“Don’t be sorry; be assertive! Never apologize when you can criticize!”

Angel rolled her eyes at Iron Will’s advice and at the way Fluttershy’s face lit up, inspired by his mantras. She’d considered interfering with this particular event to spare Fluttershy the heartache but had ultimately decided to stay out of it. This was the first major step in Fluttershy learning to be assertive - true assertiveness, not the twisted, New England assertiveness that Iron Will was peddling - and she refused to disrupt anything that could help Fluttershy progress.

Instead, she watched from above as Iron Will finished his seminar. She stretched languidly, fighting to stay focused as she lay on a cloud over the hedge maze. She’d figured out the code for pegasus weather magic a few days before, and had been delighted to discover that clouds were just as fluffy and comfortable as they looked. She’d almost dozed off a dozen times during Iron Will’s seminar, the bull’s aggressive shouting snapping her back to wakefulness each time.

The minotaur finished up his last speech and walked off the stage, his goat assistants getting to work tearing everything down. Angel stood and stretched again. “Guess that’s my cue.” She hopped off the cloud and spread her wings, gliding gently down to behind the stage where Iron Will was jotting something down in a small notebook. “Iron Will?” she asked, getting his attention. “My name is Angel. I wanted to ask you something.”

Iron Will gave Angel a long, curious look before snapping his notebook shut. “What in Minos are you supposed to be?” he demanded. “You look like half a minotaur!”

That’s one way to put it, I guess. “A human,” she answered. “I come from a far away land. I only arrived in Equestria this last year.”

The minotaur’s eyes went wide before narrowing suspiciously. “From which direction?”

Angel blinked. “Er, not any conventional one. I was transported here by magic.”

“I see.” Iron Will turned away and muttered under his breath. “That makes sense, then.” He turned back to Angel and put on a cocky grin. “So? What does tiny Angel have to ask Iron Will?”

Angel ignored the “tiny” comment and said, “I’m trying to learn more about the lands beyond Equestria. An acquaintance of mine hinted that they aren’t very pleasant, and I was curious.”

Iron Will’s grin froze, his eyes darting around. “Unpleasant? Well, I suppose Equestria is particularly, er, nice. But I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. Your, er, acquaintance must have been mistaken. Clearly.”

“My acquaintance is a changeling.”

Iron Will’s eyes went wide. He rushed over, covering Angel’s mouth - and the lower half of her face - with his hand. “Shh!” he hissed, the quietest she’d ever heard him. “You can’t just go shouting about that! What if they heard you?!”

Angel raised an eyebrow and pulled his hand away. “‘They’?”

Iron Will cursed, taking another look around before leaning in close. “Look, I don’t know what your game is, but leave me out of it. I worked hard to get across the border legitimately, and they’re always watching to make sure I toe the line. I don’t want any trouble.”

Angel frowned, lowering her voice as well. “Sounds like you have a reason to keep me quiet, then,” she replied. “Look, all I want to know is what it’s like out there. It’s probably none of my business, but I’ve got a bad feeling in my gut that I just can’t shake. So start talking now, or I’ll ask again at your next seminar.”

Iron Will’s face filled with fury. “You would threaten me, tiny human?”

Angel smirked. “I’ve got regenerative immortality. If you try to silence me, I’ll just come back from the dead.” It was a gamble. Spot had warned her about what could happen if she showed her cards too easily. But Angel was confident that Iron Will was far from actually dangerous.

Her confidence was vindicated when the minotaur snorted in frustration, the fury leaving his eyes to be replaced with respect. “Fine. But Iron Will is going to be brief. Iron Will doesn’t want to risk anyone overhearing.”

Angel nodded.

The minotaur considered what to say, stroking his chin. “To be blunt, the country of Minos to the southwest of Equestria is one giant pile of bull shit. It’s less a country and more an organized orgy of violence. Our main sport is gladiatorial matches, where death is common. Our favorite pastime is brawling, where death is common. Apart from the White Hands, you never know when someone is going to start throwing hands. And all of this is ‘governed’” he spat the word with disdain “by the champions of the local arenas. Every so often a greater champion of all of Minos will get strong enough to actually hold sway over the whole damned country. But it never lasts long. He always gets taken out by some other bull or cow or leads a suicide army on a raid against Equestria.” He shakes his head. “How we haven’t killed ourselves off yet, I have no idea. Every few generations we stop killing each other so much to rebuild our population, but eventually it gets crowded enough for us to start up the violence again.” He snorted angrily, glaring at Angel. “Is that all you wanted to hear?”

Angel gaped at Iron Will. Sure, Spot had warned her that things were bad in Equestria’s bordering nations, but she’d never imagined they were that extreme. “But… that’s insane! Why doesn’t everypony know about this?”

Iron Will scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Ponies don’t care about what’s happening in the next town over if it doesn’t affect them, much less another country. Besides, the Sun Nag keeps everything about other countries hush hush. As long as her little ponies are happy, the rest of the world can burn for all she cares.” He sighed. “Of course, it’s not like we don’t give her plenty of reason to hate us. Our armies march on Equestria’s southern border every few decades.”

Angel frowned, confused. “Wait, how does nopony know about any of this if there’s a war every few decades?”

At this Iron Will laughed. “A war? Oh no, tiny human. There’s never any war. The minotaurs all just die before they can cross the border.”

“They die? Wait, who kills them?”

Iron Will sobers instantly. He looks around again before leaning close. “No-one, tiny human. No-one kills them.” He stood straight and turned his back, flipping open his notebook. Angel recognized that she’d been dismissed and leapt into the sky. She flew up and away from the maze, giving it one last glance before she soared off, her mind churning with everything she’d just heard.

*****

“Oh yeah. Minos is one of the worst.”

Angel raised an eyebrow at Spot, discarding one card and drawing another. “Really? Which one’s the worst?”

“Full House.” Angel sighed and gathered up the cards, reshuffling the deck. “And it depends. The streets of Minos are a nasty place, but they usually don’t bother with you if they don’t think you can put up a good fight. Plus, they fight you upfront. No knives in the back or anything like that.” He watched Angel draw three cards and reach for a fourth. “High pair. You’re making this too easy.”

Angel began shuffling again. “I still say you’re cheating,” she muttered. “There’s no way you can read me that easily.” She drew a new hand and tried to keep her expression neutral. “What about other places?”

Spot gestured for her to continue and she discarded four cards before replacing them. “Zebrica is a mess of warring tribes,” he said, more open to speaking about it now that Angel had found out part of it for herself. “Some places are pretty peaceful. Others are constantly contested. And the battle lines and territories change rapidly. Slavery is common, and none of them like outsiders. The Gryphon Empire isn’t too bad, just depressing. Most of the population lives in abject poverty while the elite glut themselves on the labor of the masses. Think pre-revolution France, but with all of the third estate at each other’s greedy, bit-pinching throats.”

Angel stared agape at Spot. “That’s… that’s terrible! Seriously, how does Equestria just… sit back while the rest of the world burns like that?!”

Spot shrugged. “It didn’t used to. Used to be that Equestria had open trade with its neighbors. Curbed their worst impulses by threatening to close borders if they didn’t shape up. No-one really liked it, but it kept the world more peaceful.” He glared northward, out the window and up to the distant mountains. “Until the Solar Tyrant shut everything down. Sealed the borders and evicted most of the non-pony population. Now it’s a nightmare to get across the border.”

“Why?” Angel asked, discarding another card and drawing a replacement. “Who stops people from crossing? Who keeps the border sealed?”

Spot gave Angel a calculating look. “No-one stops them, Angel. No-one has manned the border for centuries.” He smirked. “Royal Flush. Hearts.”

“MOTHERFU-”

knock knock knock

Angel bit down on her curse while Spot shifted back into his dog form. “Coming!” Angel called before answering the door. Twilight stood on the other side, looking concerned. “Oh. Hey, Twilight. What’s up?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow and pointed upwards. Angel’s eyes rose to the sky where she saw a dark cloud of ash and smoke slowly growing over Ponyville. “...oh.”

Twilight nodded. “I assume you know what’s going on?”

“Dragon snoozing in a mountain cave, right?” Angel nodded. “Yeah, there was an episode about that. You girls going to head up and deal with it?”

“That’s the plan,” Twilight said. “I’m hoping that we’ll be able to negotiate with it, but I wanted to ask you to come along just in case a more…” she flinched, “physical motivation is needed.”

Angel raised an eyebrow. “You want me there in case it turns into a fight? Twilight, I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I’m not sure how much good I’ll be against a dragon.” Seeing the unicorn’s downcast expression, she sighed. “Look… I’ll fly on ahead and take a look. See what I can see. But it’s most likely going to come down to Fluttershy.”

“Fluttershy?” Twilight asked. “I suppose she is the one who’s best with animals.”

Yes, because they’re not dragons. Angel hid her smirk with a cough. “Right, well. I’ll head out in a bit. Wish me luck.” She said goodbye to Twilight and closed the door.

“This is a bad idea.”

Angel raised an eyebrow at Spot. “Because they can handle it themselves, or because they can’t and I won’t be able to help?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Spot admitted. “Fluttershy has a core of iron, and whatever that ‘stare’ of hers is is probably powerful. But… dragons aren’t nearly as tame as your show portrayed them as.”

“...how bad?”

“Somewhere between the Hobbit and Beowulf.”

Angel flinched. “Okay, that’s bad. But all the more reason for me to head this off. If it is more than they can handle, then I need to be there. If nothing else, I can distract the dragon long enough for them to get away safely.”

Spot hesitated, staring at the door for a minute. “...as much as it would give me deep satisfaction to see the Tyrant’s weapons rendered unable to function…” He sighed. “No, we need them hale and healthy. There will be other threats that only they can handle.” He gave Angel a rare look of open concern. “Be careful, Angel.”

*****

Lone Mountain was just as steep and desolate as it had appeared in the show. A lone tower of craggy rock jutted from the ground, a solitary spike of dead stone inexplicably jutting out of the middle of a fertile meadow. Angel scanned the path leading up the mountain as she flew, making sure that the route was passable for the ground-bound members of the Mane Six. Seeing no obstacles apart from those in the show, she winged her way to the cave at the top.

It was an intimidating sight. The cave gave way to shadows far too quickly to be entirely natural, the light swallowed up before it had penetrated more than a few feet. Thick clouds of smog streamed through the top half of the cave, raining a light snow of ash at the entrance. Angel had already tied a rag around her mouth, but she still found herself coughing occasionally. No point in delaying, she thought. Might as well see what I’m up against. She took a deep breath, somehow managed to avoid coughing, and stepped into the cave. “Angel Horn.”

A simple light spell lit her way through the cave, though the light faded quickly beyond a couple of feet. There was a slight incline at first, but the floor soon leveled out. Good for keeping rainwater out, I guess, Angel thought. The cave soon opened up into a massive cavern, and Angel got her first glimpse of a real adult dragon.

My armor is like tenfold shields, my teeth are swords, my claws spears, the shock of my tail a thunderbolt, my wings a hurricane, and my breath death!

Tolkien had undersold it. The beast before her was the size of a large hill, taller than Fluttershy’s house even laying down and curled up on itself. Its claws gleamed in the light of her horn, curved and edged like wicked scimitars. Its scaled hide was an impenetrable weave of red scales, each one as large as Angel's torso. Its wings, when spread, would have cast most of Ponyville into shadow, and its long, sinuous tail was thick enough to wipe away the first story of a house. Its teeth were hidden for the moment, but Angel didn't need to see them to know that they would be equally majestic and monstrous.

But more than any of that, the dragon radiated Power. Celestia’s power had been subtle, an aura of majesty. Luna's had been subtler still, an unobtrusive cloak about her person. This creature was an inferno, the raw power of his presence almost pushing back against Angel's approach. Despite her immortality, Angel had to work to fight off a sense of dread. Of terror. Of primal, instinctive fear.

Still, as they say in Poland, “It is difficult to defeat a dragon, but one must try.” Angel cleared her throat. “Excuse me?” Predictably, the dragon didn't react. Angel raised her voice to a shout. “Excuse me!” Still nothing. Angel sighed. “Sonorus.” She spoke once more. “EXCUSE ME!”

The dragon snorted at this, blowing a plume of smoke and ash out its nostrils. Its eyes slowly opened, and Angel's heart sank.

“The eyes are the window to the soul, Angel. This is no mere cliché; this is a valuable and actionable truth. The best liars avoid eye-contact if possible, for even the best are unable to remove every trace of falsehood. That's why we changelings evolved lenses over ours. You can almost always tell what your opponent is going to do by watching his eyes.”

The dragon was going to kill her. Its eyes were filled with a casual sadism and cruelty. A disregard for all life but his own, and a promise of death to all who dared stand in his path. Still, Angel had to try. “Good day, sir drake. My name is Angel Johnson, and I come here on behalf of the town of Ponyville.”

“THERE IS NO TOWN BY THAT NAME,” the dragon rumbled, its voice the low rumble of great boulders grinding together. “I HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE, STRANGE CREATURE.”

Angel fought back a nervous swallow. “It must have been long ago, sir drake. Ponyville rests near the base of this mountain, established two generations ago.”

The dragon's eyes narrowed. “AND WHY SHOULD A PATHETIC HAMLET SO YOUNG DARE TO SEND A REPRESENTATIVE TO DISTURB ME?”

Angel gestured upwards. “It is your smoke, sir drake. It begins to cover the sky. They fear that their town will soon be cast into shadow, and much of Equestria soon after. If you could-”

“ARROGANCE.” Angel flinched. “A HAMLET OF NO SIGNIFICANCE AND NO HISTORY DARES TO OBJECT TO MY PRESENCE? AND WHAT IS THIS LIE OF MY SMOKE COVERING EQUESTRIA?” He lifted his head slightly, glaring out towards the entrance of the cave. “MORE OF THE SUN-NAG'S LIES, NO DOUBT.” He glared down at Angel. “HER WRATH IS FORMIDABLE SHOULD ANY HARM BEFALL HER PONIES. BUT YOU ARE NOT A PONY.”

Angel barely had time to bring up her guard before the tail slammed into her. She felt both of her arms and most of her ribs shatter, the broken bones tearing into her lungs. Her abdomen lit up with burning, searing agony as her organs ruptured. Her body was sent flying back, ragdolling across the cave, out the mouth, and off the edge of the cliff.

She was dead before she hit the ground.

*****

Angel’s eyes snapped open as the dragon roared.

Oh no.

She leapt to her feet, summoning her wings and bursting into the air. Spot had warned her that the world was harsher than the show had portrayed, but she hadn’t realized it could be this bad. The dragon might have implied that it wouldn’t kill ponies, but there was no guarantee if they annoyed it enough. She had to get them out of there! Had to save them! Had to-

“HOW DARE YOU!!!”

Angel almost fell out of the sky. She landed on an outcropping just below the cliff that housed the cave’s entrance, her heart turned to ice. Was that…

“LISTEN HERE, MISTER! JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE BIG, DOESN’T MEAN YOU GET TO BE A BULLY!”

They were the same words. The same innocent, somewhat childish words. And the voice was technically Fulttershy’s. But the weight behind them. The will. The promise of nature’s own wrath should her words be ignored. Angel’s legs trembled.

“YOU MAY HAVE HUGE TEETH AND SHARP SCALES AND SNORE SMOKE AND BREATHE FIRE, BUT YOU DO NOT - I REPEAT - YOU DO NOT! HURT! MY! FRIENDS!!! …YOU GOT THAT?”

The world seemed to freeze, petrified at the fury in that voice. But then something happened that chilled Angel to the bone.

The dragon went off-script.

“SO, THERE YET REMAINS POWER AMONGST THE PONIES OF EQUESTRIA. FEEBLE PEGASUS, WHAT MIGHT COULD YOU HOPE TO BRING AGAINST A WRATH SUCH AS MINE?”

“I DON’T NEED MIGHT, MR DRAGON. MY STRENGTH COMES FROM MY FRIENDS, MY ANIMAL CHARGES, AND MY LOVE FOR PONYVILLE. AND I WILL NOT LET YOU HURT ANY OF THEM.”

“OH? AND YOU THINK YOUR PRESENCE IS ENOUGH TO STOP ME?”

“...”

Angel collapsed to her knees. She hugged her arms to her chest, shivering uncontrollably. She needed to apologize. To beg forgiveness. To plead for mercy. To grovel at the feet of this great force and pray for the very ground to swallow her up to hide her shame.

“YOU- I- RRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!” A stream of fire shot over the cliff and for a moment Angel feared the worst. But no, the sound of powerful wingbeats filled the air. “I WILL NOT FORGET THIS INSULT, PEGASUS! SOMEDAY SOON, I WILL RETURN TO DRINK YOUR BLOOD AND FEAST UPON YOUR FLESH!” With one last roar, the dragon flew off, fleeing Equestria.

Angel didn’t hear if Fluttershy said anything after that. Didn’t hear how her friends reacted to what had happened. As soon as the pressure from whatever she’d done lifted, Angel’s eyes rolled up in her head and she fainted dead away.

And fell off the outcropping to tumble to her death. Again.

*****

“Yup, that’s psionic damage alright. One second.”

Angel sighed in relief as the almost overwhelming feelings of terror, regret, and submission lifted from her mind. “Thanks, Spot. Still, I can’t believe Fluttershy of all ponies is a powerful psion.”

“How did you think the Stare worked?” Spot sat back, looking at Angel in concern. “So? How bad was it?”

Angel pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged her legs. “Bad. Really bad. That dragon was…” She shook her head. “I can’t even describe it. How… how can anyone think so little of other people’s lives? He didn’t look at me like I was an ant. It was worse than that. You don’t acknowledge an ant as a fellow sapient being with thought, feelings, desires, and loved ones. He acknowledged all of that. Saw me as a real person. He simply didn’t care.” A shudder ran down her spine. “No, he reveled in it. In my fear. In my dread. In the power he had over me and the fact that he was going to kill me.”

Spot nodded. “That tracks. I’ve been fortunate enough to avoid dragons in my life, but everything I hear about them…” He shook his head. “There’s no reasoning with them. No mercy from them. Your only hope is to either flee or fight, and the latter is usually a poor option.”

“...I’m going to have to fight them someday, aren’t I?”

Spot shrugged. “You’re immortal. It’s all but inevitable that you’ll have to at some point. But as terrifying as they are, they can be fought. They can be killed.” He placed a hoof on her knee. “And I’ll help you get there.” He smirked. “Eventually.”

Angel snorted before frowning off into the distance. “...he would have killed them, wouldn’t he?”

Spot nodded. “He would have. It would have earned him the Tyrant’s wrath, more than he realizes, but he would have done it. If Priss and Prism acted anything like they did in the show, he would have taken it as an unbearable insult.” He followed Angel’s gaze into the distance. “To be honest, I’m worried about Fluttershy. Dragons don’t forget insults like that. He’ll be back someday. And he’ll do his level best to kill her.”

Angel’s eyes hardened. “Well then. Guess I really do have no choice.” She stood and turned her gaze to Spot. “We’re doing this. You’re going to make a dragon-slayer out of me before he returns.”

Spot stood as well. “You won’t regret it? Killing another sophant?”

Angel shook her head. “I’m already preparing myself to kill as many changelings as it takes to protect everyone at the wedding. That will be hard. This dragon…” She remembered the sadism. The disregard for life. The evil in his eyes. “When I sever his head from his neck, I will feel no regret.”

Spot nodded and reached out his hoof. “Then we are of one mind. I will forge you into a dragon-slayer.”

Angel took his hoof, nodding. I swear an oath this day to any gods who may be listening. I will protect the ponies of Equestria. Whatever I must do. However deep the rivers of blood I must wade through. Whatever the sins I must bear. I will not allow harm to come to them.

Thus saith the Undying Angel.

Author's Note

Things are heating up for Angel. Becoming more real. Will this oath mark her as Equestria's savior? Or simply set her up to become the Demon of Equus?