Justice

A/N: Well, this isn't the final chapter. The next one will be. I was going to make it the last one, but it was getting way too long, so I'm going to cut it off here and post the final chapter within the next 5 days or so.

“Twilight, remind me again why you can’t just teleport both of us to the top of this mountain already?” I ask for the third time.

Twilight rolls her eyes and says, “My magic is weakened, remember? Teleportation is the most difficult spell in my arsenal. I can barely teleport ten feet. At least until Discord is gone. Besides, even if I could teleport we’d just be alerting the dragon to our presence with the flash of light and the noise it would make.”

I sigh. I know this, but trekking up this mountain was getting old, fast. I take a break by leaning against a nearby rock. Twilight slowly trots next to me and flops down with a huff, obviously just as tired as I am. While breathing deeply to get my stamina back, I slowly gaze over the field below us.  The field was rocky and bare, with a few dead trees and shrubs littering the landscape. A little ways beyond that was a path that led to Ponyville. At this height, I can even see the edge of Ponyville in the distance. We are quite high up. I glance up the mountain and groan. We weren’t even halfway there. I push myself away from the rock and resume climbing. I hear Twilight get up and follow me. About twenty minutes later, Twilight finally breaks the silence.

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do after all this is over?”

I stop in my tracks. Surprisingly enough, I hadn't.

“Well, I’m not sure. What do you mean by ‘after all this is over’?”

“I mean, when Discord is dead and everypony goes back to normal.”

I shrug.

“A lot of things could happen between then and now. We both could be dead in the next hour for all I know.”

“You’re dodging the question. Let’s assume best case scenario where Discord is dead and we are both still alive… what then?”

I walk in silence for the next few minutes while Twilight trots next to me, expectantly waiting for my answer. I just don’t know. If we kill Discord, and Fluttershy goes back to normal, I’ll have to choose between them. But who’s to say one of them won’t try to kill the other? Gah, this universe is so messed up!

“Well?” Twilight asks.

Just from her tone I could practically see her hopes on that single word. I know what she wants to hear, but I just can’t bring myself to say it.

“I just can’t think about it right now. We need to focus on the mission at hand. We’ll cross those bridges when we get there.”

If they aren’t burned down first…

She lets out an annoyed sigh.

“I suppose you’re right… What’s your plan for defeating the dragon?”

Well that was a sudden topic change. I wonder what brought that on? I look up from Twilight and I see the entrance to the cave just fifty feet ahead. Oh.

“Well uh… charge in and kill it?” I ask with a horrible poker face.

Twilight gives me her “You’re a complete idiot” look, and says, “That’s your brilliant plan? Really?”

“Yep.”

She facehoofs, and trots the last few yards to the lip of the cave. I follow her. Once at the edge, she peers inside.

“The cave turns just a couple yards in; we can talk here without our words reaching the dragon inside.”

I nod and look at her expectantly.

She tilts her head and looks at my quizzically.

I sigh and say, “Obviously I’m not good at making attack strategies for dragons. You decide the plan.”

“Alright… hmm… uh… we charge in and kill it?”

Now it’s my turn to facepalm.

“You’re supposed to be the brainy one, how is that the best you can do?”

“Equestria used to be a peaceful place; there aren’t any books about killing things or warfare. I have plenty of books on dragons, but I’ve never thought about killing them, I live with one for Pete’s sake!”

“Fine… I remember reading a bit about dragons at your library. Apparently their undersides are the weakest, right?”

“Yeah, if by weakest you mean granite hard instead of diamond. Their scales are the hardest known substance in the world, I’m afraid your sword isn’t going to do much.”

“Well, I do have this.”

I call upon my Element’s power, and summon the aura sword. Waves of energy shimmer along its sapphire colored blade, casting a faint glow.

“I bet this is sharp enough.”

I pick up a nearby rock about the size of my fist. I tilt the blade up, and drop the rock on it. Two rocks hit the ground.

Twilight looks impressed.

“Yeah, I guess that’ll cut it. No pun intended.”

I smirk, “Now that I have a weapon that can actually do some damage, what’s the plan?”

“Quite frankly, you’re the expert on killing things… how did you beat the Hydra and Manticore?”

“I got lucky both times.”

“Great…”

“Yeah… you said the dragon will be very intelligent, right?”

Her ears perk up.

“Yes, very. Old ones can cast quite powerful spells as well.”

“Good. I think I have an idea. Can you cast an invisibility spell?”

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Twilight’s POV:

I trot confidently into the cave. As soon as I take one step in, I feel a strange sensation. It feels like an enchantment, but I can’t quite remember why… I shrug it off and continue. I go around the corner and see the cave open up into a large den. I gasp at the sight before me. There is a giant pile of gold, gems, and various pieces of jewelry heaped in the center of the cave. But that wasn’t what caught my eye. What I first notice is the books. Tons of them. Literally thousands of books are on bookshelves that cover every square inch of wall space in the cave. Another thing that surprises me is how… nice… the cave looks. Carpet on the ground, magical lamp lighting and various pieces of WAY oversized furniture adorn the cavern. I trot over to the nearest bookshelf and squeal when I notice books I don’t even own. I pull one from the shelf and look at the title. “Magical Spells and Enchantments for the Aged Dragon”.

“Hmm… dragon… isn’t there something about dragons I’m forgetting?” I ask myself.

I ponder the question for a moment, but my mind turns up a blank. Grinning happily, I settle down on the plush carpet and begin reading.

TY’s POV:

I watch as Twilight steps into the cave, hesitates for a moment, and then keeps going.

“Alright, she goes in, I wait a few seconds, and then go in after her. She’ll have the dragon talking up a storm, and while its distracted I stab it in the back.”

I look down at myself and grin. All I see is the rocks below me.

“Twilight’s spell works great, I can’t even see myself!”

I look back up into the cave. It’s probably time to go in. I step through the entrance and feel slightly weird… what was I doing? I don’t know… hmm. That’s odd. I decide to keep walking, and soon enough I see the opening into a huge cavern. Twilight is only a few feet away, reading a book with a slap-happy grin on her face. I smile as well, and walk towards her. Before I get there, I notice the pile of treasure in the center of the room. There are various pieces of gilded armor in the pile. I decide instantly that the armor is far more interesting than reading a book. I saunter over to the pile, and pick up a ruby-and-diamond gauntlet. I try to put it on, but there is something already in it… I pull out the obstruction and notice it is the skeleton of a human hand.

I look at the hand and say, “Need a hand?”

I chuckle at my own pun. Tossing the hand aside, I put the gauntlet over my right hand. Fits like a glove. I chuckle happily again.

                                                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight’s POV:

“And finally, the most powerful enchantment in a dragon’s arsenal. The Mesmer. Only the most old and experienced dragons can hope to cast it. Once cast over a dragon’s lair, anything that wanders in will instantly forget what they had set out to do, and instead will be filled with a sense of safety and contentment. This spell is so strong that whatever prey is caught in its web won’t even try to fight back when the dragon inevitably devours it.”

I grin happily while reading that section.

“That’s an interesting trick…” I murmur to myself.

Upon hearing a metallic noise, I lazily lift my head towards the treasure pile. There’s a piece of armor just hovering there on the side of the pile. It looks as if it was meant for a hand.

“Hand… what is that? Ahh well, I’m sure it’s not important.”

I look down at my book, but I am interrupted from further reading by a slithering sound above me. I look up and see a large, grey dragon crawling on the ceiling. I smile and wave.

“Hello Mr. Dragon!” I call up to him.

The dragon lets go of the ceiling, and twisting like a cat, lands on all fours right in front of me. Even on all fours, he was at least as tall as my tree house. The dragon looks at me and smiles.

“Hello my dear,” He says in a deep, gravelly, voice. “Are you enjoying the reading material?”

I grin and nod happily.

“Oh yes, most of these books I’ve never seen before! I live in a library, so that’s saying something!”

“Glad to hear it. Now, would you mind introducing me to your friend over there? Human, by the scent of him, if I’m not mistaken.”

The dragon points behind him at the treasure pile and the floating piece of armor. I look past him, but all I see is the hand armor thingy. I look up at the dragon in confusion.

“What friend?”

The dragon chuckles to himself and snaps his fingers. A figure materializes right at the spot where the armor is hovering, although it looks like he is wearing it. I again look at the dragon with confusion.

“What is that?”

“That, my dear, is a human. I assume you planned on distracting me, and you turned the human invisible so he could sneak up on me while I was busy talking to you.”

I grin evilly, all traces of my former stupor gone.

“Exactly”

                                                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flashback:

“So, here’s my idea. With this Mesmer thing the dragon more than likely has cast over his lair, if we wander in we’ll forget what we’re doing there, right?”

“Yes.”

“The dragon can also read minds, to a very basic extent?”

“Yes, they can read what you are immediately thinking, but nothing deeper.”

“Finally, you can cast a spell on both of us that will keep our minds intact and free of the Mesmer?”

“Yes, the Mesmer is only deadly to ponies that don’t know about it, and can’t cast the proper counter-spell.”

“Perfect. You’ll go in, and act like you’ve forgotten what you’re doing. For it to be one-hundred percent convincing, you’ll have to think as if you’ve forgotten as well. At some point, I will follow you invisibly, and do the same. In the book I read, it said dragons have an extraordinary sense of smell, so he’ll know I’m there right away. You catch his attention, and play dumb while talking to him. I’ll pretend as if he isn’t there. If we both think and act as if the Mesmer has taken control of us, he’ll have no reason to suspect we are actually in control. He’ll figure out that you turned me invisible, so he will think that was our entire plan, instead of being a simple ruse. When you think we have him lulled into a false sense of security, glance at me. That’s when I’ll strike.

End Flashback.

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TY’s POV:

“Exactly”

Out of the corner of my eye I see Twilight grin evilly, and glance at me. That’s my cue.

I drop the gauntlet, summon my aura sword, and rush at the dragon. The dragon, seeing Twilight’s expression, turns around quickly, but not quickly enough. I elongate the sword to ten feet, and stab right for the dragon’s heart.

Fortunately, my sword cuts through it’s scales like butter. Unfortunately, the dragon had turned just enough that my sword barely misses it’s heart, and instead punctures the left lung. Seeing my mistake, I shorten my sword back to three feet, and hop backwards.

Just in time.

A clawed foot lashes out at me, missing me by an inch. Before the dragon could even think about a follow-up strike, Twilight blasts him with a beam of magic, knocking him aside. As the dragon staggers back to his feet, blood pouring from his wound, Twilight rushes over to me. She charges up another bolt of magic, and I drop into a defensive stance while summoning my armor and shield. The dragon glares at me, and places its claws over the wound. A bright flash of blue later, the wound is completely sealed up.

“You two are very clever, fooling my Mesmer like that, but you aren’t the only ones here with a trick or two.”

The dragon rears up on it’s hind legs. I gaze up in consternation at it. On it’s back legs, it is at least five stories tall, the top of his head scraping the cavern roof.

“I must admit, it has been centuries since somepony, or some human, has fooled me. For that, I’ll give you something. Since becoming a Greyscale Guardian, my magic has been greatly enhanced. Enhanced to the point where I can even see into the future of someone if I wish. If you beat me, I’ll read your futures and tell you something important. Not that you will.”

“I appreciate the gesture… I guess.” I mumble.

Twilight just narrows her eyes, still aiming her glowing horn at the dragon before us.

The dragon seems to be in deep thought for a moment, and then asks,

“Why are you trying to kill me in the first place? Is it for the knowledge contained in my books? The wealth in my horde? Or simply to weaken Discord?”

“I want to kill you, so I can then kill Discord!”

The dragon stares at me for a moment. And then bursts out laughing. All Twilight and I can do is stare as the dragon literally rolls on the ground laughing. The sound of his laugh shakes the cavern walls. After a few moments of this, the dragon composes himself and stands back up. Apparently the look on Twilight’s and my face is so funny he starts chuckling again.

“You…hehe… are going to kill Discord? That’s priceless, haha!”

Now I’m just plain mad.

“What’s so funny!?”

The dragon points at me and simply states, “You!”

He bursts out into another giggling fit. I’m not even sure what to do at this point. He regains his composure for a second time, and explains.

“You really think you can kill Discord? That has been your quest hasn’t it? How pathetic. You’ve been chasing an unobtainable dream, human. Discord is an immortal. Only other immortals can kill an immortal. That’s what’s so funny! It is literally impossible for you to kill him!”

I feel like a pit opened up inside me.

“……..What? You’re lying… you have to be...” I mutter to myself, convincing no one.

My mind races with everything I’ve gone through. The Manticore, Hydra, fighting Twilight and her friends, saving Twilight… everything. All for nothing?

The dragon simply smiles.

“Deny it all you want human, your quest is hopeless. I can see your thoughts; you’ve been through quite a bit, haven’t you? Must be devastating to know that was all for naught.”

I slowly lower me head. The dragon mistakes it for hopelessness.

“Giving up already? That wasn’t difficult.”

“No…”

The dragon’s brow furrows and asks,

“What was that?”

“I refuse to believe everything I’ve done was for nothing!!!” I scream at him.

Before the dragon can react, I charge at him. My aura sword elongates to ten feet again, and I slash at the dragon’s neck. He raises his arm in defense, and my sword scores a deep hit on it. He roars in rage, and then leans toward me. I can feel the heat before even seeing the flames. I hunker down and raise my shield over me. A second later, all I can see is fire surrounding me. It doesn’t let up. The seconds tick by, and I feel as if I am being cooked alive in the inferno. The fire steals all the oxygen around me, and I can’t breathe. Just when I’m about to pass out, the fire stops. I take one greedy gulp of air, and then it is promptly knocked out of me by the dragon’s swinging tail. I crash into a bookshelf and crumple to the floor, books raining down on me.  Through the piles of books on top of me, I spot a small gap where I can see out. A large rug and some furniture are on fire from the dragon’s breath, and I see Twilight silhouetted against it. She forms a large barrier around herself, which the dragon continuously pounds on. Just from the look on her face, I can see she won’t be able to hold the barrier much longer. I stagger out from underneath the books. The dragon turns his attention back to me, and Twilight promptly rewards him with a magical blast upside the head. Her turns to face Twilight, and I lash out with my sword, scoring a shallow cut along his right leg. He roars from pain, and flies to the top of his treasure pile. He glares between Twilight and I, Twilight on his left, me on his right. Twilight lights her horn, and charges. I dash forward, hoping he’ll be too busy with Twilight to notice me, or vice versa. Before either of us is back in attacking distance, the dragon flies up and attaches himself to the ceiling. The ceiling is covered in stalactites, and I instantly know what he’s going to do.

“Twilight, find cover!”

No sooner does she duck under an oversized chair then the dragon begins snapping stalactites from the roof. A stalactite the size of a small car crashes into the top of the chair. The chair groans and snaps under the force, but remarkably stays standing. I dismiss my shield, dive under it, grab Twilight, and book it out just as the dragon hurls another spike of rock at it. The chair collapses. I stumble and fall, dropping Twilight and my sword. I roll onto my back and look up. The dragon, seeing my sword a few feet away from me, drops from the ceiling towards me.

He’s going to crush me.

On instinct, I do three things at once. I kick Twilight away from me. Then I dismiss my sword. And finally, I re-summon my sword, so it appears instantly in my hand. I raise the sword above me, and close my eyes.

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Twilight’s POV:

After being picked up/tackled from under the chair, I land heavily next to Ty. Before I can even make sense of what happened, I feel a sharp kick in my side. I roll a few feet away from him. I open my mouth to yell at him, but am silenced by a thunderous crash right next to me. I turn over, and see the dragon’s side a few inches from my nose. I hurriedly scoot backwards, ignoring the pain in my side form the kick. I hesitantly stand up. The dragon makes no attempt to move, and I immediately see why.  Sticking out its back is Ty’s aura sword. But as I watch, it flickers and vanishes.

“…Ty?”

“…….”

“TY!”

I begin charging a levitation spell. Using almost every bit of strength in me, I lift the dragon a few feet off the ground, and drop him away from Ty. I collapse from the effort. Looking ahead I see Ty lying motionless, his head turned away from me. I crawl over to him, and weakly shake him.

“Ty… please get up… please don’t leave me…”

I break down and start crying.

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Ty’s POV:

Wow.

She didn’t even bother to check my pulse.

Seriously?

I’m lying here, out of breath, barely conscious, being shaken by a sobbing unicorn. Can a guy get any peace around here? I was almost flattened by a dragon for Pete’s sake! Thankfully my armor prevented me from being crushed. Feeling one of her tears go in my ear, I decide enough is enough.

“Twilight, you’re supposed to be the smart one. Why didn’t you just check my pulse?”

Bad idea.

The dragon didn’t crush me, but I swear this maniac unicorn’s hug will.

“Oh thank Celestia you’re alright! I thought you were dead!”

She begins crying all over again.

Completely out of patience, I respond.

“Twilight, for one thing, Celestia is trying to kill both of us. Thanking her is probably not the smartest idea. Two, I enjoy breathing, so could you please stop hugging me?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry. I’m just so happy you’re alive!”

“Me too.” I deadpan.

I sit up, and wince as I feel a few broken ribs voice their complaints.

“Ow...”

Even though Twilight looks like she’s about to pass out, she insists on healing my ribs with the last of her magic. Then she asks,

“How did you survive the dragon falling on you?”

I pat my armor.

“This prevented me from becoming a pancake, but I was still a little squished.”

I open my mouth to say more, but I am interrupted by a wheezing cough from behind me. Startled, I jump up and summon my sword again. The dragon is laying on his side, shallow breaths occasionally escaping in shuddering sighs. I warily walk to the dragons head, Twilight behind me. There’s a pool of blood forming next to the dragons mouth. He locks eyes with Twilight, and then states,

“Level 5, Subsection 8, Bookshelf 24, Row 2, the 5th from the left. Canterlot Royal Archives.”

After each word more and more blood flows from the corner of the dragon’s mouth. After finishing, the dragon locks eyes with me. His eyes gloss over, and he states,

“The most powerful forces in the universe can sometimes only be truly destroyed by themselves.”

With that last sentence, the dragon shudders once, and lays still.

Twilight and I can only stare at the dead dragon as we try to comprehend what the dragon had said.

“Twilight?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you know what he was trying to say to you?”

“Um, yeah. He listed coordinates for a specific book inside the Canterlot Royal Archives.”

“I guessed that, but do you know which book he was talking about?”

She gives me a withering glare.

“I may be a bookworm, but I don’t have each book memorized for their placement.”

“Fair enough. You wouldn’t happen to know what he meant by what he said to me?”

“Maybe he was referring to the fact that only immortals can kill another immortal? They are pretty powerful, so that fits.”

“I guess, but he sounded as if the ‘powerful force’ can only be killed if it decides to kill itself. That doesn’t really make sense.”

“I don’t know, I’m just impressed he could actually read our futures…”

“For all we know he just made everything up.”

I glance around. The fire the dragon started earlier had spread to the bookshelves, and now the air was getting thick with smoke.

“Let’s get out of here…”

Twilight nods.

“Right.”

Both of us completely exhausted, we stagger out of the cave. Once out, I look up at the sky. It would be dark really soon. There is an overhang nearby, so I nudge Twilight in the right direction.

“Let’s sleep here tonight.”

“Okay…”

I flop down under the overhang, all the while ignoring the hard rocks underneath me. Twilight drops next to me, and is out like a light. I look over the rocky valley spread out down in front of us. With the long shadows cast by the setting sun, the valley looks almost like a checkerboard.

“Hmm… that’s fitting. Tomorrow the Queen and her pawns will be there, as well as the King and his Knight…”

I vaguely wonder how I even know this before I drift off to sleep.

A/N: Well hope you like it. I am actively working on the final chapter, so don't give up on me just yet, it'll be here very soon.

Also, leave me a comment saying you're still here, and letting me know if you catch any spelling/grammar errors.