In Equestria, the morning was extremely cloudy, and even occasionally rained. The town of Ponyville was quiet, with little to no civilians wandering through the streets. Then, from the edge of the Everfree Forest, appeared two silhouetted characters, who were revealed to be Twilight Sparkle and Dremsilyol. Last night, they had narrowly escaped a dangerous encounter with a large, black dragon, and have managed to escape from the forest, with Dremsilyol knowing a path home.

"Finally, fresh air." Twilight said. "I forgot how humid the Everfree Forest is. Thanks for helping me last night, Dremsilyol."

"I welcome your appreciation." Dremsilyol replied. "Now tell me, why were you offering me gems that evening? Was that your way of offering peace?"

"No, it's just that dragons love to eat gems; it makes up ninety percent of their diet."

"Hm...This is not the case at all in our homeland."

"Oh? Let me guess, you like gold instead?"

"No."

"What about malachite?"

"No."

"Moonstone?"

"No."

"Iron?"

"No."

"Okay, bronze!"

"Still no."

".....Do you eat any minerals?"

"No."

"........Oh."

Twilight, coming to a realization, asked one more question.

"Well.....What do you eat, then?"

"Our main diet consists of fish." Dremsilyol replied.

"Oh!"

"More specifically, steelhead trout. They are the most common and nutritious fish in all of our rivers."

"You know, I think we have a few of those in our rivers and lakes. It's been a while since I read that Local Wildlife book."

"It does not matter. My focus, as of this moment, is to find my daughter, Qobriiven."

"Don't worry, we'll find her. I'm sure she's fine."

".....You might be right, but I have my doubts."

As they continued to walk, they were unaware that something was stalking them. Behind a bunch of bushes were glowing red eyes, watching them as they continued down the road. Recognizing them, it made a familiar bellowing sound.

Meanwhile, in the Canterlot dungeon, Qobriiven, the lightning wyvern, awoke from her sedation to find herself chained to the floor. Her wings were folded against her body by a large body cuff, and her neck was restricted by another cuff with a short chain. In a state of confusion, she started to struggle and yell.

"Nid! NID! Zu nis kren stin! Bormah! Bormah!"

"It's no use, dragon." Said a distant figure. "Your struggling and yelling won't get you anywhere." The character turns out to be the captain of the royal guard.

"Wo kos hio?" Qobriiven asked.

"I have no idea what you said, but it probably doesn't matter." The captain said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to moderate the rest of the dungeon."

After a moment of silence, Qobriiven softly spoke.

"Bormah.....Zu hind nust lost aaz nau hio."

On the other side of the door, Princess Celestia and the captain consult each other over what to do with Qobriiven.

"Your majesty," the captain said, "I feel that we must relocate this dragon. We can't keep it locked up here forever."

"I know." Celestia replied. "The problem is that we have nowhere in Equestria to let her go. If we let her go in the wild, especially the Everfree Forest, she'll be lost and confused, but if we let her go near any villages or cities, she may potentially cause destruction. I'm afraid we have no choice."

"Your majesty, with all due respect, you can't seriously be implying-"

"I am. There is only one place she can adapt to, and that's where she came from.....Eris."

Back at Ponyville, where it began to rain again, Twilight and Dremsilyol have made it to Twilight's library. Twilight, in a rush to get inside, slammed the door shut. The slam caught Spike's attention upstairs.

"Twilight? Is that you?" He asked as he walked downstairs. "Where have you been? You missed, like, five letters from Princess Celestia-AAAHHHH! Big dragon!" He yelled, quickly dashing back upstairs.

"Spike," Twilight said, "it's okay, he's not gonna hurt you."

Spike, nervous, made slow, careful steps towards Dremsilyol. Twilight, getting impatient, levitated Spike closer to him.

"Spike, Dremsilyol." She said. "Dremsilyol, Spike."

"Um...." Spike began. "Pleased to meet you, sir."

"The pleasure is all mine, young dragon." Dremsilyol replied. "Now tell me, what nutritional value do you find in gems?"

"Oh, well there's, um..."

"Ohokay," Twilight interrupted, "how about we have some late morning breakfast? I'm sure you're especially hungry, Dremsilyol."

"Indeed, I am. What do you usually make for breakfast here?"

"Well, not much, just a bunch of plain gems and herbs, although we do also have eggs."

"Eggs are fine, though I prefer them to be fried."

"Fried, got it. Now Spike, what was that about letters from Celestia?"

"Oh, right!" Spike shouted, spitting out chewed amethysts. "All these letters are urgent, Twilight, you should probably read all of them."

The first letter discussed something about independent weather patterns over Canterlot, beyond the pegasus' control. The second was on a subject about a black burrowing creature of some sort, and the last three were all status updates on the imprisonment of a blue wyvern dragon. Out loud, Twilight read the last bit of the last letter.

"'The lightning wyvern is too unpredictable. We're going to bring her back to Eris, and I want you to join me for the sake of experience. Your royal teacher, Princess Celestia.' 'Lightning wyvern?!' Dremsilyol, I think they have your daughter!"

"Then we must stop them!" Dremsilyol replied. They then left the library.

"Wait!" Spike said. "What about the eggs?!"

"Forget the eggs," Twilight yelled back, "just get the balloon ready!"

"Why do you want Spike to get a balloon ready?" Dremsilyol asked.

"We have a hot air balloon; it's mainly used for travelling to Cloudsdale, but can also help us get to the other towns in Equestria."

"Why not wait back at the library to help Spike fill the balloon?"

"Because we need a certain pegasus for a speed boost."

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had just quit searching outside of town for Dremsilyol, still thinking he had yet to be found.

"I haven't seen that dragon or Twilight all day." She said. "They better not have gotten lost in the Everfree Forest."

As she flew over Ponyville, she noticed two silhouettes below her, and calling out to her. She flew in, realizing it was Twilight and Dremsilyol.

"Whoa, Twilight, you made friends with the dragon?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yes." Twilight replied.

"Okay, and how many words have you taught him so far?"

"All of them" Dremsilyol replied. Rainbow Dash then gave an expression of disbelief.

"Okay, Rainbow," Twilight said, "I'm sorry to distract you from this phenomenon, but we're in a hurry!"

"What for?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We're trying to find Dremsilyol's daughter!"

"......Daughter?"

"No time, let's go!"

Meanwhile, back at the dungeon, Qobriiven is still in chains.

"Bormah....Bormah...." She said, softly. Then the captain and two other guards entered.

"Alright, dragon, you're being released into the wild, now. I heard your home is pretty intense, so I wish you best of luck." He then let out a painful sigh, and gave the orders to the other guards beside him.

"Alright, men. Muzzle her. We're loading her up now."

The guards quickly muzzle and tie her, unchaining her afterwards. During the midst of her struggle, Qobriiven accidentally clawed the captain in the cheek. However, despite the anger he felt for being injured, he did not blame or scold her for it. They then carried her to a wagon outside, with two pegasi being the carriage ponies. Celestia watched, feeling great pity for her.

"Princess Celestia," the captain said, "we are ready to send her off."

"Then let's go." She replied. "I'll leave Twilight with one more letter to tell her where we'll be going."

With that, Celestia wrote a quick letter and sent it to the library.

"Let's go now." She said.

"Your majesty," the captain argued, "with all due respect, wouldn't it be easier if we went to see Twilight Sparkle?"

"We don't have time. The sooner we bring this lightning wyvern home, the less traumatized she may be. We're leaving now."

"Very well." And with that, they took off.

Meanwhile, back at the library, Spike had finished filling the hot air balloon just as Twilight and company showed up.

"The balloon's ready, Twilight!" Spike said. "I also didn't forget the eggs."

"Good work, Spike!" Twilight said in response.

"Come now, we must hurry!" Dremsilyol yelled.

"What about the eggs?" Spike asked. "They're gonna get cold."

"Very well," Dremsilyol replied, "I shall eat while we set out."

"Just don't make a mess in the balloon." Twilight said. "Wait! We don't even know where they're taking her!"

Suddenly, Spike belched a letter. Twilight read it out loud.

"'Dear Twilight Sparkle, we are heading to the eastern Equestrian docks to depart the lightning wyvern; please meet us there. Your royal teacher, Princess Celestia.'"

"I feel as if we now know." Dremsilyol said.

With the speed support of Rainbow Dash, they set out for the eastern docks.

As they set out to find the wagon carrying Qobriiven, the wagon had to stop, as the carriers grew tired, mainly due to Qobriiven's constant struggling. Celestia, in the meantime, tried to communicate with her, as she remembered being with some of these dragons a very long time ago, and even knowing some words of their language. Her memory so vague, Celestia tried to say a proper sentence.

"Zu..'u Celestia, ku....lass s...e f..aal......krein."

Qobriiven expressed a face of relief, as she felt someone may finally speak her language. Excited to respond, she sprang up.

"Zu'u Qobriiven se Eris! Hio tinvaak dovah?!"

Unfortunately, Celestia could only remember so much, understanding almost nothing from Qobriiven. It was such a long time ago, that even she, in all her wisdom, cannot remember more than ten words of the dragon language. Confused, she could only leave her in the carriage, never even trying to respond. She had no efficient way of communicating, despite her best attempts, and Qobriiven was just as confused, as well as traumatized. All that could be done was leaving her in silence. Soon after the conversation, the carriers were well rested, and continued pulling the carriage. The captain noticed a hint of depression on Celestia's face.

"Your majesty," he asked, "is all well?"

"No," Celestia replied, "all is not. I remember seeing someone just as confused and lonely a long time ago, and the mistake I made for not helping him."

"And who may 'he' be, exactly?"

Celestia glared at the captain briefly, then looked off.

".....That's a story for another day."

"Oh, I apologize, if I reminded you of something tragic."

"No need to apologize, I don't blame your curiosity."

"So, if I may ask, who is going to deliver this creature home to Eris?"

"We are. We're travelling by boat once we reach the eastern docks."

"Your majesty, a massive tropical storm is approaching there, it will be too dangerous."

"I've made a promise to bring her home, and that is what I'm doing, no matter the dangers."

"With all due respect, I'm beginning to question your sudden motivation."

"After what she reminded me of, I have every reason for said motivation."

"Very well. If you insist on this decision, I will still remain at your side. Carriers, take off! We're heading for the eastern docks of Equestria!"

"By your orders, captain!" The carriers responded. With that, they took off once again, unaware they did so just in the nick of time, as the creature from earlier was stalking them.

Meanwhile, the trio of Twilight, Dremsilyol and Rainbow Dash continued searching, asking nearby travelers if they saw Celestia's wagon fly by earlier. Thankfully, they all said they have, so it seems that they were on the right path. However, as they continued their journey, a great obstacle lied ahead. A massive thunderstorm with strong winds was being created by the local pegasi.

"Drat," Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "I forgot that was scheduled for this week!"

"Rainbow," Twilight said, "it might be a good idea to stop the balloon. Its floatation will make it completely defenseless against the wind, plus the lightning could fry us!"

"Okay, okay, I'll bring us down!" Rainbow Dash then flew downward to rest the balloon.

"Hey, look!" Twilight yelled. "There's a cave. We can go there until the storm passes." They then dragged the balloon inside the cave, and decided to rest there until the storm passed.

"Twilight Sparkle," Dremsilyol said, "we cannot rest for long. My daughter is still in peril, and I feel I may get cold from the forthcoming storm."

"Well, get a blanket," Twilight replied, "we did pack one."

"No, it will not work."

"Why not?"

"...I am ectothemic."

"What?!"

"I am cold-blooded. I cannot maintain my body temperature. If I were to sleep in cold weather, even with the blanket, I would be weak, worse case scenario, I would enter hibernation."

"Well, we'll make a fire! It still hasn't rained yet, so we can find some dry wood."

"I'll go look." Rainbow Dash said, before abruptly leaving. As she left, Twilight wanted to talk to Dremsilyol some more about his homeland.

"So," she asked, "could you tell me more about your country? What's it called?"

"It has many names," he said, "though everyone refers to it as Eris."

"Eris?! Isn't that a country where only chaos exists?"

"Indeed, it is. However, it has become more chaotic as generations passed. As I said, my name means 'Peaceful Soul Fire.' What it means is that I was the most docile among my kind. Many would mistreat me, mock me, even torment me throughout my years, due to the way I view the world. Even those I had sympathy for turned on me. I could not stand having my daughter witness this malicious behavior, so I had us migrate to a new land, for a better place to raise my daughter in. The unfortunate irony is, my daughter is about to return to that forsaken world, all because her language differs. Is this what you normally do to dragons in your town? Chain them, box them, and send them from whence they came?! It..." He paused as he started to disturb Twilight. "I...I apologize. My fatherly side was getting the better of me."

"....Well, I'm sorry that you lost her so suddenly."

"No, it is not your fault. That is, not the fault of your kind. After all, you were not the reason we got separated. All that I remember was her telling me, 'I will be back. I just need to find some food.' She had not come back for three hours since then. I assume she either got lost, or continued searching for food."

"Well, she was in Sweet Apple Acres. It could be she was looking for some fresh apples."

"You make a decent point. I prefer fish, but apples make for a good second option."

"I have another question. Can you tell me more on how your magic works?"

"Oh, yes. I have plenty to explain." Most of the explanation consisted of roughly the same elaboration as Celestia's from the other evening, but with one standout statement. "Basically, the power of our sorcery depends on how closely the gem matches our skin color, the number of horns our heads have, and how willful our spirits are. My willpower to find my daughter helps strengthen, I have four horns, and I have chosen this exceptional fire ruby."

"You know you stole that, right?"

"Stole? I never steal!"

"You took it from Rarity before."

"The pony with diamonds on her flank?"

"Yes, and that's her cutie ma-"

"I borrowed it."

"No, she called you a thief and everything."

"Well, she must be framing me, because I asked her politely if I could borrow it, and she willfully handed it to me."

"...I, uh, think she thought you just wanted to look at it."

"Hmm......Now that I think about it, this would explain why Rainbow Dash tried to stop me as I was walking away."

"Looks like that's another misunderstanding we have to make up for."

"Indeed." As they finished talking, Rainbow Dash returned.

"Hey guys," she said, "I got some wood, nice and dry for a good roaring fire."

"Great!" Twilight and Dremsilyol said in response. They set up the firewood, and were ready to ignite it. However, Rainbow and Twilight were silent, as they both stared at Dremsilyol.

"What is the matter?" He asked.

"Hello?" Rainbow said. "You're a dragon."

"Yes?"

"So use fire breath already!"

"...I cannot breathe fire." With that statement, Twilight and Rainbows' jaws drop in a bit of shock.

"Well, that's great!" Rainbow yelled. "We set up for a bonfire, and now we can't light it."

"Who said we could not?" Dremsilyol asked.

"What?"

"I may not be able to exhale flame, but I can cast it." Just then, he jumped to his feet, and cast a small flame spell onto the wood. Twilight was surprised, giving a dumbfounded look.

"B...But...." Twilight tried to say.

"Do you not know of pyrokinesis?" Dremsilyol asked.

"No, we don't. There's no fire-related magic at all!"

"Well, perhaps your kind was afraid of fire-related magic." As he was ready to speak again, he let out a good yawn. "Anyway, I grow tired. We shall set out again once the storm passes. Sweet dreams, my young friends."

"Right, good night!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, before falling asleep rather quickly. Twilight, on the other hand, as she fell asleep, was almost restless from her dreams.

"What? Where am I?! Hello? Is anyone here?!"

"There is only you....and I." A voice subtly whispered behind her. Twilight turned slowly, being introduced to a gigantic silhouette of an unknown creature.

"Who are you?" Twilight asked.

"That is not important." The creature replied. "I am here to tell you what is important. I know those dragons now live on your land."

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"They left my land, and I want them back. I want you to help Celestia return them home."

"But they left because of how chaotic it is there! They want to live a new life in a new world!"

"They are my people! They will go nowhere in the outside world on my watch! Bring them to me, or I will retrieve them myself!" As the voice turned more aggressive, the dream world became darker and the noise became more disturbing.

"I.....I don't get it, though. Why do you want them back?" Twilight asked.

"I told you, they are my people. They mean everything to me, and I do not want them in a place they cannot adapt to."

"But they can adapt here! Dremsilyol already knows our language, and his daughter is...Well, I haven't met her, yet, but I can convince Celestia to let her live here in Equestria, with her father!"

"I will not allow them to live anywhere else, especially not in Equestria, not after what Celestia has done!" When the voice spoke those words, Twilight started to get more curious and concerned than argumentative.

"....What did Celestia do?" She asked.

"......That is a story for another day. All I want now is my people."

"I...don't know if I should..."

"I will give you some time. Tell them, and if they refuse, you have no choice but to force them. If they do not return, I will, and I mean that I WILL bring them home!" The voice finished speaking, the silhouette faded, and the dream turned into darkness. Suddenly, Twilight found herself abruptly wide awake. As she stood, she realized the fire had been reduced to a pile of ashes. However, the storm still raged on. She realized that, for some reason, the storm was still active, for several hours longer than they expected. On top of that, they overslept, and may be running out of time.

To be Continued...

Author's Note

Okay, this one took a bit to get together. So much is going on, I couldn't sum it up in two parts. Part three will eventually come around, and it will be the last of this three-part story arc. Be warned, though, it will be especially long. After that, thankfully, our draconic characters may finally get their break, and trust me, they would really like one after all this.