Chapter 55: Revelations and Oubursts
The shaman and the workhorse waded through the pool of green glowing liquid and marched up on the bank where the unicorn from the Equestrian Astronomy Institute was sitting, trying to shake the substance off herself. In the meantime, Zecora put the lantern and her saddlebags on the ground, opening the latter so she could help her fire lizard friend back inside where it could be safe. A blowing sound came past her head and saw a few feathers fly past her and fell into one of her saddlebags.
“Ack, that was a nasty experience,” Applejack moaned, as it seemed that some of the feathers that she nearly choked on earlier were still in her mouth. “Still, that don’ make a lick of sense. Whose feathers were that, and why were they stuck in a layer of what basically amounts to sandstone?”
“Sandstone?” Whimsy Windsdale looked at her in confusion after she finally stopped grooming herself. “Miss Applejack, we’re in a middle of a land full of volcanic activity.”
“I agree,” the zebra added, “the thin layer above gives me pause on how it came to be. It makes no sense, don't you see?”
“Well, somethin’ had to make it in the first place. Those feathers that were stuck in it. And then there’s that giant puddle we landed in too. This place is really weird, Zecora…” Applejack counted all the issues that didn’t make sense, but her voice trailed off, before pointing in her direction. “’Cept not as weird as what’s happenin’ in your bags.”
The zebra gave her a confused look and then turned back to her saddlebags. There was a bright light glowing from within it, and she could’ve sworn she heard a familiar sound echoing as well. She quickly went to reach for the source and pull it out, leaving her surprised by what she was holding. It was the jar containing the shadowy manifestation, one the color of darker grey, and it was screeching. It didn’t take long for her to spot the single spark of light within it flashing, glowing brighter by the second. But why? She soon spotted it: One of the feathers that landed in her bag earlier was drenched in the pony saliva and was stuck to the side of the jar, and it was that direction that the blob was desperately trying to avoid by pressing against the opposite side of the glass, but it was a wasted effort. A radiant blue glow enveloped the feather, until it was all but consumed by it, disappearing. It then passed through the glass and got absorbed by the increasingly bright spark of light. Once it was done, a blinding flash erupted, followed by the dark blob’s violent cry, and then it went quiet, the surroundings returning to near darkness, illuminated by the lantern. And the zebra could see that with the spark of light dimmed again, the contents of the jar became noticeably just normal grey color.
“What… the hay… was that, Zecora?” Applejack broke the silence that followed.
“I have seen this happen before,” the shaman answered, “yet since you weren’t there I imagine you do know not what’s in store. But you saw it awaken, Applejack if I'm not mistaken.”
She thought for a moment, trying to recall what she was talking about regarding the blob. Suddenly, she remembered back in the Frozen North, when they got separated. When they managed to get together again, Twilight showed the blob, a remnant of the attack on her by an aspect of Turmoil. It had become still even though it was aggressive, and after an experiment, it was revived by the green substance, the lifeblood of the world, yet its behaviors completely changed, something that the shaman and wonderbolt commented on happening when the spark inside of it absorbed the essence of Radiant Hope.
“Zecora, ya think the same thing will happen again if we do it?” the workhorse wondered.
She nodded, then put the jar on the ground and reached into her saddlebag, pulling out a small wooden saucer, traipsed over to the large pool of glowing green liquid, and filled it up.
“Emmm… excuse me,” the purple unicorn wondered, “what’s going on?”
“You just wait a bit, Miss Windsdale. You’ll get yer answer soon,” the Element of Honesty replied.
The zebra approached the opened container and slowly poured the magical substance into it. The same reaction occurred just like last time, as the ooze and the liquid inside began to conjugate, and the spark of light inside began to glow along with it, the blob began to bubble up, rising, its eyes and maw opened and then… it just sat there looking about confusingly. Its tendrils then slowly reached out for the edge of the jar, pulling itself up, and then it looked about its surroundings. First, its sight went for the two equines that stood by the jar – the orange and the striped one, letting out a murmuring sound, as if it was concerned by their presence. Then it turned to the unicorn, and they both noticed how its eyes expanded all of a sudden. It lept off the edge of the jar and then began dragging itself across the floor and towards the scientist pony making strange noises that almost sounded like desperation. She screamed and backed up with increased speed, trying to avoid the blob getting near her, only to eventually hit the wall. But the blob didn’t get far as the workhorse managed to put the jar over it and then sealed it again. The creature shifted about a bit in its old prison, before turning towards the direction of its target and started to make whining noises.
“Sorry ‘bout that, Miss Windsdale,” Applejack apologized. “Ah should’ve been a bit faster on the lid.”
The scientist finally got her gaze away from the shifting form and aimed it at the country pony. “Okay, could somepony care to explain what in Equestria is that thing?!”
“As much as I’d like to, miss, it’s a very long and complicated story, and I fear that we have a more pressing issue to deal with.” Applejack looked up where weak light shined through the crack in the ceiling. “We have to find a way out because if we don’t we’ll be stuck here for a very long time.”
“Relax.” She waved her hoof dismissingly. “Members of the Equestrian Astronomy Institute know I’m here and I told them when I’m planning to come back. Once they see I’m not back yet they’ll come looking for us. So, in the meantime…” She levitated her saddlebags over to her, put them against the wall, and prompted herself against it. “You two start explaining what did you drag me into.”
Applejack and Zecora looked at one another, the latter picked up her packs and they moved closer to her.
“Well, you see miss, it’s like this…” the former elaborated.
“Okay, I think that’s the last one,” Twilight said as the light went out and then levitated the blue crystal over to her companion.
They’ve been working for hours at it. At least now they finally knew that the color of the crystal indicated which dragon it belonged to. It made categorizing of the scattered crystals much more manageable, but not easier. There were still thousands upon thousands of colorful crystals, completely scrambled from the mishap earlier, and to make matters even more difficult, despite being the same, there was a very subtle different tone in some of the colors, and it required very keen eyes to spot it.
Spike took the latest addition to the collection of the same color and placed it in a row, then picked up a checklist and crossed it out. Where they started from white one, each consecutive set of crystals slowly changed into the one where they ended up now. Even so, it was exhausting work, and as he turned back to where the rest were, where the alicorn princess, the Dragon Lord, and her sire hung out, he saw a large multicolored pile still just sitting there, and it didn’t seem to have shrunk since the last time he saw it; the whole situation, the thought of having to get through all of that, while he was already tired made him feel quite woozy, sick even, which became apparent when he got the sudden feeling as if he was about to regurgitate. That’s when he suddenly realized it - he knew that sensation all too well, it’s just been so long since he had it last time, ever since SHE stepped down. He tried to hold it in, but the force was too strong.
BUUURP!
The little dragon opened his mouth and with a loud belch, green fire erupted with lots of smoke, that soon after materialized into a sealed parchment.
His older sibling noticed it, even though it’s been a long since she last heard that sound. “Spike? Is that a message from Princess Celestia?”
“Who else do you think has the ability to send a message like this?” He hit his chest trying to get the remaining smoke out. “But it’s been so long since she did that…”
“Is it urgent?”
He opened the scroll and quickly skimmed through it. “Uh oh,” was the only words he said.
“Uh oh? What do you mean by “uh oh”? Is it a good “uh oh?” Twilight tried to be hopeful.
“Since when is “uh oh” supposed to be a good sign?”
“Can’t you at least pretend it is, considering what we have to deal with?” she begged, to which all she received, was a raised eyebrow. “Okay fine, let me have it. What does it say?”
“Dear Twilight Sparkle,” he began reading out loud, “I trust your search for the whereabouts of the missing piece of Turmoil in Dragon Lands is going well. However, I have rather unsettling news. I just received word from Starlight Glimmer that Ponyville has been assaulted by an unseen force, and Star Swirl confirmed it must’ve been magical in nature. As of this moment, the entire town, as well as Canterlot will be put under a protective magical field that will prevent any further interference from this outside force. So, just in case you’re planning to reply back, I’m letting you know that the message will not be received. Do not get distracted, Princess. Have faith that we can hold our own while you’re away. Kind regards, Celestia.”
After a moment of silence, Twilight exploded. “Ponyville attacked?! What?!”
“Twilight, chill,” he tried to calm her. “Remember what Celestia said. You need to keep calm and not get distracted. She’s been dealing with these things for a thousand years, remember?”
“Yes, I know, but still… “
“Now come on, let's continue with the investigation,” he said and moved back to the crystal pile.
Despite what Spike said, she couldn’t help but be worried. With all that she’s seen happened, she couldn’t be sure that even her senior would be able to do much against what they were facing. They returned back to the cluster of crystals where the elder dragon and his whelp waited, with the former being fast asleep at this point.
“Problems at home?” Ember asked as the two approached.
“Nothing that can’t be handled, right Twilight?” The little dragon glanced at her.
“Yeah, sure… I’m not worried,” she responded, noticeably nervous.
“Sure…” the Dragon Lord responded, rather unsure if she was honest. “Anyway, which one do we have next?”
With a flash of magic, Twilight conjured an image of a color wheel. “According to this, considering how far we’ve come, I think the next one is…” She looked through the pile of crystals until she finally picked a dark purple crystal. “This one!”
“Alright guys, get ready,” Ember ordered, extending the bloodstone scepter in its direction and touching its surface with its tip.
As many times before, bright light erupted upon their connection, and when it disappeared, an image was presented before them. The Dragon Lord was present, he was about three times the size of the current reigning one, and he stood on a cliff edge, staring into the distance, in one hand holding the bloodstone scepter, and in the other the memory crystal with which he was recording. Spectators were unsure what was happening yet, but it was clear that it was raining heavily, yet what followed was unexpected.
“It is finally over…” he spoke in a surprisingly gentle voice. “After more than a dozen cycles, the cataclysmic calamity has finally come to an end, however… The calamity consumed most of Mother’s Pool of Conjugation, and the devastation that it left behind cannot be reversed. Our homeland will forever be marked by it. I do not know for what purpose my feathered friend will use the container in which the calamity is sealed; despite it’s changed nature, I do not think anything good will come of it. But in the end, that’s not my main concern right now. The devastation had scattered the broods all over our lands, and I wouldn’t be surprised if orphans were left behind. Now that the threat has ended, I must find them and bring them back into the fold. Not a single whelpling must be left abandoned and forgotten, as Mother said: Without guidance, the primal instinct will get the better of them. And once things have finally settled… Mother…” The crowned dragon paused. “Perhaps then we can finally look for you, wherever you’ve disappeared off to…”
And the imagery disappeared, and while the silence lasted a bit, it was for a good reason. The calamity. That was what they were looking for!
“You… you all saw that, right?” Twilight questioned, and everybody present nodded in acknowledgment. “We’re on the right track! Quick, start looking for other crystals of the same color! Our goal may be in sight!”
Without further notice, the purple dragon lept into the sea of gems and swam through it like a fish, meanwhile, the blue dragon and the alicorn combed through the surface, trying to find the crystals that matched the color of the current one.
“I got it!” a yell came from under the shiny clutter, and moments later, a purple claw popped out of it, holding a much darker purple crystal.
The pony gleefully grabbed it, only for her excitement to shrink, while the Dragon Lord’s reaction seemed to be of an increasing rage, as they both noticed that, while the crystal was absolute of the same color, it seemed much smaller in comparison; it was chipped, almost as if “somebody” had nibbled on it. It didn’t take long before Ember’s gaze traveled over to her father, who was sound asleep, oblivious to what was happening.
“Let’s try it?” Twilight suggested.
Ember pushed down her anger for a moment and focused on the task at hand, hoping that whatever the crystal was about to show won’t be very important when it cuts off. She nodded, and the princess levitated the crystal in front of her, while she touched it with the tip of the bloodstone scepter. And the blinding light followed.
The image of the Dragon Lord from earlier appeared again. He was holding the memory crystal and ran, eventually coming to an abrupt stop.
“I came as fast as I could, Mother,” he gasped for air. “What’s so urgent?”
There was a quaking sound that followed, and they saw a giant figure pass the dragon.
“Child, I will be leaving,” the familiar deep voice said.
“Leaving?” he paused, then the sign of fear appeared on his face. “No… Nononononononono! Mother, it can’t be your time yet! I’m not ready! There’s got to be-!”
“Calm yourself, Obsidian, it’s not my time yet,” the voice reassured him. “This is a different matter. I will be leaving Dragon Lands for some time, but I will return eventually.”
“But where to, Mother? And why are you leaving?”
“There was a visitor that came to my doorstep, a foreigner from the far west,” the explanation followed. “Apparently, he asked other of my children that live beyond our domain, looking for the strongest dragon of all. I met him, and he was desperate. A great misfortune had befallen his kingdom and he had begged that I assist him in a matter that he alone couldn’t resolve without causing the entire kingdom to collapse.”
“An outsider?” The Dragon Lord tilted his head. “Why would you help him?”
More stomping sounds followed, and soon after a giant crystal formation came into view, and it moved up and down while the voice spoke. “For the same reason that I care about all of you. I cannot ignore a call for help when love is involved, even love for one’s home and a desire to preserve it. And this one… this one begged for it.” The cluster disappeared from view. “But rest assured, child, I will be back. But first, I must help the Beard-“
And just like that, the vision came to an end.
There was a low rumbling sound that followed afterward. It wasn’t a geological event, it was Ember, her face turning red and steam coming out her nostrils, specks of flame slipping through the cracks in her mouth as she was trying to suppress the rage. The duo knew that wasn’t going to last, so they quickly made their distance from her; a good decision, as not a moment later, her mouth opened and with a yell, a pink flame erupted.
“DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!”
With the echoing noise all around, the former Dragon Lord woke from his slumber. “Wha… Did something happen?” he wondered in a sleepy tone.
She turned to her elder, with the angry flame flickering in her eyes. “Yeah, something did happen! We were finally going to get a clue what happened to Mother of Dragons, and then the message was cut short, because of YOUR eating habits!”
Torch groaned. “I told you already. I may have given the collection a nibble or two-“
“That nibble or two happened 20 crystals ago!” she vented her rage. “Every time we made a progress, to find a clue, we had to dig deeper in order to find a proper message to match what we were missing! But this time we can’t because what we saw was one of a kind thing and now we’re stuck! And it’s all your fault!”
Her voice echoed throughout the cavern, and after a momentary quiet, while the Dragon Lord was still fuming over the events, the voice of the other boomed out.
“Fine! If that’s the way you’re going to be…!”
The elder dragon rose up on all fours, and went past the small group, towards the exit, the ground trembling as he did.
“D-dad? Where do you think you are going?” Ember inquired.
“Back to my lair! I’m not going lay there and be scolded by my own whelp!”
He crawled into the opening, surroundings shaking as his large form brushed against the ceiling.
“Dad! Dad, get back here!” the blue dragon yelled, and when it became apparent he didn’t hear her, she ran off after him.
The duo looked at each other and then ran after them.
Torch crawled out of the entry into the cavern into which he barely fit, he spread open his gigantic wings and prepared himself to fly. Yet just before he did, his offspring came running out of the mouth of the cave trying to stop him.
“Dad, come back here!” Ember commanded. “As your Dragon Lord, I order you to stay!”
Torch stopped, his head turning back to his spawn. “Tell that to an elder dragon who cares.”
“You’re the elder dragon who cares!”
“Not anymore,” he bluntly retorted.
With a single beat of his wings, it created a powerful gust of wind that kicked up the dust and blew them off their feet, before flying higher and disappearing around the corner of the mountain.
When the dust finally settled, the former Dragon Lord’s offspring raged. “That big, overblown, self-absorbed… UUUUUUUUUUGH!”
“Ember, enough already,” Spike spoke out.
“Because of him we just lost a piece of the puzzle, Spike! I have every right to be angry at him!”
“I think you’re being a bit unfair to him, Ember,” the alicorn answered.
The Dragon Lord gave her a look of surprise. “Twilight? You?! Out of everybody else, you should be most furious about this!”
“Not as furious as I’m about to be!”
They all went quiet. That voice wasn’t theirs, it belonged to somebody nearby. Near the airship, they saw a large piece of cloth laying nearby, and somebody was struggling to move under it. Twilight used her magic to lift it up, revealing a white unicorn mare, who had her head wrapped in a piece of cloth, strands of her mane sticking out the sides.
“Rarity, why are you wearing that thing on your head?” the little dragon asked the mare of his desires.
She wiped her brow. “I’m trying to preserve what little semblance of my radiant mane is left, Spike.” She forced back a noticeable strand of grey hair that was sticking out in front of her face. “And this scorching sun is really not helping my condition.”
Meanwhile, Twilight looked about. She had expected the fashionista to be done patching up the balloon of their ship a long time ago, but now that she looked about, there was a more noticeable mess about than before. “Rarity? What are you doing?” she inquired.
“I’m trying to fix the blimp, Twilight. Just like I said I would.”
“But I thought you’d have been finished by now,” she stopped herself for a moment, thinking. “Wait, you’re not being serious about what you said earlier, are you?”
“Twilight darling, you should know by now I never do anything in half-measured,” she said, lifting all the fabrics that were blown about and stacking them up. “I came to the realization that a simple patch job won’t do, so I’m working on the whole thing from scratch. I made some considerable progress in the time that you were away, but then former Dragon Lord Torch messed things up with the wind he’s raised.”
Then the princess diverted her attention to the situation at hand. The sudden distraction managed to de-escalate it before they got even more heated up. “As I was saying, Ember, I think you’re being rather unfair to your father. Yeah, sure he bit off the crystals, but in his defense, he couldn’t have known what they really were since we all know now that just about every dragon forgot any of these things happened, and even more so, it happened over a thousand years ago. I mean, most of the ponykind pretty much forgot about Nightmare Moon actually existing, even though we had written records and a prophecy pointing to it, so everypony was surprised when she actually returned.”
“Well, except for you,” Spike pointed out.
“Anyway, as I said, I fully understand you being angry at your dad for making our search difficult, but it’s unfair since he couldn’t have known.”
The blue dragon still wanted to rage regardless, yet by this point, the rage had already subsided and she couldn’t muster anymore of it. “I know, but,” she said between her clenched teeth, “it still makes me angry when he’s like this…”
The small purple dragon walked to her side and held her hand. “It’s okay, Ember. I’m sure that there are still other messages that can help us find out what happened. I mean, that was the case for other recordings, maybe it will be for this one as well.”
The Dragon Lord breathed in deeply and expelled what built-up heat was left in her, then looked at her little friend and nodded before walking back into the cave together. Twilight sighed in relief that things settled down, then glanced in the fashionista’s direction.
“Rarity, you sure you don’t need any help?”
“No no, Twilight, as I said, I can handle it.” She waved her away. “Now you go move along and continue what you guys were doing.”
She was sure that the Element of Generosity could use some assistance, but with everybody else already set on their task, she was right, she had to do her part. And she traipsed back into the cave after the two dragons.
“So, let me see if I understood the basics,” Whimsy Windsdale said. “There’s the darkness that resides in the Everfree Forest, and you’re traveling all over Equestria to try and find it before these villains do, and on top of that, you somehow managed to get a piece of it, and you keep it in a jar?”
Applejack finished retelling the events of the past few days to the member Equestrian Astronomy Institute. “Well, that’s pretty much how you described it. It was only recently that we realized that the piece of Turmoil is being revived using the magic water that seems to be all over the world for some reason. Ain’t that right, Zecora?!” She waited for the zebra to confirm her statement, but she didn’t respond; her head was hanging low, and the workhorse swore that she was hearing a low sound coming from her. “Zecora?” She nudged her, and the shaman instantly raised her head with a snort. “You feelin’ okay?”
She yawned. “Forgive me, Applejack, but I’m nearly spent. All this time I’ve been helping the princess, with sleep at zero percent…”
She was telling the truth. She was the one who stayed with her to try and find the clue that led the to Dragon Lands, and she didn’t even consider her own needs before the ones of others.
“Tell ya what,” the Element of Honesty suggested, her head turning to the unicorn, “since we’re stuck here and have to wait for the rescue anyway, why don’cya take a load off and have some well-deserved rest, Zecora?”
The shaman didn’t say anything. She simply tipped backward and landed on her back with a resounding thud, followed by a loud exhale and then a snoring neigh.
“Wow, your… your friend’s really out of it, huh?” the unicorn asked.
“Yep, we’ve all been pretty strained for the past few days. Then again, Ah already told you what happened and what we’ve been doing, so that’s hardly surprising.” She leaned against the wall. “So… while we’re waiting for your research team to come and break us out, we might as well just take a breather, miss Whimsy.”
“Well… I suppose we might as well.”
The Institute member lifted her saddlebag and placed them behind her to make her resting arrangement a bit comfier as she lay down, seemingly already fallen asleep. The orange pony simply pulled her hat over her eyes and exhaled in relief. Some time passed and things have gone quiet as the three mares rested… or at least two of them have. The third one opened her eyes, looked at them for a moment, and then turned her head in the direction of one of the underground tunnels, before getting up and tip-toed off.
The trio was once again in the crystal cavern, the large glistening pile lying in front of them, its secrets just waiting to be unraveled further. The smaller dragon once again dived into it, while the bigger one and the alicorn princess busied themselves with what was on the outside.
“I found one!” Twilight called out after several minutes.
Soon after, the Dragon Lord came to meet her on her side, and the companion crawled out of the pile. The former picked up her bloodstone scepter, and as the ruler of Equestria allowed it to touch the crystal she was holding, it lit up, and they watch the recording play out.
The Dragon Lord they saw before appeared. He was sitting by the fire that he himself had just lit up with his breath, with the bloodstone scepter resting in his lap, and he was holding a crystal in his claws. The look on his face and the tone of his face was depressed, to say the least.
“It is the tenth cycle since the cataclysm began, and our home has been completely changed by it. Where there were once lush trees and overgrowth along with rushing crystal rivers, with magma flowing from the nearby active volcano, the calamity awoke even more of them, and they destroyed all the greenery and evaporated all the springs. To make matters even worse, Mother’s Pool of Conjugation has been swallowed by the giant gaping maw when the fiery star fell from the sky, right on top of it. Something good did come out of it, though. The breaking and shifting of the earth opened up underground deposits of gemstones, enough for us to gorge on it but…” He paused for a moment. “They’re all near the vicinity of the fiery mountain that arose from Mother’s pool. Any long-term exposure to its surroundings seems to be having an effect on the brood, as other dragons seem to be showing signs of unrestrained anger; so much so that fights between not just other broods but even broodkin erupted. The calamity has already left several orphaned hatchlings in its wake, and now, even more, will follow. Mother… I wish you were here right now. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do without your guidance… How can I help my kin when I can’t-“
“Hello? Is anyone in here?”
The Dragon Lord raised his head in a sudden surprise, dropping the crystal as he quickly rose, grabbing the bloodstone scepter. There was somebody else in the cave, and it certainly wasn’t a voice he recognize.
“Who’s there?!” he questioned. “Who dares to enter the lair of the Dragon Lord?!”
And from the corner of the recording, a shape came into view. What this creature was certainly wasn’t a dragon. It looked like a bird, an eagle to be specific, and yet, he had four legs, his lower half belonging to that of a feline, and he wore a scarf. Not that it mattered to a dragon as they almost never wore any clothes.
“What sort of creature are you?” the dragon inquired. “What do you want?”
And the light went out.
“Wait, it just ended?!” Ember raised her voice in frustration. “For the love of… Dad, not again!”
“Ember, calm down,” Twilight intervened. “I don’t think this had anything to do with your dad. The recording may just be short because he got caught off guard.”
“I wish I could believe that, Twilight,” she tried to shut down the rising anger.
“That still doesn’t answer who the visitor was,” the purple dragon pointed out.
“By the looks of it, it was a griffin, Spike. But why would he be here in Dragon Lands?”
“There’s only one way we’ll find out. Back to searching!” the Dragon Lord commanded and she dug into the crystal pile, and the two siblings followed suit.
The trio resumed their search for answers, assured that they will become visible. Unknown to them, however, a sinister weaselly shape that had been observing the events play out, decided it had seen all that it needed.
“Going high!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she prepared to serve.
The dragons welcomed the new player to the game surprisingly without any objection. And throughout the early game, the pony was dominating the opposition, she was practically carrying it. Yet even though she was winning for the first half, things started to turn, as she was slowly getting more and more tired, while the dragons remained strong after just a little break. Now it was an intense match, as the score was ninety-nine for both teams, which meant this shot counted for all of it. She hoofed the ball and it flew over the air, and one of the dragons easily lept high and slapped it back to her side of the court. The wonderbolt saw the trajectory and realized that the one trying to counter it won’t make it, so she dashed for it, beating her teammate to it and smacked it back, but soon after, another dragon lept for it and slapped it back. And it continued for several more hits until at last, when the pegasus left for it, she didn’t put enough force into her leap and she landed face first in the sand, with the ball landing on the ground a few inches away from her hooves. The opposite team went wild and the dragon that was holding the scoreboard flipped the numbers.
The tired pony raised her head out of the sand. “Okay, I’m tapping out… I… I need a break.”
She dragged herself out of the field, far enough to not risk somebody either tossing a ball at her or getting run over by one of the several dragons running on the beach. After making a considerable distance she rolled over and just let the sun’s heat wash over her. It was peaceful for a moment, a moment that wouldn’t last long.
“So, how’s our sport’s pony? Tired of doing victory laps around them already?”
She hasn’t heard that smug tone in a long while now but she still remembered it all too well. Standing over her was the shy pegasus, and the draconequus was hanging out of the fanny pack around her neck.
“Oh it’s you,” Rainbow Dash said in an annoyed tone. “I thought you’d still be mopey, all things considered.”
“Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy reassured her, “he got it out of his system. Nothing a peaceful little walk on the beach couldn’t fix. And I also met a new friend who’s got quite a few things to say.” She raised her hoof and there was a shell resting on it, a hermit crab poking his head out. “Isn’t that right, Mister Crabs?” The crab clacked with his claws.
“Right… As for the question earlier, Discord, no. There were no victory laps,” the wonderbolt explained herself. “Dragons may have questionable thought power at times, but their endurance is something else, and I’m not talking about their heat resistance. After just a little break they caught up to the cap that I made during the game.”
“So they totally whooped you?” the former Lord of Chaos wondered.
She groaned. “Can’t you be a bit less blunt?”
“Bye-bye!” another voice came from the direction of the sea, as the party planner came hopping out of water, wearing an inflatable tube, waving at the dragons who were still swimming. “Been fun! Hope we can do this some other time!” The pink pony traipsed over to where the rest of the trio were, smiling.
“Lemme guess,” the blue pegasus went ahead of her, “you were having a good time as well, weren’t you?”
“Sure I did,” she answered still smiling. “But, emmm, can we step over there behind that ridge for a moment?”
There were several rocky formations nearby that were putting up the cover between the beach and the mountain behind them, and she waved them to follow her. They were confused as to why. Rainbow Dash got up and she and the rest traipsed after her. Once behind the cover, the puffy-head one took a quick peek over the top to make sure nobody was looking in their direction, and when she realized the coast was clear, she dropped the facade.
“Girls, something’s really wrong with this beach party!”
“Actually, I was about to say-“ Fluttershy tried to add when she suddenly went quiet.
They could hear the sound of somebody approaching right in their direction! In the blink of a moment, Pinkie Pie pushed them all into a nearby crevice in the ground, before jumping in herself, just when one of the dragons poked its head over the ridge, only to find nothing.
“Get… off… me!”
The interior of the fissure that they’d just fallen into was much bigger than it seemed on the outside. They all managed to fit in without pushing against one another, and on top of that, there was a hole in the wall which allowed a ray of light to shine inside, and it had a view of the beach where the dragons were playing. The voice just now did not belong to any of them, however. They were surprised that their landing was softer than they had anticipated, but the sound quickly gave away that they had landed on somebody. It was a dragon. He was big, with red scales, and orange spines, and there were sharp teeth sticking out of his mouth even though he had them closed.
“Garble?” Fluttershy immediately recognized him.
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Something sinister going on at the beach?
Harmony shenanigans! Yeah!
Chrysalis is getting sneakier. And now they know about the Harmony aspects. This is going to make things interesting. I wonder if the Turmoil bearers survive this by being repurposed into it's biohazard crew.
"Here comes the Storm!" Here comes the Storm! Here comes the Storm!
Time for "Doubt" to bring down the house.
It's a really angry beach party!
Or a party where everyone is stuffing their face.
One of those two.
If this is the "Element Of Anger" my best guess is that Cozy Glow will have to infiltrate the Elements of Harmony to get it, which would be kind of funny, given how Seasons 8 and 9 played out.
Garble!!! What's been up?!
11435603
Not sure I understand that reference.
Take a chill pill. =P
Or at least, somebody else will in its place. =P
It's a really angry beach party!
I mean, it wasn't a few moments ago...
Not a fan I take it?
11442542
Turmoil isn't going to use the others to run interference and prevent these aspects from being used?
It's Storm King. He doesn't do chill. That's why he moved to a warmer climate.
Oh. I just thought that's where this was going.
I can take or leave him.
what is the probability that exactly the right Memory Crystal containing the necessary information was eaten and not any other and thousands?
that moment when someone is doing really important work others are just playing volleyball on the beach.
be careful with this crab. I heard that next to crabs bearing such a name, money disappears very quickly.
11443522
Well, Torch wasn't completely honest, as it turned out he did more than just a nibble or 2.
11435561
Mmmmmmmmmmmaybe.