Evergreen Heart

Chapter 25
When Fate gets bored, things go pear shaped.

The dining room back at the canterlot Palace was filled with chuckles as the two royal sister enjoyed breakfast while reading the newspaper. The headline for that morning edition’s main article read as follows:

Chaos in Canterlot.

From our local reporter Scoop Chase.
For the past two days, Canterlot has descended into chaos as all of the Canterlot Elite seem to have been struck with a mysterious affliction of unknown origins. Doctors have been unable to determine if this affliction is a disease, magical or of some other origin. The effects of the affliction have been many and varied, ranging from bizarre body part transformations to ponies spontaneously enlarging or shrinking, to many, many cases of explosive flatulence. Proving what most commoners already believe, namely that the elite of canterlot are just ‘full of hot air’. So far there have been no reports of the affliction spreading, and a statement from the royal health inspector assures us that there is no danger to the populace. On a brighter note, the outbreak has had a positive impact on the local economy, as the sales of perfumes and air freshener has gone through the roof. We will continue to update you on the situation as it develops.

Luna closed her paper with a chuckle. “We still can’t believe Aeron did this.”

“Believe it little sister, he told me so himself.”

“And thou art okay with this Tia? He essentially poisoned a full quarter or more of Canterlot’s population.”

“With completely harmless and frankly hilarious results.” Celestia chuckled.

“The noses of the nobility would disagree with thee sister. In fact, when the winds blow from the east thou can smell the result all the way over here. The cities upper tier smells like an open sewer.”

“What would you have me do luna? Arrest him?”

“Hardly, we are fully aware we are playing devil’s advocate here. The nobility of Canterlot deserved to be taken down a notch or two, which his prank has done admirably. Just remind us to keep the tower windows closed for the next few days.”

She gave an affirmative chuckle and went back to sipping her morning tea. “The effects should be gone within another day or two, I’m sure we can hold out till then.”

They sat in companionable silence, enjoying their breakfast, until Celestia raised a question. “Why didn’t you join us the other night Luna?”

“For what?”

“Don’t give me that Lulu, you know what I’m talking about. Why didn’t you join us at Donut Joe’s?”

“We did not wish to intrude upon thy time with thine student.”

“Is that really the reason?” Celestia asked with a raised brow.

“Alright, we felt, awkward.”

“But why dear sister?”

“We, don’t know.”

“Are you certain you weren’t just avoiding Twilight and the others.”

Luna sighed. “We are eternally grateful to thy protege and her friends for restoring us to our senses. But we are not yet ready to face them again. We need more time. Time to get used to being without our other self.”

“Luna, I don’t wish to push you but have you considered counseling?”

“Whatever for?”

“Because your progress has been rather… erratic. You are ready to jump into battle at the drop of a hat, but the idea of talking to six young friends, or merely mingling at a party has you all but hiding under your bed.”

“We did not hide under our bed! There wasn’t enough room, so we made do with our cupboards.”

Celestia stared at her sister with open mouth

“That was a joke Tia.”

“Oh.” she said awkwardly.

“Wait, did thou think we were serious. We are not a little foal, sister.”

“I’m sorry, Luna.”

“Thou hath better be. As we recall thou were the one hiding rather than face us upon our return.”

Celestia let out an undignified sputter.

“That is so not.. How could you.. Lunaaa!”

Luna burst into laughter.

“Thy face is priceless sister.”

Celestia sulked. “That wasn’t funny Lulu. I was so afraid back then. Afraid that you had returned, only for me to lose you all over again.”

“Sorry sister, we did not mean to make light of thine feelings.”

“It’s alright Lulu. I’m just glad it all worked out in the end and that you are here with me now.”

They shared a brief hug.

“Thou had better get ready sister. Court opens in less than thirty minutes.”

“I just hope none of the visitors are afflicted with explosive farts.” Celestia said with a shudder.

“We know an air freshening spell.”

“Teach me, quick.”

********************

It was early morning at the Golden Oaks library in Ponyville. We were sitting around Twilight’s kitchen table, having breakfast. That is to say, Spike, Twilight and Trixie were having breakfast. I was just enjoying their company, since I couldn’t eat grass pancakes or daisy sandwiches. Even if I could they would probably taste like something inane such as cotton candy or marshmallows or even peanut butter candy. I honestly don’t understand why everything I eat tastes like candy in one form or another. Maybe it’s my mind that can’t make sense of a plant’s sense of taste, if such a thing even exists. So in its confusion its making me taste candies? Ugh, not knowing the answer could drive a guy to drink. Trying to forget the enigma that was my sense of taste, I focused my attention on Trixie, who was giggling and snorting as she read through todays paper.

“What’s so funny?” Twilight asked.

“Trixie finds this article hilarious.”

“Is this about the aftermath of Aerons prank?”

“Sure is.”

“What does it say?” I asked casually. A smirk tugging at my lips.

“See for yourself.” Trixie said and hoofed over the paper.

“Uhm.. that won’t do me much good.”

“Why?”

“I can’t read this.”

“What do you mean you can’t read that?” Came Twilight’s shocked voice.

Oh snap! “I didn’t say that.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “I heard you loud and clear you know. What’s going on?”

I mentally sighed. “Fine, I can’t read your language.”

“Are you illiterate?” Spike asked bluntly.

“Heck no. I can read and write just fine.Back home I’d love to spend a few hours relaxing with a good book. It’s just that whatever language you guys use makes no sense to me.”

“What do you mean? You speak perfectly good Equestrian Common.” Said Twilight.

“Except that to me you guys are all speaking English. I have no idea how that works and frankly it’s not worth the headache trying to figure it out. My point is, while I’m perfectly capable of understanding your spoken language, your written language is completely alien to me. It looks like a mixture of two or three different foreign languages from my home dimension. One of which is considered an extinct one.”

“Why did you not say something sooner? We can help you, you know. I can set up a lesson plan, and I’m sure I have some books for foals to help them learn to read. Oh and we’ll need a dictionary, a thesaurus and… what?” Twilight drifted off as she noticed me staring at her.

“That’s why.”

“What do you mean that’s why?”

“Twilight, you have a love for learning and academics that is both admirable and beautiful. But that same passion makes you tend to go overboard when trying to impart knowledge unto others. And it’s hard to reign in that enthusiasm once you build up steam. Which is kind of why I avoided the subject within earshot of you.”

Her ears drooped. “Am I really that bad?”

“It’s not bad as in wrong, Twilight. You just need to learn to do things in moderation when others are involved, since not everyone has you boundless enthusiasm, nor your brilliant mind.”

That brought the smile back to her face. “So can I still help you learn?”

“Sure. In fact I would appreciate the help of all of you.”

“The great and knowledgable Trixie will do whatever she can to assist you.” She declared with gusto, making me crack a smile.

“Well I think I have a good place to start for you.” Twilight said as she levitated over a small colorful book with lots of pictures.

“Fillies First Words?” Spike deadpanned, reading the title. “Isn’t that like, for babies.”

“I thought the visuals would help make things easier to remember.” Twi said sheepishly, a blush tinting her cheeks. “I guess it’s a liiiitle embarrassing.”

“There are worse things one could be doing than having to read a children’s book.” I said.

“Like what?” Trixie asked.

“Like having to explain where babies come from.”

Both Twilight and Trixie blanched at that. Spike just looked confused.

“Don’t babies hatch from eggs?”

“Only if you’re a dragon, or a bird. Do Griffons lay eggs?” I asked.

“Then where do other babies come from?” He asked Twilight. Who gave me a ticked off glare that said: ‘Now look what you did!’

“Uhm.. well, you see spike.. Theres the mother and.. The father and uhm... “ Twilight stammered.

“You should ask Fluttershy, Spike. She deals with newborn animals all the time, she could explain it to you.” I said.

Twilight let out a sigh of relief.

“Really?” Spike asked.

“She explained it to the Crusaders, or so I heard.”

“How would you know that?” Asked Twilight.

“Because they told me so, duh.”

“And why were you talking about reproduction with a bunch of little fillies?” She asked in a dangerous tone.

“Whoa whoa whoa, halt!” I said with horror. “Stop that train of thought right there! It’s NOT what you’re thinking.”

Twilight suddenly smirked. “Had you going there didn’t I?” She said with a devious chuckle.

I stared at her open mouthed. “That… that was a nasty joke to pull.”

“Says the guy who infected the entire gala with poison joke.” Trixie deadpanned with a grin of her own.

I wanted to argue, but I realized I had nothing.

“Okay you got me.”

“Consider it payback for the other night.” Twilight smirked.

“Why miss Sparkle, I didn’t know you had such a vicious streak.”

“Why good sir, you will find that I am full of surprises.” she said in a haughty, upper Canterlot accent.

I gave her a smirk of my own. “I guess the saying holds true across dimensions. Bookish girls are secretly the naughtiest.”

Aaand Twilight.EXE has encountered a problem. Abort, Retry, Cancel. I win this round, Sparkle.

She was staring at me with a mortified expression. Her face turning a lovely shade of magenta. Trixie was apparently just as amused by her response as I was, judging by her raucous laughter.

“I don’t get it.” Spike deadpanned and resumed eating his gem pancake.

The rest of breakfast was rather uneventful. After putting the dishes in the sink we all moved to the main floor of the library.

“So what’s on the agenda for today?”

“Actually we’re supposed to meet the rest of the girls and get ready for the dragon migration. Which mostly just involves digging a trench and little else until it’s time.” Twilight said sheepishly.

Wait, already? But it’s only been a few days since the gala. I guess the chronology of the timeline is a lot more different than I thought. Or perhaps it’s the episodes that are out of order. Considering the seasons seem to change at random in the show, that might just be the case. Ah well I’ll just roll with it.

“Aeron, are you listening?”

“I'm sorry, what was that Twilight? I was lost in thought for a moment.”

“I asked if you could help us with the trench. It would be a nice opportunity to observe your other magic at work.”

“So long as you don’t plan on sticking me full of sensor patches again.”

“No, I’ll just bring some attunement crystals and a spectrometer.”

“Whatever makes you happy Twi.”

We exited the library and walked out of town. About half a mile out we came to a halt in a grassy field near some bushes. The grass had a blueish lavender color rather than the usual green. I had no idea why this was so. Maybe it was a strange Equestrian variant of normal grass? Maybe it was magic? Just another item on the list of endlessly growing questions about how this world worked. Half of which could probably be answered with the age old phrase: “It's magic, I ain't gotta explain shit.”

“This looks like a good spot. Alright Aeron,” Twilight said as she lifted a boxy device with several colored crystals poking out of it, “Give it your best shot.”

I shrugged and focused my magic. Calling upon my earth moving ability still feels a little strange compared to my normal magical powers, probably because I haven’t really used these all that much yet. It’s hard to describe in terms anyone can understand. Best way to explain is like… like turning a light switch. My normal magic is like a green light. Then when I use my other magic it’s as if the light goes from green to blue. Making everything appear slightly different. It’s also different in its execution. Where my normal magic is largely controlled by my thoughts alone, this ability is partially controlled by my physical movements. I have no doubt that in time I can master this magic and use it without all the hand and arm gestures, but it’s simply easier for now than having to visualise everything. It’s why I find it the easiest to perform in a humanoid form, which I promptly assumed.

Shapeshifting on the other hand has become like second nature by now. I can slip from one form into another with barely a conscious thought or effort unless I’m trying a radically new form. Still it always feels nice to be walking on two legs. I guess after more than thirty years as a bipedal life-form it feels safe and familiar to go back to it on occasion. Like slipping on a well worn, comfortable jacket. But enough of these wandering thoughts.

I reached out with my hands and my magic grasped at the earth. Then I casually threw my arms sideways. Like Moses at the red sea the ground in front of us split down the middle and a wide trench formed in the earth. I made a downward punching motion and the earth around the edge of the trench compacted and hardened. Preventing it from collapsing back into the trench.

“That about good enough?” I asked as I glanced over to Twilight, who had a scowl on her face. “Is something wrong?”

“No no, it's fine, everything's fine.”

“Twilight? Why do you look so peeved? Was it something I did?”

“I’m sorry, it's just that... your magic is so vexing. Most of the things you do can be achieved through conventional magic. But not without great effort. And yet you seem able to throw your powers around without any effort at all. Where do you get that much power? How do you generate the required energy? I just can’t figure it out, and that frustrates me.”

“Honestly I don’t know. Most of the time I just draw on my own inner reserves. But I do take in magic from around me. The sunlight for instance is converted directly into energy. It sustains me and lets me function, and also serves to increase my magical reserves. When I try something really taxing I can draw upon other things, like the earth itself.”

“But even with all of that you are expending a lot more energy than you should be able to generate or convert in the time it takes for the magic to take effect. There has to be something more at work.”

“Sorry Twi, that’s all I know.”

She let out a deep sigh. “It’s fine, I’ll figure it out one day. And then I’ll write a paper on it. I’ll just have to observe you even closer.”

“Remember our deal. No going overboard.”

“But…”

“Yes your butt is very nice.”

“Wha.. I… wait, whu… Aeron! You can’t just say something like that.” She said all flustered.

“I can and I will so long as you keep reacting so hilariously.” I quipped as I walked back to town.

Seems I’ve figured out the perfect way to shut her down whenever she’s about to go off the deep end or launch into an endless argument. It takes her a couple of seconds to reboot her thought process and follow after me. All thoughts of research forgotten as she gives me an earful about making inappropriate remarks about a mare's hindquarters. Okay so it might not be the best way to shut her up after all. At least she’s not stealthily trying to probe me or collect samples or something equally borderline mad sciency.

Later that afternoon we are all huddled inside the trench. Well, all of us sans Fluttershy, who made a run for it after trampling Rainbow Dash into the dirt when she and Twilight came to get her. We were all just trying to pass the time while we waited. Some, like Trixie and Twilight, had brought a book along. Dash and AJ were trying to arm wrestle. Or is it just called a leg wrestle where ponies are concerned? I had stationed myself in the sunniest corner of the trench and was humming a tune while I soaked up the rays. The only other pony absent was Rarity. She would likely just claim to be fashionably late once she showed up.

“What is that song you are humming?” Twilight asked.

“Its called ‘The power of love’.”

“Dude thats sappy, cheesy and kinda lame” Said Dash.

“Remind me to put the entire song in a memory crystal sometime and let you hear it. See if you think it’s still lame afterwards.”

“Whatever dude.” Dash waved me off. I had half a mind to go over there and bop her on the head, but I restrained myself.

“It does seem a bit sappy for you.” AJ said with a smirk.

“What? Just because I’m a guy I can’t enjoy a good song for what it is.”

“Course not, you just didn’t strike me as the type is all.”

“Just shows you don’t know me as well as you think. Besides I like many sorts of songs. Some happy, some sad, some sappy, some extremely silly. And some that are just badass.”

“What do bad donkeys have to do with it?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“That’s not what that means. It means the song kicks butt.”

“That’s not very nice.” she said with a pout. “And how can a song kick some ponies heiney anyway?”

“Not literally, Pinkie. It’s just an expression.”

“Oooooh.... I don’t get it.”

“Nevermind.” I said. It’s a good thing I can’t get migraines. Because that would have given me one for sure. “Still, it’s not as lame as you think. Love is a source of great power after all.”

“Sure it is,” Dash rolled her eyes, “all it does is make ponies act stupid around each other.”

“Besides, everypony knows that the magic of friendship is the greatest power of all.” Twilight said.

“Silly Twilight, friendship is merely the bud from which love eventually blossoms. The magic of friendship is powerfull, sure. But love, love allows you to transcend any limit. If you love somepony enough you will move the very heavens with your bare hooves if you have to in order to see them safe and happy.”

“My ain't you suddenly the romantic one.” AJ smirked.

“Oh hush you, applebutt.”

“Applebutt? Don’tcha make me come over there and bite ya.”

“Howabout we settle this with an arm wrestle match?”

“No thanks, I’ve seen yer strength first hoof. No need to add injury to insult.”

Eventually we were joined by Rarity, whose eye watering purple, pink and yellow camouflage dress made me question her sanity. Honestly, it's called camouflage for a reason. The point is to blend in, not make those you’re trying to hide from go blind. Even if that would be an effective tactic.

“Ahoy, maties! Dragons ho!” Pinkie suddenly called out to us in the quietest voice I’ve heard from her to date. Soon the skies overhead were filled with dragons of all shapes, sizes and colors.

“Wow, amazing!” Twilight exclaimed as several dragons displayed some aerial acrobatics. To which the others also oohed and aahed. All that is except for Dash.

“Pfft, pretty lame move. Is that all they've got?”

I ducked into the ditch, as one of the dragons sent a stream of fire in our direction after getting in a tussle with one of its flight. Dash was a little too slow and got her mane singed.

“What do ya think of that 'move', Rainbow Dash? Still think they're lame?” AJ said smugly.

“Uh, not so much. The word 'fierce' comes to mind.”

“Not to mention 'formidable'.” Said Rarity.

“And 'super-duper scary'!” Pinkie added.

“Trixie would like assurance that we are indeed safe here. She did not brave a nest of pony eating spiders to end up as a dragon snack.” she said as she huddled deeper into the trench, quaking like a leaf.

“Don’t worry,” Twilight said with a smile, “we’re perfectly safe in here.

“Still, us dragons are definitely a force to be reckoned with.” Spike said with pride as he brought us some refreshments.

“Yeah, right, Spike. That's one of the scariest aprons I've ever seen!” Dash guffawed. The rest of the girls, sans Twilight. Joined in on the laughter.

“What's wrong with wearing an apron? You won't be laughing when you spill blueberries all over your scales, uh feathers. That's one tough stain!” Spike said as he tugged at the small apron he was wearing. It was purple and white with a heart embroidered onto it.

“One tough stain against one lame dragon.” Dash guffawed.

“Oi, lay off the boy, Dash.” I said, mildly annoyed at her attitude thus far.

“Oh come on, I’m just poking a little fun at him.”

“Aeron’s right.” Rarity said sternly. “Spike's style is unique. He doesn't have to look like other dragons.”

“Or act like them.” Twilight cut in.

“My little Spikey-wikey is perfect the way he is.”

“I don't act like other dragons?”

“Oh, not even close!” Said Pinkie.

“But why would ya want to, Spike?” AJ asked.

“Yes, you've got something those dreadfully fierce dragons can only dream of.” Rarity said.

“What's that?” Asked Spike, his eyes full of wonder.

“The cutest widdle chubby cheeks! Oooooh!” Rarity cooed as she pressed her hooves into Spike’s cheeks like some old grandma.

“Cute?! Dragons aren't supposed to be cute! Right?” Spike asked as he pushed Rarity’s hooves away from his cheeks. Normally he would be thrilled to be that close to her, but his frustrations and insecurity were getting the better of him.

“Oh, sweetie, you are turning the most delightful shade of red. It is most becoming.” she said.

Spike let out a frustrated growl and marched out of the trench.

“Oh, isn't he adorable when he waddles off in anger?”

“Waddle?! Arrrrggggh!” Spike shouted angrily and moved away faster.

“I’m disappointed in you girls.” I said with a sigh.

“Ahh come on Aeron, it’s just a little friendly ribbing.” Dash said.

“Not to him it wasn’t. You were pretty much making fun of his insecurities. Try putting yourself in his place. He’s a young dragon living in a culture completely different from his own. He has no idea where he comes from, and unlike you lot, he doesn’t have a cutie mark to help him find his lot in life. All he has ever known is the pony way of living. He has adopted your morals and values as his own, yet there’s a good chance it will make him a pariah among his own kind. He has no clue how to behave like a proper dragon. Which is important to him. And you girls were making fun of him for it.”

“I seem to recall you once said all dragons were a bunch of plot-holes.” Said Dash.

“That’s beside the point. Which was that you all should have been more considerate towards Spike’s feelings.”

“Gee, now ah feel bad for laughin’ at the little guy.” Said AJ, her ears drooping slightly.

“Me too.” added Pinkie.

“Good, because you should feel bad.” I said as I hoisted myself out of the trench and walked away.

“What a jerk.” Dash grumbled.

“He actually had a point though, Rainbow.” Said Twilight.

“Doesn’t mean he has to be so preachy about it.”

That was the last I heard of their conversation before I moved out of earshot.

Later that night I was sitting in the library’s main room, which pretty much doubled as Twilight’s livingroom. I was trying to learn how to read. Several children's books with pictures lay strewn around me. I had made a little progress, but not as much as I would have liked. The scribbly text portion of the language is easy enough to understand once you get the basics. But it's the damn pony hieroglyphs that throw me for a loop since their meaning depends a lot on the ones around them. You can have one that when translated on its own means fire, but when placed next to several others it means something like cooking water or boiling soup. Talk about over-complicating things.

After spending some more time trying to figure it out I tossed the book aside with a frustrated sigh. I needed a break. I looked around the moonlit room. It still feels rather amazing that all of this fits inside a single living tree. My curiosity peaked, I let my senses roam free and connected to the library itself. By now I’d felt enough lifeforce from various plants to immediately notice this one was a little different. It had been subtly altered by magical means in order for the tree to survive being hollowed out to this extend. It also felt much, much older than most of the others I’ve felt. It gave off a sense of age and wisdom. It felt very suitable to a place of learning and knowledge.

I was interrupted by Twilight and Spike who came down the stairs. Twilight’s horn briefly flared to ignite the magical lights around the room.

“Oh, hey Aeron, did we wake you?” Spike asked as he noticed me watching them.

“Nah, I don’t really sleep.”

“What were you doing sitting in the dark?”

“I was trying to talk to the tree.” I said as I waved my hoof at the ceiling.

“You can do that?”

“Sometimes. It's not the same as talking to you or Twilight. So what brings you two down here at this hour?”

“We’re going to do some late night research on dragons. I want to find out more about myself and what it means to be a dragon.”

“Good on you little buddy. It's important to feel good about yourself and know where you stand in life.”

“Would you like to help us?” Twilight asked.

“As much as I’d love to, my reading isn’t all that good yet.” I said as I held up one of the children's books ”But if you need someone to make you two some coffee, I’m your man.”

The hours passed, and two cups of coffee became an entire pot. Soon enough the first rays of the morning sun peeked over the distant horizon.

“Nothing. Nothing in this one either!” Twilight said with mounting frustration as book after book joined the discard pile.

“Nothing at all about dragons? This is getting ridiculous!” Spike shouted.

The door opened and Trixie waddled in, still half asleep. “Whats everypony yelling about so early.” She said with yawn and reached for the coffeepot.

“We were trying to research dragons, but so far we have found zip. It's hard to believe, but ponies know next to nothing about dragons. Apparently they're too scary to try to talk to or study!” Said Twilight.

“I wonder if dragons cry…” Spike said with moistening eyes. His frustrations getting the better of him.

Twilight hurried over and put her front legs around him, hugging him close to her. “Aw, Spike.”

“It's okay, Twilight,” he said after a moment, “I'm gonna discover who I am if it's the last thing I do!”

The front door slammed open and both Rarity and Rainbow dash stuck their heads in. “Yoohoo! Good morning!”

Spike gave a startled “Waugh!” and landed amidst a pile of books.

“Everypony be quiet!” Trixie screamed. “It’s too early for this level of noise!”

“And good morning to you too, Trixie.” Rarity said with a mild scowl.

“You guys wanna join us for breakfast?” Dash asked.

“That sounds great. I'm famished.” Twilight said.

“I don’t eat pony food, but I’ll join you guys out in the sunlight.” I said as I got up off my spot on the floor.

“Count me out. I've gotta get an early start!” Spike said as he began to gather together supplies, and putting them in a knapsack made from a tablecloth. “I'm going on a quest of self-discovery! I need to learn what it means to be a dragon! And the only way I'm gonna do that is to join the dragon migration!”

“You’re WHAT?!?” Everyone but me exclaimed, since I figured this was coming.

“Spike, that's nonsense talk! I know that you're a dragon, but those dragons mean business! They're big, and tough, and scary...” Rainbow started.

“And I'm small, and meek... and I like to wear aprons. See? This is exactly why I need to spend time with them.” Spike interrupted her.

“All I'm saying is that you could get hurt.”

“Darling, this time I really do have to agree with Rainbow Dash. I don't want those big, ugly, nasty dragons to hurt one little scale on your cutesy-wutesy head!” Said Rarity.

“I'm sorry, but I've made up my mind.”

“Oh, uh, quick, do something! Stop him before it's too late!”

“Don’t look at Trixie.” Trixie said with a shrug.

“I’m neither the boy’s father nor guardian. I have no right to stop him, and frankly neither do any of you.” I said when rarity turned her eyes to me.

“But he could get seriously hurt. We can’t let him run off by himself.”

“While I agree that we have no right to stop Spike, I share rarity’s concern for his safety.” Twilight said. “I want you to have this chance Spike, since neither I nor my books could help you. But not if it means risking your safety.”

“Well then, Aeron can come with me.”

“Wait what?” I said, unsure I heard correctly.

“He’s big and strong, and he fought a dragon before and won.” Said Spike. Making both me and the others cringe slightly. Since I had not so much won as much as murdered the hell out of that drake. “Plus he’s a shapeshifter. He could probably disguise himself easily.”

Everypony, and drake, turned to me with expectant looks on their faces. ‘Oh you goddamn bitch.’ I thought to myself as I briefly looked at the ceiling. Fate was having another go at me it seems. Or was this karma for my stunt at the gala? I swear I could hear a girl's coquettish laughter at my expense, though that was probably just my imagination.

“Well Aeron? Will you go with spike and keep him safe?” Twilight asked.

Looking at Spike’s hopeful expression, I didn’t have the heart to turn him down.

“Alright.” I said at long last. “But if I’m going to pass as a dragon I’m going to need Trixie’s help.

Trixie, who had been sipping coffee nearly choked and did a spit take.

“Say WHAT?!” she coughed.

“Look I can take on the shape of a dragon, but I will need your skilled illusions to complete the disguise.”

“B-but.. thats insane. You want to take Trixie on some trip to find and hang out with a big group of dragons. Are you trying to get Trixie killed?”

“I will keep you both safe, I promise. Please?”

Her ears lowered in defeat. “Fine, Trixie will come. Not because I like you or anything, but because somepony needs to be the voice of reason in the group.” She said with a slight huff.

“Noted.” I said while trying to suppress a grin. ‘Voice of reason my ass.’ I thought with a mental snort of amusement.

“Twilight, I can’t believe you’re letting them do this.” Rarity whispered to her.

“Don’t worry, we can follow them at a safe distance.”

“No, you won’t.” I said firmly, having overheard them. “This will be dangerous enough as it is. I won’t have you lot thrown into the mix too. I’ve got enough to worry about as it is.”

Besides, with my luck there’s probably going to be a few confrontations. I might have to say or do something nasty that I don’t want them to see, and subsequently report back to Celestia.

“But…” Twilight began, but I cut her off.

“What is it with you and your obsession with your own rear end, Twi?”

“That’s not what I’m talking about! This is not about my plot!” She exploded at me.

“Whats this about Twilight’s plot?” Dash asked in confusion.

“UUUGH!” Twilight groaned loudly in frustration. Her train of thought once more spectacularly derailed.

“Come on, let’s go outside. I’f I’m gonna be a dragon I’ll need some elbow room.” I said, putting deed to word and walked out the door.

“As long as it’s not like your imperio rex thing.” Trixie Said.

“His what now?” asked Spike.

“When we were facing the spiders he turned himself into this big and scary reptile thing.”

“That’s indominus rex, and no, I have something else in mind. Though not as large as the real thing. I’m not even sure I could maintain something so large.”

The six of us trotted out of town, across the river and into the rocky hillsides.

“Why are we going all the way out here?” Asked Dash.

“Because I need something, and I don’t want to ruin the street in front of Twilight’s home.”

“Would you stop being cryptic already and just get on with it.”

“Fine, this place should do I guess.”

We were on a flat little plateau surrounded by rocky outcrops. I let my senses wander and searched for what I needed. I must have taken a bit too much time because Rainbow’s voice once again found my ears.

“Are you gonna stand there all day?” She rasped impatiently.

Now don’t get me wrong, I like Dash well enough, but her lack of patience and restraint gets on my nerves sometimes. Instead of biting out a scathing retort I let that annoyance seep into my magic and pushed it deep into the earth. A tremor went through the plateau and the ground began to crack.

“Alright, stand back, here we go.”

Using both my wild magic and my earth magic at the same time was a new and somewhat difficult experience, but I managed to control them with some effort. I guess it’s a bit like learning to play a guitar. Your left hand has to do one thing, while your right one does another. Now I’ve tried learning to play a guitar, and I was rubbish at it. But this, this I could do.

My body grew and expanded with the strongest, toughest vines I could create, taking on a distinct draconian shape. I lanced my earthen magic deep into the ground and pulled up what I needed. Several large slabs of obsidian tore themselves free from deep beneath the soil and began to orbit around me. I reached out with my hands, or rather claws now, and channeled even more magic through them. One by one the slabs were sliced into dozens of scale shaped chunks. I then covered myself with these. Using a combination of tiny vines, super sticky sap and earth magic to keep them attached to me. I brought up gemstones to form spines, tail spikes and more. Diamonds formed the nails of my claws as well as the teeth that lined my cavernous maw. Giant rubies were carved into sharp points to form my horns. And a collection of emeralds and sapphires formed the spines along my back.

“Darling, next time I need to restock my gem supply you simply have to help out.” Rarity said, marveling at the ease with which I had simply ripped the gems from the earth.

Controlling them felt no different from controlling regular soil. Different texture, but same amount of control. I turned and looked down at everypony, since I was now easily three times their size.

“I suppose I could lend a hand, or hoof. Alright Trixie, illusion time, make me look like a real dragon.”

Trixie gulped and stepped forward, “Any preference for a color?” She asked.

“Whatever takes the least amount of effort to cast and maintain.”

“Basic black it is then, since that’s what you’re mostly covered in it's easier to keep it that way.”

Her horn ignited. It took her some effort, but I could feel the spell taking effect. The obsidian scales took on a more leathery shine. The gemstones changed to form real teeth, nails and spines. And my empty eye sockets became slitted pools of molten gold. She even added a pair of illusionary wings.

“Maybe you should make those wings look tattered and torn. Since I can’t fly like a real dragon, making them appear injured might be a good excuse as to why I’m walking.” I said after getting a good look at them.

Her horn ignited once more and the wings took on a damaged appearance.

“Perfect. You pulled that off wonderfully Trixie.”

She took a slight bow. “The Great and Talented Trixie thanks you for your praise.”

“I must admit, that was some impressive spellwork, Trixie. And yet you insist you can’t do anything complicated. I think you might have simply been looking at your talent wrong.” Twilight said.

Trixie actually blushed slightly at the compliment she got from Twilight and waved her off.

“Dude, you look fearsome.” Said Dash.

“Well I did try and emulate the shape of the most fearsome dragon I know,” I said with a grin. A grin full of razor sharp teeth. It wasn’t an exact likeness of course, since Trixie had to craft the illusion from scratch without any sort of reference, but it was close enough.

“Namely Neltharion the Earth Warder. Before he became Deathwing the Destroyer. Although I’m only about one twentieth of his size right now.”

All of their eyes went wide.

“Only one twe... how big is this guy?!” Dash shouted in disbelief.

I smirked some more. “Bigger than that dragon you kicked in the snout once. Way bigger.”

It was amusing to see her pupils shrink to pinpricks.

“Want me to do his voice?”

“Can you do that?”

“I don’t know. Let’s find out.”

It took a bit of messing about with my faux voice box, but in the end I managed to get a good approximation of his voice and I delivered the lines from the cataclysm cinematic.

“Pain! Agony! My hatred burns through the cavernous deeps!” I rumbled in that deep gravelly voice. Then I did the roar. All of them involuntarily took a step back.

“Dude, don’t ever, EVER!! Do that around Fluttershy.” Dash said after she recovered. “She would never leave her cottage again.”

“That would be bad, yeah. I promise I won’t try that again anywhere near her.” I said in my normal voice.

“Good.”

“Alright Trixie, time to get in.”

“What?” she said with confusion written all over her face.

“Get in mah belleh! You’re riding along inside.” I said as I spread my jaws wide open.

“Trixie is not sure she is comfortable with this.” She said uncertainly as she stared at my teeth.

I let out a little chuckle.

“Alright alright, I will stop teasing you. But I was serious about you riding along inside of me.”

With a little magic I folded back the front plates and vines of my chest. Revealing a roomy cavity, large enough for a pony to fit comfortably inside with some room to spare. Bioluminescent fungi, growing from the top, provided a soft yellow light. And everything was padded with warm, soft moss.

“See, you will be perfectly safe and comfortable. I can even provide you with food. Though you might want to bring along a canteen or two of fresh water.”

“You mean you want her to ride inside you like.. like a dragon shaped suit of armor?” Said Twilight.

“More like a foal in its mother’s belly.” Rarity chimed in.

Twilight shook her head in disbelief. “This has to be the single craziest plan ever.”

“What would you suggest then Twi? That Rarity whip up a dragon costume for her to wear?”

“W-well no, but this all just seems so crazy. What’s the point of all this?”

“Well sure it’s a crazy plan, but a plan nonetheless. Inside me she will be safe from danger, and she can recast the illusion without being seen. Plus I can’t breathe fire. But she can cast illusionary fire, right from my mouth.”

“You are bucking nuts dude. And I should know, I’ve done plenty of nutty things.” said Dash.

“We know.” all the others chorused, making RD grumble.

I turned back to Trixie. “Are you ready?”

Still a little reluctantly, Trixie hoisted herself up and climbed into my chest. She turned around so she faced forward and settled down into the soft moss.

“How will Trixie see?” She asked.

“Don’t worry, I got you covered.”

I slowly closed up my chest, leaving only a small slit for her to see out of should she so desire. The opening itself invisibly hidden under the illusion.

“There we go. Are you comfy in there Trixie?”

“Surprisingly, yes.” Came her slightly muffled reply.

“Try casting some illusionary fire, see if it works like I hoped.”

Trixie lit up her horn once again and I opened my mouth. A stream of orange flame shot forth, just like the real thing.

“I’d say that’s a resounding success. An applause for our brave and talented magician.”

The others rolled their eyes but politely stomped their hooves a few times.

“Well then. Shall we get going? Before we lose sight of the dragons.”

Spike perked up at my words. “Yes! Let’s go!”

And that’s how Spike, Trixie and me found ourselves tracking through the wilderness, trailing the seemingly endless stream of dragons across the sky. They were flying south by south-east, towards the mountain chains that separated the Badlands from the rest of Equestria, east of the Macintosh Hills. I must say I was not particularly looking forward to this. Those teenage dragons behaved like a bunch of asshole frat boys or jocks. Not the kind of people I like associating with. I would stay back as much as possible and let Spike fend for himself unless it became absolutely necessary for me to step in. At least that was the plan.

“Thanks for coming along you guys.” Spike said.

“You’re welcome little guy. Though we could have taken the train for the first leg of the journey.” I replied.

“But we might risk losing sight of the dragons that way.“ he said.

“True, but it would have been faster than walking.”

“It’s a shame you can’t fly.”

“Yeah, kinda. I don’t really mind though, I’m afraid of heights anyway.”

“I’m still surprised you’re scared of anything. Considering you are a big strong and sometimes scary monster.”

“Yes well, before I became said monster,” I said whilst making air quotes with my claws, “I was a person. An ordinary and very vulnerable person. And you know what’s funny?”

“What?”

“When I still was that person, I would have given anything to have superpowers like these. Now that I actually have them, all I can think of at times is how I just want to be my old self again.”

“Well, maybe one day you can. Anything is possible right? Especially with magic.”

“I don’t think there’s any going back from this Spike.” Especially since my body is probably a skeleton by now. But I left that part unspoken. “Still, being like this did come with some good things too. I got to meet all of you after all. You, Twilight, the girls.”

“And, Trixie.” Came her voice from inside me.

“Yes and you, Trixie.” I said with a smile.

“Can you let Trixie out for a while? Not that it is not comfortable in here, but Trixie has some business to take care of.”

“Business?”

“Yes, business.”

“What sort of business?”

“You know, business!”

It took me a moment to comprehend what she was saying. “Oh.. OH! Of course, right away.”

I let her out and she darted off into the woods without so much as a backwards glance.

“What’s she doing?” Spike asked.

“Nevermind that Spike, she’ll be back in a moment, just keep an eye on the dragons up there.”

Trixie returned a couple of minutes later, looking rather relieved. I must admit, that was a bit of oversight on my part. Since I don’t exactly have normal bodily functions anymore I kinda forgot about it. Best to make sure she takes care of business before we join the dragons on the volcano, otherwise things might get messy. I don’t think Trixie would be very comfortable hiding inside me if she’s lying in her own.. ok brain let’s NOT go there, thank you very much.

“You want to walk for a while?”

“That would be good yes. Trixie cannot afford to grow lazy and pudgy, especially once her wagon is done and she can go back on tour.”

“Won’t be too much longer before it’s complete. I doubt you will grow corpulent within a week or two.” I said as I looked her over.

While she was no Applejack or Rainbow Dash, Trixie was anything but pudgy. Applejack had the physique of someone used to hard physical labor. Thick strong muscles, especially on her hind legs, but without being overly bulky. Dash on the other hand was slimmer, more like a track and field athlete. Trixie wasn’t as well defined, but she had strong looking legs, well trained but without losing her girlish physique. I guess that’s what happens when you spend most of your time pulling a wagon from one town to the other.

“If Pinkie keeps feeding Trixie those delicious sweets she just might. How that mare is not rounder than a cider barrel Trixie has no idea. She consumes enough sugar to send the entire royal guard into a candy induced coma.”

It’s true that out of all the girls, Pinkie was the most… well I wouldn’t call her chubby exactly. If anything I would describe her as pleasantly plump. A full figure woman, if she was human that is.

“I guess her being so hyper and active is what helps her burn off some of that excess sugar and keep her in shape. It would explain why she always seems to have such boundless energy.”

We trekked on. Soon the woods were behind us and we entered open grassland. We could make out a few farms in the distance, towards the setting sun. Straight before us were the distant silhouettes of the mountains surrounding the badlands. We walked on until well after dark. I told Trixie to hop back in and take Spike with her. I walked all the way through the night while they slept inside of me. Their quiet snores and my footsteps were the only sounds for miles. Everything was so quiet out here. I must admit it felt slightly unnerving.

Having grown up in a city you get used to their being a constant source of background noises. Trains and other distant traffic. The hum and buzz of electric lights and other electronics. The occasional far away siren. But out here there was nothing. Not even the sound of crickets like I would have expected. Aren’t rural areas supposed to have cricket noises after dark? Or is that just another movie cliché? Maybe Equestria doesn’t have crickets. Maybe they have tiny changelings that make those noises. Ha, can you imagine that. A couple of changelings half the size of a foal sitting in a tree and making cricket noises. I find the image hilarious for some reason.

It was well after sunrise the next day when there was a quiet knock on my insides. The grasslands had given way to arid hills with the occasional prickly bush.

“Morning you two. Sleep well?” I asked as I opened up my chest plates to let my passengers out.

“Like a baby.” Said Spike as he stretched himself out. “Aren’t you tired though?”

“Not really. I don’t sleep remember. Besides, the morning sun is doing wonders for my reserves.”

“Oh yeah, I keep forgetting that you don’t need to sleep like us. Twilight would love not needing sleep. She could research without ever having to stop.”

“I bet she would. It does get a little lonely though, having nopony to talk to at night.”

“Where are we?” Asked Trixie.

“Not exactly sure. Somewhere between Appleloosa and Dodge Junction is my best guess. There’s a river a little ways that way where we can refill our water supplies.”

“Some breakfast would be nice too.” she said. “Did you pack anything?”

“You forget who you’re talking to.” I said with a smile and then grew a selection of fruit from my tail. Hanging there like a fancy shopping display. “Pick whatever you like. I can make plenty more.”

“My you’re a pretty useful person to have around on a trip.” She said as she plucked some apples, an orange and some pears from me.

Spike poked at the fruit for a moment, then his face lit up. “Hey, Aeron, could you perhaps find some gems for me instead?”

“I can try, sure.”

I reached out with my earth power to try and find some gems, but the immediate area seemed to be void of precious stones.

“Sorry little buddy, doesn’t seem to be any gems around these parts.”

“Nothing at all?”

“Nope. There’s a vein of silver ore a little ways over there, about thirty foot down, but other than that this area holds nothing of interest.”

“Man the Diamond Dogs would love you.”

“Typical.” I said with mock indignation. “Trixie wants me for my fruit, you, rarity and the dogs want me for my gems. Is there anyone who wants me just for being me?”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Spike said apologetically.

“Relax Spike, I was just kidding.”

“Oh… sorry. It’s kinda hard to tell with you sometimes, because of the voice.”

“What’s wrong with my voice?”

“Well, unless you sing, there’s this weird echo to it, it makes you sound emotionless at times. And it’s hard to pick out nuances. Unless you’re being extremely snarky.”

“Takes one to know one. You can be pretty snarky yourself.”

Spike shrugged. “What can I say, I call it like I see it.”

I chuckled. “That you do.”

We set off towards the river to slake our thirst. Trixie even jumped in to get the dust out of her coat. When she resurfaced, the sun reflecting off her wet mane made it sparkle and shine like pearl. I admit I quite enjoyed the sight.

“What are you staring at?” She asked me.

“Nothing really.” I said. I guess it was a bit creepy of me to stare at her like that.

I moved into the river and drank as much water as I could hold in me. I even made a few additional pockets to store a little extra for Spike and Trixie, since there was no way to be sure when next we’d have a chance to resupply.

“Were you staring at Trixie?”

“No, just keeping an eye out. I promised to keep you safe after all.”

“I see.” She said as he climbed out of the water and shook herself like a dog to dry off. She didn’t sound convinced.

We set off not long after, following the trail of dragons in the sky. It took us two more days and nights of walking to reach our destination. At some point the arid desert hills gave way to a rather withered looking forest. As unwelcoming as the place looked, the cooler air was a blessing after the scorching heat. Once we passed beyond the woods we came to the mountains themselves. During the day Spike and Trixie walked beside me, and in the night I carried them. Trixie had to recast the illusion on me twice, after it ran out. We were currently hiding among some boulders and bushes at the foot of the volcano.

“Alright Spike, this is it. From here on out you are on your own. Trixie and I will be nearby, but unless you come to us specifically for help we will not interfere, unless your life's in danger. Go and learn what it means to be a dragon little buddy.”

“Thanks guys.” Spike said as he gave us both a brief hug, before he ran up the mountain to the caldera.

“Alright Trixie, time to get in, remember to keep your voice low if you need to talk to me.” I told her after she refreshed the illusion once more.

Trixie looked at the top of the volcano and the many dragons perched around the edge. She was shaking slightly. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

No, this is probably a terrible idea. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Now come on, before they spot you.”

She climbed in and I closed my chest, leaving just her viewing slit. I then began to ascend the volcano until we reached the top. As we made our way into the crater, spike had already introduced himself to Garble and his group. And things were not going well. While I always thought these guys looked rather ridiculous in the cartoon, they looked a lot more dangerous in the flesh. Not only were they bigger than the show would have you believe, but they were also very ripped. Even the fat one had some clearly defined muscle to him, save for his gut. And that’s without mentioning all the spines, tail spikes and claws. At the back of my mind, the beast growled. Apparently it did not like being in the presence of so many rival predators. Or at least that’s the impression it gave me. I tried to shut out the sensation and focused on the scene below.

“You flying on yer mommy’s back during the migration?” The fat one asked spike. The show never mentioned their names, aside from Garble.

“Not exactly.” Said spike.

“No no, can’t you see little Spike here just hatched. I bet he still sucks his claw at night!” Said the purple dragon who reminded me of some annoying surfer dude.

“No, I haven't sucked my claw in months!” Spike protested.

“Well, if you weren't just hatched, how come we haven't seen you around before?” Garble asked.

“Oh, well, I came here with my friend. y'see, I live in Ponyville and…”

“Ponyville? Did you bring a namby pamby pony with you?!”

“What, no I,”

“Where is this ‘friend’ of yours?”

“Uhm, he’s over there.” Spike pointed in my direction.

Great, so much for staying out of it. The group sauntered over to us, and Garble stared me in the eye.

“So you and Spike both live among namby pamby ponies?”

“Actually I live in the Everfree. Got a problem with that?” I said casually.

“And if I do?” he said as he poked me in the chest with a claw. “What are you gonna do about it huh?”

“Maybe nothing. Or maybe I’ll go down the mountain, find myself the biggest cactus I can carry, then come back up here and shove that cactus right up your ass.” I deadpanned whilst giving him a level stare.

He stared right back at me before he burst into laughter. “HA! Glad to see one of you hasn’t gone soft living near ponies. But remember, I’m in charge here.”

My eyes narrowed. I could feel the beast inside wanting to challenge his claim. It worried me. Why was it being so combative towards dragons. Was it the result of my previous encounter? Whatever the reason I tried to lock down the desire to punch his face in and just snorted a: “Sure.”

“Good. Now where were we.” he said as he turned back to Spike and challenged the little drake to a belching contest.

“Not exactly the epitome of civilised behavior are they.” Trixie snarked from inside me.

“If these guys are civilised, then I’m the bloody queen of England.” I whispered back.

“Who?”

“Nevermind.”

“Hey new guy.” Said the white drake. “We never got your name.”

Snap, I completely forgot to think of one, since I didn’t plan on talking to any of them.

“Well who’s asking.” I countered to try and stall.

“Uh me, duh.”

“And you are?”

“I’m Fizzle. Now who are you?”

“You can call me, Darkwing.”

“So why haven’t you taught Spike to be a proper dragon?”

“Do I look like his mother to you? It’s not my concern. I’m only here because I’m getting payed in gems to keep an eye on him.”

Sure that was a total lie, but considering dragons obsession with gems it sounded like a plausible enough excuse.

“Now lay off the questions. I’m trying to relax here.” I snorted as I settled down on the rocky ground.

“Whatever.” Fizzle grumbled and moved off to join the others, who by now had moved on to tail wrestling.

Without help, Spike was pretty much getting clobbered. The little guy was really too small to be competing in any of these activities. In fact I think he was the only baby dragon here. None of the other adults had any hatchlings with them. I don’t know if that’s because dragons don’t have children very often, or if they simply don’t join the migration while their little ones are still that small. Frankly I don’t understand the point of the migration. And as curious as I was about that, I wasn’t about to ask these guys, or any of the adult wyrms for that matter. Dragons are powerful creatures with their own branch of magic. For all I know they might be able to see right through Trixie’s illusion if I get to close to any of them.

“Oi Darkwing, get your scaly ass over here! It’s time for king of the hoard. Everyone has to play.” Garble roared.

Ugh you gotta be kidding me.

“Are we really participating in this?” Trixie whispered.

“It would be worth it just to sock him in the mouth.”

“Do you really want to sink to their level?”

I paused to think it over. “Maybe just this once.”

“Trixie supposes that would be alright, just this once.” I could hear the smirk in her voice.

“Alright, let’s go toss a dragon off a pile of gems.”

“KING OF THE HOARD!” Garble roared.

At the signal, every dragon charged up the massive pile of gems. I moved closer to Spike to try and assist him, only to receive a flying tackle from a grey dragon named Baff. We nearly toppled over and down the pile, but at the last second I managed to twist around and toss him off me. He landed hard and fell down the pile. I had to throw myself flat against the slope of gems to keep gravity from dragging me down too. I noticed Spike pass me by at a rapid pace as he ascended up to the top, where garble was wrestling with another dragon. The beast inside my mind growled and I scrambled after the little drake as fast as possible. He managed to reach the top first though, and came up right underneath Garble, who lost his balance and went tumbling down the slope of gems.

“King of the Hoard!” Spike yelled in victory.

“A lucky victory.” Garble grumbled. “Lets see how you handle Lava Cannonball.”

“Looks like we missed our chance.” Trixie whispered as the others moved off to the lava pool.

“Meh, at least Spike is making some progress. Now let’s observe from as far away as possible. I don’t wanna get dragged into this particular activity. I’m too flammable for such nonsense.”

“You’re too flammable? What about Trixie! Ponies and lava don’t mix.”

“Very true.”

I settled down on a flat slab of stone at the rim of the caldera and soaked up some rays while we observed the action below. One by one the dragons jumped off a high ledge of rock and into a small pool of lava. They were treating it like it was a hot-spring. As I sat there, observing things in silence, I could feel the beast in the back of my mind, pacing restlessly in it’s cage. The damn thing had been on edge from the moment we got here. It was making it very hard for me to relax.

“Aeron, are you okay? You feel tense all of a sudden.” said Trixie.

“It’s nothing. Besides, how could you possibly tell?”

“Trixie doesn’t know, she just could. Is something wrong?”

“It’s nothing, really.”

“You know you can talk to trixie, to me.. If something bothers you, right?”

“Sorry, it’s just… I told you about the beast when we first met right?”

“Yes, you said it was still with you. That it lies asleep in your mind.”

“Well it's not exactly sleeping anymore. It's been on edge ever since we crawled into this crater. I don’t know if it wants to run or fight or whatever, All I know is it's making it very hard for me to relax.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

“Not unless you know a spell to put it back to sleep.”

“Well no, but maybe Trixie can help you relax. Whenever Trixie used to feel anxious when she was little, clean sweep, our live in maid, used to help her relax. Just close your eyes, and take a long, deep breath.”

It felt rather weird, since I don’t exactly breathe the way she does. But I followed her advice. I closed my eyes. That is to say i supressed my magical vision, and took a deep breath. There were many odd scents in the air. Mostly sulfur, and the strange smell of dragons. Who smell like a combination of old leather and iron. But there was another scent here that seemed out of place. The smell of lavender. It took me almost two minutes before I realised where that scent was coming from. It was coming from inside me. It was Trixie.

Now I’ve never gotten close enough to a horse in order to smell it, so I have no idea what one is supposed to smell like. And I haven’t exactly had any need nor desire to walk up to a random pony here and just take a big whiff. I mean could you imagine their reaction? They already think I’m a monster, I don’t need them thinking of me as some deviant weirdo on top of that. I really don’t need that added to my list of problems. Anyway, let’s just say it was a rather big surprise to discover Trixie smelled like Lavender. I never really noticed before now. Her scent sort of blends together with all the other flowery and sugary smells around Ponyville. But here, in this volcanic, sulfur permeated landscape, it stood out like a beacon. I must admit, it was kind of pleasant, as well as relaxing.

“Feeling better?” Her voice broke me from my thoughts.

“Yes, thank you, Trixie.”

“You’re welcome.”

It would appear Spike had finally managed to gain the grudging respect of Garble and his ilk. They had lined up in a sort of impromptu ceremony, and Garble was busy giving Spike a noogie. Before long things turned into a party, with dragons dancing, Or at least that’s what I assumed they were doing. It was either that or several of them were having a seizure. Meanwhile, others were stuffing their face with gems from the big hoard. The celebrations lasted until late in the evening, and only died down when everyone was too full with gems to move. Well, except myself of course, since I can’t eat gems. Luckily none of them seemed to have paid enough attention to notice I had not eaten a single bite.

“Man that was a great party.” Spike said with a burp. His tiny tummy swollen with gems.

“Maybe by Ponyville standards.” garble said. “Stick with us Spike, we’ll show you how to really party. That is, if you still want to learn how to be a true dragon.”

“The way I feel right now, I could hang with you guys forever.”

“And what about Twilight and the others, Spike?” I asked.

“What about them? Spike doesn’t need weak ponies. He’s a dragon, not some frilly unicorn.” Garble snorted dismissively.

Before I could retort we were interrupted by the purple dragon.

“Hey you guys, guess what?”

“I’m a little busy here, Fume.” Garble snarled.

“But Vex found a Phoenix nest.”

Garbles eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Yeah dude, it’s not far.”

“Perfect! Spike, if you really want to prove yourself a true dragon, now is your chance. We’re going on a dragon raid.”

“To do what?” He asked.

“We are going to swipe the eggs from that nest. And you’re going to help us.”

I could tell spike was conflicted by the idea. He briefly looked to me, perhaps hoping for guidance? Or for me to try and dissuade him? As much as I would have liked to deter him from this course of action, it was his choice. I’m not fit to be his, or anyone’s moral compass. And this was something he had to decide for himself. Whether to stand by his principles, or give into peer pressure.

“Aren’t you totally psyched to go on this raid?” asked the fat one.

“I.. uhm..”

“Yeah what Clump said, aren’t you psyched.”

“Uh, yeah, uhm totally.”

“Good, then let’s gather up and fly. I want a big group for this raid.” Garble yelled. “Lets fly.”

“Uhm, sorry guys, no wings. Guess I’ll sit this one out.” Spike said, before Clump swooped him up and took to the skies.

“This doesn’t bode well.” Said Trixie.

“No, it doesn’t.”

It really doesn’t. Instead of three, now there were five dragons on the raid. Fate just keeps stacking the deck. Bitch.

“Do we go after them?”

“Yes, we don’t have a choice.” I said and started to run.

Following them wasn’t hard at first. They were flying at a quite leisure pace. But as soon as they vanished below the tops of the trees it became a different matter. I ran as fast as I could. Dodging and weaving through the trees. I pushed my senses to their limit, trying to locate them with my supernatural sonar, or whatever you want to call it. I picked up squirrels, bunnies, snakes, even a cragadile, but no dragons.

“Aeron you got to slow down, Trixie is getting queasy.”

“I can’t, we have to find them before things get out of hand.”

“How do you know that they will?”

“Call it a gut feeling, alright?”

“If you say so.”

There was a bright flash between the trees. Like someone set off a giant firework. It had to be the phoenixes. I redoubled my efforts and turned in the direction of the light. After several minutes voices reached us from up ahead.

“Throw it on the ground as hard as you can.”

“Yeah, Spike, smash it.”

“Smash it, smash it.” they all chanted.

“No! It’s just a defenceless egg, just like I was. And I’m not about to let you hurt it.”

“What did you say?” Garble asked, voice dangerously low.

“I said, no.” Spike growled with finality.

I could see them now. Just a little further.

“Noone says no to me!” Garble snarled before kicking Spike in the gut.

The little drake doubled over in pain, but somehow still managed to shield the egg. Garble wasn’t satisfied. Stepping forward, he punched spike in the head. Sending the little drake tumbling to the ground. The egg rolled from his grasp, but miraculously survived. It came to a stop in the grass only a foot or two away.

“I’m gonna enjoy teaching you who’s boss around here.” He said as they all came closer. Cracking their knuckles and flexing their claws.

I arrived just as he prepared to strike again. I leapt and landed just in front of Spike, blocking Garble’s way. I let out an angry challenging roar.

“Back the fuck off. Right. Now!”

They halted for a moment as we stared each other down. For a brief moment they seemed inclined to back down, and It looked as if we were getting out of this without coming to blows after all. Fate was having none of that. The illusion around me shimmered, and then dissipated, revealing my true form. Trixie’s spell had reached its limit. Of all the rotten ill timed luck.

“You’re no dragon. What in the name of lord Torch are you?” Garble growled.

“It doesn’t matter.” I told him, then I folded back my chest plates to let Trixie out, drawing a few surprised gasps from them.

“Trixie, take Spike and go. Get as far from here as you can.”

“But what about…”

“Go, I’ll catch up.” I said with urgency.

Without another word she picked Spike and the egg up, placed them on her back, and made a run for it. It was the tunnel all over again. I turned back to face the dragons.

“Now then, you guys are gonna turn around, head back to the volcano and pretend this never happened.”

“That’s what you think, but I’m not about to let you walk away after this. First I will burn you to a crisp, and then I will smash that puny purple hatchling into a pulp for ever daring to cross me. And once I’m done with that I will make a snack out of that stupid pony.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You know, I thought you were just a loud obnoxious teenage prick at first. But now I see you for what you are. A dangerous, self absorbed, malevolent psychopath. I was going to let this whole situation slide, but just for that threat, I’m going to tear off your wings.”

Garble bared his teeth in fury. “Get him!”

******************

Trixie ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She didn’t stop until they reached the edge of the woods. Only then did she dare to pause to catch her breath. She looked behind her to see if there was any signs of pursuit, but none of the dragons had followed them as far as she could tell. A series of terrifying roars of both anger and pain echoed through the trees, and the night sky above the woods was illuminated by bursts of fire.

“Do you, do you think Aeron will be alright?” Spike asked, clutching the phoenix egg carefully to his chest.

“I don’t know, Spike. But I have faith in him.” Trixie said. “He survived fighting over a hundred giant spiders. He stood up to Discord and lived to tell the tale. If anyone can survive an encounter with a group of angry teenage dragons, he can.”

With a thump, something heavy landed behind them. They turned around only to be confronted by Fume.

“Going somewhere?” He growled.

Trixie trembled at the sight of the purple and yellow drake. She was still too winded to run for it. She looked at Spike, sitting on her back with the egg and steeled her resolve. She would keep them safe until Aeron came for them. Carefully she lowered her rump and let spike slide off her back.

“Stay behind Trixie, Spike.” She said as she powered up her horn and turned to face fume, scraping the ground with a hoof in a challenging manner.

“Back off you. Don’t make Trixie use this.” She said as she raised her head high, displaying her glowing horn.

“Think you’re tough little pony? Let’s find out!”

**************

This fight was not going well. They had me surrounded on all sides. Garble, Clump, Fizzle and Baff. I had no idea where Fume went, he just disappeared in the chaos. Clump charged in, his mace like tail crashed into my side, shattering the obsidian shards that made up my scales and cracking the wood underneath with shocking ease. That dragon had a lot of power in his tail. Garble unleashed a stream of fire at me, setting me partially ablaze. The flames didn’t have long to do damage as I turned the extra water I still carried into sap and secreted it all over my body, giving the flames nothing to feed on. Fizzle tried to attack me from behind and sink his teeth into my neck, but I slammed him aside with my own tail, sending him crashing into a group of saplings that shattered like tinder under his bulk.

They had me outnumbered and they were fearsomely strong. It was an all too sobering reminder never to underestimate your opponent. Clump came at me again with his mace tail. I jumped out of his reach only to receive a flying tackle from Baff. Sending me careening into Garble’s waiting claws. Nails that could split diamonds had no trouble piercing through the obsidian scales and he tore great rents into my armored side. Fizzle jumped on my back and closed his jaws around one of my ruby horns, biting it clean in half. I rolled and threw him off me, then got double teamed by Clump and Baff who shoulder checked me. Sending me smashing into one of the trees with such force that it was uprooted and fell over.

I climbed back to my feet. Shards of obsidian fell from me, shattered beyond use. Sap leaked from my wounds like blood. This whole situation was getting out of hand. Stupid dragons and their senseless raid against a nest of innocent birds. I really like birds, so that action alone was enough to make me angry. Then they had the audacity to beat up Spike, my friend, for standing up to them. And as icing on the cake, Garble had the audacity to threaten Trixie. The combative feelings I felt welling up in me were more than just my own however. The beast was baying for blood as well. It saw these dragons, these predators as competition, and it roared with the desire to dominate them and prove itself to be top dog. The one supreme Alpha. The true apex predator.

The beast had been bothering me the entire time we were here. Snarling and growling from deep within my mind. Now it was howling ceaselessly with fury. It proved to be a dangerous distraction. I could not willingly let it out. That would be a disaster. But fighting on two fronts proved to be impossible. As I tried to keep the beast caged, Garble smashed me over the head with a boulder the size of a beer keg, shattering my head. The entire left side of my skull fell away, broken and useless. I turned to face him and howled in combined rage.

“What in Torch’s name does it take to kill you?” He growled.

“More than you bitches have in you.” I snarled defiantly as I hammered my fist into his jaw, sending him crashing to the ground.

My control was slipping. The beast tore at the bars of it’s cage, several of them bending and warping. Fizzle came at me again, hoping to blindside me. My earthen powers kicked in on their own, and razor sharp shards of obsidian shot from my body in his direction. Dragons were strong, but far from invulnerable. His agonised shrieks filled the air.

“EEEAAAGH!!! My eyes!!! I’m blind!” He screamed as he grabbed at his face. Blood leaking from his ruined eyeballs, each riddled with shards of obsidian. I could smell it. Tasty, hot blood.

“You son of a bitch!” Garble yelled as he prepared to breathe fire at me again. But a stream of high pressure acid splashing at his feet made him jump back in surprise. The puddle fizzled and smoked as the grass and other vegetation was dissolved.

I turned to him, my one remaining eye blazing with green light. Several flytraps that had emerged from my back loomed over my shoulders, dripping their caustic fluids as they swayed back and forth threateningly.

“Worry about yourself little dragon.” I growled. I wanted to taste his blood. Rend his flesh, suck out the marrow from his bones. A red mist was seeping into my vision ”I... hunger!” No, stop! That’s not what I want. You stay put! Feed! No! Devour! Stop it! Rend flesh!

Clumps mace tail smashed into my face. I was so distracted that neither I nor my flytraps saw him coming. What was left of my head was now a ruin of pulped wood and sap. All of them breathed fire on me. All except Fizzle who still lay on the ground clutching his face and weeping about his eyes. The heat of their combined breath attacks was overwhelming. My flytraps exploded as their sap boiled into steam. The outer layer of my body was rapidly turned to charcoal. I could feel the heat all the way to my core.

“Die you miserable freak!” Grable shouted between breaths of flame.

Everything was heat and fire, no matter where I turned. It took all of my effort to focus my power outward to try and regenerate whatever the fire consumed. To keep the heat from reaching my core and turning it to ash. It left me no room to focus on maintaining the mental cage. The beast bounced against the damaged bars, sensing an opening. A challenge has been issued, and it will not be denied. Not this time.

Dominate, subjugate.

Stop… just stop.

Devour!

One more charge, one more push….. Freedom.

“….”

Destroy!

***********

They don’t know why, but a sudden pulse of dread shoots down their spine. All of the dragons pause in their attack. Garble steps forward. Inspecting the blackened, burning mass that tried to pass for a dragon. Part of it is glowing red hot, like coals in a fire pit. Most of the gemstones that remained have cracked and shattered in the heat, white ash falls from it in clumps. It no longer shows any signs of life, yet something feels very, very wrong. It is as if the very air had suddenly turned stale. It stinks of death, and for the first time in a long time, Garble feels a shiver of true fear. Suddenly the ground cracks and trembles beneath their feet. Veins of green light spread out through the earth and into the woods around them.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Clump shouts.

“I don’t know.” Baff replies before one of the trees behind him comes to life and clubs him in the face with one of its thick, gnarled branches.

The entire forest around them seems to instantly transforms into a nightmare. With a crackling groan, trees uproot themselves as if they were beasts. Their trunks tearing in half to form legs and arms. They grow spikes and thorns and poisonous leaves. Fallen branches and other detritus, rocks and stone, all come together with the trees. Forming into maws filled with thorny teeth and dripping green sap. Stones grind against each other as they form fists of granite.

Garble tries to take to the air. But the moment he spreads his wings they are pierced by spikes of stone that erupt from the earth. They tear through the leathery hide as if it were wet paper, tearing the delicate membrane to shreds. He lets out a pained cry as he falls back to the ground.

Behind him, Clump is being savagely thrashed by a group of trees that now resemble some kind of giant, nightmarish silverback gorillas made of earth and wood. Their heavy stone fists pummel him ceaselessly. Dragonhide may be thick and resistant to injury, but even a dragon’s toughness has a limit. And Clump has reached his. He curls up and tries to protect himself as best he can as the tree-beasts stomp on him without mercy.

Garble manages to climb back to his feet as the burned lump of vegetation that was their victim falls apart into a pile of embers. Revealing a much smaller, but unscathed form underneath it. The thing slowly stalks towards him on all fours, its bulk growing as it draws in everything it can while it approaches. Sticks, rocks, leaves, everything rises up to join its growing bulk. Behind it he can see Baff, being slowly strangled by a cluster of thorny vines that move as if they were alive. Like the arms of some monstrous giant octopus. They pull and contort the dragon’s body in ways it was never meant to bend. With a snap one of his legs breaks and his screams fill the air.

“Look, we surrender. You can go, we won’t try anything.” Garble yells at the approaching creature.

It’s only reply is a snarl as a giant wolf's head emerges from its torso in a burst of sap. Corrosive saliva dripping from its maw. Its eyes promise only pain and death. Garble tries to run for it, but his way is blocked by a barrier of jagged rocks and thorny vines that shoot out of the ground. He turns back, just as the beast pounces, and they go down in a tumble, fighting tooth and claw.

Garble fights for his life, barely keeping the thing from tearing his face off with its snapping jaws. He gives as good as he gets, tearing deep gashes in the things wooden form with his own claws, but it’s not nearly enough to deter the beast. It just keeps growing. It’s bulk getting heavier and heavier as they tussle around in the dirt, trying to overpower the other.

“Get off of meeee!” Garble yells and heaves with all his strength, throwing the beast into the barrier and impaling it on the jagged rocks.

“Yeah! That’s what you get!” he crows, believing he has won.

His momentary euphoria turns to dread as the beast tears itself free and resumes its attack. Not even hindered by what would be mortal wounds to any other creature. Garble inhales deeply and lets out a jet of white hot flame, but a barrier of stone rises up from the ground to shield the monster. He turns to try and run once again as the beast leaps over the melting earthen bulwark. It lands on his back with all of its weight and they go down hard. The air is blasted from his lungs as he hits the ground, his jaw slamming painfully into the soil. The beast has him pinned underneath its bulk. Pain shoots through his back as the beast’s teeth close around the base of his left wing.

“Wait, stop! I give up, come on, stop! I surrender!”

The beasts only response is to bite down, hard.

“AAAH, STOP! I GIVE UP! NOT THE WINGS! PLEASE, NOT THE WINGS! “

His pleas fall on deaf ears. With a sickening crunch the bone shatters under the pressure. The beast heaves and with a wet tearing sound the wing comes off in a spray of blood. garble ‘s scream of pain can be heard far and wide. With a couple of wet crunches the beast devours the wing and brings its jaws down towards the other.

“Pleeease, don’t!”

Just as the beast is about to bite down, a different scream tears through the woods. The scream of a girl. Its head snaps up and turns in the direction of the sound. A second scream follows. With a mighty leap, the beast jumps off Garble’s back and runs off into the woods like a bat out of hell.

As it disappears from sight, the magic that was animating the trees and the soil vanishes. The trees that were bludgeoning Clump to death collapse into broken piles. He is covered from head to toe in swollen bruises. A number of his ribs are cracked and his scaly skin is split open in several places, weeping blood. Both his eyes have swollen shut and one of his horns is missing.

The vines that were strangling Baff cease their attack and grow slack, allowing the dragon to take his first unhindered breath of life giving air. His throat has been mangled to such a degree that he will never be able to speak normally again. His broken leg hangs uselessly by his side. He will always have a limp.

Fizzle still lies weeping in the dirt. Unharmed except for his eyes. He will never regain his sight.

Garble’s hide is deeply gashed in several places. The scars will be obvious. The stump of his left wing bleeds profusely, but he will live. Live, forever grounded. He just lies there and weeps.

****************

Fume swung a fist at her, but Trixie nimbly leapt aside and the punch failed to connect. She responded with a kinetic beam, aimed at the dragon’s face. It connected solidly but had little effect. The magic of her attack being deflected by the inherent magic in the dragon’s scaly hide. He lunged at her, but she ducked under his arms and rolled to the side. A quick firework spell sent him reeling. Momentarily blinded by the bright flash.

“Ugh, you stupid little…” He growled at her. But she interrupted him by sliding underneath him and delivering a double kick with her hind legs. Right at his groin. He fell forward, clutching his bruised goods. Thick scaly hide or not, that hurt.

“Alright Trixie!” Spike cheered as Fume almost face-planted into the dirt.

Fume growled savagely and lashed out with his tail. Smashing Spike aside. The little guy went down in a hard tumble, and it was only thanks to him hitting the ground first that the phoenix egg was spared.

Instantly Trixie leapt in front of him, horn aglow. “Don’t touch him!”

Fume struck with his claws, aiming at her face. Trixie ducked but the tips of his nails scraped against her horn, carving shallow cuts into it. The claw marks themselves didn’t really hurt, after all, unicorns regularly file down their horns, but the magical backlash sent a bolt of electric agony shooting into her brain. With an echoing scream, Trixie went down. Tears leaking from her furiously blinking eyes. Her vision was swimming. Her head pounding like a drum.

“You little bitch. I will make you pay for that kick.” He growls and delivers a kick of his own, right into her barrel.

She went down hard. Another scream left her lips as pain shot through her ribs. They didn’t feel broken, but that kick was going to leave a mark. Fume stepped closer, raising a foot to deliver another kick. Suddenly spike leapt into his face. Having left the Phoenix egg safely at the roots of a nearby tree. He clawed and bit at Fumes face. His nails digging small cuts into the other dragon’s snout.

“Leave. Her. Alone!” Spike shouted with all his might as he sank his teeth into Fumes snout. Who let out a pained yell and tried to yank Spike off of him.

With him momentarily distracted, Trixie had enough time to cast a basic first aid spell on herself. The agony that was shooting through her ribs dulled to a bruised ache.

“Get offa me!” Fume roared as he finally managed to get a good grip on Spike. Tearing the little drake off his snout and throwing him bodily into a nearby rock formation. Spike impacted the rock with a dull thwack, momentarily dazed.

With the little drake out of commission, Fume once more stalked over to Trixie, who was shakily getting back to her hooves. She lowered her horn threateningly, once more scraping at the ground.

“You really think that impresses me? You must be dumber than you look.”

She charged her horn with magic. Her eyes narrowed.

“Give it up already.” He laughed at her. “You can’t beat me.”

“Trixie doesn’t have to beat you. She only has to stall you.” She said defiantly.

“Still hoping to be saved somehow? Your friend is probably ash by now. And pretty soon, so will you be.”

He took a deep breath, firelight glowing at the back of his throat. Trixie raised a shield. She was not very good at shielding spells. She had no idea how long it would hold. If it held at all. Fume exhaled a stream of blueish fire. Instantly Trixie’s shield began to sputter and fade. She poured more magic into it. SHe had to hold on. The translucent dome stabilised itself. No longer blinking like a turn signal. Fume paused his breath attack, only to lunge forward and strike the barrier with both claws, followed by a lash of his tail. Cracks appeared all over the little energy dome. One more swipe of his claw, and the barrier shattered like a glass balloon.

“Looks like I win puny pony.”

A firework spell slammed into his face. Detonating like a bomb.

“Gaaah! You accursed little bitch!” He screamed as he tried to wipe the soot out of his eyes. “When I get my claws on you I…”

That was far as he got before something massive came thundering out of the woods and slammed into him with the force of a battering ram, sending them both sprawling.

‘Enemy.. Rend and tear flesh. Consume the scaly one.’

The beast’s jaws seized Fume by the leg and slammed shut like a vice. With a crunch his knee shattered and a scream of agony escaped his lips.

‘The scaly one tastes good, like the other. Bring it pain! Yes, yes we must hurt it more.’

The jaws crushed down even harder. The scream of agony grew louder. Any moment now that leg would come off at the knee.

“Aeron, stop! You’re going to kill him.” Trixie yelled.

The beast’s eyes widen, the jaws loosen as it turns to look at Trixie.

Fume scrambles like mad, trying to get away from the monster. His wings spread wide and with a frantic beat he was up in the air. Putting as much distance between him and the monster before he blacked out from the pain.

‘The scaly one flees. It won’t get far. A voice? Who speaks? The blue prey. Eat the blue prey.’

I know this prey. Her scent is familiar. ‘Taste her flesh!’ Yes, so hungry. Smells like lavender. ‘Feed!’ Those eyes, they are familiar. ‘Feed now!’ Those eyes are scared. ‘Eat the prey!’ Not… yet…. I remember…

“Aeron? C-c-can you hear T-Trixie?” she says as she backs away slowly.

I remember this… girl? This mare. ‘Taste her flesh, now!’

“Aeron you’re scaring us.”

The smell of lavender. Trixie? Trixie smells like lavender. ‘Rend flesh!’ NO! Not devour Trixie. Trixie is my friend! ‘EAT THE PREY!!’ NO!

“What’s he doing?”

“Stay back, Spike. Trixie thinks he’s not himself”

‘Another scaly one! Devour it!’ NO!

“Aeron? Are you in there? Come back to Trixie, please.”

No more devouring! We… I.. I am not a monster.

GRRRRR!! EAT THE PREY NOW!!

“Trixie needs you to snap out of it.”

Don’t. You. growl. At. ME!

“Aeron!”

My mind snaps back into focus. The red haze of all consuming hunger and rage lifts like a veil, and I have control of my thoughts again. The beast in my head snarls at me, ready to pounce on my mental self. I lock eyes with it and a thousand spears of willpower pierce its hide, turning it into a bizarre pincushion. I savagely kick it back into its cage. The broken bars mending. I wrap them in chains and slam a dozen additional locks onto it. The moment the cage is locked shut, I feel strangely exhausted.

“Aeron?”

“Trixie?” It’s as if I’ve just woken from a particularly vivid dream. Or rather, a nightmare.

My form shifts subconsciously. Going from wolflike to pony, shedding all the excess bulk until only a small stallions frame remains. Soft but firm fungi material grows to cover it. Taking on a familiar green hue.

“Are you… you?” she asks.

“I… yes… I think so.”

“What happened there?”

“Was it the beast?” Spike asks.

I can’t help but flinch. “....Yes. I’m so sorry if I spooked you two. I...”

Silence reigns as none of us really know what to say. I want to apologize to them more for scaring the living daylights out of them. But I can’t find the words. All I feel is shame. I lost control, again. After a minute or two I can’t take it anymore. But just as I open my mouth to try and speak, Trixie beats me to it.

“Let’s just go home. Trixie could use a long, hot bath. We can sort all of this out later”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Said Spike, carefully holding the phoenix egg as we start to walk. “We gotta get this little guy into a warm place too.”

“Trixie has dibs on the bathroom. Otherwise you use up all the hot water.”

“Oh come on, my last bubblebath was only five hours.”

We start to walk. They both cast wary glances my way on occasion though. I can’t blame them. Now that my mind is my own again I can clearly remember all that happened. I just crippled five…. people…. for life. They may have been complete assholes, Garble in particular, but did they deserve that? They aren’t beyond redemption like the likes of Tirek or Chrysalis. At least I don’t think they are.

Perhaps I should go back and kill them. Killing them would be a mercy... right? Stop! When did I become so callous about killing another sentient being? What the hell is happening to me? Stop thinking about this. Focus on something else. Something positive. I smell lavender.

My eyes are drawn to Trixie, who’s walking a few feet in front of me. I choose to focus on her instead. We walk on for some time. At one point she catches me staring.

“Something wrong, Aeron? Why are you staring at Trixie?”

“No! No nothing’s wrong. It’s just that…”

“Just what?”

“I couldn’t help but notice you… you smell like lavender.” I blurted out, too tired to make up an excuse.

Trixie raises a brow and smells her left armpit. Even though technically ponies don’t technically have those, the motion she makes just reminds me of that. She frowns. “Trixie does not.”

“You do to me.” I said before I realised.

A heavy blush comes over her. “S-stop saying weird things, stupid.” She flicks her tail and walks on stoically. Her cheeks pink. Is she smiling? Nah, I must be seeing things again.

“So what happened back there with the others?” Spike asks.

“Lets not talk about that shall we? It’s better if you don’t know Spike.”

It’s better if no one knows.

********************

Canterlot Palace. Three days later.

“Borealis, what do you have for me my old friend?” Celestia said to the shadows of her bedroom window.

“How do you always know when I’m there your highness?”

“That would be telling old friend.” she said with a mischievous smile, before her tone grew serious. “Now, what brings you to me this evening?”

“It would appear that your caution was wise your highness. We observed as Aeron accompanied Spike the dragon on his quest to learn what it means to be a true dragon.”

“Yes, Twilight told me about her wards desire to learn about his heritage. In fact I received a letter from him just a few minutes ago, telling me how he learned not to give into peer pressure, and that what you are doesn’t determine who you are. A wise lesson to learn for one so young.”

“Quite so your highness.”

“So what did you discover old friend?”

“You asked me to keep an eye on Aeron, to make sure he was no danger to the populace. I now believe that there is a very clear danger. ”

“You seem shaken.”

“I am shaken your highness. What I witnessed… You know how Twilight Sparkle described the attack on Ponyville…. I feel your student may have rather understated the true horror that is this beast.”

Celestia turned to look at him directly. “Go on.”

“After young Spike got into an altercation with several of the other young dragons over a phoenix egg, Aeron intervened. He tried to talk them down at first, but the dragons decided to attack and a fight broke out. I don’t exactly know what happened, but at some point Aeron unleashed an attack that permanently blinded one of the dragons. From there things escalated.”

“Did he blind the dragon on purpose?”

“I honestly don’t know your highness. It could have been deliberate, or just poor aim.”

“What happened next?”

“He seemed to be struggling after that. The dragons took advantage and burned him to a crisp.”

Celestia let out a gasp.

“He survived, your highness. But what emerged from the ashes was.. unnatural. This, thing, unleashed a wave of magic that turned the forest into a nightmare that makes the Everfree seem tame. Trees became monsters, plants grew wild and the earth itself rose up to attack the dragons. I nearly got caught up in it myself and had to take to the skies to avoid being torn apart. The beast left all of them battered and broken. And what it did to the red one.” A shudder went through him.

“What happened old friend?”

“It bit off one of his wings, and ate it.”

Celestia was appalled.

“It was about to eat the other one as well, but then it stopped and ran off into the woods.”

“It just stopped?”

“That’s what it looked like at first. I followed it after making sure the dragons would survive. Turns out the beast somehow knew that young Spike and miss Lulamoon were in danger.”

“Wait, miss Lulamoon was also there?”

“Did I not mention that? Sorry. Yes she was there, highness. The beast was mangling the dragon that had attacked the two of them, and only when miss Lulamoon called out to him did Aeron seem to come to his senses.”

“So he regained control?”

“Yes your highness. But I shudder to think what would have happened had miss Lulamoon not been present. I doubt any of the dragons would have survived. Permission to speak freely your highness?”

“Always old friend. I value your input.”

“I believe that Aeron is too dangerous to walk free your highness. What if next time he loses control in the middle of Manehattan? What if he won’t snap out of it. This thing took down five adolescent dragons. When I think of the horror it could unleash on our population.. It makes me sick to my stomach.”

Celestia let out a deep sigh. “So it is as I feared.”

“What will you do your highness?”

***************

I let my mind wander, feeling the trees all around me. Sweet apple acres was so calm and peaceful. It helped me to relax. Each tree was like a star in the void to my mind’s eye. Their energy so serene. I could stand here forever and just… fade away into sleep. The gentle sound of hoofsteps pulled me back to reality. Twilight, Trixie and Applejack approached.

“Aeron, are you okay? You’ve been standing there since yesterday.” asked Twilight.

I slowly turned to face them. “I’m fine Twilight. I just had a lot on my mind.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“There’s not much to talk about. I thought I had things under control. Turns out I was wrong.”

“Look, ya made a mistake. It happens ta all of us. What’s important is to learn from it an’ move on.” Said AJ.

“This wasn’t a mistake, Applejack. This problem should have been properly fixed months ago.”

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Twi asked.

“No, there isn’t. But it’s become very clear to me that this is something I can’t leave as is. So I’ve made a decision.”

“What decision?” Trixie asked.

“I’m leaving ponyville.”

“Leave Ponyville? But, where are you gonna go? What are you gonna do?” asked Twilight.

“The only one who has been able to help me with this problem is Zecora. But her knowledge is limited. So I’m going to find the person who taught her. Maybe she can help.”

“You mean…” Trixie said.

“Yes. I’m going to Zebrica.”