> Fury of the Dragon Princess > by Autum Breeze > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fury of the Dragon Princess Prologue ___________________________________________________________ “Ow! Fuck!” I growl, pushing myself up against the wall my head just banged against. “Seriously, is the bus driver half asleep or what?” Today has sucked so far. After my last workplace shutdown, I transferred to another site and today was supposed to be the start of my first week there, but there’s a rule in place that’s made me have to take the day off so I can follow it properly tomorrow, as it’s something you can’t just ignore and go about the day without having prepped for first. And the driver of the bus I caught to go back home has either only just started or is trying to lose his license with the dumbass way he’s been taking turns, stopping suddenly and so on. I wouldn’t even be in this scenario if not for that stupid rule not being told ahead of time. How did my workplace expect me to know it had recently been put in place if they didn’t bother telling me ahead of time, like a quick text or email? I mean, how was I supposed to know that… that… Wait. What was that rule again? Come to think of it, that surface I hit was kinda hard, more like rock. When was there rocks on the bus? Opening my eyes, I am indeed met with a rocky surface taking up my field of vision. Glancing around, I suddenly find myself very worried. I am not on a bus. I’m in some rocky field, with what look like red veins viasble here and there. “Where in the world am I?” I ask, glancing around. “And how’d I get here…? And what’s up with my voice?” My voice sounds weird to me and… wait, why does my hair feel so long? I literally got it cut super short just yesterday because I was sick of having to deal with long hair and now, not only is it like I didn’t get the haircut at all, my hair’s even longer now, reaching just below my chest and… and who in the world dyed it red? Getting up, I feel a little off balance for a second and look down to see what’s causing my feet to feel like jello… only for my eyes to bug out and my heart to stop. I’m… I’m not wearing the same clothes I was heading for work. I’m wearing some kind of light-blue pants that open out towards the feet, yellow sandals… but what’s really grabbed my attention is the blue and yellow shirt that stops a little before my waist. Or, rather, it’s what’s under said shirt, pressing outward from my chest, that has my eyes bugging out. As if sight somehow triggered something, I’m suddenly able to feel what’s under my shirt, the signals my brain is receiving completely throwing me for a loop and telling me something is very, very wrong. However, as if that isn’t enough to overload my brain right now, I’ve just as suddenly become very aware of a feeling where something is where something else should be, but isn’t. “I… I… I’ve turned into a girl?!” I cry out, my hands, which I’m now realizing are far thinner and more delicate than they should be, covering my mouth, as if my instincts thought stopping the voice coming out might prevent this being real, but… Nope. This is real. This is definitely, definitely real. “What…? What in the world happened?” I hold out my hands, looking down at them with shock. “How did I change into a girl and… how did I even get out here, wherever here is?” Standing up, I look around, frowning in confusion as something about the rocky terrain suddenly seems… familiar. “Okay, you need to think—yah!” I cry out, having just gone to cross my arms and squeezing my new… ahem. Yes, well, you get the idea. I growl, rubbing my forehead. “Okay, Bloom. You just need to think. You were on a bus heading home from work and… wait. What did I just call myself?” I frown, shaking my head, slapping my cheeks. “Come on, focus. You’re Bloom. You got… this?” Okay, I definitely didn’t mishear that time. Why in the world did I call myself Bloom when I meant to say Bloom and… Huh? I pause, my mind putting several things together at once. The outfit I’m wearing, the long red hair, the more feminine voice… and the only name I can think of when I try to think of my name is Bloom? “This can’t be happening,” I murmur, putting a hand to my throat. “I can’t have turned into Bloom from Winx Club. That shit doesn’t happen in real life, only stories on the internet and in anime.” Not only that, I recognize which Bloom I’ve turned into. If you’re just a casual viewer or someone who doesn’t actually care about it, there’s several different versions of Winx Club. There’s the original version by RAI, the 4kidz version and the Nickelodeon version… oh, and that shitty live action version, but we don’t talk about that abomination. By the sound of my voice, thought… I’ve turned into 4kidz Bloom? Well, if I’m honest, that’s at least one good thing. I always thought 4kidz Bloom was the superior out of all the different Blooms. I’d have hated turning into the RAI or Nick versions. And the less said about the live action abomination, the better. I blink, shaking my head and hitting my fists against it. “Listen to yourself. You’re debating which version of a fictional fairy is the better version for you have turned into instead of the fact you’ve turned into her in the first place!” After several minutes of clobbering my cranium, I take a deep breath and sigh. Well, this is certainly going to be interesting. So, I’ve turned into Bloom and… judging by the rocky landscape surrounding me… I’m on that dragon world she unlocks her Enchantix powers on. Great. “Help!” a voice cries out. Looking around frantically, my eyes widen as a trio of young dragons come around the corner of the rock I’ve been keeping my back to, which I now realize is a small mountain. Upon seeing me, the three try to skid to a halt, but fail. They collide with my legs and I’m toppled over, the four of us ending up in a pile. “Ow,” I say, pushing myself up, feeling them all slide off of me. “Could you dragons be a little more wary of where you’re going?” Instead of an answer, I hear growling. Turning to look to the trio, my eyes widen as they fall on the tallest of the dragons. They have orange scales, those on the stomach being a lighter shade, a purple frill-like spike at the end of their tail as well as a purple frill on their head, a horn either side of her head… I just stare, wide eyed. I… I know this dragon. She seems a little younger than I remember (though that could be due to how tall I am compared to her) and her being here just threw what I thought about where I am completely out of the window. I’m not in the dragon world where Bloom gets her Enchantix powers. I’m in the Dragon Lands in freaking My Little Pony. What the fuck? My inner mental breakdown is halted with Smoulder gives a loud snarl, pulling my mind back to the present. Glancing behind her, I see two dragons I don’t recognize, one blue, the other green. They both look somewhat similar to Spike did in that flashback Twilight has during Sparkle’s Seven, only these young drakes seem a little bigger. “You strange creatures have already taken so many of us!” Smoulder shouts, flames licking around her mouth. “I won’t let you take these little ones, too!” I just blink. Um… okay, I’m lost. What’s she talking about? I cry out as she releases a torrent of flames and I duck, barely avoiding them. “Hey!” I yell, quickly getting up. “What’s the big idea, Smoulder?! What did I do to deserve that?” She pulls her head back for another shot, but pauses. “You… you know my name?” I blanch. Whoops. “Lucky guess,” I say quickly, before pointing. “Now, mind explaining why you just attacked me? I know seeing a fairy might confusion a dragon, but is attacking really your first instinct?” Now she’s looking more confused. “Fairy? What in the world’s a fairy?” I don’t get to answer her question as, suddenly, her face pales, her expression and eyes telling me there’s something behind me. Glancing back, my eyes widen as what looks like an Alicorn made of shadows is stand atop the small mountain, leering down at us. Its eyes pass over me, fixing on the three young dragons. It lunges forward, spreading wings that billow like the wind. I… honestly don’t know what happened next. One second, I’m staring in confused horror, my brain questioning why some smaller version of the Pony of Shadows is in the Dragon Lands, the next, I’m running with all three dragons under my arms, Smoulder under my left, the two little one my right. “Hey!” Smoulder grunts, struggling against my grip. “What’re you doing?” “What’s it look like?” I yell, picking up the pace as I glance behind me to see the shadow pony coming after us. “Getting us as far away from that pony made of shadows as fast as possible.” “No! Not this way!” Smoulder yells as I leap over a small gap, where I can see lava flowing below and round a corner of a nearby outcrop of rocks… only to skit to a halt at what I’m seeing. Dragons of different shapes and sizes are all held in cages made of shadow. I just stare blankly. What…? What in the world is going on around here? “Look out!” Smoulder’s yell comes too late, as something slams me from behind, causing me to fall forward, the dragons tumbling out of my grasp. Before I can react, the shadow pony from before swoops down from behind, concealing the three. When it reforms, it’s holding the three, their arms and Smoulder’s wings bound to their sides by a tendril of shadow. “Enough!” The booming voice causes my bones to shudder and I look up to see the hulking form of former Dragon Lord Torch hanging in the air, his daughter, Ember, holding the Bloodstone Scepter in her claw. “Release all my subjects at once, you ponies of shadow!” Ember yells, thrusting the scepter forward. “I don’t know why you ponies are doing this, but it will not go unpunished!” There’re cheers from all the dragons, but I feel worried. The shadow ponies aren’t speaking. They all just turned their heads towards the two dragons and are just staring up at them. “The Dragon Lands are our home,” Ember shouts firmly. “You have no right to come and take our young away!” At her words, I glance at all the caged dragons again and, to my alarm, I realize it’s only young dragons. I recognize most, like those who hung around Garble a lot throughout the show and those who were present when Torch gave up his role as Dragon Lord… but no adults. “The elder dragons are on their way!” Torch booms down at the shadow ponies. “Release our young now, or you will feel the true fury of the dragons.” Instead of saying anything, all the shadow ponies, save the one holding Smoulder, fly into the air, turning into a swarm of shadow. I watch on in horror as Ember and Torch circle around in the air, spewing flames, doing their best to fight back against the horde, but it’s not enough. Within minutes, the two have been engulfed in the shadows and drop to the ground, where they become bound in shadow-like chains. A clang to my right makes me jump and I see it’s the Bloodstone Scepter. Ember must have dropped it. I return my gaze to the dragons as the shadows reform, before moving towards the bound Ember and Torch, each raising a foreleg, it turning into a scythe. “No!” I yell, grabbing the scepter, it being so small to me that it’s barely a scepter at all and running towards them. “Leave them alone!” I start swinging the scepter like a club, trying to push the shadows away, but they reform and several quickly start moving towards me, while the others prepare to strike. “I said,” I growl, my worry and rage boiling, myself seeing red, “leave them alone!” ___________________________________________________________ Ember struggled against the strange shadow-like chains binding her. She didn’t understand what was happening. Who were these strange shadow ponies and why were they attacking the dragons? Spike had made it quite clear ponies didn’t want to fight dragons, the few talks she’d had with their Princess Celestia even further proving it. The white mare had a calm yet firm nature to her, giving Ember the strong impression that fighting her would’ve been quite the challenge if the pony ever got serious. This being the case… why were these ponies attacking her kind and why did they all seem to be Alicorns and made of shadows? Spike and the princess had confirmed there were only four Alicorns in the whole world, yet all of these shadow-like beings were clearly Alicorns. The horns and wings made it pretty obvious. And why did they not say anything? It was honestly alarming. She watched helplessly as several of the shadow ponies moved towards her and her bound father, each raising a foreleg that turned into what looked like a large single claw. Her eyes widened. They were going to kill them. These ponies were going to kill her and her father and there was nothing they could do to stop it. And, once they were dead, what were these ponies planning to do to the younger dragons? She shut her eyes, bracing for death. “No!” a voice she didn’t recognize yelled. “Leave them alone!” Ember opened her eyes… only to be met by a very strange sight. Some tall creature with pink skin with what Ember thought was blue and yellow fur, before realizing the blue and yellow were some type of clothes was running towards them, holding the Bloodstone Scepter over her head like a club. The creature had long red hair they was billowing behind it as it reached the shadow ponies and started swinging the scepter around, trying to push the shadows away, but they quickly reformed and several started towards it, while the others prepare to strike her and her father. “I said,” the creature growled, flames seeming to form from nowhere around it, its hair billowing around it, “leave them alone!” At once, a tower of flames shot up from where the creature stood, before spreading out. As the flames grew larger, all the shadow ponies caught in the blaze whipped out of existence, as if extinguished. Even the chains binding Ember disappeared and she got up to see the figure had changed. Now she was wearing different clothing. The shirt had no sleeves now and was all blue, save what seemed to be long light-blue gloves on the creature's hands that reached to its elbows and a small golden locket near its neck. The long pants were gone, replaced by a blue skirt of some kind, both it and the top sparkling like gemstones. On her back, stretching out from holes Ember assumed she couldn’t see, were wings of some kind. They weren’t dragon wings. They reminded her more of small bugs, only somewhat different and much bigger to fit this creature's size. Atop her head was a small golden… tiara? “It… it can’t be,” her father’s words made Ember turn, only for confused worry to settle in. Her father was staring at the strange creature holding the scepter, which had somehow grown larger, as if he was seeing something amazing. “Let those dragons go, now!” Ember returned her gaze to the creature as it pointed the specter at the remaining shadow ponies. “Leave now or I swear, you won’t live to regret it!” If the shadow ponies cared about her words, they didn’t show it. They all just stared at her, cocking their heads to one side. Flames burned around the creature as it narrowed its eyes at them. “Leave. Now!” As if it were a trigger, the moment she finished talking, every shadow pony shot forward, forming together into a mass of shadow and slamming down onto the creature. A second later, a scream of rage came from within the mass of shadow, before it was blasted away by a bright light, a roar like a dragon, but like none Ember had ever heard, ringing out. When the light faded enough, Ember’s eyes went wide as she saw the creature was floating in the air, the wings on her back fluttering faster than the eye could track… but that wasn’t what caused her mouth to hang open. It was the long red dragon made of flames that was seemingly coming out of the creature. The creature thrust the scepter forward and the dragon let loose a torrent of flames that scorched the land. When the flames faded, all the cages and the shadow ponies were gone. The creature nodded, before her eyes closed and she fell, her clothes suddenly changing back to what they were before. Faster than Ember could blink, Torch shot forward, catching the creature in one claw. He landed, having barely left the ground and stared down at the creature lying unconscious in his claw. Ember and several other dragons flew up to him, looking down at the creature. “Dad, what… what just happened?” Ember asked, turning to her father as he continued to stare down at the strange unconscious creature as if he’d found the motherlode of all gems. “What is this… thing? And why did a dragon come out of it?” Torch only said three words, his tone awe and fear. “The Dragon Princess.” ___________________________________________________________ The pony sat in the darkness of the cave, her eyes wide with fury and confusion. “What? How is that even possible? My drones were all snuffed out so quickly? The dragons aren’t meant to have that kind of power, not without my harnessing it first.” She lit her horn, her bright blue eyes shining in the light cast by her teal green aura. She levitated a scroll, scanning it carefully. “Once I have enough dragon fire, my spell will be complete and I will finally take my rightful place in this world.” She glanced at the cave entrance, snarling. “Your days are numbered, Twilight Sparkle. I’ll show you the true might of the Alicorn race.” She sneered. “And there’s nothing you can do to stop me.” > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1 ___________________________________________________________ Bloom. Bloom! I groan, glancing around. I’m standing in some kind of black void. Bloom. Bloom! I frown, scanning the darkness. I know that voice. “Daphne? Daphne, is that you?” I call out, noticing my voice echoing like Daphne’s did. Suddenly, the darkness becomes a myriad of images moving too fast for me to see, the sudden change from black nothingness to the bright colours making everything blurry. Bloom, you must stop her! The future is in great danger! “What? Stop who? What future? Where’re the rest of the Winx? What happened to the real Bloom?” You must stop her, Bloom! If you don’t the future that follows will be doomed! Soon as Daphne finishes speaking, a cruel sounding laugh echoes around me as all the images return to darkness and a blue flame with glowing eyes appears in front of me, growing larger and brighter until I can’t see anything else. ___________________________________________________________ “Daphne!” I cry out, sitting up. I blink, feeling very confused. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust, before I realize I’m in crystalline room… that’s pretty sparse. Aside from the bed I’m laying in and a small bedside table, there’s nothing else in the room. “Oh my gosh! You’re awake!” I glance down to my right to see there is, in fact, something else in this room. Or, rather, someone else. The young orange dragon is looking at me with awe, before she blinks and blanches. “Sorry. I’m supposed to tell the pony princess as soon as you’re awake. Wait right there, okay?” With that, she moves over to a door I hadn’t noticed on the wall a little to the left behind her and rushes out through it. I just blink… not entirely sure what just happened. Glancing down at myself, I feel very uncomfortable as I realize I’m not wearing the clothes I was when I found myself in the Dragon Lands. I’m wearing a large white, puffy nightdress that’s too big for me. Someone undressed me, while I was unconscious? That is so many levels of wrong, especially now I’m not even in my own body anymore. In my original body, well, it would still be bad if someone undressed me while I was unconscious, but in this body, Bloom’s body? There are too many reason for why this is wrong. After a few moments, I calm down, another thought occurring to me. When… did I become unconscious in the first place? Last thing I remember I was swinging the Bloodstone Sceptre at the shadow ponies who were about to kill Dragon Lord Ember and Torch and then… My eyes widen. Ember! Torch! If I passed out, what happened to them? What happened to all the other dragons?! What happened to Smoulder— ? I blink. Hold on. Wasn’t that Smoulder just now? If I passed out, how is she okay? How am I okay? My musings are cut short by the door to the room quickly opening, several beings rushing in. “Miss, thank goodness you’re awake,” the purple pony known as Twilight Sparkle says, sounding both relieved and anxious. “We were so worried when we found you after answering Former Dragon Lord Ember’s summons for aid against those shadow ponies. You fought them? Can you give us an idea what they really were? How’d you get to Equestria without going through the portal? How do you know fire magic?” “Twilight, stop!” Spike says loudly, pulling on her right wing. “She literally just woke up. Give her a moment to process before asking her a bijillion questions she might not even have the answers to.” “Twilight is being a bit hasty, but she does have reason to, darling,” Rarity says, looking at me. “You are a human, yes? From the other world?” It takes a moment, before a shake my head and look around at all of them. “What’s going on? How come I’m not in the Dragon Lands anymore? Are the dragons safe? What happened with those shadow ponies? Are Ember and Torch safe? And… wait. Did you say Former Dragon Lord Ember?” THREE DAYS AGO “Move it, will you, ponies?!” Garble shouted angrily, glancing behind him. “We’re going as fast as we can, Garble!” Spike yelled from Twilight’s back as she, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Rainbow Dash flew behind him. “Then go faster!” he shot back with a snarl. “If those ponies take my sister, I swear, there will be price to pay!” Garble had arrived several hours ago in Ponyville, claiming Dragon Lord Ember had sent him to get help from Twilight and Spike, much to his disagreement. According to Garble, shortly after five that morning, the Dragon Lands had been invaded by ponies seemingly made of shadow, that started attacking the dragons and capturing all the younglings. The fact they were ponies made of shadows was alarming to the Alicorns, but it was the fact all of the shadow ponies were Alicorns too that puzzled and terrified them more. How could there be so many Alicorns just suddenly in existence and none of them know about it? Why were they all seemingly made of shadow? And why were they attacking the dragons and taking their young? The situation did not sit well with Twilight at all, hence why she’d immediately got in contact with the princesses and had them join her, Rainbow Dash volunteering to come along too because she could keep up. However, upon arriving in the Dragon Lands, they were all met with a sight they had not expected. Not only were there no supposed shadow pony Alicorns around, but all the dragons seemed fine. It was a young dragon that turned out to be Garble’s little sister spotting them and hurrying over that clued them in on what had happened. A strange creature Twilight immediately figured out to be a human had shown up suddenly and, somehow, a dragon made entirely of fire had come from out of her and obliterated all the shadow ponies in one strike. When they were taken to where Dragon Lord Ember was, by the human’s side in a cave, they’d noticed something odd. The Bloodstone Sceptre was lying by the human, Twilight’s realized she was a girl’s side. After some discussion, Former Dragon Lord Torch, who’d been waiting outside the cave, being too big to fit inside, had recommended Garble and his sister go with the princesses and that the Dragon Princess should go too, until they knew exactly what was going on. NOW I cock an eyebrow. “Dragon Princess?” It’s only now, after Twilight finished explaining the events I was not aware of, that I see the Bloodstone Sceptre laying on the floor, previously out of my line of sight. Smoulder reaches down, picking up the sceptre and handing it to me. “It’s yours now, Your Highness.” My eyebrow does not move. “Mine? I’m not the Dragon Lord. That belongs to the Dragon Lord, not a random fairy who’s for some reason in the wrong world.” “Actually, you kinda are,” Spike pipes up. “The Dragon Lord, I mean.” “See, normally, the Bloodstone Sceptre chooses who is Dragon Lord by if they’re worthy and earned the right,” Twilight explains. “However, ever since you took it and used it to defeat those shadow ponies, the sceptre hasn’t chosen any dragon else as Dragon Lord.” I blink. “What?” Smoulder folds her arms, nodding. “At first, a bunch of dragons who hadn’t agreed with Ember being Dragon Lord tried to take it for themselves, but it wouldn’t accept any other them, even though they had managed to take the sceptre before she could get it back from you.” “And, according to the reports, when Ember took it back, she and Torch could tell it no longer answered to either,” Spike continues. “Torch then said something about how, as the Dragon Princess, the sceptre was rightfully yours and would never choose another dragon,” Twilight finishes. Hesitantly, I take the sceptre from Smoulder, at once feeling a rush of energy flowing through me. I frown, looking down at the sceptre so small it’s more like a giant baby rattle in my hands. “I don’t… understand. I might be the Fairy of the Dragon Fire, but why does that make me a Dragon Princess?” I mean, yes, Bloom is the princess and heir to the dead (though not really, since there are still living creatures there) planet, Sparx, but… I’m just in her body. I’m not Bloom herself. At once my vision flashes with a blue flame and I remember that dream I just had. I shake my head, frantically. “We don’t have much time! I have to find out why I’m in Bloom’s body, why I’m here and what’s threatening the future!” This is met with blanks stares. I sigh, before quickly giving a very short summary of the history of Winx Club and Bloom herself, though I only go as far as what 4kidz dubbed of the series. Going into everything after that would just make matters more confusing right now. By the time I’m finished, everypony and dragon seem more confused than anything else. “Interesting,” Twilight scratches her chin. “So, this Daphne is Bloom’s sister, yet she spoke to you.” “Well, I think she’s Bloom’s sister. It’s… kind of hard to explain, honestly,” I say, not liking how my uncertainty is clear in my voice. Truth be told, it’s been so long since I was able to watch beyond the first three volumes of the first season of Winx Club that 4kidz dubbed, I can’t remember if it’s ever established in the 4kidz dub that Daphne is Bloom’s sister or if they just ignored that detail altogether throughout the three seasons. Though, Twilight does have a point in that question. Whether or not 4kidz Daphne is Bloom’s older sister or not, the fact she was clearly trying to reach out to me in that dream is strange. Does she not realize I’m not the real Bloom? It’s so confusing and, unless the Winx can be contacted, I’m not really sure what we can learn. With Daphne’s warning however, I’m certain whatever’s coming isn’t good. For all I know, what Daphne warned me about could be what put me in Bloom’s body and brought me here, trying to get rid of Bloom due to her being an obstacle to its plans.