A Siren Rose

by Mystic Sunrise

Unexpected Guest

Twilight nuzzled warmly up against Pearl’s body as Summer flew them onward. She was on the verge of falling asleep when a clash of thunder erupted through the skyline. Twilight shot herself up as summer too lifted her head.

“What was that?” Twilight looked about the sky. No clouds in sight.

“I’m not sure. The season has been rather calm lately. We aren't due for a wild storm for at least another few weeks now.” Summer looked around with Twilight. Halting and hovering in mid-air over a darkened grove, when two more thunderclaps erupted in the sky without the flash of lightning. “It seems to have come from the north. If you have no objections to a detour I’d like to see what’s going on.”

“We won’t be in danger, will we? Pearl has enough on her chest right now. Literally.” Twilight grumbled as Summer shook her head.

“No, she should be okay. We’ll keep our distance, I simply want to see what is going on and if it poses a threat. If it does, the Queen has to be informed. With our luck, it’s just a rogue…”

Summer’s voice was swiftly cut off when a black mass zoomed past her shoulder. Forcing the dragoness to swerve sharply. Looking on, she saw the shape halt, unleashing stone-shattering claps of thunder when four hooves slammed against a cloud that swiftly formed behind the unknown mass of dark blue.

“Mmm, what’s all the racket? Can’t a girl get a little shut-eye?” Pearl moaned as she tried to push herself up but found she was pinned to Summer’s back by Twilight’s form. She would have enjoyed it more had it not been for the confusion of being suddenly awoken.

Twilight blinked and felt her eye twitch. She knew the form that cloud was taking. She watched the sleek athletic form take shape, lean pre-teen muscles flexed as the colt stood tall on the appearing storm cloud. His rainbow-tinted mane and tail swished, the colors of blue, indigo, and violet almost blending into the night sky. The spirals along his lightning-shaped horn shimmered with a bright white light as Twilight watched him smirk that mirrored his sister's.

“Is that all you got?” The colt yelled out as he slammed his hoof down on the cloud again. Thunder crashed along the sky as a winged demon flew like an arrow from hell at him.

“That’s a Gargoyle!” Pearl shouted as she watched the boy leap up, the demon’s claws missing him by a feather’s breath.

Leaping up and up, wall jumping off of clouds to ascend higher. The storm gray colt dove down at terminal velocity and slammed both front hooves into the Gargoyle’s chest. Lightning from his horn crashed downward, shattering the beast as he leaped forward. Leaving pieces of the beast falling to the ground below.

Breathing heavily He stood there atop another made stormcloud before standing up straight and looking up with a smile.

“Twilight?” Pearl groaned with annoyance as her wife just nodded.

“Yes Pearl, I see him.” Twilight groaned as she knew another long conversation was due to her friend Rainbow about the Pegasus’s troublesome younger brother.

“Auntie Twilight, Auntie Pearl!!” The colt excitedly waved his front hoof before starting to gallop up the sky, storm clouds forming under his hooves with each step as light from under his midnight blue scales shimmered.

“Hello, Sky. Getting into trouble again I see.” Twilight huffed as she shook her head at the colt.

“Hey, it’s not my fault those things came up after me.” Sky huffed as he plopped down on his rump on the cloud as it just drifted slightly, his breathing heavy and half labored. “Do you think I could come aboard? I’ve been running for almost a day now. And I'm exhausted.”

“OH, the great Sky is finally admitting he has a limit?” Pearl smirked. The boy was almost as stubborn as his sister when it came to bolstering.

“N..no! I could go on if I wanted. But Rainbow said it’s good to take a break now and then.” Sky huffed and crossed his front limbs. Earning a laugh from Twilight.

“Come on up Little Dashie. It’s not a crime to feel tired. Even Pearl here has trouble admitting she needs to rest. I think it’s a Pegasus thing.”

Pearl huffed and playfully hit Twilight with her wing. “Speak for yourself, Princess. Even you can’t tear yourself away from a project to eat, let alone sleep. Need I bring up what happened last month when half the town through you turned into a zombie because you went out dead tired in search of a plant. It took me a day to convince Pinkie you weren’t about to start the zombie apocalypse.”

Both Pearl and Sky laughed at the blush that came over Twilight’s face. Looking over at Summer, Twilight nodded her head. “You don’t mind do you?”

Summer smiled as she looked at the young boy and shook her head. “Oh not at all. He’s welcome to come with us if he wants. Coming all this way by himself was quite brave, if not a bit foolish.”

“Yeah, speaking of that. Why are you here Sky? And how did you get this far over the Everfree Forest. Pegasi and Unicorn magic don’t work around these parts which is why we are on Summer’s back.” Twilight scratched behind her head with her hoof.

“Dun know. I just ran here. Not like it was all that difficult. I did feel kind of heavy halfway here. And aside from that, whatever it was. My trip was kinda uneventful.” Sky chuckled as he settled himself on Summer’s back. Oblivious to how she watched his every movement.

“That’s elder dragon magic for you…” Summer whispered in a hushed tone to herself. Which caught Pearl’s ear causing her to turn around.

“As for why I'm here.” Sky reached into his black saddlebag and pulled out a scroll with a royal stamp on it. “Spike said to get this reply from Celestia to you as soon as possible. And since no Pegasi could fly over the Everfree, I had to bring it.”

Nodding softly, Twilight knew Sky’s habit of galloping over the Everfree Forest. Going places no Pegasus dared to go. She had been scolding him about it since he was five. She knew it to be highly reckless as much now at eleven. While proud of her student, she knew Rainbow encouraged her brother to be daring, regardless of how irresponsible it was.

“Everypony else said it was too dangerous, Auntie Fluttershy most of all. But sis had faith in me. Told me there was nothing in that forest I couldn’t handle on my own and I should flex my wings… so to speak.” Sky grinned as he turned and looked at Pearl. Quirking an eyebrow he reached out with his hoof. “Wow, that’s new. What is it? A new necklace or something?”

Pearl slapped his hoof away and grumbled. “Something like that.” Sky irritated her. She liked the boy. Friendly, outgoing, kind, and even shared love with her hobbies. But he was forever popping up whenever she wanted to be by herself. And he always knew how to push her buttons. She smiled tenderly at the boy, humored him, only to go to her bedroom later that evening and pound on a pillow or her old childhood stuffed fox for hours.

Why she had a stuffed fox, Pearl still didn't know. But he had been her constant companion since she was a filly, and no matter how much she pounded on him, she always took good care of him and he had managed to survive for longer than her parents had thought possible. And she made sure Fluttershy did not know about it. Oh no. She liked the Pegasus too much.

Except for Discord. More than once Pearl had threatened to shove his head someplace unpleasant. Antler first. He had only laughed before bouncing off. Stupid Chaos spirit.

Sky only shrugged and made himself comfortable. "Keep your secrets then. Where are we going anyway? Seems like a lot of trouble to go through the Everfree like this."

Twilight sighed as she opened Princess Celestia's letter. "We are going to see Tiamat. She has requested to see Pearl specifically. I'm here mostly to make sure my wife doesn't do something stupid."

Pearl stuck her tongue out at the alicorn, while Sky scratched his head. "Why would the Dragon Queen want to see such a mouthy Pegasus? I know you love dragons. But this seems a bit much."

Pearl groaned. "That's what I want to know. I've always wanted to meet her. But why now? And why is she asking for me? She doesn't know me at all."

Twilight nodded, wrapping a wing around the Pegasus, reading the letter as she did. "As for why we had to go through the Everfree? It is the quickest way to the Old Dragon Lands. That thing you fought was a Gargoyle."

Sky's eyes widened. "An Abyssal? Here in the Everfree? There isn't a portal around here. They can't go too far from one."

Pearl and Twilight shared a concerned look, a look the colt did not miss. "Alright. What are you two not telling me?" He grumbled.

Twilight pinched her snout. "I am sorry, Sky. But this is information restricted to the princesses only." She held up a hoof as Sky went to argue. "I know you can keep a secret, Sky. But this directly from Princess Celestia herself, and signed by all of us. I didn't know about this until recently myself."

Sky looked at Pearl with a raised brow. "Do you know what she's talking about?"

Pearl nodded. "Yeah, I know. Comes in handy when I'm also a princess as well." She smirked at Sky's confused look. "What? When I married Twilight, I became royalty as well. Sure, I'm not an alicorn. But I still have the title. Same with Shining Armor when he married Cadance."

Sky seemed to think about that for a moment before he smiled widely before Pearl poked him with an annoyed look. "Don't even think about it, Sky. Celestia and Luna are way outside of your age range, and Cadance is taken."

Sky chuckled. "Can't blame a guy for trying."

Twilight giggled as Pearl yawned, as did Sky. "Get some rest you two. I'm not sure how much further we have to go."

Pearl was more than happy to fall asleep once more in her wife's hooves, while Sky made himself as comfortable as possible.

---

Pearl awoke once more to Twilight gently pushing her. She yawned as she gave the alicorn a look. "What is it? I was having a rather nice dream."

Twilight nodded, as she pointed downwards. "We're almost there I think. We entered the Ancient Dragon Lands an hour ago."

Pearl blinked as she looked down, as Sky awoke behind her. Below was a vision straight out of hell. Volcanoes erupted in all directions, with thin streams of lava flowing in the ash plains between them. No life could be seen in any direction. Ahead was what looked like a range of mountains.

Sky shook his head as he looked down. "Only a dragon could love a place like this."

Summer chuckled. "Oh yes. It's why most of our kind scattered in the aftermath of the God War. Only the most ancient dragons still live here. Ahead lies the Gate of the Everburning Flame. Beyond lies the Queen's Sanctum." She turned and gave Sky a pointed look. "I suggest you watch yourself from here on."

Sky blinked. "What did I do?"

Summer shook her head. "You were not a part of this from the beginning. Therefore you are an intruder. I suggest you remember you have no protection here."

Twilight shook her head with a frown. "He has mine."

The dragoness shook her head. "It does not matter, Princess Twilight. Ponies have no authority here. If he does nothing to break the trust the queen has in you, then he will be fine."

Pearl was taken aback by how deadly the dragon sounded, unusual for how calm and fun she had usually been. She shared a look with Twilight, who could only sigh. "I understand," the princess bowed her head.

Sky could see that they were all deadly serious. Unlike his big sister, he knew when not to push his luck, so he held his thoughts for now, as the mountains came into view.

For a time, the group flew on in silence. Twilight and Pearl were glad to be able to feel their magic once more. Pearl could feel her Soul Gem was not happy to be here, and it made her smile. Maybe it meant there was hope for her yet.

Finally, they could see a massive gate set into the side of a massive mountain. As Summer came to land before it, they could make out the writing of some kind on the lintel.

Sky scratched his head as the trio jumped down from Summer's back. "Does somepony know what it says? I hate language."

Pearl rolled her eyes. "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. It's in the Iokaric script, the ancient language of the dragons." She blinked. "Wait. How did I know that? I can't read that langauage."

Twilight blinked in surprise as well. How could Pearl know that? It took years to understand the Old Tongues of Equus. Even she had trouble with it. She didn't miss the secret smile Summer had for a moment and wondered what it meant.

Summer chuckled at the look Twilight gave her, before turning back to the gate. Tracing her claw in a very specific way, she spoke words that even Pearl could not understand, but held a sense of power that even Sky could feel. A moment later, the outline of a smaller door, just large and wide enough for a small dragon to enter, appeared in the gateway, where there was none before.

Everypony blinked in surprise as Summer turned back to them with a grin. "Come now. We must not keep the queen waiting. She hates when guests do that."

With that, she entered the doorway, followed swiftly by Sky. Twilight put a wing around her wife. "Are you ready?"

Pearl gulped but put on a brave face nonetheless. "As I'll ever be."

Twilight giggled, before leading the Pegasus through the door herself. A moment later, the door closed silently behind them, leaving no trace it had ever been there to begin with.