Dragon Warrior

Cracking my back, I stood up and looked around for the cloak I had. It was hung up in the tiny closet and still covered in dust. I took the heavy cloak off and inspected it for a moment before discarding it. I grabbed the scarf which was actually two; one thick scarf and the other a high-quality red scarf... my only gift from Rarity that I brought along. I discarded everything but that red scarf and wrapped it around my neck comfortably and stepped out into the hallway. Trixie waited expectantly before she spotted me. Wordlessly, she walked towards the bilevel car and I followed suit. Up the stairs, the windows were large and gave an excellent 360° view of the area. Ahead, a large, large city loomed over us and in the air, many dragons were spotted flying up and about.

Trixie gulped even though her eyes seemed to be filled with wonder. In this moment, she chose to speak.

“I've only been here once and I left within the week simply because my first day here, I immediately saw how violent these creatures were. I won't say I was scared or outmatched, but I was most definitely outnumbered, so I left. Ever since Twilight Sparkle got that Alicorn Amulet away from me, I've trained simply for this... just so I can not run away again.”

Crinkling my snout with a frown, I gave her a side glance before speaking as well. “Why do you feel the need to tell me this? I'm all for connecting, given that apparently we're now a team, but this is a little sudden.”

“This is our fourth meeting. Our last meeting was the briefest, having been fighting against the Nightmare's forces. I think it's safe to say that we've done enough together to delve deeper, even if all I've ever done is antagonize others,” she responded a little more quietly.

Without waiting for a response, she turned away and activated her magic. Sighing, I glanced down at my own hands then back up to the city before turning around. Trixie had her signature cape and hat atop her body and she walked with her head high, seemingly smug. Following her, I was surprised when she stepped near the door and very briefly, I saw a genuine smile on her face that was almost hidden by the hat. Feeling a little better about the magician, I sat down on the bottom step in anticipation to disembark the train.

As the doors swung open, I was made clear just how different Dragons were to Ponies. Immediately, I found things that would be considered oversized back in Equestria. The booths for miscellaneous things such as info, snacks, drinks and such were larger and more draconic in nature. Even so, this being a border city, there wasn't just Dragons. I'm sure it'd be even worse further into the homelands... as well as a lot more rural.

“Ah, the city; Trixie's sandbox,” the magician said as she took in a big sniff of the air, exhaling with glee.

“I'm not here to play,” I responded, scratching my head. “And this time, I wasn't followed by Twilight, Rainbow Dash and... Rarity.”

“Followed?” Trixie asked as we moved forward, leaving the boarding area.

“Last time I went on a quest of self-discovery, they followed me, stupidly... but it did save me, and a phoenix egg.” Frowning, I remembered delivering the little bird back to his parents. “Well, anywho, now that I'm here...” I paused, frowning. “I actually don't know what I'd do.”

“Thought so,” I heard ahead.

I was certain she had a smug grin. Nonetheless, a blue aura tugged lightly at my spines and I followed Trixie as we left the train station. Once outside, the city buildings looked far larger than before. Looking up, immediately, there was a wall of hundred-story buildings, only getting larger... mostly because Dragons are already large.

I couldn't take anything in because immediately, the skies lit up with red, orange and yellow. Buildings up top were lit on fire as several dragons swooped in, all far larger than I am and wearing gear that hid their bodies. I almost thought it was some Dragon tradition, only swayed by the fact that many were screaming, ducking, and shouting the same thing:

“COLDWATER ATTACK!”

Immediately, Dragons, Dogs and the few Ponies ducked low and ran fast in their attempts to enter a building. I kept my head up while Trixie was ducked down, hiding under her hat. Behind us, I heard shouts and steps that sounded familiar. Turning around, I spotted several of the guards that were at Bahamut evacuating civilians while a few more took to the skies and engaged in aerial combat with the enemy. Turning back, I stepped over and slapped Trixie's rump. She yelped and looked around.

“GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie, get up, stop being a scared baby, this is what you said you trained for, wasn't it!?” I shouted, glancing upward and silently cursing my lack of wings.

“R-right,” she said, her breath shaky.

Trixie utilized some basic breathing techniques to quickly calm down. We could only wait as the guards clashed against the 'Coldwater' agents, I'm guessing. Eventually, they brought the fight to us, each side slamming members from the other into the ground. Right off the bat, one of the larger dragons dashed over towards Trixie and myself and attempted to grab one of us, succeeding only with Trixie as I rolled to the side.

“Put your weapons down and surrender, we have a hostage, you Corruption Officer,” the Dragon shouted, his claws prodding the cyan neck.

Trixie's face showed fear for a second before she once more calmed herself down, struggling a bit with her breaths. The guards hesitated before complying, laying on the ground and preparing to ditch the weapons. Everyone was caught off guard except myself as I knew what was happening next; Trixie's horn lit up with it's blue aura before a white-explosion occurred in the face of her captor; it shot fireworks and flares all over and automatically headed towards the other Coldwater Agents, exploding by them as well.

The stun was all that was needed; I dashed over and pried the hand holding onto Trixie and she was freed as the dragon tumbled back, dazed and blinded. The others fared a little better and were immediately fighting the... Corruption Officers. Two were still free, which left Trixie and myself to fight.

“Little Pony, Dragon, I don't want to hurt you, we have business with the Marshal, Oku,” one explained, surprisingly calm.

“Doing that by violence!?” Trixie responded, her horn lighting up.

Both Dragons prepared to defend if Trixie shot another firework again and the one that talked took a step forward.

“All else has failed. You had the option to leave like the other civilians, so all else has failed you,” he said.

With that, he darted towards me and I took a stance, preparing for impact. Instead, his partner leapt over top him as he shot his hand out rather fast, wrapping his claws around Trixie's horn. The partner flipped forward and brought his foot down towards my head. I rolled to the side, unable to help Trixie without getting injured. His foot impacted the brick ground, shattering it as his foot was planted two feet in the ground. His eight-foot body dwarfed my four-foot, and now his strength was a definite issue. I was definitely surrounded by young dragons while I was in Bahamut.

The first Dragon yanked Trixie towards him and his other hand slid under her barrel and rested on her belly. He used this position to fling Trixie over his head and into the air. Trixie had to have been thrown up at least twenty feet, which was a really big fall.

The partner immediately retracted his foot and sped towards me. He was clearly far more agile and I only had one instance of combat for reference. These guys were clearly trained. He stopped unexpectedly right in front of me, causing me to flinch and throw my arm up to dodge the attack that never came. Using the opening, he kneed me right in the gut and lifted me off the ground a few inches like that. His hand was brought down against the back of my head in a karate-chopping motion and the impact dazed me. Instead of falling over, I used basic instinct with my smaller body size to allow myself to fall forward and roll between his legs, still disoriented. Swatting my arms wherever, I planted both hands on the top of his tail and dug my nails directly under his scales. Rather than wait for me to tug, he arched his tail downwards, not only pressing me and stretching my arms out as far as they could go, his scales compressed and locked my fingers under them. Grunting, he lifted me off the ground with his tail and brought my body over to him and using his large hands, he grabbed my entire head.

Trixie fell, yet she wasn't out. She shot a blast of magic towards the ground, shooting up several chunks of rock into the air that irritated her assailant's eyes. Trixie let gravity take her down and as she approached the ground, she grunted and focused her magic. A line connected her horn to a horn protruding from the assailant's scalp. The line was only three feet long yet it was effective. It prevented her from slamming into the ground, as it went taut when she passed by his head, and it served to put a lot of strain on the Dragon. As he stood his ground, he attempted to stand up straight to prevent Trixie from yanking him over and swatted a hand towards her. She shortened the line between their horns, yanking her up a foot and clear of the hand before she released the magic and dropped to the ground.

Rearing up a foot, he attempted to stomp on the mare, only for her to sprint forward the two feet and lodge her horn directly into the flat of his foot. A burst of magic shot out and exploded right against him and I could see that it did damage; the Dragon stumbled backward and fell over, clutching the part of his foot that just lost scales and clothing that his partners wore.

Meanwhile, I was dealing with big hands; his grip tightened and I felt my head grow tense as it was squished. Grunting, I let out a gruff scream as I felt myself grow angry and desperate; my mouth opened and I spat flames, purple and green fire coming out this time. It enveloped his hand and arm and proceeded to burn his scales off his arm. He immediately let go, clutching his burning hand. He wasn't done, though, as he immediately did a quick twirl, bringing one foot to round-house kick me.

A blue aura surrounded it and stopped him, the force shooting back up his leg and causing him to tumble to the ground. Trixie put out the flames on his arm as he caressed the charred flesh. Without wasting a second, Trixie stepped forward and stomped a forehoof on his injured arm and lowered her head to his face to which he seemed to fear.

“Stay down, or say good bye to that eye, whelp,” Trixie growled through her teeth.

Visibly, Trixie was shaking and teary-eyed as she bore an angry expression. She panted heavily with coarse breaths. Stepping over, I placed a hand on the nape of her neck and she glanced over me, surprised. I only smiled in response and she seemed dumbfounded before realizing she was about to start crying. Immediately, she wiped the tears from her eyes before they could turn into streams and returned the smile to me, her eyes taking on a sharper, more satisfied look.

“Thanks,” I said, feeling grateful.

“You should be; you're in the presence of the Great and Powerful Trixie,” she said, almost cracking her voice. I gave her a stare, one-eye half-closed as we looked at the other. She giggled in response. “And her sidekick, Spike, the Boy-Wonder!”

I chuckled and patted her back, giving her another stern look. “Don't get too carried away,” I said before turning to look at the guards.

They had successfully rounded up the rest of the Coldwater Agents, with what looked like a seriously injured one being tended to... and a fatality; one on the CA's side. I averted my gaze, the memory of bodies dropping from the sky coated in white-flames still seemingly fresh... and the scent of living beings somehow smelling like good food. I shook my head and felt guilt enter my mind and glanced at the two Dragons Trixie and I took down, both in severe pain.

Our minor guilt was short-lived as more roars sounded above us. Several more Coldwater Agents descended in a mad fury, dropping like rocks towards the small gap between the guards and their captured companions. As I expected, the guards jumped back as the Coldwater Agents landed on the ground, creating several large craters. Immediately, they slashed the restraints on the beaten Dragons and they spun around, dazed slightly from the previous scuffle.

A larger CA landed in front of  us, roaring directly in our faces. After our last encounter, Trixie and I both seemed to have the same severe fear racking our brains. No discussing needed; we both launched fire at the Dragon, only with Trixie blinding his eyes and my flames scalding his midsection. He yelped, covering his eyes and his sides as Trixie and I spun around and bolted, full speed away.

“You were here, where do we go!?” I asked.

Trixie gulped a moment, her tears pricking her eyes as past-trauma resurfaced. She managed to swallow the memories and chokes back enough to speak.

“T-Trixie headed towards the mayor's office. Diplomatic relations pinned it that Ponies are guarded in Doragon Tochi, or at least in the border town,” she said, her cracking voice healing as she went on.

Her fear was replaced with a familiar tetchy look on  her face. Trixie grit her teeth and as we could hear a Dragon pursuing us, we both darted down a nearby alleyway. I spun around mid-run and sprayed a quick wall of flame before returning to my sprint. The Dragon jumped through it, only causing black marks to cover his body. Glancing back, I grunted and spun around once more, this time covering the ground with flames as I stepped back.

Nadda. He leapt over the flames and used his wings to glide forward. I attempted to face forward and dash once more as the end of the alley came into view. A street was visible along with several Dogs running by, the noise of the fighting behind us. As I reached almost freedom, Trixie's tail and cape flapping in the wind as she sped towards the street, I felt a heavy weight wrap around my neck and my legs buckled like they were made of paper. I hit the ground hard and was held down. I skid into the centre of the street, belly flat against the ground and sparks shooting as I was dragged over... metal!? What is this doing here?

The Coldwater Agent pressed my front into the ground before making sure he had a good grip on my neck, rolling me over as I struggled to breathe. In front, I could hear Trixie leap forward towards my assailant as he stared into my eyes, his hot breath shaky and battered. He seemed like he was refraining from killing me, thankfully. Trixie's horn lit up and I closed my eyes in preparation for the blast.

It never came. She did scream, though. Right by me, and it hurt my ears. Opening my clenched eyes, I felt panic shoot through my mind as the Dragon's mouth was wrapped around Trixie's horn, clearly biting down hard enough to hold her in place. She helplessly struggled, grinding her hooves against the ground as she desperately tried to move

“M-my magic isn't...?!” Trixie muttered, her horn attempting to light several times.

My lungs felt like they would explode, and I felt severe panic and rage entering my mind. I was unable to think straight as the world started to darken, Ponies, Dogs and other creatures screaming in the distance...

Then a heartbeat.

Two.

Three.

Rapid. Fast. Repeatedly. My blood started to flow and a fire ignited in my gut. My body physically changed and I felt my strength coming back tenfold. Stretching my arms out, I could feel my muscles growing, my arms getting stronger. I clamped my hands down on his hand as it held my neck. With all the strength I could muster, I lifted my hands, struggling as he was determined to keep me flat against the ground. My right hand let go of his larger one and I thrust it towards his chest, feeling the magic encase my fist. It impact directly on his chest, not hard at all but I could hear a hard impact. He let out a gut-wrenching horking sound, releasing Trixie's horn in the process as well as my neck as he rolled to the side. Writhing, he held the area where I punched him and quickly tried to stand back up. Trixie was breathing heavily, her legs shaking worse than before as she struggled to stand. I glanced at the metal thing I hit and my eyes opened. I'd only seen them in Canterlot and Manehatten, rarely, but I could identify it... and it was large.

“TRIXIE, THE GRATE!” I shouted, voice raspy as hell.

“N-no, Spike, I'm not great,” she said, her legs wobbling before she collapsed, the magician now sobbing.

My body had lost it's rage-growth and was back to normal, and I was still weak and exhausted. I grunted, rolling over to slap the mare in the face. Trixie pulled back, stunned for a moment and glanced at me, addled contempt visible. I held my throat with one hand and pointed to the grate the CA was atop.

Trixie nodded and sniffled, concentrating once more as her horn lit up in sparks. A click sounded and the large grate dropped open as the Dragon fell into it. He recovered just in time and one arm latched into the grove of the brick sidewalk. Legs finding new strength, I forced myself to my feet and jumped as high as I could into the air. Leaning forward, I fell down and stomped as hard as I could on the Dragon's hand. I heard a sickening crunch as he immediately released his grip. The Coldwater Agent's weight was more than my own and he dropped, yanking his hand out from  under me as he fell along with me. I hit the pavement. He dropped 20 feet. Trixie quickly locked the grate once more and collapsed to her knees.

A crisp breeze flew by, no more shouting or battles audible as my mind was dazed, slightly cleared by the wind. Said wind also literally knocked me over as I tumbled to the ground, my arms shaky and feeling weak. I stared up at the sunset sky, seeing several guards ahead and very few Coldwater Agents.

I wonder if all Dragon cities have this kind of... chaos...? I thought.

I could feel a head prodding my side and a horn slipping under my back. My body was limp, so it was a struggle but Trixie managed to roll be over her head and onto her back. I hung off both sides like a Pack Mule carrying travel gear. Trixie grunted slightly, not used to the additional weight and without hesitation, she broke into a rough canter, riddled with heavy breaths.

The skyline above passed by many times and soon, it was clear night. It got chilly, lights came on and there really was true silence. Just the wind, leaves and newspapers flying in the alleys. Eventually, we came to what appeared to be a cliff side with several rails. Glancing at the horizon from my upside down position, I admired the long, desert expanse that waited. It was there, and always would be... just like friendship. And I truly had just made a new friend.

“Thanks, Trixie. You really are great,” I muttered, my throat less-sore and voice less-raspy.

The magician slid me off her back onto a rather large bench and I laid across most of it, Trixie sitting on the end, no longer shaky but rather just tired. Her had and cape got messy and torn a bit, but it didn't seem too bad.

“Honestly, I'm not that great and powerful. I can be, but only in situations where most Unicorns are. Danger, desperation; we get wells of magic that are sort of emergency-only,” she said, dropping the high-and-mighty act as well as third person.

Propping myself up on my elbows, I studied the mare... who still had a smile on her face. After all that, she wore a warm smile; same as when we departed the train.

“You saved me. Several times,” I responded.

She shook her head. “You're making me out to be a hero. That's nonsense. I only picked you up because I wouldn't be able to face Twilight Sparkle again.” Trixie sighed, rubbing her horn.

As lightly as I could, I gently kicked her in the Cutie Mark which once again caught her attention. I scowled at her and barred my teeth.

“Don't give me that. We're a team, and teammates are friends. You don't leave your friends behind,” I growled, kicking her once more for emphasis.

“Friends...?!” she asked, tilting her head back to lean against the back of the bench.

“If I'm gonna be travelling with you, I'd rather have a friend than an old grudge,” I said, trying to give her a smile. It probably came out more like a drunken simper. “You're not bad. You're just misjudged. I think you'd be a good friend.”

Once more, Trixie gave me that warm smile. I'd say I love it, but... that word just brings up painful memories. I shook it off and watched as Trixie didn't cry, but she looked like she wanted to.

“Yeah, I guess I am pretty great,” she muttered, tilting her head up and shooting me a cocky grin.

I stared dumbfounded for a moment before I broke into a fit of giggles. Once more, I pattered her Cutie Mark with my feet in mock-stomps as she swatted her hooves at my feet.

“C'mon, that's what you took from this? I bet this was all a ploy to gather praise,” I said, watching her shoot me a coy smile.

“Who, me? The Great and Modest Trixie would never,” she said, planting a hoof on her chest and raising her snout up as she put on a playful tone.

We let out a series of giggles and I could feel that fear and anger vanishing. This was nice... just two, new friends shooting the crap after a long and exhausting day.

“Do my eyes deceive me or is that Spike the God-Slayer!?”

Perking my ears up, I excitedly sat up, regardless of my sore spine and spun around on the chair. Trixie did too, her gaze more curious. To my surprise, it was the double-agent from Bahamut in the flesh; Haruo. He shot me a dopey grin and waved a hand.

“Yo,” he said, casually walking up towards us.

“Yo-yo my ass, what are you doing here?” I asked, repositioning myself until I was on my knees and holding onto the back of the bench with both hands.

“My homeland? That question is better suited to you,” he asked.

Rolling my eyes, I sighed.

“To find—”

“Please don't say find the answers, that's so cliche. Be original,” he interrupted me.

My jaw slowly closed as I felt a bit of mock frustration in my head as I heard the same phrase twice today. Trixie giggled, prodding my shoulder.

“He's not here to play. He's here to scour the lands and ravage all who come across him for the sake of finding out the truth to his existence, his soul and very being, Spike the... God-Slayer, you said?” she said, chuckling at the last part.

“Long story, but yeah I once killed a resurrected God. Totally intentional,” I said, whistling it off as I sat on the enlarged bench properly. “If I were a Pony, I'd have a Cutie Mark in God Slayin'.”

“Oh hush you,” Trixie said as she oscillated on the bench.

“Well, anyways, you're here to find out more about you. You picked a perfect time to waltz into the city. Then again, I probably wouldn't run into you here,” he said, glancing off into the distance as I had.

“What did you even come here for?” I asked, rubbing my sore joints.

“My goal was to resolve any conflict the King's Knight is supposed to do. I chose here.”

“Oh.”

Silence followed that; I had not expected such a brief response and Trixie seemed lost on what was going on. I should probably fix that.

“Haruo, Trixie. Trixie, Haruo. There, you've met,” I said, feeling a headache budding in my mind.

“Oh, I thought this was the lovely Rarity you've told me about,” Haruo responded, rubbing his scalp.

I tensed up at the mention of the name, memories resurfacing no matter what I did to stop them. Images of her flashed by, and our conversations... particularly one.

[*][*][*]

“Do... you want more tea?”

I shook my head in response, feeling the taste of the toneless liquid lingering in my mouth. I set the cup on the dish and attempted to eat a biscuit. Rarity held back a sigh and silently walked over to the table, sitting down across from it. A pregnant silence took over, with no sounds in the room. No wind, no clock, no humming bugs.

“I... um, I thought... maybe, I wanted to—” Rarity bit her lip, staring into her tea, presumably for her lost words.

I reached over, easily with my taller body, and tilted her chin up until she was facing at me. Her blue eyes seemed so lost, and were red and puffy. Dried tears on  her cheeks, she looked... cute. It was tantilzing.

“I simply wanted some time to talk. See how you're doing, maybe critique a dress or two, y'know. Same ol', same ol',” I said, smiling.

She attempted a smile, but I watched it die before it was even born. She knew that I knew what she was thinking. I didn't say it, merely because I didn't know how... she didn't either.

“When... when you left, I realized that I made a mistake. One that I can never take back or live down, not that I want to.” She patted the table, blindly finding a biscuit and taking a small nibble. She spit that out quickly, giving a weak chuckle. “These were always so bland, but they were so cheap. I should ask Pinkie Pie for some homemade style.”

I grinned slightly, imagining the baking goddess cooking up biscuits. Apron, white toque, a mess all over her face as she beamed a huge grin at us as she pulled the biscuits out of the oven. I could practically hear her giggle as she watched us test a biscuit. The seven of us... tea and biscuits.

“I think you should try, jack Pinkie's recipe and become more popular with Canterlot Elite,” I said, jamming two of them into my mouth.

“I don't care about them, right now.”

. . .

“Do you still love me, Spike?”

. . .

“Spike?”

“SPIKE!”

I snapped out of my daze as I was shoved off the side of the bench. A flaming sound occurred behind us as the bench was taken out by a fireball. The remains were dragged off the edge of the cliff and I saw Trixie scrambling to stand on her hooves. Haruo was already drawing an impressive blade, at least twice my length as four Dragon's surrounded him.

It was unlike anything I've ever seen. I can't describe it, really. One lunged forward, Haruo never connected the blade with them, instead seemingly manipulating their movements. Redirecting them into each other, making use of grabs and the momentum each of them made. I had thought him to be a dopey fool, but I've never truly seen him in combat before. One by one, he had them attacking each other, knocking each down with grand ease.

“Run to the city hall. Big tall building with violet lights, ask for refuge. State my name,” he stated as several more Coldwater Agents arrived. “And don't let the Corruption Officers make you talk, threaten them with punishment from Haruo if it comes down to it!”

With that, Trixie and I darted away from the scene wordlessly. My joints still ached and now that I stopped working, they felt numb. Trixie must have noticed because she slowed down. I ran into her rear, letting out a grunt as the air rushed out of my lungs. Quickly, she bent over and I fell onto her hip. Trixie made her legs go stiff, causing her to stand up and throwing me into the air a bit until I rested on her back comfortably.

“Trixie will run. If we see agents, you flame,” she demanded.

I nodded, feeling a lack of breath still. I was far more exhausted then I thought. Up ahead, we ran straight around the long bend of the cliff until the clash behind was only barely heard. Darting forward, Trixie's hooves clopped against the brick relentlessly. She was running a lot, and putting on a brave face. I couldn't be scared, lest I be shown up by her. Grunting, I craned my neck until it cracked and felt a short pain followed by a bit more relief. I popped several more joints as Trixie rounded numerous corners and alleyways, using the city as cover.

It was useless.

Ahead, a wall of Agents barricaded the alleyway vertically, and as they did, the same occurred behind us. I attempted to blow flame, but just coughed a plume of smoke instead and Trixie's body finally gave out. We both panted heavily, and looked on with contempt as the group closed in on us. Once more, I was in shackles, being carried away by dragons to the great unknown.