Author's Note

WARNING: blood and violence in this chapter.

Also this is my longest chapter ever. And I have mixed feelings about the response I'm gonna get since a good chunk of it is a fight scene. I'm not sure how well I did, but I would appreciate it if I got some feedback on it.

Here be... not Dragons?

I woke up slowly, feeling very groggy and sore with a massive headache. I sat up slowly as my back and chest ached as well. I wiped the eye crusties from my eyes and dragged myself to the bathroom to relieve myself and run a shower. I didn't drink coffee as I never liked the taste, so a shower was the next best thing, for me at least. I looked at myself in the mirror as the water heated up and saw a cut above my right brow, stitched up nicely, along with several bruises along my chest, back, and face. I tried to remember what had happened the night before, but it was all a blur. The main thing I remember was being happy from Shining Armor for some reason.

I finished up in the shower and headed towards the Kitchen as I was very hungry. I flung my damp, warm towel over my shoulder and walked into the Kitchen without a shirt since I didn't feel the need for it.

The Kitchen was tucked into the back corner as it wrapped around to the left from the hallway that led to the master bedroom I had just emerged from. It had an island countertop in the middle with a sink, dishwasher, and seating for four on the outer side closer to the living room. The wrapping around the counter had the usual stove and oven combo mixed with the upper and lower cabinets. I put together some of the usual counter devices like a blender, toaster, microwave, Etc. The fridge was closest to the hallway as it was just around the corner.

I cracked open the fridge and grabbed a gallon of milk, some eggs, and some pancake mix from the cabinet next to it. Along with the stuff to make French toast. I was HUNGRY hungry and wanted a big breakfast. I started humming to myself as I cranked on the stove and got to cooking.

"Computer!" I said as the built-in speakers and the walls dinged in response. "Play my morning rock' n' roll playlist." A few moments later, some casual rock was playing over the speakers at a low volume, which I quickly began mumbling and singing along to, with a short burst of air guitar playing mix in between here and there.

"Good morning Ri-Ri." (Rye-Rye) Shining said, scaring the shit outa me and causing me to drop the skillet pan I was grabbing out of the cabinet. It landed on my foot, causing me to yelp in pain.

"GOD DAMN SONOFA BITCH!" I yelled, hoping around on one foot, holding the one I dropped the pan on. I quickly cast a healing sigil over my foot, numbing the pain as it quickly healed. I saw Romulus, Shining Armor, and a pink alicorn mare that looked very familiar, all sitting in the living room sipping on tea, save for Romulus. The ponies were on the couch, and Romulus was in my recliner. All of them now laughing. I don't know how I didn't notice them before.

"DON'T fucking do that!" I said angrily as I leaned over and picked up the skillet pan on the floor.

"Sorry, I just didn't wanna interrupt your jam session," Shining said, chuckling.

"You know, you coulda said something at any time during that," I said, pointing at Romulus.

"And miss THAT reaction, absolutely not!" Romulus laughed, along with the rest of them. Save for the alicorn's giggle as she looked me over oddly.

"I must admit, Riley, I didn't expect someone talked so fondly of having so many... Scars." She said openly.

My face went blank and emotionless as I reached out my hand and cast a sigil of telekinesis as a shirt flew out the hallway and into my hand. I sat my towel down on the island counter and put on my shirt. I turned my back to them as I saw Shining lean over and whisper something into the alicorn's ear, causing her to flinch and her eyes widen.

"OH, my Apologies Riley! Ahm, I didn't know they were a sensitive topic." She quickly and apologetically.

"It's fine. You didn't know." I said emotionlessly. I took a deep breath and suppressed the quelling memories of how I got a few of those scars. "Anyway, do y'all want some breakfast? I make some pretty killer pancakes." I said, sounding cheerful.

"That would be delightful," The alicorn responded. "Although I and Shining are probably going to eat lightly since we have a date at the Golden Carrot, an old veggie grill and bar place I've been dying to eat at!"

The mention of the veggie place clicked something in my head as the ending memories of the last night filled it. "OH! Your princess Cadance! I am so sorry I didn't recognize you. I have the biggest hangover right now, and I forgot the majority of last night."

Shining rolled his eyes, and Cadance giggled. "Oh, it's quite fine. From what I heard from Shining last night, you went pretty over the top compared to your usual drinking."

Not thinking of anything worthy to say, I shrugged my shoulders and plated the first batch of pancakes. "So, you said date earlier. Does that mean I succeeded last night?"

"Succeeded in what?" Shining asked.

"doing the dumbest, most retarded shit possible to get two people to hook up or date?" I responded, causing Cadance, and shortly following, Shining to laugh.

"Yes, I guess we can say you succeeded, Riley," Cadance said, still giggling.

"Yes!" I said, doing a fist pump. "That's three times that's worked now! Another slew of giggles followed.

"You know, you are way more funny than Shining said you were," Cadance said. I began making my plate of French toast, eggs, and pancakes.

"Hey, I just like making people smile, okay? It's what I do." I said, smiling, giving a mini bow.

I plated all the food and gave two ponies their plates of pancakes. At the same time, I sat down on the couch across from them with my massive plate of food.

"Sheesh, Riley. You sure you're gonna eat all of that?" Shining asked as he eyed the plate nervously.

I took a fork full of syrup-drizzled pancake and shoved it in my mouth. "Oh yeah, I got a severe case of the munchies right now. Plus, it's still missing half the protein since you guys don't eat or process pork meat." I responded while chewing. "God, I miss bacon and sausage."

Shining Armor and Cadance both began eating their food and complimented me on the taste. Which I took humbly. While we ate, we went back and forth as we all talked. It was a rather peaceful morning, which felt unusual to me the whole time. Considering my mornings over the past fifteen years were either fear of dying, constant Fighting, or nonstop work.

After eating, Romulus took care of the dishes and recommended I get ready for my departure.

"Good call," I responded, getting up and heading to the back room to put on my flight suit, and the two ponies followed me.

"I still don't like you going alone, no matter how much you say you know dragons. I've seen some pretty nasty dragons up close in the past. They don't seem like the ones you've talked about, Riley." Shining said as he leaned against the doorway.

Cadance agreed with him. "Yes, the dragons of the dragon lands, in particular, are a very ferocious and violent offset of dragons in particular. And Dragonlord Torch is not one for conversation, so I've heard."

"Guys, relax. I know what I'm doing." I responded, finishing buckling on my chest piece, grabbing my Helmet, and tucking it under my arm. "Besides, who can resist my fantabulous charm?" I joked as I walked past the two ponies.

We all headed out to the courtyard where The Frontier sat on the landing pad. Romulus was standing by the boarding ramp with a large backpack in one of his hands and my father's sword in the other. I took the backpack and slung it over my shoulder but put my hand up when he tried to hand me the sword.

"Not this time, Romulus. Taking more weapons to meet these dragons might end up causing more conflict than I want to." I said, pushing his hand holding the sword away.

"Sir, I understand your reasoning, but I still HIGHLY recommend you take the Blade of Merlin with you. It's a powerful magical artifact that could come in useful in case things turn sour." Romulus said, still continuing to offer the sword.

"Romulus, you of ALL people I know should know that won't happen. You and I have been around dragons all our lives. Hell, the Queen of Dragons was practically a second mom to me." I retorted, still refusing to take the sword.

"Very true, sir. But with what Celestia has told me AND has shown me from previous pony and dragon interactions. I think it's in your BEST interest to be prepared for the worst. Please just take the sword, just so I can feel a little bit more comfortable about this trip." Romulus retorted.

I sighed and took the sword from his hand. "If It'll make you feel better, I'll take it with me. But don't expect me to wear it when I meet Dragon lord torch."

"Never expected you to," Romulus said, putting his hands behind his back as he walked away.

I turned to Shining and Cadance. "I'll be back by sundown at the latest. Don't worry. Everything will be fine." I Assured them as I put on my Helmet.

"You better. Or I'll march into the dragonlands and drag you back myself!" Shining said with a joking determination.

"You're roughly thirty minutes out from the dragon lands, sir," Romulus said over the radio. "It might be best if you go relax and prepare yourself for the meeting you have ahead. Perhaps take a shirt catnap?" He suggested.

"Alrighty then. Go ahead and take the wheel then. I'm always down for a nap." I said, letting go of the controls; the joystick moved by itself as the craft held its course. Then, the pilot's seat moved backward away from the dash, allowing me to get up and walk about the aircraft cabin.

"Very well, sir. I'll guide us in." Romulus responded.

I went to the back area and pressed a button that opened the wall opposite the lockers to reveal a small bed built into the wall of the craft. I took off my Helmet, hung it on a nearby hook, and crawled into the space. Laying down on the bed. I found myself deep in thought about the coming meeting rather than actually sleeping. I thought about the different ways this meeting could go, good or bad. But considering my past history with dragons. I was confident that nothing bad was gonna happen, Despite the warning from all the ponies and now Romulus. I don't know what these ponies could have done to piss off the dragons in the first place. But surely it couldn't be that bad, right? Eventually, I managed to tire myself braindead from thinking so hard and passed out.

When I awoke, it wasn't gentle. I was thrusted out of bed and dinked my forehead on the metal roof of the cubbie as it was hit really hard by something, causing it to spiral out of control.

I rolled out of the cubbie, which was a stupid idea in hindsight. All I ended up doing was bouncing off the walls of the inside of the Frontier with loud metal clanks. I got hit with my own Helmet a few times as it was thrown off the hook and bounced around as well.

"Romulus!" I said right before I hit another wall during our downward spiral. "Whats- ow- happening!"

"Something hit our right wing and sent us into a spiral! Give me a moment; I can regain control!" Romulus said as the craft slowly began to pull itself out of the death spiral and even out. I landed on the metal floor with a loud clang, my Helmet landing not too far away. I rushed to my feet and leaned low to grab my Helmet on the way to the pilot's seat. I plopped my ass in the seat and got situated.

"Romulus, give me the wheel and run a threat assessment! I need to know what's attacking us." I said, gripping the thrust control and flight joystick as the seat moved into position. I gazed out the window at a land of ash, lava, and volcanos.

"Understood, sir!" Romulus said as the craft returned to my control. I opened my radar screen and overlapped it onto my head like a videogame. Right as it finished booting, a red dot was on top of us and slammed into The Frontier. This time, it hit the top part of the left wing, sending the craft into another death spiral.

"Whatever this thing is, It's fast and hits hard!" I stated aloud as I tried to wrangle the Aircraft back under my control.

"Sir, you don't have enough time nor altitude to regain control! Eject!" Romulus yelled. My eyes darted to look at the altitude meter and the rapidly approaching ground.

"Not gonna happen, Romulus. Im not losing this thing after we worked so hard to fix it." I said, looking at all the controls, trying to think of something fast!

I grabbed hold of the thurst stick and pulled back as far as I could, setting the Frontier into hover mode. "Romulus, reroute emergency power to the hoverjets and set it to fire in a compressed burst for ten seconds!" I ordered.

"Roger that, sir!" Romulus responded.

I looked out the sides of the cockpit window to see the large disc-like thrusters gather energy into condensed balls and fire it into a large and incredibly bright cone towards the ground. I lurched forward from the sudden decrease in speed. The craft began to slowly pull up and level out. But it wasn't enough to stop it completely, as it skipped off the ground like a stone over a lake from the forward momentum it still had from the fall. I was shaken and thrown around in my seat before the flight straps tightened and sucked me to the seat. The craft skipped off the ground twice before it managed to stabilize and hover in the air, allowing me to land it.

I sat there in the chair for a little while to catch my breath and let the adrenaline die down. "Holy shit!" I said, lightly chuckling. The seat moved backward once more so I could get up and move to the back of the Aircraft.

"Romulus, what's the word on our attacker?" I asked.

"Nothing on what it could so far, sir. But I do know it's nearby and closing in on your position fast." Romulus retorted.

"Great, just what I needed today," I said as I pulled the lever that lowered the rear boarding ramp. I walked outside into the firey, molten, volcano-filled expanse that was the Dragon Lands. It was hot, extremely hot.

"Yup. I don't know why I expected anything different. Lots of fire, lots of ash, and A LOT of lava." I said as I took my first step onto the soil, which was warm even through my metal boots.

As if on queue, something fast and blue struck the ground with such force that they shook violently and threw a tone of dirt into the air. Once it all came back down to earth. A large, scaley, bipedal figure stood rising from a kneeling position. The sides of her head had large white horns that curved downward and hooked upward on the end. Her face had a long protruding snout that ended with a curve like a beak, with rows of pointed teeth showing via a smirk. Large dark blue wings extended from its back, slowly retracting to a more compact position behind its back. Its eyes shone a bright blood red with sharp fangs bore with anger.

"Are you the one fucking with my Aircraft?" I shouted, taking another few steps forward.

"You're trespassing in dragon territory." The creature said in a feminine voice. "Since you're not a pony, and the hunk of metal withstood more than one of my attacks. I'll give you one chance to turn and leave." She said viciously with a smile, showing more of her teeth.

"Alright, well, that's not gonna happen. I've got a meeting with Dragonlord Torch, and some pipsqueak two-legged dragon wannabe is not gonna get in my way."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!" She shouted in anger. "IM AS MUCH OF A DRAGON AS THE REST OF THE CLOWNS AROUND HERE!"

"Okay, number one. Dragons aren't bipedal, so you are already not off to a good start. Two, dragons aren't this aggressive right off the bat, as they are wise and humble knowledge-holders who resort to violence as a last resort. And three, your scales are plain old blue. They don't shine like gemstones, like the dragons I have back home. Fourth, let's be honest: you are way too small. Sorry to say, little lady, but you are as far from a dragon as you could possibly get."

The Dragon wannabe Shouted in rage and dashed towards me at a speed I couldn't comprehend. She put her fist in my Helmet and launched me backward, tumbling head over heel. My Helmet shattered on impact, and I felt the concussive force of the punch and vibrated with pain. My back impacted the rising wall from a broken fault some thirty yards away. Which also hurt like hell. I picked up my head and rubbed it while looking back at the figure who had just launched me down the field with one punch. She had turned around now and was gloating about how weak I was to the dozen or so other figures they were around the ridgeling cheer at her violent nature. It really pissed me off that these dragon wannabes were so into violence like it was a sport. It sickened me that they would even dare lay claim to the title ' Dragon.'

I stumbled to my feet and focused my mind. I looked inward to see a lot of dormant enchantments embedded into my body and muscles from my time in the war. I had the best magics put these enchantments in my to feed off my mental magic capacity so I could stand on par with the magically drug-fueled enemy. Slowly but surely, I reactivated each enchantment one by one. I felt myself get stronger and faster by the second.

"Okay, fuckhead! You wanna go?! LET'S FUCKING GO THEN!" I shouted. Stomping my foot down onto a fire sigil I placed and dashed forward. The sigil causing a concentrated explosion gave me that extra boost. I closed the gap between me and the beast within a few bounds before I clocked back a punch. One of the beasts on the ridge pointed and warned the blue one of me. She turned just in to see my fist plant itself into the side of her face with a loud smack. She was sent tumbling on her side about the same distance she sent me. Only she dug her claws into the earth to slow herself and looked back at me with surprise and anger.

"You wanted to fight!" I taunted as I began to circle the beast. "I'm Ready when you are! You're facing the general of an army! The one that turned the tide of war in his people's favor! Not some diplomatic politician come to talk peace with the dragon lord on Ponykind's behalf. So come at me!"

The beast took my challenge and rushed me at the same speed she did before. However, thanks to my now reactivated bodily enchantments, I could comprehend her movements now. I met her speed and brought back my fist as she did. Our punches met in a clash that caused a small shockwave to ripple the dirt and throw up dest around us. We stared into each other's eyes, hers with a wildfire of rage and mine with a determination to put her in the ground.

She swiped with her other arm, claws extended as she slashed my face. Causing me to reflexively step back. My hand shot to my face to stop the blood oozing out of the fresh cuts. She continued her assault and threw multiple blows into my midsection. Causing me to go onto the defensive. But as She attacked, I studied how she fought. She knew to turn her whole body into each punch but didn't know the proper weak points. She went for the chest and face primarily. She knew how to fight but not where to land her hits to do the most damage. Meaning she either lacked experience or the fights she'd had before were too easy. She didn't know how much experience I had, though. And she was about to learn very quickly.

I Caught one of her hands by the wrist during one of her punches, catching her off guard as I pulled her body downward. Bringing my knee to meet her chest. She stumbled backward, and I continued my counterattack. I did two quick jabs to her face and two underhand blows to her chest. Punching her scales felt like punching rock. But I tempered my knuckles by fighting robotic specters of the model Romulus uses. I barely felt pain in my knuckles anymore.

I turned and spun my body into the air and, planted a kick into her face and sent her a few feet back. I dashed forward and delivered a jumping uppercut before she could recover. She fell over onto her back, dazed.

"You lack technique." I mocked. "You have power and speed but lack the skill to use it effectively. I have been tempered by years of war. Fighting is second nature for me. And so far, the only thing you've managed to do is piss me off."

She got to her feet and looked at me with burning rage. She opened her mouth and yelled to the sky as her wings spread outward. She brought her head down swiftly as a piercing bolt of fire shot from her maw towards me. She surprised me as I didn't expect her to breathe fire, and I was too close to dodge. I brought my arms up around my face and upper chest in an X shape just in time to block the blast of fire. The point of the blast exploded on contact. Sending me off my feet and tumbling over myself backward once again. The following stream of fire engulfed my body in flames. I quickly and desperately covered my body in a fire protection enchantment. But there was a silver lining to the firey attack. It cauterized the cuts on my face, so I didn't have to keep wiping my own blood from my eyes.

Eruptng from the stream of fire, the beast in flight on her wings gripped her claws around my throat and flew low to the ground. Forcefully Dragging me through the smoldering rock and dirt. Pain flew across my body like a river of daggers and fire ripping at my flesh. I couldn't think straight due to sensory overload. I Only found myself shortly after being thrown through the air and bouncing off the ground next to a river of lava.

"How's that for lack of technique!?" The beast shouted in blissful anger, landing roughly twenty yards from me.

I slowly stumbled to my feet as I regained control of my senses. "Yup, you leniently bruisers, alright," I grumbled, popping my back. "But that's not technique. That's overwhelming brute force. There is a difference. I guess you don't have the smarts to go with your brawn either, huh?" I mocked, spitting blood onto the ground with a small smirk.

"Why you little-!" She shouted, sending another blast of fire my way.

I was ready for it this time. I threw up a sigil of fire that caught the blast of flame and condensed it into a disc, which I spun and rebounded back toward her. She easily sidestepped it and laughed.

"Was that supposed to be impressive-" Her sentence was cut short by the flaming disc hitting her in the back and exploding. Knocking her forward roughly ten yards and landing her on her stomach. I had telekinetically controlled the disk to come back and hit her in the back since I knew she would have easily dodged the frontward attack. I put two more sigils on my fist as the flowing lava from the river behind me shot outward and wrapped itself around my fists like molten gauntlets with hardened slag on the knuckles. I rushed her as she got to her feet and unleashed a brutal onslaught of blows that knocked a few scales off her with each hit. She tried to counterattack, but I could easily read her attacks now I knew the extent of her fist-fighting knowledge. I repeatedly hit her blow for blow, forcing her to stumble backward with each hit.

She suddenly extended her wings and took to the skies. She looped backward and dove straight at me with her claws outstretched, followed by a blast of fire like before. I couldn't help myself but shake my head in disappointment.

"Just because it worked the first time," I paused to put an earth rune on the ground and stomped on it right before she made contact. A large five-foot thick wall of stone erupted from the ground. Causing her fire blast and herself to hit it instead of me. "DOESN'T MEAN IT WILL WORK A SECOND!" I shouted. I followed up by Kicking the wall with another earth rune, sending it and her into a rising fifty-foot ridge line thirty yards back with a loud crash and crunch of stone. A large cloud of dirt and dust filled the air after the impact.

I used another fire dash sigil and propelled myself into the cloud of dust, locking at her position by using another sigil to scan for her life force. I smashed my fist into her chest, embedding her further into the rocky ridge wall. I Hit her with another few blows to the face and chest. Until I grabbed her by the throat with my left hand and slowly pulled her from the stone. She grabbed and clawed at my left hand furiously, her teeth seething with rage. I felt the heat building up in her throat, to which I responded by tightening my grip around her neck. Causing her to choke and cough up smoke.

I brought my right hand back, clenching it into a tight fist with its makeshift magma gauntlet still on. I focused on another sigil, attaching it to my elbow as a rocket flame erupted from the center circle on the sigil. My arm shot forward with great force from the rocket rune. The punch impacted the tip of her snout, breaking her nose with a crack and causing a lot of blood to spill out from her nostrils.

I let go of her throat, letting her drop to her knees with a thud as she gripped her face. Her claws shot up to her snout, which was absolutely pissing blood. She looked down at her blood-covered hands in wide-eyed shock, breathing shakily.

"What? Never seen your own blood before? Or is this the first fight you've had where somebody fucked you up enough that you bled this much?" I asked, looking down at her as I shook off the spells keeping my magma gauntlets on. Causing them to drip off my hands and leave the undamaged metal flight suit gloves.

She looked up at me slowly, her eyes narrowing in rage and her hands clenching and began to shake. She gritted her teeth and dug her claws into the dirt.

"You should learn to SHUT UP!" She shouted while throwing two handfuls of sand, ash, and dirt into my face. A lot of it got in my eyes, blinding me as I stumbled backward.

"ACK! You cheap, dirty fighting bitch!" I yelled angrily, trying to rub the shit from my eyes.

I suddenly felt what felt like a bear trap clamp onto my right shoulder; pointed edges dug into my flesh through the gaps in the metal plating on my shoulders. Whatever clamped down started thrashing me around. Smashed me against rocks and dirt rapidly and violently. I could feel sharp daggerlike objects in my shoulder shaking about, causing me severe pain and agony with each impact.

I was then flung upward into the air, and a set of hands shoved against my chest and stayed there applying force. My arms and legs dragged downward awkwardly, and I felt the wind at my back, and I could hear the wind whistling in my ears. I used an earth rune to pull the dirt and dust from my eyes, and when I opened them, I gazed into the eyes of the beast. And behind her was the ground, several thousand feet below and getting smaller by the second. She was carrying me high into the sky, probably using her ability to fly to her advantage as she saw I couldn't fly by myself.

I reached around and gripped her horns with my hands and yanked her head forward while raising my knee to meet her face. Sending her backward and releasing me into a freefall. She didn't skip a beat and flapped her wings, diving toward me. Building up momentum, she punched me so hard it sent me spinning through the air as I fell. She turned and wrapped around, doing it again and again as I fell.

I looked around rapidly, trying to find a way to get this flying spicy salamander to fuck off and give me a chance to not die from falling. The ground was rapidly approaching, and I saw the bellowing ash cloud of a nearby volcano.

"Fuck it, I can make it work," I said as I focused a sky and fire rune into a sigil, extending my arm outward towards the bellowing cloud of smoke and ash. I thought of the explanation I gave Twilight on how Lightning is just a massive static charge from the molecules in the clouds rubbing against each other. This time, I imagined the smoke and ash instead of the molecules. It is not as effective as water molecules but is still doable. Small flashes of white light appeared in the black cloud as I focused as hard as I could.

The beast struck me again, sending me spiraling. I barely managed to maintain a hold on the spell. The white sparks grew brighter as I felt the energy surge to the peak I was aiming for. I turned myself in the air, my back facing the ground as the beast dove towards me head-on.

"Hey, Fuckhead!" I shouted, extending my arm out and spreading my fingers like claws as a lightning run appeared in my hand. The beast seemed unphased at my remark and kept diving head-on as she pulled back her fist.

"LIGHTEN THE FUCK UP!" I added as I swung my hand at her like I was trying to scratch her with a thunderous boom. Lightning shot out from the bellowing smog cloud of the volcano and struck her in the side with a bright flash and a much louder crackling boom. I barely heard her screams, and she shot off toward the ground about a mile away from me in a trail of smoke.

I quickly spun myself around to face the ground, not bothering to watch the beast land. I saw I was much closer to the ground now and that I didn't have a lot of time, maybe less than a minute. I stuck out my arms with two fire sigils, bellowing roaring streaks of fire from them. I felt the force push me enough to where I could get my legs under me and do the same sigils on my feet. Slowing my fall even more. But, sadly, it wasn't enough.

My legs hit the ground with such force that I felt my ankles crack and break. I tried to push myself into a parkor roll recovery. But I didn't have enough push-off from my legs to do so and ended up slamming my right shoulder into the ground. Which made me scream in pain and go limp there, followed by groveling in pain with my face in the dirt.

I sat there for maybe a few minutes before slowly sitting up. I looked at my shoulder since it was throbbing in a tremendous amount of pain. I found a large bite mark oozing with blood. It held the shape of the snout of the dragon-wannabe I was just fighting. I quickly and promptly concluded that the bear trap I felt close around my shoulder was the beast biting into me with her vicious fangs. I threw up a healing sigil to stop the bleeding and focused on my leg. I crawled around, gathering up large rocks and setting them close together. I placed my already swelling ankles in them while grabbing a rock to bite onto in preparation for the pain of resetting the bones.

I quickly reset my ankle bones using the rocks as a makeshift holder and stabilizer. I threw my healing sigil onto my ankles as soon as it was over to numb the pain and jumpstart the healing process. I let the magic do its thing and slowly got to my feet. It ached and hurt like hell, but I could move again. I hobbled my way back to where the Frontier was but was stopped in my tracks when a familiar roar of anger echoed out from the skies above.

I looked up and saw the beast fly into view and land about ten yards away from me. But she was definitely hurt. When she landed, she stumbled and nearly fell while clutching her left side with her left claw. Her side was bubbled and nasty with blisters and burnt tissue that stretched around to her chest, back, and part of her neck. Arcing black lines like that of a lightning bolt stretched out from a single point under her hand where the bolt of Lightning I stuck her with landed. She stared at me with a tired yet hate-filled expression.

"Not a fan of lightning, huh?" I laughed as I stumbled, leaning against a rock for support.

"Not a fan of falling, huh?" She shot back, snarling. "I'll give you this, outsider. You've definitely got bigger stones than I thought you would. But I think it's time we ended this." She added, taking her hand off her injured side and entering a fighting stance.

"Couldn't agree with you more," I responded, doing the same. "However, I will warn you. I won't play fair now, not after that cheap shot with the dirt." I added.

She smiled and flared her wings out and flapped them while dashing at me, giving her a boost, Just like I thought she would. I turned to my side, still looking at her, while I quickly put together another sigil. Channeling the excess fire elemental energy into it. I summoned two flaming copies of my right arm mere inches away from the original, copying and mimicking its every move. I then conjured a sky sigil spell and sent a sonic burst at the beast. The air-warping shockwave hit her and stopped her mid-air with a small boom. I jumped forward and brought my right arm and its flaming copies to her chest and slammed her backward into a rock. Which cracked on impact but did not break.

I shook off the spell, giving myself two extra arms, and pressed the attack. Ignoring the pain in my ankles. She had just pried herself from the rock and saw my approach. She threw a punch at me, which I sidestepped. Grabbing hold of her wrist and pulling it forward. I raised up my elbow and forcefully dropped it into her elbow joint, followed by a loud cracking of bones. Her arm snapped, her elbow bending in the wrong direction, causing her to scream in pain. Which was promptly silenced by a uppercut to her jaw.

I threw two more jabs at her snout and dropped low, sweeping her legs and causing her to fall face-first onto the floor. Jumped on her back, grabbed one of her legs, and pulled it upward while sitting on her back. I contorted my body and twisted, hearing a crack from her leg that caused her to scream again. I stood up and stomped my foot into the side of her stifle joint, hearing another crack as the bottom part of her leg twisted and fell loosely to the side when I let go of her leg.

She shouted in pain again, followed by an explosion of fire under us from her, sending an explosive blast of fire breath into the ground. It sent us both into the air. I landed a few feet away and saw her barely reach her knees, propping herself up on her one good arm. I got up and started rushing her. She looked back at me, and I didn't see a lot of anger left in her eyes. Instead, I saw fear.

She stretched her wings out and took off, but I managed to grab hold of the tip of her tail and plant myself down on the ground before she could get away.

"Ohhoho no! You don't get to run away after starting this fight and putting me through all of this! No, You're gonna see the consequences of your actions!" I said, yanking her over my head and slamming her into the ground using her tail. I jumped on her back and grabbed hold of her right wing. I stomped her wing joint with my foot like I just did with her leg, snapping it. I did the same thing with her left wing, just for good measure. She managed to contort her body, roll me off her, and begin crawling away with her good arm and leg.

I walked around her, Knowing she couldn't fight back, and planned to finish the fight. I grabbed her horn and turned her face to face me. Only to be met with a face full of fire from her maw. I reflexively put my left hand up with a sigil to catch the fire. I pushed my hand through the fire while blindly grabbing a large rock nearby and slamming it into her mouth, ceasing the barrage of flame. I pulled her head up and used another rocket rune on my elbow to do a powerful uppercut to her jaw. The rock in her mouth shattered into pieces of obsidian glass. Some flew out of her mouth while others dung into the insides of her mouth, causing it to bleed.

She fell onto the ground again, still breathing with blood flowing from her mouth. I didn't know the rock I grabbed was a piece of obsidian, but it worked out in the end. I suppose. She looked up at me with tired, pain-filled eyes as I took a step forward.

"Shtahp, pleash." She said, holding up her hand and gurgling on blood. "I yield. Jusht Shtahp. Pleash. Have mershy."

"Mercy?" I said questioningly, looking off into the distance. Think about the times I spared a Varrathian soldier only for him to get up and shoot a fellow soldier or me in the back with a gun or try something of the like. "In war, I learned you can't give mercy to the enemy. No matter how bad you feel for them or how little of a threat they can be."

"I literally can't do anything! I'm no threat to you!" She retorted, spitting up more blood.

I knelt down next to her with force. "I've heard those exact words before!" I shouted. "Then the bastard got up and shot one of my soldiers the second we turned our back on him! Time after time in this fight, you have surprised me with your abilities. I don't know what else you could be capable of." I reached around my back, grabbed my knife out of its sheath, and brought it overhead. Watching the beast look on in terror. "There is no mercy in war, Only death. I learned that long ago. You shouldn't take fights with people you don't know." I flipped my knife around into an underhand grip and prepared to plunge it into the beast's eye. She did nothing but stare at me in fear.

"Oh my gosh, dude! The guys gonna kill the dragon lord's Daughter!" I heard a faint teenage voice off in the distance. I heard a few other voices respond but couldn't make it out.

Those words clicked something in my head, and I immediately sheathed my knife. "YOU are the descendant of Dragonlord Torch?" I asked in shock.

She coughed up a lot of blood and nodded slowly.

"Fuck." I said, getting to my feet and scanning the ridgeline where I heard the voices. "HEY! One of you shmucks better come out and answer some questions, or you'll get worse than her!" I shouted. A few minutes of Silence passed before a tubby green lizard with wings and tail flew over the ridge line and landed in front of me.

"Hey, sir. Good fight you had there. Hehe. One of the best ones I've seen in the Dragon lands, hehe," He said nervously while sweating bullets.

"So, she's the dragon lord's daughter, right?" I asked.

"Well, yeah! Everybody knows Princess Ember and her thirty-nine-fight winning streak! She's the most feared fighter in the dragonlands! Well, now her streak's broken, I guess. hehe." He answered, still nervous.

"So, is fighting some form of sport for you wannabe dragons? Because the Dragons I know of back home. WILL NOT fight unless it is absolutely necessary." I asked.

"I don't know what kind of dragons you've been hanging around, tough guy. But out here, Fighting is how we establish power and prove we aren't weak." The beast responded.

"Okay, everything about this place is just wrong. I need to talk to Dragonlord Torch. Where is he?" I demanded.

The beast turned and pointed off in a direction that I guessed was Northeast. "He's usually not far from his throne in the center of the dragon lands. But I'd recommend taking Ember with you if you plan to talk to him, though."

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"Well, you won a fight with the Dragonlord's heir. That grants you an audience with the Dragonlord. Whether he turns you to ash or not is up for debate. But you gonna need prof you won, so take Ember with you." The Dragon responded. "Can I leave now?" He asked nervously.

"Yes, on one condition. You and your little band of miscreants up there on the ridge are gonna guard my ship, the big metal thing I came in with until I get back. Or else what I'm gonna do to you is gonna make what I did to Ember look like a picnic!" I threatened, getting really close to his face.

He gave a small yell and nodded his head rapidly. "y-y-yes, sir!" he said, flying back over the ridge line.

I walked back over and heaved Ember onto my back. "If you bite or try to hurt me, I will fuck you up even more than I already have. Your link to Dragonlord Torch is the only reason you are still alive." I threatened, starting to slowly limp in the direction of Dragonlord Torch.

I walked for twenty minutes while hauling Ember on my back. It was extremely hard now since the magical enchantments I reactivated gave out on me and shut off about five minutes in. My magic has been difficult to wield since getting to Equestria, which was one of my questions for the dragonlord. If he didn't turn out like the rest of these off-brand ones. Ember passed out about five minutes in due to blood loss. I threw a healing sigil on her just to stop the bleeding and funnel energy into her to keep her alive. I didn't need that awkward moment of showing the Dragonlord his dead Daughter.

I rounded the top of a hill and gazed upon a large volcanic crater. At least several miles across, but not very deep. At least by human standards. The edges of the crater were lined with hundreds of hexagonal pillars. The lower plateau in the crater's center led up to a gigantic stone throne in the center the size of a small mountain.

I slid down the hill, stepped onto one of the large hexagonal pillars, and set Ember down against a rock. I took a few steps to the edge of the pillar and looked around the area to see if I could find the Dragonlord, but I found nothing.

"Welp, it's a long shot, but let's see if he can at least hear me," I said, taking a deep breath and cupping my hands around my mouth. "GREAT DRAGONLORD TORCH! I CALL UPON YOU TO LEND ME YOUR EAR! FOR I HAVE QUESTIONS ONLY YOU CAN ANSWER!"

I stood there and waited a few seconds for a response and got nothing. I sighed and turned my back to walk away, thinking the tubby green Dragon had misled me. When an enormous shadow passed over me, cloaking the area in darkness. I looked up and raised my hand over my forehead to block out the sun to see a large, dark silhouette of a creature flying overhead with its wings outstretched. It tucked its wings in and dove downward towards the through, quickly extending its wings as it got close and flapped them rapidly to land up on the giant throne.

I will admit this had the size of a Dragon but still looked nothing like the dragons from my homeland. He had a large, bulky body and limbs with a short and abnormally rigid head shape. His scales were a mix of grey and green with bright orange on the tip of his tail and the skin of his wings. His Horns looked similar to Embers, only they were a mix of orange and tan with a large golden ring on one of them. His body bore a black metal chest plate, and on his head sat a red crystal crown. His ruby-red eyes seemed to hold a constantly pissed-off expression as he scanned the hexagonal pillars for something.

"I AM THE DRAGON LORD TORCH! WHO DARES SUMMON ME AT MY PREFERRED LAVA LOUNGING HOURS!" The giant reptile bellowed, making the ground shake as he spoke. Still looking around the pillars. I assumed he was trying to find me.

"Um, down here, uh, no to your right. I said to your right. Dammit, now you gotta go left!"

"Gosh, how small are you?! I thought my vision was bad enough." He said, frustrated, trying to follow my directions as he looked around wildly.

"Alright, fuck it. I'm gonna try something different." I pulled out my knife, used its reflective metal, and shined the light at the Dragonlord's eyes. "There, do you see the light?"

"Uh, Oh yup. I see it. Sheesh, you are on the far side of the crater. let me get a little closer." Torch brought his head low, stepped down from his throne, and walked over to me. He got MUCH bigger as he got closer, startlingly bigger.

"Okay, let me try this again." He stopped, held a clutched claw to his chest, and cleared his throat. "I AM THE DRAGON LORD TORCH! WHO DARES SUMMON ME AT MY PREFERRED LAVA LOUNGING HOURS!" He boomed. It caused me to lose my balance from his voice shaking the ground.

"I've come seeking an audience with you, Great Dragonlord. I was told by some of the others that you would hear me out if-"

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DAUGHTER?!" His booming voice cut me off and almost knocked me on my back.

"She started a fight she could not win!" I responded angrily. "I stepped off the Aircraft that brought me here and was assaulted by her even after stating all I wanted to do was speak with you. I then proceeded to beat her within an inch of her life." I paused for a moment and looked back at the heavily injured creature lying against the rock. Then, I looked back to the dragon lord. "I will give credit where it's due. She fucked me up pretty badly, as you can see. I coughed up a lot of blood on the way here."

"So you're saying, MY DAUGHTER. Started a fight with you and lost? And you brought her to me so you could hopefully get to speak with me?" He asked, raising his voice.

"Yes. As for the latter, one of the wannabe dragons said that's what I should do." I responded confidently.

There was Silence for a few moments. Then Dragonlord sighed and drooped his head. "Dear, sweet Daughter. I knew you'd pick a fight you couldn't win and warned you to pick your battles Wisely. Hopefully, this serves as a lesson for you." He picked up his right claw and reached over me. Scooping up Ember and setting her somewhere inside his crystal crow gently.

He then turned his head to face me. "Well, whoever you are. You have bested my Daughter in single combat, not an easy feet. As your reward, you have earned your audience. Speak, for I will listen for as long as I will tolerate it."

I was surprised. All the warnings about Dragonlord Torch and his acts of violence seemed to be over-exaggerated in the face of the actual being. The fact he wasn't roasting me or trying to swallow me whole was somewhat shocking. "I'm a little surprised, to be honest, lord Torch. From what I was told, you seemed to be more. How do I say this? Violent Than you seem to be."

"HAH! And who told you that? Some ponies? HAH!" He laughed.

"Well, yeah, actually," I stated.

"Oh..." He said suddenly, stopping his laugh and his expression shifting to one of annoyance. "Well, of course they would. Don't tell me you've come on their behalf? If so, I might as well turn you to ash now."

"Not entirely. I've had my own reasons for coming. Honestly, it's a matter of circumstance that I'm here for them. Plus, I'm not exactly a 'Pony' now, am I?" I explained, not trying to get turned to ash. With how weak I was after me and Ember fought, I'm not sure one of my runes could withstand a fireblast from Him.

"Well, for your sake, I hope you start with your stuff versus whatever the ponies want to do. Like where you come from and who exactly you are. Because I KNOW there is no pony alive that could give birth to a creature like yourself."

I took a humble bow as I introduced myself. "My name is Rileus Aromas Maximus. Son of King Thomas Aromas Maximus. I fare from the Kingdom of Romalaos. From one Form of Royalty to another, Seid gegrüßt, Majestät, Elemente erblicken uns" I stayed in the bowing postion for a few minutes, waiting for a response. Only for several oddly quiet seconds to pass by with no response.

I picked my head to look at the Dragonlord, Only to see he was deep in thought. "Is there something wrong?" I asked.

"How do you know the ancient tongue? No one in this world knows the ancient tongue." He asked as he brought his head down close to me. His large, firey orange eyes staring into my soul.

"You recognize the language of the Elementals?!" I asked, utterly baffled.

"Of course I do. I'm the dragon lord!" He boomed. "Now I ask again, How do YOU know the language of the Elementals?" He asked again, this time puffing smoke out of his nostrils.

"I was taught it By my father and his counsel, Romulus. Whom I see as a brother. Our kingdom was founded after the first King of Romalaos earned the respect of the dragons and was granted the ability to speak with the Elementals. After some time, he made a pact with them. Which allowed everyone to-"

"Stop, stop, stop. Hold on a minute. I don't need the whole life story of your kingdom." He interrupted, "You said you had dragons where you come from, right? Who was the leader at the time?"

"Dragon King Baltaeus, Unless you mean the dragon king for my time. Then it was Dragon King Teramos. Why?" I responded.

The Dragon Lord's eyes went wide. "Oh..." He said quietly. He sat back and walked away for a moment. "You're from the First One's Dimension." He added.

"The what now?" I asked, confused.

"Quick, come with me. We need to find someplace private to speak." Torch said, his entire intimidating demeanor seeming to change as he held out his open palm for me to climb onto.

"Wait, now I'm even more confused and have even more questions-"

"All will be answered in due time, just CLIMB ON!" He demanded.

I didn't hesitate and jumped aboard his ginormous palm. My vision suddenly glowed and blurred a bright, vibrant ruby red as everything seemed to shimmer and vibrate. In a bright flash of light, I suddenly found us in the middle of an enormous volcanic cave. Lava waterfalls dripped from the ceiling into large laval lakes. The heat was immense, and I quickly began sweating. I looked around more and found this place has been used frequently. Large outcrops of Multicolored crystals dotted the stone walls and floor of the massive cavern. The ground around the main portion of the floor was patted down due to excess use of travel. There were also several caves leading farther into the lava-filled caverns.

The palm I was standing on tilted, and I was forced into a slide due to the sudden steep incline. I slid down it onto the very warm ground below. I fell a few meters from his hand to the ground, which caused my already fucked up ankle to throb in pain and drop to my knees. Causing me to swear under my breath.

"Oh boy!" Torch said, almost sounding panicked as he paced around the large open area he had set me down in after resting his Daughter on a makeshift stone bed near the edge of the lava near the wall. "How did you do it? How did you cross the Veil? Baltaeus said your people had potential, and Teramos said you guys were close, but soon after that, I never heard from him again. Hell, I never felt his presence in my mind anymore!"

"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH! HOLD UP! Time out! First off, explain how the fuck you knew two of the Dragon Kings. Because I've spoken with Teramos more than a few times about dragon culture, and he never mentioned you." I responded, waving my hands in the air for him to stop talking.

"Right, you don't know how that link works." Torch said as he took a deep breath. "Do you know about the link all dragons that give them a sort of telepathic link? The one that lets them share thoughts and speak with each other and to other non-draconic beings?"

"Yes, it's first-grade dragon, I'm aware," I affirmed.

"Well, when it comes to Leader Dragons such as a Dragon king or a Dragonlord. When they are elevated by other dragons or a Dragon that earned the right to be that leader. They gain access to that same link with other Dragon Lords and Kings across the Dimensions. Granting us an amount of wisdom and knowledge of other worlds and languages along with the ability to talk with other Dragonkings telepathically. Albeit, it's very situational as sometimes we only see glimpses of thoughts or we can have full-on conversations." Torch Explained.

"Why did no one back home tell me this!?" I yelled, completely baffled by such a secret. "You gotta be lying! The Dragons back home Shared all their wisdom with us during the Years of Merlin! Something THAT huge would have been archived somewhere!"

"That's because your people hadn't crossed the Veil until now. The Dragons are instructed to withhold secrets such as those until a race or species of their Realm discovers it. Then, the Dragons are allowed to speak on it. When it comes to Interdimensional travel between worlds, This secret wouldn't be revealed by your dragon king. It would be revealed by the dragon king or lord of the dimension you have traveled to. Like what I am doing right now for you." Torch continued to explain.

"Okay, that aligns with what the dragons back home said about Elemental magic during Merlin's era. But Im gonna need some proof you spoke to our Dragon King Teramos! So I can confirm what you're saying is true." I retorted.

Torch sighed annoyingly. "Your sister's name was Devones Aromas Maximus. Your mother's name was Danelle Suftor Maximus. The Dragon King's mate was Dragon Queen Zepurious. The King had vibrant sapphire scales, while the Aueen had cloud-white and grey scales. You once asked the Dragon King at the age of this world, equivalent to twelve, if the bedroom exuberance was Quote. 'Something out of this world.' As a dare from your older sister." He recalled in a low, monotone voice

"AHH! STOP, STOP, STOP! WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THAT! My dad Scolded my ass enough about that!" I shouted, covering my ears as my face blushed in embarrassment.

"Do you have your confirmation now?" Torch asked.

"Yes, yes, I got it!" I said, shaking away that memory.

"Good, since I know all about you and where you come from, thanks to this link. I need to ask, What happened to Dragon King Teramos? I haven't heard from him in so long, and he was a good friend."

"Oh..." I said softly. "he uh... You know what? Just go through my head and find what you need since I know you're telepathic. I'll put everything needed to know about what happened up front for you. I'm not Reliving this bullshit. Not yet, at least." I said, pulling my vault of memories I've locked away since I arrived in Equestria from the depths of my mind and putting it upfront.

"Very well." He said, leaning down close to me and staring into my eyes.

I felt a large, bulky feeling press into my mind. It was gentle as it moved, like a gentle tightness around the head. It took hold of the vault as it absorbed the contents. A few moments passed as the Dragon Lord sifted through my memories. Then, a few tears streaked down from the Dragonlord's eyes as he retracted his presence from my mind.

"I've seen enough." He said, his voice strained with pain, turning away as he wiped his face. I tucked my vault back into the depths of my mind.

"Lord Torch? Are you okay?" I asked cautiously as I saw Torch sitting right in front of a wall on the far side of the cavern. Not speaking or moving.

"HOW COULD THEY!" He yelled with a righteous fury I've never seen before in any creature as he slammed his fists through the cavern wall repeatedly. "THE WAR, THE DEATH, WHY!" The whole cavern began to shake as rocks fell from the ceiling and new lava waterfalls sprouted from walls around the massive lava lake. Steam vents erupted from the ground, causing me to take cover in a small outcrop in the wall nearby.

His onslaught lasted several minutes, along with several other choice words and phrases. He took a few steps back with shaking fists, looking at the newly opened cavern in the wall he had made. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm down. I slowly crawled out from my hiding spot and walked towards him.

"Sorry for that bombshell. Things back home aren't exactly well." I said sourly.

"I can tell." He responded. "Why do you keep referring to my kind as wannabe dragons? I looked through your fight with my Daughter, and that was a consistent thought in your mind. Are we not good enough for you?" he said, turning his head so one of his burning orange eyes stared at me.

"No! Well..." I paused, scrambling for the right words as Torch stared me down with a raised eyebrow. Alright, hold on. You gotta understand this from my perspective. There is a huge difference between you guys and the Dragons Back home."

"That's because this is a different Dimension, you fool!" He boomed. "We are still Dragons! Maybe not the kind you're used to be. We are dragons, nonetheless!"

"I know that now!" I responded. "But understand, ever since I've got here, it's been culture shock after culture shock. Imagine how shocking it was for me when I found out two Alicorns raised the sun and moon! How shocking it was for me to realize the Elementals don't govern nature in Equestria, but rather, the ponies manage the cycle, from migrations of birds to the storms in the sky! Everything I've seen in this world is just wrong! My world and this one have so many distinct differences in the natural balance of the world, and it makes me want to correct it!"

"Rileus..." Torch said, sounding empathetic. "I understand your frustration and where it comes from, really I do. I would react the same way in your position. But you gotta understand the Elementals make dimensions and worlds to experiment with ideas. This one is no different. The rules and laws of your world have no foothold here since it has not undergone the process that yours did. They haven't had their 'Merlin' comune and make a pact with the Elementals. So they are still bound and have yet to be unbound."

I felt the weight of his words as he spoke. I understood that this world is different from my own. But I was subconsciously trying to correct this world that was made to be this way, even through my teachings with Twilight. That was not my goal. And if it wasn't, what was my goal? I couldn't go back home. There was nothing left for me back there. I need an outside source. I need an Elemental.

"How do I speak with an Elemental in this world?" I asked.

Torch seemed surprised. "Well, in this case. The normal way is closed to you since you are already Unbound. So the only remaining way is to make the Primal brew and meditate in a place with high Elemental Energy. Here is my volcano. It would be optimal for a fire communion. But why do you suddenly want to seek them out?" He asked.

"Now that you've opened my eyes. I realize I have no goal in this world. I have no purpose or meaning. I need to ask someone to set me on the right path. Who better to do that than the primal ones." I responded. "Could you point me in the direction of the ingredients I would need to make the Primal brew? I know they must be different in this world.

"Well, if this is your challenge. I can't simply tell you, as it would go against the role the dragons are supposed to play. As we are guides, we are only meant to show you the way." He responded with a smirk.

"Of course, the most dragon response I could have gotten," I said, facepalming.

"You know what? Im just gonna ask the question. Do all dragons have this split personality like you? You had this big, mean, and terrifying demeanor back in the crater, and now you act like a dragon from my homeland." I asked.

"Actually, it's only me who does that, or should I say the dragonlord acts like this. Technically, the version of me you saw in the crater was my quote 'canon' personality. But thanks to this-" He reached under his chest plate and pulled out a staff with a large red gem at the top. "It gives the Dragonlord a link to the other dragon kings and the wisdom of the elementals, much like how the dragons of your world all naturally have their wisdom and knowledge. In simple terms, the Dragon who wields this scepter turns into the dragon lord and gains everything I've explained so far. But we still have to keep up our 'canon' personality to the rest of the dragons."

"huh, so one Dragon holds the power and the knowledge but must keep it a secret from the rest. Interesting Concept." I said, rolling that around in my head.

"Anyway, back to the Elementals. Are there any hints you could give me so I can find these ingredients?" I asked.

"All I can say is that you'll know it when you see them. Unless you have any ideas that I can confirm or deny?" Torch responded.

"Well, I did have one idea. The rainbow liquid waterfalls near Cloudsdale? I thought those seemed pretty promising." I asked.

"Well then, you are correct. That rainbow liquid is the liquid essence of the sky in this world and is the base of the primal brew." He confirmed.

"I knew it!" I shouted with a fist bump. "Okay, I just gotta find the rest then. I'll probably have to build scanners to detect high pockets of Elemental energy... Eh, I'll get to that when I get home, and I'm not hurting all over."

"Well, if that's all. I can send you back to the big metal, whatever you call it." He asked.

"Just one thing involving the ponies," I said nervously with a shrug.

"Ugh, look, I can't just tell all the dragons to stop being mean to ponies or to stop eating them. That goes against my other personality," he responded.

"Understandable. You can't blame me for trying, though." I said with another shrug

"However, Here's what I can do, though. I can try to move the dragons away from the pony settlements on the borders of the Dragon lands IF you can make sure that Celestia doesn't let them expand further into the Dragon lands. If they do, well, things won't be pretty." He offered.

"Well, I can at least work with that. Plus, that's something I can report back to Celestia." I responded. "Other than that, I got nothing else I need."

"Very well." Torch said, and my vision started going blurry and ruby red again. "I will say if you ever need help from me or need to talk again. Please come by and let me know. Any friend of Teramos is a Friend of mine. And if you do, please try to beat my Daughter within an inch of her life." He added before I found myself standing in front of the Frontier.

I smiled and hobbled my way up the ramp, and plopped myself into the pilot's seat. It was almost night, and I felt exhausted. I started booting up and starting the engines.

"Sir! Are you okay? What happened? When the Helmet's energy signature went offline, I feared the worst!" Romulus's voice came over the radio in a worried panic.

"I'll explain when I get back home, Romulus. Right now, take the wheel and fly me back. I'm tired and hurt a lot." I said as I leaned back in the chair.