The Drake Six

by JNKing

Episode Sixteen: The Dragon Kingdom Arc - Part 2

Author's Note:

Continuing our journey. Once again, Astral Flare is the OC of AstralFlare42, as is Lady Aurora Frost and Lord Shade Fang.

Thanks again for working with me, AstralFlare42.

The group gazed in awe at the Dragon Kingdom: an enormous tree with leaves of every color, surrounded by a city that was comparable to Canterlot in beauty. Surrounding the city were the concentric circles with water between each ring.

The innermost circle reminded the group of Ponyville, with it’s rural look.

The one beyond that was full of farmland, covering the entire middle ring.

And finally, the outer ring - the one the group was standing on - was a giant wall, that, according to Astral, contained the seal that hid the kingdom away from any and all enemies.

“Well,” Astral said. “I need to file my report, so we’ll have to head towards the main city for now. But maybe later, I could give you a tour of the place.”

“That would be marvelous,” Diamondback noted, her eyes sparkling with delight. She had to be dragged along by Night as they followed after him, gazing at the different aspects of the kingdom.

They saw some of the dragons getting fruits and vegetables from the various farms they passed over. As they passed a village looking ring, they saw several hatchlings running around in the playground of one of the schools.

Night smiled at the sight, glancing at Spike with a grin. He nodded back, noting the resemblance to the Crusaders and their fellow fillies.

Eventually, they reached an open gate of the city, where Astral landed and headed for what looked like a phone booth. As he proceeded to deliver his report, the group noticed that every dragon in the kingdom walked around on all fours.

“So,” Night noted, since she already tended to go around all fours. She glanced at Diamondback, Spike and Phoenix, who still stood bipedal. “Should we ask Diamondback and Spike to…”

“Nah,” Astral replied. “You’re not insulting us by walking around that way. We mostly do it because we choose to. You all will be fine.”

Smiling in satisfaction, Diamondback made tracks to what seemed to be the main headquarters. There, they saw a lovely periwinkle dragoness with a salmon colored underbelly and wing membrane, and a thin, curvy figure. Her five horns had a semi transparent cyan frill, which gradients from the color of her head to connect them. Her eyes were sage green, and she wore a fitted cyan vest with a silver icicle design, held together with three metal fasteners and a red waist sash.

Her eyes focused on Astral as he followed after Diamondback, having just finished his report. When the two dragons looked at each other, the periwinkle one ran up to Astral and gave him a big hug; one the green dragon returned.

“Astral, my friend,” she said. “I’m so glad that you returned.

“Same here, Aurora,” Astral replied, letting go of her and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’m glad that you’re here.”

“Same,” she replied… before smacking the green dragon in front of her.

“WHOA!” Night yelped while Swift dove behind her.

“Da heck…?” Jackknife stammered as Phoenix grabbed a similarly shocked Spike.

“Ow!” Astral yelped. “What was that for?”

“For making me worry, you idiot,” Aurora shot back. “You’ve been gone for three days!”

“I got lost in the Everfree!”

“Excuses!”

The two continued bickering as the Drake Six watched.

“Should we… stop them?” Swift asked.

“Nah, let em fight it out,” Phoenix replied.

Jackknife offered some rubies. “Five on the periwinkle one.”

Phoenix glowered at him, but Night stacked on two gems of her own.

“Three on them being a couple,” Night replied. “Romance, am I right?”

Spike rolled his eyes before stepping forward. “Um… excuse me,” he said, in an attempt to break the two up. “Sorry to interrupt, but…”

“It’s an honor to meet you, my dear,” Diamondback said eagerly, giving a bow. “My name is Diamondback. These are my friends: Spike, Swift, Jackknife, Night and Phoenix. We… or at least, I… have spent many decades researching your glorious kingdom. Please know that if you require anything, we are very eager to help in any way we can.”

“Oh, well it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Aurora said, giving her own bow. “I am Lady Aurora Frost of the House of Snow, but you can call me Aurora. All my friends do, and any friend of Astral’s is a friend of mine. Would you like a tour of the main city?”

“That would be simply lovely,” Diamondback replied.

##

The tour started off well enough, as Aurora showed them the gate they had entered the city through, along with some of their most popular places.

They saw a stadium where children held war games after school, Dragofang National park, multiple shopping districts, homes of various nobles that ran the kingdom, and finally the main courtyard where they held yearly harvest festivals.

However, as Aurora was showing them the main courtyard, several guards walked up.

“Who are these outsiders?” one guard demanded.

“Well, sir,” Aurora said, her posture tense. “These are visitors to our kingdom. I was just showing them around the city, as any citizen would.”

Phoenix noticed Aurora’s tense body language as the guards inspected the group. “Is this… normal?” Phoenix asked.

“No,” Aurora admitted. “Usually, only one guard comes over. A group is… rare.”

One guard pointed at Jackknife. “That’s not a dragon, that’s a sea serpent.”

“There’s something wrong with that dragon,” another said, pointing at Swift’s feathers, as he covered them self-consciously.

“And something stinks about those two,” a third guard claimed, pointing at Spike and Night. “They reek of pony!”

“Hey,” Night protested. “Just because ponies got good shampoo doesn’t mean you gotta be rude about it.”

The leader guard banged his spear against the ground. “They should not have been allowed in here. Who let them in?”

Astral stepped forward and faced the leader of the guards. “I was the one that allowed them to enter,” he said. “They helped me in my time of need, so I returned the favor.”

The lead guard glared at him, before smacking his spear hard into the side of the green dragon’s head.

“WHAT THE HECK?!” Night shrieked.

The leader picked up Astral and flung him over his shoulder. “I’ve got this garbage,” he said. “You four grab the rest.”

“Get your claws off me!” Jackknife snarled, beating at the guards as they converged on the others.

“W-Wait a minute,” Phoenix tried to say, but Diamondback yanked her back.

“You can’t help them if you get arrested yourself,” Diamondback hissed.

Indeed, the guards didn’t even give Phoenix or Diamondback a second look.

“Come on, you lot,” the lead declared. “To the dungeons with you.”

As Jackknife, Swift, Night, Spike and Astral were led away, Spike turned to look at Diamondback pleadingly.

“Don’t worry, Spike,” Diamondback mouthed. “We’ll get you out before you know it.” She sighed, turning to Aurora. “I don’t suppose you know who those guards answer to, do you?”

The periwinkle dragoness sighed. “Unfortunately, yes.” Her tone reeked of annoyance, and she started walking towards the middle of the city. “Come on. We need to go to the Council Citadel.”

##

Aurora led them to the Council Citadel: a large cylindrical building that was wider than it was tall, with a large glass dome at the top. It would have looked exactly like many of the buildings near the castle, if it not only was distant from them, but also had the flags of each of the kingdom’s noble houses.

“This is the Council Citadel,” Aurora explained. “It’s where the leaders of the houses meet up when we have our monthly council meetings and for trials.” She entered the Citadel, Phoenix and Diamondback staying close as guards watched them. “The one we seek should be in the Archive Wing, where we house many old documents.”

“And pray tell, darling,” Diamondback said. “Who is the one we seek?”

She sighed. “His name is Lord Shade Fang of the House of Steel. He and his family have been the ones who fund the military and the blacksmiths in the kingdom.” She stopped in front of a set of double doors. She took another breath to steady herself. “Let’s get this over with.”

##

Within the Archive Wing, Diamondback and Phoenix spotted what had to be Shade Fang; a black-scaled dragon with a silver underbelly and wing membrane. His yellow eyes sparkled with a cunning light, and his three horns were swept back like a slicked back hairstyle. He had no spines, but he did have a large scar going down the right side of his face, which missed his eye and passed over his mouth.

He was currently reading a book - from their vantage point, Diamondback was able to see that it had something to do with ‘secret entrances,’ when he perked up at the sound of Aurora’s voice.

“Shade!” she called. “Get your sorry rear over here before I have to find you!”

As he turned, Diamondback and Phoenix recognized the look in his eyes. They had seen it on plenty of other male dragons before. Phoenix perched herself closer to Aurora, just in case Shade planned on stealing her away right then and there.

Fortunately, the Dragon Kingdom was more civilized than where Phoenix had grown up.

“Why hello there, beautiful,” Shade declared in a smooth, suave tone. He rubbed a finger under her jaw, barely noticing Phoenix tensing up. “Is there anything you desire from me, Aurora.”

Diamondback subtly grabbed Phoenix’s hand before she tried to deck the sleazy dragon. Luckily, Aurora was no helpless damsel, and brushed Shade’s hand away.

“You’re guards arrested Astral and the friends of these two dragonesses,” Aurora said, indicating Diamondback and Phoenix. “Just a half hour ago.”

Shade chuckled. “Well, there’s nothing I can do this time.”

“What do you mean?” Ice formed on Aurora’s front claws. “You’ve been able to help him out before. What makes this any different?”

“Well,” the black dragon replied with a ‘sad’ smile. “I only had those few chances to help our ‘friend’ because he had only minor offenses. This time, he broke a big rule, so… my claws are tied.”

Phoenix grimaced. “How do you know what rule he broke?” she started to ask, but Diamondback yanked her back.

“Speak when spoken to,” she hissed to Phoenix. “This isn’t the Dragon Lands, where barbarism is the norm. Dragons are more civilized here, are they not?”

“Thank you for that, madam,” Shade replied. “Yes, we are definitely better than those barbarians down in what you call the Dragon Lands.” Shade then did a double take to the two dragonesses. “I’m sorry, I seem to have forgotten my manners. Who might the two of you be?”

“Diamondback, my Lord,” Diamondback replied with a curtsy, before indicating Phoenix. “This is Blazing Phoenix. We were hoping you’d be able to help dear Astral along with his friends, but… if that is an impossibility…”

Aurora, however, barely noticed their conversation: she had clearly hoped that there was a way to help Astral and his new friends, but it seemed there were no legal ways to do so. She barely noticed as Shade put a claw on her shoulder.

“Look,” Shade said. “If I was able to, I would help him. But I can’t.” He then brushed her chin, moving her head so that she was looking him in the eyes. “I may not be able to help Astral this time, but maybe if you come over to my place tonight… I can help you forget your troubles.”

Phoenix bristled, the scars across her face rippling in disgust, but Aurora beat her to the punch; back-handing Shade away.

“You dare ask me something like that?” Aurora snarled. “After telling me you have nothing that can help? Fine.”

She turned to Phoenix and DB, the latter two noticing that she was holding back tears. “I’m leaving now. If you want to talk to this scumbag, go ahead. I have to go prepare for the trial tomorrow. They’re usually held the day after an arrest if the crime is bad enough.”

Phoenix nodded. “Sure. I’ll help you.”

She followed after Aurora as the periwinkle dragoness stormed out of the room, her tears flowing as she headed back home.

Diamondback stayed behind, tapping her cane with a grimace. “Well,” she mused. “That was… abrupt.” She turned to Shade, hesitantly reaching out for his face. “Are you alright, Lord Fang?”

“Quite fine, thank you,” Shade replied, casually wiping the blood from his lip and watching Aurora go. “That dragoness is definitely the most beautiful and dangerous rose of them all. She has my whole attention.” He paused. “So much so that I almost didn’t notice you.” He chuckled as he turned to Diamondback. “My apologies. Now, is there any other way I can help you today?”

“Well,” Diamondback noted. “Perhaps I can clear up any misunderstandings the guards may have had about the visitors that were arrested alongside Astral. You see, they were part of an expedition team that aided me in being able to return to…” she gazed around. “Where I believe I belonged.”

Shade raised a brow and gestured for her to continue.

“I’m afraid that the outside world has become so barbaric,” Diamondback bemoaned. “Dragons reduced from noble guardians to primal hoarders. The only ones with any sort of class left are ponies, and even they would be lost were it not for my timely intervention.” She sighed. “If only the rest of the world could benefit from your kingdom’s splendor.”

“It is a shame how low the dragons have gotten in this glorious kingdom’s absence,” Shade agreed, a cunning light appearing in his eyes. “Perhaps you could be of assistance to a little project of mine.”

“Oh?” Diamondback gazed at him with a curious and eager light in her eyes. “Do tell.”

“I had planned on bringing this kingdom back to the world we’ve sealed ourselves from,” the black dragon explained. “I believe that you hold the key to bringing that goal to fruition.” He indicated the room. “You’d have full access to the archives in order to help us find a way to bring the dragons back together. I do believe we have the same dream for the world, so why not team up and bring about a better world?”

Why not indeed?

As Diamondback nodded, quite pleased to have already made such a good start into being part of the kingdom, something nagged at the back of her mind.

Her friends still needed her. She couldn’t abandon her treasures.

Of course, she wouldn’t do that, she assured herself. There had to be a way to help both her friends and maintain a place in this kingdom.

Yet, at the same time, that nervous feeling demanded to be acknowledged: if she had to make a choice between maintaining her place in the kingdom and aiding her friends… could she really give up something she had wanted for so long?

Comments

[AstralFlare42]

I enjoyed this latest episode.

[Comickook]

Again, really good job on the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up. Well, kind of got some decent chuckles out of the Anger Born from Worry bit between Astral and Aurora, but I DID feel bad for Spike, Night, Jackknife and Swift getting arrested by those Dragon Kingdom guards because of them helping Astral just because they were different from the supposed "noble" dragons. Though I DID like seeing Aurora refusing Shade's advances as well as Phoenix supporting Aurora. Of course, now Diamondback has a major dilemma concerning trying to help her friends and securing a place in the kingdom. And, yeah, Shade definitely knew a lot more than he should have and is, justifiably, giving me a bad feeling for other reasons besides that. Something tells me that exposing Shade for whatever nastiness he is probably up to is very likely going to end up somehow saving both her friends AND the Dragon Kingdom, but that's the maximum I'm going to guess right now.

REALLY looking forward to more of this.

[JNKing]

11582721
And I enjoyed writing it with you. 👍

11582722

Really happy you're enjoying.

Yeah, Phoenix is going to be doing her best to take a level in kindness, so she'll do her best to be there for those who need her.

I'm also happy that Diamondback's dilemma is still hanging on; I'm worried that I might be running her struggle with greed a little too far, but you are right in that the choice she makes will have a big impact on the dragon kingdom and her friends.

Looking forward to sharing more.

Until then,

👍

[AstralFlare42]

11582722
😈 Good. Gooood.