Dragoness Quest

by PonyPixel

Rating: everyone
Tags: Spike, Dragons, Adventure, Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe
Length: 4930

A simply rule 63 of Dragon's Quest. With a few tweaks here and there.

Barb spends most of her time around boys. Because of this, she’s considered more of a tomboy than a lady. Some ponies don’t like this kind of behavior from her, which upsets the baby dragon. After seeing the majestic dragons in the dragon migration, Barb sets out on a question to see what it’s like to be a true dragoness. Little does she know, she getting more than she bargained for.

Published 2020-01-05 16:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-01-05 16:00:01 UTC

The Only Chapter

Author's Note

So, with the new year, I thought I would throw my hat into the ring of something different. Let me know what you think.

The Only Chapter

AJ and Bubble Berry were busy digging a hole outside of Butterscotch’s cottage. Inside, Scotch was refusing to go outside, causing Rainbow Blitz to push him out the door. “Don’t you think this a little much?” Dusk Shine asked.

“He’s right,” Butterscotch agreed. The stallion was trying his hardest to stop his friend from forcing him out the door. “I’m. Not. Going.”

“Scotch, the dragon migration only happens once every generation. You can’t miss this.”

“No way. Dragons are as big as Canterlot Castle and they could burn ponies to a crisp if they want. I’m not going.”

“Come on, Scotch,” Blitz groaned. “I came with you to see that butterfly migration.” He showed his scared friend a picture of that event. While Butterscotch was amazed, Blitz was bored out of his mind. “You owe me.”

“I. Said. NO!” Without warning, Butterscotch flew backward. He knocked Rainbow to the ground and even stepped on him. Not even looking back to see if his friend was okay, Butterscotch made a beeline for a window, which he stopped to open first, and then jumped out. However, Dusk used his magic to stop him in his tracks.

“Was that necessary?” the unicorn asked.

Butterscotch looked over to Blitz, who was groaning as he stood up. “Oh my,” Scotch gasped, “I’m so sorry. ...I guess I should probably go now.” He let down so he could walk over to the stallion he stepped on. “I...”

“Don’t talk to me,” Blitz groaned. He walked outside to join his friend.

“I guess I overreacted.” Butterscotch looked down bashfully.

“It’s not the worst freakout I’ve seen,” Dusk chuckled. The two shared a laugh as they walked towards AJ and Bubble Berry who were still digging a trench. “How’s it going, guys?”

“Pretty good,” Berry replied. “Is it deep enough now?”

“Just about.”

“Will this keep us safe from the dragons?” Butterscotch asked.

“Actually, they won’t notice we’re here,” Dusk replied. “I asked Elusive if he could make some camouflage clothing.”

“Anything for my friends,” said a voice. The stallions looked back to see a white unicorn in a camouflage tuxedo. “I’m not too late am I?”

“You’re fine. Do you have the camo?”

“Right here,” said a girl. There was a small purple and green baby dragon pushing a cart filled with camo clothes. The dragon, named Barb, had bits of mud on her feet and claws.

“What happened to you?” Butterscotch asked.

“We had a bit of trouble while heading through town,” Barb explained. “It’s nothing really. I think it helped with the illusion if anything.”

After a while, Barb and the stallions got into the trench and wore their camo clothes. “Here they come,” Dusk said. Hundred of dragons flew over Ponyville. They came in various different shapes and colors.

“This isn’t as bad as I thought,” Butterscotch commented.

“It doesn’t seem that impressive,” Rainbow Blitz admitted. Suddenly, one of the dragons belched, which caused a blaze of fire at the trench. The ponies and dragoness ducked and narrowly avoided the flames.

“You were saying,” AJ chuckled.

Barb was fascinated by the dragons. She hadn’t seen any other of her species, the closet thing to this was looking at her reflection. Several of them looked beautiful as they sored through the sky. One of them let out another breath of fire, which looked much more majestic than the first one.

“It’s times like this where I’m glad I’m wrong,” Butterscotch said.

“Still, a couple of them do look scary,” Bubble Berry commented.

“They don’t all look bad,” Elusive said. “Right Barb?” He didn’t get a response as the baby dragoness was too busy looking up at her own species.

After seeing the migration, Barb walked home with Dusk, Elusive, and Blitz, who was pulling the cart filled with the camo clothes. “So, what are you going to do with these?” the pegasus asked.

“I’m sure I can find somepony who wants them,” the fashion unicorn replied.

“Suddenly, one of the cart’s wheels broke off. It rolled into a muddy ditch. Barb quickly jumped down into the ditch to get it out.

“Barb, I could’ve just used my magic,” Dusk declared.

“No, it’s okay,” the dragoness replied, “I got it.” After picking up the wheel, Barb jumped out and accidentally splattered some mud on two unlucky mares that were passing by. “Oops, sorry.”

The mares just brushed off the mud and grumbled when they walked away. “Who could raise such a messy girl,” the first mare said.

“I know,” the other agreed. Barb heard what they said and started feeling upset.

“They’re probably just stuck up snobs,” Dusk commented. “No offense Elusive.”

“None taken,” he replied. “Though, I really think that Barb should take a shower. ...No offense.” Barb didn’t reply, she helped put the wheel back onto the cart and walked towards the library.

“Oh, boy,” Dusk sighed. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.” He ran off to catch up with the dragoness. “Barb, what’s wrong?”

“I’ve been thinking,” she replied, “What are actual dragons like?”

“That’s a bit hard to say. I don’t know much about dragons either.”

“You think we could find anything at the library?”

“Maybe. Let’s take a look.” They picked up the pace to get home.

Barb just got out of the shower to find the unicorn searching through shelves of books. “Any luck,” the dragoness asked.

“I’m sorry, Barb,” Dusk sighed, “Not one book gives any information about dragons. No pony has gotten close enough to study dragons. I think most of them have been too scared.” Barb let out a sigh and sat down. “Why do you want to know about dragons all of a sudden?”

“I’ve spent most of my time around you and the boys. I barely act like a girl.”

“Why would you want to do that. You’re fine the way you are.”

“I know but... Elusive is the best example of how to have proper behavior. You know what happens when I hung out with Blitz and AJ.”

“Oh, yes. I still remember the stains you dragged in. You still had fun with them. If you think what those mares said about you, forget about them. They don’t even know you.” The dragoness managed to smile.

“Thanks, Dusk.”

“It’s no problem. Come on, let’s just sleep on this.” The two walked up to the bedroom to get to sleep.

Later that night, Dusk was sleeping like a log. Barb, on the other hand, could sleep a wink. She kept thinking about what dragons were like. She got up from her bed and looked out the window and saw some dragons flying by. “I thought the dragons all traveled in a pack,” she said to herself.

Then, an idea popped into the baby dragon’s head. She walked downstairs and got a sandwich prepared, along with a bag of potato chips and a soda bottle. She wrapped them up in a handkerchief and held on the end of a stick and carried it over her shoulder.

Barb was about to walk out the door until she thought of something else. She couldn’t just leave Dusk alone by himself without letting him know. So, she got a piece of paper and a quill and started writing a letter for him

Dear Dusk Shine,
I’m sorry I left so suddenly, but I need answers. I’m not going to figure out how to be a true dragon just staying in Ponyville.

I’m going to see if I can follow the dragon migration, and learn more about them. You said it yourself that no pony knew anything about dragons, and some pony someone to figure this out.

I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I’m going to miss you and the boys. I’ll be back someday, and I’ll bring some information that’ll answer some of your questions.

Sincerely,
Barb

The baby dragon left the message on her bed and then walked out of the library. She could see the other dragons flying away in the distance.

Barb ran after them to try and catch up with them. Her journey was tiring, took all night just to keep up with the migration. Halfway through it, she had eaten her packed snacked. After hours and miles of walking, she could see the dragons landing in what looked like a volcano.

“A volcano?” she questioned. She climbed up it, which was thankfully easy compared to the rest of her journey and she saw a huge variety of different dragons. She looked towards some of the bigger ones, who didn’t look very social. The clue came from one of them breathing fire at her.

Barb ducked in time, which made her look towards some teenage dragons. “They’re probably a much better place to start.” She walked down the inside of the volcano until she was on flat ground. There were a couple of teenage dragons around, but Barb didn’t know where to start.

She was so busy looking around, that she didn’t keep an eye where was going and she tripped over a brown scaly tail. “Hey,” cried a voice. Barb stood up and could see a very angry brown dragoness with blue horns and yellow eyes towering over her.

“Oh... Ugh... I’m so sorry,” Barb apologized. “I didn’t see you. I’m just looking for some po... Somebody, to hang out with?”

“Hang out.”

“Cleva, what are you doing over there called a voice.” Barb and the teen dragoness named Cleva looked to see five more teenage dragons who were all female.

One was red with orange spines, one was purple with blonde scales that looked like hair covering her eyes. One of the teens was black with green hair-like spines, one was white with pink spines, another was purple with light blue hair-like spines with some twists horns.

“Who’s this twerp?” the blonde dragoness asked.

“She’s so pudgy,” the purple dragoness with twisted horns commented.

“What do you mean pudgy?” Cleva asked.

“Um, nothing.”

“My name is Barb,” the baby dragoness explained. “What are yours?”

“Well,” the red dragoness said, “I’m Gabby, that’s Dart, she’s Blaze, that’s Flicker, and she’s Vixen. I see you already met Cleva.”

“It’s nice to meet you all.” Barb walked up to Gabby and held out her claw to shake hers. However, Gabby could the baby dragon’s claws were all filthy.

“Ew, what did you do to yourself?”

Barb looked at her claw, the grime was hard to miss. “I had to walk all the way here. I don’t have wings like you.”

“She’s right,” Flicker said. “I mean, baby don’t need to fly.” Some of the girls laughed at this, Barb didn’t find it funny.

“So, you want to hang out with us,” Gabby said.

“Yes,” Barb replied.

“Then we have some work to so. Firstly, a real dragoness would never get so dirty like this.”

“Yeah,” Dart agreed. “Their scales are supposed to be lovely and shiny.”

“So, how do I get them cleaned?” Barb asked.

“Follow us.” The baby dragon was led to a pool of lava, which she was surprised by.

“Wow, this is cool.”

“Have you ever seen lava before?” Dart asked confused.

“Not really.”

“What kind of rock have you been living under?” Before Barb could answer, Cleva pushed her into the lava by smacking her with her tail.

“Cleva!” Vixen cried.

“She was taking forever,” the blue horned dragoness stated. “Besides, I couldn’t stand looking at her dirt claws. It’s just so gross.”

“I know,” Dart agreed.

Flicker helped pull Barb out of the lava. “You okay?” the teen asked.

“I’m fine,” the baby replied. “So, I’m pretty sure all the dirt burnt off. What do I have to do now?”

“Lady,” Gabby said. The six teens stood in a circle and each breathed out a different color of fire. The flames looked to twirl around in a spectacular way which amazed the baby dragon.

“What do you think of that?” Cleva asked.

“That was beautiful,” Barb commented. “How do I do that?”

“It took us a bit of practice,” Vixen replied.

“Just breath in and breathe out,” Blaze spoke up. “We don’t know what to deal with until we know what you can do.” Barb did as she was told. When she was about to let it out, she accidentally let out a loud burp. The girls looked away in disgust not noticing the scroll landing on the ground.

Barb saw the scroll and picked it up before they looked back. “What was that?” Dart questioned.

“Um... Nothing,” Barb replied. She hoped they didn’t see the scroll behind her back.

“That was absolutely disgusting,” Blaze groaned. “Gabby, are you sure she’s worth our time?”

“Hold on, I just met you. Just give me some time and I’ll do my best.”

The red dragoness thought for a moment. “Okay,” she said. “But you have to follow everything we say.”

“Okay. Can we try that fire thing again.”

“Right. Now, pay attention.” Gabby let out another beautiful breath of flames and then looked down at the baby. Barb tried again and did a slightly better job, while getting rid of the scroll, but she used too much breath and left herself panting afterward.

“How... Was that...”

“Better than the last time,” Blaze commented.

“How about we... Do something else until I catch... My breath.”

“Yeah, I’m kind of hungry right now,” Vixen said.

“Then that’s a perfect time to try and dig up gems,” Cleva said.

“I can do that,” Barb said.

“Without chipping a claw?” Dart asked. The baby dragoness looked confused. The teens showed her a good location to dig up gems. “We’ve worked hard to make these look their best. A chipped claw is such an eyesore.”

“Agreed,” Blaze said. “Still, we’d like to have some gems to eat.”

“It’s a lot harder than it sounds,” Flicker admitted.

“I think I can manage,” Barb replied. While some of the girls started digging, Barb was getting her tail ready. She started using it like a jackhammer, which started sending dirt everywhere. When she was done, she found a load of gems. However, the teens weren’t pleased that they were covered in dirt. “Oops.”

“Oops?” Blaze questioned. “You’ve got dirt all in my scales.”

“Sorry. But... Hey, I’ve gotten some gems.” Barb did have a got set of gems, which impress Flicker and Vixen, the others were still mad at the dirt she sent flying.

“Let me show you how it’s done,” Cleva said. She looked over to some drakes, who she whistled to. Once Cleva had their attention, she placed her claw on her hips. “Could you give me a hand with some gems?”

Barb was a bit confused until the drakes started digging up some more gems. “I thought I was supposed to dig them up.”

“They did say you had to get gems without chipping a claw,” Vixen whispered.

Cleva handed a few gems to the drakes while he held onto the majority of the gems for herself. “See yah boys,” she said. The drakes walked off, fairly disappointed. “That’s how it’s done.”

“How was I suppose to get them to work for me?” Barb questioned.

“Just don’t question it,” Dart spoke. “Now, I have to get my spines cleaned up.” She and the girls walked away from Barb, except for Flicker and Vixen.

“I thought it was kind of clever that you used your tail like that,” Vixen admitted.

“You really think so?” the baby dragoness asked.

“We do,” Flicker replied. “Where did you learn to do that?”

“I... Helped a friend of mine.”

“Who was it?”

“Um... It... He wasn’t...”

“Girls, where are you?” Gabby called.

“Coming,” the two teens replied. They flew away to catch up with Barb racing behind them. They raced to the top of a cliff that was above a pool of lava.

“What are we doing now?” Barb asked.

“Watch and learn,” Blaze said. She lept off the cliff and stoke a pose diving into the lava.

“Whoa.”

“It’s a bit harder than it looks,” Flicker whispered. Cleva and Dart each stroke a different pose before they dived in.

“What are you three waiting for?” Gabby asked.

“Nothing,” Vixen spoke. “I’ll go next.” She ran after the cliff to do her pose and dive.

“Good luck Barb,” Flicker whispered. She jumped, posed, and dove into the lava. After Gabby dived in, Barb was left on her own on the cliff.

“Come on,” Blaze called.

“Yeah,” Dart agreed, “Jump already.”

Barb was feeling nervous, but even so, she backed up to get a running start. Once she started running, she accidentally tripped just as she reached the edge, making her free fall. There was no time for Barb to get control and she faceplanted on the lava. This received mixed reactions, with Flicker and Vixen cringed at her misfortune.

After she sank a bit, Vixen held her up out of the lava. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“Been better,” the baby dragoness groaned.

“That was a disaster,” Dart commented.

“It looked kind of painful,” Flicker said.

“What went wrong?” Blaze questioned.

“I tripped,” Barb explained. “I didn’t even get a chance to jump.”

“I was still kind of impressive,” Vixen said.

“Yeah, but she still has some work to do,” Gabby said.

“Seriously?” Cleva, Blaze, and Dart questioned. Three of them and Gabby left the lava pool to talk in private.

“You’re seriously still giving this girl a chance?” Blaze questioned. “I still have some dirt in my spines.”

“Me too,” Dart agreed. “I think she somehow got some in my scales.”

As they talked, Barb decided to talk with the last two teens. “How long have you hung out with them?” she asked.

“About a month before the migration started,” Flicker answered. “It was a bit harder than I thought.”

“How come?”

“Well, Vicky and I didn’t have as hard as a time as you. Since we became friends with Gabby and the girls, we’ve gotten tons of gemstones.”

“What else did you get?”

“Not all that much,” Vixen sighed. “But her group is so popular. So dragons would only dream to hang out with them.”

“But... Is it worth it?” The two teens looked at each other and thought for a minute.

“Not really,” they sighed.

“We worked so hard to join this,” Flicker said. “If we leave now, they’ll make us a laughing stock.”

“Yeah,” Vixen agreed. “I mean... Just look at my unibrow.” She brushed her spine-hair to the side to show off her unwanted brow.

“Wow, I didn’t know that was there,” Barb admitted.

“I know, it’s ugly.”

“I don’t care about that. You guys are the nicest dragons I’ve met since I got here.”

“Thanks,” Flicker replied. “We don’t really know that many other dragons that are like you.”

“Seriously?”

“A lot of us are pretty greedy,” Vixen admitted. “Our parents aren’t like that, thankfully. Still, we’re the only friends we have.”

“That’s sad.”

“I don’t wanna know how you feel,” Flicker said.

“It’s not as bad as you think. You remember that friend I told you where I used my tail as a jackhammer? That friend’s name is Elusive. He’s a unicorn that lives in Ponyville.”

“Ponyville? Gabby says that’s where namby-pamby ponies live.”

“Namby-pamby? They’re my friends.”

“Ponies don’t have a good reputation around here,” Vixen said. She looked around to see if anyone had heard them. “I think we should talk about them somewhere else.” The three stood up and walked into a cave where no one else was in.

“Who are your friends?” Flicker asked.

“Well,” Barb said, “Elusive makes dresses for ponies, and I’ve had a few made just for me. There’s also Bubble Berry, he’s overflowing with energy, AJ is a farm pony who’s pretty strong. There’s also Rainbow Blitz, who’s kind of a showoff, and Butterscotch, though he’s shy, he’s really good with animals. Then there’s Dusk Shine...”

Barb’s expression turned into a frown once she mentioned the stallion’s name. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s... Like my brother. We both live together... Even though we get on each other’s nerves... I miss him. All of them. I wish I could go back, but I lost my way getting here.” The baby dragoness sighed as guilt started flooding in.

“We could help and fly you back,” Vixen said.

“No, then dragons will wonder where you are.”

“Girls?” Gabby called.

“See? They’re questioning where we are by just going into this cave.” The three walked back to the other four girls to see they were pretty annoyed.

“We’re trying to find more gems,” Vixen spoke first.

“Let us know first,” Dart ordered.

“Dart, important things first,” Gabby said. “Now, we’re still debating if Barb should join our group. She has the spirit but that’s about it.”

“I’m right here,” Barb said under her breath. While the girls were busy talking, the baby dragoness could see something in the corner of her eye. Something red and orange was walking around the corner. Seeing that the group wasn’t focusing on her, she decided to go an take a look.

What Barb found amazed her. It was a phoenix. It looked to be preening its wings, but Barb was confused about what a phoenix was doing around dragons. She tiptoed over to it so she wouldn’t scare it away. Just when she was about to get close enough.

“BARB!” shouted a voice. The phoenix looked around and saw the dragoness right behind him. He growled.

“Oh, boy,” Barb said knowing what was going to happen next. She made a run for it as the firey bird chased her. She raced back the dragons who were surprised to see a phoenix.

“Oh my gosh,” Cleva cried. She tried swatting away at the phoenix as it flew towards Dart, who tried breathing fire on it. Their attempts failed until the phoenix flew away.

“I hate phoenixes,” Blaze groaned.

“Me too,” Dart agreed.

“...Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Cleva asked.

“Thinking what?” Barb questioned. The four teens just giggled with each other.

“Follow us,” Gabby said. They flew away from the volcano area, with Vixen being kind enough to give Barb a lift. With that, they flew to the nearby forest.

The branches of the forest we incredible thick, so the dragons had to walk on foot. “Please someone tell me what we’re doing,” Barb begged.

“Hang on,” Gabby said. “Ah-ha.” She pointed to a nest that had two phoenixes in it.

“I thought you girl hated phoenixes.”

“We do,” Dart said. “We’re going to teach some of them a lesson.” Cleva and Blaze flew towards the nest, scaring the bird parents away. They flew off with the girls giving chase. There were tiny “peeps” to be heard and Flicker saw there some babies in the nest.

To their surprise, the babies took off after seeing the scary dragons flying towards them. “Get back here!” Gabby ordered.

“This isn’t right,” Barb said under her breath. She tried to keep up with girls, who were splitting up to catch one of the phoenixes. The birds were too fast for them, however, and it didn’t take long for the girls to lose them.

“Stupid birds,” Dart grumbled.

“Looks like we were just wasting our time,” Vixen sighed.

Barb looked towards the nest but saw something orange was still in the nest. “What’s that?” she questioned.

Gabby flew up to the nest to see the only thing that was left was an egg. “Sweet,” she said. “It’s not a total loss.” She picked it up and showed it to her friends.

“Cool,” Flicker commented. “What do we do with it?”

“Simple. We smash it.”

“...Say what now?” Barb questioned. She was handed the egg, still shocked at what the leader said.

“You heard her,” Blaze said. “Throw that thing on the ground.” The baby dragoness didn’t know what to do think. She started raising the egg up her head as four of the teens were excited.

“Smash it. Smash it,” they chanted. Barb looked to see Flicker and Vixen didn’t want to see what was going to happen.

The baby dragoness lower the egg slowly and took a deep breath. “How is this considered ladylike?” she asked.

“What?” Gabby asked.

“Give me one could reason why smashing a phoenix egg makes me a real dragoness.”

“If you wanna be in this group, you need to do as we say.”

“Not until I have an answer. Now that I think about it, if this is how a true dragon acts, I don’t wanna be around one at all.”

Gabby growled as her anger was increasing. “Vixen. Take it away.”

The command fell on deaf earth. The dragoness with a unibrow walked over to Barb, but she just stood beside her instead of taking the egg. “She’s right,” Vixen said. “This is wrong.”

“Wha... You said you would listen to me.”

“We did,” Flicker said. She over to Vixen and Barb to stand beside them. “This is something no dragon should do.”

“Yeah,” Barb agreed. “Gabby, you and your ‘friends’ are nothing but spoiled bullies.”

The four teens’ expression quickly turned to anger. “We’re getting that egg,” Gabby stated. She pointed to them, as Cleva and Blaze held Vixen and Flicker down as Dart did the same to Barb.

“Hey, let me go!”

“You made a mistake by not listening to us.” Just as Gabby was about to grab the egg, a purple aura surrounded her and she stopped.

“You heard her,” said a male’s voice. Gabby was thrown away as a blue aura surrounded the dragons, sending them away from Barb. Just as the bullies stood up, a rainbow blur flew around them distracting them from an orange stallion from running up and bucking two of them away. Dart, who thought she was the lucky one, Blitz decked her in the face.

Gabby tried to run towards Barb until a pink pony popped up in front of her. He pulled out a blue cannon, which shot out confetti, blinding Gabby long enough for a yellow and pink pegasus flew in a picked Barb up. The cannon then shot out a cloud of dust, blinding the other dragons. When it cleared, the ponies were gone, so were Barb and the egg.

“What just happened?” Blaze questioned.

“I don’t know,” Gabby replied. “She... The ponies... Let just get out of here.” The furious dragoness took off, with a Blaze and Dart following behind. Flicker and Vixen were about to take off, but Cleva had something to say.

“Don’t follow us,” she said. “You’re not in our friends anymore.” The brown dragoness flew away as the remaining two took a moment to recover. A few feet away, behind some bushes, Barb was with six familiar stallions.

“Thanks for the...” The dragoness wasn’t given time to finish talking.

“What were you thinking?” Dusk questioned, clearly furious. “Do you know how scared we were?”

Barb held her claws as she looked down. “I wasn’t thinking. I was wanting to know what a true dragon is like. Turns out, they’re nothing but horrible creatures. They tried to torment phoenixes, to the point where they tried to force me to smash an egg.”

“That’s horrible,” Butterscotch gasped.

“Tell me about it.”

“It wasn’t just your species you wanted to know more about, wasn’t it,” Dusk guessed. “You wanted to know where Prince Solaris found your egg.”

“I did. It’s just so frustrating not knowing who my real parents were. Were they just as bad as those girls?”

“I sure hope not,” Bubble Berry said. He was nudged by AJ, signally that he should keep quiet.

“Barb, I’m sorry you couldn’t find what you were looking for,” Dusk sighed.

“No,” the dragoness said, “I should be the one saying sorry. I made a huge mistake in coming here and probably wasted all of your time.”

“Barb?” Flicker questioned. The stallions and dragoness looked out of the bushes to see Flicker and Vixen looking around.

“You sure you heard her?” Vixen asked.

“I thought I heard someone talking,” Flicker replied.

“Great, they’re still here,” Blitz groaned.

“Hang on,” Barb reassured, “Those two are friendly. Scotch, can I have that egg?” Butterscotch handed her friend the phoenix egg, and she walked over to the two teens. “Hey, girls.”

“There you are,” Vixen said. “What was with those ponies?”

“They’re my friends. They were just coming to see if I was safe. Sorry if they roughed you up.”

“We understand,” Flicker replied. “You need help putting that egg back?”

“I would like that.” The teen helped the baby dragoness up and Barb was able to place the egg back in the nest. Once that was done, Barb was placed back on the ground. “I think you should get going before the phoenixes come back.”

“What about you?”

“My friends can help me get home.” Flicker and Vixen waved goodbye to her before they took off as Barb walked back to the stallions.

“I guess this wasn’t a total loss,” Dusk commented.

“Probably not. At least I know not all dragons are bad.” They looked over to the nest to see the egg hatching just in time for the parents and hatchling’s siblings to return. “Let’s go home.” Barb and the stallions started walking back to Ponyville, with the baby dragoness riding on Dusk’s back.