorted. "Sounds like his usual nonsense to me."

Kohaku shrugged. "Maybe it was. Maybe it was not. But he never spoke about it again. No matter how many times I asked."

Pearl groaned as she flopped back on her bed. "I'm back to square one then. Ponies are afraid just to even talk about it. Celestia and Luna are probably two of the only ponies who've actually seen the Scar itself in person, and they don't know a thing about it. Twilight doesn't, and if you don't. Then I'm out of luck."

"Why are you interested in it anyway?" Kohaku asked.

Pearl shrugged. "It's a two-day trip down there. I've got nothing but time to think. Twilight used her powers as a princess to have the train run all the way to the Royal Guard outpost near the Ghost Fence. We're hoofing it the rest of the way from there."

"Who came up with that name? This isn't anywhere near Morrowind, or Tamriel in general," Kohaku replied.

Pearl giggled. This was one of the few things, back before the whole Nightmare Night mess and the past week, that the two of them could agree on. Though she never would've said that out loud of course back then. "Hay if I know. Bethesda and ZeniMax aren't going to do anything about something they don't know about."

Kohaku couldn't argue with that. It wasn't really a secret, no matter what she said, that Pearl was a nerd. And more specifically, for those who knew of it, she enjoyed stuff from the Human World. Namely from a country called Japan. Looking around, he could see several mecha model kits, and while they were all different in some ways, there was a certain design element that unified them.

Pearl saw where his eyes went and frowned. "Paws off, Kohaku. Those were a major pain, literally, to put together. And not cheap either. Twilight thought I was crazy when I told her I didn't want her help with my first one," she said, pointing at one in particular that held pride of place in her collection. "Assuming we even make it back, I've got a few more waiting to be built."

He smirked. "Not so easy with hooves?"

Pearl rolled her eyes. "No. Gunpla is easier when you have fingers. Mom and dad made Twilight Pinkie Promise that she goes with me whenever I go to Canterlot High. There's no way I can do any of that here."

Pearl took a smug satisfaction at Kohaku's look of surprise at that bit of news. Even though they were past the worst parts of how they used to be, Pearl still had some bits of that left in her. "Didn't know that, did ya? To paraphrase you, you don't know everything about me. You got a good start. But there are some things that not even Twilight knows about."

He conceded the point with a nod. He could respect that. "So what's the problem then? What happened to all your bravado?"

Pearl's ears fell. "Because I'm scared of what we'll face once we cross the Ghost Fence. Scared that Twilight will die because of me. And there's not a damn thing I can do about it." She unfurled a wing. "I can count on one wing. One. The total number of ponies that's gone into the Blight, and then come back out again. And none of them even saw the Scar of the Destroyer itself."

Kohaku was taken aback by that bit of news. "What could do that?"

Pearl shrugged. "I don't know. Nopony does. They don't live long enough if they do." She sniffed as she pointed at a certain scroll on her dresser. "Your mom's scroll won't do either of us any good if we don't live long enough to present it to Tiamat."

Kohaku wiped her tears away with a tail. "Is that why you're all alone like this?"

Pearl bit her lip as she looked back out her window. The sun was beginning to set now. "I'm scared this will be the last time I see Ponyville like this. All because I couldn't control myself. And that one of my best friends will pay for it. And there's nothing I can do about it."

Kohaku felt his heart fall. He wished he could do something to help his best friend. But what was there he could do? "If you want to be alone, I can respect that. But I don't think you should be. Not at a time like this."

Pearl shook her head, holding onto his tail as hard as she could. "No. Don't go. Not yet. I need a friend. Now more than ever," she sniffed.

Kohaku nodded. And so he stayed, for however long Pearl wanted.

---

"I still think this is a horrible idea, Twilight," Starlight said, watching her mentor and best friend pack for the journey ahead.

Twilight shook her head. "I'm not letting Pearl go by herself, Starlight. Especially now. She will never make it to the Scar by herself."

Starlight shook her head. "And who says you being there will help? You know better than she does how many ponies have gone into the Blight, that never came back out again. What do I tell Princess Celestia and Princess Luna if the worst happens? What do I tell your family?"

Twilight stopped as she heard the fear in her friend's voice. She smiled as turned to look at the unicorn. She quickly pulled her into a hug, one that Starlight was happy to return. "Starlight. I know you're worried. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared myself. But I have to see this through."

Starlight sniffed, as her tears began to fall. "Then you come back, Twilight Sparkle. You come back. Or so help me, me messing with time will look tame by comparison when I'm done with the place."

Twilight managed a smile, even as her own tears began to fall. "I promise, Starlight. You won't even know I'm gone."

The two held their hug for a long time. Neither one of them cared if anyone saw them like this.

Author's Note:

So, yeah. I'm using some things from The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind with this. It's not a true crossover, since it's only place names and not happening in Vvardenfell. So no Ashlands, Red Mountain, Dagoth Ur, Sixth House, or Heart of Lorkhan. Or from Tribunal and Bloodmoon.

And yes. Pearl is a Gunpla collector. No, I'm not sorry. Batman already came to Equestria. Just look at Book Knight. Why not Gunpla as well? I blame Mecha Gaikotsu (and Gio San Pedro by extension), The Gunpla Network, The Gundam Shop, and Kakarot197 over on YouTube.

As an added bonus. Pearl now has a theme song that fits her to a T. I'm Me from Phineas and Ferb. It just fits her so well.

Comments

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

Starlight sniffed, as her tears began to fall. "Then you come back, Twilight Sparkle. You come back. Or so help me, me messing with time will look tame by comparison when I'm done with the place."

Yeah right! That is obviously a empty threat! You can't do s*** against Tiamit or the Scar place of all things. 🙄

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

And yes. Pearl is a Gunpla collector. No, I'm not sorry. Batman already came to Equestria. Just look at Book Knight. Why not Gunpla as well? I blame Mecha Gaikotsu (and Gio San Pedro by extension), The Gunpla Network, The Gundam Shop, and Kakarot197 over on YouTube.

What??!! When did this happened?! And I didn't see Batman in here?

[Mystic Sunrise]

10817885
The Batman bit is explained more in the prequal. And the Gunpla bit wasn't brought up before because, aside from Pearl, Kohaku, and Twilight. Only a few other ponies knew about it. And it's just a bit of character development.

And I don't know what you seem so angry about (reading other comments). This is Starlight Glimmer we're talking about. She'll damn will try. No one will tell her, or me for that matter, otherwise.

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

10818401

It's from the costume party, right?

As for me being "angry". Well, I'm more concerned that Twilight is gonna mess with the WRONG BEING ( Tiamat and her Consorts ). Or Starlight, if she wants to mess Tiamat's territory.

I actually on Celestia's and Luna's side on this one. Twilight is definitely gonna die for heavily underestimating the Dragon Goddess, or being a cocky idiot. I mean, Twilight is NO Kratos, Master Chief, or Doom Slayer/Doom Guy.

It's like seeing a very weak human with minor KI ( Twilight ), facing a OP God of Destruction type of power level ( Tiamat ) from the Dragon Ball Series.

[Mystic Sunrise]

10818993
Yep. LightHeart101 owns the character who is more into it, so you really should ask them to know more 😁.

And it's that your comments came out more angry than concerned. But that just might be me 😵. Twilight's attitude is part of why Celestia was so exasperated.

What nopony actually knows is that there is a trump card Pearl has. We've seen it already actually in the scroll Kohaku's mom gave her. More would be spoilers though.

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

10819051

Okay. It's just Twilight is acting dumb, that makes me both angry and concerned. And this "Trump Card" sounds like a Deja Ex Machina to save Twilight's hopeless butt.

[Mystic Sunrise]

10819140
If you really think Twilight wouldn't have tried something like this in the show if she had a student this young who was about to do something like Pearl is. Then we're thinking of two different Twilight Sparkles.

I'm not saying that she is being smart. But there it is 😁. I already know how all of this plays out. You'll just have to sit there and wait.

[OP Omni God-Emperor Doom]

10819171

Very well. All I'm saying is that Twilight and her friends have face Villains in the past that wasn't too OP ( Enough that they blow up the entire planet or something. ). Or that they didn't kill them.

The main difference is that Tiamit is a Goddess that could destroy Equestria with ease, and has no problem to kill Twilight with no remorse.

That is the main issue, I'm fine with Twilight to be brave against a Villain ( That isn't that powerful enough to destroy the planet with a finger, or has a killer/murder instinct ), but someone like Tiamit is obviously a No-Go.