My Little Sister is a Dragon: Ester Dracos Arc

by AleximusPrime

4. Meeting with the Emperor

Everyone made their way up a winding path of stairs to the main entrance of the imperial palace. The longs would normally fly to the palace, but the stairs were there for any visitors that could not fly. They took their time going up the stairs to not rush things and to get a good view. The further up they went, the more they could see the city and the landscape outside. At each corner of the stairs was a square floor with plants and stone statues that looked like a cross between a dragon and a lion. At the last corner, Nightwatch decided to get a picture with everyone and the city in view. He used his magic to keep the camera far enough out to get all of them in the shot.

“Alright, this is the last fleet of stairs, Butter. You ready?” Nightwatch asked.

“Sure am!” Buttercream replied. “Boy are there a lot of stairs into this place, but I just know it’s gonna look awesome when we get in!”

“You know, Aster, it really feels different just taking our time going up these steps. Every time we go in, we just fly right in,” Lily said.

“Makes you appreciate the little things in life, sis,” Aster replied. “Even a long has to get on his feet or slowly hover around every so often to take in his surroundings.”

As they got past the final step, Nightwatch and Buttercream stared in awe at the entrance. It was a giant wooden carving of an Eastern Drake head with the enormous doors in its mouth. Even he sides of the stone path entrance were adorned with giant teeth to make it look like the dragon’s lower jaw. The rest of the building was a pagoda like most of the other buildings in the town below, but this one was far wider and grander in appearance. The doors opened up automatically and here was a long hall with two very large dragons guarding the entrance. They knew Tigrinum and his family and bowed politely to let him in.

“Tigrinum, we’ve been expecting you,” said one guard.

“The emperor will meet you in the throne room,” said the other.

“Thank you, Rhododendron. Thank you, Hibiscus,” Tigrinum said, bowing his head in response.

“Wow! Look at this place! It’s huge!” Buttercream said, eying the interior of the hall.

“It has to be for the great longs to get through,” Tigrinum explained to the little dragon. “The path to the throne room is straight ahead, so it is easy for the guardians to go meet with the Emperor. Once we get to that well lit area, there’s another set of stairs that goes straight up to the throne room.”

Nightwatch and Buttercream gazed at the statues in the hall. Some of them resembled the lions from before. Others were stylized sculptures of famous long warriors and politicians of old. The iconography of the longs never showed up in Nightwatch’s book and he wondered why. One thing that really caught his attention was a portrait of a large ram and a unicorn with a curved horn and hair waving in the wind.

“I’m guessing that’s Grogar. Myosoti said he gave Ester Dracos trouble back when he invaded Equestria, but who’s this unicorn mare in front of him?” he asked Lily.

“I think that’s Gusty the Great. She was the one who stood up to him and took his bell.”

“Oh, that’s right. Gusty was the one who hid it in some unknown location, allowing the ponies to capture him and send him to Tartarus. And I just noticed this guy behind Grogar. I think that’s a donkey. What’s his name?”

“I never learned about the donkey. I’m not sure he even has a name. Probably just some old lackey. Grogar had many minions.”

Nightwatch looked curiously at the donkey and remembered learning from Noctura that the Brotherhood of Grogar’s leader, Bray, was a donkey. He was sure it couldn’t be the same donkey though as that was nearly two thousand years ago. Perhaps Grogar used donkeys as his pawns in the early days and Bray was a descendant. Not thinking too much of it, Nightwatch turned to continue down the hall. He suddenly noticed Buttercream, reaching up for one of the torches in the wall that lit the way.

“Butter, what are you doing?” he asked.

“Huh?” she said, looking back to him.

“Are you trying to get that torch?”

“Torch? Oh…uh, no, I uh…what was I doing?”

“Butter, you’ve been awfully grabby today. You know that?”

“Grabby? Me?”

“Yeah, the game cartridges, the fruits, that torch. You just wanna touch everything in sight.”

“I…it’s just…I dunno, Nighty. Everything just looks so cool.”

“Alright, well remember, keep your claws to yourself. This is a palace and everything in here belongs here or we’ll get in trouble.”

“Got it.”

Nightwatch looked worryingly at Buttercream as she dashed ahead to keep up with the others. He wasn’t sure why she just wanted everything to herself. She was pretty good about not being greedy in the past and had no problem sharing. Perhaps this was just the effect of being in a new place and wanting heirlooms for memories. It didn’t make sense why she wanted a torch though. He decided to not worry himself over it. She would probably forget about it after they met with Antirrhinum.

He still wondered if Antirrhinum might have some information on Buttercream’s species. With a building this huge, there must be something in the archives, but first came the ambassadorial work. The Emperor needed to know about Princess Luna and discuss reopening trade with Equestria. Nightwatch was nervous about this meeting, but based on what he had heard about Antirrhinum, he was certain the Emperor would listen.

They finally got to the stairs and ascended till they saw another huge set of doors. Two more guards opened the doors for them and Tigrinum led them all into the throne room. Light shone in from windows above before the ceiling. There were tons of pillars on the side and more statues, portraits and other decorations. In the center was the area for Antirrhinum to sit and rest, but it did not resemble a typical throne for a king. There was a serene pond surrounded by a gate and more stone statues of the lion-dragon hybrids from before. Inside the pond were water fountains, lily-pads, and koi fish. Even butterflies and other exotic insects flew around the pond. A large, curvy stone peninsula was in the center, connected to a bridge that spanned between the path and the stairs leading up to the pond. Most of the floor in this throne room was made of large stone slabs and had tons of potted plants and bonsai trees on display. It felt more like the outdoors than what one would expect of the interior of a royal chamber. It was meant to evoke a peaceful atmosphere, making the throne room feel more welcoming and natural.

Buttercream stared in amazement at everything around her. Nightwatch was about to ask where the Emperor was until he heard something moving above. He looked up to see the ceiling start to fold away. Tons of complex, decorative objects above began to unlatch, and the ceiling split into segments to reveal the sky. They all heard a booming bray coming from the clouds. A colossal, red long emerged from one cloud and slowly made his way down into the throne room. He had used his own magic to open the ceiling and make his entrance. He descended and landed gracefully on his throne. He kept his head held high and looked down at his visitors.

Emperor Antirrhinum was just like the other great longs, only this time they got to see one up close. He was so huge; he could have been over a half a mile in length. His fur was red and he had long, turquoise hair. The hair went all the way down his body to his tail where there was a large tuft at the tip. He had the typical whiskers that male Eastern Drakes had, only far lengthier due to his size. His underbelly had huge golden plates of scales one after another going down his whole body. He had the same scales on his nose bridge, forearms and forelegs and visible white claws at the tips of his digits. His eyes were turquoise and his antlers had nine points with blue jewels spread out on them. On his head he wore a large golden crest with two structures branching out and curling while the other set on top resembled a pair of small antlers. In the center of the crest was a round piece with a purple emblem. The emblem was shaped like an Eastern Drake and had a green gem where the eye would be. The gargantuan dragon looked solemn but smiled as he made eye contact with Nightwatch and Buttercream. They both bowed politely, as he spoke in a sagely voice.

“Welcome Nightwatch and Buttercream of Equestria,” he said. “Tigrinum has told me a great deal about you both.”

“Emp...Emperor Antirrhinum,” Nightwatch said, nervously. “We’re honored to be here. First of all, I’m sorry Princess Luna couldn’t make it, but she should be able to come in time. She and her sister are a bit busy at the moment.”

“No apologies needed, young Nightwatch. I understand things have been rough for Luna. Celestia will also be busy having to deal with these changes now that she does not lead alone. I am glad to have you here. So tell me, how is it you came across this little one?”

“Well, your majesty, I was walking around one day on my birthday when I was a kid and I found an egg in the forest that turned out to be her. We still don’t know where it came from, but we raised her ourselves. She’s grown to be the perfect little sister.”

“And he’s the perfect big brother,” Buttercream said, hugging him.

Emperor Antirrhinum’s smile grew even bigger at the sight of them. He lay down on the throne and crossed his arms like a large cat resting on the ground.

“It is good to see dragons and ponies already making contact. This is a good start for our societies. Now, before we get onto business, would you care to hear a history lesson about Equestria and Ester Dracos?”

“Oh yes, if you don’t mind. I am curious to know how it all started and how dragons and ponies became divided after Nightmare Moon. Is it true that the birth of Nightmare Moon had a say in that?”

“It is true…or rather, her imprisonment did.”

Antirrhinum’s antlers glowed brightly. Everyone looked up as the ceiling right above him came to life. All of the workings that unlatched earlier began to move out of the way. The ceiling itself did not part to show the sky this time. Instead, characters appeared on the ceiling like paintings. It was as if the ceiling was now a giant canvas with animated pictures. Antirrhinum began to narrate as they move.

“In the ancient times, most dragons stayed out of Equestrian affairs. Most ponies were fearful of dragons and even considered us to be evil beasts that would devour them and plunder the land. Some dragons have been confrontational, but my people were mostly peaceful. Equestria wanted to open up to the dragons, and the fact that the royal family had dragons in the castle was proof that both societies could work together. I was crowned not long after Celestia and Luna were born. I befriended them when we began meeting for discussions on trade. Equestria was moving into another golden age, but everything changed when Nightmare Moon appeared.”

As Antirrhinum started talking about Nightmare Moon, his smile dropped and he became somber. The characters on the wall that resembled Luna, Celestia and Antirrhinum kept moving, but it focused on Luna, who looked angry.

“The sisters started to change. They began to quarrel more than normal. Luna grew resentful of how the ponies seemed to favor Celestia’s day over her night. Celestia and Luna both had their own versions of the story, blaming each other for their problems. At first, I took Celestia’s side because I saw Luna had grown so bitter. After Luna transformed, I felt I had trusted Celestia too much. One day, I saw the moon rise faster than normal and eclipse the sun. Eternal night engulfed the entire planet. The guardian longs could not even stop it. Celestia had no choice but to imprison Luna in the moon, despite my protests. The Elements were still attached to both sisters, but since only one of them was present, their full power could not be used. They could not exorcise Nightmare Moon from Luna’s soul, and Celestia refused to send her to the underground prison of Tartarus, so banishment was the only other option.”

The image of Luna transformed into Nightmare Moon as he spoke. With tears in her eyes, Celestia used the power of the Elements and banished her into the moon. Next, Antirrhinum came in to speak with Celestia. He did not appear happy.

“I was angered with Celestia for what she did. I felt she could have let the guardians handle Nightmare Moon, but Celestia was afraid of the casualties that could result in a full-scale battle with her corrupt sister. It was not enough to convince me. Luna’s banishment drove a wedge between the dragons and ponies. This quarrel between the two sisters made everyone else think that ponies represented hatred and disunion. This event became known to some as the Great Division. Celestia lost trust in so many other kingdoms, and I ordered that all trade with Equestria be halted and forbidden. Her leadership came into question even for some of her own people. She was hated for what she did to her sister. I blamed her for what happened and this culminated into a very rough start for Celestia’s leadership.”

The wall returned to normal as Antirrhinum bowed his head. He closed his eyes and thought of everything he had just told his visitors. It was a time in his life he wished to forget. Even though the relations with Equestria and Ester Dracos were being mended, his past still haunted him.

“I admit now that I was wrong. Celestia’s choice was a difficult one, but I should have understood. She did it out of love for her sister, not hatred as some will say. Centuries later, my dear wife was slain by another dragon, and I fell into despair. I thought about everything I had done as a leader and I came to see the error of my ways. We both believed strongly that once Nightmare Moon returns, new wielders would find the Elements of Harmony and free Luna from her demons. The backup plan would be to allow the guardians to take on Nightmare Moon, but thankfully, several ponies had already found them sooner than I expected. We agreed that trade between the longs and ponies would reopen once Luna returned. This entire ordeal has been very rough on Luna and that is fine that she could not attend today. I am still pleased to have you here in her place, Nightwatch.”

“Thank you, your highness,” Nightwatch said politely.

“Is it true that she has made you her student?”

“Yeah. We haven’t really gotten to do much with that yet, but it happened a few weeks ago. Butter and I both went out to the Everfree region to get a good look at the moon when the stars would align. It’s a long story, but we actually came face to face with Nightmare Moon. We didn’t see her defeated, but she came back to us later as Luna to apologize. After she saw me use my magic to help fight back an adversary, she decided I’m gifted with magic and took me under her wing. Aster knows the full story. I’m sure he could tell it better than I could.”

“Hehe. Aster has a way with words. It’s why I decided to enlist him and Lily to act as junior ambassadors.”

Nightwatch and Buttercream looked back to see Lily hover up to Aster and hug him. They turned back as Antirrhinum continued.

“That being said, I am indeed ready to work again with the royal sisters and have already started making preparations. Celestia and I have finished writing paperwork to finalize these agreements; we just need Princess Luna’s signature.”

“But it’s still okay that I’m here?”

“As long as there is a witness of this, I see no problem with you being here. I have waited for Luna out of respect for Celestia’s wishes. If this is to be done, it must be done the right way: with both sisters in agreement.”

Antirrhinum’s antlers glowed and a red tube adorned with golden dragons appeared next to him. Both ends of the tube had round lids to cover it. He removed one lid off the tube and pulled out a scroll. The scroll contained a statement written by Antirrhinum with his signature at the bottom. Celestia had already signed it as well.

“I see,” Nightwatch said, carefully examining the scroll.

“After this is signed by Luna, Ester Dracos will begin all trade with Equestria. Shipments are ready and I have set aside funds to send in aid. According to what Celestia has told me, most of Equestria has forgotten about dragons due to the Great Division. This is the reason why you say their knowledge about us is limited.”

“So after this is signed, will dragons and ponies all be friends again?” asked Buttercream.

“That may take some time, young dragoness. Right now, our governments need to be in contact to prepare for negotiations and begin shipment deals. I know there are plenty of companies started in Ester Dracos that would love to sell to Equestria.”

“Yeah, we saw a dragon in the town selling video games. I know a lot of ponies would love to play those games, and they probably wouldn’t mind if it comes from a land of dragons. Everyone at the school in Daleshire is totally fine with me being there.”

Antirrhinum giggled and lowered his head to their level.

“I am happy to hear that. I strongly believe that you and your brother are proof that our societies can reunite. Aster, you did a fine job with these two. We were blessed to have come across them.”

“My pleasure, sire,” Aster said, bowing down.

“Now, Nightwatch, I do think it would be necessary to give you these. This is documentation that describes everything that needs to be done. Celestia has already gone over them and Aster can help you understand some of this. When you return to your homeland, Luna should read them as well.”

Antirrhinum took another large tube and used his magic to shrink it down to a size that would make it easier for Nightwatch and Aster to read. Nightwatch held the tube in his hoof while talking.

“Thank you, Emperor Antirrhinum,” he said, proudly. “I honestly had no idea any of this happened. I knew dragons and ponies did have relations back in the day and Nightmare Moon’s appearance made things worse, I just didn’t know it was this bad.”

“I blame myself for much of it, but it is a start to bring the longs and the ponies together again. I will take care of the rest and we will have an easy transition. While I am not in control of the other dragon tribes, I will do my best to convince them to reach out to Celestia too.”

“Oh, speaking of which, before I go, would it be alright if we checked your library for any information about other dragons? We heard you have an archive and we’ve been curious about Buttercream’s species for a while now.”

“You are absolutely welcome. The archives are actually over here to my right. I can help you in there if you want.”

“That would be great. First I’ll…uh…where did that scroll go?”

Nightwatch looked at his hoof and noticed the scroll was gone. He then saw that Buttercream had taken it and was holding it in her claws, staring in amazement at it. Nightwatch was about to scold her again, but he didn’t want to make a scene in front of the Emperor, so he just let her have it. Aster then bent down and held his hand out in front of her.

“I’ll take that, little lady,” he said.

“Huh? Oh…okay, here you go,” Butter said, slowly handing it to Aster.

“So Butter, you wanna go in and check the archives?”

“The archives?”

“Yeah, so we can find some information about Northern Drakes?”

“Oh. Well can I go back into town with everyone else?”

“Um…you don’t want to find out about your kind?”

“I do, I just really like walking around in Ester Dracos.”

“Don’t worry, kid,” said Aster, putting his arm on Buttercream’s head. “We’ll look after her. When you get back, we’ll go over that paperwork and I’ll explain all the political mumbo-jumbo to ya.”

“She’ll be safe with us, dear,” Azalea told Nightwatch.

“All right. I guess it’s okay with me. Just keep an eye on her,” Nightwatch said.

“You bet we will, Nighty,” Lily responded, cheerfully.

“And Sire, I will report if and when the Princesses do arrive,” said Tigrinum. “Is there anything more you need?”

“That will be all for today, Tigrinum. Thank you all for bringing them to me.”

The family of longs all bowed respectfully and Nightwatch and Buttercream did the same. They all walked off with Buttercream as Nightwatch waved to her. She waved back and then rushed to catch up with the others.

“So guys, can we go by more shops?” she asked them.

“Oh but you’ve got to see the temple gardens in the center of town, Butter!” said Lily.

“Yeah, you’ll love it down there, Butter. Peace and tranquility. Like a flower petal on a pond. The perfect way to align with your chakra,” said Aster, imitating the voice of an elderly yoga master.

Nightwatch watched them leave. He felt a little worried about Buttercream not being with him, but he knew he could trust the others. He still wondered why Buttercream didn’t want to stay to help do research on her own kind. For some reason, he felt like this would be the last time he would see her.

“Bye, Butter,” he said, faintly as the doors closed.

Comments

[SpikeSmolder fan]

More sweet lore about what hapened after Luna's banishment & also a little hint about Bray's ancestors for a certain evil ram!

Also it seems Butter's greed is starting to get stronger enough for Nighty to notice something's wrong with his scaly little sister, chaos incoming!

[AleximusPrime]

11842146
That may come up later on too.

It gets worse over time sadly. We all remember what it was like for Spike in "Secret of my Excess". D:

[SuperSonicHeroes]

So, we finally get to see the emperor. He seems nice. It is interesting to hear how much Luna's banishment affected other parts of the world. I never would have guessed it caused a disruption in the relationship between ponies and dragons. It is also sad to hear what happened to Antirrhinum wife.

[AleximusPrime]

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It has always been a belief of mine that the Nightmare Moon incident resulted in a lot of bad things happening to Celestia afterwards. I figured it could be a good explanation as to why the dragons ceased contact with them.

[Blazewing]

Well, it's nice to know that Antirrhinum is not only wise and grand, but a kind and thoughtful ruler as well. It's a shame to know that the divide between ponies and dragons became worse over a misunderstanding of Nightmare Moon's banishment. I can certainly see how there'd be a 'both sides' situation, since not everyone knew how much it pained Celestia to banish her own sister, and that it was not done to get rid of a rivalling monarch.

That said, the Emperor of the Longs really knows how to put style in his palace, right down to his garden of a throne room. Of course, I'm not convinced that there's not a chance Bray isn't the very same donkey who accompanied Grogar all those moons ago. We've seen that certain creatures can live a very long time. It kind of reminds me of a quote from George Orwell's Animal Farm, coincidentally enough from the donkey, Benjamin: 'Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey.'

I'm worried about Buttercream, though. Under normal circumstances, I'd be confident that Lily and Aster and their parents will keep a good eye on her, but with her getting increasingly grabby, and Nightwatch not by her side while he goes to look at the archives, something tells me he's gonna learn what's going on with her too late...

[AleximusPrime]

11843048
I always thought that things didn't go very easy for Celestia after Nightmare Moon and held a headcanon that it caused dragons to lack faith in her, leading to the resent that Garble and the others had for them in the official show (which eventually healed after Spike befriended Ember).

That is a good point about donkeys. Well they don't live for thousands of years in this story, but in my series, Starswirl is actually very old and not just from being in limbo for so long, but because he's been using magic to keep himself around longer to guide the royals. What is going on with that portrait is just a teaser for now, but we'll learn more about Bray and who that donkey behind Grogar is.

Yeah, it's not going to go well that Nighty isn't with her right now, though sadly she may have reached a point of no return and is already on track with her "rage" form like Spike was. That's why this chapter ends with Nighty feeling like he'll never see her again. And what he learns in the archives will only add to his fear for Butter's safety.

[pokeplayer984]

Ooh! Lore Dump Chapter! 🍿

So, after the banishment of Nightmare Moon, there was some resentment between ponies and dragons. However, the Emperor knows he was in the wrong and is willing to fix things. I actually like the Emperor in this regard and I think he's going to be a good character in the end.

We also got information on Grogar and how he was defeated back then. It is interesting to say the least. However, I'm sure a certain donkey will be a problem later.

I have a feeling Buttercream's greed will only get worse from here.

[AleximusPrime]

11850715

And he'll be in the next chapter too, when we get a bit more lore-dumping!

Well we already knew that information about Grogar (Gusty taking his bell), but we were never told what happened to the REAL Grogar after that. In these stories, he was captured and put in Tartarus, but as you read in the NMM Arc, he died almost a thousand years ago.

Oh it will... D: