The Bearer of the Apocalypse

The Dragon Lands of Equestria was, given its name, inhabited by dragons. The wasteland and lava pools are what they called their home, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. Although, for as powerful as they were, they too had someone they responded to, and that was Dragon Lord Ember.

Currently, she was away from her land for a small meeting with one of the princesses of Equestria, that being the Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle, to establish a relationship between dragons and ponies. Even choosing, more like forcing, to bring Smolder with her. She was a small orange dragon and was brought along so that Ember could try and introduce friendship to her and eventually the rest of the subjects. However, dragons were prideful and greedy, although it was mainly pride, and as such not many were interested in having a friendship with ponies.

Garble was one of those dragons. He didn’t hate ponies, he just had a superiority complex over them. He knew that dragons were superior to them, and he had even heard stories that some of the elder dragons had once fought with Celestia and Luna. Although even he knew of the power the two alicorns possessed, and while Garble would never admit it, he was slightly intimidated by them.

Not scared, but intimidated. He knew there was a difference between the two.

Currently, as Garble had been flying around the land for the past hour in search of his friends, he knew that something was wrong. The land being quiet wasn’t uncommon, but the silence that surrounded the kingdom like a dense fog sent a brief chill down his scales. Despite how far out he was from the rest of his kin, Garble knew he should’ve at least seen one other dragon by this point. He continued to fly around, in search of any dragon at this point when he heard the sound of fighting.

Smiling to himself, and allowing a sigh of relief, he quickly flew towards the dragon fight. He didn’t know why he felt a sense of dread, but he didn’t care, knowing that a good dragon fight would make him forget about it. As he drew closer, the fighting grew more intense, seeing breathes of fire and—-

“…What the hell?” Garble quietly spoke to himself, frozen mid-flight as he could see the countless corpses of dragons across the land. He unconsciously tuned out the fighting, seeing the mangled and mutilated corpses of his kin, smashed dragon eggs, and even his dead friends; who were missing limbs and splattered against the rocks. He was completely speechless, not believing what was clearly in front of his eyes.

BOOOM!!!

The explosion snapped him out of his stupor, and Garble turned his head to see former dragon lord Torch fighting against a black dragon. The black dragon was about the same size, if not bigger than the former dragon lord. The black scales were decorated by spiraling, blue markings. Its entire lower body, from its chin to its inner tail, was gray; and the dragon possessed white beady eyes as well. His wings were as big as a mountain, casting a large shadow over the land. And what completed the dragon’s menacing appearance was its spiked tail.

The fight was not in Torch’s favor. The dragon was being outstrengthened, and the numerous wounds he had gained were not helping him. He started to think that it would take an army of the strongest of elder dragons to just hold this beast back. Although, with countless corpses of dragons that littered his homeland he knew it would’ve been more of a death sentence.

“For what reason do you have to slaughter your own kind you atrocious monster!?” Torch roared, as he demanded to know the black dragon’s reasonings. Instead, he received an angry snarl, as if it had taken offense to something Torch had said. Seeing that he would not be getting an answer, Torch headbutted his opponent before releasing a large and powerful fire blast to the dragon’s chest.

Torch flew back, wanting distance between him and the unknown dragon. Through the smoke, the black dragon remained unharmed, and with a sinister smirk, it released its own breath attack. Unlike Torch’s breath attack, there was no fire, and seemed more like magic than anything else. Either way, it traveled for a few seconds before slamming into Torch’s chest. The former lord’s armor was shattered as he was sent hurling back, blasting through a multitude of large rock formations and even a few hills before he came crashing to a stop.

“T-Torch!!” Garble yelled in fear as he raced over to him. Through the smoke, he could see that Torch was still breathing, but the gashes that were all over his body made breathing far more difficult. Blood was going down Torch’s body like a flowing river, and Garble couldn’t do anything to stop it or help him with the other dragon still here.

“R-Red one…you must flee.” Torch started before coughing blood. “Warn Ember, warn the Alicorns…I shall hold him off until you’ve escaped.” The large dragon ushered out before getting to his feet. Torch knew that he wasn’t going to last much longer, and he needed to warn his daughter and the rest of Equestria of this major threat.

He gave one last look to Garble before he gave a gesture with his head, telling him to leave. While it took a few seconds to register in his mind, Garble gave a weak salute before he flew off. However, he never made it very far when a spiked tail slammed into his body, breaking most of his bones as he went flying through the sky before barreling into a forest.

RAAAAAAWWWWWRRRR!!!!!

The black dragon’s roar sounded like raging thunder, tearing apart the rock formations and flattening the land; echoing through valleys and mountains as it took pleasure in swatting down Garble like the vermin he was. Torch’s rage skyrocketed, and with newfound strength, he burst forward into the sky. He roared at his opponent as it roared back, accepting the challenge as they both flew at each other at high speeds. Torch couldn’t allow this monster to remain unknown as it went around slaughtering dragons, and he refused to allow Ember to be added to the list.

As they drew near, Torch opened his mouth and gathered his final breath of fire. He needed to either try and take the dragon down with him, or try and maim him; to give the world a chance to end this monster. Seeing how close they were, Torch released his breath attack, blinding the black dragon before he outstretched his arm.

BAM!

The two collided, and Torch knew he had lost. He couldn’t feel his arm or part of his midsection, for it had been obliterated. He could feel his teeth cracking and falling out of his mouth, and as he fell out of the sky, he gave a side glance to the black dragon.

He couldn’t even take its arm.

Torch crashed into the ground, creating a crater and sending other corpses flying elsewhere. He managed to hear a thud and looked up with his eyes, seeing the dragon blocking out the sun with its body. It stared at him with a glare and condescending eyes, as if daring him to get up.

The dragon continued to stare, never speaking before roaring in victory. Then it blasted off into the sky and flew off, vanishing into the clouds. Torch watched him fly off, his vision gaining black spots with his breathing starting to slow.

“Ember…I’m sorry. I failed to stop him, but if the red one managed to survive, then Equestria may have a chance. Ember, you are to be a far greater Dragon Lord than myself…and know that no matter what happens, I Torch, will always be proud of you.” Those were Torch’s last thoughts before dying. The Dragon Lands, once filled with powerful and prideful creatures, was now a massive graveyard with one survivor.

Deep in the forest, where the ground was torn up and trees decimated, Garble groaned in pain as he was laying against a large rock. He started waking up, having gone unconscious from the tail smack he received and crashing through the forest. He struggled to get to his feet, feeling that his right leg was broken, his wings popped out of place, and a large gash on his back that had a great deal of blood flow.

Seeing that he couldn’t fly, Garble used the rock as support to steady himself before he looked around and grabbed a sturdy branch off the ground. With his walking stick in his hand, Garble started to limp away from his home, heading towards a place that he despised, but the place that would help him the most.

Ponyville

Smolder, much like her brother, didn’t want anything to do with friendship. Unlike him, she didn’t hold herself above the ponies, she just didn’t see the point of being friends with them. There was also the fact that Ember had forced her to come along, which annoyed her even further.

Her attitude, however, had changed since she had been there. Outside of meeting another dragon, which was Spike, she learned that some of the ponies in the small town had some things in common with her. The fast flier known as Rainbow Dash was very competitive and boasted a lot about herself, much like a dragon. The farmer known as Applejack took great pride in her farm, similar to dragons with their hoard or their strength.

Then again, she also learned that there was much more to being friends than similar personalities between ponies and dragons. Still, Smolder did enjoy her time in Ponyville, and she wasn’t going to admit that to Ember. Knowing how smug the Dragon Lord would get, she kept quiet as she and Ember were walking out of Princess Twilight’s home, ready to head home themselves.

“Thank you Twilight for agreeing to meet with me. While I know that most dragons might not be very keen on this at first, especially the elders, I think it will benefit us in the long run.” Ember proudly spoke as Twilight told her to think nothing of it. The trio continued their walk, idly chatting until a yellow Pegasus with a pink mane crashed to the ground in front of them, scaring the daylights out of them.

“Fluttershy!? You scared us, you need—“

“I’m sorry but It’s an emergency! Princess Ember! Twilight! You need to come to the hospital immediately! ” Fluttershy raised her voice as she beckoned them to follow her. Ember and Twilight nodded before quickly flying after the Pegasus as Smolder, not wanting to be left out, flew alongside them. For whatever reason, she got a sick feeling in her stomach, but Smolder figured that she should tag along to get rid of it.

Twilight knew that Fluttershy was not someone who spoke at a regular volume. Speaking so quietly that she made a mouse sound louder than her, Twilight knew that this was something serious. Especially if it involved Ember and the hospital.

“Can you explain to us the situation? And why does it involve Ember?”

“It-It-It was horrible! I was taking care of my animals when one of them told me about a severely injured dragon. So I grabbed my medkit to go help it, but when I got there, the wounds looked too severe for me to do anything, so I took him to the hospital.” Fluttershy grew quiet, not being able to describe the dragon’s wounds, which she knew were far worse than what was on the surface. Twilight knew that Fluttershy would care for any creature she came across, and despite her fears, that included dragons. Although she doubted that Fluttershy was an expert in dragon biology, or even knew the basics about them; Fluttershy’s medical expertise was the best in Ponyville, aside from the licensed doctors and nurses of course.

“Do you know who the dragon was?” Ember asked as the group sped across the sky. Fluttershy responded that she didn’t, but she gave her a description. The eyes of the three next to her widened, knowing that it was Garble who was in the hospital. Smolder, however, sped ahead of them, using her nose to find her brother's scent before taking off.

“Smolder! Wait up!”

“Let her go Twilight. Garble is her older brother, so she’s far more worried than we might be.” Ember quickly replied as Twilight and Fluttershy were shocked but understood Smolder’s worries. If it had been their brothers, they’d have reacted in the same manner.

Smolder flew across the streets of Ponyville at blinding speeds. Following the scent of her brother’s blood, which fueled her resolve to find him, she maneuvered her way around ponies and stalls. Although she had knocked some ponies senseless as she knocked them out of her way or barreled through their wagons of good.

“My cabbages!!!”

This pony was one of them.

“Dammit Garble! What kind of trouble did you get into?” Smolder worriedly thought to herself as she burst through the doors to the hospital. The staff was startled by the dragon’s entrance before the others entered as well. Twilight stepped forward and asked for the dragon that Fluttershy had brought in, and Doctor Horse told them to follow him.

They walked in silence for a few minutes until they arrived at Garble’s room. The doctor said nothing as he opened the door and walked inside with the four following him who were speechless upon seeing the dragon’s condition. His torso was covered in bandages, as were his wings which were in a cast as was his right leg which was being held in the air.

Smolder kept her eyes on her brother before asking the doctor one question.

“Tell me Doc, how’s my brother doing?”

“Quite frankly, he’s lucky to be alive. His right leg was broken, his wings dislocated, and a large gash across his back. Numerous bruises and broken bones, three infections which were thankfully nothing serious, and a good deal of blood loss.” Dr. Horse replied as he picked up the clipboard hanging at the edge of the bed. “He’s also had a few broken ribs, but the main concern was the gash on his back. We were worried that it tore through the muscles that allow him to fly and that we would need to amputate them to prevent any problems that could occur, but as you can see that wasn’t necessary.” He finished before setting the clipboard down.

“It was also a good thing that we’ve had Spike’s blood on hoof as well, should he have ever needed it. But enough of that, I’ll give you all some time with him.” That was all he said before he left the room, leaving the four in silence. They only stared at Garble’s form, with the only sound coming from the heart monitor next to him. Smolder sat down next to him, unable to speak any words because she didn’t know what to say.

“…Ember, I-I don’t know what creature could have done this. Even though he’s a teenager, dragons are very durable. Spike is still a baby and he can endure some things; but this…I don’t think I’ve ever heard of injuries like this done to a dragon.” Twilight calmly explained, unable to recall any event where a dragon had such injuries. Of course, she was only starting to get into dragon culture and wouldn’t know everything that had happened in their history.

“A-Actually, Twilight, th-there are a few creatures…that could fight a dragon.” Fluttershy spoke up and was heard due to the quietness of the room. The three looked at the timid Pegasus, who hid behind her mane at the sudden attention but continued with her explanation. “One of them would be a Hydra, although Garble might not be here if it was. An-Another could be an Ursa Minor or Major, but they mostly sleep unless disturbed. But the one that I think was most likely was…a—“

“Another dragon.” Smolder finished for her, her fierce and sharp tone caused the pony to hide behind the alicorn. Smolder gave her brother one last look before she got up and walked towards the door, but she was stopped by Ember before she could leave.

“Where do you think you're going?”

“To find and beat the dragon senseless for what they did to Garble.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Excuse me?! Don’t you see what’s happened to Garble? The dragon that did this—“

“The dragon that did this is far stronger than you!” Ember roared, silencing the young dragon. “While I doubt an elder dragon did this, it's clearly a fully matured dragon. Garble isn’t smart, and pretty arrogant as well, but he’s not a dumbass; he knows better than to accept or challenge a dragon that would be out of his league.” Ember explained as Smolder let out an angry sigh. She knew that Ember was right, but she was still pissed that she couldn’t do anything.

“Smolder, if I may?” Twilight calmly spoke up, gaining the young dragon’s attention. “I know you feel like you can’t do much to help your brother but trust me when I say that being by his side is the best thing you can do. He loves you a lot, right?” Twilight asked before Smilder nodded. “Good. Then I doubt he would want you to go and fight the dragon that did this to him; because he wouldn’t want you to get hurt.” Twilight finished with a smile that caused the rest of them to smile as well. The heartfelt moment was interrupted by Garble’s groaning.

“Ahh…where am I?” Garble groaned to himself before feeling a heavy weight on his chest. “Ow! You’re dead if you—Smolder?” Garble paused, realizing that it was just his sister. She gave him, from what she understood after being with ponies for a few hours, a tight hug. Garble didn’t know what she was doing, and while it felt awkward to him he was somewhat enjoying it.

“If-If you're here, then where’s Ember?”

“I’m right here. And so is Princess Twilight along with Fluttershy, the one that brought you here.” Ember explained and made way for the two ponies. The two greeted him with a warm smile as Twilight grabbed his sister with her magic and placed her on the ground next to her.

“Oh, uh, thanks.”

“It’s not a problem. Although, we’re all curious as to what happened to you. If you don’t mind telling us, that is.” Fluttershy asked, hiding behind her mane as Garble gained a grim look on his face. They all noticed this and grew concerned, realizing that what had happened to him was much worse than they thought.

“Garble…What happened to you? We deduced that it was most likely another dragon, but we need you to tell us.” Twilight asked as gently as she could but knew that she couldn’t force Garble to tell her. Well, she probably could, but it would’ve been morally wrong to do so. Not only that but forcing him to speak of what he saw would've been even worse on his mental state.

“It was a dragon…but it was far more powerful than any dragon I’ve ever heard of. And I didn’t fight it…It swatted me away like a yak’s tail does to flies. It saw me as a pest.” Garble started to explain, although there was a brief crack in his voice. “Th-The Dragon Lands were completely silent as if no dragon was there. Then I heard fighting, so I flew over to check it out…but when I got there, Torch was fighting this black dragon. And he was losing.” Garble continued, and he would’ve kept going before Ember interrupted him.

“My dad was losing!? What happened to him!? Actually no, I’m going back myself. If my dad was losing then who knows what happened to him and the other dragons.” Ember quickly set off for the door, intending to check in on her subjects and her father.

“There’s no point…”

Garble’s voice caused Ember to stop. The emotionless tone he used froze her in place and sent a chill down her scales as she and the others all suddenly grew nervous. A sense of dread filled the room and Ember looked back at him, her expression growing with concern.

“What do you mean, ‘There’s no point’, Garble?”

“It-It’s like I said…there’s no point…because every dragon in the dragon lands is dead,” Garble replied, and he gave out a low chuckle. “Every dragon from all age groups, slaughtered like cattle, every egg was smashed, and the worst part…some of them were alive.” The reality had settled in on Garble, and his chuckle turned to laughter. He held his face with his claws and hysterically laughed, scaring those around him, especially his sister.

“Calm down Garble! It’ll be fine! We just need to warn princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence so we can stop this guy.“ Smolder tried to reason with him and did her best to calm him down. While Garble ceased his laughter, his chuckle didn’t, and the pupils in his eyes had shrunk. Smolder had taken a step back from him, seeing how mentally unstable her brother was becoming.

“It won’t be fine! That dragon…that monster killed every dragon in our home and Torch is most likely dead! And-And we’re next! Me, you, Spike, and Ember along with every other dragon in Equestria!” Garble roared at his sister, nearly breathing fire before he was forcibly put to sleep by Twilight’s magic. Smolder, refusing to be in the same room as him, flew out the door and down the hall. Tears stained the floor where she flew off, and Twilight quickly told Fluttershy to go after her and make sure that she remained in Ponyville while she stayed with Ember and the now-sleeping Garble.

The pegasus did as she was told, mostly because she no longer wished to remain in the room either, and followed after the dragon. Twilight and Ember were silent, not knowing how to start the conversation after Garble’s mental breakdown. Still, this was an issue that needed to be addressed, and breaking the silence that had plagued the room numerous times was the start.

“Ember, I think the best course of action is for me to contact Princess Celestia, and for you to remain in Ponyville. I know you don’t have to listen to me, but we don’t know if that dragon is still there, and if it is and you encounter it, then I don’t think that you’ll survive. Like I said though, getting to Princess Celestia first to see if she has any information on it is the best option we have.” Twilight quietly explained but was loud enough for her to hear. Celestia had ruled Equestria for over a millennia, and it was very much possible that she had either heard of or encountered this dragon before; assuming that it didn’t appear out of nowhere and simply chose to slaughter its kin.

Twilight couldn’t help but shiver. She still couldn’t get over Garble’s claim that the dragon lands were now a graveyard full of unburied corpses. She wasn’t calling him a liar, seeing his mental breakdown happen right before her eyes, but she couldn’t help but doubt it. The logical side of her saw it clear as day; it would be impossible for a single dragon to kill all the others of its homeland without being taken down with them or killed during battle. Let alone going head to head with former Dragon Lord Torch and surviving, who was a powerful dragon in his own right, especially if this black dragon had indeed killed and survived the onslaught of the other dragons.

Twilight couldn’t make any sense of it nor could she remember anything in any history book she’d ever read regarding a black dragon. And on the off chance that Celestia didn’t know, then who could? Discord was an option, but knowing the lord of chaos he would either answer cryptically, not know, or not answer it all. Going through Starswirl’s old books and scrolls could help, but she knew that a good portion was based on spells and not so much on creatures lest they intrigued him.

Snap!

Snap!

“Equestria to Twilight! Hello!?” Ember slightly shouted, snapping her fingers in front of the alicorn’s face who blinked and shook her head. She blushed slightly and chuckled before apologizing for spacing out. “It’s fine, I was just saying how you’re right. The risk of that dragon still being there is a major problem, and quite frankly, I don’t wanna go home alone. So, I was wondering during your letter to Celestia, if she would be willing to accompany me to the Dragon Lands or someone else that’s suitable.”

“That’s not a problem. I think I’ll send Starlight with you. I trust her to watch your back in case of any danger and to get herself and you back here if that dragon is there.” Twilight confidently replied as she prepared a spell. “Once I get word back from Celestia we can take another step forward. And I’ll inform Starlight of her new assignment with you.” With that she teleported to her castle, leaving the dragon lord with her wounded, now mentally unstable subject.

“Don’t worry Garble, we’ll make sure that this dragon pays for what it’s done to you. But until then…” Ember placed her palm on Garble’s snout before she started to leave the room. Ember gave him one last look as she left the room, the closing door making a small echo.

“...You need to stay strong.”

Princess Celestia, one of the co-rulers of Equestria with control over the sun had lived through many things; and had seen and heard many outlandish things in her long life. Some of them were that her magic was something that one could learn through hard practice, another being that her sister, Princess Luna, was actually a dragon due to her ferocity during a war. But the letter that she had received from her student was by far the most preposterous thing she had ever heard.

Well, if she were to be honest nothing could ever take her number one, which was when ponies thought that she had once dated the spirit of chaos Discord. And that the chaos he causes is to get back at her for whatever happened between them.

Those were a few ‘good’ years.

But this took second or third, for the dragons in the Dragon Lands had been killed. There was only one survivor, and he was currently in Ponyville Hospital and was forcibly put to sleep through her student’s magic after having a mental breakdown. What had killed them was a large black dragon, but for the life of her, she couldn’t recall ever hearing about a black dragon, let alone any dragon strong enough to kill a former Dragon Lord.

For a brief moment, she thought it was a cruel joke played by the draconequus, but she quickly disregarded it. Not even he would do such a thing for a mere joke, aside from the chaos it would certainly create. Still, for the Dragon Lands to now be vacant of any living dragon due to a mass slaughter was severely unnerving. But she couldn’t think of any creature that could simply wipe out the dragons without taking any life-threatening injury, even another dragon.

“Sister, you have been in deep thought for a while. Surely thou don't believe that there was only one survivor from the Dragon Lands?” Luna, younger sister to Celestia and ruler of the night and dreams, asked with doubt in her voice. Torch was powerful, and on a good day he could give Celestial or herself a good fight, but for him to be slain by a single dragon was ludicrous.

“Alicorns are the only immortal creatures in Equestria, aside from Discord and Tirek. While it would be difficult, Torch being killed is a possibility, albeit a low one. And if the other dragons are dead, then this is a villain with the same morals as Sombra.”

“Which is none.”

“Precisely.”

“Then what shall we do Tia? Aside from the rest of the dragons that inhabit the world; Spike, Dragon Lord Ember, her escort, and the one named Garble are the only ones that we know are alive. If this dragon has indeed killed the ones in the Dragon Lands, then they will be next.” Luna argued as Celestia looked out a window. A genocide of this scale hadn’t been heard of since the days of Grogar, tales that two of them hardly knew due to his reign being ended before the two became the rulers of Equestria. Although they had been alive since the tyrannical rule of King Sombra, and they had seen first hoof of the atrocities he had done.

They had never heard of a black dragon before, and Celestia’s choice for belief was that it either awakened from a very long sleep, or it had existed before they were born. The latter seemed to be the most likely option, but then it meant that there were only two beings with a good knowledge of history that existed before the two Alicorns.

Although, one of them was in Chaosville. Which left the only choice.

“I have a plan.”

In Twilight’s castle, Spike was silently making lunch. After being told by Ember, and assured by Twilight, that a good portion of his kin was dead he had kept to himself. What was once as simple as breathing, sending that letter to Celestia was far more of a task than he would’ve thought. Sure, he knew the weight of what he had been briefly told, but to hear his elder sister, practically his mother, speak it and have him write it down were two separate things. So much so that halfway through the letter she decided to write the rest on her own, visibly seeing him start to shake with each word he attempted to write.

That was only fifteen minutes ago. Still, Spike remained in the kitchen, mindlessly making everyone some food when he suddenly belched green fire. The sudden belch caused him to fall over and hit the ground with a thud, and then a scroll hit his face. Before he could even stand, Twilight had appeared and grasped him in her magic and was spinning him around to see if he had any injuries.

“Twilight! Put me down before I throw up!” Spike yelled, his face turning green as he was slowly and gently placed onto the ground. He wobbled a bit before regaining his balance, and as soon as he did, he glared at the lavender pony. “What the hay Twilight!? I’ve fallen off bigger heights and taken hits from Rainbow Dash and Derpy and been completely fine. Why are you so worried about this when I can swim in lava!?” Spike snapped at her, frustrated that he became dragon spin-top. Twilight’s wings ruffled in slight anger, but she managed to calm herself down as she solemnly stared at the young dragon.

“Because I was worried for you, that’s all. I heard you fall, and with recent news, I assumed the worst.” Twilight explained, which caused Spike to lose his glare and was replaced with a sorrowful look. Seeing this, Twilight gave him a bright smile. “But it’s fine, Spike. Knowing that you’re safe is all that matters to me.” Twilight finished as she nuzzled his head and he returned the gesture. As they finished Twilight looked over at the counter to see a scroll with a sun insignia sealing it shut.

“It’s from the princess. She must’ve made a plan.” Twilight murmured to herself, although it was also aimed towards Spike. Levitating it over, she opened it and began to read its contents.

Dear Twilight,

I must say that it brings me great sorrow to learn of the genocide that had taken place in the Dragon Lands. I hope that Dragon Lord Ember has, somehow, taken the news well, along with Spike and her escort Smolder. And I send my best wishes to Garble, hoping that he gets better physically and mentally.

However, in regards to this black dragon, neither I nor Luna have any idea as to where it came from. Although we do believe it must have existed since before we were born, our memories of history before those times are nearly nonexistent. As such, I have decided that the only beings with that sort of knowledge would be Discord or Tirek. Although with Discord in his home, Tirek is the quicker option as opposed to trying to summon Discord and waiting for him to respond, assuming that he does respond. With Tirek being imprisoned in Tartarus, it will make questioning him far easier and quicker.

I wish for you and Lord Ember to accompany me to Tartarus, leaving Luna in charge of Equestria. As for what you have suggested in your letter, I agree that it would be best to investigate the Dragon Lands rather than keep away from it entirely.

However, while I do not doubt Starlight’s prowess, I would have more peace of mind if she were accompanied by Discord, who is in Chaosville and will return within the day. As such, when he does return, have Fluttershy inform him of the events that have transpired. After that, Discord, Starlight, and Shining Armor, who is currently on his way to Ponyville, are to go and inspect the dragon lands.

While I wish I knew more about this dragon, about this new terror that plagues the world, I do not. However, once we’ve gathered enough information, we will go out and banish it to the depths of Tartarus.

I shall be in Ponyville within twenty minutes by the time I’ve sent the letter to retrieve both you and Lord Ember.

See you soon, Celestia

Twilight finished and remained silent for a few seconds before speaking. “Alright Spike, you know what the princess has planned, so me and Ember will be gone for the rest of the day. I want you to go find Fluttershy and Smolder and tell them what Celestia wrote. Shining will be here soon, and I can guess that he knows as well since he’s tagging along with Discord and Starlight. I’ll go tell Ember what’s happening, while you head off to find Fluttershy. Got it?” Twilight asked after summarizing the letter to her assistant. The young dragon nodded and gave a salute before running out of the kitchen…until he came back in, grabbed his sandwiches, and then left the castle.

Twilight giggled before running off to find Ember. If Princess Celestia believed that Tirek had the answers about the dragon, then she would fully trust her decision. However, that still meant that the dragon was out there, hunting down its kin. But she knew that she and her friends would overcome it, just like they always did; together as friends with their friendship.

After all, what was stronger than the magic friendship?

…

…

…

If only she knew…

In the Badlands of Equestria, the black dragon descended from the sky, its abyssal black wings darkened the land as it perched itself on a small hill. It surveyed its surroundings, knowing that a dragon was hiding somewhere. It sniffed the air once and snapped its head towards a cave that went underground. Now that it knew where it was, the dragon’s fate was sealed.

Suddenly, a bright light encased it, and it soon died down revealing a new creature. The dragon became a dark-skinned, muscular bideal figure. His sharp gaze and the black circles around his eyes made him look even more menacing. His dark blue hair matched his high-collared black cloak and baggy pants; the rising winds revealed familiar blue markings on his skin. Around his neck was a necklace made up of dragon claws, a sash around his waist, and two gold rings on each arm that were tightened around his upper arms.

He moved forward towards his destination, intending to continue what he had done in the dragon lands. He suddenly stopped in his stride, smelling and quickly seeing that more dragons were heading directly to him. They must’ve heard of the deaths he had caused, and seeing him transform into this form put two and two together. He realized that they were all coming to him, and he couldn’t have felt more pleased.

A sinister grin made its way onto his face. The hunted were coming to the hunter. The lambs led themselves to the slaughterhouse, making it all the more easier.

“Let the Dragon King’s festival begin.”