Chapter V

The Oncoming Storm

Cerulean wiped the sweat off his forehead as he finished skinning the manticore and set the meat inside the freezer. He went into his room and yawned. “I guess I should join the others at the guild.” As he sat up, he noticed the stone he’d collected from the dragon’s corpse. He picked up the stone and weighed it in his hand.

“The next time you’re alone, run your magic through it and don’t tell anyone about what we talked about. You can never know who might be listening.” His mother’s words echoed in his head. Cerulean stood up and made his way outside into the ice shelter. He sealed the door behind him and sat on the ground with the rock in his hands.

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Cerulean gripped the object and poured his magic into it. The small object started glowing. The amount of magic it was taking was immense. He could feel the object cracking. Light shined through the cracks.

The stone started to expand before it shattered and a beam of blue magic shot through the roof of the shelter. The blast knocked Cerulean back against the wall. He shook his head and opened his eyes to see shattered pieces of the stone around a ball of light. The light started to take shape. The light shined a final time and he shielded his eyes.

When he opened them agin a small blue winged dragon was looking at him. “Okay, I did not see that coming.” The small lizard walked up to him and cocked it’s head to the side. The dragon sniffed the air and hobbled towards him, stumbling a times. The ice mage chuckled slightly at the small lizard. Cerulean slowly reached his right hand out towards the animal. The creature sniffed his hand. “I guess you’re just a little-” The creature then bit his hand. “OW!” He said as he shook his hand and the creature let go.

“Cerulean? Are you okay?” He heard the fire mage say from outside. He felt woozy as he got to his feet and steadied himself.

“Yeah, just um...don’t freak out.” He said as he coughed. The blue haired man emerged from the ice shelter his hair was a mess and his clothes were scorched. Cerulean stumbled out and fell to his knees. Amber and Sunset quickly helped him up.

“What happened to you?” Amber asked.

“Remember that blue rock I picked up from the dragon?”

“Yeah?” Nix said. The group then heard a small squeaking noise.

“Well,” He said as he stood up and went back inside the small shelter. The trio looked at one another with perplexed looks on their faces. “it wasn’t a rock.” When he came out he had something in his arms. It looked about the size of a full grown house cat, instead of fur it had bright blue scales and a long tail with a blue crystal like spike at the end.

Two leather like wings sprouted from it’s back and it’s eyes were like two emeralds of the deepest green. At the end of it’s legs there were sharp claws. It’s front two hands seemed to have thumbs. On top of it’s head were two horns pointing towards it’s back. “It was an egg.” Cerulean groaned and dropped to the ground, the small hatchling scampering out of his arms.

~~~

That was the last thing Cerulean remembered before he passed out. He opened his eyes to see that he was in his room. “Ugh my head is killing me.”

Come downstairs and let me out! The man looked around the room, but saw no one.

“Who said that!?” The door opened to show Amber.

“Well, look who’s up.” She smiled. He rubbed his head as it pounded.

“Ugh, what happened? Why’d I pass out?” Sunset hear their voices and walked inside the room.

“Magic deficiency.” She said. “You used up too much magic and you passed out.”

“How long have I been out?”

“About three weeks.” The fox girl said.

“WHAT!?”

“Amber, stop.” Sunset sighed. “It’s only been two days.” The man gave a sigh of relief. Cerulean heard a racket coming from the basement.

“STOP FREEZING SHIT!”

“Well, Nix is awake.” The alchemist stumbled through and her hair was partially frozen. Amber snickered at her appearance.

“I know I said you should chill out, but that’s going overboard.”

“I’m going to kill you and use you a pelt.” She hissed. Nix then shot Cerulean a glance. “You! Tell your flying handbag to quit freezing stuff.” Cerulean raised an eyebrow at the words and heard a screeching sound. The man got to his feet and followed the three women to the basement. The walls had patches of ice on them and there was a faint flapping noise.

Cerulean turned on the light to see the baby dragon in a cage made of transmuted stone. The dragon noticed the ice mage and banged against the bars.

It’s about time! Let me out!

“Why is it in a cage?”

“It’s a dragon. Why do you think?” Amber said.

“He’s been a real handful.” Sunset said as she thawed Nix’s hair.

I’m a girl! It hissed.

“I think it’s a girl dragon.” Cerulean said. The three looked at one another in confusion.

“How do you know?” Sunset asked.

“It...told me?” Cerulean shrugged. “Anyway, who else knows about this?”

“We figured it’d be best to keep it quiet.” Sunset sighed. Cerulean looked at the caged beast and bit his lip.

“I’m letting her out.”

“Are you crazy? It’s a dragon!” Nix protested.

“A baby dragon that’s probably scared out of it’s wits and is pissed that it’s in a cage. Do you want to deal with an angry dragon?” Nix bit her lip and sighed. Cerulean walked up to the cage and the dragon sniffed his hand. Nix rolled her eyes and made the cage crumble. The dragon stretched it’s wings and jumped into the ice mage’s arms.

The creature hissed at Nix. The alchemist stuck her tongue out at the lizard. Cerulean sighed and walked upstairs to the living room. The creature hopped on the couch. “So....what do I do?” He said looking at the girls.

“Why are you asking us?” Amber said.

“It’s your little abomination.” That remark earned her another case of frozen hair, courtesy of the dragon. “I am gonna make you into a wallet!” She hissed at the creature. The creature growled at the girl.

“Great.” Cerulean groaned. “Well, I suppose I should give it a name.”

“How about Gucci?” Nix snickered.

“Absolute Zero?” The group looked at the fox girl. “What? It spits ice from it’s mouth.” Cerulean bit his lip and looked at the small creature. The dragon used it’s back leg to scratch behind it’s horns.

“Hmmm. How about Lapis?” The man suggested.

“What’s that?” Amber asked.

“It’s a blue gem.” Cerulean said as he turned his attention back to the dragon. “Like that?” The lizard then nodded it’s head in satisfaction. “Lapis it is.”

“Not to burst your bubble or anything,” Sunset started. “but how are you going to handle her? I doubt there’s a book that teaches you how to train a dragon.” The fire mage said.

“Relax Sunny, we’ll figure something out.” Amber said walking over to the dragon. “Besides it’s cute.” She scratched behind it’s head and the dragon rubbed it’s head against her.

“Yeah, but what are we going to do when it turns into a fifty foot behemoth?” Sunset stated. Cerulean bit his lip and looked at the lizard.

“Either way we can’t ignore it.” He sighed.

“I think I remember Applejack saying that one of her friends is an animal specialist.” Sunset said. "Fluttershy I think."

“Ugh, the one who kept petting my tail.” Amber grumbled.

“Okay, I’ll head to Fluttershy’s house and see what I can find out about our new guest.” Cerulean said as he grabbed his bag and put the lizard inside. “Meanwhile you three head to the guild and see if there’s anything good.” Lapis hissed as she was placed in the bag. The cloth walls were pushing against her wings.

I hate this.

“Hey it’s better than letting the whole town go into a panic seeing you.” Cerulean said as he walked out of the house with Lapis squirming in the bag. She poked her head out the top and sniffed the morning air. Fluttershy lived on the outskirts of town close to the everfree forest, a short ten minute walk is all that was needed to arrive at her doorstep. The cottage was smaller than most of the houses and looked like it was made out of a hollowed out hillside. It reminded Cerulean of a Hobbit hole.

He walked up to the wooden green door and knocked on it three times. He waited a few seconds before the door opened to show rainbow with a cyan T-shirt and black sweat pants on. Her usual straight rainbow colored hair was sticking out in all directions, her wings seemed ruffled and she had large bags under her eyes. She was definitely not a morning person. Cerulean had to fight back a chuckle as he took in her appearance.

“What do you want ice man?” She hissed.

“Thought this was Fluttershy’s house?”

“Sometimes I’m so worn out from practicing, that I can’t get home. So I crash on Shy’s couch.” She yawned. “What are you doing here?”

“I have a pet issue I was wondering if Fluttershy could-” The sounds of a slamming door and fluttering wings filled the small cottage. A pink blur raced down the stairs and halted in front of the two.

“An animal! What kind?” The woman asked in a giddy tone. Cerulean’s face went red and dash burst out laughing like a mad woman. Fluttershy looked perplexed at their behavior.

“Um Fluttershy, I think you forgot something.” Cerulean said pointing at her. As she looked down, the animal caretaker remembered that she frequently slept in the nude.

“Eep!” she slammed the door and zoomed back up to her room.

Well, that got my blood pumping. Even if it’s going down South. He thought as Dash opened the door still laughing. “That happen often?”

“Less than you think, more than you know.” Dash said as he walked inside. Cerulean sat on the couch and waited for Fluttershy to come back down. She came back down wearing a yellow turtleneck and green pants. Her blushing cheeks were hidden behind her pink hair. She had three cups of coffee balancing on a platter. They each took a cup and sipped the beverage.

“S-sorry.” She peeped out.

“It’s no problem. I didn’t see anything.” He lied.

“Bullshit.” Dash coughed out. Cerulean scowled at the flyer. “Dude, why is your bag moving?”

“Right,” He reached inside and pulled out Lapis for the two to see. Dash spat out her coffee in surprise while Fluttershy gasped. The lizard looked at the two perplexed and examined the new surroundings. “I need help with her. I know nothing about drag-” Once again the yellow winged girl impressed the two as she quickly scooped up the small lizard and gave it a tight hug.

“She’s so cute!” Fluttershy cooed.

Can’t.....breathe. Cerulean heard the words in his head and mentioned it to the caretaker who quickly loosened her grip.

“So someone just gave you a dragon?” Rainbow asked wiping her chin with her wrist.

“Long story short I hatched it. Her name is Lapis.” Cerulean said with a sigh. “I’ve never even considered this happening and I heard Fluttershy knew the most about animals around here. So here I am.” Fluttershy put a finger to her chin and thought for a moment.

“Sorry.” She said retracting behind her pink hair once again. “I don’t know that much about dragons. I only know that they mostly eat gemstones.” The girl whined through her hair.

“I-it’s okay Fluttershy.” Cerulean said trying to cheer her up. The small dragon hoped up next to the caretaker and sniffed her hand. Fluttershy gently petted her head and smiled.

“Oh her eyes are so pretty. They’re almost hypnotic.” She cooed.

Yes, do my bidding mortal.

“I heard that Lapis.” Cerulean said as he glared at the dragon.

“Um dude, all the dragon did was screech.” Dash said. Cerulean face palmed and groaned.

“Ugh, I don’t understand what’s going on anymore.” The group then heard Fluttershy’s coo-coo clock go off.

“Oh man! I’m gonna be late for weather duty!” Rainbow said as she jumped up and zoomed out the door. Cerulean then turned his attention back to Fluttershy.

“Sorry I wasn’t much help Cerulean.”

“Don’t worry about it. Twilight herself said that there’s not that much information on dragons.” He sighed. “Frankly the only person in this town who might know about them is Sp-” The blue haired man blinked and face palmed. “I’m an idiot. I should have gone to Spike first.” Cerulean stood up and put Lapis in the bag.

Don’t put me back in there! The dragon hissed.

“It’s better than the town going into a panic.” He said as he shoved her in the bag.
“Thanks for the coffee Fluttershy.”

“If you need help with Lapis then you know where to find me.” She smiled as he went out the door towards the guild. He looked at the sky and saw dark clouds rolling in.

“Why do I have a bad feeling all of a sudden?”

~~~

The fox girl’s ear twitched and turned her head to the East to see several dark clouds cracking with dark lightning crackling along it’s edges. “Weird. I thought the forecast was supposed to be sunny all day.” Sunset said as she scratched her head. Nix squinted and looked at the sky.

“Since when is lightning black?” The alchemist pointed out.

“Maybe the weather machine is broken?” Amber suggested as they walked into the guild hall. Pierce, Comet and Caramel were already chatting about who knows what. The three women each ordered some breakfast as the doors to the guild burst open to show Rainbow Dash completely out of breath. Nervousness filler her usual proud magenta eyes as she spoke.

“Head’s up everyone! Gale is in a town!” Everyone turned their heads to look at the doorway.

“So?” Comet said with a shrug.

“This town!” Like lightning bolts, everyone scrambled to find some form of cover. Whether it be behind the bar, under the tables or up in the rafters. Sunset, Amber and Nix looked at one another in confusion. Amber poked her head under a nearby table to see Pierce.

“Um dude, what’s with the dramatics?”

“What are you new?” The woman deadpanned at the question. “Oh right. Sorry. Gale is....the only way to say it is a monster. She-” He froze as the sound of steps filled the room. Everyone’s head turned towards the entrance. The door slowly opened to show a woman with dark skin and shining white braided hair standing at 5’9.” “she’s here.” He gulped.

The woman’s white braided hair went to the middle of her shoulder blades where a pair of black scaled wings that were each easily three feet long their webbing was more of a grey color were protruding from her back. Sticking out of her white locks were two black horns that started at the base of her hairline and went back before split to three on each side, with a crest at the conversion point on her forehead. Her eyes were the pristine color of orange that shined like burning embers. A tribal tattoo, colored in white was over her right eye and gave her a fiercer gaze, but didn’t detract from her appearance. Her wrists to her deltoids were covered in jet black scales that had many scratches, yet shined like obsidian in the light. On her left shoulder showed the guild seal colored in pristine orange.

Her attire consisted of a sleeveless metal chest plate that showed the guild seal and the same tribal symbol in the center. Gale was also sporting an armored waist guard skirt that went to her knees. The woman’s legs also appeared to be covered in jet black scales that seemed to vanish as they met her sturdy black combat boots. A long black scaled tail with a grey under side was also protruding from her lower back. She had a long katana sword on her left side and a smaller looking curved blade hitched to the right side of her belt.

In her right hand was a large sack with something inside. Her orange spliced eyes bounced around the room and took in everything. The hall was completely silent, safe for her footsteps. The air around her was thick with magic and a sense of foreboding and commanded respect. She slowly strode towards the bar as Twilight came out from the back room. The scholar smiled at the woman and greeted her as if she’s known her all her life.

“Nice to see you again Gale. Everything went well I presume?” She said with a smile on her face.

“Yes, sorry it took me a little longer than I expected.” Her tone was flat, yet had an encouraging feel to it. Comet slowly stood up from his hiding place shaking a bit.

“What’s in the bag Gale?” The woman set the bag on the table and opened it to show a Taxidermied Griffin head. Beasts such as Griffins were common in high mountain areas and usually preyed on livestock and smaller animals. However, if the food supply happen to run short then it wouldn’t think twice about going after humans to fill it’s belly.

“The town was so grateful for clearing out it’s nest they gave me the head as a gift.” Her eyes suddenly sharpened like two knives that could slice through diamonds. “Any issues with that?”

“Nope!” The crowd yelled out in unison. The armored woman took a seat at the bar and sighed. She ordered a drink as the people came out from their hiding places.

“So what has been going on since I left?” Gale asked as she took the drink in her hand and put a bit on the table for her drink.

“Well, quite a few things.” Twilight said as she took the woman’s coin. “We have four new members.” That got the armored woman’s interest.

“Oh? Who?” Twilight gestured to the three girls. Sunset felt a shiver as the woman’s silver eyes fell upon them. The black scaled knight walked over to them and looked up and down each one of them. Examining their appearance. Amber’s ears and tail twitched slightly as she looked at the woman. She stuck out her black scaled.

“Gale Slate.” She said with a smile.

“I’m Amber, mind telling me why everyone is jumpy?” The fox girl said. Gale looked around the hall and shrugged.

“Haven’t a clue.” The woman shrugged. “I see you practice therianthropy magic. Odd form of magic.” She then put her eyes on Nix.

“The name’s Nix. I’m an alchemist.”

“That requires a lot of brain power. I’m sure you’ll make a fine addition.” Gale then squinted at Sunset. “You look familiar. Have we met?”

“I don’t believe we have.” The fire mage gulped. “My name is Sunset Shimmer. I’m a fire mage.” As Gale stroked her chin, the doors opened to show Cerulean entering with his bag slung across his shoulder.

“Morning.” He said as he walked up to the group of girls. Gale startled him a bit as he saw her. “Who’re you?” He asked as he looked her up and down.

“Give me your name archer and I’ll give you mine.” She stated as she looked at his bow.

“Right, where are my manners? Cerulean Frostwork.” He said as he put his hand out to shake. “I’m an ice mage.”

“Gale Slate.” She gave his hand a hard shake. “You don’t look like you’re from around here.” She said as they took a seat at the table.

“I could say the same for you.” Cerulean said as he looked at the woman’s horns and wings. “Since you asked first, I’m from the far North.” The archer said.

“I suppose that explains the ice magic. I’m from Draconia.”

“Wow, that’s like way far.” Amber said.

“You’ve been there?”

“Mhm. I went there last year, really pretty mountains.” Amber stated. “Granted most of them were dragon dens.” She sipped her drink and a thought came to Gale.

“Yeah, that reminds me.” Gale faced the majority of the hall. “I heard a rumor on the road. Apparently, someone or something managed to kill a dragon that was help up in the mountain not too far from here.” She said looking around the room. “I want the truth of the matter.” The hall fell silent and they started whispering to one another. “Well?” She stammered impatiently.

“That was us.” Cerulean said. The woman turned her head back to the ice mage and the three women.

“What!?” Gale looked at them in disbelief.

“Yeah, we totally killed that thing.” Amber chuckled. The white haired woman glared at Cerulean. He gulped as he felt the woman’s spliced eyes on him. He could feel the air become intense around the woman.

“What did it look like?” She said in a serious tone.

“Um what?”

“What. Did. It. Look. Like?” She repeated.

“It was grey and blind.” Sunset answered. Gale let out her held breath and sat back down.

“I see.” The tension around her seemed to vanish. “Tell me, what did you do with it’s corpse? Did you make use of it?” Her eyes scanned the four carefully.

“Yeah....um the dragon’s body kinda turned to ash after it died.” Nix said. “Pity, dragon scales sell for a lot.”

“Is money all you ever think about?” Nix stuck her tongue out at the fox girl.

“It did leave behind it’s heart stone and-” Sunset felt Cerulean lightly kick her under the table. She scowled at the ice mage who shook his head.

“Well, it sounds like you really did kill a dragon.” Gale said in a surprised tone.

“You didn’t believe us?” Nix said in an offended tone.

“You’ll me a lot of ‘dragon slayers’ who claim they killed a dragon when they’d actually wet themselves seeing a timber wolf.” Gale said in a bland tone. “People who boost their reputation like that make me sick.”

“So you must have seen a dragon die yourself.” Cerulean said.

“No, but my father has killed many and he’s told me about his hunts.” She said as she took a sip from her drink. “Dragon slaying is common among my family.” Cerulean gulped and gently gripped the bag causing it to squirm. Gale’s ear twitched and looked at the ice mage. “You seem Nervous Cerulean. Why?”

“Me nervous? Nah.” He said hoping she didn’t see the sweat n his forehead.

“In my experience there are only two reasons why someone’s nervous; they’re either scared, or they have something to hide.” She squinted at the man. Cerulean gulped and tried to find an excuse so he went with something his dad would say.

“Well, I get nervous around pretty girls.” He said with a slight laugh. Gale only frowned at the man’s vain attempt at flattery.

“Funny. Still you have my respect for disposing a dragon.” She said as she stood up. “If you see a large green one with yellow eyes, I’ll let you tag along when I take it’s head.” Gale started walking away from the group as Cerulean had a thought.

“Isn’t that kind of ironic?” He said as the room went dead quiet. “I mean, Draconians are technically half dragon aren’t they?” Gale pause and took in a deep breath through her nose and exhaled as she turned around and glared at the man.

“Nice knowing you Cerulean.” Comet whispered as he dove under the table.

“Yes, Draconians do have ties to dragons when it comes to history and magic.” She said as she grinned like a panther about to pounce on it’s prey. “Also, since you faced a dragon and dared to compare me to one of them then I doubt you’re a coward. Which means you’re hiding something.” Her silver eyes looked at his bag as it moved slightly. “What’s in that bag?”

“Nothing.” He said as he put it on his back.

“Really?” She said in disbelief.

“I’m serious. There is nothing you’d find valuable in this-” He was cut off as the top of the bag opened and Lapis’s head poked out.

FRESH AIR! The dragon cawed as it breathed. Several people in the hall did a spit take as they saw the small blue lizard. Cerulean leaned his head back towards Lapis.

“Get back in the bag.” He whispered. The dragon looked around at all the shocked faces. She heard the unsheathing of a blade and saw the Draconian pointing her long blade at her and Cerulean. The blade was curved and was a pristine steel color with a black lightning bolt design coming from the handle to the blade’s edge.

“What is the meaning of this?” Gale hissed.

“Okay so maybe the dragon dropped an egg and I hatched it.” Cerulean gulped. There was a purple flash and Twilight got between the two.

“Guys, the guild hall isn’t for fighting and I don’t think it’ll survive a slash from your blade Gale.” The scholar said hoping to calm them down. Gale bit her lip and sheathed her blade before she stormed off. Twilight then turned to Cerulean and stared at the dragon. “Why in the name of Celestia do you have a dragon?” She yelled.

“It’s a long story.” Cerulean sighed as the dragon crawled up onto his shoulder. “Claws.” He said as he bit his lip. The lizard tilted it’s head and looked at the guild members. Several girls gave an ‘awe’ at it’s cuteness. Lapis spread her wings and screeched. “Show off.” Hearing the screech a blue light filled the hall and Princess Luna appeared before the group.

“What was that horrendous screech?” Luna’s eyes shrank as she saw the perching dragon. “What in the name of the moon is that?” Luna pointed at the blue drake.

“It’s a baby dragon.” Cerulean said as Lapis crawled on top of his head.

“Why is it here?”

“Can we please talk about this in your office?” Luna nodded and lead Cerulean up to her office. He had a seat and the dragon started exploring the new surroundings as Cerulean explained how he hatched Lapis from the egg. Luna sat back in her chair and looked at the dragon as it walked around. “So that’s basically the whole story.”

“I see. I am still concerned about the safety of the town.”

“Oh come on, Lapis is a baby. Less threatening than Spike.”

“For now. What happens when she matures?” She raised an eyebrow at the dragon.

“We’ll....cross that road when we come to it.”

“I am not going to endanger this town because you’ve found a new pet.” She said in a stern tone.

“So what are you going to do? Kill her?” He stepped between Luna and the dragon.

“Do you honestly think you can out match me?” She raised an eyebrow at his action.

“Probably not, but still, she hasn’t done anything bad and you can’t judge her for things that may or may not happen.” He gulped as he felt the air around her grow tense.

“It is a huge risk that could easily backfire.” Cerulean gulped and could feel the air around the Princess become thick with magic. He had and idea, but it may just make things worse.

“So was making you a guild leader and a Princess when you came back from your one-thousand year stay on the moon.” Luna’s eyes shrank and pursed her lips. The desk in front of her started to wobble and magical energy started cracking around her.

“You are treading on very thin ice boy.” She said in a tone so cold it gave Cerulean chills.

“All I’m saying is that if what you told me is true, then Celestia could have easily locked you away the minute Twilight and the rest used those element things, but she didn’t. She looked past all the wrong you did and gave you back your title. On top of that, she let you open up and run this guild.”

“That is different. Nightmare Moon’s presence is extinguished.” She hissed.

“Is it? Are you one-hundred percent sure that there is no way in Equestria that she could come back, or you could go nuts again?” Luna clenched her fist and the magic started leaking out of her. Her eyes bore like blue daggers at the man. Through grit teeth Luna gave an answer.

“I don’t know.”

“It’s pretty big risk if you ask me. A way bigger risk than a baby dragon, who can’t even fly yet.” He said looking at Lapis. Luna took in a deep breath and looked at the dragon before exhaling.

“Very well. No harm will come to her, but she is your responsibility.” Cerulean gave a relaxed sigh at the words. “If she becomes a monster, than I will not hesitate to defend this town and the people living here by any means necessary.” The magic around her was gone and the tension left the room.

“If it comes to that. Then I’ll deal with it myself.” He said in a firm tone. The dragon crawled back onto his shoulder and opened the door to leave. As the wooden door swung, Amber, Sunset and Nix fell back. No doubt they had been listening. Standing a few feet away from them was Gale. “Really guys?” He face palmed.

“What? We got bored down there.” Amber said as she and the others got to their feet.

“How supportive.” He droned sarcastically. “So Luna gave Lapis a free pass provided I keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t freeze the town.”

You never let me have any fun. The dragon whimpered. Cerulean then heard Gale speak.

"Try it and I’ll end you." Lapis and Cerulean both looked at the white haired woman.

“You can understand her?” Cerulean asked.

“Of course. I’m draconian we're taught how to speak to dragons when we're young.” She stated in a bland tone. The group walked back down the steps an awkward silence hanging over them.

“So Gale,” Sunset said. “do you know how this ranking thing works?”

“Ranking?” Cerulean asked.

“Everyone in the guild gets ranked on their skill. It lets the guild master know which people are strong enough to take on missions.” Nix explained. Gale lead them to a storage closet and pulled out what looked like a crystal ball on a three legged stand. She brought it out on the table and stared at it.

“Run your magic through it an it’ll give you a rank.” She put her hand on it and it glowed before the letter A popped up.

“Me first!” Amber said. She placed her hand on the orb and focused her magic. A letter D appeared. “Oh come on.” She whined.

“Ha ha.” Nix said as she went. Her results were a letter C. Nix only smirked while amber stuck her tongue out at her.

“A lot of people here are C and D rank.” Gale stated. Cerulean went forwards and put his hand on the sphere. A letter B popped up inside.

“I’ll take it. You’re up Sunset.”

“Um....I think I’m good.” The fire mage gulped as she looked at the orb.

“Nuh uh, we all did it. You’re up.” Amber stated. Sunset gulped and hesitantly put her hand on the orb. The sphere flashed and a letter A appeared.

“Well, that’s surprising. We don’t get many A rank mages around here.” Gale said. “Including myself and you there are five.”

“Who’re the other three?” Cerulean asked.

“Twilight for obvious reasons. We have a newer mage who is also A rank but she’s not that well liked, mostly because of her ego.” Gale sighed.

“Who’s the last one?” Nix asked.

“Blueblood.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Cerulean groaned. “That jerk is an A rank mage?”

“While I don’t like him that much either, he is Princess Celestia and Luna’s nephew.” The draconian said with a huff. Cerulean rolled his eyes and was beside himself at the words.

“This is gonna be a long day.”

Author's Note

Hey so sorry this is late. Writer's block is a real pain in the ass and since school has started back up I'm not sure how much time I'll have, but I'll try to keep writing.