In the Castle of Friendship laboratory, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, and Starlight Glimmer are examining a glowing purple crystal shard in a glass jar. "Its energy has diminished greatly compared to when it was initially recovered." Twilight Sparkle jotted down.
"Think it tastes better now?" Spike asked.
"Spike! You know what these things can do!" Starlight Glimmer reprimanded.
"Yeesh, just wanted to know." Spike grumbled.
"I think we've researched all we can from this crystal." Twilight Sparkle said as she telekinetically lifts the jar.
"Are we keeping it here? It'd be risky after what trouble it gave us." Starlight Glimmer asked Twilight Sparkle.
"Of course not. This will be kept in the most secure place in Equestria: Tartarus." Twilight Sparkle answered.
They leave the castle and walk through the Ponyville streets. "I've asked Celestia to call an agent to send it for us." Twilight Sparkle told them.
"What do they look like?" Spike asked.
"Probably got a jacket and sunglasses." Starlight Glimmer joked as she hears familiar, squeaky bouncing approaching.
"Hey, Twilight! Hey, Spike! Hey, Starlight! Whatchu doin'?" Pinkie Pie greeted them as she prances beside them.
"We're sending this crystal to Tartarus." Spike answered.
"Hey, isn't that…?" Pinkie Pie pointed to the crystal.
"Don't worry, it's fragmented so it won't bother anypony again." Twilight Sparkle assured.
"It probably still tastes bad, though." Spike added.
"Please don't make that a running joke." Starlight Glimmer groaned.
"We already have one: me!" Pinkie Pie threw her hooves in the air. "I come in other forms, like a walking joke, a sprinting joke, a jogging joke…"
"Twilight, darling!" Twilight Sparkle turns to see Rarity waving to her, levitating a blue jacket.
"Hello, Rarity. Is that the special custom jacket you've been working on?" Twilight Sparkle asked Rarity.
"Of course. I was just gathering opinions on it from my friends." Rarity nodded as she floats the jacket to Twilight Sparkle. "I'm looking forward to yours. After all, this is for your true-blue special stallion." Rarity said teasingly, embarrassing Twilight Sparkle enough for blush to bloom.
"Uh, hehe, please don't put it like that. I like him, but, he, uh…" Twilight Sparkle stammered. "It looks really flashy, just like him."
"Mhm. Exactly my thoughts." Rarity nodded when a prismatic streak passes by.
"Wait, it needs a sword holder!" Rainbow Dash told Rarity.
"Hi, Rainbow!" Pinkie Pie waved.
"Hi, Pinkie." Rainbow Dash briefly greeted her before turning to Rarity. "Since he carries weapons, he'll need one."
"While this is a work blazer, it is not intended to store such things." Rarity refused.
"We'll leave you to it." Twilight Sparkle said before moving on with Spike and Starlight Glimmer. "We have business to take care of."
"She really is working hard on a jacket for someone you don't see much." Spike told Twilight Sparkle.
"I'm sure he'll appreciate it next we meet." Twilight Sparkle added.
"Maybe then I could talk to him more. Due to our little project, I wasn't given a lotta time to get to know him." Starlight Glimmer added.
As they walk, they set their eyes on a light-yellow mare with a curly cobalt-and-fuchsia-striped mane, wearing a black trenchcoat concealing her Cutie Mark, a black fedora, and a pair of sunglasses. "I think that must be her." Spike pointed.
"See, told ya." Starlight Glimmer smirked.
Before they could take another step, everypony in town spots a burning object hurtling from the sky crashing into Sweet Apple Acres. "I heard an explosion!" Rainbow Dash said as she, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity runs to Twilight Sparkle.
"What was that?" Starlight Glimmer wondered.
They come to Sweet Apple Acres where they see a smoking crater in the orchard that Applejack and Fluttershy are looking into. "Applejack, Fluttershy, are you okay?" Twilight Sparkle asked them in concern.
"Thankfully, yes. We weren't near the crash when it happened." Fluttershy answered.
“Fluttershy an’ I were lookin’ at a Zap Apple tree somehow growin’ in the main orchard, when we heard a boom! Then we came here’n found this.” Applejack explained.
"What in Equestria crashed here?" Rarity wondered when they hear a groan from the crater.
"Or rather, who in Equestria crashed!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. The smoke clears up, revealing a heavily-injured Ember, the Dragon Lord of the Dragon Lands.
"Ember!" Spike comes to her side. "Are you okay?"
"I… I dunno… I dunno…" she mumbled, visibly shell-shocked. She Twilight Sparkle's floating jar and opens it, eating the crystal, grossing out the ponies. "Thanks, I needed that. Tastes weird, though."
"That… wasn't for you." Starlight Glimmer pointed out.
"Ember, what happened?" Twilight Sparkle asked her.
"My dad… Torch…" Ember spoke up, attracting the attention of the ponies. "…Attacked us. He attacked everyone in the Dragon Lands."
"What?!" they all blurted in surprise.
"Why would he do that?" Rarity wondered.
"We don't know!" Ember answered frantically. "There wasn't any warning. He just woke up, and started attacking everyone. First, he took on the big ones; the buddies he used to pillage with, and they came down quick. Then, he went for the smaller dragons. It was terrible…"
"Did you try talking to him?" Fluttershy suggested.
"That's the last thing we did." Ember answered. "He didn't even look at me when he smacked me off that cliff."
"So you came to Ponyville for help?" Spike asked.
"I didn't wanna. It'd make me look bad as Dragon Lord, but we didn't have any options." Ember answered.
"If the Dragon Lands are in trouble, we should help." Spike told Twilight Sparkle.
"Exactly my thoughts, Spike." Twilight Sparkle nodded. "Ember, we're going to figure out what's upsetting your father." She declared.
"Thanks, Starlight." Ember thanked her.
"I'm Twilight."
"Same thing." Ember shrugged.
"Uh, do we all have to come? As thrilling as it would be to meet more dragons, I'll pa—" Fluttershy said before Rainbow Dash bumps her.
"Uh, yeah! It's not every day you're invited to the most dangerous place in the world!"
"C'mon, girls! We've got a Dragon Land to save!" Twilight Sparkle rallied.
They come to the Dragon Lands with Ember supported by Starlight Glimmer. The moment they arrive, they witness dragons fleeing on the basalt landscape and in the smoking skies. "So, uh, we weren't here last time. What's this Torch feller like?" Applejack asked Rarity.
"You know how big the castle at Canterlot is?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah?" Applejack answered.
"He's bigger." Rarity concluded.
"There's a reason why he was Dragon Lord before me. I'd hate for you ponies to see it first-hand." Ember said before a shadow soar over them. Soaring across the sky is the former Dragon Lord Torch, setting the sky ablaze with dragon fire.
"Aaah!" Fluttershy screamed at the sight of the monstrous dragon. "I wanna make my first time here my last time!" she panicked as she tries to fly away, but Rainbow Dash bites her tail to pull her back.
"Ya weren't kiddin', Rarity!" Applejack added.
"He doesn't look so tough! I can take him!" Rainbow Dash said confidently before Ember stifles a chuckle.
"Famous last words." Ember sighed before hearing someone in the sky.
"You don't look so tough! I can take you!" a stallion's voice shouted from the sky. Everyone looks up to see a golden flash zipping around Torch's head before stopping, revealing an armoured Pegasus stallion smirking at Torch.
"Who is that?!" Ember pointed at him.
"Flash Magnus! He's a Pegasus warrior from the past that we rescued from Limbo with the rest of the Pillars of Equestria!" Rainbow Dash answered excitedly.
"The what?" Ember questioned.
"Don't you remember the last time we met? You totally got smoked!" Flash Magnus taunted as he flies circles around Torch.
"Is he crazy?! He can't take on my dad! He's just a puny little pony!" Ember said.
"You never heard of a good campfire story, have you?" Rainbow Dash said confidently. "Legends say he rescued his squadron from a cave in the Dragon Lands, outsmarting not one but two dragons!"
"Come get me, ya big oaf!" Flash Magnus shouted before zipping past Torch's ear and the big dragon chases after him through the grey skies. Flash Magnus zips around, outflying the massive beast of a dragon, strafing away from incoming fire blasts. Torch locks onto Flash Magnus and breathes a column of fire at him.
"It's been nice knowin' ya, random pony." Ember sighed. They witness the fire engulf the Pegasus, but he swiftly emerges from the flame unscathed. "Wait, what?! How'd he… what?!"
"Flash Magnus has the great shield Netitus, said to be the most fire-proofed shield in history!" Rainbow Dash explained. "If I know my stories, I know how this'll end."
Flash Magnus continues to goad Torch as he approaches a lightning storm. He looks back one last time to deliver a devilish smirk, when he's suddenly met by the orange spade of Torch's tail. He dodges out of the way, but the tail disperses the lightning cloud into smaller, harmless fluffs. "Oh n—" Flash Magnus groaned before he's smacked out of the sky by Torch's massive claw.
"Flash Magnus! No!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
They witness the legionary hurtle towards the ground, and could do nothing but watch. Starlight Glimmer however, immediately gallops towards him at full speed, charging up magic into her horn. She catches Flash Magnus telekinetically before he could hit the basalt, safe and sound. She gently lowers him, when Netitus strikes the ground beside her, pointy-end-first. "Flash Magnus, are you okay?" Twilight Sparkle asked Flash Magnus.
Flash Magnus pants rapidly without an answer before shaking it off. "Uh, I'll live."
As they gather around the ancient warrior, another armour-clad Pegasus guard butts in. "Sir, are you alright?" he asked Flash Magnus.
"I'm fine, Sentry." Flash Magnus nodded.
Twilight Sparkle looks to the guard and recognizes him as Flash Sentry, a guard stationed at the Crystal Empire. "Oh, hi, Flash." She waved nervously.
"Princess." Flash Sentry bowed politely before turning to Flash Magnus. "Sir, with all due respect, you never should've gone in alone."
"I wasn't alone. You came along." Flash Magnus said.
"I meant in active battle, with a dragon no less!" Flash Sentry added.
"You sure had some guts to even think about fighting Torch." Ember commented.
"It looks like he learned from the last time. Last I saw his dumb blue hide, he followed me right into a thundercloud without even noticing. I never thought a big loon like him would get wise on that." He said before picking up a faint pitter-patter of a stamping foot beside him. He turns to see Spike eyeing him with arms crossed and his foot stamping. "No offense, little guy."
"That 'big loon' is my dad." Ember added.
"Huh, I guess I can see some family resemblance." Flash Magnus commented as he circles around Ember.
"Everycreature, let's focus." Twilight Sparkle called for their attention. "Flash Magnus, what are you doing here?"
"I caught word of a rampaging dragon. There was this cross-eyed dragon fella who gave a description, and it matched the ol' underbite I knew. I thought it was time again to teach an old dog another lesson." Flash Magnus answered.
"I'm assigned to him, so I have to follow him wherever." Flash Sentry said. "Even if he goes off on a guerrilla mission." He sighed.
"We came here for the same reason. Ember came to us for help." Twilight Sparkle informed him.
"I would never think of letting ponies do a dragon's work unless we were out of options." Ember added.
"If that's the case, then we're all you got." Flash Magnus said.
"You happen to have a Plan B?" Pinkie Pie asked Flash Magnus.
"No, I just hoped he'd be dumb enough to fall for the same trap." Flash Magnus answered.
"That's okay, we can work out another plan together." Twilight Sparkle assured, when they feel a quake.
They all turn to see Torch levelling an entire stone column into gravel. "We should think fast, or there won't be a Dragon Land left." Spike whimpered worriedly.
They come to the top of a cliff, where a few miles opposite is a stone stack of equal elevation. "First, I propose a net trap. While we don't have a big enough net to catch a dragon as big as Torch, we can make one with magic." Twilight Sparkle proposed.
"Rainbow Dash and Flash Magnus will attract Torch's attention and lead them over here. I'll be over on that stack there, and when Torch comes near, Twilight and I will simultaneously cast net spells to catch him." Starlight Glimmer added.
"Is there anything I can help with, princess?" Flash Sentry asked Twilight Sparkle.
"Oh, uh, um…" Twilight Sparkle stumbled over her words as she tries not to have direct eye-contact with Flash Sentry. "Just stay and watch." She smiled nervously.
"As you wish." Flash Sentry bowed.
"Will this work? I dunno about pony magic, but dad can pretty much break outta anything." Ember asked.
"You're talking to two of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria. I think they can take on a dragon." Pinkie Pie assured.
"And if they can't?" Fluttershy asked.
"I have a few more strategies, just in case." Twilight Sparkle said as Spike presents them a notepad with detailed battleplans.
"If these don't stop him, they'll at least delay him from destroying everything." Spike said.
"Just say the word, and we're dragon bait." Flash Magnus said confidently.
They hear again Torch's roar reverberating through the empty valley. "That's him. Let's go, everypony!" Twilight Sparkle rallied.
Rainbow Dash and Flash Magnus give her a salute before dashing away. They come to Torch chewing on a mesa, and Rainbow Dash gives him a whistle. "Over here, Torch! Two moving targets for ya to munch on!" Flash Magnus shouted.
"I was gonna say something along the lines of…" Rainbow Dash told Flash Magnus. "Hey, gem-for-brains! Come get some!" she shouted to Torch. They instantly get his attention, and he gives a roar before kicking half the mesa apart.
"Let's step on it!" Flash Magnus nodded to Rainbow Dash before they fly away. They maintain pace with each other as the giant of a dragon chase them. They aim for the gap between the stack and the cliff where the two magicians await them.
"On my mark, Starlight!" Twilight Sparkle shouted.
"What?!" Starlight Glimmer shouted back.
Twilight Sparkle was about to repeat herself, when Pinkie Pie comes in with a megaphone. "Do it when Twilight says so!"
"Got it!" Starlight Glimmer nodded.
They focus on the rapidly-approaching pegasi until they fly past the mesa line, leading Torch towards them. "Now!"
Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer simultaneously create magical nets that join at the midpoint between them, big enough to catch Torch, who slams into the net before he could react. "Wrap him up!" Starlight Glimmer shouted as they manipulate the net. As the net curves to engulf Torch, he extends his claw and tears the net to shreds before he focuses on his to-be captors.
They could do nothing but stare up at him, when someone whistles from the sky. "Hey, we're not done with you, yet!"
Torch looks up to Flash Magnus waving to him. "C'mon, slowpoke!" Flash Magnus taunted before he flies away, then Torch follows.
As the rest watch them disappear into the horizon, Rainbow Dash regroups with them. "Flash Magnus just bought us more time. Any more ideas?" Rainbow Dash asked Twilight Sparkle.
"Absolutely." Twilight Sparkle nodded as Starlight Glimmer floated over to them. "And we'll need Rarity and Pinkie Pie's help." She looks to the fashionista and the party maker.
"Us?" Rarity raised her eyebrow.
With Rarity's gem detection magic, she and Spike find gems to bedazzle a giant cake Pinkie Pie somehow quickly baked, composed of three tall tiers covered in blue frosting. "How does she do it?" Flash Sentry wondered as he looks up at the blue cake.
"I stopped trying to figure out Pinkie Pie a looong time ago." Twilight Sparkle commented.
"Does she do weddings?" Flash Sentry asked for Twilight Sparkle's eyes to shrink in surprise.
"Weddings?!" she panted suddenly.
"I have a friend who's getting married, and I'm looking for planners." Flash Sentry answered.
"Oh, yeah, I… uh…" Twilight Sparkle stammered.
Rarity finally floats a zircon on the top like a Hearth's Warming tree. "Maybe I should swap it for that ruby…" she contemplated.
"So, uh… what's with this so-called cake?" Ember asked them as her eyes hypnotically lock on the magnificent treat.
"Torch should be attracted to the scent of this cake. Once he lands to snack on it, Starlight and I'll climb him and put a sleep spell on him." Twilight Sparkle explained.
"It should be irresistible to dragons. I should know, it's my recipe." Spike said.
Rainbow Dash soon notices Flash Magnus flying towards them. "Flash Magnus' back!"
"He's here! Hide!" Twilight Sparkle said before they all scatter.
They hide in a nearby cave with a full view of the cake. They anticipate the arrival of the great dragon, when Flash Magnus falls from the sky hoof-first. "Hyaaah!" Fluttershy squeaked before Rainbow Dash covers her mouth.
"Torch should show up any minute now." Flash Magnus said before entering the cave. "Nice cake. Is that vanilla I smell?"
"Hush, we can't let him hear us." Twilight Sparkle advised.
They soon feel a gust of wind from Torch's wings letting him down onto the strata. He sniffs the ground as he strides across the land, when his eyes spot the bright blue cake. He approaches the cake and sniffs it. "C'mon… take the bait…" Twilight Sparkle awaited with bated breath.
In an unexpected turn, he smashes the cake, splattering it into a pile of frosting and gems. "Oh, come on!" Pinkie Pie screamed to everyone's surprise. "Don't you know how long we spent on that cake?!" she screamed before covering her muzzle. "Oops."
Torch roars before tossing the remains of the cake at them, gems and all. The blue gunk splats on Rainbow Dash and Applejack, while Rarity shields herself with an umbrella, which is unfortunately punctured by a stray zircon. Twilight Sparkle was about to be hit with an especially-encrusted glop of cake, when Flash Sentry leaps in front of her and takes the hit, slamming himself into the cave wall. "Flash!" Twilight Sparkle cried out as she comes to his side. "Flash, are you okay?"
"As long as the princess is okay… then that's all that matters." Flash Sentry muttered as blue frosting drips from his helmet.
They turn to Torch building up heat in his gullet, readying to breathe fire on them. Thinking quickly, Flash Magnus flies past Torch's eyes and zip around his head. "Hey, your beef's with me, ugly!" he said before flying into the clouds, then Torch chases him again.
"I don't get it! It's supposed to be irresistible!" Pinkie Pie said when she hears crunching behind her. She turns to see Ember taking a handful of frosting from Flash Sentry's armour and licking it. "Hm!" she hummed from the cake's sweetness before eating the entire handful at once.
"At least somecreature appreciates it." Pinkie Pie bittersweetly smiled.
"Applejack…" Starlight Glimmer called to Applejack. "We'll need your rodeo skills for this next plan."
Soon, they run the rest of Twilight Sparkle's plans to capture Torch. While Fluttershy patches up Flash Sentry, Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer focus their energy to magically construct a massive lasso twirled around by Applejack. They sustain the magical construct until Flash Magnus flies past with Torch not far behind. Applejack throws the lasso at Torch, successfully wrapping it around his wingspan and causing him to crash to the ground. Seeing this successful capture, Twilight Sparkle and her friends run to the fallen Torch, but despite their efforts he spreads his wings and shatters the lasso before flying away.
Their next plan involves Fluttershy talking to a flock of birds to blind and slow Torch as a distraction for Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer to apply a sleep spell. As Flash Magnus passes by, Torch is not far behind. While everyone hides from Torch, the birds gather in front of Torch's eyes, blinding him momentarily. Then, Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer fly and float over to Torch's back to apply a sleep spell on him. While blinded by the birds, Torch slams face-first into a rock wall, knocking the two off him before he resumes chasing after Flash Magnus.
After the failure of the previous plan, the outcome was a fortunate segue into another plan. Rarity examines the crack in the rock wall to confirm the presence of gems, and signals Applejack to give it a hefty buck. With one hit, the stone falls apart to reveal a massive ruby geode within. "If a cake won't do, then he might be interested in something purer." Rarity commented. When the time came for the bait that is Flash Magnus to fly by with Torch, the dragon doesn't even stop for a munch and just flies by, making Rarity visibly disappointed.
"Just like the cake, he's completely ignoring it!" Rarity looks to the exposed geode.
"Dad usually has time to eat a mountain of gems, even on his worst day." Ember added.
"Not to worry, we've still got plans aplenty." Twilight Sparkle assured as Spike presents more notebooks.
"We'll be here all day if we have to." Starlight Glimmer added.
"I don't think we have all day." Spike he looks up to something in the sky.
Flash Magnus drops from the sky, tired and drenched in sweat. "Huh?! What?" he snorted as if he just awoke.
"Are you okay? You're not looking great." Pinkie Pie asked Flash Magnus.
"I just need water." Flash Magnus responded as Rainbow Dash hands him a sports bottle. Just when he was about to take it with his wing, he collapses in a puddle of sweat.
"Drink up! We got a dragon to tame!" Pinkie Pie hurried as she sticks the nozzle in his mouth.
"Oh, I'm sure I have a plan for this…" Twilight Sparkle panickily skims through her notes.
"I got one." Rainbow Dash left Flash Magnus' side. "We'll do the manoeuvre Flash Magnus did in the stories."
"But it didn't work! Torch wised up and blew the cloud away!" Applejack argued.
"Then we'll put my own spin on it, if everypony'll listen." Rainbow Dash responded.
"Lay it on us, Rainbow!" Pinkie Pie cheered.
"We're gonna take him by surprise." Rainbow Dash stated. "We'll make pieces of a thundercloud while somepony distracts him long enough for the others to do their thing. Once all the pieces are made, we lead Torch into a rendezvous point and pack him in like a vase for delivery."
"It's simple, but it might work." Twilight Sparkle commented.
"We need at least three to gather clouds, and one as bait." Rainbow Dash began. "Since Flash Magnus is down for the count, I'll be bait."
"No. I will." another voice disagreed. They turn to Flash Sentry trotting to them. "Flash Magnus was my responsibility, and I should do this in his stead."
"Are you sure? This is nothing like guard duty." Twilight Sparkle asked him in concern.
"I may not be as fast, or as decorated as Flash Magnus, but I'm just as brave, brave enough to do this." Flash Sentry assured. He takes Netitus from Flash Magnus and equips it. "I'll make sure this dragon goes down."
Twilight Sparkle smiles and approaches him. "You remind me of a brave man I knew." She puts her hoof on his shoulder. "Come back safe."
"I won't let you down, princess." Flash Sentry saluted as Twilight Sparkle goes to Rainbow Dash. "What's a man?" he questioned.
"With Flash Sentry leading Torch away, Twilight, Fluttershy, and I will gather clouds." Rainbow Dash planned. "Ember." She called to the dragon. "Want some hands-on weather-making experience?"
"Anything to bring dad home." Ember smiled.
"Everypony else stand back and watch the fireworks." Rainbow Dash informed her non-flying friends. "Let's light it up like Hearth's Warming Eve!"
Flash Sentry ascends to the sky, looking around for Torch, nervously darting his eyes around as he anticipates the dragon's appearance. He takes Netitus from his back and taps his hoof on it. "Hey, uh…" Flash Sentry tries to think of an insult before banging the shield like a gong. "Uh, big ugly dragon! Come at me, bro!"
As he hears his own voice echo through the skies, he sees the unmistakable amber glare of a fireball and blocks it with Netitus before coming face-to-face with Torch. Thinking quick, he dashes away with Torch right behind. Flash Sentry aimlessly leads him into the skies above the Dragon Lands, all while Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Ember emerge from their hiding place in a cloud. "C'mon, let's find make some thunder!" Rainbow Dash declared.
"Uh, how?" Ember asked.
"We take as much dark clouds as we can carry, and rub them together to charge 'em up until they're just barely high-voltage!" Rainbow Dash instructed. "When we put all our pieces together, they'll make a full-blown thundercloud zappy enough to fry a dragon!"
"Ugh, even pony weather's weird." Ember rolled her eyes.
"What're we waiting for? Let's go!" Twilight Sparkle said before flying away.
Ember scatters from the group, then Rainbow Dash slingshots away, all while Fluttershy sits shivering in her little cloud. "I don't wanna do it… I don't wanna do it…" she muttered. "But I have to." She swallows her fear and emerges from the cloud. "For my friends, for Equestria!" she declared before rolling up her cloud and fluttering away.
Flash Sentry zips around clouds with Torch dangerously close behind at chomping range. He flings a fireball at Flash Sentry, who flips around and blocks it with Netitus. He spots Ember scooping up a cloud, and detours away to prevent Torch from spotting her. As he flies around, he catches glimpses of Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy assembling clouds and rubbing the together to charge them up. When he sees Rainbow Dash, she points to an empty space in the sky devoid of clouds, signalling the rendezvous point.
Flash Sentry gives a nod before pulling up towards the spot. As he gains altitude, he feels dizzier and dizzier, since he's never flew this high in the sky before. His wings give in and he falls from the sky, and is unfortunately awoken by the tight grip of Torch's claw.
On the ground, the others watch Torch fiercely staring at Flash Sentry in his grasp. "He's caught! Whadda we do?!" Applejack panicked.
"Twilight, got a plan for this?" Spike wondered.
They hear rapid clopping behind them before a loud thud. The four ponies and Spike turn and see a brown unicorn stallion with a messy black mane bound in a bun, wearing a black turtleneck and circular glasses. "Oh, I gotta get used to all-fours." He grumbled in a nasally voice. "You there." He points to them. "Have you seen my friends? One has a bear hat and the other's a talking dog?"
"Who're you?" Pinkie Pie asked him.
"I'm Simon, and—" the pony spoke before a mysterious glimmer shines from above. They look up, and a rainbow vortex opens up above Torch. "Is… is that a portal?" Starlight Glimmer noted.
"There they are!" Simon pointed to the portal.
"Adventure Time!" a young stallion's voice echoed from above, then two shadows drop from the vortex and land on Torch's head. With a gleaming needle blade, a shadow pricks Torch's brow, releasing Flash Sentry from his grasp. When the talons part, the second shadow stretches two appendages to carry Flash Sentry atop the dragon's noggin.
Flash Sentry regains stability as his eyes focuses on his saviours: a young blue earth pony stallion wearing a white bear-eared cowl, and a yellow bulldog standing upright. "Finn! Jake! Am I glad to see you two."
"Hey, you helped us bring Lemon Zest's friends back together, and we save you from a dragon." The colt shrugged.
"What's the haps? Dragon slaying?" the dog asked.
"Dragon saving." Flash Sentry corrected. "We gotta lead this guy over there so we can shock him with a thundercloud!" he pointed to the rendezvous.
"How's that saving a dragon?" Jake scratched his head.
"Whatever it is, we'll help!" Finn said when Torch's claw suddenly comes to swat them off his head.
"Scatter!" Flash Sentry jumps off Torch's head with Finn and Jake before the talons strike.
Flash Sentry takes flight and zips towards the rendezvous, and Jake stretches into a hang glider for Finn to glide on. "What's the plan, Flash?" Finn asked Flash Sentry as he and Jake come to his side.
"Barrel roll! He can't focus on two targets." Flash Sentry advised before strafing to the right.
"Let's do it, Jake!" Finn said before they engage formation. The two flies in a parallel helical formation in front of Torch, confusing him as he tries to decide which target to blast, all while they approach an empty spot in the sky where four inconspicuous clouds surround it.
Within these clouds, Rainbow Dash and company are awaiting Flash Sentry's arrival. "They're coming! On my signal!" she signalled to the others.
"Are we going to trap Flash, too? Just like in the story?" Fluttershy asked.
"It's a risk he took. If the other Flash guy did it and lived, I guess he can." Ember shrugged.
"I just hope he'll be okay." Twilight Sparkle said worriedly.
Flash Sentry and the brothers approach the rendezvous, and with Rainbow Dash's signal the four cloud-gatherers push the clouds on the approaching Torch, trapping both him and the three heroes inside as static builds up. "Hooves off! This baby's going high voltage!" Rainbow Dash advised.
Inside the dark cloud, Torch zips aimlessly through the grey as lightning bolts mercilessly strike his body, trying to endure the painful zaps onto his tough scales, all while Flash Sentry and the adventurers hang onto the tip of his right horn. "Hang on tight, Flash!" Finn shouted.
"Whaddya think I've been doing?!" Flash Sentry screamed when he hears thunder just behind him. Without time to react, lightning strikes the horn and he falls off screaming.
With quick thinking, Jake extends his arm and catches Flash, swinging him over to the back of Torch's neck. "Flash, are you still alive?!" Finn shouted to him.
"Yup!" Flash Sentry panted as he leans against Torch's neck. His eyes wander from his excitement, he stares into the space inside Torch's cuirass, seeing small red lights blinking inside. "What…?" he leans in to get a closer look, but a lightning bolt strikes Torch's nape, causing Flash Sentry to lose his grip and slip into the armour.
"Flash!" Finn shouted as he witnesses Flash Sentry slipping out of sight.
"Let's fetch him before he drowns in nasty dragon sweat!" Jake said before he and Finn swing over to Torch's neck and drop into his armour.
The inside of Torch's armour is dark and stinks with dragon sweat, almost causing Flash Sentry to puke. "Yuck. I hope this isn't how I go out." he shivered. Dotting Torch's armour are an arrangement of red lights, shining not like rubies, but diodes in a machine. As his eyes looks at the lights, he calms down, feeling a sense of… compliance. As his heart settles, a new pair of lights comes on: two teal triangles.
They come closer to Flash Sentry, making a metallic clunking sound with each inch. As it gets closer, it produces the silver shine of a blade, reflecting what little light seeps into the armour. Flash Sentry was too incapacitated to react as the silver blade swings down, but is suddenly blocked by Finn's sword and punched away by Jake. "Let's get outta here, Flash!" Finn shouted before he and Jake pull Flash Sentry out.
Flash Sentry idles as he is dragged through the darkness, but awakens once Finn and Jake remove him from the armour and a thunderclap meets his ears. "What happened? I fell into the armour, and…" Before he knew it, they were all blinded by the white of a lightning bolt.
Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Ember regroup with the others on the ground as they stare up at the cloud. "Hey, who're you? Civilian ponies shouldn't be here." Twilight Sparkle as the mysterious new pony.
"I'm Simon, and I'm—" Simon said before everyone witnesses Torch's body dropping from the cloud and slamming onto the surface with a violent quake.
"Dad!" Ember flies over to the distant dragon.
"Where's Flash?" Starlight Glimmer looked up to the shrinking cloud.
"Did he make it?" Fluttershy wondered.
As the cloud shrinks and dissipates into harmless fluffs, a winged silhouette emerges, gliding steadily towards them. "There he is!" Pinkie Pie pointed.
"He's okay!" Twilight Sparkle smiled.
As they feel a sense of relief, the silhouette splits into two. "Did Flash divide?" Spike wondered.
"No, those are my friends!" Simon exclaimed.
The silhouettes land a distance from the crowd and trot towards them, revealing to be Flash Sentry, and Finn and Jake, all lightly-charred. "Finn! Jake!" Simon gallops over alongside Twilight Sparkle.
Flash Sentry salutes at Twilight Sparkle as she comes nearer, and just when Simon meets Finn and Jake, she bumps him away and hugs Finn. "Oh, my hero has finally returned!" Twilight Sparkle hugs Finn tight while Flash Sentry smiles.
"Urk… great to see ya, princess." Finn groaned.
"Hey, Imma hero, too. Where's my hug?" Jake wondered impatiently as Simon gets up.
"Finn?" Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrow.
"Jake!" Fluttershy smiled as she comes and hugs Jake. "How's my cute little stretchy doggy?"
"Hehe, yeah, hug the hero." Jake chuckled.
"We haven't seen you guys in forever!" Pinkie Pie added.
"They dropped from the sky and saved me from Torch." Flash Sentry said as the rest of the friends come to them.
"It's a pleasure to meet you again, Finn. I have your jacket ready back in Ponyville. I do hope it's to your liking." Rarity said.
"What're you two doing back in Equestria?" Starlight Gimmer asked them.
"I'll explain." Simon said. "We're here t—"
"Torch!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed in realization. "We gotta make sure we didn't fry him too much!" she flies to the distant titan, followed by her friends.
They approach Torch's prone body as Ember pounds on his neck scales. "Wake up! Wake up!" she pleaded as Finn was first to arrive.
"Rainbow Dash, you didn't juice up your clouds too much, did you?" Ember asked Finn.
"I'm not Rainbow Dash." Finn shook his head. "She is." He pointed to Rainbow Dash.
"If that's her, then who're you?" Ember asked Finn.
"Finn, adventurer extraordinaire."
"Jake, faithful companion."
"Simon Petrikov, antiquarian."
"The heck did you three come from? Thin air?" Ember raised her eyebrow.
"Forget that! Is Torch okay?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"I'll check for a pulse." Starlight Glimmer creates a giant magical stethoscope to check for breathing and a pulse on Torch.
"Princess, we saw things up there that you should know." Flash Sentry turns to Twilight Sparkle. "While we sheltered from the lightning, I almost fell, but Jake swung me to the back of Torch's neck, but then I slipped into his armour."
"It must've smelled." Twilight Sparkle commented.
"It was, but that's not it." Flash Sentry shook his head. "There were lights inside, blinking like… I dunno what. Then, suddenly, my body just felt… compliant."
"Compliant?" Twilight Sparkle commented.
"That's the only word I could think of to describe what happened."
"That's not all." Finn added. "When we came to pull him out, there was someone, or something inside the armour with him."
"We didn't see much, only that it had a sword. They tried to attack Flash, but we pushed 'em back before we pulled out." Jake continued.
"Strange lights… a mysterious creature…?" Twilight Sparkle pondered.
"Sounds like Torch had a parasite." Pinkie Pie shrugged.
"I guess the mystery of Torch freaking out is solved." Rainbow Dash commented.
"But it opened up another one: what is this creature?" Rarity added.
As Starlight Glimmer continues her examination, Torch shifts slightly. "Dad, c'mon! Speak to me!" Ember nudges Torch when the colossus stands up.
The ponies below stare as Torch's crown reaches towards the heavens, casting a grand shadow. He raises his claw, and they get defensive. Instead of bringing down the pain, his talon scratches his head. "What happened? What time is it?" he yawned.
"Hi there, Torch, sir." Twilight Sparkle addressed the dragon.
"Ponies? Ponies?!" Torch shouted. "What are ponies doing in the Dragon Lands?!"
"I brought them." Ember said.
"You know dragons don't deal with ponies, Ember." Torch points his talon at her.
"Hey, she hauled her tail to Equestria and back just for you." a confident voice defended.
"I know that voice…" Torch stares into the distance, seeing the injured Flash Magnus trotting towards him. "The legionary…"
"So, you do remember me." Flash Magnus smirked.
"How could I forget the day of my greatest shame? Defeated by a pony, of all creatures."
"Dad, I brought all these ponies here to save you." Ember said.
"Save me? From what? There's nothing a dragon should be saved from!"
"So, you don't remember rampaging across the Dragon Lands and driving out every dragon?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Or chewing on mountains?" Rarity added.
"Or ignoring Spike's super-delicious mega-size gem cake?!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
"Did this all really happen? It only felt like I awoke just now." Torch asked.
"All that… and more." Ember answered, remembering the devastation he brought. "But I'm glad you're okay now."
"All thanks to us." Twilight Sparkle added as she came to Ember's side.
"You should've seen it! We had you going 'round the sky before packing you into a thundercloud! Classic move!" Rainbow Dash blurted out excitedly.
"I have a hard time believing this." Torch said before focusing on Flash Magnus. "Then again, this wouldn't be the first time a pony bested me."
"It wasn't me this time." Flash Magnus trotted over to Flash Sentry and puts his hoof over his shoulder. "This kid here was the carrot on a stick this time." Flash Magnus introduces Flash Sentry. "I didn't see much…" he looks at his junior. "…but I saw enough. You did good, kid."
"Thanks, sir."
"What's your name, pony?" Torch asked.
"Flash Magnus." Flash Magnus tipped his helmet.
"Not you." Torch then points to Flash Sentry. "Him."
"Oh! Um, I'm Flash Sentry."
"Flash Sentry, you have the honour of being the second pony who bested me." Torch stated. "But!" his voice boomed. "Next we meet, you shall not be so lucky!"
"Uh… noted, Torch, sir." Flash Sentry stammered as everypony chuckles and laughs over the wild adventure they had today.
"That's another adventure done and dusted." Spike said proudly. "Now we can go ho—"
"Is everybody forgetting something?" Jake called for their attention.
"Y'got a parasite, Torch." Finn said before pulling out his rapier. "We gotta treat that now."
"A parasite?" Torch raised his eyebrow.
Pinkie Pie spots something strange in the corner of her eye, and turns to her side to see what can only be described as the air cracking. "Uh, everypony, y'all seeing what I'm seeing?" she said as everyone turns to where she's looking.
A crack manifests beside the crowd as if on an invisible wall, and reality shatters like glass, revealing a towering swirling cyclone of colours, a cyclone of colours Twilight Sparkle, Spike, and Starlight Glimmer are familiar with. "That looks like…" Spike pointed.
"A portal to another world." Twilight Sparkle concluded.
As they stare at the portal, the teal eyes flash from the back of Torch's collar. "What's—?" Torch wondered before he winces in pain and roars.
"Dad, what's wrong?!" Ember screamed out.
Torch's armour surges with red energy before he digs his claws into the ground and tosses a whole load of sediment at the ponies and his daughter, throwing them away as he roars in pain.
"He's gone nuts again!" Simon exclaimed as he lies half-buried.
"It's gotta be that parasite." Finn suggested as Jake pulls him out.
"Aw, c'mon! We spent all day tryna wrangle 'im down!" Applejack complained as she dusted off her hat.
As Spike helps Ember up from the ground, she stares at her dad writhing in pain. Then as Torch writhes in pain, a dark lariat shoots from the portal and wraps around Torch's hand, before another to his leg, pulling him towards the portal. "No!" Ember shouted before running to him.
"Ember, wait!" Twilight Sparkle shouted to her.
"Where'd that portal even come from?" Flash Sentry wondered.
"That's why we came here." Simon spoke up. "This isn't a friendly visit. We're looking for spatial anomalies, just like that." he points to the massive portal.
Ember latches onto Torch's shoulder, attempting to pull off the webbing and incinerate it with dragon fire, only to find her efforts futile. "Leggo my dad, ya gross things!" she groaned.
She's soon joined by Finn and Jake, who successfully cut the tendrils with his sword. "Need help?" Finn asked Ember.
"Go ahead, Rainbow Dash." Ember accepted.
"I'm Finn."
"Are you blue ponies always this pedantic?"
Before Finn and Jake could proceed further, a red energy blast gets in their way, narrowly missing them. They turn to Torch's collar and see a copper claw sticking out, charged with the same dark energy afflicting Torch. "The parasite!" Jake pointed.
"If he's got a parasite, then that means it's time for Doctors Finn and Jake to perform surgery!" Finn declared with a sword twirl. He and Jake come at the claw for the attack, but more dark tendrils wrap around them and trap them. Finn gnaws on the tendrils while Jake tries to expand himself out of the ever-creeping tentacles. With the adventurers incapacitated, the claw fires another blast to finish them, throwing them off Torch aflame.
"No… no! No! No!" Ember cried before another tendril webs her down onto her father's scales. As she struggles, she looks up to see the claw wiggling its fingers as it retracts into his armour. "When I get out, I'm gonna make sure you'll regret it! Ya hear me?!"
The ponies and Spike watch as the dark tendrils drag Torch into the portal, and Finn and Jake's burning bodies falls with a thud. "Twilight, got a plan for this?" Spike asked her.
"No, Spike." Twilight Sparkle watches helplessly as Torch disappears into the vortex, and the shards of reality return to their place, closing the portal. "I don't."
They stand there helplessly, wallowing in their failure. Not only they have failed to save one dragon, but the very person who asked for their help disappeared along with them. "Where'd you think they went?" Fluttershy asked Twilight Sparkle.
"Another world, most likely. They could be in the human world, or another we've never been before." Twilight Sparkle said.
"If that's the case, this is our department." They turn to a voice behind them, and turn to find Finn and Jake limping to them, badly burned but alive.
"Finn, you're okay?" Rainbow Dash said in surprise.
"Believe me, this isn't the worst we've been through." Jake said before spitting out a tooth.
"We've travelled through a whole lotta universes, so we can call on some friends to keep an eye out for Torch." Finn suggested.
"You'd really do that?" Starlight Glimmer asked.
"What're friends for, amirite?" Finn shrugged as Twilight Sparkle comes to his side.
"Thanks to you, Finn, we haven't failed Ember and Torch yet." Twilight Sparkle thanked him.
"We'll scour the Multiverse to look for them, and we won't stop until we do." Finn said.
"Because that's simply what heroes do." Simon added.
"I hope that, wherever those two ended up…" Twilight Sparkle looked to where the portal once stood.
"…that they're both okay."
At a beach under an early-morning overcast and blanketed by snow, the sleeping Torch lies in a cold ditch dug by his violent arrival, covered in torn tendrils. Beside his left leg, a blue Doberman whimpers as it paws at Torch's scales. Then, a spiky shadow approaches from behind, bearing the teal eyes that infested the inside of Torch's armour. When the dog turns around, it's kicked aside to the sand before it gets up and runs away whimpering. With the dog gone, the spiked figure turns its attention to Torch's eye and extends its claw, awakening the great dragon.
THE END?
