Lockheart

The flight to the Crystal Empire was by far the furthest the Draglings had ever flown from the hive, not to mention, the longest flight they’ve ever taken as well. During their preparations for this invasion, they had all been of how they were to proceed, using an arrow-like formation to fly, with Sting at the front, leading the way. Splitting their focus between the sky in front of them and the ground below, they maintained their bearings by identifying a number of landmarks along the way, making slight adjustments as was needed on this journey far beyond the world they knew.

In the back, Tamati flew after his battle ready children, impressed at how disciplined they were to remain in formation, each flying steady alongside one another. “It’s still so hard to believe it is finally the day of the invasion,” he told himself, his heart pounding from a mix of nerves and excitement. “My swarm will finally get their chance to prove themselves in real combat. I don’t think I’ve ever been so proud, yet so frightened for them all the same.” Taking a deep breath, Tamati attempted to calm him nerves, but he couldn’t completely rid himself of his shakes, like an amateur gambler after barely pulling off a victory with a very meager prize attached to it. “I never thought I’d be so worried to send my minions into battle, but they are far more than that, to me. They are my children too.”

As they began to draw near their destination, the arctic’s northern winds began to blow against them, it pierced their scaley hides, making the force shiver, but not slow down in the least. Their warm breath became visible, as a faint mist that seeped from their maws and trailed behind them, quickly fading from sight. Getting even closer, they entered into a snowfall, the white powder speckling their black bodies like powdered sugar that ran off them as water once it absorbed some of their body heat and melted. The more north they went, the more intense the snow was coming down, soon nearing blizzard proportions.

Down below, the could faintly spy train tracks, along with a locomotive running along it traveling in the opposite direction they were going. “That’s the only railway to and from the Crystal Empire,” Tamati recalled. “If the train schedule we received is accurate, then that should be the last train going to or from the empire for some time. And this storm will ensure that the Crystal Empire will be completely cut off from the outside world during the invasion. Yes, this is unquestionably our most opportune time to attack. And with all the other info that Spike was able to provide us, our chance for success is quite high. Far from guaranteed, but without it we’d be dealing with slim to none odds.”

“I can see it,” Sting called out from the front of the forced. “The Crystal Empire is just up ahead.”

“We’re dealing with a real battle this time,” Tamati told him and all the others. “No more second chances or do-overs here. From now on, it’s do or die. I hope you are all ready for this.”

“Ready?” replied Sting, a song strangely stirring in his heart as they kept getting ever closer, the snow beating down on them, their scalie hides were almost completely covered in snow. Even Tamati was accumulating quite a bit of the icy flakes on his back. Despite this, they didn’t break formation or slow their approach. “It’s what we’ve been preparing for since the day we were born.”

“Any moment now, our time has come,” he sang. “Let’s go, no looking back. Finally time for our attack! We fight in force and as one. Against our might, you have no chance. Flee for your lives, as we advance. Resign your fate, your time is done.”

“Heheh, not bad,” commented Tamati, surprised by the set of pipes Sting had. “Did you just make that up on the spot?”

“I, uh…” he started to say, unsure himself. “I guess it just came to me outta nowhere.”

“Now it’s time to fly forth,” added Zircon, her voice as magnificently powerful as her mother’s own vocal range. “We refuse to retreat. And there is only one outcome that we seek. For our father, for our king, for the glory we will bring. And we are ready, all ready. Ready as we’ll ever be!”

“You too,” chuckled Tamati, rubbing his claws over his muscular arms. “It gives me goosebumps.”

“We’re so close and I’m so excited,” she admitted. “It just sort of slipped out and now I’m more eager than ever.”

“Now it’s time to be swift,” Nat took the baton in this musical. “And it’s time to be strong. Time to give all we’ve got. Clashing steel and burning rage, will echo loudly on this stage. Are we ready?”

Sting answered, “I’m ready!”

“We’re ready,” Zircon and Media sang in unison.

“We’re ready!” all the Dragling spoke in chorus.

“And who says ponies are the only ones to spontaneously break out into song?” Tamati thought with a smirk on his face as the Crystal Empire was now close enough to make out one crystal-carved buildings apart from one another and spy upon the castle resting in the heart of the city, the Crystal Plaza included. “We’re almost there.”

“There’s no turning back now,” sang Media, her singing voice soft, yet it still pierced through the gale force winds blowing through them, failing to steer even one of them off course. “Cause it’s time now to win, or it’s time now to fall. All our lives on the line, as we head for the fray. May our hearts be strong, never stray!”

“Now it’s time to take hold,” continued Tamati himself, finding the musical bug had bitten him as well. “Or it’s time to go home.”

“I’m ready,” serenaded Sting.

“I’m ready,” auriaed Zircon.

“I’m ready,” piped Nat.

“I’m ready,” caroled Media.

“Ready as we’ll ever be!” harmonized Tamati.

The army of Draglings flew through the barrier protecting the Crystal Empire from the frigid north and the felt a relaxing warm climate scare off the chill on their bodies. It was filled with a lush greenery and tons of vibrant crystals, a stark contrast to the pure white of the snow-filled area around it. Everything seemed perfectly calm and peaceful, their presence as of yet unknown to any of the ponies living there.

“Well, that was a thing,” admitted Nat.

“Did we catch some pony disease?” wondered Zircon. “My mom always did say ponies had a tendency to break out into song at random times.”

“It’s nothing to worry about,” Tamati told them. “You’re all just so excited to lay siege to these ponies that you had to sing about it. “I can’t think of a better way to psyche yourselves up.”

“Maybe we can start a glee club when we get back to the hive,” suggested Media eagerly.

“Let’s save the post battle celebration for once we’ve won,” spoke Sting. “We can choir about our triumph then.”

Meanwhile, clear across Equestria, in the humble town of Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle was meeting with her friends at Sugarcube Corner. “Girls, I’m really glad that we were able to meet on such short notice,” she told them. “I’ve been having some difficulties with Spike as of late and quite honestly, I’m just about at my wits end for what I should do.”

“Oh, my,” spoke Fluttershy in a calm, quiet voice. She was covered in pale yellow hair and had a long, pink mane that hung down against the side of her face. Her tail had the same hue and soft, sleek look that her mane did. She was a Pegasus, a Pony equipt with a pair of wings allowing her to fly. On her flank, she had three blue butterflies for her Cutie Mark. “That doesn’t sound like Spike. He’s always been so kind and helpful.”

“Yes, indeed,” agreed Rarity, a white Unicorn with a fabulous purple mane and tail with elegant curls in them. Her Cutie Mark was a trio of diamonds. “Our little Spikey Wikey always acts like a delightful gentleman. I cannot simply imagine him causing you so much trouble that it would require a meeting with all of us to discuss.”

“For your information, our little Spikey Wikey has gone from three feet tall and about eighty or so pounds to, now, seven feet tall and weighs close to three hundred pounds,” she told them, making the rest of the group slack jawed at such an unbelievably huge change in both size and weight. The only one who wasn’t shocked was the already in the know, Pinkie Pie. She, instead, had a worried on her face now that she knew this meeting was in regards to her big, sexy, dragon mate.

“That must have been one hell of a growth spurt,” commented Applejack, the first to finally find some words to go with whatever they imagined Spike must have looked from how Twilight described him. Applejack was an orange-haired pony with a long blond mane and tail and a ten gallon hat atop her head. Her Cutie Mark was of three red apples. “It makes me think back to that one Summer quite a few moons back when I went away to camp and came back to find my brother, Bic Mac big as a barn. Of course, if Spike is big as you say he is, then he’s even bigger than him now.”

“Big?” blurted out Rainbow Dash, a blue-haired pony with a mane and tail in a multitude of colors like her namesake. “At that big and heavy, sounds like he’s got a promising career as a sumo wrestler!”

“I’d love to see that ass of his in a mawashi,” murred Pinkie quietly. “Mmm… that butt…”

“Uh, what about a butt?” wondered Rarity, hearing a bit of what Pinkie had said.

“Um, I was just thinking this butterscotch is really yummy,” she answered with a nervous chuckle.

“But, those are caramels,” she pointed out.

“No wonder I was enjoying them so much… heheh,” she answered and hoped nobody would pry beyond that.

“Girls, we need to focus,” Twilight called them all back to her problem. “We need to figure out what to do about Spike. His size isn’t the only change he’s gone through, but he’s been acting differently too. He’s gotten so rebellious, stealing snacks and taking off for days without so much as a word about it. He’s even keeping secrets from me, of all ponies.”

“Oh, darling,” spoke Rarity. “It sounds to me like he’s just going through a phase. It happens to all teens at some point. Why, Sweetie Belle is going through one right now. She won’t tell me, but I just know she’s got a very special somepony. I don’t know exactly who, I wanna say, Button Mash, but she plays it off like there’s nothing going on at all. Of course, that only confirms that she’s hiding something.”

“But Sweetie Belle is a teenager,” stated Twilight. “Spike is still only a baby dragon. He shouldn’t be having growth spurts or sneaking off, or having secrets, or-”

“Um, Twilight,” Fluttershy chimed in while Twilight freaked out. “I don’t think it’s fair to still consider Spike a baby dragon.”

“But he is,” she retorted.

“Maybe when you and him first came to Ponyville, but it’s been quite a few years since then. Sweetie Belle and all her friends were fillies and colts back then too, but now they’re mares and stallions about the same age as we were back then.”

“Please don’t include us in this example,” commented Rarity a drop of bitterness in her voice. “Thinking about how much time has passed causes me to stress and that only invites wrinkles and gray hair. Oh, now I need an emergency spa treatment.”

“Going back to what Fluttershy was going on about,” continued Applejack. “Spike isn’t the little fella he was way back then. He’s matured a lot since then so he should at least be recognized as a teenager and treated like one by now.”

“Need I remind you that Spike isn’t a pony,” argued Twilight. “He’s a dragon and dragons age a lot slower than ponies. They can live to be hundreds, even thousands of years. For Spike, we can’t even call the number of years he’s been alive a drop in the bucket.”

“I don’t know much about dragons,” stated Rainbow Dash. “But I won’t deny that they can live super long. That being said, I don’t think it means that he’ll be a baby dragon till he’s three hundred.”

“Rainbow’s right,” agreed Applejack. “I haven’t thought of Spike as a baby dragon for quite some time, not with all the work and responsibilities he’s burdened with. Not to mention, he’s smart enough to understand all that magical stuff you prattle on about when I’m lucky enough to be able to figure out every other word.”

“And he’s molted and got his wings,” added Fluttershy. “It might not be the same as getting a Cutie Mark, but I bet that is a special time in a Dragon’s life, a sign reaching a new milestone in life.”

“All of that may be true, but, even so, none of you really know about dragons,” stated Twilight, not expecting them to take Spike’s side in this discussion. She had been hoping they would have sided with her, to make her feel like the punishment she had given him was warranted, not the overreaction of an overprotective parent full of self-doubt.

“Do you really know that much more about dragons than we do?” countered Rarity, shooting down her argument as easy as all the others she came up with.

“Well, no,” she admitted. “Most of my knowledge of dragons has been in studying Spike.”

“Then you shouldn’t try to interfere with him,” Applejack told her in a friendly, supportive tone. “It’s obvious he’s growing up and needs his space. Trust the voice of experience here. I acted like an overprotective worrywart when Applebloom was growing up and ended up treating her like she was a helpless newborn. Doing that only caused a rift to form between us. Luckly, she helped me come to my senses and we were able to make amends.”

“I don’t want anything like that to happen to us,” worried Twilight. “But, I’m afraid that might already be the case. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but a rift did form and I’m afraid everything I’ve done has just caused it to grow bigger. Heh, and I’m supposed to be the Princess of Friendship.”

“It just goes to show that even the best of us can make mistakes in from time to time,” said Rarity.

“But the best thing about mistakes is that they can be fixed,” assured Fluttershy. “You realized your problem and so you can fix your relationship between the two of you.”

“But I don’t know anything about dragons,” she sighed. “How can I fix the problem if I don’t know what to tell him?”

“I say, let Spike just do what he wants,” suggested Pinkie Pie, delighted at how this turned out. “We all had our own urges and desires while we were growing up, after all.”

“Pinkie’s right,” nodded Applejack. “Just give him the space he needs and it’ll all work out.”

“Thanks girls,” Twilight sighed, this time with relief. “This talk has really helped.”

“Excuse me,” announced the mailpony, Derpy as she approached the table with her bag of letters at her side. She was a gray-haired Pony with a pale blonde mane and bubbles for her Cutie Mark. Most notable about her, however was how her eyes were not properly aligned as one looked down while the other was focused upward. “Is one of you…” She paused to take a look at the name on the letter in her hand. “...Twilight Sparkle?”

“Uh, I am,” Twilight answered, raising her hand.

“I finally found you,” she smiled big at her accomplishment. “I’ve been asking ponies for hours.”

“Thanks, but shouldn’t you have just delivered this to my castle?” questioned Twilight.

“Priority mail,” she explained. “It has to be delivered to the recipient as quickly as possible.”

“But wouldn’t it have still been faster to-” Twilight began to say, but decided to just thank Derpy and see who the letter was from. “Oh, it’s from Princess Celestia.”

“A letter from the princess?” gasped Rarity. “But doesn’t she typically send letters to you via Spike?”

“Well, I sent her a letter through regular mail after Spike went awol,” Twilight told her friends. “She wouldn't know Spike is back yet.”

“What was the letter you sent her about?” asked Applejack.

“The same thing I was talking to you all about,” Twilight answered. “She probably is giving me all the same advice you all did.” Tearing the envelope open, Twilight began to read the letter. As she did, her expression began to change, from one with renewed hope to a more stern one. As she finished reading it, she took a deep breath.

“Is something wrong?” worried Fluttershy.

“Princess Celestia has provided me with instructions on how to proceed,” Twilight replied. “I’m to proceed as I have originally planned and to implant a tracking spell on Spike if he doesn’t confess what he’s been up to while not under my watch.”

“But that’ll only make things worse between you two,” Rarity reminded her.

“Anywho, a spell like that shouldn’t even be allowed, right?” added Applejack. “It’s a complete invasion of a Pony’s privacy.”

“And Spike is a Dragon so it’s perfectly fine,” Twilight told them. “Celestia says that if he’s going to act like a Dragon then I need to treat him like one and if he still won’t comply…”

“What?” cried Fluttershy growing more worried than when they started.

“I have to send him back to Celestia and she’ll take care of him,” Twilight said trying to steal her resolve while her heart was on the verge of breaking.

“That’s the biggest bunch of bull I’ve ever heard!” snapped Rainbow Dash. “Has the princess lost her mind? How can she even think you’d do that to your friend?”

“Because it was my job to make him able to fit in with Pony society and if he’s embracing his draconic nature that means I’ve failed him,” she sighed. “And, I have. Celestia clearly thinks so… and she’s right.”

“Then you are going to ignore our advice and just listen to what she said?” Rainbow argued.

“She knows better than anyone,” nodded Twilight. “Why would I question her decisions when they are obviously the right ones? It’s probably why I considered the same thing. My only mistake was allowing guilt to make me question myself, but I know better than to second guess Princess Celestia.”

“But Twilight,” cried Pinkie, barely able to restrain herself from giving away her own involvement with Spike. “Do you even realize what’ll happen to Spike if you do all that?”

“I do… and it’s for the best,” she spoke as she got up, not looking at her friends as she headed for the door. “Thanks for meeting with me.”

“Oh, this is horrible,” said Fluttershy to the others.

“Simply dreadful,” agreed Rarity.

“But what can we do?” asked Applejack.

“If Spike is in trouble we should help him,” answered Rainbow Dash.

“But if it’s an order from Princess Celestia then we could get into trouble for going against her orders,” Fluttershy reminded them.

“Who cares about that?” argued Rainbow. “She’s wrong, right Pinkie? ...Pinkie?”

The girls turned to look, but she wasn’t among them anymore. Looking around Sugarcube Corner, they didn’t see her anywhere in sight. “I wonder where she went,” pondered Applejack.

“This is bad, bad, BAD!!!” shrieked Pinkie as she made a mad dash towards Sweet Apple Acres. “Spike is in big trouble and if I don’t do something I might never see that sexy fat, stud of a Dragon again. And I’m not the only one who’ll miss him. Sweetie Belle and the rest of the Crusaders, they don’t want to lose him either. Together, I’m certain we can figure out how we can save him.”

When the Dragling army pierced the magical barrier of the Crystal Heart that kept out the frozen north, their appearance in the sky was like a dark storm cloud that had managed to get through. To the Crystal Ponies, most were still unaware of the attack many who had noticed something ominous in the empire’s sky were still debating over just what it was.

There was, however, one Crystal Pony who knew from one glance that it was trouble. He was a member of the Empire’s royal guard. His coat, mane, and tail were white as snow, with some gray around his muzzle. His eyes were piercing blue and reflected in them was a steely resolve to carry out his duty no matter what. His name was Lt. Maximus.

With apple in hand, he took big bites from it, savoring the rich, juicy flavor. It was his third one in the last hour, and likely the last one for quite some time while there was a threat looming over the land he vowed to protect with his life. Still, despite this, he hadn’t made a move to react or even warn another Pony of the danger. He simply watched, the black specs in the sky very closely.

“I have to be patient,” he coached himself as he watched them, eyes unblinking. “I need to know how they plan to attack. We will be able to better coordinate better countermeasures to repel them and reduce damage if we can comprehend their plan of attack, provided they are creatures capable of such things.” Taking a deep breath, he waited with anticipation for the instance they would descend to the ground. Each second he waited made his heart pound harder against his chest. “Now, what will you do? A random strike at a single spot in the kingdom? Disperse and cause as much chaos as possible? Perhaps your aim is to capture the Crystal Heart and you’ll attack the plaza? Well, what’s it gonna be?”

As if answering his query, the Draglings began to make their move, splitting up into six groups that each flew to a different area. Quickly switching his focus between the different groups, Maximus watched, mouth agape at the sight before him. The apple in his hand, still possessed enough for a single bite, but it never came as the fruit slipped from his grip as his fingers loosened.

“Impossible,” he uttered in disbelief, the strength in his eyes unchanged, but a twinge of worry was now present. “How did they know?”

“This place is amazing,” commented Media as the Draglings gazed down upon the vibrant and crystal-filled land. “This place reminds me of that snow globe my mother showed me.”

“A snow what?” asked Nat confused their first experience with snow from their trip to the Crystal Empire.

“A souvenir my mother picked up during one of the attacks she was involved in. Basically, it’s a ball with something pretty inside,” she explained. “And when you shake it up, it looks like it’s snowing. It’s just like that here, well, except it’s snowing on the outside. I wonder if I’ll be able to find another snow globe while I’m here.”

“Meh, I think I’d prefer a snowball,” stated Nat. “They’re a lot more fun to play with.”

“But you’ve never seen snow till we made it this far north,” pointed out Sting. “None of us have, for that matter. What even is a snowball and how do you know about them?”

“My mother told me about snow a bit before we left,” he explained. “On a few occasions when the badlands got a snowfall, they got the chance to play in it. Well, Chrysalis ordered them to clean off the hive so they wouldn’t freeze to death, but they were able to make a game of it while they did so.”

“I hope you two aren’t planning to goof off,” spoke Zircon. “We came to conquer this place and claim it as our own. Given my name, it must be destiny that I take my place as ruler of this land.”

“Seems we’re not the only ones a bit distracted,” pointed out Nat. “Or have you forgotten that if anyone would be ruling this place, it would be our father, Tamati.”

“Now, now,” spoke their beloved father. “We’ll all have plenty of time afterwards to enjoy ourselves, once we conquer this land and all the ponies living within it. When we have accomplished our objectives here then snow globes and snowballs for all.”

“And do I get to rule over the Empire?” asked Zircon noticeable eagerness in her voice.

“It all depends how well things go around here,” the dark dragon answered. “A big part of that, rests on you fulfilling your role as an infiltrator. But, it’ll be very risky. Do you remember what you are doing?”

“I sneak into the castle in disguise,” she answered. “I locate the POI or the Pony Of Interest and do my best to capture them.”

“That’s right,” nodded her father. “But, first things first, we have to deal with the first layer of security. Does everyone still remember?”

“Of course,” nodded Sting and the others nodded too. “Spike gave us all the intel we needed for this operation.”

“While infiltrating the Crystal Empire,” read Spike as he wrote down everything he knew about the place. “The biggest concern you’ll have to face will be the magical defenses they have to repel invaders.” On the bottom of the scroll, he had scratched out a general layout of the city, drawing a six-pointed star and then circled each of the points. The enlarged dragon then went back to writing. “If you look at the layout of the city I’ve provided you, at each of the points there is a guard tower containing a crystal generator designed to place a protective barrier to protect the area from attack. Essentially, it is used to prevent any attackers from being able to access other parts of the city while also hindering their movements. Before anything else, you must ensure these guard towers are captured all at once. This means, you’ll have to split up your forces between the six of them, but if the Draglings have been performing as well as I have read, then I don’t think this should be a problem for you to take care of.”

“Everyone knows which tower they are after,” Sting continued to say. “We have to make sure that the Ponies are unable to set up their barriers to box us in. Starting now, each group of six must have their guard tower captured within ten minutes. After that, we move on to the next phase of the attack.”

“For the glory of Tamati,” they all spoke and then separated for the attack. Sting led a small group including Media, Nat, Zircon, and a few others as they headed for the southern guard tower. With all the Draglings going where they were needed, Tamati was left alone in the sky, watching his invading army with pride. He then looked down at the puny Ponies still obliviously wondering what it was that had invaded their airspace.

It was then that one Pony caught his eye, the white stallion, Maximus as he ran straight for the palace with all the haste he could muster. Seeing this, Tamati couldn’t help but give an amused smirk. “Well, at least some seem to understand what is going on,” he commented. “This wouldn’t be much of a conquest if our opposition didn’t at least prove to be a little formidable.”

A few seconds later, the screams and cries of Ponies finally burst forth as the citizens knew for certain they were under attack. This was followed by the roars and hisses of the Draglings as they saw the guards on the towers ready their defenses to impede them. Arrows started to fly as the archers took aim at the strange black creatures approaching them. This was mainly isolated at the nearest guard tower, the southern one, but as the other Draglings neared their own towers, the screams of terror increased and before long fear and panic had spread all over the Crystal Empire.

As the arrows flew at them, the Draglings did their best to dodge out of the way. Any that managed to hit were not strong enough to pierced their scaly hides, let alone the armor they wore. However, any arrows that did manage to hit them started to freeze the area struck, even spreading inside the armor to their hides. A single hit from these ice arrows was far from enough to even slow them down, but too many could leave them too frozen to move and an unfortunate arrow to the wing would cause them to drop right out of the sky.

“It’s the moment of truth,” breathed Nat. “All our training has lead us to this moment.”

“You’re not scared of a few Ponies are you?” asked Zircon.

“Considering we’re outnumbered roughly thirty-to-one with the odds only to get worse later on,” he replied. “I’d say that does put things considerably against us.”

“It just means we can’t just brute force out way through this,” stated Sting as he flew ahead of the group, finding the gaps in the archers’ offensive to land down atop the guard tower first, right in front of one of the Ponies that had been attempting to shoot them down. As the Pony quickly dropped his bow to retrieve his sword, he never got the chance as Sting slipped up the face guard of his helmet and exhaled a blast of fire that knocked him off his feet and sent him flailing about as he tired to put out the flames burning his flesh and coat. The other archers managed to grab their swords to try and repel the invader, but without arrows to slow the other Draglings from advancing, they soon found themselves attacked from above and suddenly on the defensive.

“What was that about not brute forcing it?” asked Nat as he disarmed a Pony that had tried coming at Sting from his right side and then used his slime to stick him the ground.

“We’re also pressed for time on this first phase,” he added. “So, a little brute force is fine, when necessary.”

“Like right now?” he asked as more soldiers began to climb to the roof from the lower levels of the tower, quickly outnumbering the group. The sight of seeing so many enemies popping up from below reminded the Draglings of their encounter with the pukwudgies.

“Media, Zircon, get the generator and remove the crystal,” ordered Sting. “Everyone else give them cover. “We’ve got less than eight minutes.”

Without hesitating, the small band of Draglings charged at dozens of Ponies before them. The same was true at the other guard towers as the battles were in full swing. On the streets below, the civilian Ponies unsure of what was going on beyond a nightmarish invasion were unsure what to do. Some tried to hurry to their homes while others went in search of their friends and family while others were simply panicking, unsure of what to do beyond screaming. The guards stationed around the city did their best to keep the situation from spiral more out of control. They calmed all the Ponies they could and did their best to help evacuate them more orderly, leading them towards the Crystal Castle. Their quick action helped calm the Ponies still in a panic, finding comfort in seeing the calmed groups heading for safety and quickly joining in to be a part of it.

“We’re under attack!” some cried, their nerves still no completely settled.

“Is it Sombra? Is he back?” shouted others.

“Everything will be alright,” the soldiers announced, attempting to quell the panic and maintain order. “Whatever threat we are facing, it will be dealt with. For now, everyone will be safe in the castle till the enemies are dealt with.”

Despite their words, even the soldiers were anxious about this invasion. The sounds of a miniature war in their very city when just minutes ago all was at peace was unnerving. It was made even more terrifying as the enemy they were facing was still a huge unknown. Even from what some managed to see of them, they were unlike any creature they had witnessed before and despite their numbers only amounting to a meager force, they were attempting to take on the force of one of Equestria’s major cities. Such an act should have been a futile effort for so few, but none of them could unshake the unease they were feeling.

“What in Tartarus are these things?” cried one soldiers as he did his best to hold off Sting, but with each strike, the lead Dragling proved his superior might, forcing him back into a wall.

“We’re Draglings,” he spoke. “And your kingdom is now ours.”

“We’ve suffered under a terrible and traumatizing tyrant and were lost for a millenia,” another snapped as he overheard Sting speak. “We won’t be victimized again!”

This soldier lashed out at Sting, him proving to be somewhat stronger than the first who regained some heart. Together the two battled it out against the Dragling and a third joined them. “You’re strong for whatever Draglings are,” the first soldier stated. “But you guys didn’t think you could take on the protectors of a city as vast as this with such a tiny force, did you?”

“We’re eager for the challenge!” declared Sting as he drew on more of his draconic strength and knocked back all three Ponies at once. Looking around, he saw the other Draglings were also facing off against multiple foes as well, but the blood of their beast of a father was flowing in their veins as much as his own. Bit by bit, they managed to overtake their more numerous adversaries, disarming them and forcing them to flee or sticking them to the ground if they were a goo spitter.

In the middle of the battlefield, Media and Zircon succeeded in fighting their way to the middle of the tower where a stone structure was erected. It had two large prongs protruding out the top of it and a large, pale blue crystal inserted in between them. “We just gotta remove the crystal in this thing and they won’t be able to create barriers with this structure anymore,” stated Media.

“It’s the crystal that creates the barrier and this stone that amplifies the magic to allow it to have such a vast range,” explained Zircon as she tugged at the crystal.

“I don’t remember hearing about that from the briefing,” commented Media as she looked curiously at the generator.

“I’m mostly just guessing,” she explained. “I became a bit curious about magical artifacts when Nat asked if I could try to borrow one from my mother. She told me how crystals contain magic while stones typically augment or even nullify magic in some way. For instance, the throne our father sits on is made of a kind that nullifies most magics. So, it makes sense that this stone amplifies magic contained in the crystal.”

“Kind of like how you use seasons and sauces to improve the taste of food,” compared Media. “A nice, juicy rack of manticore ribs are good on their own, but with the right marinade their deliciousness is amplified several times over. Oh, I can hardly wait to get back home.” A delighted smiled was on the chubby Dragling’s face as the thought of such mouthwatering food filled her every thought.

“Let me guess,” figured Zircon. “That’s what your mother is making for our victory feast.”

“As the main course of her own epic cooking battle.” After saying that, she covered her maw with a worried look. “Oh, that was supposed to be a surprise. Promise you won’t tell anyone, especially Papa Tamtam.”

“Your secret’s safe,” her half sister nodded. “Just watch my back. This crystal is wedged into this stone really tightly.”

“Can’t you just shatter it?” suggested Media. “If the crystal contains the magic then wouldn’t breaking get rid of the magic too?”

“Yeah, but crystals of this size containing magic are extremely rare,” she stated, slowly inching it free of the stone surrounding it. If I can get it out fully intact then it could become a useful asset to us.”

“But we don’t have much time left,” Media reminded her as she fought back a Pony that had broken through the others Draglings’ circle defense. Despite their efforts, they lacked the numbers to not have any gaps that their quantity superior foes could slip through. “Three minutes about, I think.”

“If we drop below thirty seconds and I can’t get it out, I’ll just break it,” she promised.

“Maybe a little sooner,” hoped Media as more Ponies broke through, seeing that the Draglings’ objective was the barrier generator and their priority became to protect it. Already, another guard managed so slip through and three more soon after as the Ponies continued to put pressure on their foes. Each of the Draglings in the circle had their hands full, dealing with groups of three, four, or even five Ponies at once. They couldn’t leave their defensive positions, not without letting even more Ponies through to reach the shield generator.

Media was barely able to fight evenly against a single opponent, but when second was added in, she was struggling not to lose any ground. With three more on the way, she gulped in panic. “I’m not that best in combat, you know,” she reminded Zircon.

“I think I got it,” Zircon replied as she started to lift up the gem off the generator, the bottom having a corkscrew-like shape to it. “It seems I just gotta keep twisting it to pull it off.”

“Then, please, hurry,” pleaded Media, as she backed away from her foes now totaling five. Desperately, she undid her face guard to unleash a stream of fire in the hopes of keeping them back. This seemed to work, as she swept the area in front of her with flames to ensure they couldn’t approach. However, after several seconds of breathing, her lungs were emptying out and her flames were starting to die down.

With no choice, Media stopped to take a much needed inhalation. “Do you have it, yet?” she wheezed desperately to Zircon.

“I got it!” she called out, to Media’s delight.

“That’s a relief,” sighed Media with relief. While she had her guard down, she didn’t notice as the soldiers were finally able to make their way through her flames and to her.

“Quick!” one shouted. “We have to recover the crystal at once!”

No time to defend herself or to flee, Media shut her eyes and prepared herself for their strikes. Swords at the ready, the five guards attacked with all their might only for their swords to be repelled by the magical bubble barrier that had appeared over her. Opening an eye to peek at what had happened, the medic Dragling saw the barrier that had protected her. “W-Where did this come from.”

“Sorry,” apologized Zircon, holding the freed crystal in her hands. It glowed with a remarkable brilliance as she called upon its power to protect her half sister. “I didn’t mean to put you in such a dangerous situation like this. No matter how much good a crystal like this could be for us, I shouldn’t have risked your safety and just destroyed it.”

“But you saved me with it,” Media pointed out. “And that’s all that matters.”

“Yeah,” she nodded and looked at the rest of the Draglings still in the midst of battle. “Now, to see if this thing is as powerful as I think it is.” Closing her eyes to increase her concentration, Zircon started to increase the size of the barrier protecting Media.

As it grew, it soon reached Zircon and she passed through to the inside. The five guards that had attacked Media, however, did not and suddenly found themselves being pushed back by the rapidly growing barrier. Shortly after, it reached the ring of Draglings, giving them shelter in its magical protection while all the Ponies found themselves unable to break through to continue the battle. Forced the the edges of the tower, they saw their own protective barrier being used against them and knew they had lost.

“Looks like we’ve completed our job here,” stated Sting.

“It’s only our first objective,” panted Nat, able to take a breather now that they had reached a brief intermission in between battles. “And already I’m pretty tired. Looks like every else is too.”

“I know,” nodded Sting as he sat down to rest and recover some stamina. The others joined him on the ground, though they all kept a wary eye on the Pony soldiers just to be cautious. “Even with all the training we’ve had, it hardly compares to a true battle.”

“What should we do?” one soldier asked the lead Pony of their group. “They have taken the crystal and we don’t have a means to break through it.”

“For now, we’d best retreat to join the main force,” their commander answered.

“But, sir, that would mean to abandon our post.”

“It can’t be helped,” he conceded. “We’re ill equipped to deal with these creatures and they seem very well prepared if they knew to strike here first. While we have this chance, we should gather up our injured and retreat to the castle. Better to take small losses now and ready ourselves for the bigger battle to come.”

Obeying their leader, the Ponies helped out any of their troops who had gotten injured in the fight or got immobilized by one of the Dragling’s sticky goo. “Looks like they’re retreating,” stated Nat. “A shame we won’t be able to gobble up some of their love to recover, but this is our first victory and I’m quite content on that.”

“We will concede this battle to you,” the commanded admitted. “But this war you have started will end with our victory. We will make you all regret attacking us and show you the strength, we, the knights of the Crystal Empire possess.”

“We will look forward to seeing you display that power,” remarked Sting as he watched them file down the stairs and down the guard tower. “It’ll be all the more satisfying for us to crush.”

“So, we’re in a barrier, now, right?” asked Nat as he pressed a finger against it and saw he could effortlessly pass through.

“Yeah,” nodded Zircon, placing the crystal on her lap. “Quite a remarkable one at that. I don’t know precisely the spell that was infused within it, but I believe it was made so that only those considered allies of the user can pass through it. Anyone else will be unable to enter it’s protection.”

“So, while we’re in here,” surmised Nat. “We’re completely safe.”

“Provided they have no means to piercing the magic,” she answered. “And seeing as they chose to regroup instead of force us out, I’d say we are safe so long as I can focus to maintain the barrier.”

“Good,” yawned Nat. “Then we have time to rest.”

“For about a minute,” replied Sting peering out into the distance at the other guard towers. “Then we must all move onto the next phase of the operation, along with everyone else.” Though he couldn’t make much out, he did managed to see some black specks moving around, their fellow Draglings. “The others should be done or, at least finishing up by now. From here on out, the real battle begins.”

“Then everyone should take this time to recover their strength,” encouraged Media as she opened her backpack and pulled out some bars coated in chocolate. “Here, everyone, eat these.”

“Uh, thanks,” replied Nat as he and the rest of the group received their snack and all eyed it with the same curiosity as him. “But what are these things?”

“They are energy bars,” she explained. “We made plenty of food to help restore everyone’s strength during the battle ahead, but I wanted to try and ensure we’d have something to eat when we don’t have a lot of time. So, mom helped me make these bars. It’s essentially a lot of oats and grains tightly packed together with honey and then dipped into melted chocolate before being chilled to harden.”

“Chocolate?” wondered Zircon, sniffing at the bar, glad that it smelled good, but remained hesitant to try it. “What is chocolate?”

“Chocolate…” spoke Media a look of absolute joy appearing on her face that was rather frightening that anyone could appear so happy. “It’s love given physical form. I have no other words to describe the majesty of such a thing.”

“This is love?” questioned Nat. “What do you think, Sting? Sting?”

“Ooooooh,” he murred, a look of just as much bliss spread across his face as it had been on Media’s. In his hand, he had his bar with a bite’s worth broken off and slowly being munched up in his maw. “I thought love tasted good before, but this… this is so good I could die happy.”

“I think the chocolate broke Sting,” spoke Nat, not sure if he should be in stitches laughing or start to panic over the state of their leader.

“Just try it and see for yourselves,” Media insisted and munched on her own.

Seeing they had nothing to lose, the Draglings took that first big bite to see just what was so amazing about chocolate and, all at once, their eyes widened as the same euphoric smile appeared on them.

“Soooooo goooooood!” they all moaned with ecstacy, the treat they were given so delicious that as they began stuffing the rest into their maw they were already craving more. “Need more!”

“Actually, I only had one for each of us,” admitted Media. “I gave more to the other Draglings in the medic unit to hand out, so hopefully all the others will get to try one too.”

“But you can make more, right?” they asked her. “Like lots more?”

“It’s rather a complex thing to make and requires special ingredients,” she explained. “I’ll have to ask mom when we get back home.”

“Then we must complete our mission here as swiftly as possible!” declared Sting. “For chocolate!”

“And King Tamati, too?” snickered Nat.

“Oh, uh, right,” blushed Sting, quite flustered after having such an incredible taste sensation. “Him too. Let’s go!”

“Yeah!” the others cheered as they flew off to the Crystal Plaza where the Crystal Heart was located. The only two that didn’t rush out right away were Zircon and Media.

“Looks like I was able to help them recover a lot more stamina then I expected,” Media commented as she watched them zoom off.

“That’s a good thing,” Zircon stated finishing off her last piece of the bar and licked her lips. “They’ll probably kick twice as much ass. As for me, I’ve got my own mission to attend to.”

“And I’ve got to meet up with some of the medic unit to prepare the southern recovery tent. I just hope we aren’t biting off more than we can chew on this mission. Chocolate is tasty, but it can’t keep them safe from harm, not like that magical barrier of yours. Maybe, we should have let them take that to protect them while they fight.”

“It probably could help out a lot, but I doubt they’d want to use it,” Zircon replied. “We’ve been preparing to battle the Ponies head on. I don’t think anyone wants to shame themselves or each other by relying on something like this to win. I think that might be father’s pride within us too. However, they have that pride because they also possess his incredible strength so be it a hundred enemies they are up against, or a million, they will still prevail and we’ll do our jobs too.”

“Yeah,” smiled Media. “Let’s do our best too.” Zircon smiled and nodded, and then the two Draglings split up to take care of their own objectives for the mission.

“Everyone hurry up inside,” called Shining Armor, the prince of the Crystal Empire. He was a tall, well-built Unicorn stallion with a white coat and a semi-long mane of several streaks of different blues that handsomely ran down his neck. Standing by the entrance to the castle, he helped guide the citizens inside and towards safety. Gazing up, he could see the Draglings were on the move once more and making their way towards the castle now. “Make your ways towards the inner chambers. We’ll come and get you once we have this situation handled.”

“Shining,” called a pink Pony, an Alcorn with a long mane of pinks and purples. Her name was Cadence, the princess of the Crystal Empire and wife to Shining Armor. “How is everything going with the evacuation?”

“Looks like we’re almost done,” he told her as the last few ponies made their way inside. “Now that everyone is safe, we can focus our forces on fighting the intruders. Did you manage to put Flurry Heart somewhere safe?”

“I left her in the care of Sunburst while he’s researching a counter spell to use on the intruders,” she answered.

“Wasn’t there anyone else?” he asked. “If our soldiers can’t force those whatever they are to retreat, we’ll need that spell he’s working on to drive them out.”

“I didn’t have a choice,” she admitted. “Flurry Heart was getting upset with all the commotion and you know how that causes her to start casting magic haphazardly. I figured that if she’s at least with Sunburst she’ll be with a familiar face and in a quiet library. Plus, I’ve posted one of our best guards with them just in case.”

“Then we can put all our energy into fighting off these creatures,” replied Shining Armor. “I still can’t believe they attacked all six of our outer guards towers at once.”

“Believe it because I saw the whole thing with my own two eyes,” reported Maximus as he approached the two royals and bowed his head. “Princess Cadence… Shining Armor.”

“Maximus,” smiled Shining Armor. “The empire owes you a great debt for acting as quickly as you did in reporting this incident to us, otherwise we might still be in a disorganized panic.”

“We can save the parades and statue-building for after we’re safe,” he continued. “Right now, we’ve gotta consider just what kind of a crisis this is. As far as I can tell, the enemy’s number doesn’t even come close to a hundred and yet, they’ve still decided to attack us in such a bold manner.”

“Bold or not,” commented Cadence as she saw the swarm getting ever closer. “They didn’t just attack, they’ve been successful in taking out our primary defenses. Luckily, the Crystal Heart is still safe.”

“I’ve been spying on the creatures from afar,” continued Maximus. “From what I’ve observed, they appear to be a fair bit stronger than the average pony, but stronger or not, our sheer numbers should make any other force of such meager proportions never even consider an out in the open, direct attack like this. They’d be defeated once they’ve exhausted themselves and then it’d just be a matter of finishing them off.”

“Perhaps this is but the first wave,” considered Shining Armor. “A much larger force could be on its way once they see how we react to this small group.”

“I’ve already increased the barrier around the empire to prevent anyone from entering,” Cadence told them. “If they do have more forces, then there is no way they can get in now, no matter how powerful they might be.”

“That’s what has me concerned the most,” continued Maximus, sounding more worried than relieved. “We know they are well aware of our defenses, so they wouldn’t have made such a huge mistake in attacking with a small force and allow us to lock out the bulk of their army. No, they know exactly what we’re capable of.”

“But how?” wondered Cadence. “From a description of these creatures we’ve never been in contact with them. I don’t think any pony has. How could they know so much about our defenses? It’s impossible.”

“It should be, but there is no doubt that is the case and I am sad to say there is a way they could have. It could be they have an informant that leaked our intel,” he spoke, knowing what a grave accusation he was making. “It can’t be denied that there might be a traitor in our midst.”

“There are some who know about the Crystal Empire’s defenses beyond here as well,” commented Shining Armor. “But I’d hate to think that any of them would sell us out like this.”

“We can worry about that after they are dealt with,” spoke Cadence, steering the focus back to repelling the enemies. “Is everyone in place?”

“We have five hundred strong split between protecting both the Crystal Heart and the entrance to the castle. We have smaller groups stationed at any other entryways as an extra precaution as well.”

“Then we’ve done all we can,” Shining surmised. “All that’s left is to battle it out.”

“Actually, I was thinking of sending another squad into the city,” continued Maximus. “Considering their size and lack of numbers, I cannot think that they could be capable of enduring a battle against a force as large as ours. At best, I doubt they could manage more than an hour of continued fighting, perhaps a bit more, but that’d hardly be enough time to defeat us based on how long it took them to capture our six guard towers. No, they would need a means of recovering their strength and stamina, perhaps even healing their injuries so they can continue fighting longer.”

“And you think they will have a medical tent hidden in the empire to sneak off to so they can recover?” questioned Cadence.

“At least one,” he nodded. “But they would likely prepare more if they have this as well thought out as I fear.”

“Even if they do, could they really recover quickly enough?” wondered Shining.

“They could have some very potent curatives,” he answered. “Or, perhaps they possess some special means of self recovery. For example, Changelings can recover quite quickly if they feast on love. Of course, this is pure speculation, but I insist a thorough sweep of the city be taken to be sure. I’ll personally lead the search if need be.”

“Your instincts have helped us get this far,” Cadence praised him. “We’ll continue to trust them. So, do what you must and please protect the Crystal Empire.”

“With all my body and soul,” he bowed and took his leave.

“Then every precaution has been taken,” sighed Shining Armor as he peered into the distance and saw the Draglings on the verge of clashing with their forces. There only remained a few meager minutes of relief before the fighting would resume and, this time, in full force on both sides. “I know I technically became a prince after marrying you, but it’s so frustrating that I can’t be out there with all the other soldiers, fighting to protect everyone.”

“If it comes to it and you have to fight,” she told him sweetly. “I know you’ll be as amazing as ever.”

“If it reaches that point,” he pointed out. “That our forces as devastated enough to require me to join in, then we are probably already doomed at that point. Besides, between the two of us, you’d probably be the one kicking the most flank.”

“Kind of like back when we were first dating and you invited me to one of your Ogres and Oubliettes games,” she joked. “It was a lot of fun play acting as Dominazer the Obliterator with my +15 Thorn Whip and my Armor of Sinful Paradise. I had a laugh too… now, how did it go?”

“N-Now’s not the time to talk about that stuff,” sweated Shining Armor, shivering as long buried memories were resurfacing. “We have a battle to win, after all.”

“I guess you’re right,” she answered with a bit of a flirty smirk on her face. “Maybe tonight then.”

“M-Maybe,” he gulped. “Victory will be ours, it’s only a matter of time. Those this will probably run away with their tails between their legs the second they realize that they bit off more than they can chew when picking a fight with us.”

“That would be the most ideal situation,” stated Cadence. “Then neither side would suffer any more losses. But… even if we’re fully prepared… why can’t I shake this feeling of impending doom, like a dark shadow watching and waiting for the right time to swallow us all alive.”

“Men, look alive,” the commander of the Pony soldiers barked as they created several walls of defense in the Crystal Plaza to surround and protect the Crystal Heart. In the air above, the Draglings from all six towers were converging towards them, the small groups forming into one that was still terribly underwhelming in numbers compared to the Pony soldiers clad in armor hued in gold, silver, or crystal. With swords and bows at the ready, they prepared for the battle to come. “Give them no quarter and cut them down without hesitation! The Crystal Empire will not fall on this day!”

With a mighty chorus of cheers, the combined voices of all the Ponies were like a thunderous boom that further reminded the Draglings of the sheer numbers they were up against. “Everyone,” spoke Sting, using the moments they had before they engaged their enemies to inspire them with a few brief words. “The small skirmish we have all just experienced before was but an appetizer of the full course we are about to face. From the day we were born, we have trained for this and now it is our time to bring glory to our king and father. We are ready for this! Ready as we’ll ever be!”

With an uproar of cheers of their own, the Draglings sped up, flying full speed at the soldiers. Some had their swords drawn while others began to act preemptively by firing with arrows. Fearlessly, Sting led the charge forward, landing in the middle of a group of soldiers with all the power he could muster, his impact blasting them all back with tremendous force.

“I don’t know what you monsters are,” spoke one of the soldiers as he and a dozen others moved in to take over for the group Sting had knocked back. “But you think you can defeat us all? The only thing that will happen today is that we will wipe you all out. You might have gotten the drop on us, but surprises aside, you have no hope of winning this fight. It is folly for you all to even try. If you have any intelligence you should turn tail and run while you still have the chance.”

“Don’t talk down to us,” spoke Sting calmly, despite being surrounded by enemies while the others hadn’t yet caught up to his solo charge forward. He then closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment.

“That idiot,” groaned Nat, readying his crossbow as he surveyed high above the others. Even from several stories up, he could easily recognize Sting in his handed down armor. “He’s supposed to be our leader, but he charges in headfirst like a one man army.”

“Are you watching, Pincer?” thought Sting as his breathing became heavier, some embers escaping his maw as he exhaled. “See what your final sacrifice has brought about.”

The soldiers merely stood there, unsure why he suddenly become idle. “What’s wrong with you now? Is this your attempt at a surrender?”

“It’s much too late for that. You’ve already raised a weapon against us. Don’t expect any mercy now.”

“Did you not hear me earlier?” He spoke, the calmness in his voice gone and a growing intensity was riding on the words he spoke. Sting’s body then began to tremble as his temperature rose quickly, the soldiers closest to him able to feel it. Opening his eyes, he continued to speak “We might be few, but we are strong!” With all the power he could muster from his legs, Sting shot forwards with all his might, similar to Tamati’s own enraged charge against the maulwurf. The soldiers in his path had enough time to raise their shields to defend themselves, but this proved not as effective as they had anticipated as they all suddenly found themselves all hit with such monstrous intensity that their shields crumpled and their footing slipped, sending them all flying backwards, right into their fellow soldiers.

“One swing of his sword and he was able to strike at five soldiers with such unmitigated might? Just what the Tartarus are these monsters?”

Breathing heavily, Sting looked all around him, gazing at the countless Ponies in view of his one good eye. Closing it, he focused again, gathering his rage. “That’s it, just like father taught me. My anger is my greatest strength.”

The maulwurf snarled and spat as it struggled against the chains binding its body. In spite of its best efforts, it could not break them to escape. It’s body was still battered and bruised after it’s fight with Tamati and one of its hands had been crushed so hard that it couldn’t even lift it without risking the agony it would be in.

“Why must this damn thing be allowed to live?” questioned Sting as he stared at the beast with a look of absolute hatred in his good eye.”

“I am not one who enjoys torturing creatures,” admitted Tamati. “But for the harm it has caused, I think I can allow it to suffer so long as it is not meaningless. In this case, to help make you stronger.”

“And how will it?” asked Sting. “By fighting it or something?”

“Tell me? Does the image of it fill you with anger?”

“Intensely,” he nodded. “But I do not need to see it with my good eye. It might have blinded me, but the sight of it snuffing out Pincer’s life plays over and over again in the eye it stole the light from. When my good eye is shut, it’s all I can see and it makes my blood boil.”

“That is your dragon blood reacting to your emotions,” he explained. “Heated up, your blood gets pumped through your body at an accelerated rate, sending energy throughout your body at a greater rate than normal, unlocking strength beyond what we care normally capable of. Care for a demonstration?”

“Please,” nodded Sting. “I wasn’t awake to see you unleash your full fury on the maulwurf.”

“Well, that was about twenty percent my full rage,” admitted the black dragon. “Maybe thirty, but this isn’t an exact science. Let’s just say I was pissed off pretty damned bad percent.”

“Then you didn’t even need your full strength to defeat it?” asked Sting in awe at his father’s might.

“If I had there’d be nothing left of it but a blood smear on my fists,” he stated more seriously. “And I’d probably have demolished the hive before laying waste to a sizable chunk of Equestria. After that, I’d probably collapse from sheer exhaustion and fall into a rather deep sleep for a week give or take a decade, while I recover. That’s another thing to keep in mind when tapping into this extra strength. The more anger you unleash, the less control you have over it till you become a berserker, lashing out at everything and anything in your path be they friend or foe. Your stamina will also be depleted rapidly making this power risky to use when the battle is likely to be a drawn out one. Nevertheless, this is a power that all my children have inherited and in time they will have to learn to master it or risk it destroying them.”

“Then shouldn’t we have brought the others here to learn as well?” suggested Sting.

“I hadn’t planned to teach this to any of you so soon,” Tamati admitted. “You are all still too young and lack the experience to draw out such raw emotions, at least till this incident occurred and, looking at you, I can see it has scarred you in far more than a physical sense. It is my duty to help you not only use this anger, but to help you tame it before it can consume you. That is my job as your father.”

“And I am very grateful for this, father,” spoke Sting, trying to maintain his calm demeanor, but there was impatience and eagerness in his voice that only became more apparent as his good eye kept darting back to the snarling maulwurf. “Now, show me this power of rage.”

“Very well,” said Tamati as he moved away from both Sting and the maulwurf. With a claw, he scratched a crude-looking smiley face into the wall and then took ten steps back. Breathing deeply, Tamati then began to draw on his anger. Images of all things that triggered him flashed before his glowing red eyes, causing his breathing to hasten while his muscles tightened and he clenched his fits. Sweat soon began appearing on his body while the air around him began to bend as he emitted an intense heat.

“So, this is father angry,” commented Sting, intrigued, but not impressed yet.

“Not quite,” spoke Tamati through gritted teeth. “It takes a bit longer when I’m purposefully trying to get angry.” After saying that, his muscles started to bulge bigger. It started with his biceps, and then on the muscles in his legs. His abs were next and section after section, his body became even more fiercely toned than it had been before, making the macho dragon appear even larger than he normally was. “I’d put this at about as close to full strength as I can get without losing all sense of myself. Now, watch. This is the power of a dragon’s rage!”

With a monstrous roar, Tamati charged forward. His claws tore up the ground beneath his feet as he went from stationary to full speed in an instant. His wings let out a single flap to help with his instant burst of speed, sending a strong blast of wind at Sting. Though he didn’t blink, the Dragling was barely able to even see Tamati’s charge forward. It was like his father vanished and the pretend enemy Tamati had carved into the wall had been replaced with a large Dragon-shaped hole in it.

Braving a closer look, Sting peeked into the hole and saw Tamati has burst straight through the hive, smashing through every wall in his way. He kept going till he reached the outside, allowing Sting to barely make out the blue sky. Looking at the thickness of the walls he had gone through, even with all his might, the young Dragling knew he’d have had a difficult time breaking through them even with a blunt weapon to aid him.

“Such unbelievable power and speed,” observed Sting as he saw some of the walls crumble a bit more. “Nothing could defend itself against such incredible might.”

“One of the many reason why Dragons rock,” panted Tamati as he flew back in through the hole he made and then all walked back down. As he did, he gave quick apologies to any Changelings or Draglings that were in the rooms he burst through and nearly took out with his rage. They could only blink and accept his apology. Some were just in shock that they had so narrowly avoided getting caught up in his rage-fueled charge.

When he made it back and finished apologizing, Tamati was far from mad and instead had a face full of self pity now. “Damn, I’ve got quite a few walls to fix afterwards. I only meant to break the one, but, heh, got a little carried away. Still, I’d say this proves my point at how strong, but risky this power is.”

“I can see that,” he agreed as his father stared at the damage he caused and a look of dread spread on his face as more of the wall cracked off. Sting didn’t pay that any mind, but, instead, felt the intense heat his father’s body was still radiating. Pressing a hand on his side, he pulled it away immediately, almost getting burnt by his curiosity.

“Careful,” warned Tamati after the fact. “I’m still extremely hot. Heh, though that’s me 24/7. Just ask my harem.”

“TMI, father,” Sting told him.

“Oh, my bad…” he apologized for making things awkward. “So, uh, ready to give it a go?”

“I am,” Sting nodded. “What do I have to do?”

“Find your anger and let it stoke your inner fire,” instructed Tamati. “Let it burn in your chest, getting hotter and hotter, as it fills you with adrenaline. Then, when you are ready, unleash your wrath.”

“Unleash my wrath,” repeated Sting as he stared down the maulwurf, stirring up the memories of that horrible incident from the other day. It ached Sting to force himself to relive it all, but at the same time he was able to understand where Tamati drew his strength from, where he found that extra bit of power to pierce its hide. Muscles tightened as his body trembled and his temperature rose. “I think I am getting it,” Sting thought to himself as he felt his heart thump loudly in his chest.

Drawing his weapon, Sting took a breath as he stared down at the maulwurf. Seeing him poised to strike, the creature lashed out at him, the chains restraining it keeping its range limited, but left it enough of a threat to anyone who might get close to it. It was even using its injured arm as it struggled, determined to protect itself. Sting watched it, waiting for an opportunity to strike. When its arms recoiled after attempting to lung forward, that moment came.

Rushing forward, the red-winged Dragling flew between its arms and towards its chest. With a mighty slash, he cut into its hide, albeit only enough to create a shallow wound. The giant mole creature cried out in pain before swing an arm in retaliation. Sting blocked the attack with his sword, protecting himself, but the force was still enough to knock him back and out of range of the beast.

“Ugh!” he groaned as he quickly steadied himself. Breathing hard, he felt a great drop in his stamina now after his rush of rage fizzled out. Looking at the maulwurf, only agitated at his attack, Sting just let out a sigh.

“Not bad for a first try,” instructed Tamati. “But, as you can see, you have a lot of work ahead of you if you expect to make use of your full strength in a real battle.”

“I thought I had it,” he admitted, looking at the meager amount of blood his sword had on it. “I managed to cut it, but this is hardly a flesh wound.”

“You did at the start, but as soon as you took off I could see your mind calming, returning to a more level state,” explained Tamati. “That was how Pincer taught you to be in battle, correct?”

“And my mother,” he nodded. “A warrior must always keep a level head in battle and not let emotions cloud their judgement.”

“I would expect as much,” the big Dragon stated. “Changelings fight for the collective so the emotions and individualism are trained to be suppressed. They have that mentality so that individual desires don’t put the group at risk. It’s counter to Dragons who prefer to on their own and live to satisfy their own greed and do as they desire. It must feel like quite the contradiction to be a part of two so different species rolled up into one.”

“If that’s the case, then how can I make this work?” questioned Sting.

“You have already proven you can calm yourself and fight as a Changeling. It’ll probably be trickier to learn to fight as a Dragon with the former’s training already ingrained on you and harder still to be able to put them both into practice together. You possess two bloods, two heritages, and one body to share it all. Do you think you have what it takes to create harmony within yourself?”

“I do,” he nodded. “I know I can!”

“Then continue with your training,” smiled Tamati. “You’ve got no time to dawdle before the start of the invasion.”

“It’s still far from perfect,” breathed Sting as he stoked his anger for his next attack. “I can still only manage single strikes, but at least Ponies are not as tough as a maulwurf.” Looking back, he saw that the rest of the Draglings had reached the ground too and were engaging in battle too. Still, even with their support, they were just a small few against much vaster numbers.

Thoughts of what a disaster this battle could turn to started to fill Sting’s mind. The idea of his fellow Draglings battling and being overwhelmed by the enemy’s greater numbers added fuel to his rage, making it burn hotter. Staring down the soldiers moving towards him while he remained still, Sting found his strength and blocked their five swords with his own and his arm guards. With all their might, the Ponies started to strike at him, attempting to break through his guard.

“Do you think we’ll let you do that again?” they asked. “We’ll stop you here and now.”

“You can either take our attacks or try to retreat, but your group is already surrounded. There is no going back for any of you.”

“We came here with no intention of going back,” he answered. “The only path available to us is the way forward!” With a draconic roar, Sting pushed back the Ponies with brute strength alone and then knocked them all away with a swing from his sword. “And we’ll mow down everything in our way to reach whatever’s at the end. So, come at as five at once or ten or a hundred! We will never falter no matter the odds!”

Charging straight at the enemy now, Sting cleaved a path through them, moving quickly and striking just as fast to not give the Ponies a chance to counter. As he raged, he did his best to not get his fellow Draglings caught up in his sweeping attacks. That was a task made all the hard by the endless horde of enemies around him, blocking his view of everything but them.

“Grah!” he cried out after another big swing that sent more of Ponies back into one another like dominoes. However, after this strike, Sting dropped to his sword and fell to his knees, exhausted. Looking around, the dent he had made in the enemy’s forces of a few dozen was hardly noticeable when up against several hundred. “Father was right. This power burns through stamina a lot faster than I anticipated. I was too careless.”

“He’s down!” one Pony announced remaining wary and keeping his distance. “If we take this one out the rest will be easy.”

“I won’t let you-” groaned Sting, attempting to get up, but he couldn’t find the strength even to get angry. All he could do was watch as a number of Ponies gathered around him to finish him off without mercy. Refusing defeat, he tried to stand, but he couldn’t get up fast enough before he was knocked down.

“You have caused the Crystal Empire enough trouble,” one spoke. “Caused so much panic, but it’s all over now. We won’t let our home fall to the likes of you creatures.”

About to strike, the group hesitated as a large, dark shadow appeared over them. Looking up, they saw a massive glob of green goo plummet down onto the plaza. “What the hell?!? Where did something like that even come from?”

No time to react, the slime ball landed on the ground and a large chunk of the pony soldiers. Even a few unlucky Draglings were caught up in it. Some of the soldiers foolishly attempted to try and free their trapped allies only to get stuck themselves. Many of the soldiers just stood there either stunned or scanning the sky for any more to come. With eyes off him, Sting took this chance to get back on his feet and up into the sky.

“That was a close one, wasn’t it,” spoke Nat, high in the sky over the battlefield as Sting made his way over to him. “But it looks like I made it in time.”

“To save me, but we don’t have the element of surprise to trap them all in one go like we planned,” stated Sting. “And you just exposed yourself too. Now that they know that we have forces in the air, they’ll retaliate.”

“Speaking of,” said Nat as a group of Pegasus soldiers flew up to the sky and made their way right towards them. “Looks like the retaliation has started.”

“I’ll keep them off you while you-” Sting started to say.

“You’re already at your limit,” Nat reminded him. “You’re also injured or haven’t you noticed?”

“I am?” he replied surprised and saw he did have a few cuts in the gaps of his armor along with a number of sword slashes against his armor. During his rampage, he thought he had been completely untouchable, but now he realized that every Pony he didn’t fight was likely able to get an attack on him while he had been too focused on offense. Now that he saw his injuries, he realized how fortunate he was to have kept on moving about so quickly or he might have taken a more serious hit. It was another foolish blunder on his pride that hurt him more than the sting of his wounds. “It’s just some shallow cuts, but you’re right. If I don’t full recover I’ll just be a liability. I’ll go, but I’ll be back as soon as my strength has returned.”

“Let’s just hope our medical tents have not been discovered,” commented Nat. “The medical unit hasn’t trained as much for battle as the rest of us, but without them, we’ll just be struggling to delay our defeat.”

“Then we would fight and die with honor,” Sting spoke. “But we have far too much to live for to fade away and be vaguely remembered in footnotes of history as a failed attack. This is merely our introduction.”

“I did just leave a giant, green, sticky wad of goo in the center of their empire,” joked Nat. “Heh, I don’t think we could leave a better impression history than that.”

“Let’s make that our fallback plan, in the event our total conquest of Equestria doesn’t pan out,” suggested Sting in a tone that Nat wasn’t certain if he was kidding or not. Sting then flew away, purposefully taking a more out of the way route to one the medical tents. As he left, a dozen Pegasus were nearing Nat.

“That must be the one who launched that gooey glob down below,” one surmised.

“A single one of those things did that?” another asked. “I can’t see how that’s possible.” A regular-sized ball of goo hit him in the side of his helmet and some stuck to his wing on the same side, hindering his ability to fly some. “Nevermind it’s definitely him,” he spoke with agitation from getting gooed. “And I’m gonna FUCKING MURDER HIM FOR THIS!!!”

“Are you okay?” a third asked, well aware of his friend’s short temper.

“I’m fine,” he fumed. “But this stuff is trouble. If we take a direct hit to one of our wings we’ll probably drop like rocks. Also… I JUST GOT MY FUCKING WINGS WASHED BEFORE ALL THIS SHIT WENT DOWN!!!”

“I think I just pissed someone off big time,” noted Nat as he listened to the Pegasus rage. “Heh, guess that means I’m doing a good job.” The small, blue Dragling spoke loud enough for the short-fused Pony to hear him.

“FUCK YOU!!!” he roared at him only getting more pissed off.

“Easy now,” one of the other Pegasus tried to calm him down. “It won’t be a problem if it’s just one enemy. We’ll surround him and when he’s got nowhere to go you can beat the everloving shit out of him.”

“Good plan!” he agreed in a shouting voice. “I especially like the ‘beating the everloving shit out of him’ part.”

“Guess it’s time to play the last of our cards,” Nat gulped, not a fan at what he just heard. Whistling, a couple more Draglings emerged from behind some clouds. They were also armed with crossbows like Nat and grouped up with him as they took aim. “Not much of a card when we barely had any forces to spare on the ground, but like Sting says we’ll make do.”

“There’s a few more of them,” one of the Pagusi announced.

“Just a few more flies to swat,” one of the Pegasus stated as he took charge before that one Pegasus in need of some anger counseling did anything crazy. “It doesn’t change their situation at all. Men, present lances!” Following the lead Pegasus's orders, the group unsheathed long lances twice the length of their bodies and held them like they were flying darts that were aimed at the Draglings above them.

“They’re coming in fast!” cried one of the Draglings as the Pegasus flew at them with all the speed they could muster.

“If we get hit with them flying that fast,” the other stated. “They’ll go right through us!”

“We have to ground them,” instructed Nat to his fellow Draglings as he armed his crossbow with another ball of his goo.

The others did the same and together they fired in unison. Nat managed to get another solid hit while the other two were a little off target, though likely still hit one of the soldiers on the ground. However, just as the Draglings had flew unceasingly through the enemy’s barrage of arrows, the Pegasi were proving every bit as fearless in the face of danger and didn’t slow down at all.

“They’re too fast,” one of the Draglings cried. “Faster than the practice targets.”

“A little late for excuses,” Nat told them. “But I didn’t think they’d be this quick either. Break formation and prepare for aerial combat. At least it’s only twelve.”

“Another group of Pegasi are flying up to join them,” one of the Draglings pointed out, the number of foes suddenly doubled.

“So much for having the easy job,” Nat sighed before coughing up another ball of goo to arm his crossbow.

“Those creatures are clever,” commented Maximus as he traversed the deserted city with a small group of soldiers. “They sneak off from the battlefield, few at a time, in the midst of the confusion, in order to recover from injury and fatigue, however, they make a point not to head straight for wherever said medical tent is hidden. Guess they were being wary of the enemy noticing their strategy. Can’t say I blame them.”

“Is he talking to us?” one of the other soldiers asked the others as they followed Maximus’s lead. They watched as he lifted up his head and sniffed the air, like a dog trying to pick up a scent.

“Nah, he’s in whatever weird zone he gets into when the call to action arrives,” another explained. “But strange or not, he’s a very insightful and determined guy who has proven his metal time and time again. There’s no reason for us to doubt him.”

“Shh,” hushed Maximus as he peered around a corner where a Dragling landed and cautiously checked out his surroundings. Maximus made certain not to be noticed and when the Dragling looked satisfied that he was alone, he proceed to go on foot. “We must be close. Follow me as silently as possible.”

Giving a slight nod, his fellow soldiers moved with the utmost caution to keep their armor from clattering. They saw the Dragling turn a corner and swiftly peered around to keep an eye on him, but to their surprise, he was gone. Unsure what had happened, the soldiers walked out to take a look, but nothing seemed out of place.

“It’s like the thing just vanished into thin air,” one commented.

“Maybe these things can teleport,” another suggested. “Or have some other magical abilities we don’t know yet.”

“If they could teleport so easily they would not need to be so secretive about their medical tent’s location,” pointed out Maximus. “That creature is still here…” He looked around and stopped as he planted his muzzle close to the ground. He then started sniffing, picking up a scent and it led him straight to a nearby home. “And I think I’ve found it.”

Reluctantly, the others followed him as he approached the house and knocked on the door. “H-H-Hello?” asked a very timid voice as someone inside peeked through the peephole.

“Looks like a frightened civilian who decided to hold up in there home,” one of the soldiers figured. “Mam, we’re with the royal guard. Is everything alright in there?”

“I’m fine,” she answered. “Till this whole thing blows over I’m just gonna quietly hide in here.”

“It might be best if we escort you to the castle,” suggested one of the soldiers. “We spotted one of those creatures in the area and there could be more.”

“Oh, mercy me,” she worried. “What if the dreadful beasties attack us while I’m out there? It would be better if I just stay put.”

“She has a point,” one of the soldiers agreed. “And just getting her into the castle will put us too close to the main area of fighting.”

“Not an easy call, but if we find the monsters she’ll be safer and so will anyone else hiding in their homes,” another added.

“Come on, Lieutenant,” one of his men told him. “The creature isn’t here. We best hurry up and find it.”

Snorting, Maximus pounded on the door and quiet angrily shouted, “Just what the hell are you trying to pull?!?”

“Sir?” the others cried, unsure what had him suddenly so pissed.

“Such a brute,” cried the lady inside. “Go away! I’m not letting you into my home!”

“But this is my home!” he roared, leaving his men in a state of shock at this revelation.

“Your ho- but our plans indicated that this house was unoccupied,” she answered, only realizing her mistake after saying it. “Oops!”

“Heh, gotcha!” smirked Maximus. “Men, break this door down!”

“We’ve been found out!” cried the exposed Dragling turned back to normal and then jammed a nearby chair against the door to further reinforce it. However, the soldiers began ramming into the door, their combined strength breaking through at the hinges. The medical Dragling then hurried to Media and two other medics who were helping treat a couple of wounded Draglings with some of her special cooking. As they ate, the cuts and scrapes on their hides healed and vanished entirely while their strength and stamina recovered.

“We knew there was a strong possibility that we’d be found out at some point,” Media admitted. “Are there a lot?”

“Four of five of them, from what I could see,” the Dragling admitted. “But for all we know, there could be more nearby.”

“We’re only a medical team of four,” worried one of the Draglings. “We spent more time with medical tape than swords. We aren’t even armed.”

“We can fight,” stated the Dragling that had just arrived as he and the other tried getting up. While the other’s injuries were already healed, his had only just started to recover from eating Media’s cooking.

“You two are not at full strength yet,” Media warned them. “You aren’t in any condition to be fighting just yet.” Seeing their swords, Media handed them to two of her fellow medics. “You two, take these and… uh…” Heading into the kitchen, she searched for more to arm herself and the other medic with. “We have a kitchen knife and a frying pan. Pick your poison.”

“I’ll take the knife,” she answered as the soldiers finally succeeded in bursting through the door.

Walking in, they saw the two recovering creatures, taking note how fast they were healing. “Seems I was right on the money that they have been been deploying hit and run tactics against us,” spoke Maximus. “These two look like they could be battle ready again in no time. Even a small force like this could prove problematic if they can keep coming back into the battle. A few dozen could suddenly become several hundred this way and even things out number wise.”

“Then if we take this place out they are done for,” a soldier stated eagerly. “The Crystal Empire will be saved.”

“We won’t let you,” cried Media as she and the other medics approached, armed and ready to fight. “Our fellow Draglings are doing their part in this battle and our job is to be there for them, so if we have to fight to defend this place, then we will.”

“So, that’s what you creatures are called,” noted Maximus. “And you are capable of speech.”

“What about it?” asked Media defensively.

“Why don’t you tell us why you have decided to attack our home for no reason?” he questioned her. “Are you all just another bunch of parasites like the Changelings? You certainly share a few similarities with their biology from what my eyes can perceive.”

“W-We don’t have to answer to the likes of you,” she stuttered a bit. As Maximus approached her, she couldn’t help trembling. With what little training in battle she had, she never did practice in actual combat against anyone else. The others were fairly more experienced, but since they taken under Media’s wing to be taught how to cook, they didn’t have the proper mindset for fighting either.

“This bunch doesn’t seem as tough as the others,” one of the soldiers noticed. “This shouldn’t be difficult at all.”

“Don’t lower your guard because of that,” warned Maximus. “These Draglings have proven themselves mightier than the average pony. Take them alive if possible, but kill them if it is more convenient and leave Ms. Frying Pan to me.”

“You leave them alone,” hissed one of the Dragling soldiers as they tried to get up in spite of not being armed or at full strength. Without mercy, they were slashed by Maximus, his strength proving he possessed far greater than the average Pony soldier too, cutting through their armor and a bit into their scaly hides.

“The wounded have no place in battle,” he warned them. “Neither do the dead if you still wish to interfere.”

“Just stay down,” instructed Media, trembling even more as she saw Maximus’s strength and now had to face him. “We’ll handle this.”

Each soldier picked one of the other medics and started to battle them. The Draglings did their best to recall their training, muscle memory the first to come back as they reacted as they had been trained to do so. Metal hit metal as they tried to fight off their attackers, but it was clear the ponies were far more aggressive in this situation.

Already aware of Maximus’s might, Media retreated back into the kitchen with him proceeding after her. In all the midst of all this sudden chaos, none of them noticed as a figure loomed in the doorway, too fall to enter while standing, but managed to quietly slip inside without being heard. Spying on the battles going on in the main room of the house, the figure watched and waited for the right moment to strike.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Maximus moved in closer to Media, bringing her in range of his sword as he swung at her. Fearfully, Media blocked his attacks, the hard metal of the frying pan proving effective at repelling his blade, but the power behind his strikes were threatening to knock it out of her hands.

“I can tell you don’t want to fight, so just surrender,” he told her. “We’re not monsters. We can figure out something civilized to do with any of you that can understand what sort of situation you’re in. Now be smart and admit defeat.”

“I- I- I…” The offer was tempting and Media was frightened enough to almost accept.

“My mother says an army marches on its stomach,” commented Zircon as Media recalled a conversation she and the others had the night prior to the invasion. “But I think she had meant that more like they were going out to fill their bellies. In our case, we’re bringing our food with us.”

They were in the kitchen, a bit peckish for something to munch on. Fortunately, Media had already been in the process of cooking some macaroni and cheese and simply increased the amount of tube-shaped pieces of pasta when she found she had guests joining her. Once they had finished cooking in the bubbling pot, she poured the noodles into a strainer to get rid of the water and then into a bowl for each of them. She then poured in some fondu into each bowl for the Draglings to mix with the macaroni and complete their meal.

After doing that, they took their first bite of this simple, yet interesting new recipe of Media’s and instantly, all their eyes lit up as the tender noodles covered in a zesty and creamy cheese sauce filled them with a mouthwatering delight that was reflected in the blissful expressions on their faces.

“This is far more than a meal,” stated Sting before stuffing his maw with more. “It is the key to our victory. It is because of this that we can even consider doing such a bold invasion with only the first generation of Draglings.”

“Yeah,” agreed Nat as he. “After that whole pukwudgie fiasco, I think we all can see what a powerfully scrumptious asset this is to us. I’m kinda looking forward to getting a little beaten up if it means I get to have some of this tasty grub.”

“There will be plenty to eat for everyone,” Media told him. “But do be careful. Though this food is filled with love, it isn’t a cure all. It can heal wounds and reinvigorate the soul, but it can’t heal more critical injuries like Sting’s eye or any kind of lethal wounds. Relying on it too much will also be dangerous. It’ll encourage us to be careless and not care about getting injured if we can be patched up in a few minutes. I can only imagine how much strain our bodies would be under then. Oh, the more I think about it, the more I worry that using this as our trump card is just a huge mistake.”

“It’s nothing of the sort,” Tamati told her as he poked his head into the kitchen.

“Papa Tamtam, uh, I mean father,” gasped Media as she and the others didn’t expect to see him at such a late hour. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, no need to be so formal during our down time. As for what I’m doing, I’m just getting a little late night snack,” he admitted as he searched the cupboards, but the noticed some of the macaronies in the strainer that had yet to be eaten.

Seeing how her father eyed the food, Media poured him the rest in a bowl and added the fondu to it before handing it off to him with a spoon. “Here you go, papa,” Media told him with a smile.

Happily, the large dragon started to stir the cheese with the around before he brought the first spoonful to his maw and smiled the most blissful smile he had ever made in ages. “Mmm, mac and cheese, just like mom used to make,” he commented. “Oh, and speaking about mothers, I love your moms as much as I always have, but I never imagined every single one of them would be lecturing me about watching my calorie intake at the same time. I mean, seriously, I have abs, not flab.” Hearing that, Nat, Media and Zircon couldn’t help chuckle. Even Sting smiled a bit more.

“I guess the honeymoon period is over, huh,” joked Nat.

“I guess so,” sighed Tamati. “Now, I gotta sneak snacks at night. Guess this must have been what Spike was going through with his own diet. I’ve become one part tyrant dragon out to conquer the world and one part fatherly figure being controlled by the ones who he charmed in the first place. There’s a lot of irony in all this.” He looked at his four kids, them unsure what to say and just blinked at him. “Uh, what were we first talking about?”

“Um, about my cooking for the upcoming invasion of the Crystal Empire,” Media answered.

“Right, right,” the big, black dragon nodded and spoke between nomming on some more mac and cheese. “It’s a vital role for the invasion. I hadn’t even considered such a tactic at first and thought I’d have to raise a swarm of a few hundred before we could even consider an attack. Now, we’re more than prepared and it’s all thanks to you, my lil cream puff.”

“Does he have nicknames for you guys as well?” wondered Nat.

“I’m his princess,” answered Zircon. “Well, that’s probably more a title considering my mother.”

“He called me, ‘slugger,’” answered Sting. “Though I prefer blades over my fists to fight.”

“Wonder,” grumbled Nat. “We’ve got cream puff, princess, and slugger. There there’s me. I’m ‘squirt.’ Anyone care to trade?”

“Oh, dad,” Media blushed. “My cooking, it’s good, but I don’t think it can be relied upon to help us achieve victory.”

“It isn’t your food that I am talking about,” he explained. “Not directly, anyway, but you yourself Media. You are providing us with far more than I ever imagined we’d be capable, the same is true for all of you. Sting, with your strength and force of will. Nat, with your speed and reflexes. Zircon, with your skill and cunning. And, Media, with your love and devotion. I am proud of all my children, but you four especially have shown great promise. That is why I know you’ll all give it your everything you have tomorrow.”

“Thanks, papa Tamtam,” smiled Media. “We’ll do our best.”

“We won’t let you down,” added Sting.

“We’ve all been waiting for this day as much as you have,” continued Zircon.

“...Seriously, nobody wants to trade names?” asked Nat again.

“We did promise,” she recalled as she looked at Maximus, waiting for her answer, though he didn’t look like his patience was going to last forever.

“Well?” he asked her. “Did you make a decision?”

“No,” answered Media, pointing her frying pan at him. “We will not yield our attack.”

“Then you do what you must do and I’ll do what I must,” he retorted and attacked her once more with his sword.

Dodging it quickly, Media swung her frying pan and conked the stallion in the head. For a moment, Media’s heart heart leapt, excited to have done so well, but with his helmet on, the hit was at best a minor annoyance to him. Grabbing it with his free hand, Maximus tugged it away, leaving Media defenseless.

Lifting his sword up, Maximus tried to bring it down on her, but suddenly couldn’t budge it. “Huh?” he pondered and looked up to her huge, father dragon Tamati looking down at him. He snorted some smoke from his nostrils, not happy in slightest. “Who are you?”

“Did you honestly think we wouldn’t be keeping our med tents safe from attack?” he hissed as he crushed is sword with his bare claws and then, with a hard twist, broke it in two. “I made certain we were well protected in that regard personally.”

“Men!” called Maximus, realizing just now how quiet the other room was.

“Already taken care of,” chuckled Tamati. “Care for a little demonstration?” Without waiting for an answer, Tamati wrapped his free hand over Maximus’s mouth. “First, I held them tightly, covering their maw so they can’t cry for help.” Slowly, he started to walk backwards towards the nearest dark corner of the room till they both vanished from sight. “Next, I back away into the shadows of the room till only my eyes are visible. I then close them so even that trace of me is gone. After that… well, nothing, you’re already out cold from your own terror-filled thoughts tangled up in your mind right now.” He released Maximus from his grasp and the stallion just collapsed to the ground like a ragdoll. “Heheh, fear takedown, works every time.”

“I’m sorry father,” Media told him. “We weren’t able to keep this place safe on our own.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” he told her. “You did your best and that’s all that matters. Now, I don’t think this bunch had any reinforcements nearby, but stay on guard.” He dragged Maximus out of the shadows and positioned him sitting with his arms behind his back. “The other medics are tying his fellow soldiers up and you’d best do the same with him.” He then handed Media back her frying pan and took off the Pony’s helmet. “And if he gives you any more trouble, bonk him again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I best try and see if I can fix that front door. Recent… experiences have improved my carpentry skills.”

“That sure was a close one,” breathed Media with relief after her father had already slipped out of the kitchen.

“Uh, wha happen?” groaned Maximus as he started to come to, earlier than expected.

“Eep!” cried Media, removing Maximus’s helmet before she hit him over the head with her frying pan and knocked him out cold again.

“Greetings and welcome,” announced Media as she stood behind her kitchen island as a group of her fellow Draglings sat in chairs and watched with intrigue. “It’s time for another installment of ‘Fantastic Feasts and How to Prepare Them.’ With me today is your daddy and mine, Papa Tamtam.”

“Hey, everyone,” chuckled the large, black dragon as we walked into view and stood beside his Media. “Happy to be here. How’s my little cream puff doing today.”

“I’m fine, daddy,” she answered. “Now, today we’re going to be preparing a nice and healthy, but also tasty salad called, ‘the Grapes of Laugh.’”

“A healthy salad,” grumbled Tamati, more in the mood for something beefy and slathered with gravy. “Gee, I wonder who suggested we make a salad.”

“To start,” continued Media, ignoring her father’s griping. “We need about an ounce of grapes, peeled.” Reaching down, she brought up a bowl with that already prepared. “To go along with this, we’ll have cuts of carrots, celery, cucumbers. Daddy, did you gather the special ingredient I asked for?”

“I picked a whole bunch,” he nodded. “I’ll be right back with it.”

“Thanks,” she smiled and with a knife in hand, she started to peel the skin off a carrot, showing her experience as she did that and cut it into chunks in seconds. She started on a second as she kept on talking. “The special ingredient that our father, Tamati, went to get me is a most unusual one that not many would consider eating, considering its name. It’s called, ‘Poison Joke’ and contrary to the first part, it isn’t the least bit poisonous. It actually gets its name from the strange effects its pollen has on creatures that come in contact with it. The plant itself is actually harmless and quite nutritious. One just need be careful not to touch the plants without wearing protective gloves.”

“Uh… Media?” called Tamati. “I was supposed to be wearing gloves while I collected this stuff?”

“Daddy, you did listen to my instructions when I asked you to gather the plant, didn’t you?” she questioned him.

“I did… but a detail or two might have slipped my mind at some point,” he admitted.

“W-Well, if one doesn’t, they’ll end up with some randomly humorous symptoms a few hours later,” she continued. “But, don’t worry, it isn’t life threatening, just embarrassing at the least and inconvenient at the worst.”

“I think this is more than a little inconvenient,” cried Tamati.

“Oh, it can’t be that bad, daddy,” she assured him. “Come on out now, we’ve got a salad to finish.”

“F-Fine,” he grumbled and proceeded back out, however, he wasn’t the towering draconic, black beast with glowing red eyes he was moments ago. Now, he was a puny, fluffy, black kitty with glowing red eyes. For a moment, all the Draglings making up the audience could only stare in awe at their once mighty father.

“Anyone who laughs is grounded… forever,” he warned them, but his words had little effect while he appeared far less threatening. The entire audience burst into laughter, many falling out of their chairs as they held their sides, ready to bust a gut. With an irksome look on his face, Tamati walked on two legs as he carried the Poison Joke over to Media who was already done with the vegetable chopping and was ready for the plant, gloves on her claws. Leaping onto the table, he placed it down. “Here it is.”

“Thanks, Tamakitty,” she couldn’t help say and giggle.

“This better wear off soon,” he told as he sat, pouting.

“Don’t worry,” she promised him. “I’ll have a special bath prepared for you later to turn you back to normal. For now… you can take a cat nap.”

“Not funny,” he told her.

“Kitty!” cried Wedge as he ran over from the back of the audience to where Tamati was and picked him up.

“Gah!” cried the adorable fuzzball. “Unhand me, cretin. I am Tamakitty- I mean Tamati, not some mangy feline for you to cuddle like some plush toy!”

“So cute and fluffy!” he gushed as he relentlessly snuggled his leader in his less than threatening form.

Tamati struggled to get free, but as a kitten, he was helpless. “Stupid, weak body. This isn’t a joke,” he grumbled. “More like a nightmare.”

“This is my kitty,” sang Wedge. “This is his kitty fat.” Taking one of Tamati’s paws, he patted it against his soft belly. “Pat! Pat! Pat!”

“I will devour you, soul and all,” he hissed as he spoke very seriously. “And you will suffer being digested for all of eternity.”

“Don’t be a grumpy kitty, now,” Wedge told him as he scritched Tamati’s chin, causing him to enjoy it.

“Media!” cried Tamati in a worried tone now. “Hurry! The cure! I’m starting to enjoy this!”

“I’ll get to work on it… right after my show is finished,” she told him. “For now, just relax with a little nap, Papa Kitkat.”

“This is no way to treat your father,” Tamati cried, but some more pets from Wedge served to quell his anger and frustration despite his attempts to stay enraged. Before he knew it, he was curled up on the Changeling’s lap, fast asleep.

“So precious,” smiled Wedge. “Can we keep him like this?”

“I think you’ll live longer if you do,” Biggs told him.