Applebloom gave a heavy sigh as she listened to her sister’s ominous warnings about the dragons. Ever since the creatures started waking up, everything’s been changing so suddenly, regardless of if she was good or not, leaving the fairy tales about the monsters hunting and eating bad fillies the obvious scapegoat for the anxious ponies. With a numb nod, Applejack sat and stared anxiously at the door, relieved when a sharp whistle came from the roof. With Big Mac giving the all clear signal, Applebloom walked outside, staring at the bruised, yellow hooves underneath her, trying desperately not to look up at the scarred earth. After a class C dragon attacked a few months ago, it left the forward fields gray and burned. From what AB could understand from her big sister’s farming books, burning the land should have left the soil rich and eager to grow in time for the next harvest, but whatever fire this thing had choked the life out of everything it touched, leaving their beautiful orchard nothing but a memory.
Smoking trees wasn’t the only thing in the air however. In what may have been a perverted twist of fate, everyone in Ponyville soon learned that harvesting dragons was extremely lucrative, catapulting the Apple Family into the leading dragon harvesters in the area. The stench of burning fats and oils from the dragon’s carcas filled the air, something the family quickly learned only Big Macintosh could stomach for long periods of time. It didn’t take long for apples to be nothing but a pleasant memory, as they became a dragon rendering facility instead. With Macintosh doing the harvesting and cooking, that left her big sister to travel across Equestria, selling the meat, with herself in charge of bottling and selling whatever fluids were left over to the ponies in town.
“Now, you be good, got it? Listen to Mac and Granny, and if anything happens, rush over to Twilight!” Applejack smiled down at her, as certain as ever as they walked over to their new waggon. A large contraption AJ affectionately called Connie that the mare couldn’t even pull the first week after they got it. As her sister strapped herself in, AB held back her tears as they tried to ignore the obvious fact that it’s next to impossible to outrun a dragon with such a massive cargo.
“Just… come back, okay?” She whispered, grumbling as Applejack tussled her hair. “Two weeks, remember?”
Like usual, Applejack sighed and didn’t respond, finding unrealistic promises like “everything is going to be okay” or “I promise not to get slaughtered by dangerous beasts like everypony else” too close to lying. Once Macintosh completely loaded Connie with nearly three hundred pounds of goods, he gave the waggon a good shove to help get it moving. The brother and sister sat in silence as they watched Applejack leave town, and as the sun peeked over the horizon, her big brother gave a heavy sigh. “Get going to school… don’t be late.”
The only thing worse than marching through the town, still damaged from the last attack, was pretending nothing was wrong with the fact that her old friend Twist was absent from class again. Everypony knew what happened to her, running into the burning orchard as the massive beast lay smoldering from a brilliant beam of light all the way from Canterlot. That’s how they learned that not only does dragon fire feed off of organic matter instead of oxygen, but breathing in the fumes would burn you alive from the inside. Applebloom couldn’t tell if the terrible thoughts filled anypony else’s mind as they sat down studying Canterlot history, but she had to give it to Cheerilee, that she pretended to be as happy as always, making school one of the last remaining places where she could forget the horrifying awakening of dragons even happened at all.
With class over, Applebloom smiled as she listened to her friends talking about the math test that they had to take earlier. “Well if you studied, you may be able to get more right than your own name!” Sweetie Bell giggled as she teased Scootaloo, and gasped as she got a wonderful idea. “Oh! Applebloom! Your sister left today right? How about we have a sleepover and try to help Scoots pass this course!”
The yellow filly smiled genuinely for what felt like the first time all day as Scootaloo complained about how long it would even take for her to get high enough scores on their tests next week. Giggling, she nodded and nudged Scootaloo. “Don’t worry, with AJ gone, we can be in the clubhouse all night weekend if we have to!” With her thoughts now on spending time with her friends, Applebloom’s spirits lifted, and was now overcome with sleepover preparation.
“Ooh! I’ll get cupcakes!” Scootaloo called, her wings buzzing proudly at getting first dibs. Groaning, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle fished through their saddle bags to pay for their treats, since the one who could carry everything to the clubhouse didn’t need to pay for it. “Great! Applebloom can get the games, and Sweetie can go get some books! We can hang out all night!”
Applebloom really needed this. With everything going on, she completely forgot that it’s been nearly a month since the three of them got to spend time together, and soon they were laughing like nothing else in the world mattered. With the sun having set nearly an hour ago, the three friends all but forgot about the plans to help Scootaloo study, and ended up playing all manner of games that were stashed inside the clubhouse. After Scootaloo won their second game, Sweetie Belle got up and stretched her hooves, taking note of how dark it was outside, the wind beginning to pick up.
“I know nopony’s supposed to talk about this…” Applebloom began cautiously, “but why are we pretending everything is fine?” All at once, a frigid draft seemed to wash over them, leaving only the howling of the wind from outside.
Scootaloo flared her wings and stamped her hoof, glaring at Applebloom. “Because it is, of course! Rainbow is out there fighting the damn things off! They’re the ones ruining everything!”
Applebloom knew it was a mistake to get her friend riled up, especially since everything has changed so rapidly, but she figured talking to somepony who didn’t agree with you was better than not talking about it at all. “Do we even understand where they’re coming from? I guess I just… wish there was another option is all. I think only Celestia would know the last time Equestria was at war.”
“You don’t think we can take some overgrown lizards?”
Before their discussion could continue, Sweetie Belle yelped as lightning flashed outside, their treehouse beginning to sway as the powerful gusts battered the building. “What’s going on out there? The Pegasi don’t change the weather anymore, do they?” The wind continued until suddenly a torrent of rain came crashing down, bursts of light blinding all three of them before the sound of an explosion rattled their bones.
With the major storm appearing out of nowhere, they all jumped as thunder made their ears ring, and blinding light leaving their vision blurred. “Get over to my house!” Shouted Applebloom, quickly getting a board and nails to hammer the shutters closed. With her friends rushing over to her house, she worked diligently to at least keep most of the water out of the small structure, making a note that she has to get some new planks of wood to replace some rotting floorboards, and to check how the roof was holding up.
Before she could finish cleaning the place up, almost half an hour after her friends left, she yelped as a sharp banging could be heard over the rain. “I’m coming, Macintosh! I just had to clean up a bit!” Yanking the door open for who she assumed to be her brother, she was startled to see a cloaked mass laying just in front of the door.
With the strong rain pouring down on top of her, she pulled the mass inside and relit the lanterns, providing a tiny amount of light against the oppressing gloom of the storm outside. “Are you fucking crazy? What are you doing out in a storm like this?”
On instinct, she got some cloth bandages and worked off the heavy cloak covering the figure’s body, still mostly hidden under the weak lantern light. From what Applebloom could see however, were dozens of strange scars and bruises, the figure twitching slightly.
“Applebloom!” A deep baritone cut through the storm easily, leaving the filly swearing under her breath. Knowing better to keep her brother waiting whenever he rose his voice, or even spoke for that matter, she silently kicked herself and looked around, covering the figure with a heavy blanket before rushing out the door.
Soaked in rain, her big brother lit the fireplace for her and her friends to warm up by, with a lukewarm cup of hot chocolate waiting for her. “What took you?” Demanded Macintosh, leaving the younger sister stunned. Trying to figure out a way to answer, she noticed that her older brother’s eyes were filled with worry.
“The storm came so suddenly, I was trying to shut out the rain before I left, but it looks like I need some new shutters to keep the rain out!” Big Macintosh gave a sigh of relief and dried her off before letting her take a seat by the fireplace.
Waiting for the large stallion to turn around, Scootaloo nudged her and gave a quiet whisper. “What were you really doing out there?” Instead of replying, Applebloom glared back, silently telling her to shut up. “What’s with the storm all of a sudden?” She called to Big Macintosh, not wanting to push her friend any further.
The red stallion glared out the window, glowering at something invisible before he turned back to the three fillies. “Them Princesses are doing something…” he said softly, trying to convince himself otherwise. “Listen girls, we gotta talk about this dragon business.” Big Macintosh was patient, and gave each filly a new glass of hot chocolate with an extra marshmallow on top. “The sisters are… a bit limited in their ability. They’re family, so they’ll never hurt one another, but what they can do is get in each other’s way. This storm is here specifically to block the moonlight, which means Luna can’t hear or see us. Celestia wants to keep it that way because she may have an answer as to why these damn dragons are turning on us.”
Applebloom fidgeted slightly and spoke up. “Are… they really that bad? What about Spike?”
The filly was shocked to hear her big brother snarl at her, before getting his anger under control. “Only because Twilight keeps the creature under a tight leash!” With a soft sigh, he composed himself to start again. “Bloom… this has happened before, and I want you to think very carefully about what happened a hundred years ago because Luna got in Celestia’s way.”
Sweetie Belle gasped and blurted, “she locked her away in the moon! Wait… that was because of dragons?”
Big Macintosh nodded. "For whatever reason, the idiot wants to protect them. Celestia tried to get things done her way, but even in a hundred years, she couldn't kill them all… the cowards ran. Now that they're waking up again, coming out of hiding, us ponies have forgotten how to hunt the bastards down, and now we're getting slaughtered."
Applebloom looked at the ground and sighed softly. Why was it so bad to be a dragon? Spike was kind and one of her best friends! He isn't some kind of animal… is he?
"Now girls… I want you to help Celestia however you can, alright? All I know is that they think something may be in Ponyville, and they don't want Luna in the way to save him." He stared at each of the foals in front of him, with his own sister shuffling her hooves.
"Big Mac… have they killed people?" she asked quietly, her voice filled with shame. With a soft sigh, he nodded.
“We kill them because they’re monsters, Bloom… they took our parents, Twist, Scoots’ family, nearly got Shining too, and only Celestia knows what’s gonna happen to Dash and Applejack.” The silence continued for some time, until they noticed that the rain had stopped. "Listen. I don't know what it is they're looking for, but talk to Twilight if you notice anything. I don't want you girls getting hurt."
Scootaloo jumped up, growling with frustration. "I want to fight them too! I gotta keep Rainbow Dash safe!" With a proud smile, Macintosh tussled her mane and nodded.
"Celestia is doing all she can to help kill these beasts before you have to, Scootaloo, we just need to help her out as much as possible."
With the discussion over, the three ponies went to bed, with only Applebloom tossing and turning restlessly. Could this all be true? She didn't want to admit it, but she always liked Spike, and found it admirable how he did his best to make her happy. Yet, with what her brother said, why didn't Twilight kill him like they want to with all the other dragons?
Waking up with a start, Applebloom groggily sat up, confused as to why her heart was fluttering so eagerly. With the sun still beneath the horizon, she snuck out of her room before catching a glimpse of the clubhouse out of the corner of her eye. Reminded of last night, she gasped and made her way outside, silently begging that Celestia hasn't found the visitor from last night.
Yanking the door open, she was about to run to the clubhouse, but yelped in fright as Big Mac seemed to appear on the porch from nowhere. "Fuck, Mac! What're you doing up so early? You scared the daylights out of me!"
Her big brother stared at her curiously and shrugged. "I should be asking you the same thing, Bloom… you're awfully eager to get to the clubhouse this morning."
Applebloom froze under her brother's accusation, and tried desperately to find a reason why she'd be up at five in the morning. "I'm just… gonna take a look at the clubhouse is all, Mac! I gotta make a list of stuff to buy after I finish selling all this dragon stuff!"
Giving her a proud smile, Applebloom sighed in relief and ran to the clubhouse before walking inside, only to groan as she found the room completely empty. Celestia’s soldiers couldn’t have taken him, could they? Kicking the door closed and shutting the blinds, she began tearing the place apart as panic rose through her chest. “Come on… where the fuck did you go?” After looking behind and underneath everything, she began feeling ridiculous as she realized she was looking for somepony nearly the same size as her! Why in tartarus would he be underneath the lamp?
As she turned to leave, a thought came to her mind. Silence and be still. Was she going crazy? Suddenly, a streak of moonlight filled the room, making her shiver as a strange coolness washed over her body. Before she could ask what was going on, she yelped as the door opened quickly, with Big Macintosh and Shining armor marching inside, looking through her as if she never even existed.
“You really think Luna could have brought a weapon here? Into a filly’s room?” Big Macintosh asked.
“We don’t know… he could be anywhere by now, and Celestia doesn’t want to take any chances with him being loose and not being a part of the extermination. She really planned to have all of this stomped out by now!” Applebloom recognized the other stallion has Twilight’s brother Shining Armor, but nervously looked over to her strange new visitor. “Keep an eye on her to try and figure out if Luna makes contact with her or anyone inside her circle, okay? The creature was built to kill dragons, so we don’t know what he’ll be able to do with a pony.”
“What are you even going to do? You know the panic you’ll cause marching through town, waiting for this thing to show up?”
Shining Armor paused and thought for a moment. Clearly he had a point, but his rapid response unit was tasked with guarding ponyville before the monster killed anyone! “I’ll… talk to Celestia, see if we can’t make camp a few miles west of here in the field. Just let me know if you see Applebloom acting strange or anything, we don’t have any intelligence on what Princess Luna could even do. She’s been conserving her strength for nearly a decade now.”
Nodding in agreement, the two stallions left the room, and Applebloom seemed to shimmer back into existence as the moonlight faded. Neither pony dared to speak for the next few minutes, until Applebloom couldn’t dare take the silence anymore. “What the hell… you’re the colt from last night, aren’t you? Sweet Celestia, you’re still soaked!” Without thinking, she yanked off the dripping wet cloak with a grunt, startled by just how heavy the cloth was. “Look, we gotta get you dried off first, alright? Then we can-”
Applebloom gasped as she got a good look at the colt for the very first time, although calling him a colt was purely out of technicality. While he was a head taller than herself, his body looked… wrong. Like a dragon shoved into a pony’s body, he looked like he was just about to molt out of his skin like those pictures Fluttershy showed to her class once. With everything except his head looking like a horse, his head was obviously that of a dragon, with large, pointed ears, and two dazzling eyes stuck in a terrifying glare. His hide glistened with brilliant onyx scales, fused awkwardly to his body, unlike Spike’s which fit like an armored puzzle piece. His mane was black, but turned into a glowing electric blue halfway through. The illusion of majesty stopped when she looked at his wings, being nearly two sizes too small for his massive frame. “Y-you’re…” Applebloom realized she must have been staring at him for a good three minutes now, captivated by the unnatural beauty of the creature standing in front of her.
“It’s wrong… I know.” Forgetting about the strangeness of their situation, Applebloom couldn’t help but giggle as she heard his voice for the first time. Despite his massive size, he sounded young, almost like the perfect ventriloquist. Rolling his eyes, he gave a snort and scratched his hoof against the floor. “Yea, yea, laugh it up!” He said with his baby voice, his long tail lashing in embarrassment.
After Applebloom was finished laughing, struggling to stifle her giggles, she looked over his massive body. “What in Tartarus are you?” She asked, letting him pick up his massive cloak.
Hiding his frame once more, he sighed and shrugged. “I just… woke up one night, with Luna telling me that you could help… all I know is those two guys, along with everypony else, want to kill me.”
"Applebloom! Breakfast!"
Applebloom’s heart sank when she realized that the first streak of morning sunlight began to paint the horizon orange. Whatever they were thinking about doing, they just ran out of time. Thinking fast, the yellow filly found a crumpled piece of paper and began scribbling something down. “Listen, I gotta go, but you said Celestia herself wants to kill you, right?”
“Uh…”
“Just shut up and listen! If Celestia wants to kill you, she’s gonna try it in a few minutes! I need you to take this letter into the forest AWAY from Ponyville, got it? I'll try and come over tonight!" Applebloom shoved the letter into his chest and scrambled out the door. "Coming, Mac! I was out looking for wood!"