Dragon Chronicles Book I: Necessary Evils Part 1

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 5
Chapter 4

Chapter 1

Ch. 1

My dear friend, Yol Toor,

I’m sorry for how long it’s been since I last wrote. Recent events in Equestria have taken much of my time, and I, unfortunately, just haven’t had the time to talk to you. I hope you are still doing well, given your circumstances. I wish this could just be an informal letter, but I have a request: I would like you to come to Equestria. There are many things I wish to discuss with you in person. Plus it’s been far too long since we’ve just talked, face to face. I hope you are able to visit, and I would look forward to your arrival.

Your friend, Celestia.

~~~

With her letter ready, Celestia rolled up the parchment and sent it away with a burst of magic. As she soaked in the silence of her throne room, Celestia couldn’t keep her heavy eyelids lifted.

BOOM

Celestia nearly jumped from her throne as a pony burst through the door and walked in with a long list.

“Princess, I have our schedule for today…”

“Kibitz! What have I asked you about barging through the doors?” Celestia shouted, making Kibitz jump back.

“I… but Your Majesty, I was only…”

Celestia held up a hoof and looked at the floor. “I know Kibitz; I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.”

“Are you not feeling well today, Princess? Do I need to get a doctor?”

“No, thank you Kibitz, I’m fine. Just another sleepless night. An extra cup of coffee and I’ll be right as rain.”

“Very well; I’ll have the chefs prepare some for you. But in the mean time, you must do something about those bags under your eyes; they’re very unbecoming for a princess. It’s not like you to carelessly neglect your personal appearance like this.”

As Kibitz turned around and left the throne room, Celestia grumbled in annoyance and went to make herself presentable, all with a single thought in her head.

Please get here soon, Yol Toor.

~~~

After three hours of signing documents in her throne room, she felt a ripple of magic in the air and a letter appeared out of thin air, dropping at her hooves. Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she lifted the letter and unrolled the parchment. She read the letter:

Daer Celestia,

It certanily has been a long time since we last spoke. I was beginning to think you felt you were too good to talk with a dragon like me. I suppose I could make a trip to Eqeustria. I’ll be able to arrive in six days; just give me the time and place, and I’ll be there as soon as I can. Until then,

Your friend, Yol Toor

A wave of relief overcame Celestia, and she mentally jumped for joy. Celestia didn’t waste any time after that; she prepared more paper to write two new letters. One to Yol Toor, and the other to Twilight Sparkle.

~~~

“A dragon’s coming to Ponyville. A dragon’s coming to Ponyville!” Spike shouted as he jumped off of Twilight’s back.

Twilight just rolled her eyes and smiled as she looked at her checklist.

“Yes Spike, I know. You’ve been reminding me every five minutes since we got the letter a few days ago,” Twilight said as they walked through Ponyville.

“I’m sorry, Twilight. I’m just so excited! I’ve never met another dragon before, not one that won’t try and eat me, at least, and there’s just so much he can teach me about being one!”

“Well don’t get your hopes too high. He’s here to see Princess Celestia; she just wants to introduce him to us first, that’s all.”

Spike calmed down and climbed back onto Twilight’s back and observed a flowerbed assortment Roseluck had put together.

“No, no, no! Rose, the daffodils need to go next to the lilies, while the clematis go with the white roses!” Twilight said, stepping in front of Roseluck and rearranged the flowers, unaware of the earth pony’s glare. “There. That’s much better!” Twilight said as she walked away with a smile.

Twilight hadn’t even made it a block down the road when she stopped next to Thunderlane and Cloudkicker, who were placing a ‘WELCOME’ banner on the wall.

“Hmm… that banner needs to be placed just a tiny bit more to the left,” Twilight said. The two pegasi nodded, moving the banner according to Twilight’s instructions. “Great! Perfect! Uhh… actually, it needs just a bit higher,” Twilight corrected. The pegasi moved the banner again, this time rolling their eyes, though Twilight didn’t notice.

Spike took a quick step in front of Twilight.

“Twilight, don’t you think you should be taking it easy with everypony? They were already stressed enough when you announced that Celestia’s special guest was an adult dragon. Why don’t you let me handle the preparations? You should probably make sure the rest of our friends got their jobs done!” Spike suggested, taking the clipboard from Twilight, shoving her towards Rarity’s shop.

~~~

With a sigh, Twilight walked to the Carousel Boutique, but rather than Rarity’s slogan, she was greeted with an exasperated sigh near the back of the room. Twilight quickened her steps. There she saw Rarity levitating a line of dresses in front of her, placing and replacing them from the multitude of racks placed around her.

“Rarity? What’s wrong?”

“Oh Twilight! I simply cannot find a proper dress to wear tomorrow! And I don’t have any ideas to make a new one!”

“Well, why not wear the dress you made for the Gala?”

“What!? I can’t wear that! I’ve already worn it during the Princess’ last visit two weeks ago! Plus the Gala is only three weeks away! If I just keep wearing the same dress over and over, ponies will think I’ve lost my touch!”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something, Rarity, but you need to calm down. You don’t want Princess Celestia to see you like this tomorrow, do you?”

Rarity looked at herself in the mirror, and put a hoof on her forehead as she fell with a gasp.

Her mane was unkempt, her eyes were baggy, her legs shook like a two ton boulder was on her back.

Twilight offered Rarity a hoof to get her back up, and Rarity took a deep breath.

“Maybe I can find some inspiration to work if I were to just walk away for a little bit. I am free for the afternoon; would you like to join me for lunch, Twilight? My treat!”

“Thanks for the offer, Rarity, but I really must –” Twilight’s stomach growled. Twilight blushed, and followed up with a laugh.

“Now, now, now. I know you, Twilight, and you’ve no doubt been working yourself to the bone making sure everything is perfect for Princess Celestia’s visit. I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

Twilight frowned and sighed.

~~~

The day was at its close, and Twilight paced around her library, with her checklist hovering in front of her.

“…decorations are set. And finally, the food is ready to be cooked tomorrow. Great job, Spike! I can’t thank you enough for all your help today.”

“Of course, Twilight!”

Twilight put the checklist away, and the two went to their bedroom.

“Tomorrow’s the big day! I hope everything goes well for the Princess’s visit.”

“Everything’s going to be fine, Twilight. I’m sure Princess Celestia will be impressed with all the arrangements you’ve made.”

“It’s not just her I need to impress, Spike, it’s this dragon: according to Princess Celestia’s letter, this is one of her and Luna’s closest friends that we’re meeting. I can’t risk making the Princesses look bad! She’d never forgive me if I embarrass her somehow!”

Spike sighed as he slammed his face into his pillow.

~~~

Twilight walked through Ponyville early next morning, making sure everything was in order, when her friends walked up behind her.

Rarity was the first to speak. “Ah, there you are, Twilight. We were beginning to wonder where you had run off to. It wouldn’t be like you to miss the arrival of Princess Celestia,”

“I was just making sure everything is in order. The last time the Princess paid us a visit, Fluttershy and I ran all over Ponyville to keep Philomena hidden from the Royal Guard. And the time before that, the whole town was destroyed by the Parasprites. Just once, I’d like the Princess to be able to visit us without something going wrong!”

Everypony chuckled, but fanfare silenced them. They looked where the music was coming from, and saw Princess Celestia’s chariot descend towards the town. But the princess was alone in her chariot, and there wasn’t a second one next to her’s. The six ponies rushed to the center of town, and joined the other residents.

Everypony bowed as the Princess’s chariot landed in front of them.

Celestia stepped off the chariot and walked through the town. She smiled at her subjects as she walked past them, admiring the decorations. When Celestia reached Twilight, she gave her a warm smile.

“Twilight, it’s so lovely to see you and your friends again.”

Twilight couldn’t help but beam. “It’s good to see you too, Princess. How was your trip?”

“Pleasant. I trust everything here in Ponyville has been going well.”

“Yes, Princess. But if I may ask, where is this friend of yours? Is he still coming?”

“He will be along shortly. Until then, I would like to hear about your time in Ponyville, as well as get to know your friends better. I did not have an opportunity last time.”

Twilight and the Princess walked through Ponyville, her friends at her side, while Celestia carried on the conversation.

“So, Rainbow Dash, Twilight tells me you are determined to join the Wonderbolts.”

Rainbow Dash rocketed into the air. “That’s right! I’m practically a Wonderbolt already! I’ve got the moves—” Rainbow Dash spun up into a cloud, did a large backflip, and followed by heading back towards a lake, adjusting her path to head back towards the group just a split second before hitting the water. “—the attitude—” she flipped over and rested her head on her forehooves. “—and the style!” Rainbow finished, making her way towards a nearby cloud. Rainbow flew around the cloud so quickly, her rainbow jet stream covered it almost completely. When Rainbow moved away from the cloud, it had changed its shape from a normal, puffed-up cloud to the Wonderbolt insignia.

“Well, from what I’ve seen during your performance in the Best Young Flyers Competition, you’re certainly Wonderbolt material.”

Everypony could almost see Rainbow’s head grown a whole size bigger. They all rolled their eyes and sighed.

One of Celestia’s guards approached her. “Excuse me, Your Majesty? A dragon has been seen flying towards this general direction; he is estimated to arrive in five minutes.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant. Make sure the others are prepared.”

“At once, Your Majesty!”

The guard trotted towards his fellows, and they all took formation, forming three lines of five soldiers on each side of the princess.

The estimated five minutes had passed, and Twilight noticed a figure flying towards Ponyville at high speed. Twilight noticed Celestia’s smile grow wider as the dragon closed in.

The dragon had gray-scales, two light-brown horns curved toward his neck, two massive wings, and large tail, though it lacked the spade tip she had seen on other dragons.

The whole town got quiet as the dragon got closer, and Ponyville’s citizens looked like they were holding their breath. Twilight herself felt like time had slowed to a crawl.

Finally, the dragon landed on all fours, just a few meters from everypony.

Twilight noted that, from head to tail, the dragon was about three times her length, and stood just a head below Celestia’s height.

The dragon walked down the gap in between the two groups of soldiers. He remained passive to their salutes. The only sounds to be heard were heavy footsteps.

He stopped in front of Celestia, and Twilight felt a chill along her spine as she looked into his gray eyes.

The dragon closed his eyes and bowed his head. Celestia did the same.

When they raised their heads, the two just looked at each other for a few seconds and smiled.

“It’s good to see you again, old friend,” The dragon said in a deep, strong voice.

“Likewise. I’m glad to see that you are still well,” Celestia said. She then looked over at Twilight and her four friends standing next to her. “This is my personal student, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends.”

“I see. I am Yol Toor, of the Dragon Empire,” Yol Toor said, bowing his head a little.

Twilight cleared her throat. “Pleased to meet you. I am Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.” Twilight said as she pointed to each respective pony.

“Charmed,” Yol Toor said dryly.

Spike, who was sitting on Twilight’s back, jumped off and skittered to Yol Toor. The older dragon smirked at the whelps enormous grin.

That grin vanished, however, when he was snatched away into Twilight’s magic.

“Spike! It’s not polite to stare! I’m sorry, Yol Toor; you’re the first dragon Spike has ever met, and he’s a little overexcited,” Twilight said, setting a now-fidgeting Spike next to her.

Yol Toor didn’t say anything though. Instead, he just looked at Spike with that same curious smirk.

~~~

With introductions out of the way, the townsponies lead Yol Toor to Sugar Cube Corner, where the welcoming party for him and the princess was being held. Princess Celestia sat at the center of the main table, with Yol Toor at her side.

When the party began to pick up, most of the ponies mingled with each other, leaving Yol Toor and Celestia to talk amongst themselves, much to Celestia’s disappointment.

“Please forgive Ponyville’s attitude, Yol Toor. You must understand; these citizens didn’t exactly have a great first impression with dragons,” Celestia said.

“It is of no consequence. Even in Equestria’s early days, ponies have always feared my kind; the inheritance doesn’t surprise me… Must be a ‘mortal’ thing.”

Celestia shook her head and sighed at Yol Toor’s comment, but she smile quickly returned. “So how have you been?”

“About as good as one could expect, living off a diet of Tatzelwurm. Though, I do appreciate you sending me some fresh food every now and then.”

Celestia turned to Yol Toor with a large grin. Their conversation was cut short, however, when Twilight walked over to them.

“Are you enjoying the party, Princess?” Twilight asked.

“The food is very nice, and the music is enjoyable. Everypony seems to be having a great time,” Celestia said, forcing another smile. “Perhaps you’d like to join us? You might enjoy some of the tales we have to share,” Celestia suggested, and Twilight laughed nervously as she slowly turned her head toward Yol Toor. The dragon didn’t acknowledge her presence.

Twilight walked over to Celestia’s other side and sat.

“So, Yol Toor, how long have you known Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked, leaning past Celestia to get a good look at the dragon.

“A long time,” Yol Toor quickly said, immediately turning his attention back to Celestia.

When Twilight realized that Yol Toor had no interest in having a conversation with her, she looked for her friends, who were all enjoying socializing with the other ponies. It seemed one-on-one time with Celestia would have to wait.

“As much as I enjoyed catching up with you, Celestia; you told me that you had something of great importance to discuss with me, and I would prefer to keep such a discussion away from those with which it has no business.”

Celestia just rolled her eyes.

“Impetuous as ever, Yol Toor. Do you really dislike parties so much?”

“Of course not. But if you need my help with something, I would prefer to not waste valuable time.”

“Very well.”

Celestia turned to face the party, speaking aloud so all could hear. “I am sorry, everypony, but I must cut this visit short. Thank you for the hospitality you have shown Yol Toor and I; this party was very enjoyable, and it was lovely to see you all again. Until next time.”

Celestia stood up, and her guards escorted her out of the bakery, with Yol Toor right behind them, as everypony bowed before the princess while she went back to her chariot.

“Well, today’s events certainly were… interesting,” Rarity said.

“That’s an understatement! How could the princess become friends with a dragon? No offense, Spike,” Rainbow Dash said.

“None taken. Though I have to admit; I was hoping I’d have the chance to talk to him about dragon stuff.”

“Don’t worry Spike; I’m sure we’ll see Yol Toor again soon enough. Maybe you can talk to him then. And there has to be some reason the Princess befriended him. It would’ve been nice if she gave us some more information about him though,” Twilight admitted.

Suddenly, Fluttershy walked out from the shadows of a building, as she looked towards the sky.

“Is… is he gone?” The pegasus asked.

“Yes, he’s gone. Though you didn’t miss much. He spent the entire party talking to the princess.” Rarity said.

The six ponies then focused their attention to cleaning up the party.

~~~

When Celestia and Yol Toor arrived at the castle, she immediately lead him to a small study. The guards opened the door, and the two friends walked in.

The study was quaint; a set of bookshelves were set up around the wall, along with a smaller shelf containing parchment, quills, and inkwells. On the other side of the room was a lit fireplace, where small tea pot and two cups and saucers were placed on a table. Celestia motioned Yol Toor to sit on one of the pillows next to the table as she poured some tea into each cup.

“So, what is this issue you wished to discuss with me?” Yol Toor asked as he took the cup Celestia offered.

Celestia sighed as she put the tea pot back on the table. “I’ve been having some… disturbing premonitions.”

“What about?”

“About Equestria… and you.”

“That doesn’t exactly make things clear.”

Celestia took a sip of tea. “In my visions, I can see various locations in Equestria. I can also see a large shadow enveloping the entire land, and everything and everypony that is caught in this shadow is mutated into awful creatures. When the shadow is close to consuming Canterlot, a bright flame appears, and begins burning the shadow away, and restoring all that it had destroyed.”

“And you think this flame is me?”

“I don’t really know who or what else it could be. When I have visions that focus on the Elements of Harmony, they are represented by sweet music, not an inferno. But what really worries me is that shadow; I’ve never seen anything like it before, and I have no idea what it represents.”

“A shadow. Hmm, I wonder…”

Yol Toor began to rub his chin in thought, and Celestia looked at him intently.

“What is it?”

Yol Toor caught Celestia’s worried look, shook his head, and drank some of the tea.

“It’s nothing. If anything comes to threaten Equestria, I’ll be there to send it to Tartarus myself.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Yol Toor.”

He just smiled as he finished off his tea.

“So was there anything else you wished to discuss with me?”

“Well, there is one thing…”

The door to the study opened, and Yol Toor turned his head just as Celestia grinned ear-to-ear.

“Sister? You wished to see… me…?” Luna’s mind went blank as she saw Yol Toor staring at her.

“Luna?”

“Yol Toor?”

Both just stared at each other for several seconds in silence. It took all of Luna’s strength and courage to overcome her shock, gallop to Yol Toor, and press herself against him.

Luna buried her muzzle against his neck, Yol Toor just gave a content sigh as he returned the gesture

Celestia, meanwhile, had squeezed her eyes shut to keep her tears from escaping. Though her trembling smile refused to remain still.

“Luna… how? Have a thousand years really passed?”

Celestia nodded. “Yes. And as to ‘how’; you can thank Twilight and her friends for that. They used the Elements of Harmony to destroy Nightmare Moon’s corruption, and returned Luna to us.”

Yol Toor was left speechless, not that he wanted to speak anyway; he just wanted to stay like he was with Luna.

“Yol Toor, you’re more than welcome to stay here at the castle tonight until I can set up a more permanent residence for you.” Celestia said, and she turned to Luna. “Luna, why don’t you show Yol Toor to the guest bed room?”

Luna and Yol Toor finally stepped back from each other, and Luna blushed as she nodded.

“Very well. If you’ll follow me, Yol Toor.”

~~~

The trip to the bedroom was mostly quiet, as Yol Toor and Luna walked through the castle halls. It wasn’t until Luna positioned herself closer to Yol Toor, when conversation finally started between the two.

“It’s… good to see you again, Yol Toor,” Luna said nervously.

“Likewise; life’s been very dull while you’ve been gone,” Yol Toor said, the short conversation ending on an awkward note. The silence continued for a few more minutes, until Luna threw herself before the dragon, turned to face him, and placed a hoof on his chest.

“Let’s face it; neither of us like to beat around the bush; Yol Toor, is there any chance you and I can continue where we left off?” Luna asked. Yol Toor, however, just sighed, thinking over his words carefully.

“I… I don’t know, Luna. It’s been a thousand years…” Yol Toor started, and Luna looked towards the ground, disappointed. “I’m not saying I no longer have feelings for you… in fact, that’s the last thing I want to say. But to say our relationship hit a bump in the road…”

“I… understand.” Luna said, unable to hide her sadness. However, Yol Toor grabbed Luna’s chin, and brought her to look him in the eye.

“I want things to go back to the way they were. But we need to do it slowly. Are you okay with that?” Yol Toor asked, and Luna nodded.

“Yes, I am,” Luna said, and Yol Toor smiled as the two continued their way to his room, but not before Luna managed to nuzzle her face against Yol Toor’s and placed a quick kiss on his cheek.

~~~

Later that evening, on the eastern border of Equestria, a shadowy figured, flying high in the sky, landed on a nearby cliff edge, where it watched over Equestria from a distance. After a few moments, the figure reached for a red crystal on its necklace, and brought the crystal to its head.

“My liege, can you hear me?” the figure asked, and the red crystal began to faintly glow.

“Yes Sonja; have you reached Equestria?” the crystal asked.

“Yes sire; I’m at the eastern border now.”

“Excellent. Your target is a small town named Ponyville, south of the Equestrian capital; our worm on the inside has informed me that Princess Celestia has a personal student currently residing there. Celestia apparently loves this girl like a daughter.”

“Should I just eliminate her?”

“No! This is no simple assassination mission; we need to send Celestia a message! Just outside of Ponyville is a forest, filled to the brim with dangerous creatures; use them to level Ponyville! Don’t leave a single survivor! Celestia must pay for what she did to the Gargoyles!”

“Yes, your Majesty. There will soon be nothing but rubble and corpses.”

The crystal then went dim, and Sonja took to the sky, and flew towards the forest outside of Ponyville.

Chapter 2

Ch. 2

Early the next morning, Yol Toor, Celestia, and Luna shared breakfast together, while Celestia suggested to Yol Toor about where he should stay in Equestria.

“Ponyville?” Yol Toor asked as he threw a gem into his mouth.

“Yes; in my visions, the most prominent location that appears is the Everfree Forest,” Celestia said as she bit into an apple.

“Ah. That makes sense then. But I don’t think that small town will see things the way you do.”

“My citizens trust my judgement. If I tell them that you need to stay in Ponyville for some time, they will do so.”

“Well, at least you’ll be close enough to visit us every now and then,” Luna said with a smile.

“Eh, I suppose that’s true. But Celestia, if I’m going to be protecting Equestria again, I’m going to need some weapons.”

“I’ve hung onto the weapons you had when you originally stayed with us; they’re in the same condition they were in when you left. I saw to their preservation personally.”

“Well, okay then. Just tell me when you need me to move there, and I’ll go immediately.”

“You will have to wait for a few days so I can have a comfortable place of residence built for you.”

“Alright then. Just don’t make it too extravagant; you know how I don’t like sticking out.”

Luna snickered. “Yes, and we’re confident that you’ll blend in so well in a town full of ponies.”

Yol Toor picked a grape from a nearby bowl and flicked it at Luna in response, hitting her the face.

Luna stuck her tongue out at Yol Toor.

All three of them chuckled as they went back to eating their meals.

~~~

When Yol Toor’s new home was ready, Celestia returned to Ponyville.

“Citizens of Ponyville, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to hear my announcement. It has come to my attention that the creatures of the Everfree Forest have become more restless in the recent months. Your well-being is my utmost concern in this matter, and as such, I have employed the services of my friend, Yol Toor, to serve as your first line of defense against these creatures, should any of the beasts of the forest attack.”

The announcement created disturbed chatter and grumblings amongst the ponies.

“I know Ponyville didn’t have the greatest first impression with dragons, but I can assure you; there is no one more capable of protecting Ponyville and its citizens from these creatures. All I ask is that you give Yol Toor a chance, and welcome him with open hooves,”

“Well, I for one, would like to thank the Princess, as well as her dragon compatriot. It is reassuring to know that a dragon will be watching over our small town,” The Mayor said, trying to calm everypony down.

Meanwhile, Twilight processed what the Princess had said.

Why do we need a dragon? We can defend ourselves just fine; my friends and I were able to defeat Nightmare Moon, and change her back to Princess Luna. Oh well, I’m sure the Princess has a good reason for this.

Twilight felt a hoof on her shoulder; she turned around and saw Princess Celestia, smiling.

“Twilight, I know you and your friends are nervous about the idea of a dragon like Yol Toor living in Ponyville, but trust me when I say that he is a good, honorable dragon. He may appear cold at times, but he is a gentle being. That said, I would appreciate it if you and your friends would try to befriend Yol Toor; make him feel welcome in Ponyville.”

“I… we’ll do our best, Princess.”

“I know you will, Twilight. Now, I must make sure Yol Toor’s home is ready for him to move him.”

“Where will he be staying, Princess?”

“There is a small hut on the southern outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres I had built for him. Yol Toor will have a better view of the majority of the Forest from there, while also being away from the bustle of the town, yet close enough to warn everypony of any impending danger.”

“So… this dragon is going to be my family’s new neighbor?” Applejack asked.

“Yes Applejack, but I promise you; he will not bring any harm to you, your family, or your farm. You have my word on that.”

Applejack shifted and frowned.

“Is there anything you can tell us about him, Princess? Something that might make it easier to get to know him better?”

“I’m afraid not Twilight; it would be disrespectful to tell you anything personal without his consent. Just be patient with him; that’s all I can say.”

Twilight sighed. “I understand, Princess.”

“Good. Now I must return to Canterlot. Yol Toor will arrive sometime this afternoon, be sure to welcome him the first chance you get.”

Twilight and the other ponies bowed before her as she vanished in a flash of light.

“Well, come on everypony; let’s go meet our new neighbor,” Twilight said reluctantly, when something sped past her. Unable to get a good look at what it was, Twilight quickly examined the area. The only thing out of the ordinary she could find though, was a dust cloud in the shape of a Pegasus.

~~~

Yol Toor landed just a few meters from his new home; it was a modest hut, built out of stone and wooden shingles, with a simple door and two windows on the front of the house.

When Yol Toor opened the front door and walked inside, closing the door behind him as he looked around, collecting his bearings.

The interior was very simple; a wooden bed, a table with a single chair, a fireplace, and stone flooring.

In the corner, Yol Toor noticed a wooden weapons rack, constructed perfectly to hold the weapons Celestia had given him at the castle.

Yol Toor walked over to the rack, and rested his weapons on them; two short swords, a dory spear, and a battle-axe. Next to the rack, Yol Toor placed his shield, against the wall; it was a large, round shield, wide enough to cover Yol Toor’s torso and folded wings, with the profile of a dragons head on the face of the shield.

Going over to the bed next, Yol Toor sat down, testing to see if the bed was to his liking. Surprised at how comfortable it was, Yol Toor was tempted to lie down and go to sleep right then, until he heard three knocks on his door.

Jumping out of his bed, Yol Toor walked over to the door, and smiled at his guest.

“So, is the house to your liking?” Celestia asked.

Yol Toor stepped to the side, inviting the princess in.

“It is. Thank you for this gift.”

“Think nothing of it; knowing that I can count on you to watch over my subjects is more than enough thanks.”

The princess placed a brown sack on the nearby table, making a jingling noise as it fell over, with several bits falling out. “This should be more than adequate enough for you to live off of for a month.”

Yol Toor walked over to the table to examine the contents of the bag, seeing that it contained a few hundred bits.

“Well, I’m sure you have much to do, with getting settled in and everything. If you need anything else Yol Toor, don’t hesitate to ask; I’ll help you in any way I can,” Celestia offered as she wrapped a hoof around him in a hug.

Yol Toor returned the embrace with a smile.

When they separated, Celestia teleported out of the house, leaving Yol Toor to his thoughts.

Yol Toor couldn’t even turn around before more knocking came at his door again. He opened the door, and kept his face blank at his new guests

“Um… hi!” Twilight greeted. She cleared her throat and smiled. “We just thought we’d come by and… welcome you to Ponyville.” .

“Thank you,” Yol Toor said and he immediately shut the door.

“Hey! We haven’t sung our ‘Welcome Song’ to you yet!” Pinkie cried out.

“Something tells me he wouldn’t really be interested, Pinkie Pie,” Rarity said.

Only shortly after closing the door, Yol Toor remembered what Celestia had told him about those six ponies, so he quickly opened the door and stuck his head out.

“Wait!”

The six ponies turned around, and looked at Yol Toor curiously.

“I just wanted to say… thank you, for saving Luna. She’s… a very dear friend of mine.”

The ponies smiled and nodded, and went back to Ponyville as Yol Toor shut his door again.

~~~

After Yol Toor shut the door, he turned to go back to his bed, only to hear knocking on his door again. Yol Toor growled as he went to open it again. Nopony was there.

As he looked around, Yol Toor noticed a small box, covered in pink gift wrap, and tied with a green ribbon. Yol Toor picked up the box and removed the lid. Confetti exploded in his face. He wiped the colorful strings off and growled. He prepared to burn the box, when he noticed something sparkle inside. He looked, and saw an assortment of jewels inside the box, with a card placed on top.

‘Welcome to Ponyville! Hope you enjoy the gemstones and other gifts!

From your new best friend, Pinkie Pie’

Yol Toor stared at the gift blankly as he picked up the box holding the gemstones.

What did she mean by other gifts? I only saw - Dozens of balloon animals and streamers erupting from the box. Yol Toor dropped the box and jump back. By the time the box was empty, the floor was covered in party favors.

How did she even – Yol Toor sighed – I’ll never understand ponies.

~~~

The next morning, Yol Toor awoke before the sun had risen and crawled out of bed

When Yol Toor walked outside, he noticed a pile of logs stacked next to his door. Yol Toor smiled as he sat down next to the pile, took a log, and carved into it with his claws.

~~~

After two hours of carving, Yol Toor was admiring the work he had finished; he had created two carvings of dragons, and placed them on the window seals.

Yol Toor’s smile vanished when he turned and looked into the Everfree Forest.

A shadow… are you really here?

Yol Toor walked towards the forest, with the hope of finding Celestia’s shadow before it could cause any harm.

~~~

The forest was strangely quiet. Typically teeming with life, most of it predatorial, the forest seemed almost empty, with only a few creatures making themselves known.

Yol Toor continued to walk through the forest, even after not finding anything after an hour of searching.

Yol Toor neared a cave and several small animals appeared out of some bushes and ran past him.

Something has these animals frightened.

Suddenly, three timber wolves also ran out of another group of bushes, and also ran past Yol Toor.

And it’s not me.

The sound of echoed snarling made Yol Toor turn towards the cave, where a large shadowy figure was curled up inside. As Yol Toor curiously tilted his head and squinted his eyes, a low orange glow appeared.

FWOOSH

A large blast of fire shot out of the cave and engulfed Yol Toor and the surrounding foliage.

When the blaze died down, Yol Toor looked into the cave and blinked.

“Did you really think that was going to work? Against a fellow dragon?”

Loud footsteps echoed out of the cave, as the culprit of the attack revealed himself: a large, green dragon.

The dragon proceeded to growl at Yol Toor, revealing its razor sharp teeth, as well as extending its claws.

Meanwhile, Yol Toor just stared at the dragon, unimpressed.

You’re not the dragon I’m looking for. No matter.

The larger dragon raised its head and opened his mouth, preparing to strike. Yol Toor responded by twitching his fingers.

Fwoosh

The scales on Yol Toor’s arms suddenly burst into flames. When the larger dragon saw this, his eyes grew wide and he lowered his head to the ground. He then quickly stepped back into the cave, while making a sound along the lines of whimpering.

That’s what I thought.

Yol Toor returned his arms to normal and looked behind him; the grass, shrubs, and trees were scorched black, with small flames still burning near the edges. Yol Toor waved his right arm in front of the flames and they quickly died down.

If that titan still lives in this forest, then he can’t possibly be here. So what has the forest spooked?

Yol Toor attempted to sniff the air around him, hoping to find any sort of anomaly, but was only met with the forest’s natural scent.

With a grunt, Yol Toor looked towards a deeper part of the forest, before turning around and making his way to his home.

~~~

When Yol Toor made it back home, he looked towards the sun for the time, and saw that it was around noon. Then his stomach growled.

I wonder if Ponyville sells anything edible.

Yol Toor quickly went into his house to grab his coinpurse. When he was back outside, realization made him skid to a stop.

Wait a minute! Why did I leave the forest? I wasn’t finished with my investigation! I’m more thorough than that! So what made me want to leave?

Yol Toor looked back at the forest, but he felt a sudden urge to just ignore it.

Ah. I see. Clever. A cloaking spell would be too obvious; so use a perception filter spell instead. Very clever.

After making a mental not of his discovery, Yol Toor took off and flew towards Ponyville with the hope of finding some lunch.

~~~

Yol Toor landed a ways outside of Ponyville, hoping to avoid creating an epidemic of hysteria and increase his chances of finding a pony willing to do business with him. Once Yol Toor entered town however, the hope of finding somepony to work with diminished as anypony who noticed Yol Toor backed away as far as possible, and ran into the nearest building, and quickly shut and barricaded the doors.

Their idea of protection against a fire-breathing dragon is hiding in houses made of wood and hay. Pony logic confounds me.

Yol Toor noticed a small apple stand in the town market, managed by an orange earth pony. His growling stomach spurred his steps toward the stand. However, the mare was in a conversation with two other ponies, and was too involved to even notice Yol Toor. The little filly standing next to her didn’t have that problem, though. She jumped when she saw the dragon.

“Oh… hi! You must be the dragon that just moved here to Ponyville,” The filly said, and Yol Toor swallowed the jeer rolling beneath his tongue as he pulled out six bits from a small brown pouch tied to his waist.

“I’d like three apples please,” Yol Toor requested, and when the older earth pony heard his voice, she immediately turned her head, surprised to see the filly talking with Yol Toor.

“Applebloom! What have I told you about talking to strangers!?” The earth pony scolded.

“But he was just asking for some apples!”

The earth pony raised an eyebrow at Yol Toor, who held up the bits he was carrying.

“Specifically, I asked for three of them. Will this cover it?”

The earth pony continued to stare Yol Toor down for a while, making sure he didn’t try anything. She finally took the bits, put three apples in a sack, and handed it to Yol Toor.

“Thank you,” Yol Toor said, as he took the bag. He turned around, and made his way back to his house.

During his walk through the town, Yol Toor noticed a sign on the building with the picture of a quill and piece of parchment. Yol Toor walked into the building, and the sound of a bell rang through the air as he opened the door. Yol Toor took a moment to inspect the shop, which housed several shelves of books, parchment stacks, writing quills, and ink wells. Yol Toor was broken from his observations when he heard hoofsteps echo throughout the room. Looking towards the source revealed a gray unicorn walking into the room, eyes closed and a smile on his face.

“Good morning. Welcome to-” When the unicorn opened his eyes, his smile vanished and he jumped back with a yelp and shook in fear. “Y-yes? Can I h-help you?”

“I would like to purchase two small journals to write in, ten quills, and three full inkwells please.”

“Okay. T-that’ll be twenty bits, please.”

As Yol Toor reached into his coin purse for the money, the shop owner scurried around the shop, grabbing the requested items as fast as he could.

By the time Yol Toor placed his money on the counter, the shop owner had scattered the writing materials all over the counter. After counting the bits, the shop owner put the items in a sack, and gave it to Yol Toor.

“Am I correct in assuming you also refill ink wells?”

“Yes; it’s two bits for every well.”

“Thank you.”

Yol Toor then walked out of the store, leaving the owner to faint in peace.

~~~

When Yol Toor returned home, he sat against one of the walls, grabbed a journal and quill with his hands, picked up an apple with his tail, and began writing in the book.

Initial investegations have provided no concrete evidence to any enemy operatives hiding in the Everfree Forest. However, the mysterious activities of forest fauna and the presence of a very powerful perception filter reveal a very intelligent and powerful presence. The presence of a greed-crazed titan, however, disproves my asumption of it being the missing Master, which is some much needed good news. Though I’m still concerned about what could be hiding beyond that filter, the most I can do warn is Celestia about it.

~~~

With his journal entry finished, Yol Toor tore out a piece of paper from the back of the journal, and wrote Celestia a quick letter explaining his findings. He then rolled up the parchment, and sent it away with a quick burst of enchanted fire.

Yol Toor leaned his head against and looked to the clouds, and closed his eyes for a few minutes.

~~~

Yol Toor’s nap was interrupted by his stomach rumbling and sudden belch of fire. When his eyes shot opened, he saw a rolled up parchment floating in front of him. He took the parchment and unrolled it.

Yol Toor

News of this perception filter concerns me, though my hooves are tied. My student, Twilight Sparkle, however, would be much more capable of following up on this matter. She’s quite intelligent, if a bit eccentric, and will be a big help for you; just give her a chance. I’ve already asked her to visit you tomorrow morning.

Your friend
Celestia

Yol Toor rolled his eyes as the letter burst into flames in his hand.

What help could a unicorn be to me? Especially at such a young age; she hasn’t even had time to learn about this world.

~~~

A couple of hours later, Applebloom sat at the apple stand, trying to think of something to make time go by faster, when Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo trotted towards the stand.

“Applebloom! You’ve got to come with us; we just thought of a surefire way to get our Cutie Marks!” Scootaloo said anxiously, and Applebloom perked up for a split second, before remembering that she needed to help Applejack, who was listening in on their conversation.

When Applejack turned to face her, Applebloom gave the best pouting look she could, quivering her lower lip, and showing puppy dog eyes. Applejack rolled her eyes and chuckle.

“Go ahead sugar cube. I’ve got things handled here,” Applejack said, and Applebloom ran over and hugged Applejack before running after her friends.

~~~

Scootaloo had led her friends deep into Sweet Apple Acres. She was also keeping her idea of how to get Cutie Marks a secret, waiting until they were alone before she would explain it.

Come on, Scootaloo; what’s this idea of yours?!” Applebloom demanded for the tenth time, and Scootaloo finally came to a halt.

“Okay, listen to this; there’s no way we can fail at getting our Cutie Marks now! We’re going to be… dragon tamers!” Scootaloo shouted, and she started walking through the orchard again, and her friends each raised an eyebrow as they started following her. “Rainbow Dash told me that a dragon is living in a house just outside your orchard, Applebloom, and everypony is terrified! If we can tame this dragon, everypony will see us as heroes, and we’ll finally get our Cutie Marks!”

“Are you crazy!? That dragon must be a thousand times bigger than us! How are we supposed to tame it!?” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

“It’s actually about as three times as big as Applejack,” Applebloom corrected.

“Is that supposed to make things better!?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Well…” Applebloom started, when she and Sweetie Belle bumped into Scootaloo.

“There it is!” Scootaloo whispered, pointing a hoof at Yol Toor, who was still carving a log with his claws, and the three immediately hid behind a tree.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Walk over to the dragon and tame him!” Applebloom said, and Scootaloo jumped back.

“By myself!?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah, it was your idea! What are you? Chicken?”

“Don’t start that again! I’m not chicken!”

As the two fillies argued, Sweetie Belle noticed a noise coming from the dragon. While trying to remain hidden, Sweetie Belle got closer to Yol Toor, hoping to make out the noise, but her friends arguing made it difficult.

“Be quiet, you two! I’m trying to listen!”

The two fillies stop their arguing and they walked up to her, listening to the noise as well.

“But I would bring you rings of gold,

And even sing you poetry,

And I would keep you from all harm,

If you would stay beside me!”

“Is he… singing?” Applebloom asked.

“Yeah. I wonder what he’s singing about; it seems like such sweet song.” Sweetie Belle said.

~~~

Meanwhile, Yol Toor was carving into a nearby log, making what looked like an alicorn, when he started hearing voices from the trees, distracting him from his work.

“You’re doing a horrible job of hiding!” Yol Toor said, and the voices hushed immediately. “You may as well come out from behind that tree; I already know you’re back there!” Yol Toor said, and the three fillies sheepishly walked out from behind the tree. “Now what do you three want?”

“We’re… we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders! And we’re here to tame you!” Scootaloo announced, and Yol Toor just raised an eyebrow. “We’re going to tame you, and finally get our Cutie Marks!”

“Is that so? As long as you don’t bother me, I don’t care what you do,” Yol Toor said, and he went back to carving.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were surprised by Yol Toor’s response though, and didn’t know what to do next.

Applebloom carefully walked over to Yol Toor, hoping to get a look at what he was working on. When the dragon appeared to show no hostility towards her getting closer, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo followed.

“Uh… what was that song you were singing? It sounded real pretty.”

“It’s an old folk song from my homeland.”

“How’s it go?” Applebloom asked.

“I don’t think children like you would understand its meaning.”

“Well, it sounded like a love song,” Sweetie Belle said.

Yol Toor cleared his throat.

Applebloom got closer to Yol Toor and got a good look at the wood carving in the dragon’s claws.

“Oh hey! Is that Princess Luna? Why are you making a carving of her?”

“Don’t you kids have anything better to do than ask me questions? I doubt your parents want you talking to a dragon”

“He’s right! If Granny ever found out we were here, she’d tan our hides something fierce!”

The three fillies turned around and ran back towards the town.

With Yol Toor all by himself, he went back to carving and singing.

“I’ll swim and sail on savage seas,

With ne’er a fear of drowning.

And gladly ride the waves of life,

If you will marry me.

No scorching sun,

Nor freezing cold,

Will stop me on my journey,

If you promise me your heart,

And love me for eternity.

Author's Note

I do not claim to be the owner of the song at the very end of this chapter. It belongs to DreamWorks and Jonsi

Chapter 3

Ch. 3

Twilight woke to the sound of her alarm clock. As she groggily opened her eyes, she swore she must’ve still been dreaming, because what she was seeing was impossible.

“Spike? You’re already up?” Twilight asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

“You bet! You said you were going to head over to Yol Toor’s house today, and I don’t want to miss the chance to finally ask him how to be a proper dragon!”

Twilight climbed out of bed. “Spike, you don’t want to be rude; we don’t know Yol Toor very well, and asking him to tell us everything about being a proper dragon will put him on the spot.”

Twilight’s warning seemed to go in one ear and out the other, as Spike didn’t respond.

“Spike, did you hear me? We’re going to help Yol Toor make sure Ponyville is safe, not ask him a million questions about being a dragon.” Twilight said.

“Yeah, yeah. I hear you, Twilight.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, wondering just how serious it was. I have to admit though, even I’m curious about a dragon’s way of life. But considering how, erm… ‘talkative’ he was when we first met, I doubt we’ll learn much.

Twilight brushed her thoughts aside and levitated Spike onto her back. The two left the library and made their way to Yol Toor’s house.

~~~

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

The incessant knocking on his door pulled Yol Toor from his sleep. He groggily got out of his bed and went to the door. Opening it revealed the purple unicorn and hatchling he met at the party.

“Oh… uh… good morning!” Twilight greeted, forcing a smile.

Yol Toor said nothing as he stared at the unicorn blankly.

“I guess you don’t remember me: I’m Twilight Sparkle, and this is my assistant, Spike. Princess Celestia asked me to help you investigate the Everfree Forest.”

Yol Toor grunted as he moved to the side and allowed the two in the house.

Spike jumped off of Twilight and faced Yol Toor. The older dragon smiled at Spike.

“Drem Yol Lok, mal kiir,” Yol Toor said.

Both Twilight and Spike tilted their heads with dropped jaws..

Yol Toor frowned. “Los fin Dov tinvaak ni mindok wah daar kiir?”

Twilight and Spike continued to stare.

“Hmm… how unfortunate. Forgive me, young one. I wrongly assumed you knew our language.”

“Wait. Dragons have their own language?” Twilight asked.

“Yes,” Yol Toor answered sharply before turning back to Spike. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised; it is rare for the dragon language to be known to others.”

“Wow! Dragons have their own language! That’s so cool!” Spike said as he grinned from ear to ear.

“Tell me… Spike… what do you know about our people?”

“Well… I know that dragons are noble.”

Spike remained silent after that, and Yol Toor raised an eyebrow.

“Is that all?”

“Uhh… yeah! How much more is there to being a dragon?”

Yol Toor took a deep breath. “A lot.”

“Well… what am I missing?”

Yol Toor took a seat on the floor, and offered Spike a spot in front of him.

“For starters, I can tell you haven’t even begun basic combat training; you’re scales are too clean. No cracks, chips, or scars; they’re in the exact same condition as they were the day you hatched. In the Empire, the parents would face criminal charges for ignoring their child’s needs in such a way.”

Twilight’s ears perked up, and she jumped up.

“Wait a minute! What do you mean ‘combat training’?” she asked.

“I mean exactly what I said; ‘basic combat training’, as in, learning how to fight.”

“I get that; but you’re telling me that dragons actually expect their children to know how to fight when they’re Spike’s age?”

“They’re not expected to be soldiers. Just to know some of the basics.”

“But don’t they get hurt?”

“That’s unavoidable. But better they be roughed up as hatchlings, than be killed as adults.”

“Well, who would try to fight a nation of dragons?” Spike asked.

“Anyone and everyone; in this entire world, dragons are one of the few creatures that can’t use magic. Many nations would try to use that advantage and conquer us. So to ensure our survival, it is mandatory that every dragon and dragoness be trained and join the military when they are old enough.”

“So they don’t get any choice in the matter?”

“It’s not a permanent enrollment; after a century of service, they can leave if they wish, and pursue a different career.”

“If they’re not killed in battle, that is,” Twilight said bitterly.

“The Empire has to look at the big picture, Twilight Sparkle; if the sacrifices of a few individuals ensures the survival of the Empire on a whole, then that’s what we’ll do.”

Spike had heard enough. “So Yol Toor, can you teach me to be an actual dragon?”

“Spike! What did I say about asking questions like that!” Twilight lifted Spike with her magic, and placed him beside her. “I’m sorry Yol Toor. I didn’t mean for him to put you on the spot like that.”

Yol Toor shrugged. “I don’t have any problems teaching him.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped, and Spike’s eyes grew as wide as plates, his ear-to-ear grin returning.

“What?” Twilight asked.

“Really? You mean it?” Spike asked.

“Yes. It’s only natural for one to want to learn about his heritage.”

“Now wait a minute, Spike! After hearing everything Yol Toor just said, you still want to learn more about being a dragon?”

“Yes, Twilight! Yol Toor can teach me everything I ever wanted to know, and more! Please! You have to let me do this!” Spike got on his knees and gave a pleading look to Twilight.

“Spike… it just sounds too dangerous. You could get hurt! Or worse! I don’t think it’s a very good idea.”

Spike’s fins dropped as he fought back his tears.

“So you don’t want to give him much choice?” Yol Toor asked.

Twilight shot a glare at Yol Toor, and the dragon just wore a sly grin.

Twilight gave an exasperated sighed. “Spike… I’ll think about it.”

Spike smiled again as he jumped to his feet.

“Yol Toor. I’m afraid you’ll have to excuse us,” Twilight said as she put Spike on her back and walked towards the door.

Yol Toor opened it for them, gave a quick smile and nod to Spike, and closed it behind them.

~~~

When Twilight got back to her home, she immediately grabbed a parchment and quill.

Dear Princess Celestia

This morning, Spike and I went to Yol Toor’s home to assist his investigation in the Everfree Forest. However, things didn’t go according to plan. When I arrived with Spike, Yol Toor greeted him in what was apparently dragon tongue. At that point, Spike asked if Yol Toor could teach him ‘how to be a proper dragon’. Yol Toor told Spike what that all entailed, including combat training. I want Spike to know more about his dragon heritage, but the consequences concern me. I don’t want him getting hurt, or worse. Please Princess, can you tell me your thoughts on this matter, and if I should allow Spike to go through with training.

—Your Faithful Student

Twilight Sparkle

Twilight rolled up the parchment and sent it away with a flash of light.

~~~

Twilight had felt every second of the last ten minutes pass when Spike ran up the stairs into her room with a rolled up parchment. Without a word, Twilight took the letter from Spike, unrolled it, and read it to herself.

Dear Twilight

Your worries about Spike are understandable. However, I will not tell you what you should do; Spike’s wellbeing is your responsibility, and it’s up to you to decide what’s best for him. I will tell you this though; there is no one that can be a better teacher for Spike on how to be a dragon. But the decision is ultimately yours.

—Your teacher and friend

Celestia

Twilight sighed as she put the letter on a nearby table and looked at Spike, who was dusting off a shelf in an apron. She wanted Spike to be happy, but she couldn’t bear the thought of him getting hurt. She also knew that Celestia wasn’t one to exaggerate, and she’d never lie to her, especially about the health and safety of her loved ones. Twilight gave one final sigh before lifting Spike upon her back.

~~~

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

When Yol Toor opened his door, he was surprised to see Twilight and Spike again.

“If I’m going to let you train Spike, I need you to promise me that he’ll be safe.” Twilight said.

“I cannot shelter him and expect him to grow into a proper dragon. The training will be hard. I will not change that for him, or for anyone else.”

Twilight glared at Yol Toor. “I’ve known Spike since the day he was hatched. He’s part of my family! I need to know he’ll be safe!”

Yol Toor raised a claw to calm Twilight down. “Spike will be safe from harm. You have my word.”

Twilight nodded. “Okay. Princess Celestia says I can trust you, and that’s good enough for me.”

Spike jumped off of Twilight and gave her as tight a hug he could manage.

“Spike, your training will start tomorrow; you are to run here from your home. If you don’t show up, I won’t come looking for you. You’re going to have to want this. Is that clear?”

Spike gave Yol Toor an attempt at a salute. “Yes sir!”

“Good. For now, leave me to my work. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Don’t disappoint me.”

Spike nodded as he and Twilight turned around to return home.

~~~

The next morning, Yol Toor was sitting on the roof of his house, sharpening his sword with a small, round stone, when he noticed a small, purple and green spec run towards him.

I’m surprised he actually showed up.

Yol Toor stood up, sheathed his sword, and jumped down from the roof. He ran into his house, put his sword away, and grabbed a small wooden bowl filled with iced water.

By the time Yol Toor walked out of his house, Spike was at his doorstep, covered in sweat and breathing heavily, just as the sun peaked out over the horizon.

“Right on time. I’m impressed,” Yol Toor said as he handed Spike the bowl.

Spike snatched the bowl from the older dragon, immediately chugging the contents down with his head tilted back. Any water he didn’t drink splashed on his face.

By the time Spike finished his water, Twilight Sparkle appeared, wearing a saddle bag and trotting towards the two dragons with a tired smile on her face.

“Wow Spike, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you run so fast and for so long,” Twilight said with a yawn. “Sorry for dropping in unannounced like this, Yol Toor. I just wanted to make sure that Spike would remain safe.”

Despite saying you trust me to take care of him? So much for your faith in Celestia’s word.

“I don’t really care what you do; just don’t get in our way.”

Spike wiped what little water was left on his mouth away and gave Yol Toor a salute. “Alright master! What’s first on the list of training exercises?”

“Two things: First, enough with the saluting. Second, I’m not your ‘master’; I’m going to teach you, and you’re going to learn. That’s it.”

“Okay mas—urh...! Yes sir!”

“Good. Now we’re going to start with some basic exercises, just to test your limits and capabilities. Let’s start with some good old-fashioned push ups. Think you can handle twenty?”

Spike scoffed. “Piece of cake!”

Yol Toor smirked, noting Spike’s tiny arms. “We’ll see.”

~~~

“Eighteen… Nineteen… Twenty! All done. How are you doing Spike?” Yol Toor asked as he jumped up. When he looked at Spike, the hatchling’s face was completely covered in sweat, his arms were shaking, and his eyes were firmly shut as he counted through clenched teeth.

“Sixteeeeen! Seventeeeeen! Eighteeeeeen! Ninteeeeeeeen! Twentyyyyyyyy! Ah!” Spike fell flat on his face. He quickly stood back up and dusted himself off.

“There! That wasn’t so bad, now was it?” Yol Toor asked with his arms crossed.

“My arms feel like jelly! How long were we at that?”

“Well, judging by the sun, I’d say… five minutes.”

Spike’s jaw dropped. “What! That must’ve been an hour! Thirty minutes, at least!”

“Quit your whining! I told you this wouldn’t be easy! Just be thankful these are the basic exercises! Things will get a lot tougher when we’re done with these; I’m just trying to making sure you’ll be able to handle it.”

“I know… what’s next?”

“Next we’re going to do squats; you’re legs should be wide awake after your morning run, so this should be easy! We’ll start off with twenty squats as well!”

Spike gave an annoyed sigh.

“Just for that; thirty! Complain again, and it’ll be forty-five,” Yol Toor said.

Spike didn’t say anything else as he and Yol Toor started the next exercise.

~~~

By mid-morning, Spike laid on the grass, his body screaming at him to stop moving; he was sore in places he didn’t know could be sore. As he laid down, Yol Toor walked over to him, carrying three wooden bowls; one in each hand and balancing the third on his tail. He placed wooden bowl of water next to Spike, and the hatchling silently groaned to himself as he sat up and took the bowl to drink.

Yol Toor walked over to Twilight, who had drifted to sleep not long before the short break Spike and Yol Toor had taken, and placed the second bowl in front of her. Yol Toor then went back to Spike and sat before him.

When Spike finished his water, he set the bowl down, groaning in pain.

Yol Toor rolled his eyes as he stood back up and walked into his house. After a few seconds, Yol Toor walked back out, holding the handle of a sheathed dagger with his tail. He sat back down before Spike and held out his right hand.

“Give me your arm,” Yol Toor ordered, and the hatchling did so. Yol Toor took the dagger with his other hand, unsheathed it, and began moving the blade towards Spike’s arm.

Spike yanked his arm away. Yol Toor took it back.

“Just trust me. This will help you feel better.”

Spike, though nervous, saw the sincerity in Yol Toor’s face, and stilled his arm. Spike looked away with closed eyes as the dagger cut into his scales. Spike wanted to pull his arm away again, but the dagger’s sharp point on the hide underneath his scales stopped him.

Twilight, meanwhile, was waking up from her nap. As she became more aware of her surroundings, she saw the blurred images of Yol Toor and Spike. Her eyes came into focus. The two dragons were sitting face-to-face with each other. Yol Toor had something gray and shiny in one hand and Spike’s arm in the other. The object was tracing down Spike’s arm. The object was coming into focus; it was a knife, and it cutting into Spike’s arm.

Knife? Spike? Arm? WHAT?

Yol Toor was suddenly surrounded by magical energy, and in the span of a second, he had the knife ripped from his grip, lifted off the ground, and pinned against the outside wall of his own home.

“Ah!” Spike screamed as the knife cut through his hide, and blood began to seep out of the cut in his scales.

“JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?” Twilight demanded as she jumped in front of Spike.

“I was helping Spike,” Yol Toor said coldly.

“BY CUTTING HIS ARM?!”

“That cut only happened when you interferred; something I gave you explicit instructions to not do!”

“Don’t even try to put the blame on me! You intentionally cut his arm! Why?”

Yol Toor, instead of answering Twilight’s question, looked at Spike. “Tell me Spike, how’s that cut of yours doing?”

Spike looked at his arm, and his eyes grew wide; he didn’t feel the cut. In fact, his arms were much less sore than they were before.

Spike’s reaction made Yol Toor smirk. “Neat trick, huh?”

Twilight shifted her head towards Spike, but kept Yol Toor pinned against the wall. “Spike, what’s he talking about?”

“My arm! It doesn’t hurt anymore!” Spike said was he looked at his left arm with glee.

“What? How can that be? You spent over an hour complaining about how sore your entire body is, and now your arm suddenly feels better? Even with that cut?”

Yol Toor spat a small ball of fire a meter from Twilight’s hooves.

She jumped back in fright, breaking her concentration on her spell, releasing Yol Toor.

Yol Toor walked over to Spike, and took his left arm and showed the cut to Twilight.

“Each dragon scale has a small pocket in the center that carries a natural painkiller in it. Whenever a scale is broken or cut through, the painkiller is released, covering any possible wounds in it.”

“Wow! That is so cool!” Spike said.

Yol Toor smiled. “Indeed. It can nullify the pain of cuts and bruises, to a certain extent, and, while not as effective, it can help with sore muscles as well. It can’t help with more severe internal injuries, like broken bones or wounded organs, and it can only do so much with severe cuts and slices, so don’t go relying on it when you start going into battle. It also takes a couple weeks for new scales to take the place of the broken ones, and until then you’ll feel every cut, punch, and stab if you start acting stupid and do something reckless.”

“So if Spike has already used the painkillers in the scales you cut, what will happen to those scales?”

“Over the next couple of weeks, they’ll painlessly fall out and be replaced with new scales. Over time, you’ll notice that each new scale is a bit tougher than the last set.” Yol Toor stood back up. “That’s enough questions. Back to training.”

Spike groaned as he stood back up.Yol Toor chuckle.

“Don’t worry, this won’t be nearly as tiring; you’re going to be working out your flame sack.”

“My what?”

“Your flame sack; the organ that allows us dragons to breathe fire. It can be worked out like any other part of the body. You practice using it regularly, and you can extend how long you can breathe fire and how intense that fire is. In fact, hit me with your best fire attack; let me see what you can do,” Yol Toor said as he stood up on his hind legs

Spike inhaled sharply, allowing his cheeks to puff up. With a sudden exhale, a small stream of orange fire shot out of the hatchling’s mouth, just barely raising up to Yol Toor’s knees. Seconds later, the fire ceased with a loud coughing fit, and Spike hunched over, gasping for air.

“How was”- gasp -“that?”

“For a dragon your age? The intensity of your fire was on par for most hatchlings, but the duration was pathetic; a trained hatchling can keep their fire going for as long as five to ten seconds.”

“Well, I typically only use my fire to send letters to Princess Celestia.”

“It’s time to change that; it’s time you learned how to use flame ups.”

Spike tilted his head. "What's that?"

Yol Toor put his hands behind his back and gripped one his wrists. He then tilted forward until he began to fall. Spike and Twilight thought he was going to land on his face, until he opened his mouth and fire jetted out. The flames hit the ground and Yol Toor slowed to a stop. Spike and Twilight watched with dropped jaws as Yol Toor exhaled, sent himself up a couple of feet, closed his mouth, and fell. He exhaled another burst of fire, lifting him again. Yol Toor repeated this twice more before using the fire to stand him up straight entirely.

“That’s a flame up. It’s a bit tricky the first few times, but once you learn how to do it, you never forget. Let’s have you start out by doing ten.”

Spike immediately jumped forward, and did his best to copy the stance Yol Toor took. He looked at Yol Toor, who gave him an approving smile and nod. Spike tilted forward and allowed himself to fall. A second passed and he opened his mouth to let loose his fire.

SPLAT!

Spike’s face got to know the ground on a personal level and a mouthful of grass, dirt, and rocks, and an earful of Twilight’s chuckling.

Yol Toor couldn’t help but laugh as he rolled his eyes and he put one of his claws on his face. “Breathe the fire a bit earlier next time.”

Spike jumped back up and spat out the unwanted snack, and wiped what was left off his tongue. He went back into the position before, and allowed himself to fall. He immediately breathed fire and felt himself stop. He breathed harder and smiled as he pushed himself up. “One!” He did it again. “Two!”

Yol Toor smiled as he also got in position and joined Spike.

~~~

“Nine!” FWOOSH “Ten!” Spike pushed himself upright, and immediately knelt forward again, gasping for air.

“Good job, Spike. You learn pretty quickly. But next time, count in your head; it’ll be easier on your lungs,” Yol Toor said with a smirk.

“Why didn’t you-” gasp “-tell me that-” gasp “-to begin with?”

“You need to think for yourself, Spike. You can’t expect everyone to tell you everything all the time! Try to figure things out on your own; you should’ve noticed that I hadn’t counted out loud.”

Spike gave an annoyed sighed as Twilight walked over and put a hoof on his shoulder.

“I think you did very well Spike,” Twilight said with a smile. Spike smiled back.

“Anyway, let’s take a break for breakfast. I got some gems in my home if you’re hungry Spike. Twilight Sparkle, I got some fruit as well. If you don’t like it, you’re on your own.”

~~~

As it became noon, Spike wiped away a river of sweat forming on his forehead. He and Yol Toor had just finished a set of exercises meant to strengthen his tail, from lifting up a rock half his size with it, to using it to do pushups and pull ups.

I hope dragons grow new tails like other reptiles. Mine feels like it’s about to fall off!

Spike learned quickly not to voice his complaints, lest Yol Toor double the original workout routine. Complain about that, and Yol Toor would triple it.

“Okay, this next exercise will be easy,” Yol Toor said with a smile.

Spike huffed silently. That’s what you said about the tail pull ups. What kind of psychopath makes a kid pull himself up by his tail from a twenty foot tree? My head still hurts!

“We’re going to go on a hike through the Everfree Forest,” Yol Toor announced.

Twilight jumped and got in Yol Toor’s face. “What? I’m not going to let you endanger Spike by putting him in the Everfree Forest! It’s too dangerous!”

Yol Toor’s face turned cold as he stared Twilight in the eye. “He’ll be fine. I’ll be with him the entire time. Nothing will harm him.”

“Well, I’m going with you, just in case!” Twilight said matter-of-factly.

Yol Toor rolled his eyes. “Do you really have to?”

“Hey, what was your rule about complaining? Double the workout?” Twilight asked smugly.

Yol Toor shrugged. “Works for me.”

Spike slammed his hand onto his face. “Twilight, please stop helping!”

Yol Toor lifted Spike with his tail, placed him on his back, and walked past a blushing Twilight.

“Heh.” Twilight blushed sheepishly “Sorry.”

~~~

“Okay Spike, I’m going to teach you how to hunt for food; this is a very important part of being a dragon,” Yol Toor said as he walked through the forest, with Spike on his back, something the hatchling was very thankful for.

Twilight turned pale. “‘Hunt’? As in-” gulp “-kill animals?”

Yol Toor rolled his eyes. “I can see why you’re Celestia’s personal protégé. Yes, Twilight, I mean I’m going to teach Spike how to kill a defenseless, cute little forest animal so he’ll be able to feed himself. You never know when food won’t be readily available for you, so it’s best that he learn now how to make it available.”

Twilight gulped again. “I can understand that, but does he have to kill something?”

“Like I just said, he’ll need to make it available. And he may not have the luxury of choosing what or when his next meal will be. Just be thankful he’s an omnivore; it opens up a lot more options than what you ponies are stuck with.”

“Very well. If it’ll help him… I won’t interfere.”

“Good. Now Spike, make sure you pay very close attention. When hunting prey, there are certain variables you must keep in mind; you must remain downwind of your quarry, keep a low profile, and don’t make a single sound. We have several means of killing our prey; when quickly strike at it, slitting its throat with our fangs, we can kill them with a well aimed fire burst, or we can move in from above, and use our tails to either strangle it or snap its neck.”

While Twilight felt like she was going to hurl, Spike looked at the dragon with curiosity.

“What about our claws? Can’t we use those?” I really just asked about using my claws to kill a defenseless animal? A week ago, I would’ve considered that to be cruel.

Yol Toor snapped his head around and stared coldly at the hatchling. “No! Dragons never use their claws to kill! They’re tools! Not weapons! If we used our claws in such a way, we’d be nothing more than wild beasts!”

“Really? That’s actually quite… surprising!” Twilight said, who remained a very light shade of purple, and her face a bit green.

“The only time a dragon can be excused for using his or her claws is if it’s the most dire of circumstances, and death is almost certain.”

“Well, that’s nice to know, I guess.” Should I be concerned that I taking all this in stride? Yol Toor would probably say this all natural for a dragon…

~~~

Thirty minutes had passed, and the trio didn’t come across a single animal for Spike to practice hunting. Twilight was thankful for this, as Yol Toor continued--in sickening, colorful detail-- how to properly kill certain animals.

Twilight frowned a bit. Now that I think about it, it’s weird that we haven’t seen any animals here in the forest, especially predators. Since when was the Everfree Forest so tame?

Yol Toor had stopped walking, his eyes set firmly ahead. She looked in the same direction and saw nothing but trees, vines, and grass. But the deeper forest felt strange to her; like it was nothing but blackness. The forest was there, yes... But it’s like I don’t want to see it. It felt like somepony was in the back of her mind, whispering for her to turn around and walk away.

It was only a whisper, but it was very convincing. She soon wished she’d listened to that whisper, as eight pairs of glowing, purple eyes pierced through the shadows.

Snarling echoed throughout the forest as a wooden paw stepped out of the shadows. What followed was the muzzle of a dog, also made of wood. The rest of it followed.

“Timberwolves!” Twilight shouted with quivering legs. Fear kept her hooves rooted to the soil, but it wasn’t the wolves that froze her.

The wolves pounced.

“Spike!” Twilight shouted. “Get behind me!”

He did.

The wolves spread to formation in front of them. Yol Toor buried his claws to the soil, noting the wolves’ strange eyes.

Wait! Purple?

“Yol Toor, timberwolves have bright green eyes. They have a purple glow. There’s something different about them!”

Yol Toor didn’t even look at her. “Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Twilight; you may have just saved our lives.”

Yol Toor tilted his head down and gave a much deeper growl at the timberwolves. They stood their ground.

More aggressive than the ones I encountered yesterday. The purple glow of their eyes indicates some sort of mind control spell. Whoever cast the spell obviously can’t see through the eyes of the timberwolves, though. They’re hardly a good countermeasure for a fire-breathing dragon. No, whoever’s behind this is clearly concentrated on something far more important, and doesn’t want to be disturbed. That, or they’re getting close to completing their mission, and don’t want to be discovered. I could strike first and easily - No! That would put Spike and Twilight at risk, and I can’t use my fire against them right now—an inferno could quickly get out of control and trap Spike and Twilight. Spike would have no trouble getting out. But he nor Celestia would ever forgive me if I let something happen to Twilight. Okay, so getting these two out of here is my primary focus.

Yol Toor slowly slithered his tail around Spike and whispered, “Twilight, take Spike and get out of here. Carefully! Don’t turn around. Just back away slowly and make no sudden movements. I’ll keep the timberwolves at bay.” Yol Toor placed the younger dragon on Twilight’s back.

Twilight gave a quick nod and slowly stepped back. Yol Toor growled at the wolves again..

He opened his mouth, swirling orange fire glowing behind his throat. I may not want to use fire, but I doubt they’ll figure that out.

The lead-timberwolf charged and leaped at the adult dragon. With a swift tail-whip, the timberwolf burst into pieces. Yol Toor now faced Twilight and Spike. “Run!”

Twilight immediately turned around and ran as fast as she could towards the forest’s exit.

One of the wolves snarled and gave chase. Its neck was swiftly impaled by a sharp scaly tail..

Two timberwolves flanked Yol Toor’s right. With a snarl, the dragon swung his tail again. The wolf still attached to his tail collided with its brethren, breaking all three of them to pieces.

With half the pack lain in splinters, another wolf charged at Yol Toor’s backside. The dragon lifted his right hind-leg and kicked the canine’s head into shattered splinters.

Yol Toor faced the three remaining timberwolves. Only one of them lunged forward with raised claws, hurdling to Yol Toor’s face. He stood on his hind legs, opened his palm, and slammed it on the beast, crushing it in two .

With a cold stare, Yol Toor snarled at the last two wolves.

As they looked at their fallen brethren, they brought their heads down and backed away.

Yol Toor’s glare turned into a cocky grin as he mimicked them, keeping an eye on the timberwolves until they vanished behind the trees.

Spike and Twilight should be halfway out of the forest by now. I hope they didn’t run into anymore complications.

~~~

Yol Toor caught up with Twilight and Spike, and escorted them out of the forest.

“You two come inside, where it’s safe. I have some business to take care of.”

Yol Toor dashed into his house and slammed the door shut when Twilight and Spike ran inside. He picked up a quill and some parchment.

Dear Celestia

It has come to my attention that the creatures in the Everfree Forest have become much more aggressive since my investigation yesterday. While training Spike in the woods, he, Twilight and I were ambushed by a pack of timberwolves. While this is hardly unusual for that area, these timberwolves were different; they were under the control of the same magic user responsible for the perception filter I mentioned yesterday. I don’t like the looks of this.

I suggest you put Equestria under a higher alert status, and prepare everyone for a war. While I hope to avoid such an outcome, I doubt there’s much I can do in that regard. All we can now is prepare.

Your friend
Yol Toor

Yol Toor immediately rolled up the parchment, blasted it with green fire, and sent its ashes away with a sudden breeze.

“Twilight, I’m fine!”

Twilight ignored Spike’s complaints and looked over him, checking for injuries. “I know… I’m just making sure I didn’t overlook anything. That’s all.”

“So, Spike, are you ready to continue training?” Yol Toor asked.

Spike jumped from his chair. “Yeah, I’m ready to handle anything you throw at me!”

He’s still under his adrenaline rush. That will likely pass in the next five to ten minutes.

Yol Toor smirked. “Good. Just remember; you asked for this.”

Twilight stepped towards Yol Toor.

“Hold on a minute! We need to talk about what happened in the forest! I recognized that glow the timberwolves gave off; they were under some sort of mind control spell! I read about it during my studies; mind control spells are illegal! So how could somepony learn it?”

“Just because a spell is illegal, Twilight, doesn’t mean no one will try to learn it,” Yol Toor said plainly.

“Well, if somepony is controlling the Everfree Forest’s animals, we need to warn Ponyville!”

“And create a panic? There’s nothing you can do about it right now.”

“But if Ponyville is in danger…”

Yol Toor held up a claw to silence her. “Ponyville will be fine; you have my word on that. Celestia asked me to make sure Ponyville will be safe, and I don’t plan on letting her down.”

Twilight sighed. “Very well. If Celestia trusts you, so will I.”

Yol Toor nodded as he motioned at Spike to stand next to him, and prepared for more training.

~~~

As the sun set, Twilight levitated an exhausted Spike onto her back and prepared to head home.

“Spike, you did well today. Keep up the hard work, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning at dawn,” Yol Toor said as he handed Spike a small sapphire.

“Sure thing, Yol Toor. I’ll be here, bright and early!”

Spike fell back with a sigh and started snoring.

Twilight roll her eyes. “Good night, Yol Toor. Thank you for helping Spike; he’s really enjoying there being a new dragon in Ponyville.”

Yol Toor nodded as he walked back into his house. From there, he watched Twilight and Spike disappear through the orchard with a smile.

He reminds me of Mid Vur.

Yol Toor frowned.

He shook his head and sat down on his bed, clutching his rumbling stomach. A belch of fire summoned a letter before him, and it landed in his lap. Yol Toor unraveled the letter and read it.

Dear Yol Toor

After considering what you said about the Everfree Forest, I have decided to send two squads of eight soldiers to assist you, should Ponyville ever come under attack. They will arrive tomorrow morning, and will follow whatever orders you give them. I hope they will be of some help to you.

Your friend, Celestia.

~~~

When Twilight got home, the first thing she did was walk up to her and Spike’s bedroom, and tucked the sleeping hatchling in. But as she turned to leave, she heard Spike mumble.

“Twilight?” Spike asked, his eyes still closed.

“Yeah, Spike?”

“Thanks for going with me today. It’s nice knowing you’re okay with all this.”

Twilight smiled. “Of course Spike. Learning to be a dragon is important to you. But… it looks like it’s going to be tough, and you’ve only just started. I don’t think anypony will look down on you if you want to quit.”

Spike’s eyes shot open and he jumped out of bed. “No way, Twilight! I told Yol Toor I was going to stick with this, and I meant it! No matter how hard it gets, I’m going to learn how to be proper dragon! Just like him!”

Twilight levitated Spike back up and put him in his bed again. “I know Spike, and I’m proud of you for that. I know you’ll be a great and noble dragon one day. I’m just saying; I’ll always be proud of you, no matter what you want to be.”

“Thanks, Twilight.”

With that, Spike began to snore, and Twilight left the dragon-in-training to rest, knowing that he was going to need as much of it as possible.

Author's Note

I do not claim to have ownership of the dragon language. The original creators are the people at Bethesda Games Studios

Chapter 5

Ch. 5

The sky was clear that evening; the moon was full and the stars shined brightly. Yol Toor slept soundly, his breathing heavy and rhythmic.

His ear fins twitched.

Yol Toor woke with a start and looked out a window towards the Everfree Forest. He jumped out of his bed, grabbed two swords, a spear, and a shield. He dashed out of his house and jumped onto the roof. Yol Toor observed the forest and noticed flocks of birds flying out from shaking treetops.

Yol Toor inhaled sharply and roared.

~~~

Twilight roll out of her bed, landing with a thud. She groaned as she dragged herself to her bedroom window and checked for storm clouds.

“How can there be thunder? There’s no storm scheduled for tonight.”

“Twilight…” Spike groaned as he sat up in his bed and grabbed his head.

Twilight rushed to Spike’s side. “Spike! What’s wrong?”

“It’s my head. It feels like somepony’s shouting in it! But… it sounds so familiar.”

As Spike clenched his head harder, the pain subsided and he focused on the voice.

“Danger! Everypony needs to run! Run!”

“Yol Toor! That’s not thunder, Twilight, that’s Yol Toor’s voice!”

“What? How can that be?”

“That’s him roaring; I only hear the voice when there’s that rumbling.”

“Wow, this is fascinating! What’s he saying Spike?” Twilight asked as she brought a clipboard and quill to her.

“He’s saying that there’s a danger, and we all need to run.”

Twilight’s ears dropped. “Run? From what?”

Incessant gongs of a bell drowned out the mighty roar. A soldier began shouting.

“WE NEED EVERYPONY TO CALMLY EXIT YOUR HOMES AT ONCE! PONYVILLE IS TO BE EVACUATED IMMEDIATELY! I REPEAT: PONYVILLE IS BEING EVACUATED!”

~~~

When Yol Toor heard the ringing of the bell, he took off into forest, where the trees were shaking the most violently.

It only took him a few minutes to fly to the source, where he laid eyes on the army of ogres marching towards Ponyville. Their eyes glowed purple.

More mindcontrol.

Yol Toor unsheathed his swords, wrapped his tail around the middle of his spear, and placed the shield on his back. Calming himself with a deep breath, Yol Toor clenched his swords and charged towards the ogres.

~~~

Sonja’s eyes widened as she stared into her crystal, looking through the eyes of her ogres. A dragon jumped at the lead ogre, and with two swings of his sword, cut through its head, severing Sonja’s link to it. The link jumped to another ogre, as it watched the leader fall to the ground with several cuts carved into its face.

“A dragon? I did not expect this!”

The dragon lunged towards another ogre, and let loose a large jet of fire into its chest. The beast stumbled backwards, roaring in pain. Yol Toor jumped onto the ogre, jamming both of his swords into it’s burnt chest, and used them to climb up the ogre. He was close to its neck, when the ogre used the last of its strength to grabbed the dragon, and throw him as hard as it could onto the ground. As the dragon began to stand back up, the dying ogre delivered a powerful kick, sending the dragon flying through several trees.

Sonja smiled. “Perhaps this dragon will not be much of a threat after all.”

~~~

Yol Toor groaned as he shook himself out of his daze. The ogre had kicked him halfway through the Everfree Forest. He would’ve still been flying if he hadn’t crashed into a cliff face. Once he was back on the ground, Yol Toor quickly examined himself; The ogre’s attack merely broke a few scales.He smiled that no limbs were broken. But his smile immediately vanished.

Shield Squad and Ponyville won’t last ten minutes against an army of those monsters!

Yol Toor took off running, following the path of the destroyed trees he made during his forced flight. When he reach the path’s end, he saw his two swords, still lodged in the now-dead ogre’s chest. He ripped them away and took off towards Ponyville.

~~~

Twilight, with Spike on her back, ran as fast as she could toward the northern edge of Ponyville. As she saw friends and neighbors run past her, Twilight forced herself to pick up speed, despite the burning feeling in her lungs. As a barricade set up by the soldiers came into view, she noticed some of her friends.

“Twilight!” Applejack called out as she, Pinkie, and Fluttershy ran over and embraced Twilight and Spike. “Are ya’ll okay?”

“We’re fine. We were pretty close when the soldiers started evacuating. What about you three? And where’s Rarity?”

“We’re all fine; Yol Toor’s roaring woke us up, and a few minutes later, one of the soldiers came running and brought me, Big Mac, and Granny here for the evacuation. Apple Bloom was spending the night with Sweetie Belle and Rarity. And we don’ knowt where they are; I hope they’re okay.” Applejack took off her stetson and brought it to her chest as Fluttershy wrapped a hoof around her shoulders in a hug.

“I’m sure they’re okay Applejack. They’ll be here before you know it.”

Spike jumped off Twilight’s back. “Twilight, I’m going to make sure everypony here is okay!”

“Okay Spike. But do not leave the train station! Is that clear?”

Spike nodded and ran towards the crowd of ponies. As soon as he was out of Twilight’s sight, the hatchling dashed into the shadows and made his way back into town.

Rarity’s in danger! I’ve got to save her!

~~~

“Come on! Come on! Move it! Get your flanks to the train station! Now!” Sergeant Buckson shouted as he motioned Ponyville’s citizens to run past him. Nearly half of the town made it to the station, but the attackers were getting close.

The ground began to shake beneath Buckson’s hooves as he heard the sound of roaring in distance, but it wasn’t Yol Toor’s roar. When he turned his head, Buckson’s heart skipped a beat as he watched three monstrous ogres charge towards him and his team, with claws capable of slicing through their armor and mouths that would let them swallow a pony whole. Buckson couldn’t hear himself order his team to get in formation, but he was suddenly surrounded by seven other soldiers while the second squad continued to escort the civilians.

As the ogres got closer, a pink shield materialized around the squadron while all eight of them prepared their pikes.

The ogres were in striking distance, when an explosion sent the left-side ogre tumbling and rolling onto the ground and skidded to a stop. The ogre on the right hit the ground face-first as a spearhead pierced through its skull, in between its eyes. The center ogre also fell forward, revealing Yol Toor standing on the back of its neck, his two swords stuck firmly into the ogre’s head.

Buckson and his squad watched with dropped jaws as Yol Toor removed his swords and stepped off the corpse. He walked over to the soldiers and the unicorns dropped their shield.

“Report!” Yol Toor ordered.

Buckson gave a quick salute. “Sir! Half of the town has been successfully evacuated to Canterlot. Two thirds of the remaining populace have made it to the evacuation area, with the remaining third making their way here; the ogres aren’t making it easy for them. So far, there have been no reported casualties!”

Yol Toor nodded. “Good. Let’s try and keep it that way. Buckson, you and your squad are to spread out and recover as many civilians as possible.”

“Understood, sir! Shield squad, we’ll break into teams of two and spread out over Ponyville. If you need to carry injured civilians to the station, then be quick about it! Every second counts! Move out!”

~~~

"Hang on tightly, girls!” Rarity yelled as she ran through the town.

As she she zigged, zagged, and jumped to avoid debris shadowed in the night, a sudden blaze lit up the street. The scent of burning flesh assaulted her nostrils and roars of pain echoed in the air.

The ground beneath Rarity’s hooves began to shake, when an ogre jumped through the walls of a house a few meters in front of her, scattering debris in its wake. Rarity skid to a stop, and the ogre stared at her as it growled and drooled.

"Hey ugly!” A voice called out from behind the ogre.

The monster turned around, and Rarity’s eyes widened when she saw a small, purple dragon glaring at the ogre, bearing his teeth, and growling.

"Spike! What do you think you’re doing?” Rarity asked.

"Run to the train station, Rarity! I’ll distract the monster!”

"But you’ll get yourself hurt, or worse!”

"Just run, Rarity!”

Spike inhaled sharply and unleashed a blast of fire towards the ogre, though it only managed to engulf one of its ankles.

The ogre stepped back out of the fire and roared in pain. It roared a second time and charged towards Spike with a raised hand.

Spike dove away from a fatal swipe. As he started to rise, an orgre’s crusty, calloused foot stomped him down.. A scream of pain escaped his lips as something snapped. A swinging foot crashed into him and sent him flying into the stone wall of a nearby house.

"SPIKE!”

~~~

Yol Toor swung his blade across the abdomen of an ogre. He jumped up and kicked it in the chest. The ogre’s upper half slid off and landed with a thud.

Yol Toor heard a shout.

“SPIKE!” A female voice called out.

He flew up and looked for the source of the voice. He saw a white unicorn and three children he spoke to a few days ago upon her back. In front of the mare, an ogre stood and looked at a house. Tol Toor then noticed Spike, laying next to the house, unconscious. The ogre walked towards the house, and Yol Toor dived at the ogre.

As he fell, Yol Toor created a fireball in his mouth. He lunged his head forward, sending the fireball flying. It hit the ogre in the head and exploded. The head and chest of the ogre was consumed in the explosion. It dissipated and a plume of smoke emerged from the bottom of the monster’s neck as it fell sideways.

Yol Toor landed next to Spike.

Nearly all of the hatchlings scales were broken off his hide. The hide itself had several cuts and scrapes on it. His left leg and both arms were bent in ways they shouldn’t have been.

“Blast!” Yol Toor swore. Ten ogres burst through a row of houses and ran towards the dragon and ponies. Yol Toor scooped up Spike and placed him on Rarity’s back. “Get out of here!”

As Rarity ran, Yol Toor took a sword with his right hand, his shield in his left, and grabbed his other sword with his tail.

Yol Toor charged at the ogres. One of them attempted to punch him, but Yol Toor thrust his sword forward, stabbing it in between the ogre’s knuckles. The beast screamed in pain and Yol Toor quickly raised his arm, slicing through its hand. He spun, and his second sword cut off the ogres fingers. Yol Toor launched a fireball at the ogre’s leg, igniting it. He followed up by hitting that leg’s knee with his shield, making it kneel. Yol Toor jumped up and did a backflip, slicing the ogre’s face once with his main sword, and a second time with his secondary sword. The ogre fell with a thud.

~~~

Sonja growled as she watched another ogre fell.

This dragon is quickly becoming a thorn in my side. “Slaves! Focus all your attention on this pest!” Sonja ordered, her voice echoing in the heads of her soldiers.

~~~

Stonehoof grunted as he and two other pegasi impaled an ogre’s chest with their lances. The sergeant looked past his target, where three other ogres were charging at them. The beasts suddenly skid to a stop and grabbed their heads. The monsters roared in pain for a few seconds. Once they quieted down, they turned around and ran away from the soldiers.

What got into them? Stonehoof asked as he jumped off the dead ogre.

~~~

The first thing Rarity did when she reached the train station was look for a doctor. She found a soldier guiding as many ponies onto the train as he could.

“Excuse me! Sir! I need your help! One of my friends got hurt terribly!” Rarity shouted as she ran towards the soldier, desperately shoving past her neighbors!

The soldier, at hearing Rarity’s plea, immediately faced her.

“Give me sec. Corporal! Get your flank over here! Now! We got a wounded--” Rarity levitated Spike and showed him to the soldier. “--dragon!”

A second unicorn ran over, allowing the first to go back to escorting other ponies. He lead Rarity to a nearby table.

“Put him on the table!” The soldier ordered, and Rarity, as gently as she could, placed Spike on the table, his groans of pain drowned by the shouting and panic of others.

Rarity looked at her sister. “Sweetie Belle, I need you and your friends to follow that soldier we just talked to onto the train. I’ll be with you as soon as I can, but I can’t leave Spike. I’ll be right behind you!”

“But Rarity…” Sweetie started, but Rarity shushed her.

“This is not the time to argue! Now go! I promise I’ll be with you soon.” Rarity forced a smile and hugged her sister before shoving her towards the train.

~~~

With a flap of his wings, Yol Toor charged at another ogre. He jumped and spinned, slicing the beasts throat with both swords, and it fell, dead. He flapped his wings again, putting some distance between him and the remaining ogres. They swarmed Yol Toor, however, and when he touched the ground, he was unable to get away when one of the ogres swiped its arm at him.

The attack sent Yol Toor tumbling into the air, and he skipped across the ground several times before skidding to a stop.

As he stood, Yol Toor’s chest and abdomen felt like they were on fire. When looked down, he saw that he had two deep gashes across his chest and stomach, and his natural pain meds weren’t enough to block the pain. Yol Toor went into a sudden coughing fit, and blood spewed out of his mouth with each cough. When the coughing stopped, Yol Toor took a deep breath, only to feel a sharp pain in his chest that brought him to his knees and made him cough again.

Broken ribs and a punctured lung. Lovely.

It was too painful to breathe, let alone move. Yol Toor looked at the ogres. They were charging to finish him off.

Not today!

Yol Toor fought past the pain in his chest and stood up. He inhaled and resisted the urge to cough more. Yol Toor felt time become still as he thrust his head forward and unleashed a high-pitched roar. The air rippled from his shout, and black rings of energy made the roar almost visible. Two of the ogres were hit with the rings, stunning them. In a matter of nanoseconds, the two ogres were reduced to skeletons, and Yol Toor ended his roar. The dragon looked at his injuries and smiled as they closed, and breathing became much easier for him.

Five ogres remained and Yol Toor was much more confident. A twitch of his fingers, and the scales on his arms burst into flames. Yol Toor smiled sinisterly as green lightning sparked in between his blazing fingers.

Yol Toor thrust his right arm forward, and a green lightning bolt shot out of the tips of his claws. The lightning hit one of the ogres, launching it into the air. Electricity sizzled throughout the ogre’s body as it flew, and seconds later, its body was reduced to ash. Yol Toor sent out another bolt of lightning with his left arm. It hit another ogre, who also immediately disintegrated.

The three remaining ogres were right on Yol Toor, but the dragon jumped back as he twirled his right hand and grey ball of energy materialised in his palm. Yol Toor took to the skies and encircled the ogres as the ball of energy got bigger and bigger. Once it was the size of Yol Toor’s head, he tossed it at one of the ogres. The ball burst and the energy encased the ogre as it flinched back and flailed its arms. The ogres movements were stopped dead in its tracks when the energy dissipated, revealing that it had been turned to stone. Yol Toor then ran over to the petrified ogre, jumped in the air, and slammed his fist into its head. The statue was immediately reduced to unrecognizable rubble.

Yol Toor turned to face the final ogre and pressed the fingers of his right arm together. The flames on his right arm became more intense, turning his arm into a curved spike of flame. He charged and jumped at the last ogre, landing on the top of its chest and thrusting his right arm into its head, the claw of fire instantly burning into its head. Yol Toor intensified the flames of his arm even more, forcing them into the hole he burning into the ogres head. Excess flame shot out of the ogres mouth, nose, ears, and eventually burning through its eyes.

The ogre fell forwards and Yol Toor jumped off. His arms returned to normal and the dragon took a deep breath. He picked up the weapons he had dropped when the ogre hit him, and looked at the two ogre skeletons. The corpses of other ogres surrounded them, so Yol Toor unleashed a large plume of fire, enveloping the skeletons and the surrounding bodies. He then went back to flying to find more ogres.

~~~

“Spike! Sweet Celestia, what happened?” Twilight asked as she ran over to Spike, Rarity, and the unicorn that was working on him.

“Spike tried to protect me, Sweetie Belle, and her friends by attacking an ogre, but the beast was just too much, and did this him.” Rarity said solemnly.

Twilight looked at Spike; both of his arms and left leg were wrapped around a splint, his chest and half of his face was wrapped in bandages. “Will he be okay?”

“I’ve stopped the bleeding and stabilized his heartbeat, but he’s concussed and will need to be taken to a hospital for further treatment. I have two pegasi preparing to provide him with emergency transport,” the unicorn said.

“I want to go with him; he’s family,” Twilight said.

“I’m sorry, but they’ll get to Canterlot faster if the load is as light as possible; no offense.”

Twilight glared at the soldier.

Rarity put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Twilight, it may be best that we do what he says; if it helps Spike…”

Twilight’s head fell and she walked over to Spike, who was still unconscious. “Hang on, Spike. And please be okay.”

“You two need to get on the train; it’s nearly ready to go,” the soldier said.

The two mares nodded and got in line to get on the train.

~~~

Yol Toor flapped his wings as hard as he could as he carried an ogre by its horns. He got several dozen meters in the air when he made several spins, building up his momentum. He front flipped and shouted and threw the ogre at the ground. The ground shook as the beast landed.

He roared at the ogres and waves of dark energy hit three ogres. The ogres turned to skeletons and collapsed. His hands sparked with green electricity as he lunged towards the ground. Once he landed, his right hand jerked forward, and three bolts of electricity each hit an ogre. Yol Toor jerked his arm up, and the ogres were launched in the air. He jerked his arm to the right and down, sending the ogres flying into two more that were charging at him from his flank. Once the ogres hit the ground, they exploded in flash of green. It dissipated, leaving nothing remaining of the ogres, but their ashes.

Yol Toor breathed heavily as he looked at the two ogres that remained, standing next to each other. His blood-drenched body was exhausted. Regardless, he clenched his sword and shield and charged.

Yol Toor swung his shield at the ogre on the left as it tried to punch him, knocking the fist away. He dashed at the ogre and swung his sword arm at its leg, cutting the knee across the center. He spun around the ogre as it roared in pain and knelt forward. He lunged his sword arm forward, stabbing the ogre’s back and jumped, slicing upwards. The ogre fell forward completely and laid motionless.

He was reminded of the final ogre when it punched him, sending him flying into a nearby house, which collapsed on top of him from the structural damage. That didn’t stop Yol Toor though, as he launched out of the debris. He stayed in the air and examined his injuries: he had a large piece of timber sticking into his side, where there were no scales protecting him, which would’ve no doubt hurt, if not for his adrenaline blocking it. Yol Toor winced when he quickly pulled the debris out, blood began pouring from the wound. He checked the rest of his body; several lashes and bruises covered his unprotected hide, but his natural pain killers blocked the annoyance they could’ve been.

Turning his attention back to the final ogre, he dove at it, taking a deep breath as he fell. He suddenly turned up and unleashed a large stream of fire at the ogre as he flew upwards, covering it in flames.

The ogre roared in pain and stumbled back, trying to get off the burning ground it was standing in. This allowed Yol Toor to easily stay behind the ogre.

He dove at it again, raising his sword. With a wide swing, Yol Toor cut through the ogre’s neck. He flipped backwards and landed in front of the ogre, his back facing it. He turned his head to look at the beast; its head rolled off its shoulders and the body fell.

Yol Toor let loose a sigh of relief as he fought off a feeling of lightheadedness.

“Sir!” A male voice called out.

Yol Toor looked in front of him, and saw Sergeant Buckson galloping over to him.

“Sergeant. Good to see you made it through this unscathed. How did the evacuation go?”

“The town was completely evacuated, with no casualties. The worst of the injured have been given high priority escort to Canterlot Hospital. Including a young dragon by the name of Spike; a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle said she wanted you to know that he’s okay.”

Yol Toor smiled. “Thank you, Sergeant. What about your soldiers? How did they fare?”

“No casualties, sir!” Buckson said with pride.

“Very good, Sergeant. Send word to Canterlot Castle; the immediate threat has been eliminated, but a thorough investigation of the Everfree Forest is required before we should allow the townsponies back into Ponyville.”

“Yes sir!” Buckson said with a salute. He dashed towards the train station.

“The message might be relayed faster through me,” a mare’s voice called out from the sky.

Yol Toor turned to the source and smiled when he saw Celestia and Luna flying towards him.

“Ah. How nice of you two to arrive late to the party… again,” Yol Toor said as he got on all fours, his smile turning smug.

“We had only just received word of the attack on Ponyville. We arrived as fast as we could,” Celestia said calmly as she looked at Yol Toor with worry. “But not fast enough, it would seem.”

Yol Toor held up a claw. “Don’t worry about it; you can make up for your lateness by cleaning up the mess for me.”

Luna couldn’t keep herself calm anymore; she dashed at Yol Toor and wrapped her forelegs around him. “Yol Toor! What is the meaning of you taking on these beasts by yourself! You should’ve warned us immediately! Do you have any idea how worried my sister and I have been for the past ten minutes?”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “You’re the one that tried to mobilize the entire Equestrian army.”

“And their response time was terrible! How could you allow the military to become so sloppy while I’ve been gone?”

Yol Toor gently pushed Luna off of him and smiled. “Luna, I’m fine. You know better than anypony that I can handle myself in a fight.”

“I know… but look at yourself! You look awful!”

Yol Toor’s head sank. “Thanks…”

“This could’ve been avoided if you contacted us immediately,” Luna said as she wrapped her forelegs around Yol Toor’s neck again.

Yol Toor returned the embrace and stroked Luna’s back. “There wasn’t time, love. Seconds were precious at the moment, and any wasted time could’ve resulted in the death of innocents. I couldn’t risk it,” Yol Toor kissed the base of Luna’s horn.

Celestia smiled at the sight in front of her. “Luna, take him home and put him to bed. But don’t loiter around; I’ll need your help clearing the bodies of these ogres.”

“Of course, sister. Come along Yol Toor, before you decide to do something stupid again,” Luna said as she released Yol Toor. When the two began their walk, Yol Toor had to stop for a second, and lean himself against Luna. The alicorn smiled warmly as she took her wing and wrapped it around him, ignoring his blood staining her coat. Once Yol Toor was settled, the two continued their walk, while Celestia flew further into town.

Yol Toor’s breaths became heavier with each step he took. His vision blurred and head felt light. He shook his head several times in an attempt to regain his awareness, but failed. The world began to spin as he came to a sudden halt. His vision was completely clouded when he saw a blue mist appear in front of him. It got closer to him, and he thought he heard shouting, but couldn’t make out the words, if they were words at all. The mist and everything around it began to disappear, until suddenly, darkness took him.

Chapter 4

Ch. 4

The sun hadn’t even risen when Yol Toor arrived at Ponyville’s northern edge to greet the soldiers Celestia had promised. Four pegasi were flying towards the town, pulling a large wagon behind them, a magical aura surrounding it.

The four armored pegasi landed, but the wagon stayed afloat just a few inches off the ground, until the aura disappeared.

THUD

The wagon hit the ground, and a deep rumble echoed throughout Ponyville.

The wagon door opened, and six unicorns and six earth ponies marched out. The unicorns were levitating several crates, each designated by the words painted on them, such as ‘food’, ‘tools’, ‘medicine’, and other supplies. The earth ponies were carrying bedrolls, cooking equipment, and crates labeled ‘weapons’ and ‘armor’.

As the soldiers unloaded and organized their equipment, one of the pegasi approached Yol Toor and saluted.

“Sir! I am Sergeant Stonehoof Buckson! Commanding Officer of Shield Squad of the 37th Infantry Platoon; EUP Army!”

Yol Toor returned the salute. “At ease, Sergeant. Has your squad been briefed on your assignment?”

“Yes sir. We have been ordered by Princess Celestia herself to help you protect Ponyville from attacks. While we are here, we are to follow your every order, and regard you as ‘General’. Sir, what do you prefer?”

“‘Yol Toor’ and ‘Sir’ will be fine. I’m not Equestrian Military; not anymore, anyway. Have you been given any other orders?”

“Only to perform standard patrol until you specify otherwise.”

Yol Toor nodded. “Very good. You will continue to do so unless Ponyville is attacked. If any of you spot anything out of the ordinary, report it to me immediately. You will often find me at my home on the other side of Sweet Apple Acres’ orchard. If that changes, I will send my apprentice, a dragon hatchling by the name of ‘Spike’ to inform you.”

“Understood sir. I will pass on this information to my troops at once.”

“And a few more things, Sergeant. One; if Ponyville is ever attacked, this order takes highest priority over all others, even those of your official commanders; you will all focus on evacuating civilians from the battlefield. Leave the fighting to me; just make sure everypony makes it out safely. Two; if I discover that the town is under attack before you do, I’ll roar as loud as I can to alert you; when you hear it, start the evacuation immediately. And three; if you or your soldiers need anything, don’t hesitate to ask me. I may be your CO, but I will help in any way I can.”

“Understood sir. Thank you, sir. If that is all, I would like to help my troops set up camp.”

Yol Toor nodded. “Dismissed.”

The Sergeant gave one final salute before he turned to his soldiers. He stopped and faced Yol Toor again.

“And, if I may say sir, it is an honor to serve under you.”

Stonehoof stiffened as Yol Toor raised an eyebrow.

“What was your name again, Sergeant?”

“Buckson, sir! Stonehoof Buckson!”

“Buckson? That name is familiar somehow.”

~~~

Lieutenant Firetrot looked at himself in a mirror as he combed a hoof through his tan buzz-cut mane. His icy blue eyes observed his uniform; a short, gray coat with golden, circular shoulder pads with a circle of tassels hanging down each, while an assortment of medals adorned the left side of his chest.

The lieutenant put a military hat on his head, and turned 180 degrees, and observed the assortment of military officers, from lieutenants like himself, to Generals and Admirals.

Firetrot stood in one of the most elegantly designed hallways in all of Canterlot. He walked across the marble flooring onto the soft, red and gold carpet. As he continued down the hall, he admired the marble busts of famous EUP officers, tempted to salute each one he passed. Firetrot looked out one of the windows placed between each bust and marveled at the magnificent city below him, which reminded him why he joined the military.

The sound of talking echoed throughout the hall outside Equestria’s Military Council Chambers, Firetrot noticed a blue coated, white maned pegasus walking towards him. The pegasus wore an outfit similar to Firetrot’s, but the coat reached down to the base of the pegasus’ tail and was dark blue, and on the foreleg sleeves, was the symbol that marked him as a Major: a golden, seven pointed leaf with a small stem sticking out between the bottom two points.

Firetrot immediately saluted the superior officer, which the pegasus returned. The pegasus lowered his hoof with a smile.

“Firetrot, it’s good to see you again after so long. Congratulation on your promotion to Lieutenant,” the pegasus said.

“Thank you, sir!” Firetrot said stiffly as he lowered his own salute.

The pegasus rolled his eyes. “Firetrot, you don’t need to be so formal with me; we’ve been friends since we started Military School.”

“Perhaps, Windsailer, but there are still certain protocols we need to follow when on official military property!”

Windsailer face-hoofed. “Still going by the book. It’s no wonder it’s taking you so long to climb the rank ladder; you lack imagination, too scared to try anything new! Not to mention you still got that ten foot pole up your flank.”

Firetrot looked towards the floor and sighed. “Sorry, Windsailer. I just have a lot on my mind right now. I’m not sure if you heard, but Princess Celestia decided to hand over command of my best unit, Shield Squad, to some stranger that recently moved into a nowhere-town called Ponyville. And she refused to tell me why!”

Windsailer’s eyes widened. “You got to speak with the Princess?”

“Of course not. I was informed by some messenger just this morning. I told the boy that I have the right to know what she’s done with my soldiers, but he said that Celestia said her actions are for the security of Equestria, and are classified to someone of my rank.”

“Ouch. I hope you didn’t hurt the messenger.”

“No… just made him soil himself a little.”

Windsailer chuckled. “Nice to see you haven’t changed in these past few months. But regardless, I’m sure the princess has a very good reason for this.”

“I’d like to hear you say the same thing when she passes command of Wonderbolt Squadron to this stranger.”

“Look, I understand that you’re upset about command of one of your units, but I trust in Celestia’s wisdom; Equestria hasn’t been to war in centuries, and we all know that it’s because of Her Majesty.”

It was Firetrot’s turn to roll his eyes. “Bootlicker.”

Windsailer jabbed Firetrot’s shoulder. “Coltscout.”

The two chuckled amongst themselves. “I wonder how General Buckson will take this news? His son is the Sergeant of Shield Squad. And with a family military history like theirs, this has got be an embarrassment for him.

“Maybe you’ll get lucky, and he’ll pitch a loud enough fit to get the Squad under your command again,” Windsailer said with a laugh.

“Maybe. Can I borrow that lucky charm of yours?” Firetrot lightly jabbed Windsailer’s chest, allowing him to feel a small crystal through the padding of the shirt and jacket covering it.

Windsailer smiled as he put his right hoof inside his shirt, and pulled on a small metal chain around his neck, revealing a small, red crystal at the end of the chain.

“Sorry, but there’s no way in Tartarus I’m letting this thing out of my sight. I couldn’t have gotten this far without it.”

“Aw, well. All I can do is hope for the best.”

The large wooden doors to the Military Council Chambers opened, and from it emerged Princess Celestia, four surrounding royal guards, and Captain Shining Armor right behind the five of them.

“Sirs and madams. Thank you all for meeting me here on such short notice. If you would all follow me into these Chambers, we have much to discuss,” Princess Celestia asked.

As the group of military officials converged towards the chambers, Windsailer felt his chest grow suddenly warm. The pegasus looked down, and his eyes grew wide as he saw a faint red glow shine through his shirt. He put a hoof over the glow, and tapped Firetrot on the shoulder.

“Firetrot, can you save me a seat? I need to take care of something right quick,” Windsailer whispered.

Firetrot turned towards Windsailer in shock. “Are you serious? You need to do this now? You’ll be demoted to ‘Private’ for keeping the Council waiting!”

“It won’t but take five minutes, I swear! I’ll be right back!”

Windsailer took off running until he reached the corner to another hallway, and quickly entered it.

~~~

When Windsailer reached a hallway with no unwanted eyes watching him, he shifted towards a wall, and stuck to the shadows. With a sinister grin, Windsailer suddenly merged into the shadows. Sure that nopony could see him this way, he pulled out his crystal necklace, and held it with his shadowy hoof, which was changing into a clawed hand.

“Monsoon. Are you there?” The crystal softly asked.

“Yes, my liege. I am here. After all these years, it is good to finally hear your voice again.”

“Spare me your bootlicking! I am moving the plan along to phase 2! Sonja is already in place, and is ready to play her part. What have you learned about Equestria’s military strength?”

“I’m afraid I can’t say much right now, sire; if I stay gone too long, these ponies will send out a search party. But I can say that Equestria has become quite complacent in recent centuries; they’re nowhere near as organized as our history books report.”

“Is that so? That’s very good news, indeed. Continue your work. I expect a full summary by 0100 hours! Sonja will be making her move tonight, and I need that information by then.”

“I understand sir; I will not let you down.”

“See that you don’t!”

The crystal dimmed, and Monsoon sighed.

The sooner I am allowed to leave this cursed country, the better!

Monsoon quickly reverted back to his Windsailer form, and emerged from the shadows. He looked around and silently thanked that there were no witnesses. He skulked back to the Council Chambers.

~~~

Windsailer quietly shifted past the circular row of military leaders. When he finally reached his seat next to Firetrot, he quickly sat down and focused on Princess Celestia’s speech.

“I know many of you have been concerned with my lack of an explanation about the recent actions I have taken with the military, and I thank you all for your patience. I have brought you all here to explain my actions to you. I only wish the news was better,” Celestia gave a deep sigh. “Equestria has been infiltrated.”

Soft murmurs cluttered the room. Except for Windsailer, whom managed to keep his composure, but he couldn’t stop his eyes growing slightly wider in shock. He didn’t move a muscle. But his eyes glanced at the exit, just in case.

“I’m afraid the severity is unclear, but one of my… advisors assures me that our kingdom is indeed threatened.”

An Admiral leaned forward in his chair. “With all due respect, princess, this is the first time I’ve known you to have an official military advisor. Can we be sure this advisor is trustworthy?”

“Yes Admiral, we can. I have known him for many centuries, and he has played a large role in protecting Equestria in the past.”

“Really? I have never heard of a pony living this long, other than you and your sister, Your Majesty. What is his name?”

“I’m afraid that’s on a need-to-know basis, Admiral; I can’t reveal his name or location, lest this infiltrator learn that they’ve been discovered.”

The murmurs grew louder, and this time, General Buckson spoke up.

“Well, what can you tell us, Your Majesty? You wouldn’t have called for an emergency meeting with the Council if you didn’t have orders for us.”

“You are correct, General. As of right now, I am officially placing Equestria under Secondary Alert.”

The Princess remained calm as she was bombarded with questions and objections.

“But Princess Celestia! Equestria hasn’t been on Secondary Alert in over fifty years!”

“How can you do something so drastic without giving us more information?”

Windsailer was one of the few that didn’t burst out with a stupid question or an even more stupid reason why Secondary Alert was too extreme.

Ponies… don’t you know that the foolish speak, whereas the wise listen?

“Order! This Council will have order!” Captain Armor shouted as he slammed his hoof the ground repeatedly. This eventually quieted the officials down, allowing the Princess to speak again.

“Thank you, Captain. Now, I understand that this is a shocking turn of events, but if the group responsible for this infiltration leans to war, Equestria cannot go undefended! I know that this will make the coming months difficult, but we must take every possible precaution.”

General Buckson spoke up once again. “Very well, Your Majesty; this Council agrees to follow your instructions. We shall prepare to mobilize our soldiers at once.”

The chamber eventually filled with obliging chatter, and the Princess smiled.

“I am glad to hear that. This meeting of the Council is adjourned.”

~~~

Windsailer quietly growled to himself as he walked to the latrine. Since Celestia had placed Equestria on Secondary Alert, every Equestrian base had doubled it’s perimeter patrol, meaning that there was at least one guard around every corner, making it nearly impossible for him to find a safe hiding spot. It didn’t help that it was thirty past midnight, and spotlights swarmed the base.

Windsailer could see the latrine when he spotted an exploitable weakness in the perimeter guard; a single guard stood in front of the base’s personal blacksmith--his head nodding back and forth, his eyelids falling and snapping open. He was also just barely out of the spotlight..

Windsailer smiled and crept towards the guard with silent calculated steps. Once he was in the shadows behind the guard, his hooves became surrounded by a dark blue mist. The mist floated slowly towards soldier and encased him. The soldier didn’t resist though, as his eyes quickly shut, and the rest of him collapsed shortly thereafter. Windsailer smiled wider at the soldier’s snoring, and he merged with the shadow.

“Your Majesty! Monsoon, reporting in! I have some important information you need to hear!”

Monsoon’s crystal glowed with life. “You’re cutting this close, Monsoon. You better have a good reason for making me wait!”

“Forgive me, my king, but Equestria has been placed under Secondary Alert! Security is a might tighter around the base now.”

“Secondary Alert? Have we been discovered?”

“I don’t think so, sire. My cover remains intact, and the princess refused to give us any information. All she said was that Equestria has been infiltrated. I believe Sonja is the one responsible for this.”

“Oh? And what proof do you have for this accusation?”

“Nothing concrete, I’m afraid. But a pony was crying to me today that the princess took one of his squads and put them in the town of Ponyville, under the command of a mysterious pony who she refused to name.”

“Is that so? In that case, it hardly matters. If Sonja fulfills her mission, Ponyville, and every pony there, will be reduced to rubble and ash by dawn. Continue to spy on military activities, and report to me if there are any new developments.’

“Of course, sire. Monsoon, out!”

~~~

Sonja stood proudly in front of the small army of ogres as they shined in the moonlight.

Ogres were disgusting creatures. Standing at fifteen feet tall, skin colors ranging from green, to yellow, to a pale, sickly blue, with two black, upward curved horns. Spikes poked from their forearms, and a set of tusks on their mouths.

Typical for ogres if not for the purple haze that covered each ogre’s eyes.

This should be more than substantial for destroying that pitiful little village. When that cursed alicorn raises her sun, she will know the fury of the gargoyles, and will regret the day she humiliated us! We will have revenge. And then, we will take the Elements of Harmony and wipe this country from the world!

“Go! Destroy that town and devour every last pony! And if you fail, I will destroy you myself!”