Chapter 12 (part 1)
By the next morning the rain had stopped, and in its wake a mist rolled over the Horscan Highlands. It swirled around the mountains and hills like a rapid river, and blurred out the sun, leaving it a dull, yellow orb in the sky.
As she walked through the mist, Fluttershy could feel the mist’s cool yet moist touch on her face and body as she walked up a steep slope after her father. Firewing had stopped and was looking down at a map, trying to plan out a route.
Fluttershy walked slowly, her every step being one of caution rather than exhaustion. The rain from last night had left the grass and mud paths soft and treacherous. Placing a hoof in the wrong place could easily result in a sprained or broken leg, or worse.
Fluttershy long mane didn’t help the climb either. The wind was strong and blew it into her eyes, making her unable to see and go on. Luckily Firewing had a hair band with him and with his help, tied it back into a ponytail.
At first Firewing had suggested a haircut, but Fluttershy was adamant that the hair stayed the way it was, so they went with the hair band option instead. It was a dark blue and matched Fluttershy’s light pink mane really well. And around her neck rested the medallion that held the only image of her mother, which she kept now close to her heart. She normally didn’t wear it but now seemed the right time.
She eventually caught up with her dad and sat down on her haunches, taking a moment to breathe. “You do know where we’re going. Right?” she asked.
Firewing looked at her with a wry grin. “Of course not,” he answered.
Fluttershy felt her right eye twitch. “You mean… you’re making this up as you go along?!”
“Yep,” he replied. He looked back down on the map laid out in front of him, and then looked back up at one of the mountains with a small smile forming on his face. “But I’m doing it brilliantly.” He pointed to the small slope in front if them. “Can you make out a face of a pony in that hill?” he asked.
Fluttershy looked at where he was pointing and gasped when she saw he was right. A small hill in front of them had the features of a pony’s face. She could easily make out the nostrils and the long muzzle of a stallion. While others, like the ears and the eyes, were not so easy.
Firewing laughed at the look of Fluttershy’s face, which was of amazement. “When the Dragonlords built these places, they made them so that they couldn’t be found. However, they left clues and small traces, like these paths.”
“So… which way do we go now?”
Firewing scrunched up his face in thought. “Give me a moment,” he said as he looked back down at the map. He began muttering to himself, while his eyes darted back and fourth on the small map of the Highlands.
“Right,” he said after a while. “I think we have to go… right.” With that he began trotting down the small path that snaked its way between the tall hills and mountains, Fluttershy following suite.
The two made their way up the path, dwarfed by the hills and mountains around them. Large pine trees dotted the hillsides, looking precariously close to falling from their perches and collapsing onto the two ponies. Fluttershy eyed them fearfully, watching the ones closest to them as they trotted through. Firewing, however, seemed quite at ease; he was humming a tune to himself as he walked, which aggravated the yellow pegasus to some degree.
“So um…” Fluttershy began. “I was just wondering… how exactly did you become a Dragonlord?”
Firewing stopped humming and slowed down so that he was walking next to her. “It’s a long story.”
“It’s a long walk.”
Firewing sighed. “Well, okay then.” He took a deep breath and said, “First off though. When did you get your cutie mark?”
“I was fourteen at the time. I was the oldest in my class,” Fluttershy answered.
“Well I didn’t get mine till I was sixteen,” Firewing went on. “I was born in Las Pegasus with only my mother to raise me, since my father died not long before I was born. I lived a good childhood there, except I was bullied since I didn’t have my cutie mark yet, and nearly every other filly or colt did.
“I was fifteen when my mother decided to put me into a scouts club.” He tried to do an impersonation of his mother. “‘Go out and get some fresh air. It would do you some good,’ she said to me. So I did, and did quite well at most of the things we learnt out there, like hiking with hooves, which I’m very grateful to have learned. Rafting, orientation, that sort of thing.
“But what always evaded me, however, was that no matter how well I did everything, I never got my cutie mark. Till one day, when everything changed for me.”
“The day you became a Dragonlord?” Firewing nodded. “What happened?”
Firewing’s ears went down as he remembered. “Me and the rest of us were out hiking in the mountains north of the city. A few of us had gotten separated from the rest of the group and were now lost in the forest. I took charge of the situation and went into the air. That’s when I noticed a large storm approaching from the north.
“I went back down and told them we needed to find shelter. We eventually came across this large cave in one of the mountains. We made shelter there and settled down for night, realising we will have to wait until the storm passes till we can be rescued.
“Things were okay until we started hearing heavy breathing. At first we all thought it was this one pony called Starlight, since she was quite a heavy breather and snored loudly. It was then we realised she wasn’t with us.
“I remember turning around and we all let out a blood curdling scream at the massive reptilian creature in front of us.”
“W-was i-it a d-d-dragon?” Fluttershy stammered.
Firewing shook his head. “Thankfully no. It was a wyvern. It was a light green with vicious yellow eyes that seemed as bright as the sun. Scales as hard as rock, large outstretched wings that looked like bats, a long tail with spikes running down it, and two large horns that looked like unicorn horns on its forehead.
“Anyway, the wyvern was a bit upset that we had come into its cave, and so started to attack us. I stood in its way to give my friends more time to escape and get help, which they duly did.
“The rest is a blur to me, my dear. I can only remember a bright orange glow engulfing me, and after that total darkness. I couldn’t feel, I couldn’t even think, it was almost as if I was dead.
“When I finally came to, I found myself in my own bed, with my mother looking down on me with solemn eyes. ‘It has finally happened, my child,’ she said to me. I asked her what but she didn’t answer. She told to get up, pack my things and come with her.”
He paused to look at his cutie mark; a shield with two swords shaped in a cross across it. “It was then I discovered my cutie mark. At first I felt immense joy for finally attaining it, but then that joy became confusion, as I had no idea what it was about.
“Later I packed my things and followed my mother, not realising that would be the last time I will see my home. We left Las Pegasus and headed north into Horsca, flying all the way there. Along the way I was told about what happened in the cave with the wyvern.”
“Well, what did happen?” Fluttershy enquired.
“Apparently after my supposed death, I got back up again, re-healed, and killed the thing with a few blows to the head with a large rock.” He noticed the look of disapproval on Fluttershy’s face and sighed. “Believe me when I say I wasn’t happy about what I did either. But what’s done is done.”
“So what happened next?”
“We flew into Horsca under the cover of darkness, and arrived at the stronghold I took you to at the break of dawn. It was then I learnt of my Dragonlord heritage, and what I will become.”
Fluttershy nodded and then looked down on the ground. “Did you… or do you… regret it? Going in the cave in the first place, I mean?”
Firewing looked away for a moment. After a while he looked back at her and answered, “Yes, I did regret it for a very long time. But something happened later in my life that made me see it as a blessing.”
Fluttershy tilted her head to the side. “What was it?”
Firewing rolled his eyes and formed a big smile at her. “Meeting your mother, and having you.”
Fluttershy gave a faint smile of her own and looked away, watching a small stream flow down the mountainside towards the plains behind them. She was slightly confused, however. If Firewing saw her as a reason he didn’t regret becoming a Dragonlord, then why did he leave her at the orphanage in the first place?
As the two climbed out of the mist, they noticed the slope even out once more and were soon back on the flat. The path before them was woven through a valley, with ridges built like giant stonewalls. At the far end, they could make out the path veering around the bend and out of sight. So they proceeded forward, their eyes glancing around them to look for any signs of the place they were here for.
As they walked through the valley, Fluttershy began to wonder on whether she should regret becoming a Dragonlord. Her mind raced with thoughts about what would happen if she hadn’t intervened, if she’d just let the dragon continue its attack.
She pictured herself in front of four newly dug graves, and the ashes of another, with hundreds more behind them, crying inconsolably. While behind her, Ponyville burned.
She shook her head rapidly, ridding herself of these horrible visions of a time that fortunately never happened. She couldn’t regret it, she told herself she shouldn’t. In her heart she knew she did the right thing. Although she would have to bear this new life, she would rather take this than watching the only friends in her life die.
She came out of her thoughts and back into reality when she noticed that her father had stopped a few feet behind her, and was gazing upwards in thought at one of the mountains. Fluttershy walked up to him and asked, “What is it?”
He said nothing at first, only lifting a hoof and pointing towards the hills. “See that hill there?” Fluttershy looked at where he was pointing and nodded. “Can you see a small crack in it?”
Fluttershy turned her head and looked up at the hill and stared at it intensely. It was a moment later when she saw it, and her eyes widened at the discovery. A small crack, wide enough for a pony to slide through, rested almost inconceivably on the ridge face, just above the hill.
Firewing’s smile grew wider. “We’re making progress, my dear. Come on!” He galloped as fast as he could up the slope of the hill, slipping a few times, which scared the life out of Fluttershy.
Fluttershy spread her wings and took to the air. She flew up to where Firewing had gotten and moved in front if him. She brought up a hoof. “Take my hoof,” she ordered, before adding, “Please?”
Firewing stretched out a hoof and wrapped it around his daughter’s tightly. Using the full strength of her wings, she pulled Firewing up to the flat surface halfway up the hill, where the small crack lay.
Upon reaching the flat Firewing and Fluttershy collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. “Wow,” Firewing panted. “That… was steeper… than it… looked.”
Fluttershy got back up first. Her legs ached, her wings felt numb after flapping so hard, and her heart was racing, but she could still feel a smile on her face. “You okay, dad?” she asked, with slight concern as she turned to face her heavy breathing father.
Firewing waved a hoof, and slowly got back up. “I’m fine, sweetie. Don’t worry about me.” He puffed a huge intake of air, and then looked back down to where they were standing previously. “I’m not as young as I once was,” he muttered to himself.
Fluttershy took her eyes off him, relived to see he was okay, and looked at the crack in front of her. From a sideways point of view the crack looked like a crooked smile, while it seemed to burrow its way deep into the mountain, much in a similar way than the Dragonlord fortress back in the Ragged Mountains.
“We go through there then, I take it?”
Firewing nodded. “Yep. Right the other side should be where the fourth key is held.” He walked over and gazed at the width of it. “We should get through there alright.” He turned to face Fluttershy with a slightly worried expression. “Do you want to go first?”
“Um… okay, if you don’t mind.” Fluttershy walked in front of the gap and gulped. She didn’t mind small spaces unlike most pegasi, but this one was narrower than normal, and she felt her heart race just looking in.
“I’ll be right behind you, my sweet,” Firewing said comfortingly. Fluttershy looked around and gave her father a small, brave smile. She took a deep breath of air and squeezed into the gap. She was forced to hold her breath, as the small narrow path seemed to go even narrower. Her ears twitched as she heard Firewing beginning to clamber through the gap behind her, muttering to himself in an attempt to calm his nerves. ‘Must be afraid of spaces like this,’ she thought.
After what seemed like an eternity the end was in sight and Fluttershy jumped through, releasing the large breath of air she’d been holding in since she started. As she waited for her father she looked around, and found herself to be in what seemed like a large bowl, with the mountaintops acting as spiked fences all around the circumference.
When Firewing came through and looked around, his jaw dropped. “Fascinating, a meteor impact crater right here. Must have collided with Terra about a few million years ago at least.” He looked towards him with wide eyes. “But look at that.”
Fluttershy looked at where her father was and her eyes widened. At the corner of the crater, nestled in the rock face was a large stone door, with a large symbol on the front of spread wings and what seemed to be a dragonhead. It was clear to both that it was the symbol of the Dragonlords, and that this was the door they were trying to find.
Before the door stood around eight coned pillars, arrayed so that they formed a path towards the entrance. On top of the pillars were grotesques, staring down onto the ground with vehement eyes and snarling.
The two walked cautiously forward, Fluttershy staying close to her father for comfort as the grotesques unnerved her with their vicious stares, worrying that they might just jump off and attack them. But they did nothing, just stared with blank evil eyes and primed claws.
“Right, now that we’re here, the question is: how do we open it?” Firewing queried.
Fluttershy shook her head and began to walk forward. “Well maybe we could try ope…” She was cut off when she was pulled back by her tail, sending her onto her belly with a, “Oof!”
“Are you crazy?!” Firewing said, his shout echoing across the crater. “We don’t know what the Dragonlords set up to protect this place! So don’t do anything.”
Fluttershy got up from the ground and brushed off the dirt with her hooves. “But shouldn’t this one be just as easy than the last?”
“Well I suspect this one does, a lot of them. Starswirl the Bearded had this place built to keep ponies and other peoples away from here, as well as some others places. No, this one will be rigged with traps and magical barriers, so I advise caution in everything. Okay?”
Fluttershy nodded meekly and sat down, pawing at the ground with a hoof. “So how do we get in?”
Firewing sighed and shook his head, rubbing his forehead with a hoof. “I don’t know, Fluttershy, I really don’t know.” He looked back at the door and walked cautiously forward. “Stay back,” he ordered.
Fluttershy nodded and watched with wide eyes as her father approached the door. She could feel sweat pour down her face as she watched with baited breath.
Firewing felt the sweat run down his face as he slowly approached the door, his heart rate went quicker with every step and he could hear his daughter’s quick breathing behind him. When he was within touching distance of the door he stopped, drips of sweat blurring his vision. “Okay so far,” he mumbled. “Time for part two.”
Fluttershy felt herself lean forwards as her father lifted a hoof up and in slow agonising movements, pressed it onto the door. At first there was nothing, but then he started to spasm as if he was being electrocuted. Firewing screamed and Fluttershy screamed in horror. She raced forward in an attempt to save him, but stopped when he started laughing.
He stopped shaking and looked at Fluttershy with a big smile and laughing uncontrollably. “You should see the look on your face,” he said between bursts of heavy laughter.
Fluttershy felt her teeth grit together and her glare only tightened on Firewing. Her father stopped laughing when he realised his daughter wasn’t laughing. “Oh you’re a sour one, aren’t ya?” he chuckled lightly. The stare from Fluttershy only got deadlier. “Oh come on, Fluttershy, it was just a joke. I bet by the time you’re my age you’ll be doing the same thing.
“A Dragonlord isn’t a pony that walks about in robe all day chanting about how they’re going to die, or kill you know,” he went on. “I have had many good laughs in my time with the Dragonlords, with good friends.” His tone became more sullen as he looked away and hung his head. “All gone now.”
Fluttershy angry glare softened into non-existence. She walked up to him and patted a hoof on his shoulder. “I forgive you for that. But please don’t do it again. You almost gave me a heart attack.”
“I won’t,” he promised. He looked from her and back to the door, glancing around. “It’s a shame neither of us are a unicorn.” He pointed a small black hole on the side of the door. “A unicorn places their horns in that, and breaks any spells or de-activates any traps inside. It seems we’re going to have to do this the hard way.”
Firewing turned his attention back towards the door and looked for whatever is used to open the doors. “What’s that in the dragonhead?” Fluttershy asked, pointing towards it. Firewing noticed the large slit in it and saw it was big enough for a sword to fit through.
He reared up and placed his sword leg towards the hole. His sword, Drage Bane sung as it appeared and entered the slit, fitting just enough for it to be twisted about. Firewing felt the sword reach the end and gave it a few twists in both directions, until something clicked.
The blade retracted back into its scabbard as the door creaked open. The two pegasi backed away as dust fell from the tops and the doors parted away from each other, revealing the first chamber of the ancient tomb Starswirl the Bearded created thousands of years ago.
It was barren, with four featureless pillars holding it up, and Fluttershy could barely make out the first door in the darkness, while the smell of death and decay filled the two ponies nostrils. Fluttershy began to think she had walked into one of Daring Do’s adventures.
Firewing led the way in, a torchlight burning brightly in the pouch he had for carrying torches. “Can I risk us a little more light?” Fluttershy asked. Firewing only nodded. Fluttershy opened up her saddlebags with a wing and the gem shot out and floated above her head. It stayed still for a few seconds before advancing towards the main door.
Firewing stopped suddenly and looked down with wide eyes. On the ground before him was couple of skeletons. One was a pegasus pony, while the other had the skeletal structure of a wolf, except it hind legs looked weird, as if they was bipedal.
“Remans,” Firewing hissed, drawing up his sword leg and letting the blade sing out.
“What are remans?” Fluttershy asked worryingly.
“Wolf like bipedal people,” Firewing replied. “They’re like diamond dogs, except much more vicious. They kill for pleasure, and they take any intelligent creature they like the look of back to their lair.”
“What happens to them there?” Fluttershy shakily asked, already dreading the answer.
“They become pets,” Firewing replied solemnly. “After that you really don’t want to know.” He shuddered at memories of some run-ins with remans in ages past, and saw firsthoof their debauchery.
He looked back down and saw the skeleton pony had a weird bracelet around his right leg. It was plain black with the back edge of an axe visible. He fixed it onto his left leg and let it shoot out, forming into the curved, dull metallic shape of an axe.
Fluttershy, meanwhile, had walked forward, and was inspecting a giant hole in the side of the wall, which went through the crater and disappeared into the blackness. She realised that must’ve how the remans got in. “But the question is,” she wondered aloud, turning to face the door. “How far did they go?”
“And another thing,” Firewing added fearfully. “Have they got the key?”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened in alarm as she looked at Firewing, who looked just as fearful of such a prospect. “We better get moving then,” Fluttershy said.
“I am, not you. Head back outside and wait for me,” he said sternly.
Fluttershy’s eyes widened even more and she shook her head. “I’m not waiting outside. I’m coming with you. We’re in this together and we end it together.”
“No, Fluttershy,” Firewing responded persistently. “This is too dangerous. If you get injured or worse then it…”
“Will be my fault,” Fluttershy countered, cutting him off. “I’m a part of this as you are, and I’m not going to sit around and do nothing. Besides, I only feel safe around you.”
Firewing opened his mouth to speak but immediately shut it again. It seemed arguing with her was no good, and once her mind was set on something it would not budge. He snorted. “Fine,” he said reluctantly. “But you stay next to or in front of me, okay?” The yellow pegasus nodded.
With a nod the two walked slowly through the first door and into the dark passageway below the mountains. While behind them, the doors snapped shut.
“So, um…” Fluttershy began as they walked the dark passage deeper under the mountains. “I was just wondering, when I said my name back at the Ragged Mountains, you didn’t say anything about me being your daughter. I just wanted to know why?”
Firewing shrugged. “I guess I didn’t want to jump to conclusions. Like I did one time.”
Fluttershy stopped and looked at him in surprise. “You mean… you met another Fluttershy?!”
Firewing nodded. “She was a photographer, and a very good one if I may add. She had your coat colour, except her mane and tail style was straight, shorter and was green. When I met her and when she introduced herself.” He paused, and blushed at the memory of the most embarrassing moment of his life. “I kinda made a complete fool of myself.
“So after I got away and made my apologies, I promised myself I wouldn’t say ‘you’re my daughter’ until I got the right proof.” He pointed to the medallion that dangled around Fluttershy’s neck. “And that was all the proof I needed.”
Fluttershy looked down at the medallion with a small smile. She looked up and noticed her gem had moved on ahead, and had stopped, revealing a chamber coming up. “We’re approaching a chamber,” she stated.
Firewing looked up and upon seeing Fluttershy was right, gulped down the lump in his throat. “Well, here comes the first hurdle.”
The two fanned out and looked around. The chamber was large; square shaped, and held up by six pillars, which were like the others, plain and simple. But what got the two ponies attention was the thing in front of them. A large area of the ground in front of them was an equal number of black and white boxes between them, filed in a formation of eight boxes wide and eight boxes deep, like a chessboard.
The two ponies walked forward and looked at each other oddly, then back to the obstacle in front of them curiously. “Any ideas, Fluttershy?” Firewing asked.
Fluttershy shrugged. “Perhaps we’re supposed to play chess?” she suggested.
Firewing rolled his eyes and fought the urge to place a hoof on his face. “Okay. What exactly are we gonna use for chess pieces?”
Fluttershy looked around and noticed there weren’t any pieces about the chamber. “Oh… I hadn’t thought of that,” she said quietly, lowering her head a bit.
Firewing looked from his daughter and looked closer at the squares. “See if there’s anything here that can tell us what to do,” he instructed.
Fluttershy, with a quick salute, nodded and started to look around, her gem hovering above her, giving her the light she needed. She firstly looked along the left wall, scanning for words or anything that could give away this peculiar obstacle. “I found something,” she said after a while, looking in the corner closest to her dad. “A couple of words, in Dragonian.”
“What does it say?” Firewing asked.
Fluttershy looked back and muttered the words under her breath. “‘A battle is always seen as good versus evil’,” she repeated in Equestrian, this time louder so Firewing could hear. She looked back at her father with a puzzled expression on her face. “What does that mean?”
“It sounds to me like a riddle,” Firewing replied, placing a hoof on his chin. “And a very good one. As it has nothing to do with anything in front of us!” He kicked at the ground in frustration. “What has that got to do with chess?”
Fluttershy sat down and placed a hoof on her chin, pondering what it meant. She kept looking back at the chessboard, then back at the ground, wondering how these few words work in a chess piece. ‘A battle has always had the narrow minded view of good versus evil,’ she thought. ‘It’s always black and…’ Something suddenly clicked in place and her face lit up as she understood.
“I’ve got it!” Fluttershy exclaimed, making Firewing jump out of his coat. Fluttershy got up and walked in front of the chessboard. She closed her eyes, and with a gulp she raised a hoof and set it down on the white box in front of her.
She peeped open an eye to find nothing happened. She took another step forward onto the next white box, again nothing happened. She jumped through the others until she was safely on the other side.
Firewing’s jaw dropped as he watched his daughter guide her way through, and a wide smile etched onto his face as she made it to the other side. “That was absolutely amazing! How did you get that?”
“The term ‘black and white’, dad,” she explained, “is always associated with good versus evil. That’s what the boxes and words meant. To stay on the white side. The good side.”
Firewing shook his head. “I would never have gotten that one,” he said.
Fluttershy smirked. “Glad now that you let me come with you?”
Firewing nodded as he jumped onto one of the white boxes, then another, and another, until he was the other side. He hugged his daughter tightly with a huge smile across his face. “I’m glad to have finally found you again.” He took off his saddlebags and took out a small piece of bone from one of the pouches.
“Do you have an oven in there?” Fluttershy asked, wondering about how he was able to hold so much stuff in one bag. “I’m starving.”
Firewing laughed. “It’s not that big you know. Now, this bone should show us what happened to those who wanted to go through, but missed the writing.” He threw the bone into the air, and it landed on a white box, before skidding into a black one.
In the moment the bone touched the black box, the room was suddenly filled with dark purple lighting rods that erupted from the ground, the walls, and above. Fluttershy squeaked in fear and jumped behind her dad, who also looked scared as he watched the piece of bone get incinerated by the lightning rods, with not a single trace of its existence left.
“Yeah. I’m really, really glad you’re with me,” Firewing said, with wide eyes.
Fluttershy squeaked a reply. “Shall we press on?” Firewing asked
“Gladly,” Fluttershy squeaked.
The cantered out of the chamber and into another dark passageway.
“Well that’s one challenge taken care of,” Firewing said about half an hour later. “I imagine it won’t be long till the next one.”
The two had left the passageway behind them and were now in a large cavern. A small stream ran through, which made the rocks above seem to glow a bright golden hue. It was held up by a number of naturally built pillars and was, to Fluttershy’s eyes, a stunning sight to behold.
The splendour of the cavern around them was immediately dulled, however, when they found the skeletal remains of ponies and remans. The skeletons of the ponies were wearing in broken, and now useless, light armour, with their wings spread out at their sides, displaying that they were once pegasi Dragonlords. One of the reman soldiers wore thick steel armour, and carried a huge claymore that lay at its feet. The remaining remans wore armour made out of animal fur; well, Fluttershy hoped it was anyway.
Firewing ignored the remans and moved towards one of the pegasus Dragonlords and lowered himself to the ground, his head low as he muttered a prayer of peace and rest to them. Afterwards, he leaned over and gently picked up one of the wings. He then took something off the wings and presented them to Fluttershy. “These are for you. I have no use for them myself.”
In his hoof was a long line of sharp blades, with small slits inside for feathers to neatly fit into. “Are those wing blades?” Fluttershy asked incredulously. She had always thought, as did some historians, that wing blades were a myth made to make the pegasi seem stronger in battle than they actually were.
Firewing nodded. “The Dragonlords used them for defensive purposes, or taking out enemies by surprise by diving from above, then spreading their wings open, cutting the enemies throats before they knew what was happening. It gave us a nickname in one war we fought in. ‘The angels of death’.”
He walked closer to Fluttershy, who backed away from them fearfully. “Do I really have to use those?”
“It’s just a precaution, my sweet, and I’m not going to ask you to use them. I hope we don’t have to use them anyway.” He inched a bit closer. “So spread your wings out please and I’ll fix them on. Don’t worry they’re perfectly safe, for you anyway.”
With a sigh Fluttershy gave a reluctant nod and spread her wings out. She closed her eyes and steadied herself for the complete uncomforting feel of the blades as Firewing gently pressed her primary feathers into the small slits of the blades. She felt the cold touch of the blades as they slid down over her primaries until they nestled comfortably on her wing. With the first wing taken care of, Firewing got hold of the other set and wing and did the same thing.
Once he was done he backed away and looked at his daughters outspread wings, which now looked a bit more metallic, as if she was a robot. Fluttershy, to her surprise, found the blades to be quite comfortable, once the cold feeling had passed. She opened her eyes and looked at how shiny they were against her wings. In all honesty it made them look more impressive than usual. She gave the wings a few flaps and soon found herself floating in the air, again much to her surprise.
“The blades were built not to hinder a pegasi’s flight,” explained Firewing. “So they could also fight in the sky if need be. Now we better keep moving. We wasted enough time as it is.”
Fluttershy nodded in agreement. She landed back onto the ground and tucked her wings back to her sides. At first the feel of the cold blades to her stomach was weird, like putting on a new dress for the first time. But like many other things that’d happened in the last few days, she would have to get use to them. ‘Although,’ she admitted to herself. ‘It’s going to take a long time to get use to the fact you’re a genetically augmented warrior monk.’
They walked passed the skeletons and soon found themselves back into the dark passageway that connected the chambers together. “You’re sure there’ll be a another one?” she asked.
Firewing nodded. “Pretty sure. It’s not like the Dragonlords to build one obstacle and leave it at that. The next one will be harder I bet, so be prepared for anything.”
Fluttershy nodded and continued to walk in front, whistling a little tune to keep back the silence. “So um,” she said after a while of walking. “Is there any other abilities a Dragonlord has that I should know about.”
Firewing nodded and with a mischievous grin replied, “Well there’s the ability to walk on water.”
Fluttershy looked back at him with wide eyes. “Really!” she squeaked. She thought how easier it would be to feed the ducks back home if she could do that.
Firewing laughed. “No not really, I was just messing. A Dragonlord does, however, have a stronger skeleton, meaning they could easily damage or break stone in just a few hits, and can survive wounds what would normally kill a pony, like that scar on your head. How did you get that anyway?”
She grimaced as she remembered the night she was captured by Andulusian soldiers. “I was running through the woods, on my first day in Horsca, when I got hit by a hoof here, by an Andulusian soldier.” She pointed to the wound on her head. “I was rolled over and hit again in the same place, knocking me out cold.”
Firewing’s eyes widened. “You were captured? By the Andulusians?” Fluttershy gave a quick nod. “How the blazes did you escape? Andulusian horses normally execute Equestrians on sight or at the guillotine.”
“I didn’t escape,” she responded. “I was just very lucky.” She went on to how she was close to having her head severed from her body, when a dragon attacked the city. She told him how it slaughtered the populace, and gave her and a horse named Thowra time to escape.
Firewing placed a hoof to his chin and said in a low whisper, “Fascinating.”
Fluttershy stopped and looked at him distastefully. “Fascinating? What’s fascinating about innocent horses dying?!”
Firewing quickly waved a hoof in dismissal and shook his head. “Not that. I meant the dragon attack on Andulusia. You made it sound as if you couldn’t hear until the last minute.”
“I didn’t. The only time I knew it was there was when the city was on fire,” Fluttershy said, with a shake of the head.
“But that’s impossible. Not dragon in the world can be that quiet, and not even be seen until it was right on top of them.” Firewing’s eyes grew fearful as he looked back at Fluttershy. “It was there for another reason entirely,” he declared.
“What reason was that then?” Fluttershy asked. Firewing said nothing; instead he just gave her a long hard stare. It didn’t take long for her to get what he was implying. “Me?!” she exclaimed. “Why did the dragon want me?”
“I fear it was there to kill you,” he said, now fearing for his daughter.
Fluttershy began to go pale and she collapsed onto her rump. “Why did it want to specifically kill me?”
“I don’t know, Fluttershy, and hopefully we won’t find out why.” He turned away from his heavy breathing daughter and faced the way in front of them. “I think I could see that gem of yours up ahead. It must have found the next chamber.”
Fluttershy didn’t hear. Her mind raced with thoughts about who hated her so bad to actually want her dead. Being a shy, quiet pegasus in her childhood she was often bullied, mostly due to the fact she couldn’t fly too well. But hated? She wouldn’t go that far. She was never really hated, and yet not fully liked. She felt sick at the thought that someone out there, hated her so much they wanted to see her dead. She’d done no harm to anybody and now she was the target of assassination, for no justifiable reason.
But who would hire a dragon to kill her? She ruled out Gilda quickly; it was a one-time meet she didn’t want to go through again, and the griffon wasn’t cut out for mass murder. Iron Will was again crossed out as well. Sure she didn’t pay for his seminar, but he agreed in the end and walked away from it without bitterness. So who?
A name soon entered her mind that at first seemed impossible to the pegasus, and yet the name was the only one who hated her, and her father, with a passion. And it was a name that made her blood run her cold and her heart rate go even faster in fear.
Heimdallr.
But that was impossible, wasn’t it? He was locked away somewhere in a hidden tomb with no contact to the outside world other than mind jumping, and couldn’t get out. But could he? She knew that he was greatly superior with magic than Twilight or Celestia combined, so what if he had even greater magic than the two of them knew about? What if he was able to control the minds of the living?
“Fluttershy?!” Firewing called worryingly from the other side of the passage. She shook her head and blanked out her thoughts. She would worry about Heimdallr mind controlling her and forcing her to jump off a cliff and plummet to her death later. As long she was beside her father she felt safe.
“Coming, dad!” She got up and trotted around the corner to where Firewing was standing, looking at the vast chamber in front of them.
It was bigger than the last one, much bigger, and it was covered in a huge maze stretching to the other side. Fluttershy stared in awe as she walked down the steps towards the entrance. Firewing was already up front and eyeing it curiously.
The main entrance, as well as the whole maze, was covered in bushes of thorns that glowed a dark orange. Fluttershy walked up alongside Firewing and tilted her head. “We have to go through, don’t we?”
“I don’t see any other way around this, my sweet. I wouldn’t want to try flying over if I were you; the Dragonlords might have placed traps to take out any flying creature that attempts to.” He took a step forward. “Just stay by me and we’ll be fine.”
Fluttershy nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat. She walked behind Firewing, her eyes darting all around in the likelihood of a trap being sprung. Firewing walked under the gate, while Fluttershy was just another step behind.
Suddenly, she felt a course of electrical energy surge through her as the thorns of magical energy lashed out at her. With a scream she was hurtled back from the gate, and crashed to the ground on her side.
Firewing turned around and his eyes widened in horror at the sight of his daughter being electrocuted. “Fluttershy!” He rushed forward to help her but was stopped when the gate closed, the entrance covered in thorns. “Fluttershy, talk to me! Are you all right?!
Fluttershy groaned and got up on her four hooves. “I’m fine,” she replied. “I think.” She looked over herself and saw she was okay, her wings weren’t severed and she felt her mane was in one piece. She breathed a sigh of relief and got up and turned around to catch up with her father.
Her heart stopped when she saw that where the entrance was, was now a large wall of thorns. “Dad?!” she called out. “The entrance is blocked. I can’t get through!”
“I know that, sweetheart. Just don’t panic,” Firewing said. Fluttershy, however, was panicking. Her father was in the maze and she was stuck out here, alone. It was the events with Discord all over again. “This is a test to see if we can work on our own rather than a team, but I have an idea. I think that once I make it to the other end, the entrance will open up and it will be your turn to go through. You’re listening aren’t you because this bit is important?”
“Yes, I’m here,” Fluttershy nodded.
“Good, now do you know the tale of Hansel and Gretel?”
Fluttershy furrowed her brow in puzzlement. “Yes, I know it. It was one of my favourite stories at the orphanage. What of it?”
“In the story, Hansel uses pebbles to make a trail in the first abandonment, which leads them back home. The second attempt they use breadcrumbs, but that doesn’t go so well,” Firewing explained. “Luckily there are no birds about, and I have a loaf of bread with me. I’ll peel off the breadcrumbs and leave a trail to the exit, and all you have to do is follow the trail. Okay?”
“I understand. But what if you get lost and have to work your way back?”
“Then I pick them up again and use them for later when I get back on track.” Fluttershy heard him turning around and facing the long tunnel of the maze. “I’ll try not to be too long. I shall see you the other side.”
“Okay, but just be careful,” Fluttershy said. She heard his hoofsteps move away, until only her breathing could be heard. “Okay, Fluttershy, don’t worry. You’ve been alone before and you will only be alone for a little while. So there’s nothing to worry about.” And yet, she still worried; she always worried.
She walked away from the entrance, laid out on the hard rocky ground, and waited for the thorns to part so she could be re-united with her father once more. As she waited her mind began to wonder of what was happening with her animal friends back at the cottage, so many miles away.
She sighed sadly, thinking about Angel, who was probably looking out the window, waiting to see her galloping along the road towards the cottage, where he would welcome her home with open paws. He was sometime an annoying little thing, which she sometimes wished would just go away. But she knew he also wanted to see her happy and mostly thought about her rather than himself.
Her mind trailed from Angel to the other animals in her peace loving home. She wondered if any of the eggs from the birds had hatched? ‘Probably have by now,’ she thought with a little smile, thinking how cute the little ones would be, with their loving mother and father looking down on them.
She looked back at the entrance and thought about her father. All those questions she wanted to ask him about her mother and himself, and why she was abandoned. Why couldn’t she be with him?
At that thought her mind quickly drifted to what she thought she would be like if she was brought up with her father. What would she be like if all she knew was the Dragonlords? She pictured herself standing on a cliff edge, with a cape billowing behind her, her wings spread out and her swords sharp and ready to kill. Beside her, was her father, and behind them, was the Dragonlord order, all of them ready to go to battle to protect those that cannot protect themselves. She imagined herself with a confident grin on her face. A pony that wasn’t picked on because she couldn’t fly well, a pony that wasn’t pushed around all her life. She would have been a pony that was strong, confident, courageous, and yet, cold.
She came out of her thoughts and wonderings when she heard something coming up from the passageway they came through. She looked up and backed up towards the maze entrance, her eyes widening as the footsteps became louder and louder, until the culprits were seen.
They stood on two legs, with a pose similar to that of a diamond dog. But they had the face and body of wolves. Long ragged grey or black fur covered their exposed coats, soulless yellow eyes bared down on Fluttershy along with snarling teeth. While one of the new arrivals was covered in old, rustic metal armour. The two beside it was covered in fur of various types: deer, bear, horse, and pony.
Fluttershy looked down and saw the one in metal armour had a huge sword in its paws, while the other two had shorter swords of various types. They looked old and probably blunt, but to Fluttershy’s mind it’s probably how the remans like them.
The one in metal armour jumped off the steps and landed on the ground in front of her, sneering at her and looking at her all over. Fluttershy backed even further away until she felt her rump touch the thorn bush. ‘If you’re close to the entrance, dad,’ she thought. ‘You better hurry up and get this thing open.’
The reman stood at its full height and raised its sword with one paw at her. “Well ain’t this a surprise.” The reman spoke in a rough tone, as if it weren’t used to talking. “A little pegasus mare gets lost and finds her way here.” It lowered its sword and took a step forward towards her.
Fluttershy felt her breathing get faster as the reman approached. She noticed the lustful look in its eyes and realised with horror what Firewing meant by people they liked taken back to their lair. “But don’t worry little one, we’ll take good care of you,” it said.
The two remans flanking him approached cautiously forward. One was brandishing a rope to tie her up with. Fluttershy glanced at the two and began praying that the entrance will soon reveal itself. “I’m not lost, I’m here with my dad, so would you kindly go away now and leave me alone.”
The Reman in steel armour made a wicked grin. “Oh we’re not going anywhere pegasus. We’re not going to hurt you, promise,” the one in steel armour lied.
Fluttershy raised her wings and showed her wing blades in the hope they would back away and leave her alone. She raised her sword leg as well and the blade sang out of its scabbard. “Please, just leave me alone.”
The remans just laughed and began to move at a slightly faster pace. “You’ve got some fight in you. But don’t worry, we’ll break you soon enough,” one said.
Fluttershy saw that they were now just a few feet away, with even more appearing at the passage entrance, and she sighed. She couldn’t fight them. She wasn’t a fighter or a killer; she was a peace loving pegasus who loved animals. She just couldn’t bring herself to do it. She lowered her sword leg, tucked her wings in and prepared herself for whatever horrors she might face in their lair.
She bowed her head and waited for the rope to go around her neck. “I’m sorry, dad,” she whispered.
The reman with the rope was now next to her and lowered the rope to go past her head and around her neck. The reman with steel armour’s smile had disappeared; it would’ve preferred it if she’d fought them.
Just before the rope was about to go around her neck, the gate behind Fluttershy opened and the way to the maze was clear. Wasting no time, and with great speed, Fluttershy spun around and bucked the reman with the rope in the face, sending it to the ground with an, “Oof!”
“Sorry!” she shouted behind her as she jumped into the safety of the maze. She turned around and watched as the reman in steel armour advanced towards her with a look of rage.
The reman was halted when magical energy spurted from the maze’s entrance, electrocuting him. With a scream he was flung back from the entrance, like she had been. The other reman tried also, but was soon on the ground next to the one in steel armour.
Fluttershy breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the gate closed up once more. She turned back around and looked at the ground. The floor had a line of breadcrumbs going right along the path, and disappearing to the right, out of sight.
Fluttershy hurriedly walked through, watching the way the breadcrumbs went from left to right in an instant. She could hear the sounds of the remans raging behind her, shouting insults and threats in her direction, but she blanked them out by flattening her ears across her head.
She realised about halfway through that the breadcrumbs will not only help her, but also hinder her. The remans were just behind her and once she got out, the gate will open and the remans will come through, one at a time. She moved some of the breadcrumbs down different paths, hoping it would make the remans’ job of getting out a lot harder.
She nodded in satisfaction at what she did and galloped down the right path. About twenty minutes later she saw her father waiting for her at the end. She galloped forward and embraced him with a tight hug. “Thank goodness you’re safe,” Firewing said with relief.
Fluttershy pulled away. “No time for celebration,” she said rapidly. “Remans are on the other side of the maze and they’ll be coming after us shortly.”
Firewings eyes widened. “Remans, here?” Fluttershy nodded. “Blast it. Come on, we gotta find that key before they find us.”
Fluttershy let go of Firewing and the two hastily galloped down the next tunnel away from the maze, with the remans at their tails.
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Here's chapter 12 part one. The reason I've done this is because at the moment, the chapter at full is over fifteen thousand words, so I thought it would be easier in two parts other than one. The next part should be up in less than a week as I've got some editing to do.
Anyway, enjoy!
1 big ass mistake I'm pointing out and it's in the description..
"She now has the ability to walk through fire with getting hurt." I'm pretty sure I have that ability too. Everybody has the ability to walk through fire and get hurt.
I'm not being an ass just pointing it out. And sorry if this sounds offensive.
814259 In my defence I just don't know what went wrong!
I'll fix that right away, thanks for pointing that out
Nice Story
Its really good and in the beginning i was really like wtf fluttershy burned to ash?
816660 thank you for your kind words. yes the first half of the chapter is a reference to (in my opinion) my favourite game. but other than that the country is on its own design. glad you like it though and i hope you enjoy the rest
815378 thank you so much
826401 Thanks for pointing that mistake and liking the story. Hope you enjoy the rest!
Only part of this I didn't like was Fluttershy deciding not to fight back. She's not gonna get far in a rough, medieval land if she's not willing to draw blood, at least. You'd think she'd learn that by now, or at least realize that if she gets captured or killed because she wouldn't fight back, then she'd be unable to assist in stopping the world-destroying evil and thus saving her friends' lives.
Ah, well, still plenty more chapters to read.
Why does no one like any creature identified as a Reman? These ones I understand, but, being a trekkie, I have found no one who likes Remans other than myself.
For those who don't know... Reman (Star Trek)
avrg height - 7 feet
skin color - always seen as ice-colored
special abilities - Telepathic, dark-vision
special notes - would find being lost on a moonless night far away from civilization unbearably bright, due to all of them being raised as slaves in the subterranean caves of their homeworld
Space marine reference! I love it! The Emperor is pleased!
Are the chess board and maze slight harry potter references?
Okay, I love the story thus far (love how you mesh Skyrim references with MLP while staying true to the characters personalities
) but I feel there is a "huh?!
" moment that must be pointed out. Fluttershy's little Nancy Drew moment when she 'realizes' that *gasp* Heimdallr is trying to off her.
If you're going to 'hire' a dragon to hit somebody you need two things: 1) riches to pique their interest 2) enough power to keep them from squishing you and taking the payment.
Iron Will? might meet requirement 1 by bankrupting himself. Gilda? Nope nope nope. Both of them would've been paste before getting an offer out.
Those stipulations narrow it to pretty much leave Chrysalis, Sombra...Princesses maybe.
I would suggest one of the first two as suspects as they have enough power to coerce a Dragon but lacking enough presence to need using them for anonymity from the third. Maybe even the Red dragon! Being unable to match Flutter's Dragon stare he could still approach other dragons as equal and might want to see payback for being embarrassed in front of Pony nation.
That and Heimdallr flat out said "Dead pony walkin'" so that kind of killed the element of suspense.
Not trying to be smart-alecky, though I'm told I'm far too good at it
, but as one author respecting another and wanting to see them improve, felt it had to be said.
Rereading story for like the 3-4th time and i saw
Am I the only one to see this? Probably a different Starlight since Firewing is over 100 but still..
gargoyles
lightning
bolts