Chapter 7

The Horn

Morning came around the bend following Toya's exciting dream.With a loud yawn, he awoke from his slumber and sat up straight. He stretched and scratched his head, trying to clear away any feeling of exhaustion. But even with that, he had slept better than any time back home. While his bed was soft, despite the bars underneath, he could never have a good night's rest. Being plagued by either nightmares or stress didn't really do him much good. And on top of that, there was the dream...

"Barb would never see me like that." He whispered to himself. "The slightest chance that she and I would ever do anything like that were if she were in heat. Then she'd either force herself to wait it out or be desperate enough to use me to cure it. Ugh...but it wouldn't be right. I'd rather her love me for real, not see me as a way to sate her lust." he sighed and got out of his bed.

A cool breeze came to his lower half and upon looking down, he noticed that his pants were down and his penis hanging out the hole of his boxers. To him, that was very odd. Back home in summer, he would normally wear just his shorts, underwear and a t-shirt to bed. Sometimes only his boxers, but that would be only if it were too hot for him. If he wore his pants to bed, they would stay on. He was a stickler when it came to his own wardrobe...

"How the heck did that happen?" He asked himself. He straightened himself up and was set to zip his pants up when he noticed something. Zipping up his pants, he walked over to the end of his bed. On the floor, just near the edge was a small puddle of liquid. It was clear and had no smell to it, so it wasn't what he thought it was. Thank god... He kneeled down and was about to touch it when the door to his room swung open and his dragon companion stood there with a blush on her cheeks.

"Toya, don't touch that!" She yelled, causing the human to stop what he was doing. He stared at her with a look of confusion, remaining where he was.

"Morning to you too, Barb." he replied. "Um...any reason you're freaking out so bad?" The dragoness remained silent, trying to think of a good excuse before he learned that the liquid on the floor was hers. "Well?"

"Um...you might not know where it's been. It could be from a potion someone accidentally spilled or maybe even a poison. It's best to leave it alone and just get prepared. Anyway, Bolero and Gleaming said for us to meet them in the main hall." Barb said. "So get off your lazy butt and get ready."

"Alright alright." Groaned the human. "You sound like my mother..." He walked away from his draconic companion and into the restroom, closing the door behind him. Barb sighed and grabbed a wipe and started to clean up her mess. It was embarrassing enough that she did what she did the other night, but to have left evidence behind...

"That was way too close..."

Toya got into the shower, letting the water splash over his head and soak his body. He took the time to relax and think about his time in Equestria. It'd only been a few days since he arrived, but he truly felt right at home. He wondered what his life would be like if he stayed. Yeah, he'd be the only human in a world of colorful talking ponies but there'd be some benefits behind it.

"Let's see..." he muttered to himself. "I'd have more freedom to find employment opportunities, I can travel to various places and regions for reasonable costs, I can meet new people and probably make some friends here." Those seemed like some interesting perks that came to mind, but there were other things that he could think of as well. He could own his own home and probably have to pay much less than he could back on Earth. Everyone knew everyone, so no worries about feeling socially awkward when trying to talk to others. "And Barb is here, too..."

He sighed to himself and lathered up some soap, washing his body with it and covering himself in the suds. He still couldn't shake the dream from his mind nor how Barb acted. It was unlike her, but it felt so real. So passionate. Something he truly desired. He didn't care about having her body, but he just wanted to have her.

"What am I thinking? It's just a silly crush, like with Spike and Rarity." He told himself. "I'll grow out of it eventually..."

Toya...

Even now, he could hear the dragoness moan his name like in the dream. The way it sounded when it escaped her lips was divine. He would touch her body all over, slowly and delicately, as she continued to croon.

Oh Toya...

"Oh Barb..." He moaned, his hand having slid down to his crotch and he began stroking himself. He was a kind person with a perverse mind, but he couldn't help himself. He was still in High School, after all. He'd never had sex with anyone, so his sexual urges would continue to build up. He continued to moan and stroke himself, thinking of his dragon friend. Her curves, her voice and voluptuous form.

Harder, Toya...

"Toya!" The human snapped out of his daze as the voice of his companion came from behind the door. "Are you ok in there? I thought I heard something."

"N-no no. I'm alright. I was just singing..." He said. From behind the door, he could hear the dragoness laughing.

"Seriously, dude? Singing? Never knew you were into such things. You humans are weird." She said, her laughter fading as she walked away. Toya sighed and shook his head, thinking that his chances with her just lowered further. But he didn't deny it. Sometimes he would sing in the shower. Hell, he would often get songs stuck in his head that he would end up singing.

He hummed a few bars, scrubbing his hair and lathering up more soap with a smile on his head as he sung a couple of lyrics.

Don't be that way, bitch.

Let me introduce you

To my three best friends, Mister Johnson

And the Juice Crew.

If you save the Princess Zelda, well you know you're gonna grab her.

So why don't you try to come grab my inflatable poo-jabber?

He chuckled to himself at the lyrics, unable to get the way the actual song sounded out of his head. "Egoraptor does some weird stuff, but it's always so funny." He told himself. If he ever got the chance to go home and bring Barb with him, he'd introduce her to some of the wonders of his world. But did he really want to go back?

Would he be able to go back?

The human eventually finished taking his shower and got dressed, heading down into the main hall to meet with the crystal rulers. Barb was talking with Gleaming, her cheeks bright red and the unicorn seemed to be laughing.

"Well, just make sure not to do it again. You gotta keep yourself under control." She said. Barb sighed and rubbed the back of her head, brushing her hand over her spines.

"Yes, Gleaming." The dragoness replied. As the two of them finished talking, Toya stepped up having only heard the last of the conversation. "There you are. What took you so long?"

"I was taking a shower, remember?" Toya replied. "You can't rush someone when they're trying to be clean. Anyway, what's this about you needing to control yourself?" Barb blushed as he asked his question, earning a chuckle from the pink alicorn.

"It's just a girl thing, Toya. No need to trouble yourself over it." Said the prince. He cleared his throat and smiled at the two travelers. "Anyway, we still have no leads on the murder from yesterday but we do suspect it to be this Red Knight character Barb told me about. There's been sightings of skeletal figures outside of the empire, to the western region. They seem to be coming out of a tomb...but--"

"If they're coming out of a tomb, then that means the knight must be there." Toya concluded. "So all we have to do is go in there, take him down and Equestria is saved. Easy as pie." The human was quickly struck in the back of the head by a purple claw belonging to his dragon companion. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You idiot. It's not that simple." She said. Barb rubbed her shoulder and looked at the floor. "The thought of going into the tomb frightens me...because it's..." Her sentence was cut off by a hoof as Bolero had gotten out of his throne to silence her. He gave her a comforting smile, letting her know that she didn't need to speak about it further and looked to the human.

"That tomb...is the resting place of King Sombra's horn."

Fear gripped Toya's heart and mind upon hearing Bolero's words. The tomb where the skeletons were coming from, the place where the Red Knight could be hiding out and the place where everything could be decided for Equestria was the tomb of Sombra. Or in this case, the Horn of Sombra.

Sombra was Season Three's most underrated villain. He looked fearsome and had some power behind to back him up. In terms of dialogue, he only spoke...very few words. But when it came to character, there was so much hidden potential. He had so many traps waiting for those who would dare enter his castle, such as the Fear Door that nearly crippled Twilight's mind with her greatest fear.

...Oh. Toya looked over to his draconic companion as a sense of realization came over him. Barb was scared that she would see her greatest fear. The fear of being told by Dusk that she didn't love him anymore and wanted her out of his life. That scene with Spike had actually hit Toya pretty hard. Spike had been nothing but loyal and dependable to Twilight throughout their years together as friends, even like siblings. For him to be told that he wasn't loved and to leave forever, even if it was just an illusion, it still hurt.

"While we know that Sombra is long gone..." Bolero continued, "We know that his horn is located somewhere in the tomb. I need you two to go and retrieve it."

"Question!" Toya called out, stopping the pink alicorn. "It's only his horn. Sombra's not connected to it anymore and he's long since been dead, right? Why bother going after such a thing?"

"We thought about that too and considered not bothering with it at all..." Gleaming said. "However, it's recently come to our attention that his horn is still generating dark energy. It was small at first, but it's become more obvious now." Bolero looked to his wife and back to the travelers and picked up from where she left off.

"Dark magic is a very powerful, but deadly, form of magic. Dark, corrupt, full of malice. It can be used to do a variety of things, but is mainly for causing harm to its victims in different ways." He explained. "If a large gathering of magic is concentrated on a single point for too long, it will implode upon the user and damage them internally. Worse case scenario; They die. So think: What would happen were a broken horn to concentrate a large amount of dark magic in a single area?"

Toya and Barb thought about it for a moment, not entirely familiar with how magic worked. Barb knew a few things, but Dusk never explained something like this at all. Not even in any of the books he had. If magic was concentrated in great amounts for too long, it would implode. Meaning that it would destroy the user from within. So if the same thing happened with a horn that was no longer connected to its owner...

The gears quickly turned in their heads as they finally figured out what would happen, their reactions letting Bolero know that they understood. "That's right. If the horn continues to concentrate any more dark magic while left unattended where it is, the resulting explosion will take the Crystal Kingdom with it. ...And it won't be temporary this time."

"We'll get the horn right away." Toya said, bowing to the two rulers. Barb smiled and lifted him up, chuckling at how traditional he was acting and Bolero chuckled as well.

"Very well. But I can't send you two alone. Who knows what could be waiting for you there? So I'll be sending a few of my crystal guards with you as backup. I hope you don't mind." He said. The dragoness smiled and shook her head.

"No, we don't mind. It might be good to have some extra firepower."

"Excellent. I'll give the two of you some time to prepare. The guards will be stationed at the kingdom's entrance. Just let them know when you're ready." Bolero smiled, getting out of his seat and stepped towards the two of them. He lowered his head and in royal gesture, tapped his horn on both of their shoulders. "May Celestia's light keep you safe on your journey."

Toya and Barb smiled and nodded, turning and leaving the castle. What Bolero had done, Toya had seen before on news channels and in English books. It was a gesture that royals would perform for some soldiers or even citizens in order to knight them. He wasn't sure if that's how it worked in Equestrian culture, but he felt honored to receive such a blessing. The two travelers continued down the street in silence until Toya noticed that Barb was hanging her head low. She looked shaken up, as if she had seen a ghost. More likely than not, it was due to the fact that she would have to get near a portion of Sombra.

She must really be afraid of Sombra, The human thought. Reaching out to his companion, Toya touched Barb's shoulder, which caused the dragoness to slightly jump in surprise and look at him. "Hey. You alright?"

"Huh? Y-yeah. I'm fine." She lied. She didn't want to worry him with her petty fears. They had a more important task at hand and they had to get it done, no matter how frightened she was.

"You're still afraid of Sombra, aren't you?" He asked, wanting to help her conquer her fear.

"What? What do you mean 'still'? How would you even know--"

"You've been to the Crystal Empire before. That would mean you encountered Sombra once. Am I wrong?" Toya said. He knew he was right, but didn't want to tell her how he knew exactly what happened.

Barb sighed and rubbed her arm, looking away from the human. "Yeah, I have. It wasn't a very fun time, I'm sure you can imagine. Everything was going well for me, Dusk and his friends after meeting up with Gleaming. Then he showed up..."

"What happened?" Toya asked, knowing the answer.

"He attacked Gleaming and restricted her magic before moving and coming to the Crystal Kingdom. We kept him out for a time while looking for the Crystal Heart before he got in. Dusk got caught in Sombra's trap and entrusted me to get the heart where it belonged." The dragoness rubbed her head and looked at him with doubt in her eyes.

"Were you scared?"

Barb's eyes widened and she puffed her chest out proudly. "Pfft, as if. I'm a dragon and we're brave by nature." She said.

Says the one who ran like a chicken when Sombra got near...

"But I was a little nervous, I guess. I thought that if I failed, the Crystal Kingdom would be a goner again. It all rested upon me...."

Toya stepped closer to the dragon and put a hand on her shoulder, giving her an encouraging smile. "Hey. Whatever happened then is in the past now. This is the present. We have to think about now. We have to hurry and get to the burial site and take care of that horn. You beat Sombra before. I'm sure you can deal with a measly horn." He said, patting her back. Barb thought about it for a moment as a sense of confidence filled her and she smiled at the human.

"Yeah. I can take care of some stupid horn. Let's hurry up before anything gets worse." She said, running off without him. Toya stood there and watched her go, chuckling silently to himself.

"I love that girl... Hey! Wait up!"

The duo walked for a time until the Crystal Empire was far behind their backs, arriving at the entrance to the burial site. Positioned outside was a group of six guards, just as Bolero had said and they saluted upon their arrival.

"Crystal Savior. It's been awhile." One of the guards said. He had a gruff, low voice and a commanding air that practically demanded respect. "The prince has told us to help safeguard you while you get the horn. Would you like us to come in with you?"

Toya tapped his chin and looked over at the dragoness and back at the soldier. "I think--"

"No thank you." Barb said, shocking both the guards and Toya.

"No? But Barb--"

"It's alright, Toya. I think we can handle this on our own. If we take all of them in, then how can we prevent from anyone else from coming in? And if just a few of them stay here, then they won't be strong enough to fend themselves for long." The dragoness explained. The human took in her words and thought about it. She had a point. Though it was good to be strong in numbers, they could easily be overtaken if they all stayed together or the guards could perish if only a few of their forces stayed behind. He looked at her and nodded, Barb smiling in response as she continued speaking. "Stay here and keep watch. If anyone tries forcing their way in, take them out."

"Yes ma'am!" The guards shout, saluting to the dragoness. Seeing that they understood, Barb walked through the entrance with Toya following behind her. As they faded from sight, the guards turned and stood watch at the entrance to the burial site, unaware of a lingering shadow overhead.

BGM 1

"So the horn is located deep in here, right?" Toya asked. Barb nodded as they continued onward, following the torches that lit the way.

"Yeah. But I'm not exactly sure how we're gonna get it out of here. That thing contains dark magic and if we can't get it out, then the entire empire is doomed." She explained. Toya thought about it for a moment when an idea came to mind.

"Why don't you carry it out?"

"Me?!" She stared at him in shock, his idea sounding crazier the more she thought about it.

"Well think for a second. You're a dragon and from what I know, dragons are very resistant to magic. So if you're the one carrying the horn by the time we find it, we should be able to get it out without any casualties. The worse thing that could happen is that it zaps you a few times while you're holding it." He explained. Toya had faith in Barb, as should anyone who is partnered with someone they could call a friend. If you couldn't have faith in each other, then everything you did would be for naught. Barb knew this, but deep inside she was still scared. Sombra's dark magic was all about fear and the last thing she wanted to deal with...the last thing she wanted to see was that horrid memory.

"I understand, but..." The dragon's sentence was cutoff by the human's finger to her lip. She looked down at him and slowly smiled at him, earning a smile right back from him.

"Don't be scared. Whatever happens, I'll be with ya." Toya said as he puffed out his chest. "You can count on me!"

The dragoness giggled and smiled as they continued onward down the pathway. They came upon several twists and turns as they went down and the further they went, the more pressure there was in the air. It felt as if something was trying to suffocate them, making it hard for them to breathe.

"Damn...Getting a little hard to breathe down here." Toya held his chest and dropped down on one knee and coughed.

"D-dark energy is filling the air. We must be close." Barb said. She was having as much trouble breathing as he was, but her strong lungs eased the pain for her. She walked over and helped the human up, walking him down a corridor. As they walked, a strange glow started to illuminate the area as black sparks circled around. They followed the sparks until finally, they came upon their destination.

BGM 2

Lying down in the middle of the room, surging with dark power, was none other than Sombra's horn. The broken appendage was pulsating with dark energy, bolts of magic flowing from its tip as magic was continuing to grow unstable.

"There it is." Toya said, stumbling toward it. 'So all we have to do is get it out of here. Barb, you're up." The dragoness blushed and rubbed the back of her head and moved towards the horn. A few sparks of dark magic shot out in her direction, narrowly missing her and scorching the wall at her backside and she let out a sigh of relief. She didn't really want to be the one to grab it, but Toya would possibly die before he could get close enough. Bracing herself, she reached down and swiftly picked up the horn. Once she did, the surge of magic died down but sparks of magic were still flickering around the horn and left small marks on Barb's arm and hand.

"You alright?" The human asked, walking over to his partner. The dragoness smiled and nodded her head, looking down at the appendage.

"Yeah. It stings a little, but nothing I can't handle. Let's get this back to Bolero and Gleaming so we can go home." She replied.

"Uh...speaking of home..." Toya rubbed his head, his cheeks turning red as he spoke to her. "I was wondering if, perhaps...maybe you and I..."

"Yes?" Barb raised a brow and stared at him in silence. The human continued fiddling with his fingers, trying to find a proper way to ask her when felt something approaching. Something dark. He reached for his sword and pulled it out, quickly turning in time to block a dark blast of energy that came down from the path. The impact from the blast sent him skidding backwards along the ground. Barb looked back at him with shock, noticing him fending off the attack and ran over to him. "Toya!"

"I-i'm fine." He replied, still shaken from the blast. "Where the heck did that--" As he pondered on the source of the attack, his eyes widened as a figure came into view. Barb turned her head and her eyes widened in surprise at the form that was before them.

A man clad in red armor stood at their only exit, staring them down. In his hand was a blade of darkness, a skull and bones fastened to it to form the handle. The sword itself was pulsating with dark energy, but the aura around his body was frightening enough.

"Well, you certainly saved me the trouble of finding the horn." The man spoke. His voice was deep and commanding, almost threatening but Toya wasn't going to let himself be scared.

"You...You're the Red Knight, aren't you?" He asked, pointing his sword at the intruder. The man in red chuckled softly, slowly lifting his sword up.

"Do you see anyone else dressed in red here?" He replied, earning a growl of frustration from the other human. "Either way, you shouldn't lift up your sword unless you aim to do something with it." The knight walked toward them, only to have Toya and Barb step backwards. The dragoness hid the horn behind her back while the human continued to hold his blade up to his foe. The power coming from the knight was overwhelming and he hadn't even done anything yet. The blast was weak enough to block, but the force behind it was tremendous. If he was able to put that much force behind such a feeble attack, then who knew what he was capable of.

"How did you get in here?" Barb asked. "There were guards stationed outside to keep anyone from getting in."

"Those fools?" The knight chuckled and examined his sword in a taunting matter. "I encountered them, yes. But if that's all the Crystal Empire had to offer, then I'm sorely disappointed. They threw themselves at me to bar my path. And one after another..." The knight smiled under his helm, turning back to the party before a red glow appeared where his eyes would be.

"I cut them all down."

"You're a monster." Toya growled, balling his hand into a fist.

"And you have something I want. So you can put the sword down, boy. You're too old to be playing hero and I doubt you want your little girlfriend here to get hurt because of your rash judgements." Said the knight. "So I shall off you a choice." The knight lifted his sword, pointing it at the dragoness as a smile creeped on his face.

"You can surrender the horn now and leave with your lives intact...", he said, glancing over at Toya. "Or refuse...and your friend's life is forfeit."

Toya stood there for a moment, shaking with fear in the presence of the man in red. Standing before him was the one he needed to watch out for, alone but definitely not defenseless. He took out the guards all on his own, and both he and his weapon were surging with great power. They had to get the horn back to the empire so it could be destroyed, so he couldn't allow it to fall into his hands.

"Have you made your decision?" The knight asked with an impatient tone. "My patience with you is wearing thin."

"Toya..." Barb looked over to her friend with a worried look on her face. She, too, was shaking in fear. Not only from the presence of the man before them, but in fear that she would lose her life. He couldn't let her get killed because of his foolishness. But if he let him have the horn, more than the empire would be in danger.

The choice was all upon him.

"I...I..."

Chapter 7-End

Author's note: Just wanted to let you guys know I am deeply deeply sorry for getting this out so late. I've been extremely busy and I'm just started working a new job. But I really hope you enjoyed this one. Now, a few things I wanted to clear up.

1. Yes, I am fully aware that the fact I had Toya sing that song by Egoraptor (go listen to it, by the way) was ridiculous. It was intentional because Toya is somewhat immature, but has his moments of maturity. We all do. And how often is it that we don't start suddenly bursting into song in the shower thinking of a song we really like? Be honest.

2. I do not plan on rushing Toya and Barb's relationship at all. What Barb had done was on lust. Dragons are lustful, though prideful, creatures. They need release at some point and if they have no tool to take care of it, then they use the next best thing: A male.

3.The Red Knight is heavily inspired by Sepulchure from the online browser game, Dragonfable. If you want a clue on what the Red Knight looks like, or close to it, here's a picture:

Author's Note

Toya is left with a difficult choice. Forsake the life of his friend for the sake of thousands, or save the life of one. All that and more in the next chapter. See you guys then