A Tale of Two Dragons

|CHAPTER ONE|

A Tale of Two Dragons

It was just another day at the market. The sun shone brightly down on the busy streets, not hot enough to be scorching but not weak enough to let the world grow cold. Locals and tourists chatted animatedly with friends and those selling their wares alike, talking about the latest Los Pegasus gossip or haggling over prices noisily with merchants of all trades.

Merchants shouted out about the wares they were selling in an attempt to lure in customers. And one stand in particular seemed to be gathering quite the crowd, and not just because the more interesting of the two merchants in question was an  eight-foot-tall dragon.

“The finest jewelry that you’ll ever lay eyes on! Guaranteed!” the dragon called out, gesturing with his hands as much as his words, “Genuine, fire shaped dragon’s craft!” he added enticingly.

The dragon blew a quick flame into his right hand and brought his left over the right, appearing to catch the fire between his palms. Leaning closer to the crowd below the small stage that he stood on, he pulled his left hand away, showing off a fine opera necklace in the fire’s wake. The inset gem sparkled like a miniature flame, the golden chain untarnished and new.

The dragon’s smile only widened as some of the crowd let out ‘Oohs’ of interest.

He stood back up, letting the necklace twirl from his fingers, glinting in the sun’s light.

“Nowhere else in Equestria can you get jewelry and trinkets like these!” he brought his empty left hand to his maw, lowering his voice to a stage whisper and adding, “Unless of course you wanted to slay a dragon and steal his treasure trove,” he gave a winning smile and a wink before standing up again.

“In all seriousness, we dragons have been hoarding treasures like this fine piece here since time itself began! Would you trust a pony to know half what we do about gems and precious metals?” he asked, pausing for a second and scanning over the crowd, “Or would you trust a dragon!?”

To the dragon’s grinning delight, many of the ponies turned to each other, nodding heads and conceding that ‘The dragon’s got a point.’

He had them right in the palms of his scaly hands.

The dragon gave a quick glance around to the other stalls, many of the other jewelers glowering as their customers slowly but steadily made their way towards the wildly gesticulating scaly creature.

He gave off another winning smile, “And who wouldn’t want to get their special somepony something special for Hearts and Hooves day? Why settle for mundane pony jewelry when you could get your hooves on fine dragon’s craft!?

“Just talk with my associate here,” the dragon gestured to his unicorn accomplice, who gave a little wave of his hoof, “and he’ll set you up with something that’ll last a lifetime..!”

Later...

Celestia’s sun was much lower in the sky now, nearly set. The dull glow gave the dragon’s lush green scales an orange tint as he and the pony made their way down a trail leading out of Los Pegasus. To the north, printed in bold white lettering, a massive mountainside sign reading: APPLEWOOD was starting to glow with magical light.

Birds danced on the wind, their songs the only noise for a while as the two merchants continued on their way.

Once they’d made a good distance on Los Pegasus and were free of anypony else on the trail who might be listening, the unicorn merchant was finally allowed to burst out laughing. He came to a halt, the cart and dragon following suit and the latter of the two grinning down at him.

“‘Fine dragon’s craft!’” the unicorn quoted between a fit of cackling, “Scav, you are too cruel!”

“I am,” Scav, the dragon, bowed deeply, “And so are you, Greymane,” Scav continued with a smile as he stood back up, “after all, you’re my partner in crime.”

“Yeah,” Greymane admitted, wiping a tear from his bright blue eyes as his laughter settled, “and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he continued, sharing a brief, warm smile with his compatriot.

Greymane’s fit over, the two continued onwards a while, content to stay smiling and silent as the sun descended into the horizon. The stage that Scav had used had been folded up into the duo’s wheeled cart. It trundled slowly along behind the two, giving a light glow as its enchantment pulled it along behind them.

“I swear,” Greymane suddenly said, breaking the silence, “one of these days I’m going to burst out laughing at all those horseapples you spit out,” he said, exchanging a warm smile with his comrade.

“Speaking of which,” Scav said, turning his head around to watch the trail behind him, “hopefully we’ll be able to get a nice lead on those ponies before they figure out that all that jewelry’s fake.”

Greymane turned his head around as well, eyeing the trail behind him for a few seconds, “Shouldn’t be an issue, we’ll be able to hear them coming from quite a ways away.”

“Lucky for us we sold almost everything. The cart should be pretty light now, give us an advantage if they do come charging with torches and pitchforks,” Scav nodded, turning back to the trail ahead of them as well.

“Torches and pitchforks?” Greymane inquired with a chuckle, “what time period are you from?”

“Okay,” Scav began with a quick shrug, “maybe I overestimate what they’ll do if they come after us, but it’s still close enough.”

Greymane chuckled once more, turning to Scav, “Hey, you remember that one time we scammed Fillydelphia? Right as we were leaving that one stallion yelled out something like...oh what was it? Something like ‘Hey! These gemstones are fake!’” Greymane had to stop in his tracks again as he was overwhelmed by rancorous laughter, “Oh, Celestia, the look on your face was so priceless when he yelled that!”

Scav halted as Greymane got over his fit of laughter, a nostalgic smile on his face as the cart came to a halt just behind the pair.

“If we had still been pulling this cart by hoof instead of magic,” Greymane went on, shaking his head as the duo started walking again, “oh goddesses, we’d be doing Celestia-knows how many years in prison!”

“I still remember the feeling of that teleport spell you used to get us out of there, almost made me throw up. That and you sliced the top of my spines off with it!” Scav complained good-naturedly, running a scaly hand through the light green spines that ran across the top of his head and back.

“Well yeah,” Greymane admitted, “but do you also remember how it let us escape from the guards? How your spines grew back?”

“Yeah,” Scav admitted back.

“Plus, that was the first time I ever tried a close range teleport spell. You know I’m not all that great when it comes to magical stuff, I’m better when it comes to gems and precious metals,” as if to solidify the point, he jerked his head back to his flank, where a simple jeweler’s loupe magnifying a white diamond stood out against his dark grey coat. A similar device attached to a headband ran around his skull, folded up and out of the way for the moment, “I’m the one who gets our stuff and makes sure it looks legit, you use your talent to sell it.”

“Talent,” Scav agreed before again running a hand through his scales and smiling, “and my good looks.”

“Don’t push your luck, pal,” Greymane grinned before taking on a more serious tone, “and keep an eye out for a place to spend the night, we should find someplace before the sun’s completely gone.”

The sun was only a shrinking sliver on the horizon when the two pulled off to the side of the trail to a small alcove of trees at the base of the Los Pegasus mountains.

Greymane activated the brakes to keep their cart in place before unlocking a cabinet on the side of the cart, pulling it open and rummaging around inside.

“Hey Scav, could you go see if you can find some firewood for the fire tonight?” he asked, procuring a knife and a big, white chef’s hat with his magic, “I got it last time, remember?”

Scav groaned from where he was standing on all fours on the soft grass, he looked to Greymane as the unicorn set the hat on his head and the knife on a cutting board, “You’re just going to complain that it’s too wet or I didn’t get enough or something,” he stretched like a cat and then laid down on his belly, “then you’re just going to make me go get more.”

“Oh, no I’m not,” Greymane reasoned, opening another drawer that unleashed a slight chill. He pulled some raw vegetables out of it with his magic, setting them on the cutting board as well.

“Yes you are,” Scav replied, “you do it every single time I get firewood. ‘Oh, this is too wet, Scav! This isn’t enough, Scav! Blah, blah, blah, Scav!’ Every single time!”

Greymane sighed, picking up the knife and gesturing to the vegetables, “So you’re going to cut the vegetables for the stew and cut them into nicely sized pieces? We’re having veggie stew tonight, remember?”

Scav brought out one of his clawed hands, looking at the long talons at the ends of his fingers, “Well I don’t see why not,” he replied, looking back up.

Greymane fixed Scav with an ‘oh, really?’ glare.

“Fine,” Scav grumbled, getting up and heading off into the forest.

That settled, Greymane turned to the cutting board, humming a tune as he started to chop the vegetables for the soup.

The sun finally slipped below the horizon, engulfing the land in an uncomfortable black sheath of darkness...

Elsewhere...

A new moon had risen high into the sky, black as if blind to the chaos that raged below.

The black dragon’s scales reflected the red and orange glow of the fires that raged in the city below him. He could see the dark shapes of more of his kin as they flew around below, bathing the city with fire.

The smell of smoke wafted up from below, carrying with it the dull roars of dragons and the faint, fearful cries of ponies. He found a smile crossing his lips, showing off a wide set of razor sharp white teeth that gave a strong contrast to his scales. He kneaded the soft earth with his claws as he watched the magnificent blaze. A building collapsed below, sending up a cacophony of dancing sparks like fireworks into the air above it.

“Shadowfang!” a powerful voice boomed from above him.

Shadowfang looked up as a dragon that easily dwarfed him many times over swept down and landed before him, causing the ground to quake. The other dragon was the color of fire, though dark soot dulled the colors.

Shadowfang gave a nod of acknowledgement, “Firetongue,” he greeted, his voice filled with intelligence.

“We have rounded up the remaining survivors, as per your orders,” Firetongue rumbled with a bow, his tone as if he were talking to a superior despite Shadowfang’s much smaller size.

“Then lead the way,” Shadowfang said with a nod, unfolding his wings as he prepared for flight, “Our time here nears its end.”

With massive gusts of wind, the two dragons alit the air, swooping down into the city below from their mountaintop perch.

Shadowfang looked over his kin’s handiwork with a keen eye as he sailed above, smiling to himself as he eyed the mass of destruction. Closer to the epicenter of the city, a new smell entered his nostrils: the thick scent of charred meat.

The two dragons circled and soon came across what appeared to be a town square. It was ringed by fire and a mass of other dragons, all baring their teeth at a group of cowering ponies in the unburned  center.

Shadowfang slowed, letting Firetongue fly off and continue circling. The smaller dragon scanned over the group below, considering his best course of action for what he planned to do. He eventually circled down and landed hard on a mass of burning wood that had recently been a small building of some sort.

A mass of sparks leapt into the air, the sound of crunching wood drawing all eyes of the frightened ponies to Shadowfang.

The dragon chuckled quietly as he scanned over their looks of sheer terror, What a sight I must be, he mused, small bits of fire burning at his feet, something out of their worst nightmares, no doubt.

Shadowfang approached the group on all fours at a leisurely pace, folding his wings and surveying them with a keen eye. He halted as the group began to back away, though noted as one of the ponies refused to back off.

The pony in question, an earth pony, pushed forwards with a shattered staff clamped tightly in his jaws, a determined look in his eyes. His dark mane was disheveled and there was a sizeable burn on his right flank. A few cuts laced his body, but still the pony stood strong and defiant.

With a word, he got the other ponies behind him, gaze never breaking from Shadowfang’s.

The dragon smiled, That one will do, he told himself as his eyes met the defiant pony’s pair. The smaller creature held Shadowfang’s gaze.

“I am Shadowfang!” the dragon began, breaking eye contact with the earth pony and looking over the shivering group as a whole, “Lord of fire and bane to my enemies! All who oppose me shall fall and die in wreaths of flame! The time has come for your whore-god Celestia to know and to fear my name! For your kind’s blasphemous time of rule is at and end!”

To Shadowfang’s satisfaction, the earth pony with the spear spat something foul past the spear and charged with a battle cry that was muffled by the weapon.

Shadowfang let the pony get close before batting the spear away with a claw and snorting a blast of smoke into his face. The pony coughed and stumbled back a pace, disoriented by the smoke and disarming blow.

Shadowfang pounced, knocking the would-be hero backwards and pinning him to the ground with his front claws. The pony fought and kicked, but was unable to move past the dragon’s steel grip.

Shadowfang brought his face in close to the pony’s, letting out a low growl as the smaller creature continued to struggle. Some of the other dragons flinched forwards, caught off guard by the action before turning their gazes back to the larger group.

“Resistance is pointless, little one,” Shadowfang hissed into his quarry’s face.

“Rot in Tartarus!” the pony spat, literally, into Shadowfang’s face. The dragon’s lips spread out into another smile, an action that made the pony falter for a moment.

“Hold this one!” Shadowfang called to the sky, stepping away from his prey and towards the group of ponies. Two larger dragons dropped from the sky and pinned the prisoner down before he could get back up.

“I, Shadowfang the dragon, Lord of fire, shall rule Equestria with all of dragonkind! As is our right!” he paused as all the dragons around him lit the air with their mighty roars, daring the heavens themselves to challenge that statement, “For too long you ponies have presided over what is rightfully ours! No longer! You here bear witness to just the first reclamation of land! It shan't be our last!” Shadowfang turned back towards his prisoner and gestured. The two dragons rolled the pony onto his belly so he could properly face Shadowfang, who continued, “But I am a reasonable dragon, and while this is our land, I might be willing to share it, to a degree, if dear old Celestia surrenders to me.

“Any of your kind who do not prove to be...problematic,” he gave a slow glance towards the group of ponies behind him, “shall be allowed to live with a degree of freedom in our land,” Shadowfang leaned in close to the prisoner, speaking slowly and deliberately, “But...until I hear of Celestia’s full surrender, my kin and I shall visit your cities one by one and burn them and anything alive within them to. The. Ground,” there was another ground-quaking roar of approval from the dragons, “Do I make myself clear?” he asked, moving his face closer to the prisoner’s.

The prisoner stared back for a few moments, a hint of fear finally showing in his eyes.

“Do I make myself clear?!” Shadowfang yelled.

This time the prisoner nodded vigorously. Shadowfang gave a satisfied smile as he pulled back from the prisoner. He turned and took a few steps towards the group of ponies, who retreated as he approached, “Good, you’ve officially volunteered to be my messenger. I suggest that you gallop to your whore of a god with all due haste, every second that you waste means another second gone till we destroy your next village.”

“What of them?” the prisoner asked, jerking his head towards the quivering group that he had tried to defend.

“Them?” Shadowfang inquired.

He looked back at the prisoner, thinking for a few seconds. He then turned back to the group of ponies, then to the dragons surrounding the area, and finally back to the prisoner.

“Kill them,” he said simply, words directed to his kin. The prisoner’s face twisted into a look of sheer horror, no doubt mirroring the faces of the group to Shadowfang’s rear.

Shadowfang kept his eyes on the prisoner as the other dragons blasted the defenseless group of ponies with gouts of fire. Their fading screams of agony played a pleasant melody in the black dragon’s ears. He watched the prisoner’s eyes grow wide and his jaw drop as those he sought to protect were turned to charred and unrecognizable skeletons.

Shadowfang smiled.

And all the while, still bright with magical light, the large sign reading: APPLEWOOD shone through the night from its perch atop the Los Pegasus mountains.