Guitar Strings and Dragon Wings

Metal in Equestria- Chapter 18

The Falling Out

Celestia was pacing around her private study at an unusually upbeat tempo. After receiving Twilight's letter about the "smoke" coming from the southern mountains she had begun to worry that her prediction was coming true.

"But why is this happening now? It shouldn't be. There's no reason for it. It has to be the dragons, but of all times… why now?"

She exuded an attitude of anxiety, possibly even fear. This was quite odd considering her normally calm and collected demeanor.

"This should be an easy fix… Plus with the new 'arrivals' I should be even more prepared."

She found her progress around her study suddenly stop when she passed by her window. It was after nightfall but she could clearly see Ponyville in the distance, and something quite peculiar.

"There should be no light that bright in Ponyville, especially at this time of night. Although it seems too small to be caused by any dragon."

She gasped. "No! It must be Wallace." Clouds over Ponyville seemed to be drawn inwards to the light, as if pulled in by some gravitational force.

She watched for a few minutes as the light gradually flickered off and on until finally fading into nothing.

After waiting to make sure the light was fully gone she went back to her anxious inner monologue.

"That's it. I'm going to Ponyville in the morning. I have to put my royal duties on hold. There are bigger things at risk here. Twilight should be able to handle those boys until then."

Celestia found it hard to take her eyes off Ponyville but continued her somewhat frantic pacing. "I'll have to let Twilight know I'm coming. Luna will have to be in charge while I'm gone."

But I hope I won't be gone for long. She thought.

Without thinking about it, Celestia used her magic to conjure a piece of parchment and a pen.

I'll have to word this carefully.

"Dearest Twilight,

We have much to discuss. There is more than I can put in just a simple letter. I admit I let some things slip my mind when we last met but I wished to keep the mood upbeat. To save you any trouble of traveling to Canterlot, I want to say that I will be coming to Ponyville myself, on the morrow. I don't wish to intrude, but I will come directly to your residence. I also ask that you have our guests readily available as well. I will need to speak to them all individually. Thank you for being ready on such short notice.

Yours truly,

Princess Celestia"

With a flash of her horn's magic the letter disappeared in a wisp of yellow flame.

Time for other business, she thought.

Hurriedly she made her way through the doors of her study and to the main hall of the castle. Royal unicorn guards were placed arbitrarily at key points. The guards weren't aware of anything being out of place or any eminent threat, but they could tell something was amiss.

Celestia made her way down the hall to Princess Luna's main chambers.

The moon is already in place. She should be available to speak at this hour.

"I need to speak with Princess Luna." She said to the posted guards.

"Of course, your majesty." One of them responded. The guards started to head towards another post to allow the princesses some privacy.

Celestia opened the doors easily with her magic and made her way inside Luna's chambers. Closing the door behind her and locking it, she made her way up a spiral staircase to Luna's personal lookout. Assuming she was on duty this was the one logical place she would be, as her royal bedroom was vacant. As Celestia reached the top of the staircase she opened a second set of doors. She noticed Luna looking out towards Ponyville with extreme intent.

Something troubled her also.

"Hello sister." Luna announced. "I thought you might come and visit me here."

"There are some important matters that need to be tended to." Celestia responded.

"Yes there are. What troubles you, sister? Are you alright this evening?"

Celestia looked aside trying to hide any telltale facial expression. "Well Luna, first things first. I'm leaving in the morning."

Luna never glanced back at her, instead keeping watch over the vastness of the countryside, including Ponyville.

"Whatever for?" Luna replied.

"I'm going to help the boys that came here. I want them to be prepared. I didn't say everything I needed to the first time."

"Is that the only thing that worries you, sister?" Luna finally cocked an eye back to Celestia.

"No Luna. In fact, starting tomorrow… I am making you the sole monarch of Equestria. I'm leaving everything to you."

Luna gasped. "What?!... What do you mean? For what reason, sister?"

"I… had a premonition a few days ago, a dream… or a nightmare as it was." Celestia's voice was eerily calm, as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders by handing the entire country to Luna.

Luna turned to give her sister full attention.

"I see all dreams sister. Of which one do you speak?" Luna honestly had no recollection of such a nightmare.

"You can't always peer into my dreams." Celestia admitted. "You see, in my dream… I lost my power, my magic, to some unseen force. It was stolen from me… and Equestria was suffering… sniff*"

Celestia drooped her head as a few tears started to curtail around her eyelids. "The humans, these boys, they saved Equestria… in my premonition. But there was such loss…" It was plainly obvious she was trying in vain to hold back her overwhelming grief.

Luna placed a hoof on her sister's shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier sister?"

"I couldn't let anyone know. The humans would've been terrified. But now I see no choice, I have to show them everything I can before time runs out."

"And those charms you gave them? Those spells were extremely potent, even I could see that."

Celestia wiped away a tear with her foreleg. "I knew I would lose my power soon, so I saw no point in holding back. Those boys aren't bad at heart, they are just… misguided. I knew once I planted the seeds that Twilight and her friends help them grow."

She made her way to the edge of Luna's overlook, gazing out into the wide expanse that was Equestria.

"But sister," Luna interrupted, "Twilight Sparkle and her friends have the Elements of Harmony. Surely they can stop whatever this threat may be." Luna jumped off the ground and slowly hovered over to her sister's side.

"I don't think it will be that simple this time, Luna." Celestia replied. "They will use their elements, but in different ways than they usually do."

"I see." Was all Luna could muster.

"Which is why I'm giving you complete control, sister." Celestia gave a slight turn of her head to Luna. "Because I don't know if I'm coming back this time."

"No, please. We will succeed together, just as we have before." Her words cut into Luna like daggers, hearing her sound so unsure of herself. It started to fill her with fear and anxiety as well, and all she could do at this point was use hopeful words.

"I have a feeling we will succeed also…I am just not sure that I will be the one to do it. Those humans however," she let out a long sigh, "they'll be the ones to save us. I felt it in my premonition and when I met them. They are very much different from any humans I have ever had contact with, and they are our only hope at this point… which is why I gave them so much."

"What do you see in them sister?" Luna inquired.

"Confusion, loneliness, angst, doubt…" Celestia began to crack a smile, "but this is something that Twilight and her friends have seen before, and they always seem to fix the problem accordingly. That is why I knew it would be better for them to stay in Ponyville."

"And that incident just a while ago? It was the brown haired one, wasn't it?" Luna asked.

"Probably. I will have to place a limiting talisman on him, if it was."

"The spell you cast on him was the most potent, was it not?"

"Indeed. I sensed the greatest turmoil in him, the moment my magic made contact. But I saw that Twilight's friend, Pinkie Pie, had started to form a bond with the boy. I know she will keep him in check the longer they are together… nonetheless, for our safety I must still have a talisman in place. His power has the potential for limitless good, and unspeakable destruction."

"I hope you chose right, sister." Luna added.

"As do I."

They sat in quiet for a few brief moments, enjoying Luna's brilliant night sky. This was the calm before the storm and both of them could feel it. There was so much to do if what Celestia had said would come to fruition. She was the first to break the silence.

"I'm sorry I put so much on you, Luna."

"No sister, it is quite alright. The burden you bare is quite heavy. All I have to do is keep our subjects from panicking and make sure all business goes on as usual. I'd say we've both handled worse than that."

"Easier said than done." Celestia glumly noted. "However, I've seen you change as well Luna. I wouldn't go so willingly if I knew my kingdom wasn't in the proper care it deserves. You've grown much over the years, and I think you are right. You do deserve the same amount of respect that I receive and this might be a perfect opportunity to prove that."

"I promise I won't let you down." Luna wasn't sure if to feel honored, or terrified. "Are you going to inform the royal guard?"

"Only the ones I take with me."

"And how many will that be?" said Luna.

"Probably three only."

"B-but why so few?" Luna stammered.

"Something tells me the rest will be needed here, at Canterlot. Please trust me on this one, Luna. The rest of the guard and citizens will come to you in my absence." Celestia wanted to tell her there would be no point in bringing a full fleet, but she had spoken volumes in just those few statements.

"I will follow your lead, sister. I'll do it for you."

"Thank you… Luna." Celestia reached a hoof around Luna's neck and delicately pulled her into a hug, as Luna returned the gesture. This was something that nearly never happens.

After a few moments out on the lookout they both made their way down the spiraling staircase. Celestia made for the door and before she left for the night gave a nod in approval to her sister, who was still going to spend the night watching over their citizens. Luna merely walked with Celestia just to see her out and to wish her a good night.

After shutting the door with her magic aura, Celestia found the nearest guard.

"Your majesty, what can I do for you?" The guard asked.

"I need a chariot in the morning. Please let the quartermaster know. Also I will be taking with me our two fastest Pegasus guards and our resident Magic Specialist Officer."

"T-the MSO? For what reason should I tell him." The guard nervously inquired.

"No need to give him one. I will tell him myself."

"Of course, your majesty. And if he asks where you are heading?"

"I'm going to Ponyville. That is all."

"It will be done."

"Thank you for your service. I'll be heading off to bed now."

The grey pony bowed and made his way for the guard's quarters, leaving Celestia to continue her trek to her bedroom.

What a taxing night. She thought.

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On the outskirts of Ponyville…

Bang*Bang*

Packie had ran up the stairs as quickly as he could and was now banging on Fluttershy's bedroom door.

"Hey Shy, umm… I'm sorry to wake you, but I think you should see this." He could hear her fumbling around on the other side of the door, presumably finding it hard to walk in complete darkness. She opened the door to see him standing there in only his blue jeans, one of his wings still dangled limply.

"What is it, Patrick?" she asked with concern.

"Just come with me, I think you can see it better down here." Without much hesitation Fluttershy followed him down to her living room. Packie pointed out the window towards the dim orange light, atop one of the snowcapped mountains.

"You see it right?" Packie asked.

"Well yes… but I don't know what it is." They looked at each other for a split second and then back out the window.

"It's so far away." Packie noted. "Shouldn't we tell Twilight?"

"Yes, but it might not be a very good idea to bother her this late at night." She started to twiddle her hooves around nervously.

"Do you just want to wait till morning?" He could tell making this decision was difficult for her. She weighed her options carefully and came to a decision.

"Well I know what I want to do, but what do you think we should do?" she asked.

"We should go in the morning." he said without much hesitation.

"What? Are you sure?" Fluttershy was surprised at his quick dismissal of the issue. It seemed a moment ago that the light had genuinely concerned him. What Fluttershy didn't know is that Packie had already known what her choice was. He could see her silently protesting through her eyes. She did not want to disturb anyone, especially not this late.

"I'm sure. We'll tell Twilight at the crack of dawn. But for now we should probably get some sleep." Fluttershy, who could barely keep her eyes open, happily agreed and made her way back upstairs to her room. Hearing someone else take control comforted her, as she was never one to make big decisions. She honestly would've have followed him no matter what his decision was, however.

Packie was left alone once again with only himself and his thoughts. He closed the curtains over the window until he couldn't see the mountains anymore. Then laying his head down on the sofa and getting his wings comfy, he started to contemplate the past day and what tomorrow would bring as sleep started to take him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Far away, atop a snowy mountain…

The giant red dragon heaved a heavy breath of flames up onto his face. The driving snow was seemingly trying to halt his progress with all its might. The fire he had conjured had melted the snow that had compacted over his nostrils.

"This will not do." The beast bellowed.

He turned to ensure that his fellow brethren were keeping pace. Should one of them fall behind it would surely mean a brutally cold death. Even with their ability to conjure fire with every breath, no amount of flame could dispel this blizzard.

The largest behemoth, colored of the darkest brown soil, was one of the few who could keep full pace with their king.

"Perhaps we should stop for now, my king. The others can barely stand this storm."

"And what would you have me do, Greyl? There is no place for us here. We must keep going." The red beast gave a flail of his arm to show what direction they needed to head.

The colossal brown dragon stooped his head to let some snow fall off. Then he met his master's gaze. "I'm begging you, not as my king, but as my friend… please let us stop here! Otherwise for what purpose did you bring us along? We are the best for a reason."

The king stood still in the driving torrent of snow and contemplated his words. The other four members caught up to them, in the midst of their talking. "Greyl, this ice sheet is malleable isn't it? We could bore into it... until the storm passes at the very least."

"Allow me my king."

Following his master's initiative the largest dragon walked forward through the blizzard until he came upon a massive pillar of ice, five stories tall. With no layer of rock underneath and the thickness yet to be determined he felt as though this was the best candidate for shelter.

Taking in a massive gulp of air he released a wall of flame. It was notably harder to direct with the driving wind constantly wailing at his back, but with persistence and determination the ice sheet had started to disintegrate under the intense heat. On one breath the giant had managed to managed to bore a hole equal to his height but only about ten feet in depth. After repeating the process several times there was a sizable cave, large enough to fit the dragon king's entire clan.

The red beast brought his group to the entrance of the 'cave' as they began to funnel inside. They all took note of the clean cut he had made, punching through the ice like holes in Swiss cheese. Despite making the opening big enough for all of them, Greyl's head protrusions would occasionally graze the ceiling.

There were a few drops of water that would fall, turning back into ice when coming into contact with the frozen floor. Now that they were out of the driving snow the king issued his orders.

He first spoke to his gargantuan first officer. "Greyl I want you to keep going deeper. Something tells me we will need full use of this mountains glacial structure. Also be advised that the ice under such pressure could start to flow like water. Do not become trapped down there and use your intellect."

"It will be done my king." The beast spoke softly and deeply, turning back to his given task.

The king turned to his two companions almost in equal stature to him. They were both his former students from ages ago, back when the king brought about great change to dragon kind.

One dragon, colored the deepest shade of violet, had sharp piercing yellow eyes, a long snout and jaw, deep red ridges extending down the length of his back, and a heavy-set muscular build. He was a magic specialist within the group, which up until the last century or so was practically unheard of, but because of his skillset had quickly risen through the ranks. He had become a valuable asset to the King's plan. As a child dragon he was mistreated by those around him, often getting himself bloodied. As a result he gave himself the name Blood.

Blood's assistant was a similarly sized though shorter in stature turquoise colored lizard of a dragon. Normally the king wouldn't have bothered bringing him along, but Blood was persistent that he needed his assistant to aid in his use of draconic magic. Blood had given him extensive training on spells, but he lacked basic common sense. Notably he wasn't as intelligent as the others in the party, however he was even more vicious willing to charge headlong into battle for the king. This was his saving grace.

His ruby red eyes clashed intensely with his blue scales, maybe to distract anyone from seeing his perfectly serrated daggers for teeth. He lacked any ridges on his back, but had three scaly protrusions encircling the back of his neck, creating a makeshift 'collar' of spikes. While it was somewhat of an oddity for dragons now, it was thought that the 'collar' was a sign of a healthy male. This particular trait had been all but weeded out by dragon society.

"Blood," the king said," I want you and your 'assistant' as you say, to follow Greyl. And should he come across a layer of rock, which I'm certain will happen, I want you to start searching for gems. Any gems you find I want you to bring back here. Am I understood?"

Blood was quick to bow. His voice was not as deep or heavy as his the King's. "It will be done my king." Compared to most dragons, his speech was dignified and refined.

"Yes master…" His assistant hissed. "…right away."

The pair of dragons followed the towering beast who was boring further into the ice. Luckily their skillset allowed them to be most proficient at finding a dragon's delicacy of choice, rare gemstones.

As the three plowed into the mountainside the king gave his attention to his last two soldiers, Fletch and Allele.

Fletch was the king's fastest flyer and stood only about half his height. His body was a silvery white that glistened in moonlight and almost caused him to get lost in the heavy snowfall. His underbelly was a deep shade of cyan, making him virtually untraceable from ground level, although only on a clear day. Perhaps his most noticeable feature however was a horn protruding directly from his forehead, specifically designed for skewering prey. His sapphire-like eagle eyes could see anywhere and anything, piercing and unflinching. His superb vision, along with his slender frame and powerful wings made him a truly deadly adversary.

Allele on the other hand was entirely his opposite. Being the only female dragon in the king's party, she had to meet certain qualifications to accompany him on this journey. While she was more than competent enough in combat she had other "means" of handling any enemy. The king had also taught her centuries prior in the use of black magic. After much practice she had become well versed in the use of draconic hexes. She wasn't accustomed to getting her claws bloodied.

She had a fairly basic build for a dragon. She was smaller than most, just slightly more than Fletch, but still managed to appear menacing. She had no protruding horns or clusters of scales and the size of her claws were miniscule at best. Over the centuries she had developed a terrible habit of biting the tips off her claws. Her sunflower yellow scales looked vibrant and young as she was not as aged as her fellow brethren. As a result of her uniquely feminine green eyes, she was often teased just as Blood had been. Thanks to her king, she had put a stop to any teasing personally with the use of her own magical power.

Their master waited for their attention and they quickly obliged. He pointed one lengthy claw at his white soldier, their designated scout. "Fletch, the moment this storm is over I want you to scout ahead. You are the only who will not get caught flying, so as long you maintain proper altitude."

"Yes, my king." The white beast gave a bow of obedience.

The red beast then looked down upon the female, "And for you… I need your help with something 'special'."

The king held out his hand and fired a great yellow fireball from his mouth. He caught the blast in his palm, his claws turning a bright orange trying to contain the intense heat.

With a flick of his wrist the ball of fire dissipated and in his hand sat an old, stained, and tattered book.

"This is our means of success." the king snarled.