Last of the Dragonlords

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12 (part 1)
Chapter 12 (part 2)
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16 (part 1)
Chapter 16 (part 2)
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20 (part 1)
Chapter 20 (part 2)
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Chapter 4
Two Years Later...

Chapter 2

Within seconds, the flames cleared, and all that was left of Fluttershy was a charred frame that, without the mane and tail, resembled nothing of the pegasus. Rainbow could only stand and watch, frozen in horror as one of her best friends collapsed to the ground, dead.

Tears streamed down her cheeks like waterfalls as she could see the dragon standing proud over its kill. Rainbow felt sick – sick at seeing such a sight, and sick at herself. She had failed to look after her oldest, kindest and most loyal friend. She sat here on the bridge, while Fluttershy stood up to the dragon alone, because she was too scared to.

But as soon as those thoughts came, they disappeared, leaving only one thing. Vengeance.

She began running towards the dragon in a blind rage, ignoring Pinkie’s silent pleas behind her as she charged the monster. Applejack screamed at her and pounced on the pegasus before she could get any closer, Rainbow managed to roll over on her back and try to push the earth pony off, but found her too strong. “Get off of me, Applejack, or I swear-!” she roared as she struggled to get back up. She stopped when she noticed the tears rolling down her friend’s cheeks.

“I’m not going to lose you too, Rainbow!” she sobbed. She buried her face in Rainbow’s chest, not wanting to see what would come next. Rainbow could only watch, however, as the dragon emitted a triumphant roar, and with slow but deliberate movements, it moved closer to Fluttershy’s corpse.

Rainbow looked away and closed her eyes, her ears going flat in the hope it will tone down the sound of chewing. Suddenly a scream of surprise from Pinkie behind her filled her ears and she looked to where the dragon and Fluttershy was. For a second she thought she was going crazy, but she wasn’t.

Slowly and surely, Fluttershy was getting back up.

The dragon started to back away from the pegasus, its eyes wide in horror and its wings spread out, ready to fly away. Fluttershy was soon on her hooves and her burned form started to regain its pink skin, her mane and tail started to grow back rapidly, and her wings began to regain their form.

She started to walk towards the now cowering dragon, her pink skin turning yellow as her coat started to grow back, while her mane and tail had grown to their full length and seemed more elegant than before.

“Applejack,” Rainbow said in wonder, nudging the earth pony buried in her chest. “You’ve got to look at this!”

Curious as to what got the pegasus so stunned, she turned her head around, only to think her eyes would fall out of their sockets. “Impossible!” she exclaimed.

Fluttershy’s eyes flickered open, but they weren’t the usual kind, cyan colored friendly eyes the other ponies were used to. Instead, they were a golden color that seemed as bright as the sun, and a menace far greater than the dragon’s in front of her.

The dragon, in its desperation, bathed Fluttershy in fire again, but this time when the flames cleared, she was unharmed. The fire seemingly flowed around her, as if a shield protected her.

She spread her wings and took to the air faster than a Wonderbolt, landing on the dragons trembling snout and began to speak in a language that nopony in the area knew. However, the dragon seemed to know what it was, and trembled at every word. “Forlat Equestria nå, og aldri komme tilbake. Hvis du prøver å skade vennene mine igjen, skal jeg finne deg (Leave Equestria now, and never come back. If you hurt my freinds again, I will find you).”

The dragon didn’t need a second telling; it nodded its head and was quickly in the air, moving north with such speed that it seemed impossible for a creature its size. Fluttershy fluttered back to the ground, her breathing quick and heavy as her eyes regained their former color.

A groan from her right made her look up and with alarm saw Twilight on the ground, seemingly unable to move. “Twilight!” she called to the downed unicorn, and began walking over to her.

She suddenly started to feel her hind legs go numb, followed shortly by her forelegs. She collapsed to the ground; her vision became blurred and was unable to hear anything, just a faint ringing. With a small cry for help, she could only make out four ponies running up to her and Twilight before darkness encircled her again.

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a bright light. At first, she thought it was the sun, and she was next to it. She closed her eyes again and the world went dark once more. She opened and closed them for a while until she could make out where she was.

Fluttershy soon recognized that she was in her own bed, and found herself facing her bookshelf and table. She sat upright and ran a hoof down her mane, feeling it sticking up in places and doing her best to rub them down.

She groggily got out of bed and began walking towards the window. As soon as she put her right leg forward and down, it gave way and she fell on one knee. She sat upright and started pressing the offending leg down onto the ground, until she felt sure it would take her weight. She tried again, this time with great success, and walked to the window and opened it; looking outside and breathing in the fresh, cool air.

The day was a true summer’s day, with only one or two clouds hanging overhead of her cottage. However, that wasn’t much to complain about since rogue clouds came over from the Everfree Forest many times. She looked into her garden and could see a few birds heading back into their nests in the birdhouses that she made. She saw her chickens running about, pecking at the chicken feed that had been left on the ground.

She smiled as she watched a squirrel pick up some nuts that had dropped from the ground and proceeded up the tallest tree. She guessed the nuts must be to feed his family and sighed. Then she looked over to where the sun would usually be rising to start Equestria in a new day.

“Oh no!” She squeaked when she noticed the sun wasn’t where it should be. “It must be the afternoon, and I hadn’t fed any of my animals yet! Oh Fluttershy, you selfish, selfish pony!” She spun around and made her way to the stairs in a gallop.

She froze when she heard the sound of hoofsteps coming from downstairs, and what seemed to be humming. She squeaked and dived under her bed, shaking violently and unsure of what to do; unsure if Angel was all right, although the first thing that sprang to her mind was him with a sword in his paw, fighting the intruder before dying dramatically.

As soon as she thought it, Fluttershy declared the idea as ludicrous. Besides, why would she have a sword? She thought about diving out the window and getting Applejack or Rainbow Dash to help, but she didn’t want to interrupt them and the intruder could make off with many of her possessions while she was gone.

Eventually she decided to see who this pony was and see if they would politely leave. Getting on her belly, she crawled out from under the bed, crawled across her bedroom and made her way down the stairs. She craned her neck to see through the gap and gasped at who was there.

Twilight Sparkle stood in the centre of her living room facing the front door, with Angel on her back, and all her brooms, brushes and other cleaning materials that she had all over the place being guided by Twilight’s magic.

“Okay,” Twilight said, checking off another item on a list that was hovering in front of her. She turned her head to the rabbit on her back. “That takes care of the house. What’s next, Angel?”

Fluttershy got back on her hooves and moved back down the stairs to make herself visible to the unicorn. “Twilight?” she called. At once Twilight’s horn stopped glowing and everything crashed onto the ground. Twilight turned slowly around to face Fluttershy, who had now moved from the top of the stairs and into the living room, her eyes wide in shock and surprise.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Fluttershy squeaked. “I didn’t mean to startle you like that. It’s just that I was sleeping and… well I must have laid in late and I didn’t realise it was you I thought it was a intruder and…” She realised she was rambling and covered her mouth over with a hoof to stop. A few seconds later she removed it and said, “Um… how are you?”

Twilight disappeared in a flash of light, only to reappear in front of the pegasus and wrapped her legs around her in a tight hug. Fluttershy gasped for air and tried to loosen Twilight’s grip around her, but stopped when she heard the unicorn starting to cry. The pegasus relaxed and wrapped her legs around Twilight, and gently rubbed a hoof down her friend’s back. “It’s okay, Twilight,” she cooed softly. “It’ll be okay… just let it all out.”

She didn’t need to ask what was wrong, she could clearly see that Twilight was pained by something and knew she would be told later. But right now, the unicorn needed comforting and a friend.

After a few moments, Twilight lifted her head out of Fluttershy’s chest and looked her in the eyes, a big smile across her face and her eyes brimming with delight. “I’m sorry about this… it’s silly of me, I know, but… I’m just so happy to see you finally awake… it sort of came out like that.” Twilight sniffed. “And I know things are going to be better from now on.”

Fluttershy gave Twilight a look of confusion. “What do you mean ‘finally awake’?”

Twilight’s own smile faded and she cocked her head slightly to the side. “You mean… you don’t remember the dragon attack?”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened, and in a split second it came back to her: the spa date with Rarity, going to market for apples, the dragon attacking, getting separated from them in the panic, confronting the dragon and finally the smell of burning skin – her own skin.

Fluttershy stepped back from Twilight in a panic. “That was real?! Oh no, I thought it was a dream! Where is everypony?! Is everyone okay?! Are you okay?!”

Twilight placed her hooves on the pegasus’s shoulder and shook her gently to calm her down. “Fluttershy, it’s okay!” she shouted calmly. “We’re all okay. Thanks to you, everything’s fine.”

“Why?” Fluttershy asked frantically. “Why me? What happened?”

Twilight motioned Fluttershy to sit on the couch and told her to wait while she made the tea and cleaned up the room. With a flick of her horn, the cleaning materials were gone and back in her cupboard under the stairs.

As Fluttershy waited, Angel, who had been waiting for Twilight to get out of the way, leapt up into the pegasus’s lap and gave her a big hug. “Oh, Angel,” she said to the bunny, “I’m so sorry I worried you like that. I promise I won’t do anything like that again.”

A few moments later Twilight came back in from the kitchen with a tray with two cups and a pot of tea on it. She levitated it onto a table, filled the cups with tea, and allowed the pegasus to have a few sips to calm her nerves before beginning her story.

“You were amazing, Fluttershy,” Twilight began. “According to Applejack you walked right up to that dragon and scolded it for the damage it had done.” She paused for a moment, her smile faded, before continuing. “And then you disappeared in flames. When the smoke cleared, all that was left of you was a burnt out hull.”

Fluttershy’s jaw dropped and she clung to Angel tighter than she should have done, the bunny letting out a gasp of protest. “Oh sorry, Angel.” She let the bunny go and faced Twilight once again. “Please continue.”

Twilight nodded. “Well, after a while you started getting back up, and your burnt body began to heal almost instantly. You then flew up to the dragon and started speaking to it in a language… well, she couldn’t tell me because she couldn’t understand it, but its effects were clear. As soon as you stopped speaking, the dragon flew into the sky and fled north with its tail between its legs.

“And then you collapsed trying to reach me. After checking to see if you and I were alive, Applejack and Rainbow took us both to the hospital, but only one bed was available and it was decided I was the worst off so they took me in.”

“I wouldn’t have had it any other way,” Fluttershy interrupted. “Oh sorry… you can go on,” she said upon noticing Twilight’s look.

“Yeah anyway,” Twilight continued. “It turned out I had a few broken ribs from the impact and was internally bleeding in various places. The doctors didn’t know whether I would recover or not."

“Meanwhile, Rainbow took you back to here and put you in your bed, comforted Angel, and waited until the doctor came to check on you. Applejack stayed with me to see if I would be well looked after, and then came over here with the doctor.

“The doctor said later you were in a coma, but it wasn’t a coma so to speak. You were moving about and breathing normally as if you were sleeping, but the doctor couldn’t think of what else to call it so he called it that, but I would call it a sort of suspension.”

“Like hibernation,” Fluttershy said. “Except I never lost any weight and it was difficult to get out of bed.”

“Yeah, that seems more like it,” Twilight said with a smile. “Anyway, the doctor said…” She paused to hold back tears that were about to burst through again. “You might never wake up again.”

Twilight took a minute to compose herself and continued. “Pinkie ran off in tears apparently, and Rainbow left in a mix of rage and despair, angry that the doctor couldn’t do anything. So Applejack and Rarity said they would look after you and the animals until you woke up.”

Fluttershy was stunned. “So how long I’ve been in a ‘coma’ for?”

“It’s been about a month now,” Twilight answered grimly.

Fluttershy gasped. “A-a wh-whole month!” she spluttered. Twilight nodded. “Oh, I’m so sorry I missed your birthday. Happy birthday, if that’s any consolation.”

Twilight smiled. “Thanks, Fluttershy, but it wasn’t a great birthday. I was still in a coma when it came round.” She sighed before continuing the story. “Two weeks ago I woke up and found Applejack by my side. I learnt of what happened to you and… to be honest, I couldn’t stop crying.

“I offered to help around the cottage to give Applejack and Rarity a rest. And that was how it was for the last two weeks,” Twilight finished, and sipped some of her tea.

“Oh… my,” Fluttershy said. She shook her head and asked, “But what about Pinkie?”

Twilight frowned and said sadly, “Pinkie went into seclusion after hearing you’ll never wake up. She hasn’t come out since.”

Fluttershy gasped and covered her mouth up with a hoof. “Can we do anything to help her?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes, but at the moment there’s more concerning matters at hoof. Mostly about you.”

Fluttershy put a hoof to her chest. “Me? What about me? I feel fine now, the only problem is my wings feel a bit achy.” She proved this by trying to stretch out her wings, but couldn’t go no further than half way before having to grit her teeth and shoot them back to her side. “But that’s it, Twilight. There’s no need to worry about me further.”

“But there is,” Twilight argued. “So many things happened around you survival that concern me. Not that I’m not happy that you’re still alive, but I’m only worried for you, Fluttershy.”

“Like what?” Fluttershy asked, tilting her head to the right.

“Well,” Twilight answered, “the first thing is that according to AJ, once you got on your hooves the dragon tried breathing fire on you again, only this time you walked through it as if it wasn’t there.”

She paused to think of what to say next. “If you’d like, I want to see if this works, and don’t worry if you don’t want to do it. But… could you walk into the fireplace for me please?”

“But it’s still burning,” Fluttershy protested, looking towards her fireplace, which was burning fiercely.

“I know, but I will be right beside you,” Twilight said encouragingly. “I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you, Fluttershy. I promise.”

Fluttershy looked to the fireplace, then back to Twilight. She could see the look in her friend’s eyes that told her she needed her to do this, for her own sake as much as the unicorn’s. Eventually, Fluttershy reluctantly nodded. “Okay, Twilight, I’ll do this, for you.”

She got off the couch and walked over to the fireplace, Twilight close behind her. “Just stretch a hoof over it first,” Twilight said softly. “Should you feel any pain then move it away quickly and I’ll treat it, okay?”

Fluttershy nodded with a smile, and with slow movements, she raised her right leg over the fire and then lowered it into the thick of the flames. She closed her eyes, looked away, gritted her teeth and got ready to move it away.

But she couldn’t feel anything, no burning sensation on her leg, not the feeling of skin being ripped off by the flames, nothing. She opened her eyes to see the flames swirling around her leg in a sort of dance; it felt warm, friendly and surprisingly relaxing.

Twilight grinned; glad to see the first part was working. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go on!” She encouraged the pegasus by nudging her in the backside. With a squeak, Fluttershy fell fully into the fire. She didn’t squirm or panic, instead she felt a nice relaxing sensation, she felt as if she could sleep here and never be disturbed. And, although she would probably hate to admit it to Rarity, it was more relaxing than any massage the spa twins had ever given.

Fluttershy couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. Instead, she closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of content.

Twilight on the other hoof thought if her jaw could fall any lower, it would be under the floorboards and in Tartarus. If Fluttershy told her she was able to break every rule regarding the element of fire, she wouldn’t have been able to believe her. Fire was an element nopony could, or should ever master. And yet, her friend seemed to have just done that, and if she was completely honest, she couldn’t think of a better pony to have done so.

“How does it feel?” Twilight enquired, upon noticing the pegasus’ relaxed nature.

“It feels… nice,” she answered mind-absently. Twilight rolled her eyes. She would have preferred a different answer, but since it was Fluttershy she’d let it slip.

“All right,” Twilight said with a chuckle. “Come on out now before you get too sooty.”

Fluttershy stepped out of the fireplace; a goofy grin across her face, while her whole back and face was covered in soot and ash from the fire. The pegasus looked behind her and noticed how sooty she was. She blushed in embarrassment. “Did I really just stand in fire?” she asked aloud.

Twilight nodded. “Yes, yes you did.” She put a hoof on the pegasus’ shoulder. “That was incredible! I would never had believed such a thing if I wasn’t there to witness it!” she said with a grin.

Fluttershy smiled. “I’m glad you liked it, and I’m glad that it worked out all right. But now I’m wondering what the second thing that was concerning you about?”

“Oh yeah,” Twilight said. “I forgot about that. You know how Applejack said that when you spoke to the dragon you spoke some language that nopony had ever heard?” Fluttershy nodded. “I was wondering whether you would be kind enough to say some words so I could see if I know it, please?”

Fluttershy broke her gaze off the unicorn and pondered on what she meant. She drifted off back into her mind and found herself looking at various words and phrases in the Equestrian language, the only language she ever truly learnt. Suddenly she found those words drifting to the back of her mind and moving forward came a whole new bunch of words and phrases. She saw them as clear as day and knew how they were spoken; it was as if she knew them from birth.

She picked what she was going to say, she opened her eyes again, looked at Twilight who was standing in anticipation and said, “Dette er språket du mente, Twilight? Kan du forstå meg? (This is the language you meant, Twilight? Can you understand me?)”

The world seemed to darken slightly as she spoke; the animals that roamed the house fled to their houses and nests, or scurried back outside. Twilight could feel a slight chill at the coldness that seemed to come from Fluttershy’s words. With a sigh, she shook her head. “I have no idea what that was, Fluttershy. But whatever that language was, it was ancient – impossibly ancient.”

Fluttershy pouted, upset and a little bit surprised her intelligent friend didn’t know what it was. “There must be something at your library that could help,” she suggested. As soon as she said it, she regretted it, hoping the library wasn’t destroyed in the attack and she’d just upset her friend for mentioning it.

Twilight grinned and seemed to hop for joy. “Of course!” she exclaimed, “I forgot about the library. We’ll head there right away!”

“Could we wait a few minutes please, Twilight? I need to clean up and… I really need to use the bathroom!” Fluttershy declared. In a cloud of dust and soot, she disappeared up the stairs before her friend could respond.

After a few minutes wait, Fluttershy returned downstairs, her mane looking fresh and it seemed to smell like blackcurrants, her body washed and cleaned and smelt of lavender. “Ready?” Twilight asked. The pegasus nodded. “Right then, let's go.”

With a gentle push of a hoof, Twilight opened the front door and walked into the bright sunlight. Fluttershy squinted and covered her eyes with a hoof as she stepped out into the sun, which was directly in front of her. “Oh, sorry,” Twilight said. “I should’ve given these to you. They should help with the sun until your eyes adjust.” She brought out from nowhere a pair of sunglasses. “Rainbow gave them to me,” Twilight explained. “She said to give them to you when you woke up.”

Fluttershy took them in her hooves and placed them on her head and over her eyes. “She still thought I might wake up?”

Twilight nodded. “Oh yes, we all never gave up on you, Fluttershy.” She smiled. “We never could and we never wanted to, knowing you would do the same if we were in your hooves.”

Fluttershy grinned and nuzzled Twilight affectionately. “Thanks, Twilight, for being such a good friend.”

Twilight returned the nuzzle. “You’re welcome, Fluttershy. And I want to thank you for saving my life.”

The two broke the contact and as they walked over the bridge, Fluttershy began to admire the town in front of her. She could see some buildings were still being rebuilt, but otherwise the town seemed to have returned to normal.

“Ah yes,” Twilight said upon noticing Fluttershy’s gaze on Ponyville. “After the attack, Princess Celestia, upon hearing of it, rushed to the aid of the town with every material the entire country could offer. She, and most of us were glad and amazed nopony was killed, but when she heard about you and me she openly wept, so did Spike who came down with her. He was so happy to see me awake that he cried, and I rarely see him cry.”

That’s when Fluttershy realised something. She wasn’t, no, she shouldn’t be the priority here. She turned to look at her friend. “Twilight? Shouldn’t we go and see our friends first? I hate to think I’m walking around town and they think I’m still asleep.”

Twilight knew Fluttershy had a point; it would seem rude of her and the pegasus if they strolled around town and they all thought she was still in her bed.

“We will,” she finally answered. “This shouldn’t take long anyway, maybe half an hour tops. And once we’re done we go around and let everypony know, okay?”

Fluttershy didn’t like letting them not know for even a minute, but like Twilight said, half an hour wouldn’t hurt, right? “Okay, Twilight,” she said, and then added sternly, “Just half an hour and then we go and get our friends.”

“You have my word. Oh, and expect some ponies to be in awe of you,” Twilight said. “You’re kind of a national hero as well for getting rid of that dragon, so expect a lot of attention.”

Fluttershy froze. “A lot?” she asked.

“Oh yes, hundreds will probably admire you,” Twilight replied. She stopped a few metres away to see Fluttershy frozen in place, shaking with fear. The unicorn cursed herself and trotted back to the pegasus. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy, I forgot you’re not good with crowds. I’ll keep close to you and if it gets too much, I’ll try to get everypony away.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Thanks, Twilight, and I’m sorry. I wish I wasn’t so useless all the time.”

“You are never useless, Fluttershy,” Twilight said sternly. Then added with a smile, “How can a pony who took care of two dragons singlehoofedly be useless?”

Fluttershy smiled and began trotting into town, with Twilight close behind.

A vast crowd filled the streets as they passed; most of them were busy in the re-development of Ponyville, delivering wood for some of the structures that had been destroyed. While others were walking about idly, chatting to other ponies as they walked past.

Noone seemed to notice Fluttershy and Twilight at the moment, for which the pegasus was grateful, but she and Twilight knew that would change soon, and they weren't left waiting. As they walked through Trotting Road, usually the busiest street in Ponyville, they soon found many eyes watching them, and the whispers began.

Some of those that were in their way stepped aside, bowing their heads in respect and awe of the pegasus that had singlehoofedly saved the town. Fluttershy returned the nods meekly but she kept her head low, and her mane over her face, with only one eye looking out to see where she was going.

Twilight looked around to see now everything went quiet; all eyes were now turned on her yellow friend next to her. She saw an excited young filly being held back by her mother so not to disturb the already troubled looking pegasus, while others ran away, probably to spread the news of Fluttershy’s miraculous recovery.

They weren’t stares of hate, both of them knew, but they made Fluttershy uncomfortable and Twilight didn’t like it. “Right!” Twilight yelled, stomping her hoof on the ground. “Why don’t you all get on with whatever you were doing and leave her alone!”

The ponies around the street instantly looked the other way and began getting about their business as if nothing happened. But the whispers continued, and although Twilight heard nothing, Fluttershy heard them as if they were being spoken aloud.

“Isn’t she dead?”

“I heard she got burnt to death.”

“I thought she was in a coma.”

“It's impossible she’s even alive,” were some of the many whispers that Fluttershy could strangely hear. She just trotted a little faster than usual to get the library, Twilight noticed the increase in her speed and copied her.

When they reached the library Twilight opened the door with her magic and Fluttershy charged straight through, not stopping until she reached the first floor of Twilight’s library. The library was the same as ever, she mused, books thrown as if a baby had thrown its toys out of the pram. She made herself comfortable on one of the pillows, and waited until Twilight appeared. “Sorry about that,” she said. “I just don’t like seeing you uncomfortable. And sorry about the mess, I just haven’t had the time to clean this place up properly.” She looked at the pegasus with a concerned expression “Are you all right?”

Fluttershy nodded. “I’m okay, I guess. I’ve just got shivers down my back.”

“That means some pony’s talking about you,” Twilight chuckled. Fluttershy chuckled too.

“Don’t I know it?” she muttered. Twilight heard her and tilted her head slightly to the side in confusion.

“What do you mean?” she asked inquisitively. Fluttershy knew she couldn’t get out of this, so she briefly told Twilight on how she was able to hear the ponies on the street talking about her, even though they were whispering. Twilight couldn’t help but be fascinated by this, and began pondering on what to do.

“Fluttershy? Could you lay on the couch please while I examine your ears?” she asked, pointing to the couch by the side of the room.

“But shouldn’t a doctor do that?” Fluttershy asked, even though she was walking over to it.

Twilight shook her head. “Nonsense. I know a spell that examines eyes and ears and gives me a diagnosis much quicker than a normal doctor,” Twilight said with a grin.

“O-okay,” Fluttershy stammered, and laid down on the couch on her stomach. Upon the pegasus’ signal, Twilight lowered her head and brought her horn to touch the Fluttershy’s left ear. She closed her eyes and concentrated the spell, which sent a flow of magic through her friend’s ears.

Fluttershy tried her hardest not to laugh; she needed to lay still but the tickling sensation she was receiving from the spell wasn’t helping. Eventually she gave in and started laughing “S-stop it, Twilight! It tickles,” she said between giggles.

Twilight found herself trying not to laugh. It seemed Fluttershy’s giggling was infectious, and now was spreading to her. She was glad to hear Fluttershy laughing after such a long time; all of her friends would agree that her laugh was one of the most loving sounds in the world.

She pulled away from Fluttershy and after closing her eyes, began examining what she found. Fluttershy meanwhile rose off the couch, clutching her stomach from laughing so much, and waited for Twilight to give her diagnosis.

When Twilight opened her eyes again, they were of surprise. “It seems, Fluttershy, that you have a far greater hearing than anypony in the world. I’ve never seen an account of a pony with hearing greater than yours,” she said plainly, trying her best impression of a doctor.

Fluttershy was taken aback; she’d never expected to be wholly superior at one thing. But now she had a bit of a mischievous side going. She walked up to Twilight, turned her head to the side, with a hoof by the ear and said, “Pardon.”

Fluttershy couldn’t stop laughing from the gormless look Twilight was giving. The unicorn eventually snapped out of it and looked at the rolling around pegasus with half a smile and a shaking of the head. “That was not funny at all, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy got off the ground and wiped a small tear from her eye. “Really? I thought I timed it just right.”

“What’s so funny down there? Who’s that with you?” the voice of a certain dragon called from upstairs. They watched as Spike appeared into the room and began walking into the kitchen. “Hey, Twilight, sorry I woke up a bit late. Oh, hey, Fluttershy, nice to see ya.”

Before he entered the kitchen he stopped and did a double take when he realised he was talking to a pony that yesterday, was lying in her bed. “Fluttershy?”

The pegasus, with a big smile, meekly waved at the baby dragon. “Hello, Spike, how are you?” she asked.

Spike ran up to her and wrapped his arms in a big hug, the two of them locking in a tight embrace. “I thought I would never see you again,” he sobbed as tears of joy came into his eyes.

“It’s okay, Spike,” Fluttershy said, rubbing a hoof across his scales. “Everything’s okay now.”

Twilight felt her heart melt as the scene unfolded before her. Just then, an idea came into her mind, so she walked over to them. “Spike, I was just thinking. Fluttershy, would you mind saying some words in that language of yours to see if Spike might recognise it?”

“Do you think Spike would recognise it?” Fluttershy asked.

“May do, he is a dragon after all, and your new language worked on a dragon, so give it a shot.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. She took a deep breath and said, “Hei, Spike, hvordan har du det?” (Hi, Spike, how are you?)

Like before, the room seemed to grow dimmer as a result, and again a chill crawled up Twilight’s and Spike’s spines. “I only got the Spike bit, but that’s it. Sorry,” he said sadly.

Fluttershy sighed. Twilight patted her on the shoulder. “No worries, it was worth a shot.” She turned to the baby dragon. “Now, Spike, get any books that focus on languages, both ancient and modern, dictionaries, anything, and bring them back here and help us find these words.”

Spike saluted and ran up the stairs to the library. Twilight grinned at Fluttershy. “We’ll find that name of this language, don’t worry about it.”

Fluttershy was unconvinced, but nodded nonetheless.

Soon Spike came down with the first two books for the two ponies to start on through. For the next twenty minutes, they all rummaged through any books that had anything to do with languages no matter how small. Sometimes Twilight thought they had a breakthrough and showed Fluttershy; the pegasus shook her head, however, and with a groan the unicorn continued.

Around half an hour later and they both groaned in frustration. They had searched around twenty books on all known languages, and not even one that sounded similar to the two ponies. “I wonder if Princess Celestia could help,” Fluttershy suggested absently.

Twilight raised her head from the book and looked at her friend with wide eyes. “What?”

“The Princess has lived for over a thousand years, maybe more, so she might remember the culture of whoever spoke it. And secondly, Canterlot has the biggest library in the world, so that might have something.” Fluttershy explained.

Twilight pondered this. It was plausible and had a chance of working, but Twilight didn’t want to disturb the Princess over something that could be little. Before she said could say anything, however, a barrage of knocks on the door made them all jump in the air a few centimetres.

“I’ll get that. I’ll think it over, as well,” she said and headed to the door. When she opened it, she found Applejack with a wide smile on her face and panting as if she’d just run a marathon.

“Is it true? Is Fluttershy awake?” Applejack asked. With a smile, Twilight nodded and stepped out of the way. Applejack raced through and up the stairs, and grabbed Fluttershy and gripped her in a tight hug.

“Oh, Fluttershy!” Applejack sobbed joyfully. “I never thought I would see ya again. Ya don’t know how worried we’ve been about ya, sugarcube. So don’t go worrying us like that again! Please?”

Fluttershy, having recovered from the shock arrival of Applejack, wrapped her legs around her friend and gripped even tighter, thinking she too would soon be crying. “I won’t, Applejack, I promise,” she said quietly.

Applejack pulled away and looked into her eyes, her own streaming with tears. “Do ya Pinkie promise?”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Fluttershy promised with a bright smile. She then embraced Applejack once again, who was still crying tears of joy. While watching them, Twilight could feel tears in her own eyes and a small smile across her lips as she watched the warming scene in front of her.

Applejack couldn’t believe it. Near a month ago, the doctor at the hospital had told them that there was too small a chance Fluttershy would ever wake up from her coma. And yet, her pegasus friend had defied those odds and is now out of bed as if she was merely sleeping. She wouldn’t be surprised if Fluttershy got a few visits from the doctors, who would be clearly baffled by her recovery.

“I tell ya right now, Fluttershy,” Applejack said. “I don’t think I was never more scared or more overjoyed when ya got back up from being killed and then sent that dragon flying with its tail between its legs.”

Fluttershy blushed and took a sip of the tea Spike had made during their emotional reunion. “I’m… glad you think so, Applejack. So, what have you been up to the month I was away?”

“Well apart from taking care of ya, sugarcube,” Applejack answered, “I helped in the rebuilding of the town and helped tend to some of those who were now homeless. We let most of them stay in the barn and any spare space we could find, and helped ponies who came back looking for those who were injured in the attack. And speaking of which, what happened to ya after the dragon attacked?”

Fluttershy looked away, as if she was ashamed of it. “I got swept away in the crowd when it attacked. When I managed to get free I ran back to the market to find you and Rarity, but you’d gone, so I ran. I first headed back to my cottage to hide and hope it would go away, then I saw the dragon land near the library so I galloped as fast as I can to see if you were all there, the rest you know. I’m sorry for abandoning you.”

“Oh don’t you worry any, sugarcube. And ya didn’t abandon us, ya came and saved us,” Applejack said, Twilight nodding in agreement beside her. “Why,” she continued, “if it wasn’t for you, Twilight here would’ve been killed. Actually it was a miracle nopony was killed.”

“But I was killed, Applejack,” Fluttershy said grimly.

A grave silence filled the room once Fluttershy finished speaking. Applejack looked gravely at the pegasus, and then smiled, returning to her friendly demeanour. “Ya were, sugarcube. But ya here now, and with us still. The Princesses must have been smiling on ya that day.”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when her ears pricked right up. She could hear screaming, screaming from a familiar pegasus pony. As the screaming got louder so she ducked out of the way and hid behind the couch, without giving an explanation to her behaviour.

“Uh, sugarcube… what are ya do-” Applejack tried to say, but couldn’t finish as she and Twilight had the air blown out of them and were soon on the ground with a rainbow-maned pegasus pony on top of them after crashing through the roof.

Rainbow Dash picked herself off the floor, and silently helped Applejack and Twilight off as well. The two mares glared at her while all she could do was sheepishly grin. Fluttershy crawled out from her hiding place and was about to speak before Rainbow Dash started talking. “Sorry ‘bout that, ladies. A new trick… didn’t quite work out. I’m hoping that when I get it right, Fluttershy would be there to cheer me on.”

Fluttershy moved to stand behind Rainbow, who hadn’t noticed her approach. “Yay,” she cheered into her ear. “Was that loud enough? Or do I need to work on it a bit more?” she asked.

Rainbow Dash froze, her eyes went wide in shock and her heart seemed to skip a beat. She looked to the others to see if they heard that. Their small smiles confirmed to her they had. She slowly turned around and she let out a gasp of joy when she faced her oldest friend, for the first time in a month.

Rainbow felt water welling up in her eyes as she wrapped her forelegs faster around Fluttershy than she could take off. “I never… thought I would hear that feeble cheering… again,” she said between sniffles.

“You were awesome, Fluttershy!” Rainbow said later as the five friends sat around the table. “You walked right up to that dragon and gave it a piece of your mind. I’ve never seen a dragon move so fast in my life.”

“I’m just glad that everypony’s safe, that’s all,” Fluttershy said with a small smile, which faded slightly. “Speaking of which, what happened to the dragon?”

“Well,” Rainbow answered. “After what happened to you I along with a few other pegasi went after him. We never found it, I’m afraid.” Rainbow went silent for a moment, her ears flattened and her eyes started to water. “Listen, Fluttershy, I’m… I’m sorry I never went to see you when you were asleep. I just… didn’t have the courage to go back after… that.”

Fluttershy felt her heart break at the sight of her friend in such grief. She wrapped her forelegs around her and said gently, “It’s okay, Rainbow Dash. There’s nothing to be sorry for.” She broke away from the hug and wrapped a leg each around Twilight and Applejack. “Besides, I had the best carers in the world looking after me.”

Rainbow grinned and started talking to Applejack about something, Twilight joining in a second later. Fluttershy stayed silent but continued grinning as she looked at each of her friend’s faces. Each one with a wide smile and joy in their eyes, something she saw today hadn’t happened in over a month.

“So, sugarcube, how did you know Rainbow was about to burst into the library like she did?” Applejack asked Fluttershy.

Fluttershy could see all eyes were now on her and immediately shied away. “Um…” she murmured and brought her mane in front of her face. “I just heard her, that’s all,” she said quietly, but loud enough so that they could hear.

“But how? I was right next to ya and I didn’t hear a thing,” Applejack said.

Rainbow, although interested, shied away and a small blush of embarrassment appeared on her cheeks. “You didn’t hear me screaming did you?” she said quietly, suddenly adding, “Not that I was screaming of course.”

Fluttershy gave a meek nod for a reply and Applejack’s smirk in her direction made Rainbow want to sink away. “Sorry, Rainbow,” Fluttershy squeaked.

Twilight leaned over and brushed Fluttershy’s mane away from her face. “Because Fluttershy is somehow able to hear better than anypony on record,” she answered for the pegasus.

Applejack gasped. “What, even better than the Princesses?”

Twilight nodded. “Possible. Celestia and Luna’s hearing are about the same as us. The only creatures I know on the planet that have better hearing than anything are dragon's.”

“So how did that happen?” Rainbow queried. “Did the dragon give her some of its abilities when it…” she trailed off, not wanting to say the next word.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door and the sound of a familiar unicorn pony. “Hellooo? Is anypony home?” Rarity called out from the bottom floor.

“Up here, Rarity!” Twilight called back. She then turned to face Fluttershy, only to find her gone and to see a glimpse of a pink tail running down the stairs to greet her friend.

“I just wanted to see if you were home yet and to see what I needed to do at Fluttershy’s…” Rarity stopped and gasped when she saw the yellow pegasus standing in front of her with a wide grin. Rarity felt a grin on her face form as she walked up with wide, disbelieving eyes.

“Is that you, Fluttershy?” she asked, reaching out to touch her to see if this was real, her best friend really was alive and well and in front of her. Fluttershy grin widened and she jumped onto the unicorn, hugging her tight. Rarity responded in kind.

“I can’t believe it,” Rarity wept. “It really is you.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said repeatedly.

“You have nothing to be sorry about, Fluttershy,” Rarity responded. “What you did was the most noble and bravest thing I have ever seen.”

“Not that,” Fluttershy looked into her eyes. “I’m sorry for losing you and you had to risk your life looking for me.”

Rarity shook her head firmly. “Don’t be silly, Fluttershy. I still would have done it in any circumstance.” She smiled. “Now let’s say we forget this nonsense, go upstairs, and join Twilight.”

Fluttershy nodded. “And Applejack and Rainbow.”

Rarity’s eyes widened. “Applejack and Rainbow are here too?” Nods from the pegasus made Rarity’s grin grow even bigger. She raced upstairs and out of sight. Fluttershy made it just in time to see a warming group hug of her four friends.

“What ya doing standing there, Fluttershy? Come and join us!” Applejack said motioning with a hoof for her to join them.

Fluttershy took a step forward, before suddenly freezing on the spot. Five out of six of her friends were here, and yet it still felt empty. They needed Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy took a step back and turned to face the stairs once again.

“Darling, where are you going?” Rarity called after her.

“I’m going to get Pinkie Pie,” she responded, before breaking into a gallop and out the library door.

The path around the library was full of ponies; every single one of them turned their heads when Fluttershy emerged. The pegasus gave them a meek wave of a hoof, and then she spread her wings and took to the air.

It didn’t take long before she arrived at the front of Sugarcube Corner. The candy looking store still looked as edible as the last time she stood before it. Fluttershy tucked her wings to her side and walked in.

She walked in to hear Mr and Mrs Cake muttering about something in the back room, while the aroma of a freshly baked carrot cake filled her nostrils. Mrs Cake then walked out with a tray filled with something. “Hi, Mrs Cake,” Fluttershy greeted her as she walked out.

The earth pony turned to see whom it was and gasped upon seeing Fluttershy, dropping the tray in the process.

“Oh my!” Fluttershy gasped. “I’m sorry about that, Mrs Cake. Here, let me help you,” she said as she walked over.

But Mrs Cake waved it away. “Oh don’t worry about it, Fluttershy. I was just surprised, and might I say glad, to see you all better.”

“Thank you, Mrs Cake, but I can’t stop. I’m here to see Pinkie Pie.”

The smile on Mrs Cake faded slightly. “Fluttershy, I suggest caution when you go up there. Pinkie hasn’t come out in a month, and at night, we hear her moaning and muttering something in her sleep. But I know if there is one pony who could bring her out of it, it’s you.”

Fluttershy nodded her thanks and made her way up the stairs. She walked slowly so as not to startle Pinkie. When she made it to the door, she pricked her ears up to hear if Pinkie was awake, unfortunately she couldn’t hear anything coming from the room. She questioned coming here, but only for a second. Her friend was in pieces in there, and Fluttershy was here to put her back together. So she took a deep breath and opened the door.

Pinkie’s room was a mess. The tables had fallen over, the floor was dusty and the bed was a huge lump of duvets and pillows. Fluttershy heart started to beat a little faster; there was no movement, none at all. Where was she? She started to fear that the earth pony might have run away, too upset to stay here and see what might have been her funeral. She shook her head fiercely, hoping to get rid of such thoughts. She walked further, heading towards the bed, soon her ears could pick up the sound of quiet, slow breathing. “Pinkie? Are you here? It’s me, Fluttershy.”

The lump of duvets rose up and showed a completely red-eyed pink earth pony with her mane and tail looking straight and her coat far darker than before. Pinkie’s eyes widened upon seeing the pegasus, who took a step forward to hug her. Pinkie jumped off the bed and stepped back towards the window, frantically shaking her head.

“You’re not here, you’re in my head again, this is a dream, I know it! I’ve had so many of you finally coming, but every time I wake up and you’re not there, you’re never there!” she accused, pointing a hoof at the pegasus. It made Fluttershy’s fragile heart shatter and she could feel tears appear in her own eyes.

‘Pinkie Pie has suffered enough!’ she thought. Without hesitating, she leapt onto the earth pony, who was too slow to get out of the way, and wrapped her forearms around her pink friend. At first Pinkie struggled, believing Fluttershy to be a demon of some sort in her nightmares, but Fluttershy held on, gripping tight until finally Pinkie calmed down.

“I’m here, Pinkie. I’ll always be here and I will never leave your side again. I promise,” Fluttershy said as she placed Pinkie’s hoof on her cheek. “See, I’m here. You can feel me, touch me. I’m not a ghost or a demon. I’m here to save you.”

Pinkie looked into Fluttershy eyes, and saw what she wanted to see. In her dreams, after the first week when Fluttershy was in a coma, she saw coldness in the kind pegasus’ eyes, her warm friendly spirit not present in those dreams. But here it was different; the kindness, the warm-hearted friendliness that she had was in there. At that moment, she realised this wasn’t a dream; Fluttershy had finally woken up, and was here to see her. She removed her hoof from Fluttershy’s cheek and said softly, “It is you. You’re actually here.”

Fluttershy grinned and nodded. In an instant Pinkie demeanour changed, from depressed and mentally scarred, to her normal self. Her mane and tail immediately returned to their poofy self and she shrieked for sheer joy and bounced around the room.

When Mrs Cake heard this, she looked up, heard the hopping, and smiled. “Thank you, Fluttershy,” she whispered.

“Oh, Fluttershy!” Pinkie started, “It’s been horrible without you here. When I was told you might not wake up, I stayed in here and cried my eyes out. Then I didn’t accept any invitations, or send any out and I abandoned my friends, who I don’t think were together since the dragon attack anyway but oh I missed you sooooooo much!” She finished by leaping onto Fluttershy in a hug.

“I missed you too,” Fluttershy responded. Pinkie shook her head.

“No you didn’t. For you see when you’re a coma patient time moves faster, so between when you first go into a coma and when you wake up, it would seem seconds for you and months for us, so we’ve missed you more than you missed us,” Pinkie grinned, confusing the already confused pegasus. The two turned towards the door when they heard running up the stairs, and the faces of Applejack, Twilight, Rainbow and Rarity appeared from behind it.

“Girls!” Pinkie squealed and ran towards them giving a big group hug. Fluttershy watched for a moment before jumping in herself. She never grew tired of hugs, but this one in particular was special to her, to them all. This was the first group hug since the dragon attack. At this moment, Fluttershy was truly happy, for she knew that they were back together, and everything would be normal from now on.

The six of them pulled away and helped clean up Pinkie’s bedroom, dusting it and putting the tables back in their places, and making the bed. “Since we’re all here,” Pinkie said, her eyes widening in anticipation, “you all know what this calls for?”

The five mares didn’t have time to realise what she meant. Pinkie drew a large breath and spilled out in one sentence, “A welcomebackFluttershytotheworldandthankyouforgettingridofthatdragonandmybestfriendsareallhereforthefirsttimeinamonth party!”

Before they knew it, streamers appeared from everywhere and nowhere. “I’ll get the decorations set up,” Pinkie said as she hopped from one end to the other.

Twilight stepped forward. “Pinkie I do-” she was about to protest, before having a hoof slammed into her mouth by Fluttershy.

Twilight noticed the scowl coming her way from the kind pegasus, who then whispered, “She needs this, Twilight. Give her that.”

Twilight’s ears flattened and realised Fluttershy was right. “Sorry, Twilight, you were saying something?” Pinkie asked with a flicker of her eyelids.

“Since you’ve been cooped up in here, Pinkie, why don’t we have it at the library instead?” Twilight suggested, glancing at Fluttershy who now had a wide grin.

Pinkie gasped. “You’re okay with that?” Twilight nodded. “Then let’s go, girls!” she exclaimed as she led the way out of Sugarcube Corner and towards the library.

That night in Ponyville, all was quiet, save the six mares dancing away to the music blaring out from the top of the town library. They danced, chatted about what they’d done, what they were going to do, and other things that Pinkie missed but wanted to know.

Fluttershy wasn’t paying attention to that, she was too busy dancing to the music. Her hind and forelegs kicking into the air to the beat of the music, with no thought of safety or surroundings. She was just having the time of her life, and from this moment on, she thought she should enjoy what life she has left.

“Having fun?!” Pinkie Pie called, loud enough to be heard over the music. Pinkie decided to join Fluttershy on the dance floor, a wide space where Twilight usually studied.

“Oh, a blast, thanks!” Fluttershy responded. “Your parties are just what we all need after the dragon attack!”

Pinkie smiled “I don’t think so, silly. A party would never be complete without you or any of my friends here,” she said as the two danced. Twilight and Rainbow joined them, the latter wanting to show off her moves, but only tripped up her own hooves in the end, making her and everypony laugh.

“Hey, girls,” Applejack called them over to the punch table. On it was a large bottle and six glasses with straws in them.

Fluttershy read the bottle. “Is this your cider, Applejack?”

Applejack nodded, smiling. “Yes indeedy, sugarcube. In fact, this is my very own apple cider that I made at the farm earlier today. I was gonna leave it till later but this is too special an event for me to ignore, so I decided to give ya’ll a taster.”

She poured out the drinks and waited until they were filled, each pony saying thanks as the farm pony went around the room. When she got back to her end she announced, “I would like to propose a toast; to Fluttershy for a full recovery, and to the good life we all live here in Ponyville.”

“To us!” the six ponies called out. They all sipped through their straws and drank.

“Wow,” Rainbow said. “That was an awesome drink, Applejack! Even better than the stuff you usually make. Could I get some more from you tomorrow?”

“I agree with Rainbow,” Rarity stated. “It was simply divine and it tasted of the sweetest apples.”

“Well it is apples, sugar,” Applejack said with a chuckle and a roll of her eyes.

Everypony giggled, while Rarity blushed. “I knew that, it was the drink getting to me already,” she muttered under her breath.

“Great!” Pinkie exclaimed, turning back to Applejack. She pushed her glass towards the other earth pony. “Please, Applejack, can I have some more?”

“It was nice,” Fluttershy said quietly, hiccupping just after drinking it.

“I most definitely agree with the rest, Applejack. Thank you so much for it,” Twilight finished.

Applejack smiled and bowed her head. “It was nothing really, I’m really happy though ya’ll like it so much. And Rainbow, come round tomorrow morning and I’ll make ya some. And Pinkie, I’m afraid we just drank it.”

After the drinks, the party continued with more laughs, more dancing and a large dose of good food, with Fluttershy having the most as she remembered how hungry she was. The rest was wasted in a food fight.

It was around midnight when fatigue kicked in for everypony and so they started walking out of library and in the cool, fresh breeze of the night. “So girls, what are you all up to tomorrow?” Pinkie asked them all; she wanted to join them after being stuck inside for a month

“Well not much,” Rarity said. “Oh that reminds me.” She turned to face Fluttershy. “Would you like to meet up at the spa tomorrow? It might do you some good after being stuck in bed all this time.”

“I would love to, Rarity,” Fluttershy grinned. “Twilight, would you like to join us?”

The unicorn gave it some thought, but nodded in the end. “Well I’m not doing anything, so I would be happy to,” she said.

“Ooo a spa date. Mind if I join you, ladies?” Pinkie Pie said, her eyes widening.

Rarity was about to protest, remembering the last time Pinkie was at the spa, but before she could, Fluttershy slammed a hoof into her mouth. “We would love it if you would join us. See you tomorrow, Pinkie,” Fluttershy said with a grin.

“Super! See you tomorrow, girls!” And with that, Pinkie hopped off towards Sugarcube Corner, a bright smile on her face.

Fluttershy pulled the hoof away from Rarity’s face, who was visibly shocked by Fluttershy’s assertiveness. “Sorry, Rarity,” she said apologetically. “But I think it might be best for Pinkie. You didn’t see the state she was in when I found her.”

Rarity sighed. “You’re right, Fluttershy. I’m sorry for even thinking about saying no. Well, it’s been an absolute delight, but I must now bid you goodnight. I’m so happy to see you awake again, Fluttershy,” Rarity said, hugging the pegasus.

“I’m just so glad to be awake, Rarity. See you tomorrow, around mid-day?” Fluttershy said. Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow said their goodbyes to Rarity and she left.

“Well,” Rainbow said as she stretched her legs as she hovered in the air. “It’s been a time and a half, but I think I hear my bed calling me. See you all tomorrow!” she darted into the air and disappeared into the night.

Applejack yawned. “Goodness, well that’s me I guess. Goodnight, you two. And Fluttershy, I’m glad to see your all better.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Thanks, Applejack. Say hi to Applebloom for me!” she called out to her as the earth pony disappeared into the darkness. Once Applejack disappeared, only Fluttershy and Twilight were left outside in the deserted street.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight said, “I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier, about the Princess helping us.”

Fluttershy turned from where Applejack left and looked at her. “Well…it was just a suggestion… I mean… we don’t have to do it because I sai-” Fluttershy was interrupted by a hoof in her mouth.

“I think it’s a great idea. Say, before we go to the spa tomorrow we could get together and write a letter to the Princess about it and by the time we get back, she might have answered.” Twilight removed the hoof from Fluttershy’s mouth and wiped the saliva on it on the grass.

“Okay, Twilight,” Fluttershy agreed. “Should I come to you in the morning then?” Twilight nodded and with a final hug said their goodbyes and thanks and went to their homes.

As Fluttershy walked home, she smiled at the memories of the day went through her mind. She usually liked to look back on the day and think about memories worth remembering, the happy moments, the times she’d laughed, and today was an exception. She could safely say that today, this afternoon even, was the best ever in her twenty years of living. The joy in her friend’s eyes to see her was, she’d admit, something she never felt in her entire life. Actual joy to be seen and known was something she never got as a child, even at the orphanage she grew up in.

She walked over the bridge and looked at the cottage window next to the door. She saw a white bunny looking at her, seemingly annoyed at her absence for the afternoon. She galloped through the door, ran up and hugged Angel while spinning in the air.

“Oh, Angel!” she squealed with joy. “I have just had the best day ever! All my friends have been happy to see me and never before I have felt so loved or wanted.” She put down her pet bunny and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. He huffed away, wiped his cheek with a paw, and went into his hutch. Fluttershy watched him enter and soon heard snoring. Hearing this, she herself yawned and decided to go straight to bed.

When she arrived, she noticed a mark on the duvet, signalling where she’d been sleeping for the last month or so. So she made the bed and cleaned it up a bit. Fluttershy hopped onto the bed, settled down and went straight to sleep with a smile on her face, remembering the great day, and hoping tomorrow would be an even better one.

Chapter 3

Fluttershy was running through Ponyville, her heart beating against her chest with every stride as she tried to escape the flames. Every building around her was ablaze and every bush and tree had become a mass of flame at a single touch of the fires that had now engulfed Ponyville. She rounded a corner to Sugarcube Corner, hoping to find her friends there. She only found the building ablaze like the rest of the town. But what horrified her more were the three burning bodies that lay outside it. She screamed and ran towards the library, hoping Twilight was there to help her. She passed more bodies, some burning, some not, but all were unrecognisable from their injuries.

“Help me,” a quiet whisper came to Fluttershy. She turned her head and saw a unicorn walking towards her, and the pony was on fire. “Help me…” the unicorn spoke louder this time. The pony’s voice was croaked and damaged, but was still clear enough for Fluttershy to recognise her.

“Twilight!” she shrieked. Twilight took another agonised step and collapsed to the ground, dead. Tears streamed from Fluttershy’s eyes; she wanted to stay and do something but couldn’t. The flames were closing in on her as if they were chasing after her; she was the one who was getting away, and the flames were not going to have that, it seemed. With tears running down her face, Fluttershy ran. She already lost two friends by now. She hoped she wouldn’t be losing any more today.

The moment that thought came to her, a dead pegasus landed in front of her. Fluttershy could see the pony’s tail was still recognisable; a rainbow-tailed pony wasn’t easy to come by. She ran on passed Rainbow Dash’s body, sobbing all the while. Another friend gone.... Fluttershy skidded to an abrupt halt as the sight of an ash pile loomed in front of her. She cried out as she saw, lying a few feet away, the Stetson that Applejack always wore. This sickened her; she had now lost four of her friends, and many others she knew by name. She began praying that Rarity wasn’t dead as well.

She arrived at the Carousel Boutique to find it, like all of Ponyville, burning. Her heart lifting when she saw Rarity, Fluttershy leapt to her rescue – her purple-maned friend was on fire! Trying to douse the flames, Rarity was rolling frantically back and forth on the ground. But it was doing no good; if anything, the fire grew more intense.

“Hold still, Rarity!” she shouted. She tried to beat out the flames covering her friend's body, using only her bare hooves to do it – sadly; this effort had no effect on the fire whatever. With a final, agonised cry, Rarity died. Fluttershy, however, still didn’t stop hitting the flames.

“No!” she choked. “Don’t give up! Please! Don’t leave me alone!” But Rarity was already dead. Fluttershy backed away and started to run once more. She didn’t care anymore where she went. Her friends were dead, her home was in ruins – to her there was nothing left to live for.

Eventually she came to an alley, one with a dead end. She stopped and sat down in the grass, tears streaming down her cheeks, ready to die and join her friends. The flames closed in and she closed her eyes.

A gust of wind from behind her got her attention; she opened her eyes and turned her head around. Her eyes turned to mere dots at what was behind her. An eye peered back at her; it was wreathed in flame with a single black pupil in the centre, a pupil that was shaped like a serpent’s. The eye moved up and a whole head turned so that it faced the cowering Fluttershy. It snarled and showed it’s long teeth.

“Tiden er inne for at våres flammer skal herske. Og at verden skal brenne (The time has come for our flames to reign. The world shall burn)!” The creature bellowed and lunged its head towards Fluttershy, who could only scream.

Fluttershy instantly woke up, still screaming with her forelegs flailing about as if she was trying to defend herself. It took a few seconds for Fluttershy to realise it was a dream and calmed down. Her breathing was fast and her heart pounded against her chest she felt herself sweating all over. With a hoof, she wiped her brow and rubbed her back, wiping off the sweat she felt tickling down her. Eventually the breathing slowed down to a more normal pace and she got out of bed. Angel walked up with the stairs with a candle lamp.

“It’s okay, Angel, go back to bed,” Fluttershy said softly. Angel didn’t make a move at first; his face spoke of worry for her. But Fluttershy was insistent. “I said bed, now!” she snapped. Angel jumped back at her outburst and ran back down the stairs. Fluttershy just realised what she did and tried to stop him. “Wait, Angel, come back!” she cried after him, but knew he wouldn’t be back. “I’m sorry,” she whispered softly. It was mostly to herself.

She had never really shouted at Angel in anger before, so Fluttershy wondered why did she tonight? And that dream, was it the nightmare? Or was it something else? She shook her head and decided to wait until morning. She could make it up to Angel by giving him extra carrots tomorrow morning. She then when back to bed and closed her eyes, hoping to get some sleep this time.

Every time she closed her eyes, however, she saw the creature’s burning eye starring at her. She opened and closed them again and again hoping for some better dream, but always the same nightmare recurring. Eventually she was too terrified of sleeping again that she got out of bed, flew through the bedroom window outside, and sat on the grass, watching the stars and the moon, thinking about why she can’t dream anything else. She decided to ask Twilight in the morning about it on their spa visit, but then she remembered Twilight wanted to write a letter about the language she can now speak to Princess Celestia to see what she says about it.

Fluttershy spent the rest of the evening and the early sunrise feeding the animals in her care and other work. When she came to Angel, she said to him, “I’m sorry about last night. I understand if you don’t forgive me, I wouldn’t want to forgive me either.” She bowed her head and waited for a response. Angel ran up to her and hugged Fluttershy, who returned the gesture with a smile and a reward of ten carrots. “Eat it as fast as you like. I’ll be gone a while so I’ll see you later,” she said gleefully and trotted out the door.

Until Fluttershy got into direct contact with the rising sun, she didn’t realise how tired she actually felt. Her mane was a mess, her eyes felt heavy and her coat was extremely pale, mainly due to being outside in the cold, and she was shivering. Nevertheless, she continued on, with her head held high and a good stride in her trot. She soon found herself outside the library, and lightly knocked on the door.

“I’ll be there, just a minute!” a voice called from inside. Fluttershy’s hearing could pick up that Twilight was calling from the second floor. After a minute of waiting, Twilight opened the door and gasped in horror upon seeing the pegasus. “My goodness! Fluttershy, are you all right? You don’t look good at all!”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I’m fine, Twilight. May I come in so we could write that letter to the Princess, please?” But Twilight shook her head and moved so she was behind her friend to push Fluttershy in.

“No!” Twilight exclaimed. “Not in your state! I’ll put you in my bed so you can rest and sleep. When you’re better, then we can write the letter.” She started pushing Fluttershy inside. But the pegasus placed her hooves firmly on the ground in a bid to stop Twilight from moving her.

“No… please… I’m fine, really… you don’t have to do this…” Fluttershy protested. But the unicorn was having none of it and continued pushing her towards the stairs. Suddenly Fluttershy cried out, “Please don’t make me go back to sleep!”

Twilight stopped and looked up to see Fluttershy facing her. Her eyes, despite the fatigue in them, showed complete terror for some reason. Twilight looked confused. “What happened that makes you not want to go to sleep?”

Fluttershy looked away from her and said quietly “I had a nightmare, a really bad nightmare.” She let it all out there and then. “It was awful! I watched Ponyville burn, I saw you, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie, I watched you all die in agony! I-I tried to help but I couldn’t do anything! I just couldn’t!” Twilight walked up to the pegasus and gave her a hug to calm her down.

“It was just a dream, Fluttershy. Nothing more,” she tried to reason with her. But Fluttershy shook her head.

“No, Twilight, it felt real! I felt everything! My heart in my chest beating, the wind in my mane, the heat on my coat, and the screams of the dying! I felt and heard it all and I don’t want to go back, not again!” She buried her head in Twilight’s chest.

“Have you tried dreaming something else? Because you know we control our dreams, so you must have thought of it.”

Fluttershy nodded. “I’ve tried! But every time I try I find myself back in a ruined Ponyville with this creature looming over me!” Fluttershy cried, sounding even more distressed than before.

Twilight placed her hoof on her chin and pondered this. ‘This is new,’ she thought. She always knew that ponies could control dreams; ponies created the nightmares, so the dreamer would be the ones to get rid of them. But this, this was different, but she knew what to do. She put her hooves on Fluttershy’s cheeks and moved her head so she could look into the pegasus’ teary eyes. Then she spoke. “Now I know what I can do to help you, but I need you to trust me on this. Can you do that?” She smiled at her friend, who nodded slowly.

“Of course I trust you, Twilight.” Twilight smiled and with her magic picked up Fluttershy and carried her to her bed, putting her down and pulling up the bed sheets.

“Comfortable?” Twilight asked, Fluttershy nodded and started to close her eyes. “Now this won’t hurt a bit, but you’ll probably be asleep all morning so you’ll miss the spa date. Don’t worry, I’ll tell Rarity about what happened.” Fluttershy nodded, unable to protest now that tiredness was taking her.

“Tell Rarity I’m sorry, please?” she asked Twilight. The unicorn nodded with a smile, placed the tip of her horn on Fluttershy’s forehead, and activated a spell.

Fluttershy closed her eyes and she saw the great burning eye starring at her again, Fluttershy blinked and when she opened them again, in a split second a ruined Ponyville was gone. In its place, was a large meadow filled with bunnies hopping about joyfully, with birds filling the sky and a giant rainbow on the horizon. Fluttershy squealed with delight and started hopping alongside the bunnies.

“And that’s what happened, Rarity. I left her with a small smile on her face and her legs kicking slightly as if she was hopping,” Twilight finished telling about Fluttershy to the other unicorn, who was concerned by the pegasus’s absence, but calmed a little once Twilight explained everything.

“Poor darling. I just feel awful now for leaving her alone,” Rarity said, her head hanging low.

“Don’t be, Rarity,” Twilight comforted her, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “We all should have realised that she needed to be with somepony, to help her through something like she’d gone through.” Twilight paused before adding, “Has she ever said anything about a dream like this to you?”

Rarity thought for a moment. “Well yes, she’s spoken to me about nightmares and I’ve comforted her sometimes, but never has she, I recall, had anything this… horrible.” The two sat in silence for a moment.

“Twilight?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think Fluttershy has… changed?”

Twilight took a moment to think about this, but eventually shook her head. “I just think that after the dragon incident, she just wants to try and enjoy life a bit more. What makes you think she’s changed?”

Rarity shrugged “I don’t know, I just feel like Fluttershy’s missing something when I saw her yesterday. Something like that.”

Twilight chuckled. “I’m sure that in a few weeks Fluttershy will be just the same pony we know and love, but the question is what to do about that nightmare. Have you heard of a recurring nightmare before?”

Rarity looked confused. “Darling, I don’t understand?”

“I mean the exact same nightmare, over and over, scene for scene.”

“Well… no. Nightmares change every time one way or another, some features are never the same. Why?”

“Because Fluttershy had the same exact dream last night, the same dream over and over again, and I don’t know what to do to help her.”

Just then, a pink pony’s head slowly appeared over the waterline, her eyes narrow and with a serious expression. “You could always ask the Princess for assistance. She’s bound to help Fluttershy and you, Twilight,” Pinkie said, and then disappeared under the waterline again.

“She’s been under that water for the past half an hour. How does she do that?” Rarity said, checking the time. Twilight wasn’t paying attention to Rarity. She was too busy thinking about what Pinkie just said. Asking the Princess? Then it hit her.

“Of course!” she exclaimed, startling the other unicorn. “Fluttershy and I were supposed to write a letter to the Princess about her resistance to fire, but now we could ask her about the nightmare too. Pinkie – if you can hear me – you’re a genius!” She jumped out of the bath and was about to run off. She halted, turned to Rarity and said, “Sorry, Rarity, gotta go, got a letter to write. Bye!” and was gone, leaving Rarity wondering what all this was about.

Fluttershy woke up feeling rather refreshed from that sleep. She stayed in bed, though, and listened to the birdsong outside, intent on enjoying every last minute of relaxation she can get. Her ears picked up the sound of ponies outside talking and laughing about different things. She sniffed the air and smelled an aroma – of soup, she reckoned – coming from downstairs.

She got out of bed and trotted downstairs to the kitchen, and found Spike cooking some soup. “Hey, Spike,” she called. “Is that tomato soup you’re making?”

Spike turned around and greeted Fluttershy with a smile. “Hey, Fluttershy! Yes it is. You have a good nose. I hope you want some; I made it for you especially.”

Fluttershy smiled. “Thank you, Spike. Would you like a helping hoof?”

Spike shook his head. “Don’t worry, go into the living room and relax. I’ll give it to you when it’s done.”

Fluttershy nodded, but she couldn’t help feeling disappointed that she couldn’t assist. “Okay, Spike. If you want any help, I’m just in the living room.” She turned and walked out into the main room, and sat on one of the pillows. She looked around the room, trying to find a book that caught her eye, but ultimately failing. She started tapping her hoof in a tune, hoping that would pass the time.

After a few minutes of waiting, but what felt like hours, Twilight came through the door. “Oh hello, Fluttershy, I’m surprised to see you awake, to be honest. Did you sleep well?”

Fluttershy smiled and nodded. “Oh yes, very well, thanks to you and that spell you put on me.”

“It was nothing, really. Just a nightmare shield spell I learnt when I was younger. I had a lot until I learnt that spell to help me.” She paused, and then started to sniff the air. “Hey, what’s that? It smells delicious.”

“It’s some tomato soup Spike has made for me. I’m sure he’s made enough for both of us… if you would like some that is… I won’t force you,” Fluttershy said, going quieter and quieter near the end.

‘And Rarity thinks Fluttershy’s changed,’ Twilight thought as she walked into the kitchen. “I would love some. I am famished after that trip. Is it ready, Spike?” she asked him.

Spike took a sip and nodded. “Yep, it’s done now, would you like to have some, Twilight?” he asked. Twilight nodded and Spike brought out two bowls, he filled them with the soup and put them on a tray. “Here you go,” he said as he gave the tray to Twilight, who picked it up with her magic, and took it into the next room.

“Say, Fluttershy, since it’s a nice day and all, would you like to go outside and have this?” Twilight asked the pegasus. Fluttershy turned her head to face the window and saw Twilight was right; the day was beautiful indeed, a few clouds here and there but otherwise another clear summer day. So, she smiled and faced Twilight.

“I would love that.” She got up and followed Twilight to the balcony, bringing two pillows so they could lie on the balcony comfortably. Whilst Twilight took the tray and a book she could read.

The two friends sat in silence, save the birds signing in the tree and the occasional sip in the soup. Fluttershy was smiling as watched the clouds, and trying to make out shapes from them. She blushed when she noticed one that looked like a mare and a stallion together, but didn’t tell Twilight, who was too engrossed in her book to notice anything. Fluttershy’s attention turned to a tree about a hundred to two hundred feet away, and thought she saw movement in it. She strained her eyes slightly to see what it was, and her ears pricked up at their tallest, hoping to hear what it was.

An unfamiliar cheeping from the tree came through her ears, and she managed to see what it was, and gasped in her excitement, bringing about Twilight’s attention.

“A Greytit!” Fluttershy bounced with joy. “Those birds are rare. They’re supposed to be only in Trottingham, but no, one’s here, and maybe its friendly!” she shrieked, dancing for joy.

Twilight was surprised, but couldn’t make out anything when she looked at the tree, she noticed her telescope was on the balcony as well and used that instead. Her jaw dropped. A Greytit was jumping about, chirping away and jumping from branch to branch. Twilight took her eye off the scope and looked with her eyes, but couldn’t make out any movement, even when she narrowed her eyes. She looked at Fluttershy, whose head seemed to move with the movements of the bird, her eyes not even narrow. Twilight looked through her scope again, and realised Fluttershy was indeed following the bird’s movements. ‘But how?’ she thought. ‘Why can’t I see it with my own eyes?’

“Fluttershy?” she faced the pegasus. “How can you see that bird with the naked eye, yet I have to use a telescope?”

Fluttershy stopped looking at the bird and noticed that Twilight had been using the telescope to follow the bird, and her smile faded. She knew that saying pegasi just have better eyesight was wrong, since all three sub-species of pony have it the same when it comes to eyesight.

“I… I don’t know,” was all Fluttershy could say.

“Hey it’s okay, Fluttershy, sorry if I seemed a bit forceful.” she apologized. Fluttershy nodded, accepting her apology. A silence filled the air for a little bit.

“What’s happening to me?” she asked the unicorn.

“I don’t know, but do you want to write that letter to Princess Celestia now?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, if anypony knows what’s happening to me, it would be her,” Fluttershy agreed, so Twilight took the plates and the book she was reading and they headed downstairs.

“Right,” Twilight said as they reached the main floor. Spike was busy arranging some books on some of the shelves. “Spike, take a letter please,” Twilight ordered. The baby dragon saluted, jumped off the ladder and took out a scroll and quill appeared from his back. Twilight coughed, and began to word out the letter.

Dear, Princess Celestia.

I write this letter today to ask for your assistance and wisdom in a matter that troubles my friend Fluttershy and me greatly.

As you know, a dragon attacked Ponyville around a month ago, and it was gotten rid of by Fluttershy. That part is true, but some of it I left out. I’m sorry for not telling you the full truth but I wanted to ask her for permission to write this.

You see, Fluttershy technically was killed by the dragon’s fiery breath on that day, but she got back up again, regenerated and frightened the dragon away, since then she had been in a coma like state, until yesterday when she woke up. We were all thrilled to see her awake and alive again, of course, but then things Fluttershy started showing that amazes me and disturbs me at the same time.

She can walk on fire without being burned; she walked into a fireplace and not a single scorch was placed on her body. Her hearing is greatly superior to any other pony I know; she managed to hear my friend Rainbow Dash crashing into the library before we all could. Her eyesight has improved, able to pick up small creatures in trees a few hundred feet away.

And she can speak a completely new language. You taught me some languages of this world, and I have studied many more since then. But never have I heard these words before. Here is some from Fluttershy.

“Hei, deres majestet.” It means, “Hello, your majesty.”

Oh, and one last thing. Last night she said she had a terrible nightmare, one that came to her every time she closed her eyes. She claims she watched as Ponyville burned, my friends and I die, and a great monster of some sort was about to eat her.

I don’t know what that means but I’m running out of ideas to help her and we both seriously need you to help us, guide us, about what we’re supposed to do.

I greatly anticipate your response.

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.

And your faithful subject, Fluttershy.

Twilight worded that out without stopping. “Did you get all that, Spike?” she asked once she regained breath. Spike nodded and wrapped it up, took it to the window and blew on it; it burned up and disappeared, on its way to the receiver.

“Now what do we do?” Fluttershy asked. Twilight smiled and sat down on a pillow.

“We wait.”

“Wait?”

“Yep. Wait. Should be any minute now,” Twilight responded.

Two hours later and Twilight was still sitting there, tapping her hoof in impatience, whilst Fluttershy read a book on pegasi history. Suddenly Spike’s cheeks puffed out, making him look like he was about to be sick, then he belched out a green flame that warped and became a letter, along with a small note that landed by Fluttershy.

“Finally!” Twilight exclaimed. “I never have seen her reply so slowly.”

“Maybe she was too busy to reply at first,” Fluttershy suggested, picking up the note that came with it. She read it, her eyes widening as she did so. “Twilight, don’t read it!” she cried out.

Twilight immediately stopped unwrapping the seal and looked at Fluttershy with a blank expression. “Why?” she asked.

Fluttershy pointed at the note. “The note says we need all the girls here first before we can open it, whatever it must be about it must be important if we are all wanted,” Fluttershy said.

Twilight still looked confused, but nodded. “Very well, I’ll get Applejack and Pinkie.”

“I’ll get Rainbow and Rarity,” Fluttershy offered. With that, the two mares dashed out the door and went in different directions to find their friends.

A few minutes later the main library had five ponies talking excitedly about what the Princess wanted with the six of them, whilst one pony was standing in front of them all, waiting impatiently for them to be quiet so she could read it out.

“Ahem,” Twilight coughed, trying to get their attention. It didn’t work. Pinkie was making up suggestions about what the Princess wanted.

“Oh, maybe she needs to plan a party for her! Or maybe we are war with the Griffons! Or maybe-”. Her suggestions were cut short by Twilight asking them all to be quiet. At once, the room went quiet and Twilight opened up the letter, her eyes widened as she read it first, then read aloud the second time.

“Dear Twilight Sparkle and friends. I would like to extend to you an invitation to a get-together of some associates of the country and some abroad. I would hope you could all attend; a private train will be waiting for you at the station and will take you to Canterlot tonight. Please pack for holiday provisions, as I might ask you to stay a bit longer. I hope to see you soon.” Twilight finished the letter and looked around the room.

She could see Rarity had a face of absolute glee at this, Pinkie had a sort of disappointed face, probably, she reckoned, because she didn’t organize this gathering. Rainbow and Applejack had looks of annoyance on them; she knew those two wouldn’t like a social gathering of this type like Rarity would, so she understood. And Fluttershy’s face was one of extreme disappointment. Twilight gave her a sympathetic smile, which the pegasus returned slightly.

“Oh this is brilliant!” Rarity squealed. “A gathering of some of the finest ponies in Equestria. Oh I’ve gotta go, I’ve got a lot of outfits to show off.” She jumped up and ran out the door, calling, “I’ll meet you all at the train station, bye!” With that, she was gone.

Applejack sighed. “Well, it ain’t what I’m used to, all those fancy ponies in froufrou outfits, but the Princess wants us to be there and I won’t leave her waiting. I’ll meet ya’ll at the station in half an hour.” She got up and walked out.

“Well, might as well, it might be fun, knowing you all will be there will make it better,” Rainbow said and walked out the door, flying into the air.

Pinkie followed suit a bit later. “A party’s a party, I suppose. Best take some balloons for it, though. See you girls at the station,” she said, and hopped out.

With Pinkie gone, Twilight was left with a rather saddened Fluttershy. Twilight walked up to her and nuzzled her gently. “I’m sure the Princess will say something when we get there,” she reasoned to Fluttershy, who seemed to perk up a bit.

“Maybe you’re right, Twilight,” she said quietly. “I’ll meet you at the train station in half an hour like Applejack said.” Twilight nodded and Fluttershy walked out the door.

She broke into a gallop so she could get home quicker. That entire time running she was thinking about where she and her friends were going, and the more she thought about it, the less it made perfect sense.

The first thing that bugged her was the timing of the invitation. Surely, it should’ve been a few weeks before that invitation should have come, not a night away. Secondly, a train was coming for them tonight, so why did she want them in Canterlot so soon? She wondered why it couldn’t have waited until the morning as the sun was setting at this point and by the time she and her friends made it into Canterlot it’ll be late. Moreover, holiday provisions? It sounded like she and her friends would be staying a very long time, far longer than an overnight trip as it suggested they’d be doing.

And another thing was why Twilight or any of the others hadn’t noticed it? She lost all thought though, when she found her nose meeting the door of her house. She stepped backwards and her eyes wandered about for a moment. She shook her head and straightened out her nose, before proceeding inside.

She opened the door noisily, startling Angel who was calmly eating one of his carrots. “Sorry, Angel, can’t stop. Gotta see a Princess about a party,” she whispered and rushed upstairs.

She went under her bed and found her saddlebags. She got out some outfits she wanted to decide on and have Rarity’s opinion on what might be better looking for her. She got some medicine, a book she was fond of, a blanket that had her cutie mark of three butterflies on it, knitted out for her by one of the orphanage carers the day after she got her cutie mark. And finally, she rummaged through her bed table and found a golden medallion, one with her name on it. One of the carers said she was found with it when she was abandoned at the front door of the orphanage, and since then Fluttershy has thought it as a good luck charm, and something to make her think of what her parents were like.

Smiling, she put it on the saddlebags and trotted down the stairs, checking everything was fine before she set off. She then turned to Angel. “I’m sorry, Angel, but I'm leaving for a little while. Take care of the place for me while I’m gone.” She gave him a light kiss on the forehead and walked out the door, closing it behind her. Angel brushed his head and continued eating his carrot.

Fluttershy was the last to arrive at the station. Everypony was there, looking cheerful, Pinkie seemed to be back at her normal bouncy self, while Rainbow and Applejack looked a little less glum than they did when she had last seen them. “Sorry if I’m late, girls,” she called as she ran in.

“It’s all right, Fluttershy, darling. I just got here myself,” Rarity said, then turned to the train waiting for them at the platform and jumped on. “Coming, girls?” she called to the rest. The rest followed suit and once they were on board, the train was ready to go. With a whistle and a whoosh of steam from the cylinders, the train got on the move. It didn’t take long for Fluttershy to notice that they were the only ponies on this train.

“The Princess did mention this is a private train just for us, Fluttershy,” Twilight said when Fluttershy pointed it out to her. Although Fluttershy took this answer, she still wasn’t completely satisfied with it. The six ponies went to the far end of the train and sat in the seats next to the windows. Five of the ponies chatted excitedly about what would this gathering will be like. Rarity wondered on whom else would be invited.

“I do hope we meet Fancy Pants again. I heard in one of his letters he sent to me he would like to meet us all again,” she said.

“Well I think it’s nice that we’ve been invited by the Princess herself to attend this event,” Applejack stated. “I’ll be sure to thank her when we get there.”

Fluttershy wasn’t paying attention to the conversation at hoof; her focus was on the first stars appearing in the night sky, all the while thinking what would happen when they get there. “Hey, Fluttershy.” A voice broke Fluttershy’s line of thought and turned to see Rainbow sitting next to her, her voice unusually heavy with concern. “Are you all right? She asked.

Fluttershy smiled. “I’m fine, Rainbow.”

Rainbow didn’t seem convinced. “Well, you just seem a bit… well… quiet. Quieter than usual I mean, and a bit… separate, if that’s the right word,” Rainbow said.

Fluttershy could see the point Rainbow was putting to her. She did seem to be isolating herself form the rest by sitting here by herself whilst they all spoke around a set of chairs nearer the back.

“I’m just thinking, Rainbow. Sorry if I worried you.”

Rainbow was intrigued. “Oooh, thinking about what?”

“About why we are going. Doesn’t it strike you odd that we leave in the early evening rather than the heading out in the morning?” she asked Rainbow. The rainbow maned pegasus thought about it for a moment. It seemed to her Fluttershy might be right, but she shook it away.

“I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you, Fluttershy. I’m sure the Princess will explain why we left in such a rush. Anyway what did you bring?” Rainbow said, changing the subject.

“Oh, I brought some medicine, just in case I see an animal that need attention. It also works on ponies as well, what about you?”

“Just a blanket and some comics to read to pass the nights.” Rainbow paused and something caught her eye as she looked past Fluttershy. “Oh look!” She pointed. “We’re here!” All eyes in the carriage turned to the direction of the spiralling city of Canterlot getting bigger in front of them as they closed in.

A few minutes later, the train went into the tunnel and started to slow down as it reached Canterlot station. Pinkie was the first to notice a pegasus guard standing on the platform with a sign saying all of their names in his mouth. The train screeched to a stop and Fluttershy grimaced, since the screeching of the brakes hurt her now sensitive ears. The six ponies got off the train with their saddlebags and provisions and met the guard. Satisfied they were the right ponies, he put the sign down.

“Welcome, ponies, I’m here to escort you all to the palace. Princess Celestia awaits you there.” He turned around on the spot and walked off, the six ponies following him. Fluttershy could start to feel that something else was going on. However, she knew she would have her answers when they met the Princess, and she would see if her suspicions were true or not.

As they walked, they saw the streets were deserted, not a single pony was outside in the warm summer night. They could see lights were on, and noises coming from buildings that seemed to be clubs. It wasn’t long before they arrived at the palace entrance and the guard gingerly stepped out of the way.

“The Princess will be waiting for you at the top of the stairs. Have a nice evening,” he said and opened the doors, gesturing them to go through. Once they were all in the door closed behind them.

“Welcome, my little ponies,” a voice called from the top of the staircase. They saw Princess Celestia standing there with a warm and welcoming smile to them. They smiled and respectively bowed to her as she descended from the stairs to greet them personally. Although she wasn’t looking, Fluttershy had the feeling that Celestia’s eyes were fixed on her.

“Thank you, Princess, for this invite. It would be an honour to attend,” Twilight said, followed by a few, “thank yous” to the Princess from the rest.

“You’re all very welcome. Now these gentlecolts will escort you to your lodgings. I’m afraid, however, I’m going to have to separate one of you from the others for a while.” At this Twilight instinctively stepped forward, but no sooner had she taken that step did Celestia speak again.

“Fluttershy?”

In that one word were Fluttershy’s suspicions realised. She noticed that all the attention was now on her; all of her friend’s faces (except Twilight’s) were in shock. Gulping, she took a step out of the group and stood in front of the rather imposing winged unicorn. “Yes, your majesty?” she bowed before her. Looking up again she saw Celestia was smiling at her, and she found it rather comforting.

“Would you please accompany me so we could talk in private?” Celestia asked. Fluttershy nodded, so the Princess turned around and gestured the pegasus to follow. Fluttershy turned her head to see her friends, who looked worried about what this could be about, except Twilight, who smiled encouragingly at her.

“It’s okay, girls,” she said comfortingly. “I’ll meet you back at the room when I’ve spoken to the Princess.” She caught up with the Princess and watched as her friends were led away. They walked up and turned left into the private areas of the palace.

Fluttershy could feel her heart racing; every step seemed was an agony, as Celestia hadn’t yet said a word since leaving her friends. “So, um…” Fluttershy tried bringing up a conversation. “H-how’s Princess Luna?”

Celestia stopped suddenly and turned to face the pegasus. At first, she thought she would get into trouble for speaking, but calmed down again when she saw the smile on the Princess’s face. “She is quite well, thank you, Fluttershy. At the moment she’s touring Equestria and seeing the sights she’d missed for a thousand years.” Celestia turned back around and kept walking, Fluttershy following in her steps.

As they walked, they passed guards and servants who bowed before the Princess and to Fluttershy as well. The timid pegasus just squeaked and hid behind her mane, not used to this kind of attention. She turned her gaze to the stained glass windows that she went past, all detailing the great history of Equestria: its wars, its rulers, and the moment her friends came together in defeating Nightmare moon. Alongside that one was a picture of their victory over Discord; a memory she wanted to forget due to the grief she caused on her friends, and especially to Twilight.

Eventually they arrived at a set of doors that as guarded by two unicorn soldiers. “You are relieved of your duties tonight,” the Princess ordered.

They respectively bowed and walked away; one turned back around and asked, “Would you need anything, your highness?”

“Hmm, I think a cup of tea would be good, thank you. Would you like one, Fluttershy?” She turned to the pegasus, who could only nod in response.

By now, Fluttershy’s nerves were getting to her by this point. ‘What does the Princess want with me?’ she wondered. ‘Is this… problem so important it couldn’t be in front of my friends?’

Celestia opened the doors and Fluttershy gasped as she realised where she was: the Princess’s private chambers. Celestia gestured Fluttershy to enter and she meekly did so. “Please, take a cushion to sit on,” Celestia said as she walked. Fluttershy thanked her and sat on a cushion with Celestia’s cutie mark on it.

“Um… I’m not in trouble… am I?” she asked, just wanting to know if she would be all right.

Celestia gasped. “Of course not, child. If anything I am more worried about you,” she said, comforting Fluttershy greatly.

“So… this is about the letter Twilight sent, isn’t it?” Celestia nodded.

“I’m sorry about the deception I put in there, but I thought you would be more comfortable if your friends were with you. I know sending you up here on your own would be damaging on your nerves, my dear.”

“But was that deception necessary? If you don’t mind me asking, that is?”

Celestia’s smile faded. “How would you feel, Fluttershy, if I said instead that I wanted to see you tonight immediately about this matter?”

Fluttershy looked away in thought. “I guess,” she answered shakily after a while. “… Terrified.”

Celestia’s motherly smile returned. “Then you can see why I did what I did. I hope you and the others could forgive me about it, though.”

“Oh I forgive you, Princess. You did it for me, and I’m so grateful for it. It’s not everyday somepony does something while thinking of me. Rarity will be disappointed, though. Although I kinda thought there was no gathering of posh ponies.”

Celestia grinned. “Oh it wasn’t that obvious, was it?” she asked, followed by a few giggles from both of them. They were interrupted by a knock on the door. “Enter,” Celestia called. A young unicorn mare, about Fluttershy’s age, came in and levitated to them a tray of tea with a sugar cup in case. Celestia and Fluttershy both thanked the mare, who bowed and left without a word, but a big smile on her face. “Her first day here, and she is doing a fine job,” Celestia commented.

“So… um… Princess…”

“Please, Fluttershy, in here,” she gestured with a hoof around the room, “just call me Celestia,” she said with smile.

Fluttershy blinked. “Um… okay… Celestia, so… can you help me?” she asked with pleading eyes.

Celestia smiled sadly and her eyes looked away from her. “I have lived, Fluttershy, for over three thousand years. I’ve seen my country torn by war, chaos and the threat of eternal night. I’ve read and seen many languages that are now from a bygone age.” She paused, leaving Fluttershy on the edge of her pillow, leaning at such an angle that if she leaned any more she would fall flat on her face.

“But I have never seen or heard anything that was described by you or Twilight. I have looked through these books and my memories but not a single word you said has come up, nor has there been any sightings of what happened to you appeared in historical records me or some close researchers have found,” she finished.

Fluttershy ears went down and she visibly slumped. She and Twilight were sure the Princess would know; she was positive they would have their answer by next Tuesday, then they could laugh about it and it would become a memory. But now she was completely unsure of what to do.

“There is one who might know, however,” Celestia said.

Fluttershy’s ears pricked up again and a wide smile appeared on her face. “Really!” she squeaked.

“I think so, his name’s Firewing. A pegasus. He was quite young yet spoke words of wisdom beyond his years. He taught history, geography, and medicine at the School for Gifted Unicorns. He sure put a few scholars at the school in a huff when he corrected them on some moments of the Great War, ones he was found to be right about a couple of days later,” Celestia said with a chuckle.

‘Brilliant,’ Fluttershy thought. ‘Somepony who might know my ailment.’ “Where is he so I could see him tomorrow?” she asked. She quickly added. “Oh, um, please?”

Celestia’s smile faded. “I’m afraid he disappeared one night without a trace. His window was left open and many of his maps were missing. It seemed he just got up and flew away.”

Fluttershy’s now felt more lost than ever. “Was there anything he left behind?” she asked.

The Princess thought for a moment. “There was a bag he must have forgotten in his haste. Inside were a few scrolls and a book, seemed like a diary to me,” she responded.

Fluttershy’s face lit up as an idea came to her; it was a long shot but might have a clue to where he might have gone. “What happened to them?”

“They were placed in the Equestrian Archives, below the library, just in case he wanted to return for them. Why?”

“I just think there may be a clue in those scrolls and book to where he might’ve gone,” Fluttershy said. “I would like to see if I could find him. If you say he’s as good as he sounds then he might be able to help me.”

Celestia thought about this for a moment, making Fluttershy wonder whether she would agree to this. Eventually, Celestia got up, moved to one of the cupboards and brought out a bracelet. It was brown, with a golden unicorn head on its face. With her magic, Celestia placed it on Fluttershy’s left leg and tightened the strap until it was comfortable enough. “The archives are accessible to only a few ponies, myself included. So with this bracelet I grant you permission to gain entrance to the archives.”

“Thank you, Celestia, but… where are the archives?”

Celestia chuckled at something. “The archives are at the Canterlot library. As for that, I’m sure Twilight will point you in the right direction. That was more like a third home to her.”

Fluttershy smiled. ‘That does sounds like Twilight,’ she thought. “Thank you for helping me, Celestia.”

Celestia nodded her head. “You’re very welcome. We will discuss more about this tomorrow I think, when you come back and have told me what you found. But now you must be tired. Come, I’ll take you to Twilight and the others.” She stood up and led the pegasus out the door and through the palace.

It was a long walk from the Princess’s chambers to the tower, so when they arrived, it was completely dark and the moon was coming towards its highest point. Fluttershy looked up and noticed the rather long climb she had to do.

“Good luck, Fluttershy, my dear. I do hope you find something. Remember, report to me on what you found so I can help you,” Celestia said, then turned and walked away.

“Thank you, Princess!” Fluttershy called out before the Princess disappeared into the dark. Even though she wanted to use her wings, she felt too tired to do that. She regrettably had to walk up the long flight of stairs.

When she arrived at the front door, she took a deep breath and braced herself for a torrent of questions that were about to be thrown her way. She opened the door to see her five friends sitting around the table playing blackjack, or so it seemed.

“Seriously, Twilight, I can’t believe you have never ever played blackjack before,” Rarity said when she looked up from her cards.

“I didn’t have time for card games back then, Rarity.”

“Yeah, you were doing eggheady things like reading… and reading… and for a change of pace, more reading,” Rainbow teased.

“Ha ha, very funny, Rainbow,” Twilight scolded.

“Hey, girls,” Fluttershy said, gaining all their attention.

She was asked not a couple, but a torrent of questions from all five of her friends, wanting to know what happened, what she and the Princess talked about, and what the Princess wanted.

“Quiet!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. The room went silent as they looked at her in shock and amazement. She shied away. “Oh, I’m sorry if I was a bit harsh. I’ll tell you if you want to know.”

Fluttershy proceeded to tell them about her talk with the Princess, Rarity groaned and pouted when told that there wasn’t going to be a gathering of high-ranking ponies, whereas Applejack and Rainbow breathed a sigh a relief. She told them about a pegasus that could help her find out what was wrong with her and maybe put her right. She told them that he flew off one night, and the only things that could help her discover where he went were a book and some scrolls.

“And they are in the archives. Celestia told me it’s in the library, so I’m heading there tomorrow,” Fluttershy finished.

Twilight’s ears pricked up at the word library, and then a great smile appeared on her lips when Fluttershy said tomorrow. She squealed in happiness. “Oh, brilliant! I could take you there since you don’t know where it is, so I could show you, it would be a girl’s day out, we could go to the archives, and then we-” She continued on blathering away about what they would do and proceeded to hop around the room in excitement.

“Um… Twilight,” Fluttershy said. Twilight stopped hopping around and stood in front of her with wide, cheery eyes. “I’m glad you’re willing to show me where the library is.” Fluttershy turned her head towards the others. “Are you all going to come?” she asked.

The others put sad smiles on their faces. “Sorry, Fluttershy, but we all decided to explore the town whilst we’re here. There’s so much to see here and well, you know, it’s a library. I’m sure you and Twilight will be fine,” Rainbow said, the others nodded their heads in agreement.

Fluttershy smiled. “Oh that’s okay, I understand.” She let out a long yawn. “Excuse me, I think I’m going to go to sleep.”

Applejack looked at the time. “Well shoot, we best get some shuteye ourselves if we’re starting early tomorrow.” The others reluctantly agreed and went to their separate beds, Twilight waited until Fluttershy was in bed and comfortable before going to place the nightmare shield spell on her.

“What do you think we’ll find there tomorrow, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy shrugged. “I don’t know, but we’ll find out tomorrow. Goodnight,” she then closed her eyes, and Twilight cast the spell on her. Once Fluttershy was fast asleep, Twilight walked to her bed and went to sleep, not stopping to think about what might happen tomorrow.

Chapter 5

The sun shone bright over the railway line as the ‘Golden Unicorn’ rumbled over a small bridge, passing a junction that went to Trottingham and Hoofington. Smoke billowed out of its small chimney as the great steam engine roared down the line.

Fluttershy caught a glimpse of a small station race by through one of the windows, with a fleeting glimpse of the village it served. She turned her head back around to face the guard, who was leading the six mares through the train. “The ‘Golden Unicorn’,” he explained, “is Celestia’s private train built for her by the engineers of Hoofington works. So I strongly advise that you do not touch anything, please.” He emphasised the statement by glaring at Rainbow Dash, who was about to touch a pair of goggles given to the Princess by The Wonderbolts.

“Now,” he continued, pointing behind them, “a bar is located at the back of the train, in the observation carriage. It serves Ale, Wine, and Cider, strong and soft. Punch and juice.” He swiftly guided them into the next carriage. “Food is made in the front carriage and serves just about anything, so feel free to go to either if you’re hungry or thirsty. Bathrooms and toilets are located in the second carriage, fourth and six.” He moved the mares into the third carriage, which were their quarters. Three beds ran along each side, while above them were two chandeliers that swung about as the train went around bends.

“This in incase we have to stop for the night. I will let you settle. Enjoy your trip, ladies,” he said as cheerfully as he could, and walked towards the back of the train. With him gone the six mares spread out and choose their beds. Fluttershy moved to the one nearest the engine and laid spread out on her back, her eyes focused on one of the chandeliers, daydreaming about what will happen when the arrived. She hoped they would find him there, give her the diagnosis, then give her the cure she wanted, and then they could go home and she could enjoy her life. She rolled onto her stomach to see what the others were doing.

“Wow these beds are sure springy, Dashie. I bet I can jump higher than you,” Pinkie said to Rainbow as she jumped up and down on the bed.

“Is that a challenge?” Rainbow asked. Pinkie nodded with a beaming smile. Rainbow grinned mischievously. “It’s on.” She jumped up on the bed next to Pinkie’s and started hopping on it, Pinkie following suite, both ponies going higher and higher, laughing all the while. Fluttershy betted on Pinkie to win due to her seemingly endless energy.

Rarity was reading a magazine she had picked up whilst they had been in Canterlot. “I might use that colour on a robe I have planned,” she muttered to herself.

“Well, I’m not gonna just stand here and let free drinks go to waste. I’ll be at the bar if anypony wants me,” Applejack said and trotted out. Fluttershy watched her leave and quickly decided she might join her. She hopped off the bed and started walking after Applejack. She stopped when she noticed Twilight reading something. It was a book on world territories. It had a black cover with a picture of an artist impression of what the world looks like from space.

“Twilight?” Fluttershy said quietly so she didn’t startle the unicorn. Twilight brought her gaze off the book and looked at her.

“Yes, Fluttershy?” she asked.

“I was wondering what you were reading. It looked interesting.”

Twilight looked at her book again. “Oh, this. Sorry, I should have said something about this to you earlier. I found this in the library yesterday; you see I was intrigued about Firewing’s mention of Horsca, for I never heard of the place. So I went back to the library and found this.”

Fluttershy nodded. “And what have you found out so far?”

“Horsca is the land of the horses,” Twilight stated.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “I thought horses lived in small territories, like tribes. Not an entire kingdom.”

“Some do, they’ve emigrated to other countries like ponies do sometimes. But their homeland is older than ours, and way more hostile.”

“Hostile?” Fluttershy shivered.

Twilight nodded. “The country usually has ferocious winters according to the book, and that many mountain ranges and valleys that makes up the country have snow throughout the year, making mountain crossing dangerous at times. The land is filled with wide steppes, marshlands and thick woodlands; it does mention beasts of different sorts as well roaming old roads. The horses there also don’t control their weather like we do and don’t have magic abilities, but they follow our sun and moon movements so they follow our times.”

Fluttershy nodded again. “Okay, so anything important there?”

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t think so. They’re country might be older than ours, but they don’t seem as different, nor do they seem to possess anything that we can’t find in Equestria,” Twilight said, then adding, “So why he’s got an interest in Horsca escapes me.”

“He did mention something about an ancient tomb?” Fluttershy pointed out.

“He did, didn’t he?” Twilight flicked through the book and found a page dedicated to the cities of Horsca. “It says they bury their dead in large tombs underground, but nothing really mentions ancient tombs.” She paused to close the book. “So what’s so important there?” She wondered aloud.

Fluttershy shrugged. “I’m sure you’ll come up with something. Now, I’m going to join Applejack,” she said and trotted out of the carriage.

She found Applejack easily; she was sitting at the back of the observation car, staring out the window, lost in thought. “Hey, Applejack,” she called and joined her at the table. The earth pony’s head turned towards her and a smile crossed her face.

“Howdy, sugarcube.” She turned to the unicorn bartender behind the bar. “Excuse me, miss, could we have two juice bottles over here please.” The bartender nodded and used her magic to pass two bottles and straws to their table. “Thanks, miss,” the two ponies said and sipped their drinks.

“Applejack?” Fluttershy began. “I have a feeling you want to say something to me, I’ve known you long enough.”

A small silence followed. Eventually Applejack sighed and nodded. “I wanted to ask ya something, but I didn’t want to ask ya in front of the others.”

Fluttershy smiled and placed a comforting hoof on Applejack’s own. “You can talk to me about anything, Applejack. What did you want to know?”

Applejack took a deep breath and said quickly, “What did it feel like to die?”

Fluttershy blinked and cocked her head slightly to the side. “I don’t understand?”

“That day a month ago, when the dragon killed ya, I’ve been meaning to ask ya about it for a while. Don’t worry none if ya don’t want to answer, if it’s discomforting.”

Fluttershy looked away, deep in thought. What did it feel like? She knew the answer but wanted to lie about it for a moment, so as not to disturb her friend. But she knew Applejack could see a lie a mile away. So she looked back at Applejack, stared at her dead in the face and answered, “I felt a lot of pain, Applejack. I was in agony as I felt my skin get ripped off me. I couldn’t even scream. It hurt for a few seconds and then, nothing. My mind went black, all pain ceased, and then I found myself walking towards Twilight, and then nothing again.”

Applejack winced at Fluttershy’s story. “So, you felt nothing after ya died?” Fluttershy nodded. “So, my parents wouldn’t have felt anything either,” she said before looking away.

Fluttershy jaw dropped. “Oh Applejack, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.” She put her hoof on the earth pony’s. Fluttershy knew that Applejack’s parents were no longer with them, but didn’t know what happened to them.

Applejack looked back at Fluttershy with a smile. “Don’t be, Fluttershy. I asked, ya told me. There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

“If it’s all right to ask, what happened?” Fluttershy asked, and then added, “You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to, if you’re uncomfortable with it.”

Applejack’s smile faded a little. “My mother died giving birth to Applebloom,” she answered. “My father’s was an accident. He fell off a cliff into the river, and was found dead up river.” She frowned and her head slumped. “I’m glad to know anyways, so thank ya kindly, Fluttershy. You’re a good friend, and I’m glad you’re with us still.”

After a brief silence fell between them. Fluttershy said, “You know, I envy you a lot.”

Applejack raised her head to look at the pegasus and blinked. “What?”

“You knew your parents. You have a grandmother, a brother, a sister, a whole family.” Fluttershy paused to gaze out the scenery. “I didn’t even know my parents. I didn’t know any of my family.”

Applejack gasped. She suddenly reached over and hugged the pegasus tightly. “Oh sugarcube, I’m so sorry to hear that. Why didn’t ya tell me?”

“It seemed unimportant to me later in life. It wasn’t the greatest time in my life and I didn’t want to keep thinking about it,” Fluttershy replied, taking a sip her drink.

“Does anypony else know?” asked Applejack.

Fluttershy shook her head. “And I would like it to stay that way.” She sipped more of her drink.

Applejack reluctantly agreed. “I promise, for you, I won’t tell anyone else. But ya know, no secret stays hidden forever, they’re find out sooner or later.” Fluttershy said nothing and continued to stare out the window.

The train rolled through some thin woodland, with a small farm in a clearing where sheep grazed in the field. The sheep waved to the train, to which Pinkie waved back frantically. Later they passed a small windmill with some wetlands alongside. Switcher, the engine driver, loved this part of the Equestrian railway. It was smooth and fast. He could see for miles in front and would be well aware of any danger even before he was close enough.

Switcher knew that soon they would be approaching a large girder bridge that crossed the river Pablo, then another hour till Strutford, and a nice long rest and drink. “Hey!” his fireman, Stoker, called, “I’ve never seen fog move in this quick before, especially around here!” Switcher took his gaze off the front and moved across to where Stoker was looking at. Fog was moving at an alarming speed towards the line. Before Switcher knew it, the track ahead disappeared and so did the bridge.

“Blimey!” he said. “That hasn’t happened before!” The train moved into the fog; he strained his eyes to see but couldn’t make out anything, even the front of the engine. “We’d better slow down,” he said to Stoker. “I know there’s a signal up ahead and if we pass that at danger we’re glue.” He used his magic to push the regulator down, while Stoker closed the firebox doors.

The train slowing down wasn’t unnoticed by the ponies on board. “Why we’re slowing?” Fluttershy said. “I don’t think we’re there yet.” Applejack shrugged and opened one of the windows, then put her head outside.

“Oh nelly. I’ve never seen fog move in so quickly,” she said. Fluttershy opened the window next to her and watched with a gasp as the train began to creep into the fog. Applejack couldn’t make out any of the carriages in front, but Fluttershy could see the outlines of the next two. The two felt lost, alone, in a moving carriage heading somewhere.

The train crept slowly forward, the only sounds that were heard were the exhaust of the engine as white smoke gushed out from the chimney every five seconds or so. A red light illuminated in front of Stoker and he called, “Red light, stop!” to his friend, who waved a hoof in acknowledgment and put on the brakes and pulled the reverser lever back. Stoker put on the handbrake.

The train screeched to a gentle stop. Switcher moved to the other side where Stoker was and waited for the signal to go up. “Try giving a large blow on the whistle,” Stoker suggested after waiting for more than a minute. Switcher nodded and pulled a large chain at the top of the cab, letting loose a sound that echoed across the valley and beyond.

“That should get some pony’s attention,” Switcher said, confident they would be soon on their way. Another two minutes later and still nothing, and the two ponies on the engine and the six ponies on board were beginning to grow impatient.

“Oh dear, what can the matter be?” Stoker sang. “Johnny’s so long at…”

“Never you mind about him,” Switcher laughed. “I better check with the Strutford signal box on what this is about.” Switcher jumped off the engine. He walked below the signal and picked up the phone with his magic and pressed it against his ear, waiting for someone to pick up.

“No sign of damage!” Stoker shouted to him. He had jumped down and checked the signal connections and track quality. Switcher waved a hoof in thanks and talked into the phone once he realised somepony picked up.

“Hey Bobby, is that you? Switcher here with ‘The Golden unicorn’. We’ve come across a red light near the river Pablo, and as far as I know we’re the only things running on this line. Are there any problems up your end?”

“Hey, Switcher,” the reply came on the communicator. “I’ve got the signal still active but I can’t seem to unlock it. There must be something blocking the line up ahead.”

“Well can you get a team down here to move it? We’re on a tight schedule,” Switcher asked.

“I’m afraid not, lad. All the workers are busy I’m afraid, working on the line towards Hoofington, and I don’t think they would be able to get to you till tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow! So you’re saying we’ll be stuck out here all night!”

“Afraid so, lad. Still, It’s Celestia’s private train your on, so there should be beds available.”

Switcher sighed. “Okay. Thanks, Bobby.” He put the phone back in the box and turned towards the train. “Porter!”

The guard’s head poked out of the closest window. “You called, Switcher?”

“Bad news, I’m afraid. It seems like we’ll be stuck out here until tomorrow,” Switcher said plainly.

“Tomorrow? But these ladies need to get to Strutford by tonight!” Porter shouted.

“I know I know, but I can’t do anything and neither can they.” He pointed towards the city, wherever that was. “Just tell them they would have to get comfortable in their beds.” Porter opened his mouth to protest, but a stare from Switcher made him nod and head back on the train.

“Why do ya think we stopped?” Applejack asked Fluttershy.

The pegasus shrugged. “I don’t know, but maybe the guard will tell us in a minute.”

A few minutes later the guard came through the passage, and seemed to breath a sigh of relief when he found them. “Ah ladies, listen, don’t worry about the train, its perfectly fine. However, I’m afraid to tell you all that the train is stuck here for the night,” he explained. Fluttershy’s head slumped and her ears dropped right down to her head. Applejack saw this and stepped forward.

“Is there anything we could do to help?” Applejack asked. The guard shook his head.

“Unless you have very good eyesight to find something blocking the line, and have a basic railway safety pass then no,” he replied. With that he turned and left.

Applejack looked at the devastated pegasus with sad eyes and put a comforting leg around her shoulders. “I wouldn’t worry about it, hun. We should be fine. Heck, it’ll be like a slumber party, hopefully this one will be better than the last one, though.” She shuddered as she remembered the arguments she had with Rarity at Twilight’s.

Fluttershy didn’t listen; she was deep in thought about what the guard said. Good eyesight? Wait, she had the best eyesight in Equestria! Not bragging, of course. Her face lit up with excitement and calmly trotted to the nearest door, Applejack eyeing her with curiosity.

“Fluttershy, what are ya doing?” Fluttershy didn’t answer; she reared up and pulled the window down, then opened the door and hopped off the train.

Applejacks eyes widened in horror. “Oh no! Fluttershy, come back!” She hopped off the train and cantered after her.

“What’s the problem?” Fluttershy asked Stoker when she arrived.

“Well you see the-” he stopped and noticed Fluttershy looking at him with big eyes. “Hold on a second you’re a passenger on this train! I can’t allow you to wander in there. That would be against safety regulations.”

“But if I don’t we’ll be stuck here all night. Oh please? I’ll just go forward a bit and see what it is, then come back for you if I need help.” She gave him big puppy dog eyes and a wide grin. Eventually he caved in.

“All right,” he said with a growl. “But be careful, the Princess would have my flank if something happened to any of you.” He stepped out of the way and Fluttershy walked forward. Before she could get very far, however, she felt a tug at her tail.

“Hold it right there, sugar,” Applejack said as she spat out the loose hairs from her mouth. “There’s no way under Celestia’s sun that I’m gonna let ya walk in there all by yourself. I’m coming with ya.”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to protest. Before she knew it however she found her vision clouded by an orange earth pony’s face and her eyes glaring into her own. “No. Buts.”

Fluttershy nodded weakly and soon the fog ate her and Applejack, leaving only the sound of their hooves hitting the ground.

“Well isn’t this a lovely start to a holiday,” Applejack said humourlessly as they followed the railway line. She was next to Fluttershy who was starting to quiver a bit. “Don’t worry non, sugarcube. I’m right here with ya, and our friends our counting on us.”

Fluttershy nodded and felt a pang of bravery go through her once again and broke into a trot, Applejack following suite. Fluttershy’s ears were completely upright, hoping to hear something to make her feel safer, save Applejack trotting by her side.

She never liked complete silence. She found it unnerving. She always loved hearing the birds sing to make her feel easy, but there weren’t any birds this time. A part of her wanted to race back and hope they wouldn’t mind staying after all. But no, they needed to get to Strutford, as soon as so they couldn’t delay, and she couldn’t let them down; everypony on the train was counting on them.

The two ponies suddenly came across something big lying across the railway line. Applejack whistled. “Wow, I wonder how a humungous bolder managed to get on the railway line?”

“Probably fell off one of the trains,” Fluttershy suggested. “Shall we try lifting it?”

Applejack scrutinized it carefully. “I don’t know, sugars. It looks mighty heavy. Are ya sure ya want to try?”

Fluttershy nodded and moved closer to the boulder. She spat on her hooves and rubbed them together, Applejack watching with an amused expression. “Ya know, after all this time ya still surprise me. If Rarity saw ya doing that she would probably die of shock.”

Fluttershy giggled. “Just don’t tell her I do that sometimes… well, most of the time.”

Fluttershy moved her hooves to fit under it, but upon touching it her eyes widened and with a squeal ran behind Applejack. “What in tarnation? Fluttershy, it’s just a boulder.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, it isn’t. T-touch it.”

Applejack snorted and walked over to it, placing a hoof on the ‘boulder’. “See, there’s nothing to be… wait, is this thing moving?”

The ‘boulder’ began shifting, prompting Applejack to back away in alarm. “Fluttershy, get behind me now!” she barked.

Fluttershy jumped behind the earth pony and the two began backing away in fright. The creature lifted its head and with a dark green eye gazed at the two ponies, who were now shivering in fear.

It shifted its whole body around and faced them directly. By now the two ponies were certain what the ‘boulder’ was. A dragon. “Get back ya devil!” Applejack roared at it, rearing up and thrusting her hooves at the creature threateningly. “Ya ain’t hurting any of my friends again.”

The dragon didn’t seem to pay attention the earth pony, instead, its eyes seemed to go through her and bear down on the pegasus pony behind her. Fluttershy peeped her head from Applejack’s back and looked eye to eye at the dark green-eyed monster.

“Are you going to kill us?” the pegasus asked, her voice trembling. She could see and feel Applejack lightly trembling.

The dragon laughed. Its laugh echoed across the valley and the bridge seemed to shake under its laugh. “Of course not, little pony,” the dragon said. Its voice was hoarse, yet powerful and ancient and showed signs of great wisdom. “After all, we are the same.”

With that, the dragon spread its wings and took off, disappearing into the fog without a sound. “Come on, let’s get back to the train,” Applejack said, turning to go. She looked back to notice Fluttershy hadn’t moved, and groaned in frustration. “Come on, Fluttershy! We need to get back on the train.”

When she moved in front of Fluttershy her frustration disappeared in an instant. Fluttershy’s eyes were wide and full of fear, her breathing was short and quick and she was shaking. Applejack wrapped her legs around the pegasus in an attempt to comfort her. “It’s okay, sugarcube. It’s gone now.”

Fluttershy immediately relaxed and returned the hug. “Sorry, Applejack,” she said with a smile. She pulled away. “Now, let’s get back onto the train.”

The two galloped off the track and were soon back in front of the train. “There you two are. I was beginning to worry,” Switcher said. “You both did it anyway, whatever you did.” He pointed to the signal, which had moved up and into green. “Right, everypony, back on board! We should be in Strutford in an hour!” he shouted out, and then jumped back onto the engine.

“Fluttershy, please explain to me what the hay just happened back there?” Applejack asked again as they walked back onto the train.

Fluttershy shook her head. “I know just as much as you, Applejack.”

“But that dragon.” Applejack said, pointing towards where they found it. “Why was it there, and what the hay did it mean when it said to you, ‘we are the same’?”

“I’m not sure either,” Fluttershy replied, her voice shaky. “Nor do I think I will.” As she finished speaking the train jarred, nearly toppling Applejack to the ground. Fluttershy saw out of the window the train began picking up speed and smiled. Like the driver said, they should be in Strutford in the hour.

“‘We are the same’. That’s a weird thing to say. What is it suppose to mean?” Twilight asked when Applejack told the others what happened. While Fluttershy layed on the bed on her back being blitzed with questions.

“I don’t know, Twilight!” she snapped, getting aggravated after for what felt like the fiftieth time she’d been asked that. She sighed and rubbed her forehead as a small headache made itself known. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t know, and I don’t think it should matter. The sooner we’re in Strutford, the better.” She rolled onto her stomach and blocked out the others talking, staring blankly out the window. The phrase spoken by the dragon kept nagging at her, though. It’s meaning she said was unimportant, but deep down in her stomach, she knew it would have a purpose later in this adventure.

The train arrived in Strutford exactly an hour since they had stopped. The six passengers looked out the windows on both sides; amazed by the city they were going through.

The city’s buildings were similar in design to Ponyville’s, but were attached to each other and created long lines of houses, bakeries and other shops. In the centre of the city stood a giant domed structure that was completely white and gleaming in the low sunlight. Below them were the city’s canals, where boats of different shapes sailed through, all of them were connected a larger river that divided the city in two. They saw a large steamship with four funnels waiting to go, while smaller ferries under its shadow took ponies across the river

The train came to a large station with around ten platforms. With a gentle turn of the brakes, Switcher stopped the train. Once it came to a full halt, he and Stoker relaxed, glad to be in Strutford after a long day. Fluttershy, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow and Pinkie jumped off the train and thanked the driver, fireman, and the guard, and walked out of the station and into the city proper.

“I didn’t think that the city would be this glamorous!” Rarity squealed with joy as they walked out the station and onto one of the main streets. Around them, ponies in different fashion designs: suites, dresses and some in their born coats, walked on with their daily lives, not noticing the six ponies’ arrival.

“Right,” Fluttershy said. “What’s everypony doing?” They looked at each other and thought about what they want to do. To go with Fluttershy or explore the city? “It’s alright if you all want to do something else. I’m just going to see the mayor and see whether Firewing passed through.”

“Ya sure, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked. Fluttershy nodded. “Okay then, why don’t we look around the city, see if we could spot him, and then meet back somewhere. Agreed?” The five ponies nodded their heads.

“Look,” Rainbow pointed, “there’s a inn over there. We’ll meet you in there.” Fluttershy looked to where she was pointing and saw the name, ‘The Cantering Filly’.

“Okay, Rainbow, I’ll meet you girls in there, then. If I don’t get lost,” Fluttershy said with a giggle.

Twilight chuckled. “Not if we get lost first. See you later.” With that the six ponies went their different ways. Fluttershy heading down towards the square and Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie went up towards the main river.

Fluttershy dodged her way through the large crowds of ponies and walked along the sidelines, glad to be out of the large crowds and in her own space. She walked to the edge of a small road and waited for the carriages to go by. A police pony walked up next to her. Fluttershy found him to be intimidating for he was massive in size, but he might know where the mayor’s office is. She extended a hoof and poked him lightly on the side. With a grunt he looked down on her with cold eyes. She shrank under his gaze. “Um…” she gulped. “I was wondering where the mayor’s office is in Strutford? You see I’m new here and…” she was interrupted by his answer.

“That big domed building over there is the mayor’s office, you can’t miss it. The bigger it gets the closer you’d be.” He pointed towards the large building they saw on the train, and then looked forward again as if she wasn’t there.

“Oh… okay. Thanks,” she said and trotted over the road and towards the building. Hoping to get there before sundown. She passed quiet roads and bridges over the small neat canals, stopping for a few seconds to say, “Hello” to some swans, who replied cheerfully. She arrived at the mayor’s office before the clock struck four, and stared in awe at the size of the building.

Wasting no more time, she nimbly walked through the main entrance and walked up to the reception desk. “Hello, I’m here to see the mayor of Strutford. My name’s Fluttershy.” The mare behind the desk looked at her with narrow eyes and then looked down at a scroll hidden from sight.

“Ah yes, from Canterlot. The mayor’s been waiting for a while. Head up the stairs and turn left, last door on the right,” she said. Fluttershy nodded in thanks and flew upstairs. She landed on the path on the left and walked to the last door on the right.

She gave a small tap with a hoof. “Hello, may I come in?”

“Enter.” Fluttershy opened the door and saw the mayor. She was around middle age, a dark green coat with a red and black striped mane and tail. Dark blue eyes and a cutie mark similar to that of Ponyville’s mayor, except the ribbon around the scroll was red rather than blue. “Well hello there, you must be Fluttershy from Ponyville,” she smiled warmly as she got up and shook the pegasus’ hoof. “Charmed to meet you, I’m mayor Struttinhoof.”

“Likewise,” Fluttershy greeted her with a smile. “Sorry I’m late, by the way. The train was delayed.”

“That’s all right, Fluttershy. It’s better safe than sorry, I suppose. Now come, walk with me,” the mayor said, leading Fluttershy out of her office and through the building. “So you’re the great Fluttershy of Ponyville. To be honest I expected you to be older, with your fame and all.”

Fluttershy looked at her, surprised. “You… you know me?”

“Yes, well, you and your friends. The famous bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the six ponies who saved Equestria twice. Yep, I know of you.” The mayor led Fluttershy down the stairs and past the receptionist, heading through a door on the right of the main entrance. “I also know of why you are here, but what I can’t understand is why?”

Fluttershy tilted her head to the left, and looked at her curiously. “I don’t understand?”

“Why are you after this Firewing fellow? And why is he important to you and the Princess?” she asked.

“Well, mayor, you see…” Fluttershy paused, wondering whether to tell her, a complete stranger. But she could see in her eyes she could be trusted and continued. “Firewing might know of a… condition that I have and I would like to see him to be cured.”

Now it was the mayor’s turn to look confused. “I see, but I would of thought a doctor would be better suited to treat you of this… condition. Not some wanderer. Would you like me to set up an appointment?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh no, thank you. It’s a bit complicated… and a bit ancient.”

“I see, so why don’t the Princess know of this… condition?”

“She said she’d never heard of it, but she pointed Firewing to me, so that’s why I’m going to find him.”

“I see,” the mayor said with a smile. They came to a pair of doors; with a push of her forelegs the mayor shifted them to move inwards. Inside were shelves of large books that had dark red covers.

“These,” the mayor explained, pointing to them as they walked into the archive, “are censuses. They’re written to record the ponies that live here and the ones that pass through. It’s to make sure we could track them in case they went missing.”

“So you're saying Firewing’s name could be written in one of these books?”

The mayor nodded. “If he passed through in the last five months, then it would have been recorded.” She turned to leave. “I hope you find him.” she closed the door behind her, leaving Fluttershy alone with all the censuses.

Fluttershy looked at the one nearest to her, and saw the date went back to three years ago. She realised that the census Firewing must have taken part in must be at the far end of the shelf, from five months ago to now. So she walked slowly, watching the dates carefully so she could hopefully find the right one. The dates went down: one year, eleven months, ten months, nine and so on. Until she came to one dating back five months ago. “Well, here goes nothing,” she said to herself, and picked up the book with her teeth. She walked to a small desk and started flicking through it.

Her eyes darted down then right, passing every name that didn’t begin with ‘F’ and slowed down to those that did. She was around half way through when she found his name written, along with his signature. Fluttershy got out his diary and noticed the signature was written the same way as the writing in the book. Fluttershy grinned. “Gotcha,” she said, mimicking the way the Princess said it at the brunch where she met Philomena.

She noticed that next to his name was duration of stay; it seemed he planned to stay for four months. Four months! Fluttershy wondered why he wanted to stay here for four months, and not in Canterlot, which is better in everyway compared to Strutford (no offence to the mayor). She put the book back and picked up the most recent one.

She found his name again, this time the duration of stay said overnight. She looked across and saw he was heading to Detrots, like he’d planned in the diary. She wrote it down in the diary and put the census book back. From this she learnt she was gaining on him, and if they were lucky they could catch him at Detrots; do what they need to do then go home. She wore a large smile as she went back to the mayor’s office.

“Thank you, mayor, for letting me have a look. It’s been a big help,” she said as she walked in.

“You’re welcome, dear. I hope you found what you were looking for.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, it seems he left for Detrots less than a month ago.”

The smile on the mayor’s face faded. “Why of all places in Equestria would he want to go there?” she asked aloud.

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with it?” she asked.

“It’s a bit rough, so to speak. It’s on the border of Horsca and Equestria, and soldiers are garrisoned there in case the horses there like to invade us at some point,” the mayor explained. “Did it say why?” Fluttershy shook her head. The mayor sighed. “Well, I hope you find him, then put some sense in him to come back from there.”

“I’ll try, thanks again, mayor.” With that she turned and left the room.

By the time she left the city hall and was making her way back towards the station, the sun was nearly gone, and the first stars were appearing on the cloudless sky. Fluttershy preferred walking through Strutford in the early evening; there weren’t as many ponies about on the paths so she could trot freely down the path, humming to herself. By the time the stars were out Fluttershy arrived outside ‘The Cantering Filly’ and went inside, hoping to find her friends already here waiting for her.

It was loud. Ponies were laughing, talking and singing noisily. She put her ears flat on her head, as the noise was dreadful to her – especially to her. She slid her way through the bar and looked around. Unfortunately she couldn’t see or make out any of her friends. With a sigh she walked to the front and waited to be served for a drink and food, since her belly started to rumble.

“Uhm, excuse me?” Fluttershy called to the waitress behind the bar. The waitress was a unicorn; she was a dark grey with a light brown mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a beer mug. The waitress turned around and when she saw Fluttershy she grinned.

“Why hello, gorgeous,” she commented, making Fluttershy blush heavily. She’d never been commented on her appearance before. ‘Either that,’ she thought, ‘or she’s flirting with me.’

“Um… thanks,” she squeaked behind her pink mane. “Um… I was wondering if I could get some food and a drink, please?” she asked.

“Sure thing, hun. What would you like?” she asked, passing her a menu. Fluttershy flicked through it.

“I’ll have the lettuce burger and hay fries please. And a apple juice please?”

The waitress wrote that down. “Sure thing, hun. Sit down and I’ll deliver it to you.” Fluttershy nodded and glanced around the room. She noticed a table for six for free. “Hmm, that’s fortunate,” she said to herself. She walked through the crowd and sat at the far end of the table, facing the door.

She spent the next few minutes thinking about what to do when they get to Detrots. If he weren’t there would they return to Ponyville and hope he might come through one day? She hoped he was, for her friend’s sake. She knew after a while they would want to go home, and they certainly wouldn’t want to go to Horsca. She knew at some point that she too would want to go home. But something inside her wanted her to keep going, make it through to the end, even if it meant going to the edge of the known world.

“Hun,” the waitress brought her out of her chain of thought. The unicorn had a plate with her meal and her drink held with her magic. “Your dinner’s here.”

“Oh sorry, I’m just thinking about something. Thank you,” she said as the waitress placed the meal in front of her.

“May I ask something?” the unicorn said. Fluttershy nodded, gesturing for her to sit, which the waitress did so. “What’s a nice, cute pegasus like yourself doing out here in this town alone?”

“Well,” Fluttershy answered, another pink blush forming, “I’m not alone. My friends are around town at the moment. They should be here soon.”

The waitress nodded. “But why in Strutford, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Fluttershy thought about whether or not she should tell this complete stranger, but she seemed nice enough, if not a bit flirtatious. “I’m looking for a pony, a stallion.”

She could see the unicorn's smile fade a little. Fluttershy giggled. “Not like that. I need to speak to him about something. His name’s Firewing.”

The unicorn’s head shot upright and her eyes widened. “You know Firewing?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Well no… wait, do you know him?”

The waitress nodded. “Yes, he worked here for a while. Had some rather good cooking skills so he was in the kitchen for a while. Said he needed the bits.”

Fluttershy’s jaw lowered very slowly and her eyes lit up with joy. “Oh thank you, thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome, hun.” The waitress noticed she was being watched. “I’d better get back to work. Enjoy your meal, hun.” With that the waitress walked away. She looked back and gave Fluttershy a friendly smile, which Fluttershy returned.

She had nearly finished her meal when she heard the familiar voices of her friends through the crowd. “Over here, girls!” she called as loud as she could, and waved her hooves to show she was here. Rainbow pointed her out and they clambered past the ponies and joined her.

“Hey, Fluttershy!” Pinkie squeaked as they sat around.

“Hello, Fluttershy. I trust you found what you were looking for,” Rarity said

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, he’s not here I’m afraid. He went to Detrots about a month ago.”

“A month!” Rainbow exclaimed. “That’s a good thing isn’t it? I mean we’re catching up with him already.”

“I hope so, Rainbow,” Twilight said. “The map he wrote out said he was going to Detrots and that’s it.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. “The waitress told me…” she pointed over to the unicorn, who saw her looking and winked at her. “Um… right,” she said, blushing again. “Anyway, she said Firewing worked here for a while. She said he needed the money for something.”

“Why would he need the money if he’s able to stay here?” Rarity said.

Fluttershy shrugged. “I don’t know, but we’ll ask him when we find him.”

Applejack yawned. “Well I don’t know about ya’ll, but I’m tired. We’ll set out to Detrots then in the morning, huh?” The others agreed and they bought a room for six in the inn for the night.

As they walked up to their room Rainbow looked at her pegasus friend with a smirk “Hey, Fluttershy, did that unicorn waitress wink at you earlier?” she asked. Fluttershy nodded sheepishly and squeaked behind her mane.

Rainbow sniggered, and then couldn’t stop laughing. “Oh, this is precious. Fluttershy getting hit on in Strutford. I’m never going to let this go, ever,” she said between breaths. She glanced at Fluttershy, who was giving her the ‘stare’. Rainbow squeaked in alarm and ran inside the bedroom, Fluttershy following suite.

“We’re on our way, from misery to happiness today,” Pinkie sang as they walked (Pinkie hopped) out of the city and on the dirt road towards Detrots the next morning.

“How long until we get to Detrots, Twilight?” Rainbow asked as they walked. Twilight was up front, with Rainbow and Fluttershy flying beside her, with Pinkie annoying Rarity and Applejack at the back with her cheerful singing. In front of them were miles of meadows and woodlands; while in the distance was a large group of mountains that dominated the skyline.

“By my calculations, it should take at least a day and a night to get there. So we’re gonna have to camp out tonight.”

Rarity heard her and froze. “Camp?! Outside?! In the muddy grass?! What madness is this?! Couldn’t we just find a nice inn along the road, there should be one? Shouldn’t there?”

Twilight looked back and shook her head. “I’m afraid not, Rarity. Nopony really ever takes this road, so there aren’t any inns at all, or else they would all be out of business.”

“Don’t worry, Rarity,” Applejack smirked. “It’ll be fun, sleeping under the stars for once, it’s relaxing.” Secretly she couldn’t help but snigger.

The six ponies passed rows of meadows and woodlands alongside the road. The day went by quickly for them; they filled it with jokes, singing, and talking about how everypony in Ponyville was getting on without them.

“To be honest,” Rainbow said on the subject, “I bet the mayor’s pleased I’m not there. I’ve caused enough damage in the last few months than that dragon did in one day.”

“Well I hope my family can get on without me,” Applejack said. “I know Big Mac will do well, but I sure hope Caramel has learned to buck straight.”

Eventually they found themselves under the shadow of the mountains. They were massive and black as night, with a small rocky path winding its way through them. To their right was a small river that flowed down towards Strutford.

“Black Mane pass,” Twilight announced, stopping to take a look around. Rainbow dashed forward to scout the path ahead, a few seconds later she came back.

“The path is starting to get a bit rocky and the mountains look treacherous. I think we should take it, and I can’t believe the words are coming out of my mouth, slowly,” Rainbow said with a sigh. With that, she set down behind Fluttershy and walked through the tricky, steep path.

“How come you aren’t flying?” Twilight asked to her, upon noticing Rainbow was trotting. “Wouldn’t it be easier for you to fly?”

“Well, yeah,” Rainbow admitted. “But when you’re an awesome pegasus like me who thrives in danger, then sometimes you would want to take the harder route.” The five ponies she was with rolled their eyes.

“Oh, I hope there won’t be any danger where we’re going,” Fluttershy said, hopping from rock to rock.

The mountains drew further apart from each other as they walked, mostly due to the appearance of a large lake that made up half of the pass, and some dead trees on the other. Most were cut down and harvested for timber, but most still stood. Fluttershy noticed the pass starting to disappear and new trees and grass that grew; they were now back on the main road.

“Girls!” Fluttershy called to Rainbow and Applejack in front. “I think it might be best if we stop here for the night. Some of us are getting tired,” Fluttershy suggested, motioning to Rarity and Twilight, who were now lagging behind.

Applejack looked to where the sun was; it was starting to descend over the horizon. “Ya right, Fluttershy. By the lake here would be a perfect place to stop.”

“I’ll get some firewood!” Rainbow called. With that, she raced into the nearby forest, while Fluttershy flew over the water with a flask and got some water. It was clear and rich in taste so it should be fine to make some nice tea. Fluttershy checked the bucket quickly so that no small fish got trapped inside. Satisfied, she returned to the camp, where an exhausted Twilight put up her sleeping bag.

“I got some water from the lake. Don’t worry it’s fresh. I thought I’ll make some tea for you all,” Fluttershy said.

Twilight smiled. “That would be lovely, thank you, Fluttershy.” Rarity agreed.

Rainbow came back a minute later, her hooves and teeth full of wood. She set it down and stacked it up in a pile. “Anyone know how to make a fire?” she asked.

“I do,” Applejack replied. “Just stand back and in ten minutes we’ll have a roaring fire going.”

Rainbow yawned and looked at Pinkie’s party watch. “Gee, Applejack, I’d hoped you knew the difference between ten minutes and half an hour!”

Applejack was still rubbing the two pieces of wood in her hooves together, frustration edging its way across her face. Finally the wood caught alight and the fire began to crackle in earnest.

“About blooming time!” she shouted, while placing some more wood on to keep it going for a bit longer. By the time the stars had appeared the fire was burning brightly and the six ponies crowded around it in a bid to keep warm.

Fluttershy brought out a small tripod from her saddlebag and placed it over the fire, getting some tealeaves and placing them in the flask. “Tea’s ready,” she said once it had boiled. The five ponies were given some mugs by Fluttershy and drank their teas in silence, admiring the sound of the fire and the clear bright night sky above them. After tea, they got out there sleeping bags and got ready to set down for the night.

Suddenly Rarity screamed. “Oh no! I forgot my sleeping bag! Oh Nononononono! Of all the worst things that could happen! This is the. Worst. Possible. Thing! Oh, woe to me!” she cried. She began shaking as the night drew colder.

The five ponies looked at Rarity with great sympathy, but they couldn’t give or share theirs or they would be cold as well. Fluttershy then had a great idea, one she’d do later, but now Rarity was the main concern. She took her sleeping blanket and laid it over Rarity, who instantly stopped shaking. She opened her eyes and noticed the blanket on her. She looked towards Fluttershy, who walked back to the opposite side of the fireplace and cuddled up closer to the fire.

Rarity was at a loss for words. “Fluttershy, I… I can’t take this. It’ll seem selfish of me that I’m here warm and you are sleeping out in the cold.” Rarity was right; the night was colder than the last few nights.

Fluttershy shook her head “And I would feel terrible if my friend was left in the freezing cold too, Rarity. I’ll be fine, I just hope it’s comfortable for you.”

Rarity tried to get comfortable; Applejack thought she would be fussing for about an hour, keeping everypony awake. But to her and everypony’s (except Fluttershy’s) surprise, it took a few seconds for Rarity to get comfortable and she rested her head on the grass.

“Fluttershy, this blanket is so comfortable!” She rubbed the texture of it. “And amazingly smooth, where did you get this?”

Fluttershy smiled. “Oh one of the carers at the orphanage made it for me. She knitted it from one of her sheep at the farm she worked part time.”

The others looked at Fluttershy with complete shock. Fluttershy realised what she just said and brought her hooves on her mouth and squeaked in shock. “You never told us you were an orphan?” Rarity said, wide eyed.

Fluttershy eyes moved to look at Applejack who mouthed, “I told ya so,” at her.

Fluttershy sighed. “Because it seemed unimportant to me,” she answered.

Rainbow gasped, “Well it is to us!” Fluttershy flinched at her outburst. Rainbow sighed. “Oh come here.” She walked up to Fluttershy and gave her a big hug. Pinkie followed behind, Twilight and Rarity and finally Applejack, all came together in a big hug.

“I’m so sorry to hear this. What happened to make you lose your family, Fluttershy? Don’t worry about it makes you uncomfortable,” Twilight asked. Fluttershy gestured them all to sit down and she told her story.

“No it’s all right, Twilight, I’ve kept it quiet long enough, even if there isn’t much to tell. I never knew my mother and father, I don’t even remember them. One of the carers said she found me outside the front entrance of the orphanage early one morning. She brought me in and raised me in her image. She was kindest gentlest soul I ever knew, never raised a hoof on any pony, and especially not me.” She looked at each of her friends, who gasped.

“You’re saying… that there were ponies that hit you?” Pinkie said with a trace of anger.

Fluttershy shook her head and gave Pinkie an assuring smile. “Not me, no, but other orphans were hit sometimes. She was furious, though, and they were sacked instantly. No, I kept myself to myself.”

“Then what happened?” Applejack asked.

“The years passed, every time two ponies came to adopt, they turned me away, thinking I’m a freak.”

Twilight snorted in disgust. “Who would have the audacity to think of you as a freak?”

“You must understand, Twilight, that at ten I wasn’t able to fly properly, while most ponies at that age whizzed by me. They wanted a filly or colt that could fly well, and I was never any good for them.”

She paused for breath. “I was enrolled into flight school when I was eleven. I kept myself to myself, shy as always, until I met Rainbow.” She looked at the cyan pegasus, who saluted. “She taught me to fly better than the teachers ever did,” she commented on Rainbow, who started to blush.

“Oh stop it, Fluttershy, you’re embarrassing me here,” she waved a hoof. Fluttershy giggled.

“Then I got my cutie mark, and managed to fly back to the orphanage. When I showed that carer who found me she leapt for joy.” She smiled at the memory. “She made me that blanket and gave it to me the next day, and this.” She fished something out of her saddlebag and showed it to them. A single golden medallion, thin and shaped like an egg, with a string that went through a hole at the top. The others looked at it with wonder.

“She said she found it on me when I was a foal. Must have been given by my mother or father. She said it gives me good luck.” She paused again, this time her smile faded.

“And then s-she died. Gone just like that. When I was told I never cried harder than I did that day and that night.” She noticed Pinkie sniffing up tears.

“I was beginning to like her,” Pinkie sniffed.

“Four years later, I received a letter. It turned out I had an auntie. She only found out of my existence, but passed away before she was able to get me, so she left my name in her will, and left me her cottage. So I packed what I had and moved to Ponyville,” she said.

“Wow,” Applejack said. “So your auntie lived there before ya. When I was little I dodged that place, was too close to the Everfree for my liking.”

“I know,” Fluttershy agreed. “I admit it was pretty scary when I moved in, but a few re-decorations here and there did the trick. I renovated it so I could look after my animal friends. And that’s it really, not much else to tell,” Fluttershy finished.

The five ponies looked at her with wonder. “That was incredible. Why didn’t you tell us before?” Rarity asked.

Fluttershy looked away, ashamed at herself. “Because I was afraid to. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier everypony, especially to you, Rainbow. I guess I should’ve trusted you earlier than I do now.”

Rainbow smiled. “Don’t worry about it, Fluttershy. You didn’t know me too well at that age anyway.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Pinkie, Rarity and Twilight said, one after the other.

Twilight suddenly let out a long yawn; followed by Pinkie. “Oooo,” Pinkie said. “Your yawn’s infectious.”

“Guess it’s time we go to sleep. Goodnight, everypony,” Twilight said, and crept in to her sleeping bag. Rainbow, Applejack and Pinkie followed suite.

Rarity went under Fluttershy’s blanket. “Thanks again, Fluttershy. You’re a good friend,” she said and quickly fell asleep.

Fluttershy waited until they were all fully asleep. Once they began to snore she started her plan. She crept away from the group and gathered more firewood. She returned with a large group of sticks in her hooves and mouth and tossed them into the fire, creating a large inferno that, she hoped, would keep burning for some time. Stage one was complete – time for stage two.

The fire was still burning brightly as Fluttershy brought her left foreleg over it, stepping onto it. She then placed her right foreleg onto it, trying to be careful so not to damage the fire. She then moved her hind legs on it. The fire still as intense as it was when she stepped on it, as if she wasn’t there. She set down on her stomach, bringing her legs towards her stomach and relaxed.

Fluttershy never felt safer before than she did now. She felt warm, and found the feel of the fire soothing, and made her sleepy. She rested her head on the grass and fell quickly asleep, excited and nervous about tomorrow’s arrival and what they would find in Detrots.

Chapter 6

The night sky disappeared, giving way to the sun. It rose slowly over the mountains in the east, its life giving light shining down on Equestria, and in particular the six ponies that had camped out somewhere in the wilderness.

Applejack’s eyes flickered open and she stifled a yawn. She raised her head and looked around, checking to see if everyone was okay. She saw Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow and Pinkie sleeping soundlessly; Twilight though had her mouth open so wide to catch moths, and Rainbow was flicking a wing as if she was flying. Where Fluttershy was she had no idea. ‘Probably woke up and went to the bathroom,’ she thought.

She got up and stretched her legs, and then walked over to the side of the lake to have a drink. A gentle breeze filled the air and it sent ripples across the lake, making it livelier than it looked yesterday.

Applejack walked to the bank and took a sip. It wasn’t the best water, she concluded, but it was good enough. She drank for a while before sitting down on her haunches and gazed at the scenery. In all honesty she could stay here forever; it was so relaxing, with the wind in her mane, and not a single pony save her friends in sight.

She was so relaxed she didn’t hear Twilight sneak up behind her and poke her on the side. “Morning, Applejack,” she greeted her friend.

Applejack jumped with an, “Ah!” and looked at Twilight. “Blooming eke, Twilight, ya gave me a scare there.”

Twilight looked at her apologetically. “Sorry, Applejack, I just thought you could hear me.”

“I was miles away, sugarcube. Anyway how are ya, slept well?”

Twilight nodded. “Very well thank you. Did you?”

Applejack nodded, and then opened her mouth to speak but before she could utter a word she had Rarity in her face. “Sorry, darlings, but I must get in the water and clean my mane after it’s been in that hideous grass.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Rarity, could ya go for one day without washing your mane?”

Rarity looked at her as if Applejack had asked her to jump off a cliff. “Good heavens no! This mane took me ages to style and I’m not going to let some little putrid bugs that might have crawled in there to lay their eggs ruin it!” With a huff she jumped into the water and disappeared under the surface.

“I wouldn’t let Fluttershy calling animals putrid if I were you. Speaking of which, were is that gal?”

Rarity re-submerged and looked at her alarmed, so did Twilight. “You mean she wasn’t here when you got up?” Twilight asked.

Applejack nodded. Her eyes widened as she came to the same conclusion the others had come to. The three ponies raced back to the campsite and woke Rainbow Dash and Pinkie. They quickly informed them Fluttershy was missing and soon they all were calling out her name in panicky tones.

“I’m here,” came the sweet voice of the other pegasus. Five pairs of eyes looked confusedly in every direction, before Rainbow pointed towards where the campfire was with horror in her eyes. A large lump was in place of where the campfire was last night. It quickly rose up and its eyes flickered open, revealing Fluttershy’s cyan eyes.

“Good morning, everypony,” she greeted them softly with a smile. Fluttershy was completely covered in ash, with only her white teeth the only thing clean about her. “Oh, sorry if I kept you waiting. You could’ve wok… why are you all staring at me like that?”

Pinkie fainted, Rainbow looked like her jaw would drop off, Applejack was horrified, Twilight was sniggering at everypony’s reaction, and Rarity had a hoof on her chest, hyperventilating. “Fluttershy! I thought of all ponies on this world you should know better! Sleeping in a campfire can’t be at all good for your complexion!”

“It's actually very relaxing,” Fluttershy remarked. “But I wouldn’t recommend it to you all, you might get hurt.”

Twilight giggled. “Thanks for the sound advice, Fluttershy. Now get yourself cleaned up, then we can get going.”

Fluttershy looked down on herself and gasped. “Oh my!” She quickly galloped past the stricken ponies, covering some of them in ash and dust, and then jumping and diving into the water. When she emerged, her yellow coat and pink mane shone as bright as the sun.

She swam around a bit before getting out then shook the excess water off her body, and then joined the others who were getting ready to set off once more. “Ready, everypony?” Pinkie asked a while later. Five heads nodded and they soon set off, leaving the remains of the campfire behind. As they made their way back onto the main road, Pinkie started to sing.

“On the road again.”

“Just can’t wait to get on the road again.”

The others quickly joined in, singing in complete harmony.

“The life I love making music with my friends, and I can’t wait to get on the road again…”

The four hours that passed by once they got on the move was without incident. They passed small woodlands, stopping at Fluttershy’s request to watch a small group of bunnies with young ones. After an hour or so they had to literary drag her away, and they were soon back on the move.

Eventually the came across a large forest with dark green leaves and really old trees, with a small path that went through the middle. “The map states Detrots is in the middle of this forest,” Twilight said. “We shouldn’t be much further now.”

The walked cautiously through, going at a quick trot so if they get in any trouble they could gallop fast towards the city. “It's okay, there’s only owls and small, harmless creatures in there. I can hear them,” Fluttershy said.

The others relaxed and continued. After a while they rounded a long bend and were soon within sight of Detrots. The city wasn’t viewable from the outside. A great stone wall around twelve feet high surrounded the city, which was accessible by a long wooden drawbridge that was split in two halves, which were raised up at the moment.

As they came closer to the bridge, they spotted a guard standing by the raised bridge, looking slightly bored. When she saw the six ponies come closer, she spread her wings and lowered her spear. “Halt! Who are you?! State your business in Detrots!” she called to them in a gruff voice.

Twilight stepped forward. She gestured for Fluttershy to follow close behind. “Good afternoon. We’re here on important business with permission from the Princess herself,” she said.

The guard raised her spear slightly. “Do you have proof?” she asked. Twilight nodded and gestured Fluttershy to come forward. The pegasus walked up next to Twilight and, not once looking at the guard, showed her leg with Celestia’s bracelet on it. The guard examined it, then nodded, seemingly satisfied with the evidence.

“Hey, Silver Shield!” she called to the battlements. “Lower the bridge. We have six ponies here bearing the mark of the Princess!”

The drawbridge creaked as it lowered, both sides coming down evenly and ending together perfectly connected. “I’ll escort you inside,” the guard said and walked into the city, the ponies following close behind. With more creaking the front gates of city opened upwards. “Enjoy your stay here in Detrots,” the guard said, and watched them enter.

As she walked out of the gatehouse and back over the bridge she gestured one of the pegasi guards on the battlements to come down. “Inform the commander of their arrival. Tell him a yellow pegasus with a pink mane bears the mark of Celestia. And send somepony to follow them so we know where they go.” The pegasus nodded and took to the air.

The city of Detrots was much like Ponyville in a way. The structures were wooden in build and the area was pretty flat. But that’s were any resemblance ended. The buildings were a white with vertical black stripes in colour, the ground was soft and muddy from a few days of rain, and there were around twenty ponies in the street the six friends walked through. Applejack grunted with every step she took, since Rarity jumped on her back in fright of getting her hooves dirty.

“I think first we should find somewhere to stay, Twilight. We were only lucky last time they had a room for six,” Rainbow suggested.

“I agree, the sooner we’re off this muddy road, the better,” Rarity said from Applejack’s back. They soon started looking around; anywhere they would be able to stay for a day or more. Pinkie was the first to find a place.

“Girls! Girls! I found somewhere!” she exclaimed as she hopped around them.

“Where?” Twilight asked. Pinkies hopped a few feet, turned and pointed to the left. They saw a large wooden building with a plain wooden sign outside that gave it away as an inn. “Good work, Pinkie,” Twilight commented. They trotted after Twilight and went inside the rectangular building.

The inn was very medieval in appearance, a long table in the centre with smaller tables along the side, squared up in boxes. Along the walls were ceremonial swords, spears and shields, and between each were torches that lit up the place. At the far end was the innkeeper behind the front counter, cleaning up a tankard with his magic.

He was a unicorn, with a light blue coat and a lighter blue mane and tail, his cutie mark was a tankard and his eyes were a dark green. He turned around when he heard to door close. “Welcome, ladies,” he smiled and greeted them. “I haven’t see any of you here before, have I?”

“Nope, we’re all the way from Ponyville,” Pinkie said joyfully.

The bartender’s eyes widened. “Ponyville?! My hometown?!” The ponies nodded, the blue-coated unicorn beamed. “Why ladies you’re all very welcome to ‘The Shield Mares’ Inn. Sorry I have yet to put the name up. I should do that soon as a note to self. Anyway, name’s Brewman.” He walked out from behind the bar and greeted them all with a hoof shake.

“Nice to meet you, Brewman, I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

“I’m Rarity, might I say it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Howdy former Ponyvillian, I’m Applejack,” Brewman’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Of the apple family?” Applejack nodded. “Wow, Is old Granny Smith okay? Is she still making those zap apples?”

Applejack nodded with a grin. “Yep, and I’ve been learning as well.”

Brewman nodded and turned attention to Rainbow. “I’m Rainbow Dash, most awesome pegasus in Ponyville.”

“I can doubt that,” he muttered quietly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He moved to the next pony, who shook his hoof at an alarming speed.

“Hi I’m Pinkie Pie, party pony of Ponyville, you used to live in Ponyville!” She paused to gasp. “I may remember you, but it’s difficult if you know every pony names in the whole town, except those that don’t live in Ponyville or those who move away, and that makes me sad, because they’ll miss some of my spectacular parties I put on and yeah it’s nice to meet you.”

When Brewman was finally able to move his leg away, his hoof felt a bit numb. He gave it a quick shake before turning to the quietest member of the group. “And who might you be?”

“I’m Fluttershy,” she said quietly. She drew out a hoof and shook his. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Brewman smiled warmly. “It’s nice to meet you too.” He walked back behind the counter. “So what could I do for you all?”

Fluttershy spoke up. “Could we have a room to stay for the night please? If it's no trouble that is.”

“And do you have one for the six of us. Separate beds of course,” Twilight added.

Brewman chuckled. “It’s no problem at all, and I have one with eight beds in that room there.” He paused to point at the plain black door with a bronze handle. “I could use the business as well, to be honest. It’s real slow here.”

“Really?” Twilight cocked her head to the side.

“Yep, all the customers I get are usually the soldiers that are posted here, and some travellers who took a wrong turn.” He poured them all a drink. “Here, have this on the house.”

They sat down by the long table and drank. “Wow,” Rainbow said. “What is this drink? It’s delicious!”

“My own little recipe. A plant grows by the river here that tastes wonderful, I managed to concoct it into a drink. Don’t worry its non-alcoholic; never sell anything here that gets ponies drunk. If some of the soldiers got their hooves on it, I dread to think what it will do to my business,” he said.

As Brewman finished cleaning his tankards, the six mares rested their legs and drank their drinks, cheery and glad that they made it here at last. “So what business brings you all to Detrots?” Brewman asked. “I noticed, Fluttershy, you have a bracelet with the mark of Celestia.” As he just finished his sentence when the front door opened, startling everypony in fright. A unicorn and pegasi guards walked through, with grim faces.

Brewman walked up to them. “Afternoon, gents. What could I do for you?”

“We’re here for the yellow pegasus. Commander Star wants to see her.” Everypony looked towards Fluttershy, then back at the guards. Rainbow stood in front of Fluttershy and spread her wings out defensively.

“Why can’t we all go?” she enquired. “If Fluttershy goes somewhere, I’m going with her.” The guards took to an aggressive stance and looked like they were about to charge. Fluttershy put a calming hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder and gave her a warm smile.

“It’s okay, Rainbow.” She gently pushed Rainbow to the side and walked up to the guard. “I’ll go, take me to your leader.” She giggled. “I’ve read it so many times in books I can’t believe I just said it for real.”

The guards looked at each other awkwardly, then gestured Fluttershy to go outside and follow them. Before she left, she waved a hoof at her friends. “I won’t be long,” she said comfortingly and left.

“If I find out you’ve harmed one hair on her, you better prepare yourselves for a world of pain!” Rainbow called out to them. She looked back at the shocked faces of everypony in the inn. “What? I meant every word as well you know.”

Fluttershy was led though the streets, gaining some unwanted attention by some of the few ponies that lived in Detrots. The two guards flanked Fluttershy on either side, and she felt slightly unnerved by their size and rather aggressive expressions. What if they threw her in a dungeon for something she didn’t commit? ‘What if they took me away to get to my friends?’ was one of some of the rather ridiculous thoughts and accusations rang through her mind. She scolded herself for starting to think like Twilight and Rainbow, with their rather ridiculous thoughts on what the Princess would do to them and her in the past.

They approached a large stoned building built directly into the wall that surrounded the city. The two guards stopped and turned around completely, facing the city. “Go right inside. Commander Star will be in the door on the right,” the unicorn guard said. Fluttershy nodded and slowly walked inside. There was a door on the far right, which Fluttershy reckoned the commander was in. She opened the door and peeked inside.

“Hello?” she whispered. A pony raised his head from below the table and looked towards the door. Fluttershy instantly jumped back and hoped he hadn’t seen her.

“Come in. I saw you peeping over the door,” he ordered sharply. With a squeak Fluttershy slowly walked in and closed the door behind her with a hind leg. She walked with her head down, avoiding the eye contact with the pony. He was a dark grey pegasus with a long black mane and short tail. His eyes were a turquoise colour and were locked on her in a way that made Fluttershy feel uneasy. “Sit down on this chair please?” he offered. Fluttershy complied and sat down, still looking at the ground.

“What is your name?” he asked.

It took a while for to respond but eventually she said it audibly, “I’m Fluttershy.”

“I’m Commander Star of the 412th Equestrian Royal Guard.” Fluttershy put a hoof out to shake his, but he stared blankly at it, so she put it back down. “You know, in the ten years of being commander of this post. I have never had an inspection from Canterlot before.”

Fluttershy looked up and shook her head. “But we’re not here on inspection.”

Star looked at her with his cold eyes. “No, so why are you here?” he asked sharply

“Me and my friends are looking for a pony.”

“Right, so that could be one of any pony in this city,” he said sarcastically.

“He’s a pegasus-”

“That narrows it down to around seventy pegasi,” he cut her off again.

“His name’s Firewing.”

Star froze and looked at her with a scared expression. “What do you know of Firewing?”

“All I know is that he came here and I want… I need to find him,” she said, correcting herself. “How do you know him?”

“I see,” he ignored her question. “I take it the Princess must have sent you, since you have that bracelet.” Fluttershy nodded. Star put a hoof to his chin. “Come on then,” he stood up. “I’ll show you where he is at this moment.”

Fluttershy face lit up. “Oh thank you, thanks so much!” she squealed with delight. She fell quickly behind Star and followed out of his office and up a spiralling flight of stairs.

‘This is it,’ Fluttershy thought. ‘We have come all this way, and once we’re done here we could go home, and I could live my life anew.’ They arrived at the top of the stairs and Star pushed the door open. Fluttershy barged past him and looked around.

They were at the top of the tallest tower along the battlements. Fluttershy could see beyond the boundaries of the northern side of the city; the land ahead was a large group of forest, and standing above, proudly soaring up into the sky were a range of mountains the stretched across the horizon.

Fluttershy looked back towards Star with a confused face. “Where’s Firewing?”

He walked up next to her and pointed to the mountain range. “See those mountains?”
Fluttershy nodded. “He’s there somewhere, left to go over there about a month ago”.

Fluttershy ears lowered and she faced Star. “What’s over those mountains?”

“Those mountains are what separate Equestria from Horsca,” he replied. “He packed what things he had and left the city to go into Horsca, saying something important needs to be done there.”

“Did he say what?” Star shook his head. “Did he say how long he’d be?”

“Look, he’s probably dead. Most ponies that go into Horsca never come back.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened and she shakily asked, “Why?”

Star sighed. “The southern side of Horsca don’t like Equestrians, they catch one and they’re dead. Most ponies that are lucky to pass them head straight to the north.”

Fluttershy looked at Star with a confused expression. “North and south? What’s the difference?”

Star facehoofed himself. “Of course! Equestria doesn’t know what’s been going on over there. Well we do. Do you want to know?” Fluttershy nodded. “Well, miss Fluttershy, Horsca has been a divided country for nearly two hundred years. The two ruling families, the Palominans and the Andulusians, use to live and rule the country together. But broke off after a pathetic disagreement and have been fighting over the country ever since. The wars have been going on and off, but always brutal and savage, with neither side giving mercy,” he finished.

Fluttershy jaw had lowered to the ground and her eyes widened through the story “Then why doesn’t this book on Horsca we have say any of this?” she wondered aloud.

“Probably because the darn thing is never told, for some reason it’s kept a secret. Only the Princesses knows about the war, and us, and that’s it.”

Fluttershy nodded her head slightly in understanding, although she was still confused about why it was kept a secret from the rest of Equestria. “So what about Firewing?”

Star shook his head. “Not a chance, and even if he did get past the Andulusian soldiers, I still wouldn’t recommend it. Its suicide for the six of you to go in there. You’ll all be killed on sight.”

Fluttershy’s ears dropped onto her head and her bottom lip drooled. Suddenly an idea came to her mind, one that filled her with disgust and shame for even thinking of it, but she needed to get to Firewing. “What about one pony?”

Star thought about this for a moment, then shrugged. “Fifty fifty, the chances are higher than the six of you going. But I still wouldn’t recommend it.” Fluttershy turned her gaze towards the mountains again, determination written on her face. Star saw this and shook his head. “Oh Nononononono, I’m not allowing you to go out there by yourself.”

“I have no choice. If I don’t go alone we all die. If I do go alone, I could die, but I would have a better chance. I must find Firewing so he can help me, and if I have to go into Horsca then so be it. I’ve come too far to give up now.”

Star was about to object to this, but could see it was hopeless. “What about your friends? I take it they could’ve stayed at home but instead they came with you, so what makes you think they’d let you go alone?”

“They won’t, that’s why I have a plan.” Fluttershy explained it to Star, who raised an eyebrow at the end.

“You would go that far?” he asked.

Fluttershy nodded sadly. “You must think I’m a monster.”

Star shook his head “I’ve heard and seen worse things, Fluttershy. That ain’t any of them.” He paused to sigh. “Very well, there’s a shop that sells some stuff down the road. Head left when you exit this building. The shop has a red sign above it, can’t miss it.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said softly and walked towards the door.

“By the way, you’ll need a fifty bits to get through. Firewing did so, I won’t let anypony through unless they’d willing to pay.” He called to her. Fluttershy heard but didn’t respond as she walked out and headed left like Star said.

“I hope you girls could forgive me,” she whispered aloud.

“Pinkie,” Applejack said. “Hit me.”

Pinkie nodded and raised a hoof, then slung a card over to her, which Applejack caught with her mouth, and placed neatly with the other two cards in her hooves. The five ponies had relocated to the largest room in the inn, made for eight ponies to sleep in. It was very spacious with a large table for the five of them to play cards on.

“Um…” Rarity pondered. “I think I’ll stick,” she declared, putting her cards down. Pinkie nodded.

“Hit me,” Rainbow asked. When she got the card she slammed her head down on the table. “Darn it! Over twenty one, again!”

“Oh don’t take it too hard, Rainbow,” Twilight said. She scanned her cards and put them on the table. “I’m sticking.”

“I’m sticking too,” Pinkie said. Applejack nodded in agreement and as one the four ponies flipped over their cards, Pinkie had eighteen, Applejack and twenty, Rarity had seventeen and Twilight had twenty-one.

“Wahoo!” she punched the air, giggling with joy. “I never won a game of Blackjack before! Well I only played once before but still!”

“Well done, Twilight. Say, do you want to shuffle this one?” Pinkie asked, Twilight nodded and got the group of cards and shuffled them with her magic. Then shot out two cards each to the others, giving her two.

They all looked towards the door expecting to see Brewman if they wanted a drink, but instead had Fluttershy coming through the door. “Oh, I’m sorry am I interrupting?” she asked.

She was met with beaming smiles. “Hey, Fluttershy!” Pinkie greeted her. “Want to play cards?” Fluttershy declined with a shake of the head.

Rainbow got up and walked around her, giving Fluttershy an inspection. “Yep, no harm done,” she declared and gave Fluttershy a quick hug. “How was it?”

“Yeah, what did they want?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy sat up on one of the free chairs and gave them all a great smile.

“Oh it was fine, Star, the commander of the garrison here, showed me where Firewing was.”

“And did you meet him?” Twilight asked. Fluttershy nodded. “And have you been… treated?”

Fluttershy nodded with a beaming smile. The ponies cheered. “This is brilliant, we could go home!” Pinkie beamed. “And have a super smashing party that rivals any and every party that’s ever been or is happening!”

Fluttershy nodded. “And I thought we should celebrate it with this.” She got out a large cider bottle along with six cups. She noticed Rainbow, Rarity, Pinkie and Twilight’s eyes widening and lips starting to drool. “This is hoof made apple cider from a village about five miles away, it’s one the best apparently in Equestria… the best is Applejack’s of course,” she explained, looking at the farm pony who smiled with a faint blush.

Fluttershy went around the table pouring the cider into the cups she’d given them and went back to her seat. Taking the tankard in her hoof. “Girls,” she began, “coming on this journey with you has been great. I’m glad we went together, and I’m glad that we’d finished it together. I would never had done it with good friends by my side.” She paused to control her voice, which she felt was on the point of breaking. “So thank you, for being the best friends a mare could have.”

The six ponies put their cups together and gulped down their drinks. Fluttershy however didn’t take a sip, she grimaced as she watched them drink, her heart was racing and she could feel tears in her eyes. ‘What have you done?’ a voice, her voice, in her head said.

They put their glasses down and licked their lips “Whoowee! Don’t tell my family I said this, but that was mighty delicious!” Applejack commented. “Thank ya, Fluttershy for that.” She looked at Fluttershy, who smiled as best she could. Applejack could see though something was wrong. Fluttershy lips were trembling as if she about to cry and her eyes seemed watery for some reason.

Before Applejack could ask her what was wrong, she noticed in the corner of her eye Pinkie falling to the floor, snoring loudly. She felt her eyes starting to feel heavy and tried her best to keep them open.

“Oh… my,” Rarity yawned. “I feel… sleepy,” she said before collapsing on to the ground, next to the snoozing pink earth pony. Rainbow started to see something was wrong and gazed coldly at the yellow pegasus, whose cheeks were soaked from her tears.

“What have you done!” she barked, pointing an accusing hoof at her.

Fluttershy merely shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she choked out. Rainbow then fell to the ground, Applejack followed suite. Twilight was still holding on, her hooves were on the table as she stared at Fluttershy in shock and wonder, but her eyes were feeling heavy.

Fluttershy looked at her dolefully, then leaned over and hugged the unicorn. “Twilight, do me a favour. When you get home, remember me, please?” she whispered into the unicorn’s ear. Twilight’s eyes closed and she fell asleep, collapsing into Fluttershy’s embrace. Slowly and gently, Fluttershy set her down to the ground and let go of her. Once that was done, Fluttershy buried her face in her hooves and began to cry.

When all that was left was sniffles, Fluttershy wiped her eyes and began dragging the five ponies one by one to their beds. Once they were all in she wrapped them up under the duvets and listened to the faint sounds of breathing coming from her (former) freinds.

She turned away and brought out a scroll from Twilight’s saddlebag, one she knew the unicorn was planning to use to write to the Princess incase they discovered a friendship lesson. She knew they deserved a reason as to why she did this to them, so she wrote down what her intentions were.

She was going into Horsca, and she will be going alone.

When she finished the letter she wrapped it up and placed it neatly on the table. She left out her blanket for Rarity and packed enough things to keep her alive in Horsca, and then headed to the door. Before she opened she looked back, and seeing her five friends sleeping peacefully, she smiled. She couldn’t help but smile, and in those few seconds, she looked back at the things they did together, and the things they may never do together again. “I love you, girls,” she whispered, and opened the door, leaving her friends for a long sleep.

Star and Brewman looked her way when Fluttershy closed the door behind her, closing it gently incase in awakens the sleeping ponies. “Is it done?” Star asked, Fluttershy looked towards Brewman, whose face she couldn’t read, but if he had any resentment towards her now, she wouldn’t blame him.

“Yes, it’s done. They’re all asleep,” she said, staring back at Star.

Star nodded. “Do you have the fifty bits for the toll?” Fluttershy nodded and gave him a large bag of bits.

“I kept my end of the deal,” Fluttershy said. “Now pinkie promise me that you’ll make sure that they all get back to Ponyville safely.” She pointed to the door where her friends were sleeping.

Star sighed. “Do I have to do that?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Exactly as I taught you to. It’s so I know I can trust you.”

Star sighed and raised a hoof. “I promise that I will get Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash back home safely.” He paused as his eyes darted around incase any soldiers were nearby. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” he said, with all the gestures as well.

Fluttershy nodded satisfactorily, then leaned closer into his ear. “If I find out though a single hair on them is hurt, then I will make sure the Princess will know, and you will wish you hadn’t met me,” she whispered to him.

She pulled back and gave him a smile that although didn’t look it, felt extremely threatening and sent a shiver down Star’s spine. He didn’t really want to know if she would carry out that threat. ‘If she makes it back,’ he reminded himself.

“Of course… um… shall we?” he asked, heading to the door. Fluttershy followed suite.

“Fluttershy,” Brewman called, Fluttershy looked around to see him staring at her, not coldly, but in pity. “What you did. Don’t you think it’s a bit… cruel?”

Fluttershy stared at him for a while, and then nodded. “Yes. But sometimes we got to be cruel to be kind,” she answered. “Take care of them for me, please?”

Brewman nodded. “Of course. Just promise me you stay safe, and get back to them.”

Fluttershy didn’t answer; instead she continued to walk out the door. Brewman sighed and opened the door to see Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow and Pinkie sleeping in their beds. “Come back to them. They care about you just as much as you care about them,” he said aloud and then closed the door.

“You know, that sleeping drug you put in the cider is used on injured ponies. It should knock them out for two days or so,” Star said.

“I know,” Fluttershy said as they walked through the streets to the city gate that led towards Horsca. “But I should be in Horsca then, shouldn’t I?”

“Yes. Like I said when you returned to me, it should take you a day and two nights if you leave now.” He paused. “You want to get into Horsca when it’s dark, there’ll be less patrols then. Once you’re in Horsca, head straight for Castilian and do not stop for anything.”

They arrived at the back gate. The gate was large brown with black iron bars that were arranged around the edge of the gate, and to Fluttershy’s left a pony stood guard with a lever that opened up the gate.

“Now before you leave, do you know how to fight?” Star asked her. Fluttershy looked at him with wide eyes. Fight? She’d never had a fight before, even with those that picked on her, and neither with animals. She shook her head and Star sighed. “Well, I think you will need to learn to fight if you want a chance to live in there.” He pointed to beyond the gates.

Star gestured a pegasi guard to come over. In his teeth was a bracelet of some kind. “Are you right or left hoofed?” Star asked Fluttershy.

“Um… I’d could use both quite well, but I’d prefer my right hoof to hold things,” she answered. The soldier placed the strange bracelet on the right leg on Fluttershy; once the pegasus had moved the bracelet the Princess had given her to her left leg.

Fluttershy examined the bracelet; it stretched from her hoof to her knee joint, and the back end reminded her of a sword hilt, the centre of the bracelet was a golden unicorn head. On the end was a little slit that Fluttershy couldn’t make out what was in it.

“I wouldn’t do that, could poke your eye out. Now lift your leg in the air and think that you need to use it.” Fluttershy nodded and lifted her leg to her chest. She closed her eyes and thought of a dragon attacking her friends, and she needed a sword by her side. When she opened her eyes again, a two-foot long blade flew out of the slit and it shone the low sunlight. Fluttershy mouth was agape in awe; it forced a chuckle out of Star.

“Unicorn magic,” he said, explaining Fluttershy unspoken question. “They’re forged in Canterlot by unicorns. Once they’re equipped they will respond like a living thing to a pony. It will know when to draw and will sheathe itself too.”

“But I thought we used swords in our mouths?” Fluttershy asked.

Star shook his head. “Oh no, not enough grip. A swipe from griffon claw or horses hooves will knock the sword right out of our teeth. Plus a few teeth with it. No, they’re more for ceremonial purposes than combat.”

Fluttershy nodded. “But… I don’t know how to use this.”

“And that’s what I’m going to teach you,” Star said. He rose up his right leg to his chest and a blade drew from the bracelet he was wearing. “Now, I will start slow and attack you, and you will block my attacks. I will go faster as we go along, ready? He asked. Fluttershy hesitantly nodded, pressing her right leg to her chest and waiting for the first strike, her gaze not avoiding his.

The first one came slowly; he walked forward on three legs and raised his right one to strike down, Fluttershy raised hers and blocked the first strike with ease. “Good,” Star commented. He stepped back and then swung his leg to his left. Fluttershy stepped back and parried the blow. “Very good, now let’s try a little harder shall we.” He charged at her much faster, but Fluttershy was surprisingly quick.

She stepped out of the way and smacked him on the flank with the side of the sword. He turned and raised his sword and leg to strike, but Fluttershy lunged forward on her own attack. He was surprised but quickly recovered. Star blocked the first strike, and the second, before Fluttershy backed away.

“Wow, I’m impressed,” Star, said. He paused to breathe; he could feel the sweat on his brow. “You learn fast, so fast I don’t think we need anymore practice duels. So now for the final challenge. See if you could force me to yield.” He went into an aggressive stance and his wings spread wide, Fluttershy followed suite and waited.

Star swung his right leg, aiming to catch her off guard by feinting an attack to the right when he would move to the left, Fluttershy raised her sword leg to block, but realised her mistake when she saw Star moving his leg to the left, before he could strike, Fluttershy recovered and blocked the feinted attack. Star gasped.

Fluttershy grinned as she moved forward on an attack of her own, going right and left quickly, Star made a strike at the same time, the two ponies crossing swords for a few seconds, before finally Fluttershy being pushed back and Star coming forward to make his move.

But she blocked blow after blow, always able to dodge at the right moment, and at the speed of a trained soldier. By now, a lot of ponies were watching this duel go on with great interest. They watched intensely as the two ponies moved away from each other and started to circle.

Fluttershy then decided to give an offence herself and end this. She charged Star, swinging attacks with such speed that Star was barely able to block them. Finally, she slammed her sword onto Star’s with such force it swung his right leg right out of the way. She placed the tip of her blade right onto Star’s neck.

“By Celestia’s mane!” he exclaimed, his own blade, sliding back into its scabbard. Fluttershy was breathing fast, so was Star, and he couldn’t help but feel humiliated. A civilian who only picked up a sword today had beaten him, a veteran of the army.

“Well…um… yeah, I was going easy on you… well done…” he said, trying to keep some dignity. “You could put the blade away now.” Fluttershy looked down and noticed her blade was still on his neck, she quickly moved it away and it sheathed.

“Oh… right… sorry,” she said, looking bashfully away. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know I could do that.”

“It’s okay, but that was amazing all the same. I think you won’t have a problem with fighting, but just know this.” Fluttershy looked back into Star’s eyes. “The horses over there won’t yield like I did, they believe to die fighting is the greatest honour. So you may have to kill some horses if you run into some that threaten you.”

Fluttershy nodded and looked towards the gate. “Am I ready now?”

Star nodded and stood beside Fluttershy, who turned to face the gate. “Are you aware of the risks that you may encounter beyond this gate?

Fluttershy nodded. “I do.”

“Are you also aware of the possibility that you will not come back from Horsca?”

There was a long pause. “Yes.”

“And if you have any doubts, any at all, then feel free to turn around now and walk away.”

Fluttershy hesitated for a moment, after a few seconds she raised her head high and puffed out her chest. “I will not turn back.”

“Very well,” Star said. He turned his head so he faced the pegasus by the lever. “Open the gate!” he ordered.

The pegasus nodded and pulled the lever forward, the gate ached and groaned as it opened, the dust that formed between the giant doors fell as the gate swung inwards. Fluttershy gulped as she saw what lay ahead. The trees were so tall they blocked out the sun, and the shading made them seem terrifying in nature, and the branches stretched out across as if the trees were embracing each other.

“Good luck, Fluttershy. And may Celestia’s sun and Luna’s moon guide you,” Star said. Fluttershy bowed her head to him and walked slowly forward.

“Okay, I can do this. Just one hoof after the other, just like Twilight had taught me,” she said to herself. She felt the shadow of the gates cloud her as she left the confines of the city and was now in the forest. She looked back, and saw Star looking at her with a somber expression, as the gates closed behind her. Star raised a hoof goodbye before the gate slammed shut, locking behind her. Now there was no going back.

Fluttershy looked back in front of her. The woods were far darker than she thought they were. She started to walk slowly, her ears right up and her eyes darting around, trying to make out anything that could harm her. But nothing, not even birdsong, and that worried her the most. She decided to pick up the pace and broke into a trot, thinking the sooner she was out of this wood the better.

“You think she may come back?” a pegasus guard said to Star once the gate had shut.

Star looked at her and nodded. “I think so. She’s a special pony that one. All of them are.” He walked away from the gate. “Keep watch on the inn. If those five ponies wake up I want to know pronto. And someone order a carriage to take them home in two days,” he ordered. The pegasus saluted and ran off to carry out her appointed task.

Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief when she finally exited the forest and breathed the sweet fresh air that came with it. She looked around and noticed the sun would soon be down so decided to walk a bit further before settling down for the night.

She wondered what she would find over the border. What the horses look like?
Would they have cutie marks like ponies do? How will they react to her arriving in Castilian like Star told her to go to? She had the map Star had given her when she went back to see him after getting the sleeping drug in her saddlebag. She told herself to read it when she settled down for the night.

That soon came around. She found herself getting more and more tired and decided to call it a day. She moved so that she was off the dirt road and in a clearing, below a tree so that if it rained she won’t get that wet. She went out and found some sticks and made a fire. Using the light she brought the map of Horsca out and looked at it, examining every detail.

Horsca had several mountain ranges, one in the far east, another making up most of the southwest, another in the centre, and one more making the border between the two countries. A long river snaked its way from the northeast down to the southwest, splitting up into smaller rivers that worked their way across the country. Forests teemed most of the landscape it seemed (she didn’t know how old this was so it could be wrong), while there were two vast plains, one in the east and one in the centre, surrounding Castilian.

A large red mark split the country in half, letting Fluttershy know where the southern rule ended and the northern one began. And finally, there were the cities. There was four in the south and three in the north, all marked by big black dots. Fluttershy noticed the one city in the south she would least want to run in, and yet go in her path, was one called Andulusia. “I should avoid that,” she said to herself. She placed her hoof on the place she would enter the country and made a path, firstly going forward, wide berthing Andulusia, go through a small wood, then head west to Castilian.

“It’ll be perfect,” she said with a nod of her head to herself. She wrapped up the map and placed it back in her saddlebags, and then fished around for her blanket. She stopped and sighed sadly when she remembered she left it back at Detrots, for Rarity to have. Her ears fell flat and she rested her head on the ground.

She had gotten use to her friends constant chatter throughout the nights, some of it about where they were going, other conversations were about random things like what they found, or what they wanted to do in life. For the first time in ages, Fluttershy was alone, really truly alone, and she hated it. She would give everything to hear one of Pinkie’s cheap jokes, Twilight blabbering on about something, cheering on Rainbow Dash, helping Applejack with apple bucking, seeing Rarity at the spa every week.

But she knew she can’t turn back now, they wouldn’t, so why should she? Besides, she thought, when they wake up, they’d probably never want to see her again, and she wouldn’t blame them if they did. She closed her eyes and fell to sleep, feeling cold, lonely and miserable.

Fluttershy awoke early the next morning. Unsurprisingly she didn’t sleep well, having bad dreams of her friends seeing her again when she came back, and then completely ignoring her as if she never did. One such vision saw them yelling at her.

‘If I return to see them,’ a dark thought went through her mind. She shook her head, and told herself not to think like that. She will return and live the life she wanted. Slow and peaceful. She packed her bags and trotted out the clearing back onto the dirt road and headed right, after seeing her hoof tracks were still in the road from last night. She kept walking, stopping occasionally to sniff some extraordinary flowers she’d never seen before.

The time went quickly, and Fluttershy soon found herself under the shadow of the mountains, where beyond this was the land of the horses. She saw the dirt road change into a pebbled road on a curve up the mountain and, with a sigh, started the climb into Horsca.

The path wasn’t steep thankfully, so she didn’t have much difficulty climbing. When she made it to the top though, she couldn’t help but gasp in wonder at the beautiful sight before her. Miles and miles of forests, plains and mountains dotted the landscape, low clouds covering the top of the highest peaks and the sun cast it’s light down upon it. A fresh, gentle breeze kept her long mane flowing gently with it. She sat down on the ground, deciding to take this moment to view the country and get her bearings right. “Welcome to Horsca, Fluttershy,” she said to herself.

She watched and waited as the world went by, until the stars started to show and the last rays of sunlight disappeared over the horizon. She started to follow the path down. “Now let’s find Firewing. Come on, you can do this.” Before she started her descent she licked a hoof and reached it towards the sky; the wind was strong, too strong for her to fly in, so annoyingly she would have to do this the hard way. She began the descent down the mountain and into this foreign country.

It was truly evening by the time Fluttershy made it down onto the flats. She looked around but all she could make out in the darkness was trees of various types alongside the stone path she was now on.

She broke into a trot, hoping to keep a good pace and get across the southern border by morning, the idea of camping out here sounding too dangerous to her. She came across a small stone bridge and trotted over. The river below sounded nimble and rough.

With the river behind her, she came across old shacks that were abandoned, either too old or destroyed by fire. They looked like they were good places to camp out but Fluttershy’s determination to get over the border beckoned her onwards. A few minutes later her ears suddenly twitched as they began picking up something, a sound that was so alien and yet, thanks to Star’s training, all too familiar to her.

The sound of steel clashing into steel, and the cries of horses fighting.

She began to move a little faster, hoping the sounds would grow distant as she moved. Unfortunately they moved closer, she could start to pick up muffled calls and shouts from the horses. She then stopped when she heard the sound of hooves touching the ground, coming towards her. Without hesitation, she dived through the foliage and hid in a bush, and waited till the horses went by. She didn’t see them but they sounded awfully close. Thankfully though after a while the galloping faded and the sounds of battle dimmed, until silence.

Fluttershy crept out of the bush and looked around, she didn’t see a silhouette of a horse or any other threatening creature. So Fluttershy ran, faster than she had ever run in her entire life, going completely straight, praying that she wouldn’t meet a Horscan patrol. A while later and still there were silence and her nerves calmed a bit. She raised a smile and thought she would actually make it.

She didn’t know where it came from, but a sharp hit on her face sent her crashing to the ground with a yelp. She tried to stand but her vision was blurry and her ears were deafened from the impact, and her head was screaming in pain. She felt herself pinned roughly to the ground and was rolled over onto her back, and saw with terrified eyes what had struck her.

A dark brown horse loomed over her. The horse was in dark grey armour that went from its shoulders down to its flanks. It had the cold breathe of the air bellowing from its nostrils. Metal horseshoes that had small spikes on the end covered its hooves, and its helmet had horns pointing upwards like a unicorn’s horn, with smaller spikes like dragons that flowed down to it’s neck.

“Welcome to Horsca, Equestrian,” the horse snarled. Fluttershy whimpered silently and tried to force herself free from the horse’s restraint. The horse chuckled evilly, and then slammed another hoof into her face, blacking out the world.

Chapter 7

Fluttershy groaned in pain as she slowly opened her eyes. All her senses came quickly back to her as her eyes adjusted to the low lighting of the room she was in. She got up from the floor and noticed with a glancing look that she had been lying in blood – her own blood. She put a hoof up to her head and instantly flinched, her head screaming upon her touch. She brought her hoof down to see dried blood on it. She grimaced and wiped it off on the floor, then looked around to see where she was.

It was a small room, with a single but small window behind her. There was no bed so to speak, only hay was on the ground, which some of it was stained dark red from her blood. To her left was a wall of steel bars that separated her room from another, and in front of her was a dark brown gate. It didn’t take long to realise she was in a prison cell. ‘Probably brought here after being captured by that horse,’ she wondered.

She turned towards the window and tried to spread her wings to fly up there and see where she was, but somehow couldn’t. She looked behind and saw her wings were tied on her back by a strong, thick rope. She tried to bite it off, but found it to be too thick and too strong for her teeth. She then noticed her hooves were tied loosely together, and her bracelet and sword was taken away. She tried to bite the bindings on her hooves off as well but to no avail.

She sat on her haunches, hung her head low and sighed. A part of her was glad that her friends weren’t with her, that they wouldn’t be sharing her fate. Another part was devastated that she’ll probably never find Firewing, and her friends would never know what happened to her.

“Ah, you’re finally awake. For a while I thought you were dead,” a voice called out, seemingly from the walls.

Fluttershy darted her head about, looking for the speaker. When her eyes darted towards the other cell she found a horse, a stallion stepping out of the darkest corner and walked up to the barred wall.

Fluttershy had a good look at him. He was a lot taller than her, about as high as Princess Celestia, maybe a little taller, and he had a darkish grey coat with pinkish scars dotted across his body. His mane went down to his shoulders and his tail down to his knees, and was an almost silvery colour, and they seemed to shine in the darkness. His eyes were a dark blue and his face had a long scar going from his nose to his right eye.

“Where am I?” Fluttershy asked him.

“You don’t know?” Fluttershy shook her head. “Then it would be a honour,” he said in a sarcastic tone, “to welcome you to the finest city in Horsca. Andulusia.” Fluttershy’s eyes widened in horror, with good reason, and began to hope that the Andulusians were not as ferocious as they were reputed to be.

“What’s your name?” the horse asked.

Fluttershy looked into his eyes and saw a comforting smile cross his face. She had the feeling this horse could be trusted. “I’m Fluttershy,” she answered. “What’s yours?”

“Nice to meet you, Fluttershy, although it could have been under better circumstances. I’m Thowra.” He reached out a hoof that just about fit through the bars. Fluttershy put hers out and shook his.

“Nice to meet you, too, Thowra. And yes it could have been better times,” she said, smiling half-heartedly. Her ears suddenly picked up the sound of bells tolling, her head darting towards the window.

Thowra heard it too and sighed. “It sounds like it is soon time,” he said sadly.

Fluttershy looked back at him. “Time for what?”

Thowra looked into her eyes and gave her a grim look. “Do you Equestrians believe in an afterlife, Fluttershy?”

“Well… um, yes,” Fluttershy answered, confused about the question. “We believe that we go to a place that looks like ours but is perfect in every way. Why?”

Thowra raised an eyebrow at her. It didn’t take Fluttershy long to understand what he was implying. Her eyes widened and she collapsed onto her rump. “Oh, I see,” she said, her ears flopping flat to her head. She looked down onto the straw covered ground, realising today would be her last day on Terra.

Thowra nodded. “Afraid so,” he said quietly. Silence fell for little while, allowing for Fluttershy and Thowra to gather their thoughts.

“Where did you come from?” Thowra asked, breaking the silence.

Fluttershy raised her head again to face him. “I came from a town called Ponyville. Why?” she said, again slightly confused of the question.

Thowra sadly smiled. “A horse’s last thoughts should be of his or her home. I came from a small village near the sea called Baystone.”

Just then the sound of hoofsteps came from outside. Fluttershy went to the door and pressed her ear to the side, and overheard two horses speaking to each other.

“Are you’re sure this is the right decision, captain?” one horse, clearly a stallion’s, said.

“Of course I’m sure, sergeant. That pony has intentionally trespassed across our borders. Like all Equestrians before her who have done so, she will die at the guillotine, along with that Palominan scum,” another horse, a mare’s, said.

“But don’t you think this could cause a war with Equestria? You saw what she had on her leg, a bracelet with the seal of the ruler of Equestria herself, if they discover…” A hoof from the captain slamming into his open mouth cut off the sergeant.

“Another word of objection and you will be joining her. Do we understand each other?” The captain said simply. The sergeant only nodded.

She removed the hoof from his mouth. “Good. And besides, that bracelet’s already been destroyed. Now once she’s dead take the body and head in the woods. Dump it there and leave it to the wolves. Now get them outside,” the captain ordered. She walked briskly away.

Fluttershy backed away from the door and laid back down on the hay, waiting for it to open. When it did, the sergeant walked through and looked at her with sympathetic eyes. He was about the same size as Thowra, but was a dark brown in colour with a black mane and tail and had brown eyes. “Up, prisoner, it is time.”

With a sigh, Fluttershy walked over and waited for him to move out of the way. Instead he leant down and whispered in her ear, “I’m sorry, I promise I will try to get your body back to Equestria for burial.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, giving him a half-hearted smile. The sergeant turned around and led Fluttershy through the prison, with Thowra being pushed out by another horse behind her. She felt no fear as she walked down the spiralling stairs to her death – if there was one thing she was never afraid of in her entire lifetime, it was dying.

At the orphanage, one of the carers taught her that death is natural, a thing we will all have to eventually experience. “Sure we will cry and mourn the loss of a friend or loved one, that’s normal,” she used to say to her. “But when you understand what I told you, then it will be less hard.” Fluttershy remembered that and stood by it. Her only regret being was that she wouldn’t be able to say goodbye to her friends.

She was led towards a small black door with a horse’s head on the front, which was green and its head was low as if it was going to charge. The sergeant opened the door and the sunlight blinded her. “Keep moving!” the horse behind her bellowed and pushed her forward. She nearly tripped but was caught by the sergeant. Her eyes quickly readjusted to the bright light and she walked with her head held high outside.

The air was cold, with a small wind that crept around Fluttershy’s body and crawled up her spine to the back of her neck. At first she thought it to be her nerves trying to get the best of her, but her confident side took over, allowing her to keep her regal posture, as she was lead out towards a structure of some sort.

It was a raised wooden platform, on it was a wooden structure that had a tall upright frame, and at the top was a curved blade, held up by a rope, and below the blade was a block for a head to lie on. Although she couldn’t see, she could hear the cries and calls of horses from the other side of the platform.

“Move up, prisoner. Nice and easy,” the sergeant said. Fluttershy complied and took small steps up the stairs leading to the guillotine. She was gently moved to the side of the stairs as Thowra was forcibly pushed up and placed next to her. In front of her was a mixture of horses, young and old, rich and poor, here to watch with glee and good cheer two equines die. Fluttershy looked to the ground, disgust visible in her eyes by what they considered entertainment. She could see as well in the sergeant’s eyes that he too didn’t like this. To her left stood a horse that was covered in black and wore a black mask to cover his face, and next to him was the rope that held the blade up.

The crowd grew silent when another horse appeared, she was fully armoured in silver armour, and had a weapon scabbard on her side. It was obvious to Fluttershy this was the horse the sergeant was talking to earlier.

“Citizens of Andulusia!” she called to the crowd. “True sons and daughters of Horsca!” This raised a few cheers from the crowd, she raised a hoof to silent them. “Today we will see the deaths of two cankers on this world. For one is a follower of the false ruler. Part of a blight on this beautiful land that will be cleansed in blood!”

She paused and waited for the cheers to die down. “The other is an Equestrian.” This raised a few whispers. “A weakling pony who will die today for her ignorance, and should have stayed in her pathetic home.” She looked back at both and sneered at them. “True Andulusian justice will be done today, as these two heads will be added to the walls.” This was again met with cheers and applause.

“Now first, the Equestrian,” the captain said, grinning all the while.

The sergeant nodded and looked at Fluttershy. “Move to the block, prisoner.” Fluttershy raised her head and puffed out her chest as she walked slowly towards the block, her eyes staring straight at the block and not at the crowd’s frightful, accusing gaze.

When she reached it, she lowered herself down so her head and neck were within range of a small wicker basket on the other side of the guillotine. “Lay your head on one side, pony,” the executioner whispered. “It’ll be quicker.” Fluttershy moved her head to so she was facing left and towards the mountains that separated her from home and her friends, all the while remembering what Thowra told her a moment ago.

“Goodbye, Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity. And I’m sorry,” she whispered, hoping somehow they would hear. She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of content, and the entire world went quiet.

The captain sneered, then turned to face the executioner to give out the order, but then she suddenly let out a terrifying high-pitched scream.

Fluttershy opened her eyes to see the world was now on fire. She felt the bindings on her wings and legs burn off. She looked up and, with wide eyes saw the rope, which held the blade above her about to snap. She quickly dashed her head away from the block and rolled out of the way. The blade came down a second later, chopping only the air.

She got up and looked around. The first thing she noticed was the captain’s charred and smouldering body as well as the executioner’s and the sergeant’s, but no sign of Thowra’s. She looked away and towards the now burning city, horrified that such a thing could’ve happened, and wanting to know who, or what could have caused this. She had an idea but hoped she was wrong. Her eyes widened in horror when she locked eyes on the culprit, and her worst fears were confirmed.

A dragon, larger than the one that attacked Ponyville, and with a deafening roar and vicious claws, soared low over the city and breathed fire down on its screaming citizens as they tried to run for cover. Soldiers on some of the ramparts and high towers tried shooting crossbow bolts at it, only to find themselves on the sharp end of its claws and teeth.

Fluttershy realised that although she could help stop it, she reckoned she wouldn’t have another chance of life like now. She jumped off the burning platform, which collapsed behind her, and ran through the corpses that littered the courtyard. Her eyes stayed focused in front of her and never looked down, lest her eyes see the pleading and mangled forms of the dead horses lying there.

The city had become a death zone. Every building was a mass of flame and every street was now littered with dead horses, mares and stallions, young and old. Fluttershy darted through the burning streets and looked around for an exit. She considered flying out, but realised the dragon will probably pick her off as she flew over the walls. She instinctively crouched low when she heard the dragon roar overhead, its dark shadow passing below her and its great form blocking out the sun. It soared into the sky, and then dived back down, disappearing behind some buildings. Screams and cries came from that area seconds later.

She paid so much attention on where the dragon was going that she didn’t notice that she bumped into Thowra. He looked at her with mouth agape and wide eyes. She didn’t notice her saddlebags on his back.

“How did… how did you possibly-” he stammered, but was cut off by Fluttershy.

“I’ll explain later. Now run!” she screamed at him. Thowra shook his head, broke out of his daze and ran, Fluttershy close behind.

“This way!” he called to Fluttershy, darting down a small alleyway towards the northern wall. He was running quickly through the narrow streets of burning buildings that made up Andulusia. He looked back to see Fluttershy trailing behind. He groaned and then ran back to the pegasus and lifted her onto his back.

“Now hold on tight!” he cried. Fluttershy nodded and flung her forelegs around Thowra’s neck. Thowra reared up, and then broke into a gallop.

Fluttershy couldn’t help but be in awe by Thowra’s speed. She had only seen one pony go as fast as he was going and that was Rainbow Dash. But the cyan pegasus had an advantage as she could fly, but on the ground between these two Rainbow wouldn’t have stood a chance. He was veering with perfect timing around the street corners without slowing down.

She looked to her left to see a guard running from the dragon, only for it to catch one of his hind legs and dragged him away, while the horse screamed for help. They raced past soldiers rallying others to the defence as some fired crossbow bolts from their legs, one ran up to the creature and started slashing it with a sword in his mouth, but the dragon picked him up in its mouth and devoured him.

It noticed Fluttershy and Thowra making a break for it and roared. It took off into the air and with great speed landed in front of Fluttershy and Thowra, who reared up and kicked his forelegs out at it. “Back, you devil!” he yelled. The dragon narrowed its burning eyes and stared right through Thowra, looking at the pegasus on his back, who buried her face in Thowra’s long mane.

The dragon reared its head back and it looked like it was about to bring its fiery breath onto them. Fluttershy darted her head around looking for a way out. She spotted to the left a small opening among some burnt out buildings. “Go left!” she shrieked.

Thowra looked left and saw the opening. With a smirk he darted towards the opening, getting out of the way from the dragon’s fire attack, which claimed another horse’s life. He leapt over some burning timber from the house and found an opening in the wall. He ran and jumped once more over the collapsed battlement and was out of the city.

“Phew!” the two equines breathed a sigh of relief as they landed on the grasslands. They were interrupted when a roar thundered across the landscape. They looked back to see the dragon soar back into the sky and continue its attack on the city. “We’re not out if this yet,” Thowra said, and then broke back into a gallop. Fluttershy clung on for dear life as they rode down the hill away from the burning city; Thowra spotted a cave and veered into there.

Once they were in the cave, Fluttershy got off of Thowra’s back and both had a moment to breathe, Thowra coughing the smoke out of his lungs. “Thank you,” Fluttershy said once she got her breath back. “I don’t think I would have got out of there alive.”

Thowra looked down at her and smiled. “That’s alright. It’s the least I could do since I got you there in the first place.”

Fluttershy blinked. “What?”

Thowra ignored her. “Stay here, I’m just going to check outside.” He trotted outside and disappeared from view. For a few minutes Fluttershy was alone. She still could hear the screams of the horses in the city and the dragon’s roar as it continued its ruthless attack, so she tried to cover her ears to deafen them.

Thowra returned later with a haunted expression on his face. He sat down opposite Fluttershy and his head hung low, still not facing the pegasus. “I’ve never seen such carnage,” he said quietly. “I haven’t seen a single horse leave yet, so I assume we’re the only survivors. I just can’t believe dragons are real.”

Fluttershy looked at him with concerned then surprised eyes. “You’ve never seen a dragon before?”

Thowra looked at her with sad eyes and shook his head. “Have you?” he asked

Fluttershy nodded. “Well yes, dragons are commonplace in Equestria. One is a friend, actually.” She noticed a suspicious look come into Thowra’s eyes and quickly added, “But they never attack anyone unless in self defence! A dragon from Equestria would never do such a thing, at least kill so many.”

Thowra’s suspicious look faded and he smiled. “Okay, I believe you.” A silence came between the two. “Do you know where it came from then?” the horse asked her.

“No… no I don’t, sorry,” she said, lowering her head to the ground.

“Don’t be sorry,” Thowra said. “If anything I should be sorry.”

Fluttershy lifted her head back up to look at him. “Why should you be sorry?”

Thowra bit his lower lip, but sighed and began to tell his story. “Last night, I was on a scouting mission for my Jarl. I was with two others and we were to see what was going on in the region. Unfortunately we were found and both my friends were killed, I managed to escape but the soldiers were now all over the area, I was eventually caught and thrown into the back of a cart. A moment later your unconscious body was thrown on board and we were taken into the city.”

He paused, his ears dropped and he looked to the ground. “If it wasn’t for me and my carelessness, you would have been safe and away. So I’m sorry.”

He waited anxiously for a reply, but nothing came. He looked up to find Fluttershy staring at him with warm and loving eyes. “It wasn’t your fault,” she said. “How could you have known I was there, anyway? You have nothing to be forgiven for.”

Thowra smiled and nodded his thanks to her. “So,” he changed the subject onto the pegasus. “What brings you to Horsca? Because, no offence, you don’t look like an adventurous pony.”

Fluttershy giggled, for the first time in ages it seemed to her. “None taken. You’re right though; I’m not one for adventure and excitement really. But I’m looking for a pony that came into Horsca, named Firewing.”

Thowra’s eyes widened in bewilderment. “You know Firewing?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Not personally, but I need to speak to him about something important.” She paused when she realised Thowra’s reaction. “Do you know him?”

“Yes,” the silver maned horse responded. “He came to Castilian about three weeks ago. Left after a couple of days stay to travel the country. He was a good pony and was wise beyond his years. Where he is now I cannot say, but Freya might.”

Silence then came to the world. The sounds of screaming faded away and the dragon’s roar started to fade away from them. Thowra stepped out of the cave and watched it fly off to the east. “It’s all clear! The dragon’s going away!” he called to Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus trotted out of the cave and stood next to the silver maned horse, watching as the great beast flew out of sight.

“Oh by the way, these are yours.” He gestured with his head to the saddlebags that were on his back.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Where did you get these?!” She jumped up and snatched them from his back.

“I found them in a case inside the prison when the dragon attacked. When I got away I went back to see if I could find your stuff and mine. Unfortunately for me I could only find yours. I thought you were dead so I was going to return these to Equestria,” he said.

“Oh… thank you,” she said quietly. At first she thought he might be stealing them. She opened the bags to find all of her stuff untouched, even her sword bracelet was in there. Sadly, though, the bracelet giving to her by the Princess wasn’t as it was already destroyed. She put it away and put the bags on her back, then turned to look at the scenery in front of her.

When she first came to Horsca, she wanted to get through quickly and breathe later. But now she felt safe and felt she had the time to stand and stare, and she felt her breath being taken away from her. The day was a bright day, with large white clouds around the mountaintops, rows and rows of woodlands stretched down the hill, with different kinds of wildlife living around them, birds, butterflies and, to Fluttershy’s excitement, rabbits were hopping out of hiding and hopping across the grass to eat.

To her right Fluttershy could see a small stream leading down the narrow, stoned road that lead down the hill and out of sight. While behind her the sky was black with smoke from the fires of Andulusia, but apart from the cackles of the blazes, the city was silent.

Thowra looked at the stunned pegasus and noticed the dry blood on her mane. “Here, let me have a look at that,” he said. He knelt down and gently brushed Fluttershy’s mane away with a hoof, and grimaced when he saw the wound. “You were lucky not to have been killed.” When he moved his hoof and pressed onto it gently, Fluttershy jerked her head away and yelped. Thowra grimaced once more and apologised. “Come on, we need to get you to Castilian right away.”

“Will we get there today?”

“Maybe not if you were on your own. But I’m the fastest horse in Horsca, so I could get you there before the sun goes down.” He went down onto his stomach and gestured Fluttershy to climb on. With the help of her wings, Fluttershy jumped up and landed on his back, wrapping her forelegs around Thowra’s neck. “Ready?” he asked.

“Yes,” Fluttershy answered, it was never above a whisper but Thowra heard her. With a great cry into the sky he got up and started running, even faster than he did in the city behind them.

Hours had passed since leaving behind Andulusia, and Fluttershy was still having a hard time to hold on. Earlier they were forced to slow down several times so the pegasus could get a firmer grip, but other than that they had kept a good pace. They raced past small villages, isolated farms, small woodlands and vast plains that stretched in each direction.

Now with the sun beginning its descent below the horizon, Fluttershy could feel sweat pour off Thowra as they raced over a wooden bridge, the river’s current flowing quickly southwards. “We’ve just passed the border between the north and south!” he shouted. “It shouldn’t be much longer!”

Fluttershy didn’t answer, since she was close to falling asleep. Thankfully Thowra had slowed down a bit and the ride was a bit more comfortable so she could feel her eyes getting heavy and wanted to close them. But she knew if she did, she would probably fall off, so she clung on even harder and prayed they would get there soon. Thowra crested another hill and stopped to take a breather. Fluttershy realised he had stopped and looked at what he was looking at, her jaw dropping at the sight.

The city sat on a large hill, which sloped evenly down onto the flats, and then stretched for a while in all directions in the shape of an ellipse. A large, gleaming white wall circled the city, while at the top was a smaller wall built for the great hall. Fluttershy, through her heavy eyes, could make out some of the many buildings that rested on the hills sides. All of were made out of wood and had straw for roofing, but they stood proud and tall in defiance of something.

“Castilian, the greatest city in Horsca,” Thowra said proudly. He broke into a canter the rest of the way, allowing Fluttershy to rest her eyes and drift off to sleep. Thowra didn’t notice as he jogged calmly into the city, his passenger unawares of anything around her.

“Hey, look who it is,” a voice called cheerfully from the main gate when he arrived before it. “I was beginning to think you were dead.”

Thowra looked up and smiled at a chestnut horse looking down on him with a large grin across his face. “You keep thinking that and it’ll never happen, Breuna,” he chuckled. “You’re a jinx on me!”

“So what could I do for you today, old friend?” the horse, Breuna, asked.

“I need to see Freya immediately, and to bring a pegasus pony from Equestria to safety,” he said, turning around to show Fluttershy on his back.

“Is she alright?” Breuna asked, his voice expressing some concern. “She looks dead.”

Thowra’s eyes widened. ‘The wound wasn’t that bad, was it?’ Alarmingly he swung his head around to look at her, and at that moment she started to snore. It was more of a cat’s purr than a snore. With a sigh of relief he chuckled and looked back up at his friend. “She’s alright, just asleep. Now are you gonna let us in or not?”

“Well, if I was in charge then I’ll let her in. But you, no way. I ain’t though so unfortunately for me and the city I gotta let you in.” He moved away from the wall and soon the gate opened, the large doors groaning as they shifted away from him. Thowra shouted out his thanks and cantered through into the city.

“I’ll see you at Heimwart tonight then!” Breuna called as Thowra went through.

Thowra looked back up at him with a grin. “Looking forward to it!” Thowra then turned his head around and followed the path that led up to the fortress at the middle of the hill.

Many horses were giving him odd looks and glances as he went past; he ignored them and continued up the hill. Guards on duty saluted him as he went through the market place; dodging easily four young foals that were playing tag. He finally made it to the final gate and expected to proclaim himself before hoof before entering. Fortunately however he saw the gate wide open and he strolled right in.

He ignored the guard’s salutes and greetings as he raced to the front door. When he arrived he reared up and pushed the great dark brown door open, creating quite a stir inside as all heads turned on him as he trotted through. ‘It seems,’ he wondered. ‘That I’d just interrupted a meeting. Oh well, this is more important.’

An old mare rose from her chair and smiled. She was a lighter grey than Thowra and had a black mane and tail; her eyes were a cyan blue and seemed to have a soft, warm glow coming from them when Thowra stared at her. “Freya, my dearest cousin,” he greeted her warmly.

Freya walked down the stairs and wrapped her forelegs around the silver maned horse in a hug. “Thowra, it’s good to see you again,” she greeted him with a grin. She pulled away and went back on all fours. “What brings you back to Castilian? Was your mission a success?”

“I’ll get to that later,” he replied. “But first I need somewhere for my passenger here to rest comfortably.” He turned his body, showing Fluttershy to Freya, who gasped.

“Come, put her in my bed,” she said. She excused herself from the meeting and led Thowra through the dining hall and up the stairs, down the corridor and through doors with golden armoured warriors rearing up on the front. Thowra leaned over so Fluttershy gently slipped off his back and onto the large bed. She stirred a little, her hooves reaching out for something, but she was soon calm again. She rolled over and began to snore gently again.

Freya and Thowra watched her for a while, making sure she was comfortable. They then turned and left her, closing the door behind them. “She’s quite a pretty mare.” Freya commented on Fluttershy as they walked down the corridor back to the main hall.

“Uh… yeah, she is,” Thowra said. “She’s got a wound on the side of her head. It’s best to clean it when she’s awake, though.”

Freya nodded. “So why is she here? And you said you’ll tell me why you’re back.”

Thowra looked at her sadly and began his and her story. “I met her in the Andulusian prisons. We were both about to be executed when a dragon attacked.” Freya’s eyes locked onto his with horror written all over her face.

“D-dragon?” she stammered. Thowra nodded. “But dragons are a legend in Horsca.”

“Legends don’t destroy an entire city,” Thowra said.

Freya eyes widened even more. “Andalusia’s been destroyed?” Thowra nodded. “You’re sure?”

“I had a perfectly good view as the city collapsed around me with Fluttershy on my back,” he said, gesturing with a hoof to the room with the sleeping Equestrian. “And as far as I know, noone else escaped.”

Freya looked at him grimly. “Then we’ll have to keep lookouts posted all night and day incase the dragon attacks us,” she said as she led him back down the stairs and into a room with a large table in the centre.

On the table was an old, and torn map of Horsca, with writings of the different countries that dwell on its boundaries, as well as markings of the many towns and villages that make up the country of Horsca. “But the destruction of Andulusia could make things interesting,” she said quietly.

“What do you mean?” Thowra asked inquisitively.

“If noone got out of the city, then we could use the inevitable confusion to our advantage,” she said.

Thowra’s mouth opened slightly in surprise. “You mean to assault the south?” Freya nodded. Thowra shook his head. “Oh no, I don’t think this is the best move, thin…”

He was cut off when another horse, a chestnut stallion, walked in, speaking with a deep booming voice. “What’s going on here? A war council? Without me? I’m ashamed of you, Freya,” the horse said jokingly. He was much older than Freya; his mane was short and was turning grey, yet his brown eyes told anyone of that fire he had that still burned fiercely.

“Don’t worry, Luthor,” Thowra said, turning to face the newcomer with a smirk. “You haven’t missed much.”

“Thowra, my young friend, how’ve you been,” Luthor greeted him warmly, placing a hoof on his shoulder.

Thowra returned the gesture. “I’m good at the moment. I’m glad to see the old dog hasn’t laid down his legs yet.”

Luthor snorted. “I’m not that old, and I still can give you a complete rump kicking.” Thowra chuckled at this.

“Alright, you two, we can have this later, but right now we’ve got other matters at the moment.” Freya said, drawing attention back to her.

“Really, Freya. Like what?” Luthor asked. Thowra told him everything, from the dragon attack, the escape, to the destruction of Andulusia. Once he’d been told Luthor moved to the nearest chair and sat down, his eyes showing his shock. “Really, noone survived?”

Thowra shrugged. “I’m not entirely certain, but I saw noone walk out of the northern gates when I was there. So I’d assume yes.”

“I’ll send out warnings to all towns and villages. But how does this involve me?” Luthor asked.

“I was getting to that,” Freya said. She reared up and pointed to the south of the country. “If, and that is a big if, the Andulusian family died in the attack, then their armies would be confused and leaderless, correct?” she asked. Luthor nodded. “Well, I propose to launch an all-out attack on the south.”

The room went silent. The two stallions looked at each other with concern and then back at Freya. Eventually Thowra was the first to speak up. “Freya my dear cousin, don’t you think this is a bit… risky?” Freya gave him an odd look. “I mean there’s no telling what their strength is at the moment. On one hoof they could outnumber our forces by thousands and we would walk right into them, and the causalities would be enormous, even at equal strength.”

“But on the other hoof!” Freya countered. “They don’t know what our forces strength is either. And with their leaders possibly dead, their generals would try to take over as ruler, fighting each other in the process.” She paused. “And besides, war is nothing but risk taking.”

Luthor nodded. “I see your logic, Freya, but I must admit I have my doubts.” Freya gestured for him to continue. “For one thing not all of the Andulusian family was in the city at that moment. Their youngest daughter was out around the camps.”

Freya snorted a laugh. “That little tart can’t tell what’s her left from her right. Let alone command an army.”

“Yes, but she’s admired by the soldiers. They would follow her to the death if she says so. She could unite the generals and lead them to a defence, and they would gladly follow her,” Thowra added.

Freya shook her head and waved a hoof dismissively. “I don’t think so. Them Andulusian generals have always had the chance to conquer us, so why haven’t they?” She waited for them to give a response, to which none came. “Because they hate each other! They constantly bicker like a married couple about who should do what. And now with the family dead, it’s feasible they would challenge each other to become ruler. We must take them down, now. I don’t think we will get another chance like this, ever.”

Thowra, after a few minutes of silence, sighed. “I will respect your decision, Freya. Whatever that may be. But please take into consideration our thoughts and concerns.”

Freya nodded. “I will think about it for a few minutes. Please wait outside whilst I come to my final decision.” The two stallions nodded and went outside, leaving Freya to think this over.

“Do you think she’ll say no?” Luthor asked Thowra as they waited. Luthor was sitting down on the stairs, his old legs making him unable for him to stand in one place for long, while Thowra paced back and forth in front of him.

Thowra shook his head. “There’s no doubt in my mind what her answer’s going to be, Luthor. And I hope it’s a risk that I would see pay through in the end.”

“Aye she’s headstrong, Freya is. But I’ve never seen her this prepared to go into battle before. It’s like-”.

“Like a lion has fought its prey for so long, both are tired and wounded. But the lion sees a weakness in the prey and strikes at it, hoping for the killing blow,” Thowra interrupted him. “Is that what you were going to say?”

“Well, no,” Luthor replied. “But that was good anyway.”

The door swung open as soon as Luthor stopped speaking. He rose from his seating position and Thowra stopped pacing. Freya walked out with determination written all over her face. “General Luthor.” She turned to face the warhorse.

“Yes, Freya?”

“Send our fastest messages out to all towns, villages and cities. Warn them of the dragon attack in Andulusia but don’t panic them. And send the message of muster to all able-bodied stallions and mares to arm themselves and come to Castilian. Summon the fyrd and the horsecarls. Tomorrow at noon, we go to war.”

Luthor bowed his head and cantered out of the building, Thowra watched him go then looked back at Freya with sad eyes. “And what of you, Thowra?” Freya said. “What will you do?”

“I will go back to Andulusia in the morning to find and see if the family was indeed killed today. I’m not one for wars like this, not any more,” he answered.

Freya nodded sadly. “Is there anyway I can make you see sense and stop?”

Thowra shook his head. “My mind is made up, Freya. And no matter how much I love you, you won’t make a difference to my decision.”

“Well, at least you will be here tonight,” she said sadly, and then looked up at the ceiling. “I’m gonna check up on your friend. Fluttershy was it?” Thowra nodded. “I’ll see you tonight then.” They brought their nose together in a nuzzle and then turned away from each other. Thowra headed towards the kitchens, while Freya went to look at a certain yellow pegasus who was stirring.

Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes, with a soft moan escaping her lips as she realised her head lay on a comfortable pillow that was twice the size she was used to. She sat upright and looked around.

She was in a bedroom, not a cell thankfully. Wooden in structure and very spartan in furnishings; a single wardrobe in a room that could take about five pony sized wardrobes, and a single door with a golden horse on it. While above her was a sword, about three times as long as hers and had a handle with teeth holders to wield it properly on it.

Her eyes soon turned to the door as it unlocked and opened. “Eek!” she squeaked in alarm and dived under the covers, hoping whatever it was wouldn’t notice her.

“It’s okay, little pony, you can come out of there. I won’t hurt you,” a soft, motherly voice spoke from the door.

Fluttershy slowly moved the duvet off her face to look at the horse that spoke to her. A fairly old mare stood at the door, a dark grey with a black mane and tail. “Welcome to Castilian, Fluttershy,” she said as she walked to the bedside.

Fluttershy tilted her head to the side. “You know my name?”

The horse nodded and sat down next to the bed. “My cousin Thowra told me who you were. My name’s Freya Palomino, Jarl and ruler of the northern provinces of Horsca, and it is a pleasure to meet you.” Freya moved her hoof up for Fluttershy to shake.

Fluttershy moved a hoof up to shake hers, but suddenly drew it away and started apologizing. “I’m sorry, your majesty, I should be more formal than that.” She started getting out of bed, but a firm but gentle hoof from Freya pushed her back down, whilst another took Fluttershy’s little hoof in hers and shook it.

Fluttershy was a little confused. “Yo-you don’t want me to bow before you?”

Freya shook her head and grinned. “Oh no, sweetie. I am a horse like everyone else here. I drink, I eat, I sleep, and I burp and fart. Why should I be treated differently than those I look after?”

Fluttershy didn’t know how to answer to that so kept quiet. Freya continued. “I am more of a shepherd than a queen. I guide my flock to their needs, and hope they do the right thing.” She leaned closer. “And speaking of doing the right thing, I would like to look at that wound of yours.”

Fluttershy nodded and brushed her mane away from the large wound caused by the horse’s kick. Freya grimaced when she looked at it. It was quite big, and was already showing signs of stitching, but dried blood along its surface kept the horse from seeing the full extent of the healing. “You were truly lucky not to have been killed,” she said. “How did it happen?”

“It was the middle of the night. I was running from the sounds of fighting, and then I felt something hit me hard on the head. I went down, then was rolled over and saw a horse standing over me. I tried to get away, but the horse hit me in the same place, knocking me out,” Fluttershy answered.

Freya smiled comfortingly. “Well you’re safe now, noone will hurt you here, you have my word.” She turned to the door. “Flatberta, dear!” she called through the door. Out popped a young mare about the same age as Fluttershy; she was white with spots all over her.

“Yes, Freya milady?” she curtsied to the grey horse.

“Could you get a flannel and a bucket of water, please?” Freya asked. Flatberta curtsied and was about to walk off. “Flatberta,” Freya called again to her. The spotted whit horse turned her head around. “I told you many times there is no need to curtsy me,” she said with a smile. Flatberta nodded and trotted off.

“So young,” she mused aloud. She turned her head back to the pegasus, who watched the small conversation with great interest. “Now tell me, what would a young pony, who lives in the most peaceful land in the world, want to come to this forsaken place?”

“It’s a long story actually,” Fluttershy replied. Freya grinned.

“Ah, then the story can wait for tonight. As a guest of honour at Heimwart I’m sure you would entertain us on your tales of travels,” Freya said.

Fluttershy gulped. “Guest of honour at…” Then she suddenly realised. “What is Heimwart?”

“It’s a feast of honour we have to celebrate our home here, and a gathering of close friends.” Now Fluttershy was worried. An untold number of horses would be at a dinner party of sorts, and she would be the guest of honour and worse, she would have to speak! She felt the butterflies in her stomach go wild.

Her worrying was thankfully cut short when Flatberta returned with a bucket in her mouth she placed it by Freya’s side. “The flannel’s already in the bucket, Freya,” she said. “Is there any more you wish of me?”

“Thank you, Flatberta. You may help with the arrangements tonight,” Freya smiled approvingly. Flatberta giggled with joy and cantered out of the room. Freya dipped her mouth into the bucket and picked up the flannel. Fluttershy moved her head and exposed the wound made by the horse last night, and the grey horse gently placed it on contact with the pegasus’s exposed skin.

Fluttershy closed her eyes and tensed up in pain as water trickled down her face. Her head screamed in protest from any touch no matter how gentle it was. “Sorry,” Freya said through gritted teeth.

Eventually the wound was cleaned up and the grey horse could see the full extent on the mending process. She was surprised though at how quick it had closed, and how it was returning to a pink scar, which would be covered by her coat later.

“You’re going to be fine, Fluttershy dear,” she said. “What about the other side?”
Fluttershy shifted her whole body around so Freya could have a look at the other side. It was merely a bruise from where she had hit the ground. “You’ll be alright. Just try not to run into any more Andulusian soldiers,” she said with a grin.

“I won’t,” Fluttershy replied. “Thank you. It does feel better after that.” She put her hoof on the side and pressed where it was. It didn’t hurt as much as it did, so that was one good thing.

“My pleasure, my dear.” Freya rose to her hooves. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I must prepare for the feast tonight.” She walked away. That’s when Fluttershy remembered in the cave when Thowra spoke of Freya maybe knowing where Firewing was at the moment.

“Wait!” she called. Freya stopped and looked back at her. “I was wondering if you could help me?”

Freya smiled. “Of course, child. What could I do for you?”

“Do you know where I could find a pegasus pony named Firewing?” Freya’s smile faded and her eyes went wide in fear and discomfort.

“You know him?” Freya asked.

“Well no, but I need to find him, it’s important,” she explained. Freya put a hoof on her chin and thought long and hard.

“Can you walk?” Fluttershy nodded and hopped gracefully out of bed, walking up next to the Jarl. “Then come with me,” she said. Fluttershy took to the air and flew next to her; the only sound came from the flapping of the pegasus’s wings, as they went along the wide corridor and up a small flight of stairs, leading out into the low sunshine.

Fluttershy felt the cold air touch her face and her mane blew in the wind as they stepped out onto a balcony, which sat on the top of the great hall, overlooking the entire city and the countryside that surrounded it.

“Firewing came here around three weeks ago, told me he was searching the mountainsides for this cave of a sort that went into the mountains. He said something of importance was there but didn’t say what,” Freya explained. “He was a kind fellow, but there was something about him that didn’t seem right, and his eyes made him-”

“Look older,” Fluttershy finished for her. Freya nodded. “Which mountains did he mean? If you don’t mind me asking that is.”

“Oh, those ones. The Ragged Mountains we call them, mostly about the tops. They’re bent out of shape but look sharp as the hardest steel,” she said, pointing to the set of mountains. Fluttershy looked and a shiver went down her spine.

The mountains were tall indeed, way taller than the one she and her friends went up to ‘encourage’ a dragon to leave. The tops weren’t even visible as low cloud covered them, but Fluttershy could easily see about halfway to the top of one the mountains was covered in snow, as was the rest. ‘One cave,’ she thought. ‘One in one of around half a dozen mountains!’

“Has anyone else been to this place?” Fluttershy asked, hoping they had so it would make finding Firewing easier.

Freya nodded and the pony’s face lit up. “But noone has ever come back to tell us where it is and what’s there.”

Fluttershy’s heart sank and she visibly slouched. She looked back at the mountains and felt close to giving up. If many have gone that way and not come back, what chance does Firewing have? ‘What chance do I have?’ she thought.

‘What!’ her conscious shouted at her. ‘You’re going to give up? Here? When you were so close?’

‘You, I mean, I heard Freya,’ Fluttershy’s thoughts said back. ‘It’s dangerous there.’

Her conscious snorted. ‘And has danger stopped us before? We who went eye to eye with a Cockatrice, arguably the most dangerous creature in Equestria, and made it shrink in fear? This won’t stop us, and we doubt it would stop Firewing.’

Somehow, her conscious spoke sense; she faced the deadliest monster in Equestria and won. She looked back at the mountain and narrowed her eyes in determination. “How long would it take for me to get there?” She turned her head back to Freya.

“A day, a day and a half, depends on how quick you walk and if you’re a pony or a horse,” Freya replied. Fluttershy sighed; the more time it would take getting there the less chance she would have in finding Firewing, but she had no choice. Yes, the road is dangerous, but this whole trip from Detrots to Horsca has been. From the moment she crossed into Horsca she knew how dangerous it could be, but yet she continued.

“May I leave tomorrow for the mountains? If that’s alright with you,” Fluttershy asked Freya, who looked disappointed but nodded her head.

“As a guest you are free to leave the city when you like, my dear. Just promise me you’d come back though, when you’re done with him,” she said with hoping eyes.

Fluttershy smiled. “I will try, Freya,” she said truthfully. She didn’t know what it would bring, even getting there wouldn’t be easy. But she will try, trying like she did for her friends when they needed her.

Freya looked back and noticed the sun was starting to slip over the horizon. “Come, my dear. The Heimwart is about to begin,” she gestured for Fluttershy to lead the way, who trotted down the stairs with a small smile on her face. Freya followed soon after, wondering what could have driven such a sweet, innocent looking pony to do this. Was it out of fear of something? Was it the seeking of knowledge? Or both?

A large group of thirty or forty horses were now in the dining hall, standing around a large U shaped table, greeting each other with a leg on the shoulder, and talked about the day. Some had some form of attire like a cloak of sorts; others were as naked as the day they were born.

But there wasn’t any ‘richer is better’ sort of attitude like Fluttershy saw in Canterlot that night for Twilight’s birthday party, with the exception of Fancy Pants, of course. Here they were all talking and laughing as close friends would, and it made Fluttershy smile.

Her eyes locked on a familiar horse and she beamed. “Thowra!” she called. The silver maned horse heard her and smiled. He didn’t have time to respond as the pegasus leapt into the air and wrapped her forelegs around his neck, giving him a hug.

“Thank you, Thowra. For getting me here I mean,” she said softly. She raised her head to face him and gave him a light kiss on the cheek, before moving her head back to his chest.

Thowra eyes darted around, hoping for someone to help him out with this. Breuna, who was next to him, couldn’t stop sniggering when he saw his friend go red. Thowra’s eyes met Freya’s, who gestured for him to wrap a leg around her. Thowra nodded and wrapped his right leg around the hugging pegasus. “You’re welcome,” he said.

Freya chuckled and rose onto her hind legs, and then clapped her hooves together. “Okay everyone, Heimwart is about to begin!” Everyone moved to the seating arrangements they were given and sat down. Fluttershy looked along the table and realised she didn’t know where she was sitting. “Fluttershy dear, over here,” Freya called. She saw the black maned horse sitting on a big chair with an empty seat next to her, the opposite side sat Thowra.

She breathed a little easier, knowing she’ll be beside two friends she made in less than twenty-four hours – a new record for her, she believed. She jumped up and sat down; it was a surprisingly comfortable replacement for a cushion she was use to back in Equestria. At this moment she realised she was facing the entire group in the hall. She gulped and started to sweat, remembering what Freya told her earlier about telling a story – her story.

Her thoughts and fears were thrown aside for a moment when the starter meal came. Fluttershy and the other guests were the first ones to be given the soup, followed by Thowra, and finally Freya. Fluttershy tilted her head to one side; she had never seen this kind of soup before. It looked like tomato soup, but she could tell from the smell it wasn’t tomato. It also had green herbs of some sort floating on top.

The pegasus looked around to see if she should eat formally or the way she does at home when no one’s looking, greedily. She saw a black-coated horse dive his head in and take big sips. She leaned over and took a sip, then another, then dived her head in and drank it down very quickly, burning her tongue in the process. Luckily there was some water nearby and she gulped it down to.

She suddenly hiccupped; she put her hooves over her mouth and blushed. “Sorry,” she said to Freya, who was trying, and failing, not to laugh.

“It’s okay, my dear.” she said, chuckling all the while. The empty bowls were taken away and in their place were a large plate of cooked vegetables, steamed potatoes and a thick stew with garlic herbs. Everyone dug into his or her meals while Fluttershy hesitated, she had eaten everything else but the stew didn’t look familiar to her.

So she took a small sip of the stew and immediately scoffed it down faster than Applejack did at an eating competition she remembered watching one time. Once that was taken care of she gorged on the potatoes and salad, until her stomach couldn’t take any more. She leaned back on the chair, patting her stomach when she finished. It was delicious, and tasted… well she didn’t know. It was new to her, even though she had them before; something seemed different to her about the food.

She forgot about it when she let out a quiet but quick belch. Again she went red and put her hooves over her mouth. “Oh dear, oh I am so sorry,” she started, but a laughing Freya shushed her.

“It’s okay, Fluttershy. It’s actually very polite to belch at Heimwart, especially as a guest of honour. Means it was good food. Ha, you’ve only been here for a day and you’re a true Horscan already,” she said. Fluttershy bashfully looked away and went redder at the compliment.

Once everyone had finished his or her meals Freya rose up from her chair and brought everyone’s attention to her. The room went silent. “My dearest friends and drinking buddies.” This was met with cheers from the group. Freya, with a small smile, raised a hoof and silence fell again. “Today we have a special guest joining us from Equestria. Please give warm welcome to Miss Fluttershy, a pony who’s travelled so many miles to get here.”

All eyes soon locked onto the pegasus, who shyly waved a hoof. “Hello,” she squeaked. Cheers and the clapping of hooves met her ears and she smiled.

“And since the sun has now set over the horizon, I now suggest a tale of daring and great feats. Fluttershy, as the guest, would you be so kind as to tell us one, please?” Freya sat down and looked to the pegasus, who gulped and shivered slightly. “Take your time, dear,” Freya whispered.

Slowly Fluttershy rose and started to speak, quiet at first but under Freya’s encouragement grew louder. “Well, I was born in a town called Cloudsdale, a city that is made entirely of clouds. I met a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash there and we became friends, not close yet but I will get to that later. After learning my special talent I left the city and moved to a small town called Ponyville, where I met Applejack and Pinkie Pie, two earth ponies, and Rarity, a unicorn. We only knew each other by name for the first two years I lived there, and never truly connected. Until one day when a unicorn brought us together, and our lives changed for the better.”

She went into how Twilight Sparkle came to the town, how she and the lavender unicorn, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, trotted into the most dangerous place in Equestria to take down Nightmare Moon, a creature who wanted to bring night time eternal. She told in full detail every moment, her voice brimming with confidence as she went into the tale. Once that was done she went into the story of her life after Twilight decided to stay, from encouraging a dragon to leave Equestria and take a nap someplace else, running for dear life from a Hydra, a monstrous four headed creature. Staring down a Cockatrice, the rescue of Rarity from the diamond dogs, to Discord, the break-up of her friends to their reunion and defeat of the evil spirit.

“Our lives soon took a peaceful turn, we celebrated things together, chased my friend Applejack across the desert because she wouldn’t tell us why she wouldn’t return after a trip to a rodeo in Canterlot. Battled an army of changelings who’d invaded Canterlot, and many other things. But then, one day that started out with a day trip with Rarity, turned into a few minutes of screaming and destruction I never thought I would ever see.” She went on to the dragon attack on Ponyville. How she got separated from her friends, how she found Twilight on the verge of death, and how she met the most terrifying dragon to exist. “I was scared, but I was so angry. This dragon had attacked my friends and destroyed the town without a second thought. I waked up to it and scolded it, hoped that my words would force it away, like last time. That was when he breathed fire on me. For a few seconds I felt pain, and then nothing. Everything went black, and then seconds later everything returned to normal, then black again.”

Fluttershy told them how she woke up a month later and how she had changed. How she was able to walk through fire without a single burn, the ability to see and hear beyond the norm, and how she could speak and understand a language that nopony seemed to understand, except one.

“I was told by Princess Celestia that Firewing could tell me where it originates from and what does it mean. So I started this journey to find him, to get answers that nopony else can, so I could return and live the life I wanted to have. One of peace and quiet,” she finished and sat back down, awaiting everyone’s reaction.

Thirty to forty horses sat in silence, their stares gormless as they looked at the pegasus in a mix of wonder and awe. Fluttershy looked towards Freya who sat there speechless as well. Thowra on the other hoof put his hooves together and started to clap. Freya was broken out of her daze and started to clap as well. Soon the hall was alive with cheers and applause from theses great horses. Fluttershy smiled and bowed her head modestly. The Heimwart gathering then continued into the night.

Fluttershy had excused herself later in the evening, saying she was tired. Freya was all right with this as she began a speech on the oncoming war that lay ahead, and some songs were being played. The pegasus could still here them from the balcony where she sat, gazing at the mountains which were now a black silhouette in the far distance. The songs being played had a beautiful tune, but were yet sad and mournful, and Fluttershy hated sad songs, mostly because they made her sad. She liked the more cheerful tunes that spoke of life and beauty.

The air was mild and the wind soft as it hit her coat, her mane flowing gently in the breeze, whilst above a cloudless night showed Fluttershy one of the most spectacular sights she’d ever seen. The sky was a beautiful colour of green and red, like a wave out in the ocean, flowing gently across the calm sea. Her eyes went wide and her jaw slackened, amazed by the sight. “Twilight would love this,” she said to herself.

“An Aurora Borealis,” a voice came from behind her. Fluttershy looked back to see Thowra standing there, a big smile on his face he walked up to the pegasus and sat down beside her. “They are a rare occurrence here in Horsca. But legend says that they also tell the future.”

“Really? How?” Fluttershy asked.

“Green for good and red for evil. Both are out tonight so I would say great and terrible things are about to happen to us,” he said.

“Really?!” Fluttershy said alarmingly.

Thowra chuckled. “I don’t know. Such things are just legend now. Fairytales.”

“Do you believe them?” Fluttershy asked.

The smile faded from Thowra’s face. “After today, I don’t know what’s legend and what’s not anymore. So I’m not sure,” he replied.

Silence fell between the two equines as they stared at the sky, watching the aurora swirl and dance in the sky. “During your story, I noticed that you never said anything about your friends on this trip. Didn’t they come with you?” he asked.

Fluttershy looked at the silver maned horse. She looked back at the door, and began telling him why they weren’t with her, when they should’ve been. Thowra widened his eyes as she finished. “Wow,” he said, unable to say anything else.

“You must think of me as a monster now” she said quietly, her eyes watering as she thought she’d just lost another friend.

Thowra laughed and put a foreleg around the pegasus. “No, Fluttershy, I don’t think you’re monster. What you did, some might not understand. But I do, do you know why?” Fluttershy shook her head. “Because of today. If they were with you, they would probably be dead. So in a way, they owe you their lives.”

Fluttershy wiped her eyes and looked at the grey horse. “Thank you, Thowra,” she smiled.

“You’re welcome. Heck, I have done worse things for love than you did.” Before Fluttershy could ask what, Thowra changed the subject. “So your friends, would they have woken up by now?”

“Yes, they should on their way back to Ponyville by now, I hope,” she answered.

Thowra put a comforting hoof in her shoulder. “Don’t worry about them. They are safe, and that’s all that matters. Just concentrate on why you’re here, okay?” Fluttershy nodded and with that the grey horse turned to leave. “Well I’m off to bed. A long day ahead tomorrow and it’s an early start for me. I’ll see you in the morning.”

As he left, Fluttershy called back to him, “Thowra!” The horse turned his head and looked at her. “Do you think they might forgive me, for what I did to them?”

He thought for a moment. “If they are anything like you said, then I’m certain they would forgive you. Goodnight, Fluttershy.” And with that he left, the only sounds he made were his hoofsteps on the wooden floorboards.

Fluttershy looked back into the stars and the dancing lights above, lost in thought, and wondered whether her friends were seeing this beautiful display as well.

Chapter 8

Seventeen hours earlier, in Detrots…

The first thing Twilight felt in what seemed like a long time was the comfortable pillow that her head rested on. She groaned as she opened her eyes. She heard the sound of birds singing, ponies calling from outside to each other, and Brewman walking around the room outside her and her friends. Twilight slowly rose from her pillow, stretched her forelegs and looked around the room.

She looked to her left and saw Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity, still sleeping in their beds. Glad they were okay she looked to her right, to where Fluttershy would be sleeping. A large part of her hoped that Fluttershy drugging them was a dream, and they would be able to go home.

The unicorn’s heart shattered when she saw the bed was empty. She stared dumbly at it with tears in her eyes for what seemed like ages. She didn’t hear the others beginning to stir from their slumber.

“Eh,” Rainbow groaned, stretching out her legs and wings, and rubbed her head with a hoof. “What happened?”

“Last thing I remember was having a drink with ya’ll,” Applejack said, stretching her legs and swinging her head from side to side. “And now this.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened when she remembered, then they narrowed and she hissed the name, “Fluttershy.”

“Now hold on, Rainbow.” Rarity said. “What if Fluttershy wasn’t responsible? What if she didn’t know what-”

“She was responsible,” Twilight cut her off. “She knew exactly what she was doing.”

“I knew it!” Rainbow roared, slamming down on the bed with her hooves. “When I find her I’m going to give her such a yelling she’ll be deaf from it for a week!”

“Hey, girls,” Pinkie said. Nopony noticed that the pink pony had gotten up and was looking at a scroll left wrapped up on the table. “I think it’s from Fluttershy,” she said in a sad tone, which seemed to Twilight so wrong coming from a pony who was meant to bring joy to the world.

Twilight got out of her bed and walked over to where Pinkie stood, gazing at the scroll left there. It was perfectly rolled up with a red ribbon tied around it. The lavender unicorn picked it up with her magic, untied the ribbon and began to read aloud.

“My dearest friends.

Firstly I want to thank you all, for being my friends. For being there when I needed it. For staying by me even when I wouldn’t go no further. For having faith in me when I had none for myself. I love you all so much and I will never forget you. The last two years will always leave a special place in my heart for the rest of my life.

That is why I must leave you all now. I lied when I said I met Firewing here in Detrots. He went into Horsca about a month ago, and I’m going in after him, alone. I’m sorry for having to drug you like I did but I don’t want to see you all get hurt because of me, or worse. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to any of you.

By the time you would’ve all have awakened it will have been two days since I left you sleeping here. Star, the commander of the garrison, has promised me that you will be taken back to Ponyville safely. When you get there, please make sure Angel bunny is freed with the others at the cottage. I’m sure it's what he would have wanted. After that, live your lives the way you have all lived them, honest, loyal, generous, kind and happy.

I love you girls so much, and I’m sorry I’m so sorry.

Farewell.”

The letter ended and Twilight buried her face in it, her tears soaking into the scroll and ruining some of the writing. She looked around to see Pinkie’s head buried in Rarity’s chest, the white unicorn trying to calm down the crying pony even when she was in distress herself. Rainbow only stared at the ground, her face from one of anger to complete sorrow. Applejack showed no emotion whatsoever, her face staring at Twilight’s blankly with no idea what to do now.

Twilight looked away and stared towards where her yellow pegasus friend would have slept, her face wet with her own tears. Their friend had basically abandoned them, or saved them, depending on the situation Fluttershy was in at the moment.

She thought for a minute, then moved over to her bed, her eyes full of purpose; her horn shone its magenta aura over to where her bed lay and pulled out her saddlebags from underneath. She opened it up and checked inside them to see if she had everything.

“Twi?” Applejack asked curiously. “What ya doing?”

“I’m going after her,” Twilight stated.

Everypony gasped. “Twilight,” Rainbow said, jumping out if her bed and hovering in the air in front of the unicorn. “Isn’t that a bit dangerous, even for you?”

“Rainbow’s right,” Applejack said. “Fluttershy could be anywhere in Horsca by now. It could take years to find her.”

“I don’t care!” Twilight snapped back. “Right now the kindest pony that will ever live is out there somewhere, frightened, alone and lost. She has saved my life on several occasions, from dragons to cockatrices, and I want to return the favour, by being by her side. Because although she probably won’t admit it, she’s scared of what’s happening to her, and what she needs is a friend by her side.”

She placed her saddlebags on her back and moved to stand in front of the door. “You can go home if you want. But I’m not going home knowing I’ll have one less pony friend there.”

The four mares looked at each other in unease, unsure of what to do or how to act. Twilight decided to give it another minute before setting off. “Well,” Rainbow was the first to speak after a moment of silence. “Noone tells me to give up or go home, but me.” She dived under her bed and fished out her saddlebags. “I’m with you, Twilight,” she said with a grin, which Twilight replied in kind.

Pinkie stood facing the two mares for a moment before calmly getting her saddlebags and placing them on her back. “I’m ready, Twilight,” she stated. Applejack and Rarity looked at each other, then nodded and fished out their saddlebags from under their beds. Twilight felt her eyes water in joy and a beaming smile across her face; she never felt so lucky to have such good friends as she did now.

“All right, ladies,” she said with authority. “We need to get to Horsca by the end of the day. Fluttershy has had a two day head start but we’re not let that going to stop us, are we?”

“No way!” the four ponies responded in unison, Twilight nodded and turned to the door.

“Then let’s do this.” She reared up, and then galloped for the door, her friends following behind her. The door swung open on contact with Twilight’s hooves and they charged into the main room.

“Ah, thank goodness you’re awake, and thankfully with no side affects from such a long sleep,” a golden armoured white pegasus greeted them as they ran out of the room. Next to him stood Brewman who had a frown on his face. Behind the pegasus stood two unicorn guards, both had their eyes on the five ponies as they stopped dead a few feet away from the soldiers.

Twilight strode forward. “Let me guess, you must be… Commander Star?”

Star nodded. “That is correct, Twilight Sparkle.” He couldn’t help but smirk when Twilight’s eyes widened at the mention of her name. “Don’t be surprised I know your name, Twilight. Or that of your friends. After Fluttershy left two days ago I did I little digging onto you all and what I found was most fascinating. Saving Equestria twice is no easy feat.”

Rainbow snorted. “Um, I believe you mean three times.”

Twilight turned to Rainbow with a quizzical look. “When was the third time?”

Rainbow crossed her legs over her chest. “You know, when we got rid of that dragon on the mountain?”

Twilight shook her head. “I think Fluttershy takes full credit for that. We were on our flanks most of the time at that part anyway.”

“Ah yeah,” Rainbow replied, “I forgot about that bit.”

“Anyway,” Star interrupted. “I’m here to make sure that your escorted to the carriage.”

“Carriage,” Rarity said, her head tilting to one side. “What carriage?”

“The carriage that will fly you back to Ponyville this morning,” Star answered, looking at each of the confused ponies faces. “Or did Fluttershy forget to mention that in her letter she left you all?”

“Well, we’re not going home. We’re going to Horsca and find Fluttershy,” Rainbow proclaimed, moving closer to the white pegasus.

The two guards behind Star moved into an aggressive stance. “I’m afraid, Rainbow Dash,” Star said, gesturing the soldiers behind him to relax, “that I ain’t going to allow you to go after her. Fluttershy was very… specific that I make sure you all get back to Ponyville safely.”

“Aww, did little Fluttershy threaten biggie you?” Pinkie asked. Rainbow sniggered at such a suggestion, yet when she looked back at Star and saw him sweating, she couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Um, no,” he lied. “But as commander of the garrison here I order you to come with me.”

“Excuse me!” Rainbow zoomed up into his face until their noses were just millimetres apart. “But I only take orders from the Princesses, my friends and myself! Right now Fluttershy is not exactly right in the head at the moment. She’s been burned to a crisp, resurrected, and been in a coma for a month, and that’s not exactly going to do wonders for a pony. So now, she needs us more than she would let on. You could force us into the carriage, or even lock us in here if you want, but we are not going back to Ponyville, not without her.”

Star looked away from the other pegasus’ eyes, taking a moment to consider what Rainbow said. “Alright,” he said after a brief but intense moment of silence. He turned from the confused pegasus to the guards behind him. “Make sure they don’t leave this building,” he ordered.

“What!” the five ponies exclaimed. Rainbow slunk down to the floor and facehoofed herself hard. “Me and my big dumb mouth,” she muttered. The two unicorn guards erected a shield around the front door as Star left. Once the commander was outside, the unicorn guards left, slamming the door behind them.

Applejack leapt over the pegasus and tried to kick down the door, but was sent flying when her legs connected with a golden aura around the door. The four ponies crowded around her in concern and helped her up on her hooves.

Applejack shook the dust off her body. “Well that was real smooth, Rainbow,” she scowled, frowning at the pegasus. “If ya could keep that big mouth of yours shut for once, we may actually do something right for a change!”

Instead of retorting like she would do, Rainbow seemed to shrink slightly and rubbed her right leg. “Sorry,” she muttered. Somepony would’ve thought that Fluttershy and Rainbow had swapped places.

Applejack calmed down and put a comforting hoof on the pegasus’ shoulder. “That’s okay, sugarcube, I forgive ya,” She said with a smile.

“But how do we get out of here now?” Rarity whined. “The only way out is blocked by a barrier of some sort.”

“Twilight, you’re super duper smarty warty,” Pinkie said. “You could bring down the barrier, right?”

Twilight shook her head solemnly. “That’s military magic, Pinkie. Even if I could, it’s draining on a unicorn to fight another’s power.”

“So… we’re stuck here?” Rainbow said despairingly. The five mares looked down on the ground, their ears folded back and their eyes sullen.

“Well, if you want to give up that is.” They turned to Brewman, who was walking behind the bar with a smile on his face. “But I got a better idea, how about I get you all out of here?”

Five faces lit up in joy. “You want to help us?” Twilight asked joyfully. Brewman nodded. “Why?”

“Do I need a reason?” he answered with a shrug. “Other than the ones you said to Star, and the fact that you’re my friends, and I help my friends in need.”

He gestured for them to step behind the bar and surround a cellar door in the ground beneath him. “Before I bought this place,” he explained. “It was used by smugglers bringing in goods from Equestria to Horsca, and vice versa. This will take you to a clearing on the other side of the forest outside the city. Keep following the path, and once you get over the mountains you’ll be in Horsca. Fluttershy left in the late afternoon so would have made it the following evening. You on the other hoof could possibly get there by tonight if you move fast enough.”

“What about the guards?” Rarity asked. “Would they know that we have gone?”

Brewman shook his head and chuckled. “They don’t even know the smuggling took place, Rarity. Probably the Horscans put a stop to it. Anyway if they ask I’ll just say you’re in your room complaining.” He opened the doors and said, “Hop in.”

Pinkie jumped in first; crying out, “Wee!” as she fell, followed by Rarity, then Rainbow and Twilight.

“How could we repay ya for this?” Applejack asked as she took her place to jump.

“Just come back with Fluttershy alive and well, okay,” he answered.

“Hey, Brewman!” Twilight called from down below. “What’s in these sacks? They’re blooming heavy.”

“I put some things in them that you might need when you get into Horsca. Wait until you’re outside the city to find out!” He turned to Applejack. “See you later, fellow Ponyvillians, and good luck.”

Applejack grinned and hopped in, with them gone Brewman closed the doors and locked it. “Celestia’s sun and Luna’s moon guide you ponies,” he said quietly, and then turned back around, continuing with cleaning the mugs and dishes.

“Ouch! That was my tail whoever stood on that!” Rarity screeched.

“Oops, sorry, Rarity,” Rainbow said in the faint light emanated from Twilight’s horn. The five mares had been going through this tunnel for what seemed like an hour, each tripping up on each other’s hooves or tails at some point. On Twilight's back was a giant sack full of what seemed like leathery objects of some sort. While Applejack had the second sack, which was just as heavy but what of nopony knew.

“I think I can see a light,” Pinkie said.

“That’s just Twi’s light from her horn,” Applejack said.

Pinkie giggled. “Oh yeah you’re right, it is Twilight.” Silence reigned for a moment. “Say,” the pink pony suggested, “why don’t we play a game?”

“Okay,” Rainbow said sarcastically. “What should we play in a narrow corridor used by smugglers that smells as if something’s died?!”

“Um…” Pinkie pondered, before smiling. “I have no idea.”

“Then why did you suggest us playing something if you don’t know what to do?!” Applejack shouted from the front.

The pink pony simply shrugged. “Thought it might keep our minds occupied.”

The tunnel suddenly started to widen, allowing the ponies to fan out from the packed space. They found themselves in a small cave, with a small pool of water that rippled as the ponies walked by it and the walls of the cave sparkled like gems.

Twilight led the way through a narrow passage through the cave, eventually seeing a bright light at the end of the cave. She grinned when she realised they were nearly outside.

“Come on, girls!” she called back. “We’re nearly there!” She broke into a gallop and ran straight into the outside world. She found herself in a meadow that stretched up to a small river, flowing fast as if it was escaping from something. To her right, following the path that led to the city was an arched stone bridge, its stone showing signs of age due to the moss hanging over its sides. The long grass blew flowingly to the current of the wind. Twilight breathed deeply, for the air to her seemed as sweet as honey.

Twilight squinted her eyes as she walked from the shadows into the sun that now loomed overhead; her eyes resumed their normal size once they had adjusted. She didn’t notice Applejack standing next to her, her hat lowered over her brow due to the sun, and she heard Rarity complain that she didn’t have a suitable hat for this day. While Rainbow and Pinkie sat by the cave entrance, breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the gentle breeze. “So where now, Twi?” Applejack asked.

“I believe we go this way,” she answered, pointing to the where the bridge stood. She began to trot back onto the road and heading, presumably, north, while the others followed behind, eager to find their friend again.

“So I spy with my little eye. Something beginning with… T,” Pinkie said. The group had been walking for around four hours now and to pass the time, Pinkie had started playing ‘I spy’ and since then it’s been pretty much the same answer.

“Let me guess,” Rainbow said with a roll of her eyes. “A tree?”

“Nooooo” Pinkie said innocently, much to Rainbow’s surprise.

“Pinkie, how can it not be a tree when on either side of us, are trees!” Rainbow said in exasperation.

“Don’t know,” Pinkie shrugged. “Just isn’t a tree.”

“Okay then…” Applejack said, looking around for something beginning with ‘T’, her eyes soon turned to the lavender unicorn in front of them. “Is it Twilight?”

“Yippee!” Pinkie cheered, jumping in the air and punching it. “Well done, Applejack! Your go!”

Okay… um,” Applejack pondered, looking around for something to pick that wasn’t a tree. Around them, trees walled the path they walked down, a few times were small openings to clearings with lush meadows, but they felt clustered by the trees so to speak. Ahead of them, however, looming in the distance was the mountains that separated Equestria from Horsca, their peaks reaching into the clouds as if they were poking them.

“Girls, do you mind if we stop for a while?” Twilight looked back at the other ponies. “I’m a little hungry.” Her belly started to rumble as if to prove the statement.

“Okay, Twilight. Would be nice to have a picnic out here,” Rarity added.

“Yeah, plus we could see what’s in that sack Brewman gave us,” Rainbow said, pointing to the sack that Twilight was carrying on her back. Although Rainbow offered to take it, Twilight refused saying just a little further. And that was about an hour ago.

The five friends moved off the road into an opening that led into a field with a house that was broken and deserted, although what they did here was pretty easy to understand. Around them, were rows upon rows of apple trees, each one had ripe, spellbindingly fragrant apples that were a brighter green than the grass they moved on.

Twilight set down the sack and rubbed her back with her hooves. Pinkie got out her blanket and set it down on the grass. The ponies crowded it and brought out the second sack Brewman gave them. Inside were a varied number of fruits from apples to kumquats. They brought out some and shared it around, enjoying the delicious and rather exotic fruits.

“So, Twilight?” Rainbow asked, looking inquisitively at the first sack by Twilight’s side. “Are you going to check what’s in there?”

The lavender unicorn finished eating her mouthful and answered, “I don’t see why not.”

Her horn glowed its familiar magenta colour around the sack, making it float in the air, then swinging it upside down and spilling its contents out. Out came six unusual bracelets; five had a golden unicorn head on the front, with a length from the wrist of the hoof to below the knee, while the tops resembled something of a sword handle. The other was even stranger; a wooden structure that had two half arches on the sides, with a loose string connecting the two together. While on the side, was a lever of some sort that seemed to push back.

The five ponies looked at them strangely. “Any idea what these are?” Pinkie asked to noone in particular. The others shook their heads.

“So what in tarnation do we do with them?” Applejack asked, again to noone in particular.

“Let’s try putting them on,” Twilight suggested.

Rarity took a step back from them. “Goodness gracious no!” she yelled. “A lady like me will never be seen wearing something so… unglamorous in her life. It will make my leg look boisterous.”

“Oh come on, Rarity!” Applejack fumed. “It’s not like it’s going to kill ya.”

The white unicorn nodded and with a sigh reluctantly attached one of the bracelets to her leg, muttering something about finding Fluttershy being worth the humiliation. There was no difficulty attaching them to their legs – they clicked in place rather than strapped on. Rainbow had difficulty with hers, but Twilight gave her a helping hoof once done with her own.

Twilight stared in wonder at hers and found it ever so light and surprisingly comfortable, as if it wasn’t even there. She raised her leg in the air to see how it was attached when a foot long blade shot out of a small slit at the end, making her jump back in surprise. The four ponies moved their legs in the same position and soon four more blades appeared from their bracelets. “Incredible,” Twilight muttered in wonder.

“This. Is. So. Awesome!” Rainbow squealed in delight, a bright grin on her face. She flew into the air and gave her sword a few swings and lunges.

“Careful with that thing,” Applejack warned her. “It’s not a toy, ya know.”

“I know that, Applejack,” Rainbow scoffed. “I’m just trying it out. Ha, no one’s gonna mess with us in Horsca.”

“I must say,” Rarity admitted. “That these are quite comfortable on one’s features.”

“Say, what about the other one?” Pinkie pointed to the sixth bracelet, the strange one.

Before Twilight could pick it up, Rainbow dived down and grabbed it. She placed it on her left leg, a clicking sound meaning it attached. As one, the two half arches spread out to form a full arch at the front end of the thing, the string tightened until it stretched between the two ends.

“A crossbow,” Twilight proclaimed, much to Rainbow’s glee. The unicorn looked around to see if there were any crossbow bolts. Upon finding none, she looked back in the bag and found a quiver of around fifty bolts that were stuck to the bottom of the sack. “I found some bolts, Dash!” she called up to the pegasus.

Rainbow swooped back to the ground so Twilight could equip the quiver of bolts to Rainbow's side. They fitted nicely around her waist as the unicorn tightened the strap around the cyan pegasus’ neck.

“Hold on now,” Applejack said as she walked over. “Why should Rainbow get the crossbow?”

“Because I’m a pegasus. So if I need to, I could shoot things from above,” Rainbow argued.

“Just because ya got wings doesn’t mean ya the best shooter out of all us,” Applejack retorted. Rainbow was about to reply but realised the earth pony was right. She could still easily miss and hit her friends from above as well on the ground if they did get into a fight.

“So how should we decide whose the better shot then out of all of us?” Rainbow asked.

“Um…” Applejack said, looking around the orchard for something they could use as target practice. Her eyes spotted a large tree on a small slope about a good forty feet from them, on the branches were some of the biggest apples she had ever seen. It would make a perfect target.

“See that tree over there?” She pointed to where she was looking. Her good rival nodded. “If ya can shoot down one of those apples then ya have it, but if I can shoot one down then I’ll have it. Deal?”

Rainbow took a moment to consider this. “Deal.” The two rivals spat on their hooves and put them together in agreement.

“How can they do that on each others’ hooves escapes me,” Rarity grimaced in disgust.

The two contestants looked at the three other ponies, which now sat in a line on Pinkie’s blanket. “Ya not going to try out?”

“I don’t think I would be any good at it, Applejack, so I’m out. What about you two?” Twilight said, looking at Rarity and Pinkie who shook their heads. “Looks like it’s just you two.”

“Okay then, your loss,” Rainbow shrugged, turning around and focusing on the targeted apple tree. “You go first, Applejack.”

“Thank ya kindly, Rainbow,” Applejack said with a smile. The pegasus took off the crossbow bracelet and helped place it on the orange pony’s free leg.

Once on, Applejack positioned herself facing the tree and sitting on her rump. She took a bolt from Rainbow in her teeth and placed it on the tip of the bowstring, the bolt sitting comfortably on a rack in the middle. She used her right leg to push the lever on the right side back so the arrow and the string were pulled back as well. “I take it to release it again to fire?” the earth pony asked aloud.

“I think you have to push it down to release it,” Twilight replied. The unicorn was about to go further when she heard a crunching sound. She looked to her right and saw Pinkie diving her face into a huge bag of popcorn. “Where did you get that bag of popcorn from?” she asked with an eyebrow raised.

“I got it from Detrots. Brewman had it in his basement and he had a few bags so I thought he wouldn’t mind if I had one,” Pinkie explained. “Want some?”

Twilight stared at her friend for a moment, and then simply shrugged. “Yeah alright.” she picked a hoofful with her magic and placed it on the blanket. Rarity meanwhile, without taking her eyes from the scene in front of her, sneakily snuck her hoof in the bag and picked some.

Applejack, meanwhile, raised her leg once again and got ready to fire. There wasn’t a sound in the world, no birds sang, nor anypony spoke. The only things that could be heard were their steady breathing.

Applejack held her breath for a moment and pushed the lever down, the bolt soaring off the bow with a crack. Unfortunately for Applejack it past an apple she aimed at and embedded itself into the tree. “Darn it!” Applejack cursed herself. Rainbow started to snigger.

“Gee, Applejack, I thought you were the better shot out of all of us,” the pegasus sniggered.

“Yeah well ya still got to hit it, Rainbow,” Applejack retorted with a smirk. “If ya do, then ya have it.” She took the crossbow off her leg and helped Rainbow put it on hers.

“Well then, here goes nothing,” Rainbow said with a slight hint of nervousness. She set up her position where her orange friend had sat and, once she gotten the bolt in place, raised her left leg. Her leg shook about as she tried to get a steady aim on an apple that seemed to call to her.

She took a deep breath, and pushed down on the lever. The bolt shooting off sent Rainbow falling down on her back, the bolt went straight through the apple and embedded itself in the tree. A minute later the apple fell to the ground and rolled down the slope, landing by a stunned Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

The three ponies behind them cheered at Rainbow’s victory. Applejack clapped her hooves together and helped the pegasus on her hooves. “Well done, RD,” she said with a smile. “May be we’re in safer hooves than I thought we would be.”

“Thanks, Applejack. It’s good to know you have some faith in me,” Rainbow said in a tone of mock-offence.

Twilight rolled her eyes and shook her head at the two ponies. ‘They’ll never get over their rivalry,’ she thought. She looked over to Pinkie. “Do you know what the time is?”

Pinkie looked at her party watch. “Well it’s gone two hours over party time so it must be about two-ish,” she answered.

Twilight got up and started putting some leftovers in her bags. “We better get going if we want to be in Horsca by tonight,” she said. Rarity and Pinkie nodded in agreement and soon started helping. Applejack and Rainbow joined soon after, Rainbow picking the victory apple as she passed with her teeth.

It wasn’t long that they were packed up and ready to go, Rainbow took the lead followed by Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie who hopped rather than walked.

By the time they made it within the shadow of the mountains it was twilight hours. The sun was now halfway over the horizon and the moon was beginning its ascent into the sky, with the stars starting to appear one by one. Rainbow flew upfront and reached the top of the mountain. In the low sunlight, she could see the vast beauty of the country that lay before her.

As she sat there waiting for her friends to reach her, she wondered where her other winged friend would be. She wasn’t angry with Fluttershy, no, but she was extremely worried about her. Rainbow had always seen Fluttershy as a sister or, even though she would never admit it, the sister she always wanted. A sister that she could look after, and one to be by her side and to stop her sometimes before things went too far. “I’ll find you again, Fluttershy,” she declared to the open sky. “Even if it takes me a hundred years.”

By the time Twilight, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie made it up the mountain, panting as they came to the summit, the sun had gone and the sky was abounded with bright stars. “Ladies!” Rainbow exclaimed. Turning around to face them. She reared up on her hind legs and spread her forelegs wide as if she was about to give them a hug. “May I be the first to welcome you to Horsca, the land of the horses!”

“Wow,” the four ponies chimed together. Although the darkness of Luna’s night had clouded the land, like Rainbow, they could tell of a beauty that this country holds.

“We should get to the bottom of this mountain, then I think we should call it a day,” Twilight, said. The others agreed. They followed the path down the other side of the mountain; thankfully for them it wasn’t steep so apart from a few small rocks that the ponies could trip over, they made it down and into Horsca with little difficulty.

They followed the dirt path as it turned into a stone road. “I think we’ve gone far enough,” Twilight declared, leading them off the main road and into a clearing hidden from plain sight.

“Finally,” Rarity sighed in relief. Her hind legs gave way and she collapsed onto her rump, the grass feeling surprisingly comfortable on her rear. “I have never done so much walking in ages.”

Pinkie and Twilight found some wood and set up a fire that glowed brightly thanks to Twilight and her magic. The five friends surrounded it, enjoying the sound of the firewood as it crackled and broke apart, while they stayed nice and warm under their blankets.

“Are you all mad at Fluttershy?” Pinkie asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

The others were taken aback by the question; they really thought about it for a moment until Twilight answered first. “No, can’t say I am. Disappointed mainly but not mad.”

“I think if we were mad, sugarcube,” Applejack reasoned. “We would be on that carriage back to Ponyville, and not here looking for her.”

“I guess so,” Pinkie said quietly, looking to the ground.

“Are you mad, darling?” Rarity asked.

“Nope,” Pinkie answered, shaking her head. “I find it hard to be mad at her for long. It just doesn’t feel right.”

“It isn’t right to be mad at anypony for long, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “We all make mistakes and we should move on from them.”

Applejack, with the corner of her eye (she had taken her hat off and it rested at her side), noticed something different in the sky. She looked up and gasped in wonder and awe. “Twi,” she whispered. “Look at this!”

Twilight, Rainbow, Rarity and Pinkie looked up and gasped in shock at what they saw. The sky was coloured in waves of green and red, swirling around the stars as if they were dancing. Twilight, without once moving her eyes away from the beauty she was witnessing, brought a notebook out of her saddlebags and started jotting down notes without even looking.

“A aurora borealis,” she said hoarsely. “I thought I would never get to see them in my lifetime. They usually occur much further north, but this… this is amazing.”

“It sure is,” Rainbow agreed. “And strangely, we have to thank Fluttershy for this.”
Twilight didn’t respond; she simply nodded in agreement. “What do you think, Rarity?” Rainbow turned to the other unicorn, but noticed that she was fast asleep, huddled up near the fire under Fluttershy’s blanket and her breathing steady.

“You know what, I agree with her,” Rainbow said, pointing to the white unicorn. “Goodnight, everypony.” She laid down and rested her head on the soft grass and fell asleep extraordinarily quickly.

“So what’s the plan tomorrow, Twilight?” Pinkie asked.

“Well,” Twilight answered. “I think we should head to the nearest city and see if Fluttershy came through. Go a similar way we found Applejack.”

“Please don’t bring that up again,” Applejack said with a groan. “It wasn’t exactly my finest moment.”

“Sorry, Applejack,” Twilight said. “But that’s the plan, and we won’t stop until we find her again.”

Pinkie nodded, and then yawned, “Well I’m tired,” she said drearily. “Goodnight, Applejack, Twilight.” She fell flat on her side and was spark out the moment she hit the ground.

“Do ya think Fluttershy might be watching this as well?” Applejack asked the unicorn.

“Oh I hope so, Applejack,” Twilight said. “I sure hope so.”

Little did the two mares know that miles away, on the highest point of a city, a yellow pegasus pony was thinking whether they were seeing the aurora as well.

The stars started to disappear from the sky one by one. As soon as they disappeared, the sun began its climb over the horizon and into the sky, bringing the dawn of a new day. To Fluttershy, the city of Castilian was beautiful, but now, with the first light of the day shining down on its majestic white walls, it was made even more magnificent.

Fluttershy sat up top the main balcony once again, her wings spread out wide, enjoying the light breeze on her feathers that although slightly ticklish, made her more relaxed than she is. She looked down onto the steppes that lay before the city gates, which were packed with horses.

Throughout the night, hundreds of horses had galloped from their homes across northern Horsca and set up camp outside the city walls. Freya had assured her that they were her soldiers under her orders, which calmed her to an extent at least. Now, as she looked down on the camps, she could hear the sound of whinnying, swords on anvils and clashes of blades, sounds that were so alien to her.

Fluttershy had small bags under her eyes due to the fact she didn’t sleep well at all, mostly though due to the part excitement, part nervousness she felt for today. She turned her head away from the camps outside the city, and faced her destination. The Ragged Mountain range, as they were known as by the horses. She could see the peaks of some of the highest mountains reach over the clouds that loomed over it. She realised that she would have to set off very soon if she wanted to get there tonight.

“Miss Fluttershy,” a voice called from below. The pegasus took her gaze off her destination and looked down the steps to reveal a horse, probably a colt due to his size, whose coat was a dark brown and had a light ginger mane and tail. “Miss Freya would like you to meet her in the main hall before you leave.”

The pegasus walked down the stairs from the balcony and faced the young horse. “Thank you, sir, I would be with her shortly.” The horse bowed his head and trotted off down the corridor. Fluttershy followed the colt until she came to the door of the guest room, the room that Freya gave her for the night.

The guest room wasn’t as big as Freya’s understandably, but was by far more luxurious. A dark red carpet with swirling gold lines adorned the floor, a large wardrobe made up an entire wall, while a bookcase made up another, filled with tomes of books of either fiction or knowledge about the country she was in. The third wall was made up of stands that had two-foot long ceremonial swords that were either in steel or in bronze. And the guest bed was huge, with a bright green duvet with a golden horse head on the front, while either side were bed draws for her to use.

Fluttershy entered her room and headed straight to the wardrobe, picking out her saddlebags with her teeth and opening them up to be sure everything was all right. She delved her head into the bag and found her medallion; she smiled and hugged it as if it was an old teddy bear. She pulled out her sword bracelet given to her by Star in Detrots and placed it onto her right leg, the brace clicking in place nicely around her hoof.

She lifted her foreleg and the sword slowly crawled out of the scabbard. It seemed to Fluttershy that it sang as it appeared, as if it was anticipating its use. Fluttershy prayed to Celestia and Luna that she would never need to use it, but the dangers of the country made it too valuable to leave here.

She decided to practice on using it; she gave a few swings around the room, unbelievably managing to miss anything that came as close to being hit. If any horsecarl came through that day and saw Fluttershy practice, they would probably have lost their jaws.

Satisfied in its use, she lowered her leg down and the sword sang mournfully as it detracted into the scabbard. She looked around the room for one final time before swinging her saddlebags over her back and trotted out the door, singing a cheery little tune as she trotted, trying to look and stay confident. But all she wanted to do was stay here, or go home.

She soon found herself in the main hall again. The tables had been re-arranged so that they were at the sides of the room. Any stains from last night’s feast had been removed, and there wasn’t a single horse in sight.

“Freya?” she called out to the empty room, hoping she might be within hearing distance. She waited for a few moments, but noone called back to her. She moved to where Freya sat last night and sat down next to it, deciding to wait patiently for her to return.

Minutes later, she was beginning to tap her hoof in impatience. Although Fluttershy was normally a patient pony, she couldn’t help sometimes to be agitated by other ponies’ lack of time keeping. Her eyes darted from one part of the hall to another; she then looked up, and did a double take.

Mounted on the highest points of the walls, were the stuffed heads of sabre tooth tigers, bears, and she could swear one was a Fenrisian wolf, the largest and most dangerous breed of wolf in existence.

“When a horse of the Horscan army achieves great things, he or she is sent out into the wild to find and kill the deadliest creatures in Horsca. If they return, then they become a horsecarl, a member of the personal bodyguards of the king or queen of Horsca,” Freya explained as she walked in and noticing Fluttershy’s confused look at the mounted heads.

When the pegasus noticed the old grey horse come in, she made a wide smile and ran up to Freya, nuzzling her. “Good morning, Fluttershy, my dear. I trust you slept well?”

Fluttershy shied away. “Actually… I didn’t to be honest,” she said, and then added quickly, “But it wasn’t the bed’s fault! I guess I was nervous about today.”

Freya chuckled and nuzzled her in comfort. “You should have said something last night. I know a few lullabies that would send a foal to sleep in seconds.”

“I was worried I might disturb you,” she said, rubbing her hooves together.

Freya chuckled again. “I would never get disturbed by a good friend, Fluttershy. Besides, I didn’t sleep well last night either.”

She indicated for the pegasus to follow her. “I am truly afraid about today, Fluttershy,” she said sadly. “Outside the city right now is around five thousand horses itching to get into battle, and I’ve been told more will come, probably going up into ten thousand by noon. I have to lead them all, Fluttershy, and I’m afraid that I will be unable to protect them.”

Fluttershy frowned, unable to think of what to say to Freya at this moment. “Don’t worry,” she said softly with a small smile. “I’m sure you will do your best. And they will love you, Freya. No matter what happens.”

Freya smiled back but didn’t say anything. The old mare guided Fluttershy to her room. When they got there, Freya moved to one of the chest at the far corner if the room.

“I wanted to give this to you before you leave,” Freya explained. “It was a gift from a unicorn when I was a foal. He said that if I should ever get lost in the darkness, it will light the way for me.” She found what she was looking for and brought it out with her teeth. In her mouth was a gem, a bright violet colour and shaped like a cone.

Fluttershy shook her head. “I could never accept that, Freya. It was a gift given to you and you alone should have it.”

“Nonsense, Fluttershy,” Freya said. “I’m too old for going into caves, dungeons and old temples. So I have no need for this anymore. But you do if you’re going into that catacomb.”

Freya walked over and placed the gem into her saddlebags. “Thank you,” Fluttershy said, accepting defeat.

“You’re welcome, my dear,” Freya said. The two stared at each other for a moment, not knowing what to say to the other.

“Where’s Thowra?” Fluttershy suddenly asked, “I want to see him before I go, to thank him also.” Freya’s reaction was sudden, her ears drooped right back and her eyes seemed to glisten with water.

“He’s gone,” she answered sadly, closing her eyes and lowered her head towards the ground. “He left in the early morning for Andulusia. I don’t know when, or if, he’ll come back.”

Fluttershy eyes widened and her eyes started to water. “I never even got to say goodbye.”

Freya wrapped a hoof around the pegasus. “Neither did I, child. But Thowra was never good at saying goodbye, even when he was a colt. Plus it’s hard on him.”

Fluttershy looked up at her. “Why?”

“That, I’m afraid is not for me to tell. Only Thowra should tell you that, if he is willing to that is,” Freya answered.

“Do you think I will see him again?”

Freya shrugged. “I don’t know, but maybe, Fluttershy, maybe.”

Fluttershy sniffed back some tears and wiped her eyes. “Well… I guess this is goodbye?”

Freya nodded slightly. “I guess so.” They stared at each other for a moment before embracing in a hug. “Come back safely, Fluttershy, for I’ll want to hear your story.”

“I’ll try,” Fluttershy promised. She pulled away from the embrace, and then bowed her head one more time before turning around and trotting out the room.

“I hope you find him!” Freya called out after her.

“Thanks, and good luck to you as well!” Fluttershy replied back. She didn’t hear a reply, because there wasn’t one. “Okay,” Fluttershy said to herself as she exited the main hall. “You can do this. Just like you dreamed of when you were a filly.”

As she made her way through the courtyard she saw that it was completely empty. She thought that they were probably outside the city walls. She stopped as she remembered the horses outside. Her path would take her directly past them and, well, they would all look at her in surprise, awe, or distaste. She didn’t want all of those horses looking at her as she walked by, so the pegasus decided to take the pegasi way out.

She trotted up the ramp up onto the battlements of the main fort, heading into the tallest tower along the wall, making it to the top and looking down below. She could see a large group of horses around an area of stools and shops; it seemed to be a market place of some sort. She giggled at the thought of what those horse’s faces might look like when she flew over them, but she didn’t care. This is what a pegasus was meant to do.

She jumped up on top of one of the merlons that surrounded the main tower, and took a deep breath. She would never tell Rainbow, or anypony this lest she be seen as a bragger. It was one of her biggest secrets and she loved every moment of it. She jumped off the merlon and dived nose first to the ground.

Before she could crash, however, she spread her wings and pulled up, scarcely clearing one of the rooftops. She couldn’t help to laugh as she looked down below to see gaping faces of the horses down below.

She picked up quite a speed as she sped past the main walls and out onto the plains, towards the mountains where Firewing could be. “If I get there by the afternoon,” she said aloud. “I could start looking around the area for this catacomb.” With a burst of speed she raced away from Castilian, leaving the city a speck in the distance and a clear course to the Ragged Mountains.

A few hours later, she was tired. Her tail was dirty as it dragged along behind her. Her mane had a few twigs in it from when she crashed into some bushes, and she could feel a blister coming on one of her hind legs.

If this is what adventuring was like, she would never want to go home again!

“Oh ain’t you the cutest little squirrel I have ever seen!” she squealed with pure delight as she watched a squirrel run from tree to tree. The animal in question was an amazing bright red colour with a white breast. “I’ve never seen a red squirrel before. I didn’t even know you existed, but this is just so incredibly wonderful.”

The pegasus had flown for a good two hours before having to land. She was still a few miles from the mountain range but she didn’t mind as much as she did when she left. As soon as she touched down (well, crashed is more the word), the first thing she saw was a deer with a reddish body and a grey face. Fluttershy approached the deer and managed to say hello. The deer stayed for a while before running off into the forest, leaving the pegasus alone to get moving, now that she had recovered from her crash landing.

She had found herself on the middle of a forest, where noises, from familiar and unfamiliar animals, were abundant. She managed to see the peaks of the mountains from the canopies of the trees and made her way towards them, flinching at nearly every sound that was alien to her. Since her landing, she had encountered a whole bunch of animals, from a golden eagle to the red squirrel; this place was the kind of environment that Fluttershy adored.

She eventually came across a small dirt path and followed it, always looking to the mountains that lumbered in the distance, always getting closer and closer with each hoof step. Fluttershy would be lying if she said they didn’t intimidate her.

The road soon came to an old stone cottage by the side of a river, which flowed rapidly. The cottage itself had a small stairway leading inside, while there were two doors that led to a cellar. Around the cottage, lines of moss hang around the sides, drawn together by thread of some sort by whoever owned this pretty place.

Fluttershy walked over to the riverside and brought her face down into the water to drink. The water was probably the freshest water she had ever tasted, it seemed to give her strength back too. She dived her head into it and washed away most of the dirt from her face.

She pulled back up and looked at herself in the water. As she sat there she wondered what her friends were doing right now. Twilight probably had her nose buried in some book; Rarity was starting to work on some new dress (es), she pictured Applejack was bucking some of those delicious apples that her family grew, Rainbow practicing a new trick and probably hurting herself in the process, and Pinkie just being Pinkie.

Her ears flattened at the thought of her friends, all smiling, and all laughing about something. She would give anything or everything to be normal again, so she could be at home with her animal friends, and her pony friends.

“Hello,” a voice called behind her, making her jump a good few feet. She turned around to see a young filly with a light cream coloured coat and a dark brown mane, and was around the same size as her. “Are you an angel?”

Fluttershy tilted her head to one side. “An angel?” It didn’t take long to realise what the filly meant. “Oh you mean the wings,” she said, spreading them out and flapping them. “No, not an angel, I’m a pegasus pony from Equestria. My name’s Fluttershy.” She walked up to the filly and reached out a hoof for her to shake. The filly backed away nervously. “What’s yours?”

The filly regained some confidence and gave the hoof an odd look. “You stretch out your hoof and we shake,” Fluttershy explained. The filly slowly reached a hoof out and touched Fluttershy’s, shaking it nervously.

“My name's Adrana,” the filly introduced herself. “What’s Equestria?”

“Well,” Fluttershy answered, “Equestria is a country full of ponies like me, and some have horns on their head that can do magical things with, and others that don’t have any of those things but are hardworking and strong. It borders Horsca to the south.”

Adrana nodded. “So why are you here? And not in Equestria?”

Fluttershy sat down on a rock, and patted a spot for Adrana to sit. “It’s okay,” she said softly with a comforting smile upon noticing her hesitance. “I won’t bite.” The filly slowly walked up and sat next to Fluttershy.

“I’m looking for another pony actually,” Fluttershy said. “A pegasus like me. I would doubt though if you’ve seen him if you’ve only met me.”

Adrana nodded. “So, where was he heading?”

“Into the mountains, looking for this catacomb or something like that,” the pegasus answered. The filly’s eyes widened.

“Many horses have come through here looking for that place, but they never came back,” she warned. “Don’t go if you want to go home!”

Fluttershy couldn’t help but be alarmed by the filly’s warnings. “But I can’t go home,” she shook her head. “It is important to me that I find him and see him about something that is wrong with me.”

Adrana stared at her then nodded her head. “I hope then you find him alive.”

“So,” Fluttershy said, quickly changing the subject, “where’s your family?”

“My father went to Castilian for some reason. Mother says she don’t know when he’ll be back though,” she answered dolefully. “And my mother is out picking food for dinner tonight.”

Fluttershy nodded. “What do you do here then?”

“I just sit around all day doing nothing,” she replied, surprisingly calm about it,

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Do you have any friends?” Fluttershy asked. Adrana shook her head.

“I’m too nervous to talk to new people,” she answered. Fluttershy could now see a part of her in this young horse, and it frightened her a little.

“Well, you can’t be too shy,” she said. “You talked to me just fine.”

The filly looked at the pegasus in shock and confusion. “I used to be a really shy filly,” Fluttershy explained. “I never talked to anyone first, too shy and nervous that I would say the wrong thing and they might get offended. Still am really. But I never let that stop me from having some of the best friends I thought I would never have. So don’t let that stop you.”

With that, Fluttershy jumped off the rock she sat on and moved back onto the main road, she looked back at the stunned filly and smiled. “Try to have what I missed out on in my childhood. Friends.” Without waiting for a reply she turned her head towards the mountains and galloped down the path.

Adrana smiled and whispered, “Thank you,” to the pegasus as she left. Fluttershy clearly heard it though and grinned.

Fluttershy’s eyes darted left and right; she flinched to every sound that emanated from the dark forest around her. It’s been two hours or so since she left Adrana and her cottage and around half an hour ago she entered the shadows of the Ragged Mountains. She looked up at the mountains and swore they were watching her with malice with whatever eyes they had.

She was now in a dark forest, following a small dirt road that led deeper and deeper through the thick trees. Although this wood was scary, it was nothing in comparison to the Everfree Forest at home. “Oh come on, Fluttershy, don’t be a scaredy pony,” she said to herself. “It’s just a slightly creepy wood with possibly lots of dangerous creatures that could eat you.”

She finally found her way out of the forest and into a clearing. She followed the path, humming a cheery tune to keep her spirits up, and they worked slightly, for she soon was trotting at a good pace and the sounds from around her didn’t bother her at all. As her path continued, she soon came to a boulder that was shaped roughly like an arrowhead. Curious, she walked up to it and noticed that it was pointing towards the mountains. She reared up and felt the top of the bolder, to her suspicions; the rock was smoothed down to a point where it wouldn’t be considered genuine.

She recalled back when she was a small filly, and in the orphanage back in Cloudsdale, she managed to get hold of the first books of the Daring Do adventure series. She remembered she couldn’t put the first one down, and would stay up all night under the duvets with a small light to illuminate it for her.

In her dreams she became a famous explorer, going on adventures like this and discovering lost places. She learnt survival skills from Daring, found a fascination with history, compass work and many other things. And she could tell from this rock that this was a remembrance piece – someone had placed it here long ago to remind whoever made this of where they put something.

She grinned and followed where the ‘arrow’ was pointing. Unbelieving the string of good luck she was having at the moment, she walked closer to the mountains. As she approached she saw something that only her good eyes could see from her distance.

A small gap in the mountain, so narrow only one horse could walk through it, became present when she got closer. She was soon walking down the path and her heart began to race. The passage was made up of twists and turns that made it seem like it would go on forever. She broke into a canter and quickly made her way out of the passage and arrived in a valley that dwelled between the mountains.

The air was cold and a slight chill made her coat stand up on end, but she ignored the cold and trotted on. She eventually found her way to the end of the valley and gasped at what was in front of her.

A massive arch stretched across the valley, dark stoned with roots growing at its bases. At the top was a giant dragon head, with its mouth wide and baring its teeth, it had two giant horns on its head that, unlike many dragons, who had horns stretching upwards, these ones stretched sideways and curved down towards the teeth, but not blocking out the creature’s vision, if it was real anyway.

Fluttershy gulped and quickly trotted under it, determined to get out of the creature’s frightful eyes. To her left and right, on giant pillars stood grotesques of different sizes, each with their claws resting on the edges, and each looked old with chips present on most of them. Ahead of her was a door, a good ten feet or so high which curved at the top. Carved on the front was a golden dragon, its head resembling the one on the arch, but with a body and tail, which was covered in horns and scales.

Fluttershy wondered why this place had an obsession with dragons. That was when it hit her. “This could be a dragons’ tomb!” she screeched. She started to run back but stopped suddenly. “No!” she yelled, stomping her hoof on the ground. “I’m going to go in there and I’m going to find Firewing! And no dead dragon or whatever’s in there is going to stop me!” She walked up to the door and found the doorknob; she placed the ring in her teeth and pulled the door open.

With a complaining groan the door heaved, eventually coming to a point where she could get through. She spat it out of her mouth and slowly walked inside. Whilst unbeknown to her, a figure watched her enter.

Chapter 9

Many horses in the south consider Andulusia to be the crown jewel of Horsca. A shining light of beauty manifested in stone, and proof that the people of Horsca could build to equal, if not to better standards than Equestria. It was once home to some of the richest horses in the south, and home to thousands more. But now, it was a graveyard.

A few yards away, at the north end of the city, Thowra stood before its broken and scorched walls, his chest heaving with every breath after running all the way non-stop from Castilian. His eyes moved along the battlements, looking for any sign of movement. Seeing and sensing nothing, he approached slowly. His eyes still locked on the battlements and his ears pricked right up to hear of any horses.

The journey to Andulusia was not as eventful than the last time. The small but bustling villages he and Fluttershy had galloped through to Castilian had now been abandoned; houses were locked and bordered up, animals have been taken away, not a scent of life whatsoever. He cursed when he realised they must have heard of the Palominan army mustering outside Castilian. Within a few hours, he reckoned, they would have warned any patrol of the upcoming attack, and then would have warned anyone in charge. But he didn’t have time to worry about that now, for what mattered was his mission.

As he approached the walls he wondered where would Fluttershy and Freya be at the moment. He hated himself for leaving the young pegasus and his dear cousin like that, but he hated having to say goodbye as well. The word always seemed to him a curse he accidentally inflicted upon others, for he rarely ever spoke to them again.

He made it to the edge of the walls and slowly moved his head to peer through the gap that he and Fluttershy had escaped through the first time he was here. He hoped after this it would be the last time he would be here. The city creeped him out completely, whether living or dead. He prayed also he didn’t run into too many soldiers. The only thing that protected him was his coat, the sword that hung on his left side, and his wits.

Thowra jumped up on the ruined wall and had a quick look into and around the city. Andulusia had a small hill at the far southern end; it was here where the main castle and palace of the city was built upon. The richest side of the city was to the west, while the poorest was to the east, where it settled over a huge cliff arch that dangled over a large, deep lake.

He jumped down and walked slowly, his sword slapping his side as he moved. His hooves touching the ground seemed to echo across the city, and he began to sweat, hoping noone was in the city to hear him. The houses he passed were blackened ruins, totally silent and desolate. Some still stood but most likely a single, gentle touch of a hoof would bring them down.

He walked passed charred and ruined remains of horses along the streets, the young and the old, all of their expressions frozen in agony, showing what their final moments must have looked like. It sickened Thowra to know something like this happened, and he was there to see it. He didn’t wish this kind of thing to happen to even his greatest enemies. Noone deserved to die like this. He passed pools of dried blood on the ground, which alarmed him to some degree, and wondered whether the dragon had returned at some point yesterday and feasted on some of the remains here. “I should have asked Fluttershy what dragons ate,” he said to himself. “Although, I think I already know the answer.”

He was soon at the spot where he and Fluttershy would’ve been executed yesterday, the bodies of the watchers and the soldiers still left untouched. He didn’t stop, though, as what he was here for was ahead of him. A small slope followed by a large open gate and walls that surrounded the Andulusian mansion. He moved through the gate and into the courtyard, and gasped in horror at what he saw in front of him.

At the centre of the courtyard where the remains of horses, all piled up on top of each other as if they were toys stacked by a child in the middle of the room. He looked away in revulsion, and proceeded to make his way around the dead horses. The stench coming from the poor souls flooded his nostrils, and he thought for a second he might throw up. But he ignored it to the best of his ability and found himself looking at where the mansion once stood.

Yesterday morning the mansion was two storeys tall, built with the most luxurious furniture and decorations. Today, it was nothing but a pile of rubble, cinders and ashes. Not even the three chimneystacks were standing.

Thowra was stunned. So much damage in the space of twenty minutes would’ve seemed impossible to him, but it wasn’t for he had seen it himself. But what could prompt a creature that, as Fluttershy said to him earlier, would normally be passive aggressive? And why here in Horsca, at the same time as when the Equestrian arrived?

Satisfied he found the answer to one question, he turned around to start looking for the remains of the royal family. He only managed to catch a glimpse of a horse charging at him, with a sword attached to his right leg and holding it high, ready to swoop down into his skull.

Thowra dodged the blade by lowering his head and then stepping to the side. He then reared up and kicked his forelegs out at the other horse, hitting him on the side and sending him to the ground. He didn’t have time to draw his own sword, however, as another horse was on him, his sword drawn and ready to swing across his neck. Thowra ducked and kicked again in his new foe’s chest, winding the other stallion but otherwise still able to fight.

He caught a glimpse of two other horses standing a fair distance away, watching the fight unfold; one was definitely a stallion and the other a mare who looked like she didn’t want to be there, and Thowra couldn’t blame her. He looked to his sides and saw his two opponents, swords raised across their chests, eyeing him and waiting to make his move. He grinned; he didn’t want them to wait long.

Thowra brought his right hoof up to the scabbard, and heard the sound of the clicking mechanism as the hilt that was strapped onto his leg attach itself to the blade. He pulled the sword out of the scabbard and let the point fall to the ground.

The sword itself was a bright bronze, and was sharp as sabre teeth; it was given to him as a present from Freya as a reward for great service to the northern horses of Horsca. He didn’t think he deserved it, but since he lost his first sword in a skirmish years ago he was glad to have one at his side.

He looked at the two horses that were now either side of him. Both were stallions, the one on his right was a light grey and the other was a spotted white. Both wore light armour that went across their chests and their back, both wouldn’t stop a sword thrust, but would stop a long distanced crossbow bolt. The spotted horse also wore a helmet that had a horn sticking out the top, shaped like a spearhead.

Thowra checked their distances, and realised the one on the right of him was closer to the one on the left, who had moved a distance that was so far he wouldn’t be able to assist his comrade. Thowra sensed the opportunity to strike.

Without warning, he lunged at the closest stallion, and before either of the horses could react, Thowra reared up and swung his sword down on his foe, embedding it into his skull.

The spotted stallion leapt into action, and with a war cry, charged at Thowra. The silver maned horse forced his sword out of his dead foe’s head and turned to face his opponent. Thowra raised his sword and blocked the blow, but couldn’t have time to make his attack of his own because his opponent was at the attack again, reigning blow after blow at him in a bid to tire him out.

But this poor fool was mistaken if he thought he could tire out a slayer of Horsca that easily. The stallion raised his sword once again in the air and brought it down, attempting to hit his face. Thowra sidestepped to the right and slashed across the stallion’s side, who cried out in pain.

He moved to make a killing blow but found himself gasping for air as the third stallion, who was at one point watching from a distance, had charged into him and forced him onto the ground. Thowra’s new opponent had a black coat with a short black mane and tail. He sneered at the grey horse on the ground as he raised a hoof to punch him in the face.

He was too slow, though. Thowra kicked up with his hind legs, hitting the black stallion below the stomach, winding him. He quickly rolled away from under the stallion, tripping him up in the process, and met the new attack from the recovered spotted stallion.

He dodged the sword thrust from his opponent with ease and made a thrust of his own, stabbing through the chest and up into the back. He looked into the horse’s eyes and watched until his eyes rolled back and with a final breath he died.

Thowra pulled the blade out and swung it around low so that it hit the black stallion’s legs, who had recovered and was now running towards him in a blind rage. The swing struck off his right foreleg and he was sent tumbling to the ground, but not before giving Thowra a cut across his shoulder. Thowra cried out in pain and looked at the wound, it wasn’t deep but it did seem to hurt every time he raised his sword leg. He limped over and, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, plunged his sword down into the agonised horse.

He whispered softly, “Find peace, sword brother,” into the fallen stallion’s ear and waited until the stallion was dead; all sign of life going from his eyes. Sighing, he pulled the sword out and turned his attention to the fourth horse of this little party.

The mare stepped back in horror as Thowra approached her, blood dripping from his sword. Instantly she threw her sword away from her and prostrated herself on the ground, covering her face with her hooves.

Thowra walked up to the mare and placed his sword on her neck; this was met with a whimper from the mare, mostly due to the fact she could feel the blood of her comrades dripping from the edge and onto her neck. “Look at me,” he said gently. The mare lifted her hooves off her head and looked into his blue eyes. The mare’s eyes were a beautiful bright green, and they seemed to glisten as the mare’s tears rolled down her cheeks.

“P-please d-d-don’t kill me,” she whimpered.

“What’s your name?” he asked after a brief silence.

“Alruna,” she said hesitantly.

“Do you have anyone at home waiting for you to be in their hooves again, Alruna?”

The mare nodded. “Yes, she and I live together in a small village called Cresthollow. It’s the most northern point in southern Horsca.”

Thowra nodded, and eased the pressure slightly of the blade on Alruna’s back. “How old are you and your love?”

Alruna smiled at a memory that seemed to course through her mind. “I’m nineteen and she’s twenty. We met at school on the first day. We haven’t been away from each other since then, and that was three years ago. Four months ago I was called up to join the army for some reason, I never wanted to go but I had no choice.” Her smile faded as quickly as it appeared and she looked up at Thowra with watering, pleading eyes. “I would do anything to be back with her again.”

Thowra smiled. “So tell me, Alruna, what exactly are you doing here?”

Alruna gulped, but quickly answered. “I was ordered along with them,” she pointed behind him to the dead horses, “to go to Andulusia and find out what was going on there. You see, everyday a letter is sent to the Baroness from the royal family, except yesterday one never arrived.”

She paused as a shiver went through her body. “When we arrived, we found we couldn’t get in from the eastern gate so we tried the northern gate. That was when we found the great big hole in the wall, so we climbed in. I suppose you know the rest.”

Thowra nodded. “Did you find any survivors?”

Alruna shook her head. “Noone we met along the road said they saw anyone come through, nor did we find anyone alive in that… mess,” She said, indicating but not looking behind her at the bodies of horses.

“What about the Andulusian family?” Thowra asked, his tone though not expressing any concern for their well-being. “Did you find what happened to them?”

Alruna’s ears went flat and she looked like she was about to brake into tears again. “We found them all. Well, what was left of them anyway.”

Thowra, although not showing any sympathy, was truly surprised. “The entire Andulusian family… gone.”

Alruna nodded. “Except their eldest daughter, who’s in Ironhoof fortress.”

Thowra’s eyes widened. Their eldest daughter, Baroness Velenta, wasn’t exactly their brightest child, but she had the love and admiration of the horses of the south. Either way, the Palominan armies will have a tough fight on their hooves.

He looked back down at Alruna, whose pleading eyes were now beginning to carve into his soul. Slowly he lifted his sword from the mare’s neck and backed away, keeping his sword point firmly in front of her. “Take off your armour,” he ordered. “Then go back home to your love and never fight again.”

The mares face lit up in delight. She hurriedly ripped off her armour and threw herself at Thowra’s hooves. “Oh thank you!” Alruna said joyfully, kissing his hooves before galloping hard out of the courtyard and out of sight.

Thowra followed Alruna out of the courtyard and watched as she ran through the winding and narrow streets, headed to the wall where he came; she quickly jumped through without slowing down and was out of sight. ‘Young love,’ he mused as he cleaned his blade of the blood that stained it. He thought back to when he fell in love for the first time, as a young colt, which blossomed like a flower in the spring, and yet so quickly died in the cold and bitter winds of winter.

He shook his head to get such thoughts out as he sheathed his sword back into its scabbard. He quickly walked out of the courtyard and back into the streets of Andulusia, pleased to be able to finally leave the city at last.

As he began to trot back to the way he came in, out of the courtyard and back into the desolated streets, he wondered what to do next. Go back into the wilderness and face whatever might kill him, as a slayer should do. Go and find Freya and let her know of the Andulusian families all but one deaths. Or head back to Castilian for some rich hay and a large bowl of mead.

“Hello!” an unfamiliar, feminine voice echoed across the city. Thowra’s ears pricked right up and he listened closely as to where the voice called. He realised the speaker was outside the city itself, seemingly from the eastern gate. At first he thought it might be another Andulusian patrol coming to inspect the city, so he moved into one of the buildings that still stood and waited to see who the speaker was.

“Hello!” Twilight called out again to the walls, her voice echoing across the valley they were in and into the city, and maybe beyond. “Anybody home!”

“They’re probably all asleep,” Pinkie suggested in a whisper.

“How could an entire city be asleep, at midday?!” Rainbow asked, crossing her forelegs over her chest.

Pinkie shrugged. “Maybe they’ve had a super special awesome party that everyone got drunk in. And now they’re all wasted.”

Twilight just rolled her eyes and shook her head. The five mares had woken up in the early morning and after a quick breakfast, decided on what to do. Firstly they decided to not use the main roads incase they met the wrong company, and secondly, and reluctantly, they decided to follow Pinkie who had claimed to have an excellent sense of direction. So they followed Pinkie’s ‘excellent sense of direction,’ which involved them going around in circles for four hours, before coming back to where they had slept the night. Exasperated, Twilight decided to risk it and take the main road, eventually coming to a sign that pointed them to here, Andulusia.

They finally arrived at the eastern gates of the city an hour later, to find them shut and not a single horse or guard in sight. None of the ponies liked it, especially Rainbow Dash, whom Applejack had noticed that every time Twilight had called up to the walls, or when one of the others had spoken up, she’d flinched. She walked over to the pegasus side and patted her on the shoulder. “Ya okay there, sugarcube? Ya just seem mighty jumpier than usual.”

Rainbow shook her head. “I don’t like it, AJ, it’s too quiet. Heck, not even a birdsong’s in the air!” She sighed. “I just feel like something terrible has happened. I’m going to check it out.” Before Applejack could reply, Rainbow spread her wings and took to the air. Before she could get far, however, she felt a familiar tug on her tail. She didn’t need to look back to know who it was. ‘Why does she always do that?’ she thought while groaning.

“Hold on, Rainbow,” Applejack said through gritted teeth. “If anyone is in there hiding they could try to shoot ya down.”

“Well, then I’ll just shoot back,” Rainbow retorted. “I’ll just take a quick peak and come back down in five seconds, I promise.”

Applejack hesitated for a few seconds, her eyes darting for the others for support. Finally, after not seeing any, she reluctantly let go. “Five seconds, RD,” she said sternly.

Rainbow saluted and flew up over the battlements where she could see the entire city, but still kept visible to the four ponies below. The others waited anxiously, the seconds seeming to pass like hours as they waited on baited breath for their rainbow maned friend to come down. “Dashie!” Pinkie called up nervously. “It’s been over five seconds! Could you come down now please?!”

Rainbow finally, but slowly hovered back down to the ground, and the others gasped as they saw the horror written on Rainbow’s face. Her eyes looked haunted, and it seemed to Twilight the cyan pegasus’s coat was a bit lighter than usual. “What is it Rainbow?” Twilight asked softly. “What did you see?”

It took a while for Rainbow to find her voice. “The entire… city,” she whispered, barely audible to the others. “… Destroyed.”

“Destroyed!” the four mares gasped. “How could an entire city be destroyed?” Rarity asked.

“I don’t know, Rarity!” Rainbow snapped, her eyes watering. “But that’s what I saw. The entire city burnt to the ground and so many bodies lying across the streets…. it was horrible.” Applejack leaned over and wrapped a foreleg over Rainbow’s shoulders.

“Maybe it’s a bad idea to come here, after all,” Pinkie said, walking back slowly. “Maybe we should try somewhere a bit more living?”

“No!” Twilight shook her head. “There may be someone in there, someone we could help and they in return help us. And…” She gulped, but knowing everyone was probably thinking the same. “Fluttershy might’ve been in there.” She turned back to Rainbow Dash, who looked a bit paler than when she came back down the first time. “Could you fly up there and see if you can get this gate open, please?”

Rainbow nodded and mustering all her courage, took to the air and landed out of sight in the gatehouse. “No good!” she called back down moments later. “There’s two gate levers on either side and my legs can’t stretch that long!”

Twilight closed her eyes and disappeared in a flash of light, only to re-appear next to Rainbow a second later. She gasped when she saw the city.

As testament to Rainbow’s description, the city was indeed destroyed. Buildings were blackened out and on the point of collapse; some of which had done and smoke still erupted from them, and pieces of the wall had gone completely, torn off as if they were paper. But what shook Twilight to her core was the amount of bodies that was strewn about. So many horses of various ages and heights, but all were undistinguishable from their charred remains.

“Twilight,” Rainbow called to her, drawing her out of her gaze. “Would you mind giving me a hoof?”

Twilight nodded and with her horn lighting up the lever moved simultaneously with Rainbows, they opened the gate.

Twilight watched as Applejack led the way in with caution, followed closely by Rarity, but Pinkie didn’t move. Twilight could see she was visibly shaking. “I’ll stay close to her,” Rainbow said. “You keep going.”

Twilight nodded, and in a flash she was back in the middle of the others, surveying the city and trying to keep her eyes off the dead that filled the city’s streets. They walked slowly, stepping over the bodies as they passed them, and trying not to breathe in the pungent stench that filled the air.

By the time Rainbow and Pinkie caught up with them, the latter moved by the motivation of the former, the five mares moved in what seemed to have been the market place.

There were around a dozen dead bodies lying in different areas of the market, some had remains of bags on their backs with food that would’ve been burnt, much like their owners. The stalls that were once lively and full of the freshest, most mouth watering foods were now broken and ruined heaps of timber.

“Who, or what could have done such a vile thing?” Applejack asked, her voice not her hiding her disgust or horror at such a thing.

“A dragon,” came a reply from somewhere in the ruins, the word sounding bitter from whoever spoke it.

Instantly Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie formed a circle while Rainbow hovered above them, her crossbow primed and ready to fire. The other ponies lifted their sword legs and their blades sung as they appeared, the light of the sun above reflecting on them.

“Who’s there?!” Twilight called out. “We’re armed and we know how to use these! Show yourself!”

As on call, the speaker showed himself. It was a grey stallion, with a silver mane and tail, beautiful blue eyes and a scar across his nose to his right eye. “I’m not here to hurt you, I promise,” he said warmly.

The ponies got out of their circle and formed a loose line in front of the stranger. They stared at each other in silence for a few minutes before Twilight lowered her leg slowly, the blade sliding back into its scabbard.

Rainbow noticed Twilight’s action and hovered close to her ear, not once lowering her aim. “Twilight, what are you doing? Are you sure we could trust him!” she whispered.

“I don’t know, Rainbow. But if he was dangerous to us he would have attacked by now, or run,” Twilight reasoned. “I’m going over to talk to him.” She calmly walked out of the circle, ignoring her friends’ pleas to come back and stood a few feet from the stallion.

“I think we got off on the wrong hoof here,” he said, not once losing his smile. He stretched out a hoof. “My name’s Thowra, and you are?”

Slowly, Twilight extended a leg and placed her hoof onto his and started shaking. The four ponies behind her relaxed their guards and put their weapons away. “I’m Twilight Sparkle,” she introduced herself. “Pleased to meet you, Thowra.”

Upon saying her name Thowra’s eyes widened slightly. “Twilight sparkle?” he said. “As in the Twilight Sparkle! Personal protégé of the ruler of Equestria?!”

Twilight brought her hoof away from his and stepped back in surprise. Thowra couldn’t help but grin. He looked up to the cyan pegasus. “And you must be Rainbow Dash, correct?”

The confused Rainbow could only blink and nod her head. Thowra turned his attention to the orange earth pony. “So that would make you Applejack, if I recall?”

“That’s right, but I don’t see the big deal o-” she was cut off by the grey horse speaking to the white unicorn next to her.

“So you’re Rarity, then. Looks like the rumours were true on your beauty,” he said with a wink. Rarity nearly fainted, and began muttering something about thinking she would only be famous in Equestria.

“And finally you must be Pinkie Pie? The biggest party pony on Terra,” he asked the pink pony, whose nodding was so quick Applejack had to hold her head to stop her.

“That’s… right,” Twilight said, extremely confused at this point. “But how do you know who we all are? Surely you don’t get news of Equestria’s issues.”

Thowra chuckled when he looked at each of the confused Equestrians’ faces. “To be honest. though, I thought you would all be a bit older. At least, from what I heard from Fluttershy anyway.”

“YOU KNOW FLUTTERSHY!” the five mares shrieked in surprise into his ears, sending him falling to the ground on his back. A torrent of questions was soon bombarded onto him.

“Alright, alright!” he bellowed. The five mares backed away from him and he stood back up again, the wound in his shoulder giving him grief. “Please! One question at a time!”

“We’re sorry, Thowra, but we didn’t expect to meet someone who knew her so quickly,” Applejack said, looking at him with big pleading eyes. “But please tell us, is she okay?”

Thowra frowned. “I’m afraid I cannot answer that for you, Applejack,” he said sadly. “For when I left Castilian I learnt she was going to the Ragged Mountains to find a pony named Firewing.”

“How did you meet her?!” Rainbow demanded, moving right into his face.

Thowra sighed, “Unfortunately, it was here.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked. It didn’t take her long though to realise what he meant. “Oh,” she said. Thowra nodded and began to tell them of how Fluttershy got captured by some soldiers while trying to get to Castilian, and was sent for execution. He then told them of how close she was to having her head cut off when the dragon attacked.

“It came out of nowhere, and nobody even heard it until it was too late,” he said to the stunned ponies. “It attacked the city and killed everyone except me and Fluttershy in about twenty minutes, burnt it all to the ground. Her and me were extremely lucky to escape. If it wasn’t for that wall over there that was destroyed, I don’t think we would’ve got out. Afterwards, I took her to Castilian, the capital city of Horsca, and that was when she told us all about you and your adventures.” He paused before adding, “And might I say you six are far braver than any soldier in the Palominan army. Taking on a huge army of changelings, now that takes a lot of courage.”

The smile he had wavered slightly. “And later, during an aurora, she told me why you weren’t with her. Now please, don’t judge her too harshly. She probably saved all your lives with her actions.”

Twilight nodded. “We know. We just want to be with her and help her through with whatever’s happening to her.” She got up from her seating position and bowed her head. “Thank you,” she said to Thowra, and then turned to her friends. “Aright, ladies, let’s go and find our friend!” She began running towards the wall where their new horse friend had jumped; she was about to turn a corner when she stopped and noticed the others weren’t following.

Groaning in impatience, she ran back up to the gormless looking mares. “What the hay are you waiting for!” she yelled. “We’ve got to find Fluttershy, now!”

Rainbow was the one to speak up. “Uh, Twilight, aren’t you forgetting something?” Twilight shook her head. “We have no idea where we’re going!”

Twilight’s eyes widened. Rainbow was right; they were in a large country, which none of them knew next to nothing about, and she was planning to go in blind? She turned her head to look at Thowra, contemplating whether or not to ask. They needed someone who knew the country like the back of their hoof, and Thowra seemed the perfect horse to help in their situation. But would he be willing to help?

Eventually her determination and desperation to find her friend gave in and she turned to face the silver maned horse. “Um, Thowra? I was wondering if yo-.”

“Say no more,” Thowra cut her off. “It would be an honour to help you all, and to repay Fluttershy for saving my life.”

The five mares cheered and jumped the embarrassed horse in a group hug. “Right,” he said uneasily, moving out of the circle and towards the entrance. “We need to move fast if we want to get to the Ragged Mountains by tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow morning,” Rainbow groaned. “It’s going to take that long?”

“I could get there myself by midnight,” he said proudly. “But I’m not going to leave you all out here while I go on ahead.”

Rainbow zoomed into Thowra’s face. “Is that a challenge?” she asked, a small smirk appearing across her lips.

“Girls!” Twilight yelled at both of them. “We are staying together and we are not going to split apart! Got it?” The five equines nodded. Satisfied, Twilight turned to the now annoyed looking horse. “Lead the way, please.”

Thowra bowed his head. “Okay, Equestrians, stay close to me. Don’t dawdle or drift away, and do everything I tell you.” And with that he cantered towards the hole in the wall at such a quick stride, it left Rainbow Dash stunned.

The pegasus whistled. “Wow, he’s fast.” She broke into a mischievous grin. “But not fast enough!” She zoomed at full speed after him, followed by Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie and Applejack. By the time the four of them reached the wall Rainbow and Thowra had jumped it and were waiting for them outside. Rarity jumped it first, followed by Pinkie, then Twilight, who needed a boost up the rubble from Applejack, who followed once she knew everyone was out.

They were soon level with the Horscan and making their way down a stone road veering away from the one Thowra took to get to Andulusia, heading for the mountains, which were a group of large spikes in the distance.

“Oh I do hope Fluttershy’s okay,” Rarity whispered to Applejack and Twilight.

“Don’t ya worry yourself, Rarity,” Applejack said. “Fluttershy may be, well… shy. But she can sure defend herself when she needs to.”

Twilight and Rarity knew Applejack was probably right, but they still couldn’t help but worry. So as they ran down the path, with the city getting smaller behind them, the two silently prayed that they would find Fluttershy alive and well.

The smell of decay filled her nostrils as Fluttershy peeped her head through the opening that presented itself and studied the main chamber. However, even with her excellent vision, she couldn’t see beyond some pillars she could just make out in the darkness. As she walked in, she felt her heart as it pounded against her chest; her breathing was quick, her ears pricked up to their highest and her head was low.

She felt the stone ground suddenly turn metallic on one hoof, and it then seemed to sink into the ground. Upon hearing a sudden groan of metal behind her, she turned her head around to notice the door closing by itself. She rushed over to try to force it open but it was too big and with a sound that was like a crack of thunder, the door slammed shut.

Fluttershy tried pushing the door to open but it was no use. With a final sigh she gave up and slumped to the ground, panting wearily. After a few moments a faint light appeared from what seemed to have be from one of her saddlebags. “Of course!” she gasped. “That gem Freya gave me!”

She took off her saddlebags and opened the pouch where the gem was kept. Upon opening, the gem shot up into the air, and glowed a bright blue. The gem seemed to pulsate every few seconds, renewing the light that now lit up the chamber as if torches line the walls. Grinning, Fluttershy placed the saddlebags back on her back and looked around the entrance chamber.

In the four corners of the room were statues of what seemed to be horse heads; helmeted and snarling, their ears pinned back on their heads and their eyes narrow and menacing. At the centre of the chamber were four pillars, each holding the roof up and each decorated with ancient symbols that Fluttershy couldn’t identify. She looked up to notice the gem floating above her was following her and she smiled, glad to be able to have light as she travelled through this place. She proceeded to look in front of her, and cursed silently.

Three open doors, each right next to each other and each leading in different directions were all that stood in her way to Firewing. The left door seemed to go up, the central one straight on and the right going down. She sat down and placed a hoof on her chin, pondering on how to get through this. She knew she couldn’t afford to make a mistake or else she would get lost, or worse fall into a trap that was most likely rigged up around here and killed.

After a while she still couldn’t make up her mind on which way to go, so she decided to take the final option, one that has never failed her in anything yet. She covered her eyes with one hoof, and with another hoof, began pointing at the three doors, with each hoof point singing, “Eeny meeny mini mo, catch a tiger by the toe, if it hollers let it go, eeny meeny mini mo.”

When the rhyme had finished and she opened her eyes, she saw her hoof was pointing at the central door.

“Well, here goes nothing.” She gulped, and then set off down the path in a slow but steady trot, the gem following closely behind her. The tunnel was narrow, with twists and sharp turns, and in all honesty it made Fluttershy feel a little bit claustrophobic. It was soon clear though to the pegasus that she went the right way. No traps coming out of the walls, no evil creatures that would pounce and eat her livers, nothing. She grinned to herself. “Always works.”

At the end of the tunnel she soon found herself in a bigger chamber, much bigger than the opening one, and longer. Facing her, standing in a row about several meters apart, were pillars designed much like the ones from the first chamber. Except, when Fluttershy examined the first one closely, she saw carvings instead of symbols, and what they showed made Fluttershy’s jaw drop in horror.

The carvings depicted a great battle, featuring not just horses, but minotaurs, ponies, griffons, hippogriffs, chimeras, zebras, creatures that had the body of a horse but a head and chest of a bull, all these creatures and more that the pegasus didn’t recognise were fighting each other in a whirlwind of a melee. Curious and wanting to know more, she spread her wings and hovered off the ground, seeing what was beyond it and upon seeing what was above them made her blood run cold.

Dragons, about five of them, sitting on the highest mountains of the world, looking down on the scenes below, and… weeping? Fluttershy tilted her head to one side as she examined the carvings. “Dragons don’t cry at such scenes, do they?” She felt slightly terrible now for thinking dragons liked that kind of thing, and thought that maybe most dragons weren’t so bad after all. She flapped her wings and looked further up to find what seemed like words, unfortunately she couldn’t recognise or decipher the writings and language, but could tell it was ancient.

She landed back down on the ground and continued along the narrow path. As she walked down the chamber corridor, she noticed rectangular holes dug into the walls, and each possessed a sarcophagus. Each was beautifully decorated with carvings and ancient writings, detailing each of the occupants’ lives. While on the lids, ancient but sharp swords lay across the surfaces, the hilt laying where the head would lay and the tip at the hooves.

Thoughts once again crept into Fluttershy’s mind about leaving again. As this place was a tomb, it felt wrong to her walking into so many horses grave – she wouldn’t like it if others walked over her grave after all! But her persistence to find Firewing won through and she picked up the pace a bit, aiming to leave the dead in peace.

She stopped when her eyes rested on one sarcophagus. It was open and the linen around the head was unwrapped, revealing the skull of its occupant. Curiosity guiding her direction, Fluttershy walked over to the sarcophagus and looked in, gasping as she saw the remains. The skull looked just as big, if not slightly smaller than her head.

“Oh, you poor young darling,” she whispered sadly, believing the skeleton to be that of a young horse. Wondering why a young colt or filly would be laid to rest in what seemed to be a tomb for soldiers, she began to gently unwrap the linen bindings around the skeleton.

When she reached the midsection of the body, she heard some things clatter and fall to the ground from the skeleton. She looked down to see what seemed to be at first glance the bones of a leg. Horrified, she quickly scooped up the bones and placed them neatly next to the skeleton, then continued to unwrap the rest of the skeleton and found all the legs still attached, albeit loosely to each other. That was when she noticed something on the other side, something that resembled a limb. She leaned over to look closer at it, and gasped in horror, nearly tripping up backwards in surprise.

“It can’t be, it just can’t be, I must be seeing things, surely!” she cried as in front of her was the broken, dirty, but recognisable bones of a pegasus wing.

She began opening up all the coffins and unwrapping the linen, and found all except two of the buried were pegasi, the other two were, again to her surprise, unicorns. She shook her head and rubbed a hoof through her mane in sheer disbelief. “This is wrong. Really, really wrong.”

Pegasus ponies were not buried like earth and unicorn ponies; by ancient tradition dating back to before Equestria a pegasus is burned on a mighty pyre, with a great festival afterwards celebrating the pegasus’ life. Fluttershy remembered the first funeral she went to, which was for her carer at the orphanage, and remembered crying her eyes out while other ponies that knew her celebrated her life. But Fluttershy wasn’t in the mood to celebrate something; she had lost what she once called her mother, and felt there was nothing to celebrate about her passing.

But this! This was something considered by many pegasi an atrocity! For a pegasus to be buried would mean their souls become trapped in their bodies forever, and not allowed to roam the open skies as they should, as is believed. Fluttershy felt a bit sick and began to run out of the other end of the chamber, stopping just when she was away from such sights. “What could have happened that had those ponies buried here?” she wondered aloud. She looked back at the burial chamber. “Don’t worry!” she called back to the skeletons. “I’m going to find out who did this to you, and see if I could put an end to your suffering!”

She walked on for what seemed like half an hour, the images of those poor ponies buried here, miles away from Equestria, or the original kingdoms, still haunted her thoughts. She wondered what might’ve happened that could have had them buried here, were they criminals? Traitors to the kingdom and crown? She thought that maybe Firewing might know, and that brought on more determination to find him.

Eventually she found herself at the top of a spiralling descent that went down into darkness. To her left was a giant waterfall that was protruding from a large gash in the rock face, with water gushing down the side and disappearing in the black void below. While around her the rock faces was a spectacular display of dark purple and green colours, helped by the plants and moss that hanged around them. She looked right to see the beginning of her descent.

She complemented rather than walking down, just fly down. But since she didn’t know what was at the bottom she decided to take what would be considerably the easier option. Walking down. She went down the sloping path in a rather elegant trot, all the while humming a cheery tune, in the hope to keep her spirits up, and found it to be working quite well.

About a quarter of an hour later she reached the bottom, the gem that hovered above her giving light into this darkened corner of the world. What she found was impressive. The waterfall made the ground slippery with its large splash backs, but it created a large stream that went through a small gap in the causeway, possibly heading outside.

Fluttershy looked around but couldn’t find a single gate or something like that anywhere. Her eyes soon gazed upon the waterfall and realised with a groan that her path lay behind it. With a deep breath she charged through, screaming as the ice-cold water tickled down her face and back. She emerged the other side, shaking and wet, while her teeth clattered together.

She shook her body and got most of the excess water out, but her mane, tail and wings still dripped and she wasn’t good at using her wings when soaked. However, when she looked ahead it didn’t seem to matter. She was now in a dark cavern of some sort, a small stream running through the middle, while cobwebs white as snow and shone like diamonds hung overhead.

She crept slowly forward, her ears pinned right up and her eyes wide, looking left and right for gaps and crevices in which a spider could crawl into and hide. She imagined that whoever made the amount of silk that was above her, would have to be pretty big. Not that she hated spiders (she loved every animal after all), but the thought of a giant eight legged creature with multiple black disk-like eyes bearing down on her was a bit unwelcoming. But she saw nothing, the only sounds she could hear was the waterfall gushing down behind her. She relaxed slightly and continued.

The slim path widened until she was in a giant cavern, glistening cobwebs hanging on the sides and above her. Fluttershy noticed in front of her was an iron gate that seemed to go through another part of this place.

She walked cautiously forward, her eyes drifting to the ground and around the sides. That was when she noticed the first of the dissected bodies. The bodies were horses in size, and were completely covered by spider silk. It didn’t take long to realise these were the explorers that Freya had told her about, the ones that had come here and never came back. She scanned the corpses, hoping and praying inside that she didn’t find one that was a size of a pony. To her relief there wasn’t one, and that was when it hit her.

If Firewing was here, she realised, then surely the gate would have been open and he would be beyond. She quickly came to the conclusion he wasn’t here; it was all a complete waste of time. She’d lost him. She collapsed onto her backside and fought the urge to cry by biting her lip and closing her eyes, and began to think about what to do next.

She could head home, back to Ponyville, only to probably be shunned by her friends and would probably be left forever alone. Wander the world aimlessly until the day she died, or keep looking for Firewing and pray that one day their paths would meet.

A sudden sound of… whatever it was made Fluttershy jump back on her hooves and look around. “Who’s there!” she called out into the darkness. “I’m armed and I know how to use it! So would you awfully mind showing yourself?!”

As if on cue, the creature made its presence know, creeping out from under a small gap in a rock. Fluttershy’s eyes went wide in fear and she slowly backed away from what was definitely the largest spider she had ever seen.

The creature was bigger than a horse but smaller than a bear, eight hairy legs with fur as dark as night twitched and spread itself out as it touched down. Around five or six black disc-like eyes stared down at her, and they seemed to carve into her soul. Two large fangs twitched and drooled of venom. While on the spider’s abdomen, there was a long stripe as red as blood that stretched across the back.

And now it seemed interested on having Fluttershy for its next meal. The pegasus took a few steps back, but every time Fluttershy made a step backwards, the spider came two steps closer. Fluttershy soon found herself cornered and looked around quickly for a lever or something to open the gate with. When she saw there wasn’t one she faced the spider, now towering over her, and gave it her ultimate weapon. The ‘stare’.

The power of her ‘stare’ seemed to anypony that had seen it, greater than the power of the sun, and even more terrifying to those caught in its snare. The creature reeled back in an attempt to look away but couldn’t help but stare into those wide cyan eyes that seemed at this moment less welcoming than a wild hippogriff’s beak and claws.

Fluttershy walked slowly forward, never once losing eye contact with the spider, and never loosening her gaze. The spider started to go backwards. Fluttershy hoped that she could get it out of the way long enough for her to get through the narrow path and back the way she came. Her plan was going well, for she managed to force the spider to turn and move slightly out of way. But with the fact she was looking in the spider’s eyes and not in front of her, she didn’t notice the dissected body of a horse lying in her path.

With a cry she tripped over it and landed on her face. The spider shook itself out of its trance and made a move to pin her down with its front legs. Quickly she rolled out of the way and reluctantly lifted her sword leg, the blade drawing out quickly in Fluttershy’s urgency.

The spider tried to pin her down with its legs again so it could bury its fangs into her. Fluttershy swung her sword leg and the creature backed off for a moment, unharmed by the sword swing. The spider suddenly lunged at Fluttershy, attempting to dig into the pegasus with its fangs; its movement was so quick that Fluttershy barely had the time to get out of the way. She hopped away, but still she felt a tear into her skin as part of a fang hit her flank.

She moved out of the way, and inspected her right flank. A small gash just above her cutie mark with just a little bit of blood dripped out of it. She looked towards the spider, which seemed to relax and looked at Fluttershy with those hungry, merciless eyes.

Fluttershy began to feel dizzy and her vision started to blur. Her breathing became wheezy and she could feel her heartbeat accelerate. Her legs began to ache and she collapsed to her side, her hearing becoming more muffled and she could now barely see the spider, which was now more of a blur to her, approaching cautiously towards her. She closed her eyes and could feel her breathing beginning to soften, and realised it wouldn’t be much longer before the venom would kill her, and the spider would have its meal.

‘So this is how it ends,’ she mused. She suddenly felt herself being lifted upright, and thought for a second that the Valkyries had come to guide her spirit into the skies. That was when she felt a horrible tasting liquid trickling down her throat. In an instant she began to hear things again, she opened her eyes to find her vision returning and she felt her wings, legs and tail again, she gave each a little wiggle to be sure.

“Come on, up you get. Breath deeply,” a deep voice came into her ears. Fluttershy complied and inhaled a huge amount of air. She waved a hoof in her face to see her vision had fully returned. She looked up and saw with sad eyes the spider lying dead, with its legs splayed about and between its eyes a large cut.

“Rest easy,” the voice, seemingly coming from her left, said. “I know the stuff I just gave you isn’t rainbow juice, but it’s better for you than that and it saved your life.”

Fluttershy looked to her left and what she saw made her eyes go wide in disbelief. A pony, a stallion, a pegasus with a dark orange coat and a long black mane that dangled down to his shoulders and a flock of hair over one eye. A really short beard on his muzzle and dark green eyes made Fluttershy uncomfortable, just like what Freya said about them. While a torch holder was resting in a pouch on his side, and a bracelet that looked like her sword bracelet was on his right leg. Fluttershy knew exactly who this pony was, and was jumping up and down for joy inside because of it.

He noticed her staring at him and looked behind him incase of another spider. He turned back to face her with his head tilted to the side. “Are you alright?”

Fluttershy shook herself out of her daze and faced the stranger with a smile of gratitude. “I think so. But better now, thanks to you.”

The new pegasus nodded. “I’m going to need to look at your flank. For the wound I mean, if that’s okay?” With a light blush, Fluttershy nodded and shifted her body around showing the wound on her flank. The pony stared at it grimly for a bit then turned his head into his bag, which was on the ground and open. He brought out a small glass bottle and, holding the bottle uneasily in his hooves, pulled the cork off with his teeth.

Picking up the bottle in his mouth, he dripped some of the elixir onto the wound. Fluttershy visibly winced as it began to sting. “Sorry about that. I’ve had to do that on myself once, it sure as hay stung. Anyway that should kill any excess poison and should prevent any infections,” the pony explained with a friendly smile. “The drink I gave you would clear out the poison in no time and you should soon be back on your hooves.”

Fluttershy smiled back and got up on her hooves. They ached still and they shook as she tried to stay up, but she felt her hind legs give way and she collapsed. The stallion caught her quickly from falling onto her face. “The best thing to do is to just stay where you are and don’t move until the aching’s gone,” he warned.

Fluttershy nodded and sat back down again, facing the ground at first, then lifted her head to look at the other pegasus, who now had a small frown on his face. “Now tell me, what would drive a young mare, such as yourself, down in what is now one of the most dangerous places in the world?” he asked.

“Um… well, it’s you, actually,” she answered. “You are Firewing, aren’t you?”

Firewing blinked. “Um… well uh, yes…. I am. But, how do you know my name?”

“Princess Celestia told me about you and she said-.”

“Wait, wait,” Firewing cut her off. “You know the Princess?” Fluttershy nodded. “And she still remembers me, even after I’ve been gone for about five months?”

Again, Fluttershy nodded. “She was quite worried about you. In fact, she personally told me to come and seek you out.”

Firewing tilted his head and gave her a look of confusion. “Me, why me?”

“The Princess thought you might know something that she doesn’t.”

Firewing laughed. “The Princess! Not knowing something! Now that’s new!” It took Fluttershy’s scowling to stop him laughing. “Okay seriously, why did you come all this way to seek me out? Surely it can’t be that serious.”

“Oh yes, well it is to me anyway, since it concerns me,” Fluttershy said.

Firewing looked her all over. Apart from the wound on her flank, a large bruise on her head, partially hidden by her long mane, and some minor undeveloped feathers that would slightly hinder flight, she seemed fine. ‘But then again she managed to survive a Redback Horscan Spider’s venom for longer than usual, so maybe it’s something else entirely?’ he wondered.

He breathed, “Okay,” and rose back to his hooves. “Tell you what. You go and head back to the main entrance, then once I’m done here I’ll come and examine you to see what’s wrong.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I’m coming with you.”

Firewing’s eyes widened. “Whoa there, young pegasus. I don’t think that’s a good idea. It could be dangerous down there and I don’t want anyone with me incase they get hurt.”

Fluttershy shook her head and her gaze on him was persistent. “It may be dangerous for you as well, and maybe I could help you someway.”

Firewing scrunched up his face as he gave her words some thought. “Oh fine,” he caved in. “But only if you do everything I say. If I say run, you run. Got it?” A quick nod from the other pegasus confirmed it. “Okay, how’s the aching?”

Fluttershy tried pressing down on the ground with each leg. Only when she felt confident enough did she try standing on all fours, and found them all to be fine. “I’m ready,” she said, with unseen confidence bristling in her voice.

Firewing smiled and without a word walked up to where the gate lay. He examined it and looked for any sign that of where a lever would have been attached to the door. Fluttershy walked up to and stood at his side. “When I saw the gate shut,” Fluttershy said, “I realised you haven’t been here yet. So if you don’t mind me asking, where were you?”

Without turning his eyes away from the gate he explained. “Well I’ve been looking for this place for ages, believing it to be in the mountainsides like most of the ones I’ve been to. I waded my way through this entire mountain range to look for this. I felt like giving up until I saw you heading into that gap back there. So I followed you and now here we both are.” He turned around to face the pegasus with questioning eyes. “How did you know where it was anyway?”

Fluttershy’s head hung low and she rubbed a leg with a hoof. “Oh… well, I sort of found this rock that seemed to have been created by someone. I figured it worked like an arrow.”

Firewing’s jaw dropped and he facehoofed himself. “Darn it!” he growled. “The number one rule when building things in mountains. ‘If you want to bury something in the middle of nowhere and out of sight, you want to remember where you put it’, and I completely forgot it!”

Fluttershy gave him a small smile and put a comforting hoof on his shoulder. “Ah don’t feel too bad. We’re ponies, we forget things all the time; I know I do so many times. And besides, you’re here now, so there’s no point scolding yourself.”

Firewing looked over to the yellow pegasus for a moment, smiled, then turned back to the main gate. He looked all over the gate, from the top to the sides, until finally he found it. His face lit up as he walked over to where some dark green moss was hanging. He ripped it off the cave wall and found a small ring attached to a chain that went into the wall.

Firewing grinned and, gritting the chain in his teeth, pulled it down. The locking mechanism gave way and the gate, with a groan, lifted up and through the wall and out of sight. Behind the gate the path twisted into a bend down a flight of stairs, deeper into the mountain.

Firewing trotted forward. “Coming, pegasus?” he called back to Fluttershy. He turned his head around to see the yellow mare looking at the dead spider with sad eyes.

“Was there another way?” she asked. “Rather than killing it?”

Firewing frowned. “I’m sorry, but it was it or you, and fortunately for you it was it. Besides, it wanted to kill you.”

“It can’t help that,” she countered. “It is a spider after all.”

Firewing nodded in understanding. “Well, we’d better be getting a move on, pegasus.” He trotted around the corner and out of sight.

Fluttershy, upon noticing he was gone, broke into a canter to catch up with him. “My name’s Fluttershy,” she muttered, but whether or not he heard it she couldn’t tell.

A few minutes after opening the gate, the two pegasi found themselves walking through a narrow passage and having to walk in single file, until it opened into a long and wide tunnel. Each of the walls was decorated with carvings, while writings and runes followed above like it was a tapestry.

Fluttershy and Firewing walked slower so they could look at the carvings more closely, Fluttershy looking at the left side while Firewing looked on the right. “Fascinating,” Firewing muttered. “These must date back to the time of the Great War.”

Fluttershy turned her head to face him and asked, “Um… excuse me, but what was the Great War?”

“A terrible time, young pegasus. It involved nearly every country on Terra, and every race on this planet was involved in some shape or form,” he answered. “It’s best we move on.”

Fluttershy agreed and the two began walking along the tunnel once more, but the yellow pegasus couldn’t keep her eyes off the carvings. The carvings were split into frames, and each frame told a different part of the story of what the wall was telling. Ranging from political issues in great kingdoms, to large and terrifying battles. Each one made Fluttershy feel a mixture of awe and fascination.

One carving in particular, however, made Fluttershy freeze, her eyes going wide in fear. She looked to where Firewing was and saw he was occupied with studying another section of the wall.

She walked over to get a closer look at the carving and recognised the centrepiece of the carving. A dragon, facing the viewer with its wings spanning the entire length of the wall, and its eyes carved out to make it look like they were burning.

What drew Fluttershy’s attention, however, was below the monster. Creatures that the pegasus didn’t recognise, were carved out to make it look like there were large groups of them, and it seemed most of the attention was given to the faces, which were a mix of pure terror and agony. To the left of the dragon, one group seemed to be begging for mercy. While on its right, another group was just a mass of flame and ashes.

All of it scared Fluttershy. Not because it was pictured in front of her, but because she recognised the dragon in front of her, and it was the same one that herself, Twilight and Princess Celestia saw when they came into her nightmare.

‘Did this really happen?’ she thought. ‘And could it ever happen again?’

Fluttershy took her gaze off the wall and noticed Firewing wasn’t there. She galloped down the corridor, soon catching up with him. “Where did you go?” he asked.

“Oh, just saw something back there that was interesting,” she answered.

“An interest in history, eh?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Oh yes, always been since I was a filly. I just like to know the mistakes we ponies have made in the past so that I don’t make them again.”

Firewing grinned. “That is quite philosophical, pegasus, and very true at the same time. It’s always best we learn from our past mistakes.” He turned to look before him to find the two of them had made it to the end of the corridor and were now at the top of a large chamber, large enough so that Firewing’s torch couldn’t light it all up.

The gem that hovered over Fluttershy, however, now moved to the centre of the room, and seemed to explode in a bright light that lit up the whole chamber as if the sun itself was there. The two ponies’ eyes went wide with wonder. “Magnificent, isn’t it?” Firewing commented. Fluttershy could only nod to agree.

The chamber was pentagon in shape, with four pillars holding up the roof, and was placed in a square shape around the chamber. Each of the five edges had a gargoyle on standby, water hissing out of their mouths like waterfalls, and their claws high as if they were ready to strike down intruders. While in the centre of the room were rows and rows of bookshelves, each filled with books that were surprisingly seemed to be in good condition.

“This must be the fortresses archives,” Firewing said, his voice not hiding his interest.

Fluttershy looked at the other pegasus. “This is a fortress? As in a military fortress?”

Firewing nodded. “It was probably used as a base for a faction during the Great War, and once it ended it was abandoned.” Firewing began to walk down the steps into the archives. “Stay close to me,” he ordered.

Fluttershy nodded and with small salute, followed the other pegasus down the steps into the large archives. She then spread her wings and took to the air, glad for once of the large space between the ground and the air.

“So…” Fluttershy began. “So does that explain the pegasus ponies buried down here?”

Firewing stopped and looked up to face the flying pegasus. “You went through the central door?” Fluttershy nodded. “I never saw it. I went through the door on the left, through the forges and armoury.”

“Wait,” Fluttershy said. “So there were no traps?”

Firewing shook his head. “That would be a bit daft to rig up traps in a living fortress,” he said with a laugh.

Fluttershy laughed sheepishly, now feeling silly for thinking such a thing. The two soon noticed they had arrived at what seemed to be the centre of the archives. In the middle was a stone podium, with ancient words inscribed vertically that Fluttershy couldn’t transcribe, but Firewing could.

“Magnis alis volat, ut extremo tempore per,” Firewing read the words. “Ancient Equestrian for ‘On great wings he flies, to bring about the end times’.” He looked over to Fluttershy whose eyes were wide with fear. “I know, it’s not a cheery verse, is it?” he said with a chuckle. He walked over and looked at what was sitting on the top of the podium. Fluttershy looked over his shoulder.

It was a large black book with what seemed to be wings and a head of a dragon across the cover, coloured as if the creature was fire incarnate. It was surprising to Fluttershy to see it in good condition; no damage to the cover, and no sign of pages missing or ruined by the dampness of the room.

Firewing used his muzzle to open up the book. To Fluttershy’s surprise the book opened up only halfway, but what was in the middle explained why.

A small circular object, with the golden trim and a black surface, and a small symbol that looked exactly like the one on the front cover of the book, and a light golden hue seemed to radiate from it, like it was something made from magic.

Above where the object lay was a single line of writing, a piece of writing which Fluttershy recognised. Fluttershy gently pushed Firewing out of the way and got a closer look. Even though she had never seen the language she now knew written down before, she could easily understand it.

“To be used when the great threat returns, and the reign of fire is close at hoof,” Fluttershy translated it. Wide eyed, she turned to face Firewing, who looked shocked at what he just saw. “What does that mean, ‘To be used when the great threat returns’?”

Firewing didn’t answer; instead he just stared at the pegasus in front of him with wide eyes. Fluttershy began to feel uncomfortable and slowly backed away from the podium. “Um,” Fluttershy said, her face hiding behind her mane, “was it something I said?”

Firewing broke out of his gaze, then picked up the book in his mouth and placed it in his saddlebag. “Three down, two to go,” he muttered. He turned to Fluttershy and said, “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Fluttershy nodded meekly and followed behind Firewing, thinking that she’d upset him in some way.

When they made it outside, the air was cold and a chill wind blew, making Fluttershy’s feathers and coat stand on edge. The sky was a starless one, as the clouds filled the sky with their presence, so it made it hard to know what the time was and when the dawn would break.

Firewing hadn’t said a single word to her as they made it out, but he did stop when Fluttershy asked him so she could close the sarcophagus lids in the tomb when she had left them open in her rush to get away. He’d smiled that one time, but it quickly faded when they set off back through the fortress again.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled as they walked through the gap in the mountain. “Whatever I said, I didn’t mean to cause offence.”

When they made it through the gap and back near the rock, Firewing turned around to face the other pegasus and said, “You have nothing to be sorry about, young pegasus. I was surprised by your knowledge of such language. I no nopony other than myself and you these days that harbour such a gift.”

Fluttershy felt relived, but couldn’t help but wonder one thing. “So… what was that thing?” she asked, pointing at the book that hung from his saddlebag.

“That doesn’t matter at the moment,” Firewing answered. “What does is you now.” He walked closer to the now trembling pegasus, gazing into her eyes, which for Fluttershy felt like he was carving into her very soul. “Now, tell me everything.”

So Fluttershy did. She told him every bit of detail she could remember, from the dragon attack on Ponyville to now, only missing out the nightmares, thinking there was no point telling him about something that has been fixed. It left Firewing wondering a great many things, like the reason for a dragon to attack a small town like Ponyville in the first place, to the mystery behind this mare’s origin.

“And so I trekked all this way from Strutford just to find you,” Fluttershy finished. “So you could probably help me. Can you help me?”

Firewing put a hoof on his chin. “In the past week since you woke up, have you experienced any nightmares?”

Fluttershy rubbed a leg with her hoof. “Well um… yes. I didn’t want to say anything as I went to see the Princess about them, and she placed a spell to keep them away. She said they were prophetic visions though… do you know what they mean?”

Firewing didn’t answer; instead he changed the subject. “I can help you, young pegasus, and give you the answers you want, but I need you to trust me. Do you trust me?”

Fluttershy nodded, making Firewing smile. “Right then, we better get moving if we want to get there by tomorrow evening. Come along then.” With that last word he began galloping eastward, towards some steppes Fluttershy could barely make out in the darkness.

Fluttershy took to the air and followed after him. “Um… I-I was wondering, wouldn’t it be easier if we… well… fly?”

Firewing stopped and gave her a small smile. “I wish I could, young pegasus. But my wings were damaged in a fight with a drake. I can’t even attempt to spread them without pain.”

Fluttershy put her hooves over her mouth. “Oh, I’m so sorry, oh dear, please I didn’t mean to sound rude-.”

Firewing laughed and faced the pegasus flying beside her. “It’s okay, you asked a reasonable question, and you had no idea what my answer would be. And speaking of reasonable questions, I don’t think I’ve asked for your name?”

Fluttershy landed and reached out a hook to shake his. “My name’s Fluttershy,” she said quietly.

Firewing’s eyes widened and he took a step back in shock. As soon as it happened and before Fluttershy could notice he relaxed and took Fluttershy’s hoof into his own. “What a beautiful name you have, Fluttershy. And I must say it is a pleasure to meet you.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too,” Fluttershy beamed, a light blush forming on her cheeks. The two pegasi let go of each other’s hooves, and then began to canter towards the steppes. “So… um, what’s exactly this way?” Fluttershy asked.

“In those steppes, Miss Fluttershy, lay the answers you seek,” Firewing said. He quickly broke into a gallop, while Fluttershy flew alongside, feeling excited and anxious at the same time.

Chapter 10

The Frozen Steppes was just miles and miles of featureless land. Segments of grass and rocks were scattered here and there, giving shelter for the smaller creatures from the elements. The steppes were split in two halves: one end heading south towards the borders, while the other headed north, towards small pony kingdoms and the ocean. While the southern section was featureless, the northern side, however, was covered in swamplands. Dead trees and bushes littered the landscape and the swamps were filled with dark, sticky water.

And this was where Firewing was leading Fluttershy.

“We have to go in there?” she asked him, her voice giving away her fear.

Firewing looked back and nodded, brushing his long mane out of his right eye. “Afraid so. Just stay close behind me and follow my steps, okay?”

Fluttershy nodded and moved so that she was merely two steps away from him. Firewing led the way through a small muddy path that seemed to narrow as they walked, it felt like that to Fluttershy anyway. For Firewing, however, he walked as he was strolling down an empty street.

“There’s nothing to be scared of, Fluttershy,” Firewing said as they walked. “Nothing lives here, not any more.”

Fluttershy relaxed a little and continued along the thin path. “Then… what used to live here?”

“Mostly creatures from the mini Ice Age, roughly ten to twenty thousand years ago,” Firewing, answered. “When it finished, many of those creatures died out, and this place remained the same ever since. It’s why it’s called the Frozen Steppes. It’s also the perfect hiding place for those who don’t want to be found. A pony or horse could get lost here very easy, if they want to that is.”

“But we won’t, right?”

“Of course not. All you do is just follow the mountains to the east or west of us, and you’re basically back or close to civilisation,” he said, then adding, “Oh, mind your step here.”

Fluttershy stopped and looked down. The water (if she could call it that) that had spread over the path in front of her was a thick, dark black that bubbled every now and then. With a little help from her wings she hopped over and was soon behind Firewing again.

After a few minutes of walking through pits and nearly falling into the sticky marshes, the two finally arrived at what seemed to be a large bricked mound. It was circular in structure and rose a few feet from the ground, with dark green moss dangling from cracks. While around it, four grotesque statues stood in each corner of the area around it, sitting in a relaxed pose.

Firewing climbed up the mound and was at the top soon enough. He turned around and held out a hoof. “You coming up, Fluttershy?” he called to the pegasus, who was looking at the structure with a mix of curiosity and fear.

“Is it safe?” she asked shakily.

Firewing rolled his eyes. “I promise you it is safe, and I also promise that this is where your answers lie.”

Fluttershy’s ears pricked up. Her answers to the questions she wanted to know, the whole reason she was here, was up there. She broke into a canter and raced up the slope, soon appearing next to Firewing, and she took a good look of her surroundings.

Around the small stretch of land that made up the mound, the area was filled with bogs and marshes. To the east was the highland range, the mountains looking vast and tall in size. While behind them, to the west, was the Ragged Mountains Range, the place she and Firewing had walked, flown, or galloped from the previous evening.

It had taken them the rest of that evening and most of the morning to arrive to where they were now, mostly due to Fluttershy and her wings tiring out quickly. So Firewing was forced to go at her walking pace for some of the journey, until her wings recovered and was able to fly at a galloping pace once again.

It never frustrated Firewing, who remained calm and considerate every time Fluttershy was unable to go on flying, and forced the two to go at a slower pace. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy,” he said once, after hearing numerous apologies from the pegasus. “I was never a good flier myself. My wings tired out way quicker than most pegasi’s. It isn’t your fault all the same, remember that.”

Fluttershy was confused but didn’t say anything. As she walked through the marsh she kept reflecting back at what Firewing said, and what he could have meant. “Earlier when you said it wasn’t my fault I couldn’t fly well, what did you mean?” she asked after a moment of silence, on the top of the mound. “I thought it was because I was unable to fly well because of my shyness.”

Firewing shook his head and smiled at her. “I noticed in the fortress that you had some underdeveloped feathers in your wings, probably from birth. They don’t exactly stop you from flying, just hinder it and tire you out a bit quicker. Did your mother suffer from the same, or your father even?”

Fluttershy’s ears went down and she looked away. “I never knew my mother, or my father.”

Firewing’s eyes widened. ‘Could it be the same pony,’ he thought.

Fluttershy noticed him staring at her for a little longer than she would like and hid her face behind her mane. “What is it? Is there something behind me?” she asked.

Firewing shook his head and faced towards the centre of the structure. “Nothing. You just remind me of somepony I knew. Somepony I lost long ago.”

Fluttershy ears flattened and walked up to him, placing a hoof on his shoulder. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

He looked at the pegasus next to her and smiled. “It’s okay, Fluttershy,” he said, and then turned back towards the centre, rubbing his hooves together in anticipation. “Now then, let’s get this open shall we?”

Fluttershy looked at the centre of the roof, then back at Firewing in confusion. “Um… but how? It doesn’t look like something that would open.”

Firewing chuckled. “That’s true, but all you need is the right words.” He faced the centre of the building and in a loud voice said, “Åpne deg (open up)!” At once, a square shaped part of the roof faded away from the rest of the building, revealing a flight of stairs that descended into the darkness.

Fluttershy’s jaw dropped. “H-how… did you do that?”

Firewing laughed. “Magic.”

Fluttershy tilted her head to one side. “You can use magic?” She had heard of some incredibly talented pegasi and earth ponies that can use magic. It was a rare thing in Equestria for a pony that isn’t a unicorn to have that ability, and yet not only can Firewing seem to possess it, but used that language that she thought only she had.

“Sort of, Fluttershy,” he replied, bringing the pegasus back into focus. “This place was built by unicorns thousands of years ago. The entrance is protected by an enchantment that makes a pony or horse think there’s nothing there, when in reality there is something.” He noticed the gormless look Fluttershy was making and sighed. “It’s hard to explain. A unicorn would explain it better on how illusion spells work.”

Fluttershy immediately thought of Twilight, and how she would react to such a thing. She knew also Twilight would probably make less sense of it as well. “So… we go in there?” Firewing nodded. “Where does it lead?”

“It will take us under the plains into the Highlands somewhere, inaccessible from anywhere else. It should take us about a day or two to walk through it all, but thankfully there’s a place I know where we could stop,” Firewing answered, pointing towards the mountains to the east of them.

Firewing brought out a match and a torch that he placed in the pouch on his left side. He lit it up and proceeded to walk down the stairs. “You nervous, Fluttershy?” he asked upon noticing the lightly shaking pegasus.

“Yes, and no,” she answered.

Firewing smiled comfortingly. “It’s okay to be nervous, but there’s nothing down there that will hurt you.”

“It’s not that,” Fluttershy said with a shake of her head. “It’s… well I know it’s a silly thing to be nervous about. But… I’m here and… well, I don’t know what to expect.”

“Well I’ll give you a hint. I’m glad you enjoy history so much because this is gonna be one large history lesson.”

Fluttershy nodded and, with a gulp, placed one hoof forward. Then another with her hind legs responding, and another until she was next to Firewing, who was waiting for her at the top of the descent. With a nod the two proceeded down the steps, the torch on Firewing’s side lighting the way for them.

“Well the first thing I think we should start on,” said Firewing as they neared the end of the descent and was coming onto even ground, “is the language you have no idea about. The language is called Dragonian, the first language of the dragons.”

Fluttershy stopped as she felt her heart skip a beat. She looked up to Firewing with wide eyes. “D-does that make me part… d-d-d-d-dragon?”

Firewing chuckled, tilting his head left and right as he spoke. “No… and yes.”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy enquired, tilting her head to the side in confusion, and worry.

“All in good time,” he said. “Now come on, this way,” he said as he trotted into the darkness, with a rather frustrated pegasus behind him.

The few minutes that passed seemed to go on for hours to Fluttershy. The walk was done in complete silence with only the crackle of the flames and the soft breathing of the two pegasi to break it. Fluttershy began to feel claustrophobic once again, and thought for one moment the walls were beginning to close in on her, but soon realised it was just a trick of the light.

The walls themselves were featureless and black, with only the glow of the fire lighting them up into a fiery orange Fluttershy liked to see when the sun was setting. The walls were also damp, with little drips of water coming from the bogs above them slipping down the crevices in the rocky walls.

Finally the small passage widened, revealing a tunnel that disappeared into the darkness. The design was very similar to the one she and Firewing had to go through in the fortress of the Ragged Mountains. But while in the fortress both sides of the walls were decorated in carvings, this time it was only the left side, with the same pictures and events she saw in the fortress.

The last time Fluttershy saw these she never knew what was really happening. This time, however, Firewing was going to tell her everything. They stopped before the first carving. It depicted three dragons on the top of mountains, their wings spread wide and their heads high and noble.

“These carvings, and the story I’m about to tell you,” Firewing began, “began over ten thousand years ago, when the first races appeared. The greatest of these were the dragons. They thrived in the highest mountains and the deepest forests, gathered together in harmony.

“For you see, at one time the dragons were not the greedy, destructive creatures they are today. No, they were once a proud and noble race, greatly respected by all the other races, and yet rightly feared.”

Fluttershy’s ears were right up as she listened with great interest. Firewing pointed her to the next carving. There were three dragons, looking down on several peoples, ranging from ponies to griffons. “When the first mortal races developed the skills to civilise and grow into great kingdoms, the dragons made it their aim to guide and protect us, from others and ourselves.

“And so began the Reign Of Dragons, also known by those who remember it as ‘The Golden Age’. When there was a dispute between two races, let’s say the griffons and the zebras; the dragons would intervene and negotiate a peaceful settlement between the two. To all races a dragon’s words were of great wisdom and power, so a single word from a dragon would stop entire armies of thousands clashing into each other.

“This continued for around five to six thousand years, but although the dragons were powerful they could not be everywhere. Many cities and castles fell and all races had begun to feel some resentment towards each other.”

He and Fluttershy walked past a few carvings, each detailing some of the greatest events in pre-Equestrian history. From the rise and fall of the first earth pony kingdom of Akkad, to the civil war of the griffons. Even some scenes were of pegasus ponies fighting unicorn ponies, most likely over the littlest of disagreements. But out of ten of these sorts of scenes, eight of them had a dragon stopping the battle and the two sides lowering their sword from their mouths or from their legs.

“Things were great though,” continued Firewing. “Until one great and terrible event happened.” He stopped before a carving that Fluttershy instantly recognised. It was the exact same one she saw on the pillars in the tomb of the fortress back in the Ragged Mountains. “The Great War began.”

Fluttershy looked at Firewing with sad eyes. “How… how could people be this cruel?”

Firewing drew a sad sigh. “I wish I knew, Fluttershy. I wish I knew.”

“But how could such a war start?” Fluttershy asked, dismayed at the thought of all those races hurting each other at probably the pettiest things.

“No one actually knows how it started,” Firewing replied. “There’s one theory, however, that suggests a race called draconnequus manipulated them all into starting it, for their own entertainment.”

A draconnequus? The name sounded familiar to Fluttershy, and when she finally recognised it her blood ran cold. “Discord,” she hissed, the name coming from her lips like venom. She hated that creature with all her heart; he corrupted her, her friends and nearly tore them apart, Equestria along with them, and now the idea that he might’ve helped start a war for his own and his races amusement just made her hatred for him rise. Thankfully though he was now locked away in some dark and horrible place to rot in stone, and could do no harm to anypony else.

Firewing looked at her with alarmed eyes, not expecting to see such anger in the calm mare. “You’re familiar with that name?”

Fluttershy nodded with a sigh. “Unfortunately yes. Me and my friends were the ones who put him back in stone.”

Firewings eyes widened. “Wait a minute, you and your friends are the bearers of the Elements of Harmony? The most powerful weapon in all of Equestria?!” Fluttershy nodded meekly, making Firewing grin. ‘This is one special pony indeed,’ he thought. “Wow,” he said. “I never expected in my entire life to ever meet a bearer of the Elements! What Element do you represent?”

“I represent the Element of Kindness,” Fluttershy answered.

Firewing whistled. “Impressive, I would love to know though how an Element bearer is chosen.”

“I’m not sure either, but I think we’re getting a bit off topic.”

“Oh… right. Hehe, sorry,” Firewing said, grinning sheepishly. “Anyway, the Great War affected everyone on the planet. Ponies, minotaurs, hippogriffs, griffons, zebras, you get the general idea.”

“But why didn’t the dragons intervene?” Fluttershy asked upon noticing the dragons seemingly relaxed nature, and yet were weeping great rainstorms of tears as they watched the events below unfold.

“They would have if there were only two nations at war, instead it was all of them. The dragons realised that if they intervened they would be seen as picking sides, so they decided to stay out of it, and prayed it would stop.”

“And did it?”

Firewing shook his head. “The war lasted for many long years, never once faltering. It was said that the blood shed during the war was enough to cover the entire kingdom of Equestria, maybe enough to actually flood it. And that blood had stained every inch of land on this continent. Every field, mountain path, forests, places that are now cities was a sight of a great and bloody battle.”

Fluttershy began to feel a little queasy; all this talk of blood was by now getting a bit too much for her. “Um, I don’t want to sound mean or anything. But can we talk a little less about blood?”

“Ah sorry, I do get a bit carried away sometimes,” he grinned sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck with a hoof. “Well the war continued until one dragon, their leader, had decided that enough was enough. He ordered his people to launch an attack on all races and oppress them until they were no longer able to fight again.”

Firewing pointed Fluttershy to another carving, this one depicting a large dragon in the foreground of the carving sending other, smaller scaled dragons to war. It seemed to the yellow pegasus a bit hypocritical of the dragons, to stop violence by creating even more violence. But their intentions were good enough she reasoned and she could slightly respect that for that part anyway. “And did it work?”

“I’m afraid not,” Firewing said solemnly. “It was a disaster. The elder dragon's son was killed, and the others were forced to retreat, leaving the elder dragons son’s body to be paraded about as a trophy.”

Fluttershy placed a hoof on her mouth in shock. “That’s horrible!”

Firewing nodded in agreement. “Oh it got worse, though. The dragons banished the elder dragon from their kingdom, for violating the sacred order the dragons had stood by for centuries. Before he left, the dragon promised revenge on his fellow dragons, and swore to destroy all life on the planet for the crime of existence. As he so called it.”

Fluttershy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She felt a bit sick at the thought that such a creature harvested such malice against everything. “So what happened next?”

Firewing motioned for to her to follow him. They passed several carvings depicting more battles, and even more peace gatherings that ended not so peacefully. Eventually Firewing stopped in front of a carving that depicted something that made the yellow pegasus shiver.

“I-is that the same… dragon?” she asked. The carving depicted the elder dragon from before, except this time it was fire manifested in flesh. It wings, scales, horns and even his eyes were depicted to burn brightly. While below him, layed the charred remains of so many creatures.

Firewing nodded. “The dragon learned forbidden, yet ancient magic in his one hundred years of exile and isolation from the rest of Terra. When he emerged, he returned not as the great dragon he once was, but as Heimdallr, the self-proclaimed illuminator of the world, and he was going to purify the earth, with fire. Heimdallr began a brutal path of destruction across the planet. He incinerated entire kingdoms and left no survivors in his wake. He was very good when it came to that.”

Fluttershy looked closer and recognised those burning, evil eyes as the same ones she saw in her nightmares. So Heimdallr was who she, Twilight and Princess Celestia had met in her mind. She backed away from the carving in fright. “You recognise Heimdallr, don’t you?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Uh… yes, sort of. I was shown a prophetic vision, that’s what the Princess called them anyway, of him attacking and burning Equestria.” She put a hoof across her face. “He made me watch my own friends die!”

Firewing put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “So you had them as well, huh?”

Fluttershy looked into his eyes, her own were as wide as saucers. “You… had them, too?”

Firewing nodded. “I’ll talk about that later, but now back to this.” He turned his head back towards the following carving, this one depicting a large group of dragons engaging the larger and more powerful Heimdallr, while below them were dragons falling to the ground dead.

“By now a dragon named Vidarr was the elder. When he heard of the war of genocide by Heimdallr he was devastated. He spent a few days sulking until finally he ordered his finest dragons to find and defeat him. As you can see, it didn’t end well for them.

“Once he defeated the elite dragon warriors, he turned his attention to the dragon race itself. Using a magic spell some theorised he learnt from the draconnequus race, he somehow managed to manipulate every dragon’s heart, making his or her greed for everything too strong to stay. The resulting spell nearly destroyed the dragons, and the kingdom they lived in was shattered. After that day the dragons only came together during the great dragon migration, and that is a once in a generation event.”

“So how was Heimdallr stopped?” Fluttershy asked. She realised quickly that he was stopped somehow, or else she, or anyone for that matter wouldn’t be alive. Firewing motioned to look at the next one. When she did she gasped. It depicted the dragon Vidarr, with a large group of earth, pegasi and unicorn ponies. The ponies were all wearing heavy armour, and the one at the front was a pegasus with a long cloak that draped across his armour.

“By now Heimdallr had wiped out at least four races across the world. After he learnt the spell of manipulation from them he turned and slaughtered the draconnequus race, leaving only one survivor, and the hippogriffs were getting dangerously close. Vidarr, in his desperation acted fast. So he summoned a large group of the finest warriors of pegasi, the most powerful unicorn mages and the strongest earth ponies together.”

“But why ponies? Surely a griffon is more powerful than a pegasus.”

“Correct, Fluttershy. But Vidarr saw ponies as the born survivors. There was more of them, no matter how many Heimdallr had killed, and they would go on for thousands of years. To him they were the perfect candidates.”

“For what?”

Firewing walked over to the next one. By now they were reaching the end of the tunnel and would soon have to travel through a small passageway between the rocks again. “For this,” he said, indicating with a hoof to what was happening on the carving.

Fluttershy walked up alongside him and looked at it inquisitively. Vidarr was gone, while the ponies that were standing there had looks of bewilderment. “Using ancient, forgotten, and forbidden magic, Vidarr transferred parts of his soul into each and every one of the ponies present there, all two thousand of them.

“Vidarr was killed in the process, but what he gave the ponies was phenomenal, and should be impossible. Each pony gained a greater sense of hearing and sight. They could speak Dragonian, impossible for anypony else to try, only write. And they could use the ‘dragon stare’, a powerful ability to order and calm any living creature just by using the eyes.”

Fluttershy’s heart froze once again. The ‘dragon stare’ sounded awfully familiar to her own stare. Was it the same thing? “But… I have something that’s like that. I’ve had it for ages.”

Firewing glanced at her, and then turned back to the carving as though she never talked. “The ponies then set about trying to find and hunt down Heimdallr. They eventually found him over present day Horsca, and engaged him. The battle was long and hard, with magic raining from the skies and the ground, the pegasi swirling around him, and the deaths of so many pegasi falling from the sky. But after over two hours of fighting, the earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns managed to bring down Heimdallr and send him crashing to the ground, dead.”

As Firewing spoke, Fluttershy pictured in her mind the battle taking place. “After celebrating their victory, and mourning their dead, they buried the remains of Heimdallr in a large tomb and built a giant lake around it, so it could never be found. The battle against Heimdallr was the first recording of the Dragonlords, the greatest group of warriors who ever lived,” Firewing finished, his head held high.

Fluttershy didn’t know why, but she felt something in the air the moment the word ‘Dragonlords’ was said. She felt her coat stand on end as a shiver crawled through her body.

“Um… well, that was fascinating and all,” she said, putting on a polite smile. “But…”

Firewing turned to face her with a raised eyebrow. “But?”

Fluttershy’s ears went down and her head lowered. She knew she’ll sound silly after saying this but she could not let it pass. “But, what has this all got to do with me?”

Firewing gave her a deadpan look, then pointed to the small passage leading out of the tunnel. “See this path? Would you awfully mind walking through it for me please?”

Fluttershy moved to stand in front of the dark passage, looked through and gave Firewing a look of bewilderment. “Um… is that it? I mean, why me first?”

Firewing looked at the passage, then back to Fluttershy, then back to the passage again, this time a bit longer as if he was trying to remember something. “Oh yes!” he exclaimed, making Fluttershy jump. “I forgot about that.”

He walked past Fluttershy to the right side where he revealed a chain lever dangling from the wall. Using he teeth he pulled it down, and the passage lit up as flames rose up from the ground and the walls, creating an inferno.

Fluttershy could feel the heat on her coat, but fire didn’t scare her, not any more. “Well? Are you going to walk through it or not?” Firewing said to her with a raised eyebrow.

Fluttershy replied with a smirk, and then cheerfully trotted through the burning path. The flames danced around her as she trotted, their touch was warm and relaxing, just like the first time she stepped into fire in her cottage miles away from here.

She made to the other side and shook off the ash and soot that landed on her coat on her travels. She turned around and began searching for a lever or chain lever that would shut the fire off so Firewing could come through. She began to panic when she couldn’t find any.

“Firewing!” she called back through the tunnel, hoping her voice would be loud enough to be heard over the heavy cackle of the flames. “I’m through, but I don’t know if I can shut if off this side! What should I do?!”

Just as she finished speaking, the pegasus himself appeared through the flames and joined her. “Phew,” he breathed as he brushed off with a hoof some of the soot that had fallen on him. “Well that was lovely. I’m sorry, Fluttershy, did you say something earlier? I think I’m going a little deaf in my old age.”

Fluttershy didn’t say anything; instead she walked up to the pegasus with wide, disbelieving eyes, and prodded him so hard on the side he nearly fell over. “You’re okay? I don’t understand? How can you be okay?”

Firewing shrugged. “That’s one of the benefits of being a Dragonlord, I suppose. You walked through it okay, though.”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak but shut it again upon realising what Firewing just said. Her eyes widened. One of the benefits of being a Dragonlord? Wouldn’t that make her? “Does that make me…?” she worded her thoughts, already dreading the answer.

Firewing nodded. “Yes, Fluttershy, you possess the abilities of a Dragonlord.”

Fluttershy couldn’t recall the hours that had passed by since they left the tunnel and moved into a small passage with a sheer drop on the right side, disappearing into the darkness. She stole glances of statues of earth, pegasi and unicorns ponies on the left side, all in armour and looking proud in their pose, but she ignored them. Her mind was a whirlwind of activity as she tried to process what she had just been told.

She was a pegasus pony that would literally never hurt a fly, and now she couldn’t get around the fact that she is the descendant of an order of warriors given enhanced abilities by a dragon thousands of years ago.

She couldn’t believe it, a part of her refused to believe it. And yet, it all made complete sense to her. The ability to be fireproof was a dragon ability since she’d seen Spike perform it several times, their eyesight and hearing was more powerful than anypony on the planet. So maybe she was a Dragonlord? And if she was, would that mean she would have to fight, and kill something?

She shuddered at the thought. The idea of killing a pony, or any creature for that matter repulsed her. She was not a killer; all she wanted to do was to help creatures, not destroy them. So knowing that she was born from a family of warriors and trained killers made her feel somewhat cold. She placed a hoof on her head and groaned as she started to feel a headache coming on.

“I have a few questions,” she said, breaking the silence.

Firewing stopped his humming and looked at her. “Then fire away.”

“Firstly, why the name ‘Dragonlords’? We’re not master over them, are we?”

“Well after the defeat of Heimdallr, the ponies gathered together to decide a name for their new found order. After a while one pegasus came up with the idea of ‘Dragonlords’, to say that they can defeat what once was the greatest warriors on Terra. A bit boastful I know but it stuck. So in a sense we are and in another we’re not.”

“And another thing, when I tried out the Dragonian language on my friend Spike, he didn’t understand a word.”

Firewing gave her a confused look. “Whose Spike?”

“Oh… yeah, he’s my friends baby dragon. An assistant given to her from an egg by Princess Celestia,” Fluttershy answered. “So what I’m saying is, why didn’t he understand it, if it’s a language for dragons I mean?”

“Ah, I see. Well firstly Dragonian died out when the dragon kingdom died. The only reason Dragonlords can speak it is because when Vidarr sacrificed himself his soul went into each of the ponies, it included not only his abilities, but also his language.”

“Okay. Two more things, my ‘stare’ sounds similar to the ‘dragon stare’. Why was it called that and why did I have it before I was a Dragonlord?”

“Some ponies have abilities, like greater hearing or the ‘dragon stare’, from birth. It’s how Dragonlords out in the world find new members. The ‘dragon stare’ was the one you were born with. And the ‘dragon stare’ was called that because dragons once were able to use it and send entire armies running. Fortunately not any more.”

Fluttershy nodded in understanding. “And you said I have the abilities of a Dragonlord… so… does that make me one as well?”

“Yes, and no,” Firewing replied, tilting his head to the left, then to the right. “While it’s true you have the abilities of one, the Codex states you’re not officially a Dragonlord until you have passed the test.”

Fluttershy tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrow in curiosity. “What sort of test?”

Firewing hesitated. He knew that just by looking into her eyes he saw Fluttershy was not the violent type. He knew this test would be hard on her and knew she would not like it. But she wanted to know and he wasn’t going to lie – he was a terrible liar. “Firstly, when a Dragonlord finds a potential recruit, somepony with something that gives them away like your ‘dragon stare’, they’re taken here, and placed on the fire.”

Firewing pointed to the left of him, Fluttershy took her eyes off and followed the other pegasus’s hoof. She gasped at what she saw. At the centre of a large pit that plummeted into the darkness was a white stone tower, with the remains of ash and blackened dust lying all over the top.

“A potential recruit is placed at the centre of the circle,” explained Firewing, pointing with hoof gestures towards the tower. “The circle is filled with wood and then set on fire. The pony would then rise from the ashes and walk through the fire, only to collapse and sleep for a month. We call it a rebirth; you die in the fire then rise up again.”

“Like a phoenix,” Fluttershy whispered.

Firewing nodded with a grin. “Exactly.”

Reborn. Fluttershy thought of the word, especially to her now, as a miracle and a curse. She was given one more chance to see the world, but also condemned to fight many of its creatures.

That is, if there wasn't a way out of it.

“So what’s the test?” she asked once again, with a hint of impatience.

“I’m getting to that. Anyway, the pony wakes up after a month of sleep and after a few days rest and training is given a test. They have to find, and then defeat a dragon, to prove they are indeed masters over what once were the greatest warriors on the planet. You see, it is an old belief, that if a Dragonlord can defeat a dragon, they could defeat anything, making us the greatest warriors on Terra,” Firewing finished, his voice not hiding his pride.

“So… I have to find and kill a dragon?” Fluttershy said, already planning on backing out.

Firewing shook his head. “No. Originally it was to kill one but after a while it was seen as hypocritical and vulgar. It became practice to find and defeat a dragon, preferably to wound one, with killing one a choice if all other ones have been exhausted.”

“But wait.” Fluttershy said, holding up a hoof. "I’ve taken care of two dragons in my life, don’t they count?”

“Sorry but no,” Firewing said with a shake of his hoof. “For some reason they are part of your old life, or ‘past life’ as it was called, and they won’t count as helping you pass the test. Every Dragonlord, no matter how old they are, has to take it.”

Firewing gestured for Fluttershy to follow him through a small passage that was just big enough for the two to walk alongside each other. “So…” Fluttershy began but hesitated, trying to think of a way to word what she wanted to say out of fear of causing offence. “What if… you didn’t want to be a Dragonlord? What if you wanted to lead the life you once had?”

“Ah, a good question, Fluttershy,” Firewing said with a smile. “A Dragonlord doesn’t have a choice really. They are born with it; these abilities are a gift handed down from father or mother to their children. There are times, though, which are called retirement periods, where you can have a few years off and lead a normal life for a while until your ready to go back.”

Fluttershy felt her heart drop into her stomach, her ears fell flat and she prayed Firewing couldn’t see the devastation in her eyes. “You mean… there’s no going back?”

Firewing shook his head. “To do so would be to kill yourself, and believe me its been tried. Like I said, it’s part of your blood, your heritage. It’s a part of you no more than the cutie marks on your flanks.”

Fluttershy didn’t listen; instead all she heard were the sounds of death, not a physical death but one of a life never to return. Her life, her once peaceful, sweet, loving life, tending to her animals and enjoying the time with her friends, laying on her back in the fields watching the clouds go by, listening to the sound of birds chirping, now gone. It was but a distant memory, taken away in a spilt second by a dragon with fire coming out of its mouth. Fluttershy walked behind Firewing sulkily with her head and ears low to the ground.

Another half an hour later they made it out of the plain passage and arrived in a huge chamber, where two towers attached together resided. The first one was smaller with a gate leading inside; while the other behind it was so high the top half disappeared out of sight. The walls were old and were deteriorating in some places. Moss hanged from the sides and the gate was nowhere to be seen.

“The tower leads up into the highlands,” Firewing said as they walked towards the front entrance. “We’ll rest here for the night and in the morning, set off to find the next key.”

Fluttershy was relived to say the least. She recalled she hadn’t slept in two days and only now began to feel tired, and the headache was getting worst. She hoped there were really comfortable beds. She felt like she could sleep for days, maybe even months.

As they walked into the first tower, Fluttershy expected it to be full of Dragonlords; a few alchemy tables stood where unicorn ponies would stand by and experiment on potions. A forge fully lit and a weapon rack full of swords, spear, bows and crossbows, all of them filled by what would now be her family.

Instead, it was empty. Barren of life, and it seemed like it had been for a long time. Fluttershy turned to Firewing and gave him an odd look. “So when do I meet other Dragonlords?”

Firewing’s ears went down and his eyes gave away his sorrow. “I’m afraid you won’t, Fluttershy,” he sighed. “For you see, the Dragonlord order has been in a rapid decline for a long time now. The only other Dragonlords I know around today… is you.”

Fluttershy’s jaw dropped. “So you’re saying… we’re the last?”

Firewing nodded solemnly. “For a good fifteen years I always thought I was the last of the order. So you can imagine my surprise and joy when you came along claiming these abilities.”

Firewing walked further into the room, allowing Fluttershy to enter the cold, damp tower. “One thing I forgot to mention is, that as part of the training veteran Dragonlords take a newer member under his or her wing and guides them until they’re ready for the test. I would be honoured if you would allow me to teach you, if you’re alright with it that is?”

Fluttershy gave him a half-hearted smile. ‘It’s not like I have any choice now do I?’ she thought. “Yes, I would like that.”

Firewing smiled in return and began walking up the stairs towards the taller tower, Fluttershy followed close behind. “I don’t understand though,” she said. “How can we be the last Dragonlords? You made it sound like they were… well, invincible.”

“Hmm, I guess I did didn’t I,” he said, mostly to himself. He turned to face Fluttershy with sad eyes. “In a way we were, but like one wise mare I know said, ‘we’re only ponies, we make mistakes.’” He said with a wink, making Fluttershy giggle and blush. “No one is truly invincible, Fluttershy. As for the decline of the order I cannot say why. Over the past few hundred years, Dragonlord fortresses have been destroyed, leaving no survivors. I can’t really say how but I fear dragons may be responsible.”

“How could you come to that conclusion?” Fluttershy asked. “Dragons are passive aggressive, they only attack unless attacked themselves.”

“It’s to do with these keys,” Firewing answered quietly, continuing to head up the stairs once more.

He guided Fluttershy into a large circular room that lay at the top of the stairs. At the furthest point from the door was a large fireplace, the remains of ash still visible from the bottom. Around the room were beds, three of them were broken or rotten away, but a few others were still surprisingly in good condition. While at the centre of the room was a long, thin wooden table with rusty plates and cutlery resting in a holder at its centre. The table was still in great condition with no sign of rotten wood.

“We’ll rest here for a while, then once we’ve rested we’ll go on,” Firewing declared. He turned to face his yellow companion. “Have you eaten at all lately?”

A growl from Fluttershy’s stomach gave him his answer. Fluttershy blushed crimson red and shied away behind her mane. Firewing couldn’t help but chuckle. “Why don’t you and get some rest, while I’ll find something to eat. Deal?”

Fluttershy nodded and moved towards the more comfortable looking bed. The moment her eyes rested upon it did she realise how long she’d been going on without sleep, and how tired she really was. She took off her saddlebags, and hopped on one of the beds, collapsing under the dusty covers and falling to sleep so fast she didn’t even hear Firewing leave.

A few hours later, Fluttershy awoke to the smell of steamed lettuce and hay, and something else she couldn’t put a hoof on. She smiled as she felt her headache had gone, her head feeling light and not an array of activity for once. She lifted herself out of bed to see Firewing working around the fireplace with a spoon in his mouth stirring the small pot that rested just above it. His face was so close to the fire anypony that didn’t know him would fear he would get burned. But Fluttershy knew working around fire wasn’t a problem, not for him or her anymore.

She got out of the bed and yawned, then after stretching all her legs, walked up the table. “Good morning, Firewing,” she greeted the other pegasus warmly.

Firewing jumped, banging his head on the arch of the fireplace. “Ouch!” he scrambled out of the fireplace with a hoof on his head and looking at Fluttershy with an annoyed expression. “Seriously Fluttershy, did noone teach you not to startle other ponies?”

Fluttershy looked away bashfully. “Sorry, Firewing, I just thought you might be able to hear me, since we have the same hearing is all.”

Firewing took his hoof off his head and chuckled to himself. “Yes, but not everypony is as young as you are. When you get to my age you’ll probably start to lose your hearing.”

Fluttershy looked at him with a heavy dose of confusion. Firewing looked a pony in his thirties or late forties. So why would he be losing his hearing at his age so quickly? ‘Unless he plays really loud rock music,’ Fluttershy mused with a small giggle.

“What’s so funny?” Firewing enquired.

“Nothing,” Fluttershy said with a shake of her hoof. “Just thinking, do you like rock music?”

‘An odd question,’ Firewing thought, raising an eyebrow, ‘but a fair one.’ He nodded. “Oh yes, my favourite band of all time is the ‘Crazy Horses’. Brilliant bunch, went to see them live once.”

Fluttershy put on a wide smile. Although she didn’t look it she was quite the rocker, always head banging to some rock song that she bought or heard from earlier when she was alone, being too shy to do it in front of her friends. But something puzzled her greatly and her smile faded. Firewing went to see the ‘Crazy Horses’ live? But they were around about seventy years ago!

“Ho-how… how could you have seen them live?” Fluttershy asked. “I mean, I know some of their stuff but by the time you were probably born they had spilt up and died.”

Firewing chuckled. “Well how old do you think I am?”

“About thirty?” Fluttershy queried. Firewing laughed and shook his head.

“Nice for you to think so, but I’m a little bit older than that,” he said with a rising of a hoof.

“Forty?” Another shake from Firewing’s head.

“Sixty?” The other pegasus shook his head again.

“You can’t be over eighty?!” Fluttershy by now was in disbelief.

Firewing shook his head for the final time. “You really want to know?” Fluttershy nodded quickly. Firewing sighed. “I’m one hundred and sixteen years old, Fluttershy.”

If Fluttershy thought if her jaw could detach, it would be running for the hills by now, screaming. Words tried to come out of her mouth but to no avail. Firewing loved the look on her face though, and found himself on the floor laughing.

“Oh, Fluttershy… you crack me up,” he said between breaths. He rose up from the floor and took a seat opposite the yellow pegasus, who still hadn’t moved when Firewing revealed his age.

“I should’ve mentioned this a bit earlier,” he explained, “but due to the fact Dragonlords have a small part of dragon DNA inside their blood, our body clocks slow right down, so that we age at the same rate as dragons age.” He saw the look of confusion on Fluttershy’s face and groaned. “It means we live a bit longer than normal ponies.”

Fluttershy now really thought her jaw would fall off, and her brain would break out of her skull and run with her jaw. Live longer?! “So… we’re immortal?”

Firewing shook his head. “Nopony is immortal, not even the Princesses are. Them and we just live longer and age far slower than others.”

“How long?!” Fluttershy demanded.

Firewing shrugged. “The oldest Dragonlord lived for over a thousand years. A unicorn he was, you may have heard of him actually…”

Fluttershy didn’t hear the rest; her mind went blank, then into overload once more as she tried to process what she had just been told. Up to a thousand years! That meant she would have to watch her friends… her animal freinds… her town…. die and change around her while she lived on. Now she knew how the Princesses must feel.

Firewing stopped talking and frowned when he saw tears stream down Fluttershy’s face. He walked over and wrapped his legs around her, Fluttershy returning the embrace. “Shh, it’s okay, my dear,” he cooed softly, rubbing a hoof down her back. “It’s not that bad, really.”

“But it is,” Fluttershy wept. “I’ll have to watch my friends grow old and die, my animal friends and their families as well. The town I live in, in time would become unrecognisable to me… why did this happen? Why couldn’t I just have a normal life?” She buried her head in Firewing’s chest once again and continued to cry.

They remained like that for a few minutes until Firewing spoke up. “I know from experience it ain’t easy being told you will live longer than your friends, or even some of your family, or the fact that you're part of a warrior order dating back before Equestria. In fact, when I was told I locked myself away in this very room and cried for hours.”

Fluttershy instantly stopped crying and brought her head out of his chest. She looked at Firewing with a small smile on her face as she dried her eyes. “Really? You?”

Firewing merely chuckled. “Oh yeah, when I was introduced by my mother to the order nearly one hundred years ago. Those early days weren’t pleasant. But I learnt to carry on with life. I might lose many friends in my lifetime, but I know I will gain hundreds more by the end, and hopefully my memories will be filled with great ones of all my friends. And yes, your hometown will change, but everything changes, Fluttershy. We may not like them at first but we get used to them, maybe even love them.”

Fluttershy knew in a way Firewing was right. Changes were always happening in their lives, and she shouldn’t shy away from them, but embrace them. And she will make so many more friends in her now extended lifetime. Well, she hoped anyway.

She began to feel a little better already. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. “Thank you, Firewing,” she said softly.

“You’re very welcome,” he said with a loving smile. He sniffed the air for a second, and then gasped. “My spinach puffs!” He lunged towards the fireplace and dived a hoof over the handle of one of the pots and brought it to the table.

“Phew,” he breathed after checking inside. “Saved them, just in time by the look of things.” He picked them out and gave three to Fluttershy, who smiled in thanks.

Fluttershy looked at the food in front of her with curiosity and caution. She had never heard of spinach before, and wondered whether or not she would like it. ‘Well,’ she thought. ‘We all have to try something new at some point.’ She gave one a sniff, a blow to cool them down, and then picked one up in her mouth and started chewing.

The taste was exquisite, new and refreshing. She swallowed and felt new energy go from her stomach across her body, her weak legs re-gaining their strength and her wings wanting to take off on their own. Before she knew it Fluttershy was diving into the others on her plate, while Firewing looked on with an amused expression.

“That good, huh?” he laughed.

Fluttershy nodded and swallowed another mouthful. “Oh yes, these are gorgeous. Where did you get them?”

“I picked the plants up from my travels in the south, beyond the Equestrian desert,” Firewing answered. “I haven’t had time to cook some in a while and since we’re here, I thought we might have a treat.”

The two continued their meals in silence; the only sounds were the crackles of the fire, and the sound of munching from the two ponies. “Firewing?” Fluttershy broke the silence.

“Yeah?”

“These keys you keep talking about,” Fluttershy said. “You first mentioned something about them in your diary and then you said something earlier about them and their involvement with the Dragonlords declining. I was also wondering if they are connected to the nightmares we both had, so what are they?”

Firewing put down his drink and looked at her with solemn eyes. “Around two thousand years ago, before Celestia and Luna came into this world, a unicorn Dragonlord discovered something horrifying, that only he, the Primarch and his captains were well aware of.”

“What did he discover?”

“He had a nightmare, Fluttershy. Similar to the ones we both had, and came to a conclusion, which shook him, and the order to its very foundations. Heimdallr was still alive.”

Fluttershy gasped in horror. “But… he’s dead. How can Heimdallr be still alive!”

Firewing shook his head grimly. “No one is truly certain, but the Dragonlord that discovered this made a theory. Whatever he did to make him the way he became, he transferred a part of his soul to that place for hiding. A while after Heimdallr was defeated and supposedly killed, that one piece of his soul found its way back to his body, reviving him.”

Firewing paused before asking, “Now tell me, Fluttershy. What do keys do?”

“Keys… unlock, things?”

“Yes, and?”

It took a while but Fluttershy realised it with a gasp. “And they lock things as well!”

“Exactly!” Firewing beamed. “So the unicorn set about creating these five keys, each with a enchantment that would weaken Heimdallr's magical abilities. All five would disable them altogether, making him slightly easier to take down. I have three at the moment, we just need to get the fourth, then find the fifth, only then would we know the location of Heimdallr’s tomb, then take him down.”

“And… exactly how are we going to do that?” Fluttershy asked.

“With these,” answered Firewing, bringing up his right leg and sword bracelet, where the blade inside shot out into the air. The blade was a dark metallic, with ragged edges like sharp teeth. “‘Drage bane’, Dragonian for ‘dragon bane’ swords. It looks old but it’s sharper than anything on the planet and can pierce the tough hide of a dragon with ease, this should take down Heimdallr. At least I hope so.”

“And if not?”

He remained silent for a moment. “If not, then the world will burn before the end of this year.”

A grave silence fell between the two. ‘So not only,’ Fluttershy thought. ‘I’m a Dragonlord, but one of two ponies that could save the world from an evil dragon that wants to burn it.’ It sounded like something out an old fairy tale, and yet, it was true. Fluttershy couldn’t deny it as a lie. She had seen Heimdallr himself and knew full well what horror he could unleash unto the world if he was allowed to escape his tomb.

Fluttershy looked up from the ground and stared at Firewing. “So… how long have we got?”

Firewing shrugged. “To be honest I don’t know. It’s been my belief; as well it was Starswirl the Bearded’s belief that Heimdallr knew he couldn’t beat us in an open fight if he escaped earlier. He’s been biding his time for centuries…”

“Wait,” Fluttershy interrupted him. “Starswirl the Bearded was a Dragonlord?!”

Fluttershy knew the name of the famous unicorn from Twilight Sparkle, who rarely ever stopped talking about him. He was arguably the world’s most famous unicorn, a creator of over two hundred spells and was one of the founders of Canterlot city and the school of magic.

And now, it seemed, she stumbled upon Starswirl’s secret hobby. Fighting evil. “Oh yes,” Firewing replied, zoning her back in. “He was the Primarch of the Dragonlords for a long time before he abdicated. He was also the one who discovered Heimdallr’s survival. It also explains why he was able to live so long, from the a few hundred years before Equestria to the third Equestrian era.”

Fluttershy nodded her head in agreement. It had always baffled Twilight about why he was able to live so long, it even baffled Princess Celestia and Luna Twilight had said to her once. But now Fluttershy knew why, and had to say she found a new admiration for the powerful unicorn.

“And anyway,” he said with a small frown. “How did you find my diary?”

“Eep” she squeaked. She lowered herself to the ground. “I’m sorry,” she muttered quietly. “I just really wanted to know where you were going and I had to look through to see where you might’ve headed, oh please don’t be mad at me.”

‘So that’s why she managed to find me easily,’ he thought. Firewing chuckled. “It’s okay, Fluttershy, great initiative on your part I must say. But I want to know, where is my diary now?”

“Oh, it’s with me,” Fluttershy replied. “I took it with me when I left Canterlot to see if I could use it to learn more about you. I’ll get it out for you.” She got off her chair and walked over to where her saddlebags rested. She opened up the right pouch and found the books nestled inside. She picked them up with her teeth and laid them on the table in front of the other pegasus. “There you go,” she said with a smile, leaning back into her seating position.

Firewing stared at his book, the dirty dark red cover with a flame on the front, with sheer joy in his eyes. He moved the book over to look at the next one, and both he and Fluttershy gasped, the latter in shock, the former in a mix of surprise, and horror.

Below the diary rested Fluttershy’s medallion, with her name etched on the side. “Oh my,” Fluttershy said, as she reached over to take it. “That’s mine, must’ve got stuck between the two books, sorry. Could I have it back now, please?”

Firewing ignored her; instead he picked up the golden medallion in his hooves and looked at it with wide disbelieving eyes. “Where did you get this?” he asked hoarsely.

“One of the carers at the orphanage gave it to me when I was fourteen. Now please give it back to me?” she asked pleadingly.

Firewing still ignored her. He began putting the pieces together: her name, her age, her looks, the fact she was a Dragonlord, and now this. It was now impossible that this pony wasn’t the same one.

He threw the medallion back into Fluttershy’s hooves, who embraced it like a foal would embrace a precious teddy bear. Firewing meanwhile stared at her with wide eyes, which read both sheer joy, and sheer shock.

“I was beginning to think I would never see this day,” he said, making Fluttershy look up at him and stare into his eyes. “The day… that my daughter would come back into my life.”

Firewing had expected many emotions to be fired his way when this reunion, if it ever happened, came. He mostly expected anger, anger for abandoning her, and he would accept it. He’d least expected joy, and sadness.

But what he didn’t expect was Fluttershy staring at him void of emotion. She looked as if he just said something normal to her. After a while Firewing wanted her to say anything to break this tension.

In Fluttershy’s head, however, a whirlwind of activity took place. A mix of emotions raced through her: joy, sorrow, confusion, and mostly anger.

Firewing leaned over and sighed. “I know it will be a bit difficult to understand at first…”

“Darn right it’s difficult to understand!” Fluttershy bellowed, making Firewing dart backwards. “But it’s easily remedied because it’s not true. You can’t be father, you just can’t!”

“But I am, Fluttershy, I should’ve recognised your name as that of the daughter I left…”

“Abandoned is the better word I believe!” Fluttershy shouted, her anger beginning to rise as her voice cracked. “My father died, my real father would never have abandoned me by choice! How can you say such a horrible thing?!”

“It’s true,” Firewing muttered.

“If it’s true then what about my mother!” she yelled. “What say did she have in my abandonment?!”

Firewing found his voice again and leaned towards Fluttershy’s face. “Your mother had nothing to do with me leaving you at the orphanage. I only did what I did because I love you!”

Fluttershy just shook her head, fighting back tears of anger that were threatening to spill. “You never loved me! You couldn’t have loved me if you left me there! What kind of love do you have for me if you dumped me there?!”

Firewing leaned back and sighed, his eyes watering. “I do love you, Fluttershy. I always have, even after all this time. It’s just that sometimes… sometimes we’ve got to be cruel to be kind.”

Fluttershy’s breathing steadied and she leaned back in shock. She recalled her use of the same words she used to Brewman after she’d drugged her friends and left them sleeping in Detrots to go after him.

She started shaking her head and stepping back towards the door. “I need some air.” She muttered before galloping out of the room, slamming the door behind her, and running up the stairs in a fast sprint.

There were tears in her eyes, but she wouldn’t cry, not for this. She only once had tears in her eyes in a rage and that was back in the orphanage, the place her ‘father’ had dumped her in.

She kicked the door down with her hooves and ran until she was at the edge of the tower. She placed her head onto one of the merlons and fought back tears that threatened to rise, which she won. She looked up and with a gasp, saw her surroundings.

In front of her, in the west, were the vast plains of the Frozen Steppes, while on the horizon was the Ragged Mountains, their towering structures dominating the skyline. Behind her was a small muddy path that led deep into the Horscan Highlands.

While some of the mountains looked an easy climb, others were too steep but most were deceptive. Alongside the path tall pine trees with dark green leaves. While inside them, the singing of birds can be heard, and the calls of other animals, although it was hard to make out which due to the noise.

Fluttershy rested her head on top of one of the merlons and sighed sadly, closing her eyes. The headache now had returned and she felt it throbbing against her skull. She opened her eyes when she felt something land on her nose. It was a small bushy robin that looked at her with concerned eyes. “Hello, Mrs Robin,” she greeted the little bird with a small, sad smile.

The robin made a few tweets, which the animal loving pegasus understood. “Oh, were do I begin?! In one day I’ve been told I’m part of an order that specialises in killing things. A great evil dragon is returning from the dead to incinerate the world. I’m going to live longer than most ponies. And to top it all off, the pony I came here to look for claims that he’s my father!

“Now I don’t know what to do, whether to just run back home like a coward, or go to him and talk it over,” she finished with a heavy sigh and laid her head once more on the merlon. She looked into the eyes of the robin. “What do you think I should do?”

The robin started tweeting and chirping, while Fluttershy listened intently. “You think I should talk to him?” The bird nodded, followed by a few more tweets and chirps. Fluttershy sighed. “You’re right. I shouldn’t run away from my problems, if anything that would just make them worse,” she smiled at the robin. “Thank you, Mrs Robin.”

The bird bowed her head and took off from Fluttershy’s nose, disappearing into the thick canopy of the trees. “I’ll give it an hour,” she said to herself. “Then I’ll go back down there and demand some answers.”

She rested her head on one of the merlons and listened to the birds. Around half and hour later Firewing emerged from the tower. He was clean shaving and the small flock of hair that covered his eye had gone.

“A beautiful day, isn’t it?” he commented.

Fluttershy whisked her head around, looked at him then turned back around with an “hmph!”

Firewing ears went down as he walked up alongside the yellow pegasus. He sighed. “Look, Fluttershy, I understand that you won’t forgive me. I can’t even forgive myself. So I’m not going to say I’m sorry, or beg for your forgiveness. But just know I did what I did was because I loved you so much.”

Fluttershy ignored him; she stared blankly towards the Ragged Mountains, wondering where her friends (her former friends she had to keep reminding herself) were at the moment, and how much she wanted them here with her.

She then noticed her medallion resting in front of her. “You dropped it on your way out. I was wondering if you ever tried opening it?” Firewing asked.

Fluttershy merely glanced at him. “How can it open?” she said quietly. “It’s too thin.”

Firewing smiled. “True, but like I said earlier, you just need the right words.”

He turned towards the medallion and whispered in Dragonian, “Åpne.” The medallion split in half, making Fluttershy jump out of her coat. When she recovered, she looked at what was inside and gasped.

It was an old picture, with Firewing and a pegasus mare on his right side. She was beautiful, a dark grey coat with a blue mane and tail in the same style as her own. Her bright moderate cyan eyes seem to shine like sapphires and a joyful smile was across her face. It didn’t take Fluttershy long to notice she was heavily pregnant as well. Pregnant, she realised, with her.

She was at an almost loss for words. “I-is…is that my…?”

“Yes, that is your mother, Fluttershy,” Firewing said, failing to notice the tears in his eyes as he looked at a picture he hadn’t seen in over twenty years.

“What was her name?”

“Rosemary,” he answered. “Her name was Rosemary.”

Fluttershy placed the medallion onto her chest. “Rosemary,” she breathed with a small smile. The name sounded like one an angel would’ve been given. She looked back at the picture and looked from her mother to her father. Firewing just looked the same as he did today, only with slight less hair on his head.

She couldn’t deny it any further, Firewing was her father. And although she wasn’t angry to know him, she was still confused as to why she was left there. ‘I’ll ask him later,’ she thought.

Firewing looked away, unable to look at the picture of his love anymore. Instead he looked to where the sun was. “Well,” he said. “The sun's on it’s way down, I best get going. I’ve packed you enough food and provisions to get you back home.”

Fluttershy looked up and turned around to face him. “You’re leaving?”

Firewing nodded. “Yes, I understand that you don’t want to be a Dragonlord, nor do you want to probably see me again. So I think it’s best we part ways.” With that he turned to head back down and leave.

“Stop!” Fluttershy cried out. Firewing stopped and turned to face her. “I want to help. I won’t be able to go to sleep knowing Heimdallr’s out there threatening the world. And… I don’t want you to leave me again. So let me help, please?”

Firewing thought for a moment. If Fluttershy came with him he would not only have to concentrate on finding the keys, but now he would have to look after his daughter and make sure she gets home safe. Eventually and reluctantly he nodded. “I’d appreciate the help, thank you.”

Fluttershy grinned and before Firewing could stop her, jumped and hugged him. Firewing was taken aback for a second, but he returned the gesture and wrapped a leg around his friend. ‘No,’ he thought. ‘More than a friend. She is my daughter.’

“Come on then, let’s get our stuff and get going. We need to cover a lot of ground before tonight,” he said, letting go of the yellow pegasus and began trotting down the stairs.

Fluttershy followed quickly behind. “Okay, daddy,” she whispered.

Firewing couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.

Chapter 11

“AJ?”

Applejack sighed. “Yes, Pinkie?”

“I’m hungry,” Pinkie stated.

Applejack groaned, and then turned her head to look at the other earth pony. “How on Terra could ya still be hungry?! We only ate half an hour ago at least.” The moment after she said those words she felt incredibly stupid. This was Pinkie Pie she was talking to; she could eat all of Ponyville if it was made out of chocolate, and still have room to spare.

“Don’t know. Just really, really hungry.” Pinkie gave Applejack puppy dog eyes. “Oh, Applejack, let me have just a small bite, pretty pweeease? I’ll be your friend.”

“You’re already my friend, Pinkie,” Applejack said. “And sorry but no. We need that food if we want to continue looking for Fluttershy.”

She took her eyes off the pouting pony and looked around her. “Just exactly where here is?” she wondered aloud. Around her were large pools of black, sticky water that bubbled and popped every few seconds. The trees and bushes were dried up skeletons where a single touch would break them apart. The only thing keeping the five ponies and one horse safe was the narrow, muddy path they were forced to navigate.

Applejack recalled back to how their hunt brought them here. It was the early morning when the arrived at the Ragged Mountain range. The mountains shadows clouded their steps as they walked through dense woodland. The trees whistled as the treetops were blown about by the wind above them, and with the sun behind the mountains, the morning was a cold one.

When they finally made it out of the woods, they stumbled into a large clearing with a small dirt path that led east; towards a place Thowra would later call the Frozen Steppes. It was in the clearing where they had discovered, to their joy, Fluttershy’s hoofprints.

Thowra sniffed the ground, and then raised his head again to look at them. “These tracks are fresh. Probably about a day old at least.”

“So we’re in the right direction, then?” Rainbow asked.

Thowra nodded. “Less than a day or so ahead. If we hurry then we may be able catch up with her.”

They had only run a few feet more when Thowra froze, staring at the ground in horror. The five ponies looked at what he was staring at. A single yellow feather, slightly dirty from the evenings rain, lay in one of the hoofprints.

“I wouldn’t worry about it, Thowra,” Rainbow said. “Pegasus ponies lose their feathers from time to time, so it shouldn’t be something to worry about. Hay, it’s even given us a clue to where she’s heading.”

“Yes,” Thowra said with a hint of reluctance. “And it’s a place I don’t like at all. The Frozen Steppes.” He looked back down at where the feather was and noticed something different about the hoofprints on the ground.

“Give me your hoof, Twilight, please?” he asked the pony next to him. Twilight nodded and brought her hoof up. Thowra gently guided Twilight’s hoof on the print and, to their surprise, found it to be bigger than hers.

He gestured for Twilight to walk over to the one alongside and found them to be a perfect fit. “While these tracks are definitely Fluttershy’s,” Thowra said as he pointed to the mare sized hoof mark on the muddy ground. “These ones, however,” he pointed to the ones alongside, “are larger and, I would presume, belong to a stallion.”

The five mares gasped. “Looks like she might’ve found that pony she came here to look for in the first place,” Twilight said.

“But if she has done that, then why don’t she now just go home?” Rainbow asked.

The six equines pondered at this. It was correct that Fluttershy’s intentions to coming here was to find Firewing. So now that she’d found him, why don’t she go home?

“What if…” Rarity started hesitantly. “What if they’re… you know… together?” she suggested.

Twilight looked at her friend for a moment, and then shook her head. “I wouldn’t have thought Fluttershy to be that type for older ponies.” The others nodded in agreement.

“Fine,” Rarity sighed in defeat. “But if we do find them kissing or such, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Now, Applejack felt cold and lost in a place of what could only be described as dead. She looked back to see Pinkie hopping along the path, always threatening to fall in to the tar pools but thankfully and narrowly avoiding. Further back she could see Twilight, with Rarity clinging on her back as the tired mare soldiered on.

Applejack turned to face forwards again. “Thowra!” she called to the grey horse not too far in front.

Thowra turned his head to look at her. “Yes, Applejack?!”

“Are ya sure she went this way? She might not mind as much getting her hooves dirty than Rarity, but this just seems a bit too scary for her.”

“I’m positive she came this way,” Thowra replied. “But I admit it does seem weird that she did. Even the bravest horses tend to avoid this place.”

Applejack smiled. “Amazing. One shy, reclusive pony is actually braver than the whole of Horsca.”

Thowra turned to look at her with a look of confusion. “Shy? Reclusive? Are you sure this is the same pony we’re looking for?”

Applejack narrowed her eyes and tilted her head in confusion. “I don’t know any other Fluttershy’s. Why?”

“The pony I met I wouldn’t say was reclusive. A bit shy but then that’s what usually happens when you meet new people, well in my experience anyway. She spoke with some great confidence when she told us about you lot, and was quite friendly and open with me and Freya, my cousin.”

Applejack was surprised. She had heard stories from Twilight on how she watched Fluttershy kill a bear with her bare hooves, and took on and defeated a cockatrice, saving Twilight in the process. But confident with a group of people she met only a few hours ago seemed unheard of when Fluttershy was involved.

She came out of her thoughts when she heard a scream from behind. She turned to see Rarity had fallen off Twilight’s back and had fallen into the black water. “Well don’t just stand there gawping, do something!” she shrieked, flapping her hooves all over the water, splashing the ponies nearby.

“Stay still, Rarity. I’ll help get you out,” Thowra said, racing past Applejack and up to where the unicorn was now stuck.

Although Applejack was concerned, she was trying her absolute best to repress a snigger. “I swear, when we find Fluttershy I’m going to kiss her and then, I’m going, to kill her!” Rarity yelled.

Twilight was lying on the ground and breathing heavily, knackered from having to carry Rarity, and her face was laced with sweat. “Seriously, Rarity… you need to… do some more exercise,” she said between breaths.

“Oh great. First I fall in this muck which can’t be described as water, and now one of my best friends insults me by calling me fat,” Rarity whined. “Can this day get an-” she was cut off when a magenta cloud zapped her lips shut.

“Don’t you ever say those words. Ever! Understand?” Twilight glared at the other unicorn, who faintly nodded. The cloud disappeared from Rarity’s lips and wrapped around her instead, pulling her out of the water with ease and back onto dry land.

“Thank you, Twilight,” Rarity said. The lower half of her body was covered in water that looked like treacle, and half of her mane was completely straight.

“You’re welcome, and I’m sorry for implying you were fat,” Twilight said, her head low to the ground and pawing a hoof.

Rarity waved a hoof in dismissal. “Oh not at all, dear. You were only being honest. I must admit I have been putting on the pounds lately, and a lady must watch her features carefully.” Rarity looked at the ground. “So could I perhaps…”

“Not a chance,” Twilight answered, walking off next to Pinkie. Rarity cursed under her breath and trotted on slowly afterwards.

Applejack sniggered and turned forwards again, and noticed she was leading. She walked a few feet when she scrunched up her face and looked back around to look at the five equines behind her. ‘Wait, five? There’s meant to be six?!’

A snigger from above settled her fears, and increased her frustration. Applejack looked up and saw Rainbow Dash hovering above her, with a bright grin on her face. “Pegasi one, earth pony zero,” she sniggered. “Hope the water’s warm enough for you down there!”

“Rainbow, what do ya think ya doing?! Ya agreed to stay on the ground so we could stick together!”

Rainbow laughed. “In Rarity and Pinkie’s case that’s quite literal,” she said, looking back to see Pinkie had somehow got stuck to Rarity, with Twilight doing her best to pull them apart. Rainbow looked down to see Applejack’s glare on her only increase and put her forelegs onto her waist. “Oh come on, AJ, it’s not like I’m gonna run off from the rest of ya.”

Applejack looked away at that moment. Rainbow saw the hesitation on her face and her wide grin faded. “You actually thought I might, didn’t you?”

Reluctantly Applejack nodded and sighed, lowering her head to the ground in shame. “I’m sorry, Rainbow. It’s just that I know how important Fluttershy means to ya, and ya will do anything to find her again.”

At first Rainbow looked like she was going to give Applejack a right earful, but she didn’t. Instead she sighed and landed right next to the farm pony. “Well, you’ll be right,” Rainbow admitted. “I have thought about it.”

“Ya have?!” Applejack looked up, surprised.

Rainbow nodded. “Of course. There was one plan where I would wait until you were all asleep, and then soar off into the sky and search all over Horsca for her.”

“Then why haven’t ya done?”

“Because of you lot, I suppose. It wouldn’t be right leaving you lot out here. And yet, it isn’t right leaving Fluttershy out here all alone.”

“But she’s not alone, not anymore.”

“But how do we know that, Applejack? How do we know this pony isn’t pursuing her? Or she’s being forced to go with him?”

“We don’t,” Applejack answered honestly. “We just hope that’s all.”

Applejack and Rainbow turned their heads to look where they were going, and stopped when they found themselves in front of a large brick mound. “Thowra, gals!” she called back. “Come and have a look at this!”

Thowra cantered forward and stared at the thing in confusion. Twilight was soon next to him, followed by Rarity and Pinkie, who were now separated from each other. Rainbow tilted her head to the side and whistled. “Wow, that’s impressive,” She said, and then looked behind her at Twilight with a confused look. “What is it?”

Twilight looked at her and shrugged. “I haven’t a clue.” She turned to Thowra. “Do you know what it is?”

Thowra shrugged in answer, and then walked forwards, sniffing and looking at the ground. “There were two ponies here,” he said, pointing at the hoof marks on the ground. He walked up the mound, following the scent. When he reached the top he sniffed the air again, and his eyes widened. “No, no, no, no, where’s it gone?” he muttered to himself in alarm.

“What is it?” Rainbow asked.

Thowra looked back down at her with alarmed eyes. “I lost the scent.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened and she shot up into his face. “What do you mean you lost the scent?!”

“I lost the scent, Rainbow. They came up here, and then disappeared. It was as if they never existed,” Thowra replied.

Applejack joined them, her eyes full of despair. “So ya saying… we lost them?”

Thowra’s ears went down and nodded sadly. “I’m so sorry,” he muttered.

“Sorry is not good enough!” Rainbow bellowed. “If we were just a bi…”

“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack shouted, glaring at Rainbow. “Don’t ya dare blame Thowra, or anypony for that matter for this!”

Rainbow cowered under Applejacks stare and after a moment of silence sighed, hanging her head in shame. “You’re right, Applejack.” She turned to face Thowra. “I’m sorry for shouting at you, Thowra, could you forgive me?” She lowered her head once more.

Thowra placed a hoof under Rainbow’s chin, lifted her head and saw that Rainbow’s eyes were watering. “You know, under all that cockiness and arrogance, there’s a good hearted pony who’s willing to go an extra mile for her friends. I forgive you,” Thowra said with a smile.

Twilight meanwhile had to comfort Pinkie, who upon hearing they lost the trail, started to cry. “Is there any way we can find out where they went?” Twilight asked.

Just as she finished speaking, a roar echoed across the steppes. Six pairs of ears perked up and their eyes widened in horror. Rainbow took the air, scanned the sky, and then descended back down to the ground with a horrified look on her face.

“Okay,” Rainbow said. “I’ve got bad news, and I’ve got really bad news. What do you want first?”

“Um, the bad news,” Twilight replied.

“The bad news is that was a dragon we just heard.”

“And what’s the really bad news?” Pinkie asked fearfully.

“The really bad news is… it’s coming this way!”

“Quick, everyone, into the bushes and stay down!” Thowra ordered. He jumped off the mound and dived into one of the bushes. Applejack and Rarity dived in another, and Twilight, Rainbow and Pinkie nestled under another one.

“What the hay is a dragon doing all this way in Horsca?!” Rainbow called over to Thowra.

“It might be the same one that attacked Andulusia,” Thowra suggested. He crawled out of his hiding place to get a look at the dragon as it soared overhead. He gasped when he saw it and recognised it as the same one.

Its hide was covered in crossbow bolts and small cuts from swords, but surprisingly not a single wound had closed or showed any signs of re-healing. While its eyes seemed as bright as the sun, because they blazed with an unnatural fire.

He crawled back into the bush as the dragon hovered overhead, before coming down with a thud, a gust of wind blowing about from his landing. The dragon began sniffing the ground around the mound, its wings stretched wide and its claws sharp, ready to kill.

Twilight looked around to Pinkie and noticed she was on the verge of screaming. She quickly clamped a hoof around Pinkie’s mouth and watched with wide eyes as the dragon started sniffing the top of the mound.

‘What if it scents us? What if it knows we’re here?’ Twilight thought erratically. She turned to Rainbow and whispered, “If it looks in our direction, run for it.”

Rainbow gave her a look that said, “well duh,” and continued to watch the dragon with baited breath. The dragon stopped sniffing and stood perfectly still for a few seconds. Everypony got themselves ready to run for it, feeling sure the dragon will know they were there and would begin attacking them. The dragon suddenly raised its claws and struck down onto the mound, clawing at it with great ferocity.

After a while, the mound collapsed in on itself, with dust filling the air and the equines nostrils, making them want to cough, sneeze or both. When the dust cleared the dragon began sniffing the ground, its burning eyes never blinking. After a while the dragon raised its head and gave a mighty roar. It then flapped its wings and took off into the sky, heading towards the highlands with great speed.

Thowra scrambled out of the bush and watched it fly until it was a small speck in the distance, then turned to face where the mound once stood. It was completely destroyed. Not a brick was left in place, and all that was left there was now…

“Stairs!” Pinkie exclaimed, hopping in front of him and looking down. Thowra craned his neck to see and with wide eyes saw she was right. A flight of stairs did indeed descend down into the darkness.

“How could we have not seen the entrance?” Rainbow enquired, just as surprised as anypony about this.

Twilight put a hoof on her face and groaned. “Of course! Illusion magic!” She looked to see the others completely confused faces and began to explain. “It’s complicated, but simply put. When you want to hide something, you place a spell in the area that changes your perception of things, deceiving you and making you think something else is there, when in reality there’s something else. Makes sense?”

They looked at each other perplexedly, and then back at Twilight. “Sort of, Twi,” Applejack said, with a small shake of her hoof. “So how did the dragon know what we didn’t?”

“Probably because it guessed by the fact that Fluttershy’s scent stopped righ…” his voice faded into nothing. His eyes widened in horror at the epiphany he was getting. “Oh no.”

“What is it?” Twilight asked upon seeing the troubled look on Thowra’s face.

Thowra turned to face her. “The dragon that attacked Ponyville, was it the same one as this one?”

Twilight thought for a moment, and then shook her head. “No, the dragon that attacked Ponyville was red. This one’s green.”

“But Fluttershy said that one had flaming eyes, like this one. Was she right?”

Twilight’s eyes wandered from his for a moment, not clearly understanding what was going on. “First a dragon attacks Ponyville, leaving only one death; Fluttershy’s,” Thowra went on. “A month later, another dragon attacks Andulusia, the same time Fluttershy arrives. And now, this. That dragon could have been anywhere, but instead it was here, why?”

Twilight instantly came to the same conclusion as Thowra had. Her eyes widened in horror as she looked into his own. “You think that…”

“I don’t think, Twilight, I’m certain it is,” he said. He turned to face the others, who looked confused and bewildered. “Come on, you lot. We need to find Fluttershy before that dragon does!”

“You think that dragon is after Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked.

Thowra nodded. “I’m sure of it, Rainbow.”

“But what does it want with her?” Applejack asked.

“It’s not what it wants with her,” Twilight said quietly. “It's what it wants to do to her.”

“And what is that exactly?” Rarity asked.

“It wants to kill Fluttershy,” Thowra answered grimly.

A grave silence fell among them. Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity and Pinkie stared at each other in horror. “Why… why would someone want to kill her?” Pinkie said in sheer disbelief. “She’s the kindest soul who ever lived and yet a big meanie hates her so much to want her dead. What sick creature would want to do that?”

“I don’t know, Pinkie,” Thowra replied. “But I swear when we find her whoever wants her dead, they will be sorry for even coming up with the thought.”

“There’s still one thing I don’t understand,” Rainbow spoke up. Everyone turned to look at her. “Why are we still standing here?! Come one, we’ve got a friend to save!”

Everyone nodded and begun the descent down the stairs. With Twilight taking the lead and her horn lighting the way, the six equines galloped down the steps and through the small passage without even the thought of slowing down.

When Fluttershy opened her eyes, they squinted under the bright sun in the sky, blinding her for a few seconds. When she recovered from the bright sunlight she gasped at the quiet city street in front of her. She craned her neck up and looked around, blowing some of her mane out of her eyes, as she confirmed to herself she was in a city.

“Dad?!” she called out, but there was no reply. “Dad?! Again nothing. She looked around her and with wide eyes saw he wasn’t there. She was alone. ‘Has my father already abandoned me?’ she thought. She shook her head. ‘My father wouldn’t do that, not again. He might even be here somewhere.’

She got up from the ground and preceded to walk in a random direction, in this case left, down a small, narrow, empty alley. She emerged the other side into a large street with around fifty to seventy ponies occupying it. All of them were wearing clothes of various colors and sizes, from short robes to long dresses that hid the tails. Some were more rags than clothes, but the wearers seemed happy enough as they walked about. For Fluttershy, she felt a bit exposed in a city full of ponies with clothes, and yet for some reason, nopony was paying attention.

She saw a young unicorn filly wearing a light brown hooded robe that covered her body, standing still with a small smile on her face. Fluttershy walked up to her, hoping to get answers. “Um, excuse me? Can you tell me where I am, if you’re not too busy?” The filly didn’t acknowledge her existence. She suddenly broke into a gallop, going right through Fluttershy and disappearing down the street.

Fluttershy looked on, frozen in horror, with her mouth agape and her eyes wide. She shook her head and broke the trance, before running back into the empty alley. “She went right through me. Ho… how is that possible?”

She looked back into the street and saw two ponies close by talking. One was a pegasus stallion in a dark blue robe, and the other was an earth pony mare with a short dress that ended at her flanks, and was a color like sunflowers. Fluttershy then noticed the two ponies mouths moving and suddenly realised how quiet it was.

There wasn’t a sound in the air – no bird song, no bells tolling, and not even the sound of ponies talking filled the street, as it should. Fluttershy couldn’t understand it, for she could hear herself fine, which meant her hearing was okay, and she could place a hoof on herself and not have it pass through her.

“Okay,” she said to herself. “I’m lost. I have no idea where I am. Nopony can see me, and I can’t touch anything.” She looked back out the street and came to a decision. “I could try looking around to see if I could find anything written about this place.” Normally she would be panicking at this point, yet for some reason unknown to herself, she remained calm. “I’ll panic later,” she reasoned with herself. “Panic when I don’t know how to get out of here.”

She came out of the alley and walked through the streets, flinching every moment a pony passed through her, or jumped out in front and walked straight through her. Eventually she made it out of the path and onto a smaller, yet empty street. She took a moment to look at the buildings of this city.

The houses were built out of stone, and done rather quickly, and cheaply. They were built as two floor houses, with a small flight of stairs at the sides to head to the house above, making them able to easily accommodate two or more families in each. While just below the front window, was small gardens filled with plants that Fluttershy instantly recognised.

“Lavenders!” she squealed when she came across some. “I haven’t seen you in ages.” She floated over to them and tried to sniff them, but to her surprise couldn’t smell anything. She frowned and tried again, but again with no success.

She stood back from the flowers with her ears down and her mind spinning about in confusion. “Am I dead?” she wondered aloud. She placed a hoof to where her heart was and felt it beating against her chest. “Okay, not dead, good. So then where am I?”

She looked left then right, and decided to go right. She passed a few streets, each being occupied in a range of several to many ponies, each in lavish dresses, robes and togas, and all with wide smiles that showed that this place was a cheerful one.

She stopped though when she saw a scroll stuck to a post at the corner of a street. At first she thought it might be nothing, but curiosity got the better of her, so she moved over to get a closer look.

At the top of the scroll was a picture, an artist’s representation of an earth pony and a winged unicorn, staring into each other’s eyes with wide, blissful smiles. Below it read:

Fellow Citizens of Ferghana!

Yesterday, the Princess Chihiron, the one who lead us all out of the gloom of the Great War that ravages the continent, has declared her undying love for the earth pony, Prince Galiceno.

I’m sure you all are thrilled about this news as I am, and I’m sure that you all will share good will to the new couple and, as of now, our fair and just rulers and liberators of the savage land beyond our natural borders!

I’m sure as well that you would all be speculating, as much as I will of whether the first foal will be a colt or filly.

“Aww,” Fluttershy said as she stared at the picture. It struck her as to how familiar it was, but she couldn’t put a hoof on it. She noticed a further notice below and read it;

At this moment our fair rulers have locked themselves in the palace and will not be seen by anypony at this moment.

Fluttershy re-read the whole thing again just to be sure, then sat down and pondered, placing a hoof on her chin. “This place, seemingly called Ferghana, was around during the Great War. So that would mean I’ve jumped back in time! But how? And why?” She looked back at the picture of the two ponies. “I could head to the palace, find the tallest spot and then consider what I should do next,” she decided.

She scanned the area, looking for any signs that might lead to the palace. Her eyes soon locked onto a large white tower that spiralled into the sky. Its walls were decorated with banners and flags that easily gave it away as the city palace. While at the top, she could make out a large beacon.

She broke into a canter towards the palace, thanking Celestia that it was tall enough to be easily spotted. A few minutes later she arrived at the front of the palace gate. Beside the large wooden gate stood two guards. Both were unicorns in chainmail armour and had swords at their sides and spears in their hooves. She walked in front of one and waved a hoof in his face, with no response, then moved to the other one and did the same, again with no response.

She moved to sit in front of the gate, lifted up a hoof and pushed it towards the gate. The hoof disappeared behind the wooden structure and out the other side. She gave it a wiggle before pulling it back and setting it down on the ground. She then hopped through the gate and emerged the other side. It felt weird to jump through walls and gates, but another part of her, her reckless side that usually stayed hidden, enjoyed the freedom she seemed to get from such a thing. She trotted past guards armed with spears, who was either standing to attention, or patrolling the outer areas of the palace.

She walked through the palace gardens, admiring the lush, neat grasslands that were arranged like slices of pizza around the palace, with each having a single white tree with beautiful violet leaves at their centres. She turned her gaze away and focused on the large bronze door in front of her. She walked casually past the guards and into the palace.

As she entered she saw two doors that were open that lead into the throne room. She could see a large golden throne at the far end, with a small brown one to its left. While in front of the thrones, arrayed in a half circle, stood at least twenty-four chairs, all facing towards them. “Must be the council members chairs,” Fluttershy reckoned. “Then where are the Prince and Princess?”

She looked to her left and saw the corridor lead around the corner and out of sight, then looked right and saw it was the same. “Well all roads lead to Canterlot, as the saying goes. Might as well go… right.”

She began trotting right, heading around the bend, staring in wonder at the richly decorated banners that hung off the walls. The floor was a dark white with two dark green stripes at each end, while above her, spaced a few feet apart, where black with golden trimmed chandeliers.

She took her gaze off the interior when she glanced a single iron door in her way. She walked through and saw a large flight of stairs that spiralled upwards, to the top of the palace. With a groan she began climbing.

As she walked she wondered whether her father was in the same predicament of her as well. She sighed sadly as she remembered about him. She only said a few words with her re-discovered father before they set off into the highlands. The rest of the journey was done in silence save for the sounds of heavy breathing and a few warnings on steps.

Whilst she had accepted the fact Firewing was her father, it was tricky to adjust to that fact and there were so many questions she wanted to ask. There were many times on their journey Fluttershy wanted to ask Firewing about her mother; what happened to her, and why she was left at the orphanage in the first place. But she never did, fearing it may start another heated argument. ‘He will tell me when he’s ready,’ she had thought, although whether he’ll ever be ready was the main question.

She crawled the final few steps before falling onto the floor and rolling onto her side, panting as if she had just run a marathon across Equestria. Once she got her breath back she got up and followed the corridor around the bend once more.

A short walk later she found herself beside several doors. She craned her neck through to find it was only a storage cupboard. The next one was an empty bedroom with straw-filled beds for several ponies.

She came to the third one, and went through the door, only to come out again with a dark red blush on her cheeks and fighting to control her wings. “Oh, so that’s where the Prince and Princess are.” She was now so glad she couldn’t hear anything.

Shaking her head to get such intimate images out of her mind, she hastily walked to the next door and peered through. It was supposedly the Prince’s chambers with beautiful white with red striped curtains, stunningly bright white with golden swirled walls, and comfortable looking seats and a large bed. “Oh Rarity would faint with joy if she saw this place.”

She noticed a glass door at the far end leading onto a balcony and grinned. “Perfect.” She trotted through the door and through the glass one revealing the entire city before her. She gasped at how beautiful it was.

There were three walls: an outer wall holding the entire city in, the middle wall holding the two districts apart, and the inner wall surrounded the palace. The city was a large circle, with wooden huts between the middle and inner walls. While more reliable stone structures with straw roofing nestled between the outer and inner walls.
Outside the walls lay farmland that stretched as far as Fluttershy’s eye could see. Golden wheat fields dotted the landscape with small windmills turning slowly, giving away to the pegasus the lack of wind. While on the horizon, she could make out the vats expanse of the ocean.

Below, earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns walked, trotted, galloped, flew or teleported their way around the city. Strangely though all of the pegasi flew lower than the city walls, but Fluttershy let it aside. The city was a marvel to look at and she looked down with a smile. She looked up into the sky and her smile faded when she saw it.

It came down from the sky like a meteorite, with thick black smoke trailing its descent. Fluttershy squinted her eyes and noticed with great alarm the ‘meteorite’ was heading straight towards the city. She panicked at first but calmed once she remembered that she couldn’t be seen, heard or feel anything, nor could she hear anything other than her own voice.

She squinted her eyes to look at the ‘meteorite’ once more and realised it was slowing its descent, only when it spread its wings did her eyes go wide in horror.

The dragon was completely black, but its scales, horns, even its eyes burned with as a bright intensity as the sun. The dragon’s head alone was large, with spikes trailing from across its nose, between the eyes and down its back, while two horns protruded from behind its eyes and arched towards the mouth.

Fluttershy knew who this dragon was, and it made her blood run cold and her eyes water in horror. “Heimdallr,” she said breathlessly.

Heimdallr came out of his dive and soared straight towards the palace. He opened his mouth and fired a large fireball at its base, which exploded in a mass of flame and smoke. Fluttershy felt the tower collapse beneath her, so she quickly spread her wings and took to the air. She watched in horror as the tower collapsed downwards, then toppled onto the main city gates, landing in a large dust cloud on several ponies.

Heimdallr curved around the ruins of the palace, then stopped and seemingly let out a deafening roar. Ponies across the city began to run blindly. Some were heading towards the city gates to get out, while others went back to their homes and hid, praying they would be spared.

Heimdallr spread his wings out far; giving him the momentum he needed to stay up for a while. He then tucked his wings towards his chest, and quickly spread them out wide again, creating a massive, magical wave of fire and heat, that incinerated an entire area of the city: buildings, trees, bushes, and ponies.

He looked down to see a group of ponies cowering before him, begging for their lives to be spared. Fluttershy could see one of them was a young mare and was pregnant. She prayed that Heimdallr had some compassion to spare her and what seemed to be her family.

Heimdallr slowly raised his claw, aiming it at the group and once it glowed a bright golden glow, clenched it together. Fluttershy screamed in dismay and looked away as all the ponies before him instantly turned to fire.

He roared one more time before sweeping aside a row of buildings with a jet of flame from his mouth. The buildings collapsed into nothing within seconds, the flames too hot for the structures to hold. He continued to do this on every building until the entire city was ablaze, and every pony that lived in this city lay dead.

Fluttershy flew over to where Heimdallr was hovering and landed in front of him. She looked around with watery eyes to find everywhere was ablaze. Ash started to fall from the sky and the sun disappeared behind the thick smoke, blacking out the day. And everywhere and anywhere, the bodies of Ferghana’s inhabitants lay dead, frozen in their final moments.

Fluttershy looked back and her teeth clenched together in anger when she saw the wicked smile that formed on Heimdallr’s face. “You… you… YOU MONSTER!” she screamed. “I DON’T CARE IF YOU CAN’T HEAR ME, BUT I SWEAR YOU WILL BE SORRY FOR WHAT YOU’VE DONE HERE, HEIMDALLR!”

At that moment, the world froze. The flames stood still, the ash that fell from the sky stopped, only to float in mid-air, and the ponies that were still writhing in agony froze. Fluttershy felt her nerves return at full velocity as she started so shake with fear. She spun slowly around, staring at the frozen city in terror.

She turned to face where she was looking originally, only to find Heimdallr right in front of her, staring into her eyes with hatred she never felt before in her life, making her shiver all over. Fluttershy wanted to bring her gaze away from Heimdallr’s, but found she couldn’t.

“Oh, and just what exactly are you going to do me, Dragonlord?” Heimdallr sounded nothing like Fluttershy was expecting. He had a deep, calm yet cold voice, and had a slight cackle, which made it sound as if trying to speak gave Heimdallr untold agony.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened even more and she stepped back in surprise. Heimdallr landed with a thud before her, his eyes gazing at the pegasus with only malevolence. ‘He heard me, how could he have heard me?!’ she thought.

“Because I was the one who brought you here, Dragonlord,” he answered. “I can also read your thoughts, so don’t even try to hide anything from me.” She could feel his breath on her and she shivered at its touch. It was as cold as a bitter winter wind, and it seemed to the pegasus it was as if he dead.

“So you know who I am then?” Fluttershy asked.

“Unfortunately yes,” Heimdallr replied with a nod of his head, which groaned in its movement. “I have watched you, and your father, for some time. Like a hawk that soars over its prey, ready for the kill.” He leaned his large, spiky head closer to Fluttershy’s own. “And soon, the time will come for the strike.”

Fluttershy didn’t respond to his threat. She managed to take her eyes of Heimdallr’s and look at the frozen city around her. She looked back at Heimdallr. “What is this place?”

“This? This is my playground,” Heimdallr answered with a smirk. “A place for me to remember my most glorious achievements and be able to play them out once more.”

Fluttershy felt her teeth come together once more in anger so hard she thought they might shatter. “Glorious? You call this glorious?!” She gestured with her forehooves the devastation around her. “I don’t see anything glorious here! Only the mind of a sick, twisted creature!”

Heimdallrs face formed into a mask of rage. “You dare insult me, you insolent little thing?!” He brought a claw up in the air and then swung it at Fluttershy, who brought a hoof up to her face and made herself ready for the pain that was to come. She felt the claw pass through her like a shadow of a cloud. She lowered her hoof slightly and opened a single eye.

In front of her stood Heimdallr, with his claw still in the air, looking surprised and confused. She felt no pain and saw she was completely okay. She faced Heimdallr again and blew a raspberry at him.

Heimdallr lowered himself once more and brought his eyes closer to Fluttershy’s own, then widened them, activating the ‘dragon stare’. Fluttershy quickly countered this with her own ‘stare’ and pitched the two in a battle of wills.

Despite Heimdallr’s expertise and use of the ‘dragon stare’, Fluttershy was able to hold her own against him, forcing Heimdallr to try harder. Every time though Heimdallr increased his ‘stare’, Fluttershy was able to counter easily, and hold off his psychological onslaught. If the ‘dragon stare’ were able to produce sound, every building that was still standing would collapse in its intensity.

“Why do you not give in?!” Heimdallr asked incredulously.

“Because I fought a cockatrice, Heimdallr, and won,” Fluttershy replied. “This is foal’s play compared to that.”

Eventually, Heimdallr gave up, raising his head from hers and looking away. Fluttershy blinked and fell back onto her haunches. Her eyes felt strained and were stinging as if shampoo had just dripped into them. She gently massaged her eyes until they felt better.

While Heimdallr looked down on Fluttershy in sheer disbelief. This was not the cowardly pony that jumped at her own shadow he saw in Ponyville those many nights ago. Instead he saw a tougher, stronger mare, and it scared him a little.

“It appears we are at a stalemate,” Heimdallr concluded, drawing Fluttershy’s attention back to him. “You can’t hurt me and I can’t hurt you. So let’s talk, not as enemies, but as intelligent creatures.” Heimdallr lowered himself back on the ground; his whole body groaning as he did so, while Fluttershy didn’t move, just stared at him with the same hatred she was receiving from the large dragon.

“Okay,” Fluttershy said in agreement. “So how about this. I ask a question and you answer, then you ask me one and I answer.”

Heimdallr nodded. “Okay then, so why don’t you go first?”

“Thank you. So first off, how did you survive? The Dragonlords defeated you and confirmed you for dead. And yet, you’re here.”

Heimdallr chuckled. “I survived because I know far greater magic then any magic user ever would on this planet.”

“Care to elaborate?” Fluttershy said with a raised eyebrow.

“When I became… this,” he said, gesturing with a claw his flaming body. “I also cast a piece of my soul into that place, which is well hidden, and yet in plain sight. That piece of my soul then returned to me after my ‘death’ and re-ignited the flames, restoring me to life.”

“Except you’re not fully alive. You’re between life and death. A half life as it were.”

“You’re not as dumb as you look, Dragonlord,” he grudgingly agreed. “Yes, I am neither living nor dead. It’s not what I… anticipated, I admit. But I have been able to live longer than anything on this earth, so that’s a plus.” He leaned closer. “Does that answer your question?”

“Sort of,” Fluttershy answered with a nod.

“Okay, that means it’s my turn,” Heimdallr said with a mocking sneer that made Fluttershy cringe. “When I watched you, and looked at your memories, I saw a pony who once said ‘we all need to be shown a little kindness’. So why haven’t I received the same treatment yet?”

“Because even kindness has its limits, Heimdallr,” Fluttershy answered, her eyes narrow. And I don’t think I can give you any, because of what you’ve done.” She leaned in closer to Heimdallr’s head. “Does that answer your question?”

Heimdallr snorted. “Yes. So what…”

“My turn,” Fluttershy said. Heimdallr nodded and allowed Fluttershy to ask hers. “So why do you hate everything? From what I’ve learnt the dragon race was once proud and noble, and sought to help life flourish, not destroy it. So why do you want to destroy the people of this world so much?”

“Because the peoples of this world had their chance, Dragonlord, and blew it when the Great War happened. You weren’t there to see the terrible slaughter that happened through those many years, the thousands that killed each other over nothing, the bloodshed that shouldn’t have happened. If you saw what I saw, Dragonlord, then you might agree with me.”

Fluttershy felt sick to her stomach. “You say that the fighting in the Great War was terrible. And yet, you say the slaughter you wreak is glorious! You’re nothing but a hypocrite, Heimdallr! Your slaughter is no different to what happened in the Great War!”

“You’re wrong,” Heimdallr said. “The fighting of the Great War was over little, petty disputes, or basically nothing. But my war. My war is a noble cause; one that will see true peace, and total harmony reign across the world. Think about it, Fluttershy Firewing. Peace. True, never-ending peace. Isn’t that something you’ve always wanted?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy nodded, after a moment of silence. “But I know it's something that would most likely never happen, ever. It’s a dream, Heimdallr, nothing more.”

“Maybe, but that dream will soon become reality, and you and your father will not stop me.”

Fluttershy backed away. “We’ll try,” she said.

Heimdallr laughed. He then spread his wings and took to the air. “I am done talking with you, Fluttershy Firewing,” he said. “The next time we meet, it will be our last. Tell your father that I’m coming for you both, and that you can run, but you can’t hide.”

With that he roared into the sky and sped off towards where the sun would be, with Fluttershy watching him as the dragon disappeared from view. She looked down and thought for a moment. Fluttershy Firewing, was that her full name now? She looked up again to see the world suddenly turning white. She raised a hoof to shield her eyes as the white consumed her.

She could feel nothing, all senses in her body had gone, but all she could hear was the sound of somepony, quiet at first, then growing louder with concern and alarm, as the world turned black.

“Fluttershy? Fluttershy? FLUTTERSHY?!”

Fluttershy’s eyes shot open and she sat upright, gasping for air. She felt like she wanted to be sick, and her lungs felt like they haven’t been working for a long time. “Take deep breaths, sweetheart,” she heard her father say.

She looked up to see Firewing next to her with concern and relief in his eyes, and felt his hoof run up and down her back to calm her down. She glanced around her to find herself in the familiar cave the two found after they were forced to seek shelter from the heavy rainstorm that was now coming down in torrents.

“How’re you feeling?” Firewing enquired.

“I feel… like… I’m gonna… be sick,” she answered between gasps.

“Ah,” he grimaced. He got quickly up and trotted over to his saddlebags resting in the corner, and got out a small bucket. “Here have this.” He gave the bucket to Fluttershy, who accepted it with both hooves and let loose the contents of her stomach into it.

Firewing sat back down next to her and rubbed a hoof across her shoulders. “There, there. Let it all out,” he cooed softly into her ears.

When she finished, she chucked the bucket away from her and looked at Firewing. Her coat was a lighter yellow than usual and her breathing was a slight hoarse. She suddenly wrapped her forelegs around her father and began shivering.

“It was horrible!” she blurted out. “I watched a city burn and good, innocent ponies die horribly and-”

Firewing cut her off by placing a hoof on her lips. “Slow down, sweetheart. Now start again from the beginning, what happened?”

Fluttershy took a deep breath and started re-telling what she saw. “I was in a city, a great white city with a tower at the centre that went up into the sky.”

Firewing nodded. “Did this city have a name?”

“Yes,” she answered with a nod. “I think I read it as ferghayna, or was it farghana?”

“Ferghana?” Firewing’s eyes widened.

“Yes! That was the one!”

“You saw the second pony kingdom of Ferghana?”

“Yes well I think it was called that anyway.” Fluttershy tilted her head to one side. “You know of it?”

“I think everyone in Equestria knows about the second kingdom, Fluttershy. Who was in charge?”

“Um,” she pondered, looking away for a moment. “I recall seeing this picture of a earth pony Prince and a winged unicorn Princess looking into each others eyes.”

Firewing gave a wide smile and then walked back to his saddlebags. He fished out a big book with a dark green cover. “I’m glad I kept this book,” he said through gritted teeth. “It’s a good bit of light reading to pass the time.”

“That… is light reading?” Fluttershy said with a look of puzzlement.

Firewing placed the book in front of her, allowing for Fluttershy to read the title. "‘The pocket guide to the history of Equestria and the rest of the world’.” She looked back up at Firewing. “I don’t see the pocket side of this?”

“Neither do I,” he replied. “I think it was their way of trying to make humour, and failing at it.” He opened up the book and scanned the contents page. “Ahha!” he exclaimed. “There it is, page three hundred and forty five.” He flicked the book to the page number and then turned it around for Fluttershy to look at. “Is that the picture you saw?”

Fluttershy looked down and gasped. She saw the exact same picture as the one from the scroll, love hearts and all. “That’s it! That’s the same picture! But where have I seen it-” she stopped when she saw the page header above it.

The legend of Hearts and Hooves day

She stared at the heading for a long time with wide eyes, and then back up to Firewing. “Is… what I saw… what truly happened?”

Firewing nodded. “After the Prince gave the Princess the love poison, the two went into seclusion and weren’t seen in public ever again.” Fluttershy nodded with a small blush on her cheeks as she remembered seeing them together. “Things were okay for a good two weeks or so. The council kept the kingdom going and everyone was happy. And then…”

“Heimdallr attacked,” the two finished together.

Her father nodded. “With the deaths of the Prince and Princess, the council members and the destruction of the city, the kingdom fell into chaos and ruin. The small villages formed into nomadic tribes and began fighting each other for control. They’re still at it apparently. The only real surviving part of Ferghana’s legacy is the ingredients of the love poison. Nothing else survived.”

Fluttershy looked down, her eyes watering at the memory. “I saw him. He attacked the palace first, killing everyone inside, then turned his attention to the rest of the city. He used magic, he used his claws, he used everything. He killed ponies in their hundreds, cutting them down as if they were wheat in a field. I watched a young, pregnant mare die. She was only young! And yet, Heimdallr didn’t spare her, he spared noone. He’s just evil, truly evil.”

Firewing wrapped his forelegs around her tighter to comfort the haunted pegasus. “There, there, it’s over now. It’s all in the past.”

Fluttershy pulled back and looked into his eyes. “But it’s not. He’s gonna try again, and if we don’t stop him then those deaths would’ve been for nothing.”

“You’re fixed on trying to stop him now?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy said with a firm nod of her head. “At first I wasn’t sure. But now after what I saw, and our little chat, I’m certain he has to be stopped.”

“Wait,” Firewing said with a shake of a hoof. “You spoke to Heimdallr?!”

Fluttershy nodded. “At first I thought he wouldn’t be able to hear me. So I let out my anger and scolded him for what he did. After I did though, the world froze. Everything stopped, just like that, and I felt my nerves return to me in the speed of a bullet. When I turned around I… I saw him, staring at me with such a hatred I never thought I’d see in my life. He said he was the one who brought me to see him destroy Ferghana, what does that mean?”

Firewing looked away, deep in thought. “I believe you might have suffered a mind jump,” he said, after a few moments of silence.

Fluttershy looked at him perplexedly. “What’s a mind jump?”

“It’s when a being has their conscious pulled, either willingly or forcibly, from their mind and taken into another’s,” he explained. “Do you still feel sick, and giddy?”

Fluttershy nodded. “A little bit, better than I was.”

Firewing got up again and walked back over to his saddlebags, taking the book with him and placing it back in. He buried his nose in one of the pouches for a moment before taking something out and walking back over.

“It seems you were forcibly mind jumped from your mind to Heimdallr’s. And the best way to cure the nausea is…” He dropped the thing he was carrying from his mouth and pushed it towards Fluttershy. “Chocolate!”

Fluttershy looked at it hesitantly. “Go on, take the lot. It really helps,” Firewing said.

Fluttershy slowly picked it up with her hooves and unwrapped the paper around the bar, and then scoffing it down greedily and quickly. She moaned in pleasure at the sweet, melting taste of the chocolate, and tried to remember the last time she had some, but couldn’t.

She swallowed the last of it and wiped her mouth of the chocolate that stained her lips and cheeks. She could feel her nausea go away quickly and her coat returned to its normal yellow color. “Oh I feel much better already,” she said happily.

“I’m glad,” Firewing said with a smile. The smile slowly faded away. “Now… I was wondering whether you could tell me what you and Heimdallr talked about.”

Fluttershy looked at him fearfully. “Okay, don’t worry if you don’t want to say-”

“No, no. It’s okay,” Fluttershy said with a wave of her hoof. She took a deep breath once more and began re-telling their conversation. “Well it started off pretty rough. Heimdallr tried to kill me with a claw, only to find it go right through me. He then tried the ‘dragons stare’ on me, but I was able to hold it off with my own.”

Firewing jaw dropped. His daughter took on an ancient, evil dragon, and beat him at his own game?! ‘Looks like we’ll make you a Dragonlord yet,’ he thought. He put on a huge smile and brought her in again for a tight hug. “That’s my girl.” He pushed her away gently and looked into her eyes once more. “Then what happened?”

“He said we should just talk, as intelligent creatures,” she answered. “We asked each other a few questions and that was that really.”

“Did you, or he say anything about Starwirl’s keys?” he asked anxiously. Fluttershy shook her head, allowing Firewing to breathe a sigh of relief. “Then he doesn’t know they exist yet. That’s good.”

“But he must do,” Fluttershy said despairingly. “He said he has been watching me and you for a long time now. He must know they exist, he must!”

Firewing bit his bottom lip and rubbed a hoof through his long mane. “Ah, then I guess we just wait and see what happens.”

“There was one more thing,” Fluttershy added. “Before he left he called me Fluttershy Firewing. Is that my full name now?”

Her father looked at her absentmindedly, lost in thought. “That is up to you, my child,” Firewing replied after a while.

Silence fell between them for a while. Fluttershy looked down at the ground, glancing at her father from time to time. ‘Come on, Fluttershy, here’s your chance! Ask him about your mother. Ask him why he left you at orphanage. Just say it!’ her conscious screamed at her. Fluttershy shook her head and lightly hit it with a hoof, making her conscious’s pleas fade away to the back of her mind.

If Firewing noticed the conflicted looks Fluttershy was giving, he didn’t ask about it. He looked at the cave entrance and sighed as he watched the heavy rain create a wall at the cave’s mouth. “I think you should get some sleep,” he said. “We’ve got a long walk ahead of us tomorrow.”

Fluttershy shook her head rapidly. “I don’t want to go back to sleep!” she cried fearfully. “Heimdallr might come back and I don’t want to face him again, not alone!”

Firewing grimaced at the fear in his daughter’s eyes. He laid down onto his stomach and patted the ground next to him. “Then sleep next to me,” he said.

Fluttershy hesitantly walked over and laid down next to him so that their sides were touching. “Do you know any lullabies?” Fluttershy asked.

Firewing shrugged. “I know one, but it’s short and it’s not that good.”

Fluttershy rested her head on his forelegs. “Sing it to me anyway, please?”

Firewing raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you too old for lullabies?”

Fluttershy shot her head up and looked at him with a look of offence. “You can never be too old for lullabies.”

Firewing sighed. “Alright then.” Fluttershy grinned and rested her head back down on his forelegs and by his chest. She could feel his heart beating every few seconds against his chest. “Comfortable down there?” Fluttershy nodded.

Firewing took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to sing. It was a low hum at first and then formed into words. He wasn’t the best singer in the world, but Fluttershy found it to be soft and relaxing.

“Darkness, darkness, be my pillow. Take my head, and let me sleep.

“In the coolness, of your shadow. In the silence, of your deep.

“Darkness, darkness, hide my earning. For the things I cannot be.

“Keep my mind from constant turning. Toward the things I cannot see.”

He hummed for a moment and then sung the words one more time. After he finished he took a deep breath and opened his eyes. “See, I told you it was short. Did you like it though?” He looked down to see Fluttershy fast asleep, breathing softly and with a small smile on her face.

Firewing smiled and kissed her lightly on the head. “Goodnight, Fluttershy,” he whispered. He lowered his head onto hers and watched the rain come down outside. The sound of the rain hitting the ground was soothing and for that moment, he felt at peace.

Chapter 12 (part 1)

By the next morning the rain had stopped, and in its wake a mist rolled over the Horscan Highlands. It swirled around the mountains and hills like a rapid river, and blurred out the sun, leaving it a dull, yellow orb in the sky.

As she walked through the mist, Fluttershy could feel the mist’s cool yet moist touch on her face and body as she walked up a steep slope after her father. Firewing had stopped and was looking down at a map, trying to plan out a route.

Fluttershy walked slowly, her every step being one of caution rather than exhaustion. The rain from last night had left the grass and mud paths soft and treacherous. Placing a hoof in the wrong place could easily result in a sprained or broken leg, or worse.

Fluttershy long mane didn’t help the climb either. The wind was strong and blew it into her eyes, making her unable to see and go on. Luckily Firewing had a hair band with him and with his help, tied it back into a ponytail.

At first Firewing had suggested a haircut, but Fluttershy was adamant that the hair stayed the way it was, so they went with the hair band option instead. It was a dark blue and matched Fluttershy’s light pink mane really well. And around her neck rested the medallion that held the only image of her mother, which she kept now close to her heart. She normally didn’t wear it but now seemed the right time.

She eventually caught up with her dad and sat down on her haunches, taking a moment to breathe. “You do know where we’re going. Right?” she asked.

Firewing looked at her with a wry grin. “Of course not,” he answered.

Fluttershy felt her right eye twitch. “You mean… you’re making this up as you go along?!”

“Yep,” he replied. He looked back down on the map laid out in front of him, and then looked back up at one of the mountains with a small smile forming on his face. “But I’m doing it brilliantly.” He pointed to the small slope in front if them. “Can you make out a face of a pony in that hill?” he asked.

Fluttershy looked at where he was pointing and gasped when she saw he was right. A small hill in front of them had the features of a pony’s face. She could easily make out the nostrils and the long muzzle of a stallion. While others, like the ears and the eyes, were not so easy.

Firewing laughed at the look of Fluttershy’s face, which was of amazement. “When the Dragonlords built these places, they made them so that they couldn’t be found. However, they left clues and small traces, like these paths.”

“So… which way do we go now?”

Firewing scrunched up his face in thought. “Give me a moment,” he said as he looked back down at the map. He began muttering to himself, while his eyes darted back and fourth on the small map of the Highlands.

“Right,” he said after a while. “I think we have to go… right.” With that he began trotting down the small path that snaked its way between the tall hills and mountains, Fluttershy following suite.

The two made their way up the path, dwarfed by the hills and mountains around them. Large pine trees dotted the hillsides, looking precariously close to falling from their perches and collapsing onto the two ponies. Fluttershy eyed them fearfully, watching the ones closest to them as they trotted through. Firewing, however, seemed quite at ease; he was humming a tune to himself as he walked, which aggravated the yellow pegasus to some degree.

“So um…” Fluttershy began. “I was just wondering… how exactly did you become a Dragonlord?”

Firewing stopped humming and slowed down so that he was walking next to her. “It’s a long story.”

“It’s a long walk.”

Firewing sighed. “Well, okay then.” He took a deep breath and said, “First off though. When did you get your cutie mark?”

“I was fourteen at the time. I was the oldest in my class,” Fluttershy answered.

“Well I didn’t get mine till I was sixteen,” Firewing went on. “I was born in Las Pegasus with only my mother to raise me, since my father died not long before I was born. I lived a good childhood there, except I was bullied since I didn’t have my cutie mark yet, and nearly every other filly or colt did.

“I was fifteen when my mother decided to put me into a scouts club.” He tried to do an impersonation of his mother. “‘Go out and get some fresh air. It would do you some good,’ she said to me. So I did, and did quite well at most of the things we learnt out there, like hiking with hooves, which I’m very grateful to have learned. Rafting, orientation, that sort of thing.

“But what always evaded me, however, was that no matter how well I did everything, I never got my cutie mark. Till one day, when everything changed for me.”

“The day you became a Dragonlord?” Firewing nodded. “What happened?”

Firewing’s ears went down as he remembered. “Me and the rest of us were out hiking in the mountains north of the city. A few of us had gotten separated from the rest of the group and were now lost in the forest. I took charge of the situation and went into the air. That’s when I noticed a large storm approaching from the north.

“I went back down and told them we needed to find shelter. We eventually came across this large cave in one of the mountains. We made shelter there and settled down for night, realising we will have to wait until the storm passes till we can be rescued.

“Things were okay until we started hearing heavy breathing. At first we all thought it was this one pony called Starlight, since she was quite a heavy breather and snored loudly. It was then we realised she wasn’t with us.

“I remember turning around and we all let out a blood curdling scream at the massive reptilian creature in front of us.”

“W-was i-it a d-d-dragon?” Fluttershy stammered.

Firewing shook his head. “Thankfully no. It was a wyvern. It was a light green with vicious yellow eyes that seemed as bright as the sun. Scales as hard as rock, large outstretched wings that looked like bats, a long tail with spikes running down it, and two large horns that looked like unicorn horns on its forehead.

“Anyway, the wyvern was a bit upset that we had come into its cave, and so started to attack us. I stood in its way to give my friends more time to escape and get help, which they duly did.

“The rest is a blur to me, my dear. I can only remember a bright orange glow engulfing me, and after that total darkness. I couldn’t feel, I couldn’t even think, it was almost as if I was dead.

“When I finally came to, I found myself in my own bed, with my mother looking down on me with solemn eyes. ‘It has finally happened, my child,’ she said to me. I asked her what but she didn’t answer. She told to get up, pack my things and come with her.”

He paused to look at his cutie mark; a shield with two swords shaped in a cross across it. “It was then I discovered my cutie mark. At first I felt immense joy for finally attaining it, but then that joy became confusion, as I had no idea what it was about.

“Later I packed my things and followed my mother, not realising that would be the last time I will see my home. We left Las Pegasus and headed north into Horsca, flying all the way there. Along the way I was told about what happened in the cave with the wyvern.”

“Well, what did happen?” Fluttershy enquired.

“Apparently after my supposed death, I got back up again, re-healed, and killed the thing with a few blows to the head with a large rock.” He noticed the look of disapproval on Fluttershy’s face and sighed. “Believe me when I say I wasn’t happy about what I did either. But what’s done is done.”

“So what happened next?”

“We flew into Horsca under the cover of darkness, and arrived at the stronghold I took you to at the break of dawn. It was then I learnt of my Dragonlord heritage, and what I will become.”

Fluttershy nodded and then looked down on the ground. “Did you… or do you… regret it? Going in the cave in the first place, I mean?”

Firewing looked away for a moment. After a while he looked back at her and answered, “Yes, I did regret it for a very long time. But something happened later in my life that made me see it as a blessing.”

Fluttershy tilted her head to the side. “What was it?”

Firewing rolled his eyes and formed a big smile at her. “Meeting your mother, and having you.”

Fluttershy gave a faint smile of her own and looked away, watching a small stream flow down the mountainside towards the plains behind them. She was slightly confused, however. If Firewing saw her as a reason he didn’t regret becoming a Dragonlord, then why did he leave her at the orphanage in the first place?

As the two climbed out of the mist, they noticed the slope even out once more and were soon back on the flat. The path before them was woven through a valley, with ridges built like giant stonewalls. At the far end, they could make out the path veering around the bend and out of sight. So they proceeded forward, their eyes glancing around them to look for any signs of the place they were here for.

As they walked through the valley, Fluttershy began to wonder on whether she should regret becoming a Dragonlord. Her mind raced with thoughts about what would happen if she hadn’t intervened, if she’d just let the dragon continue its attack.

She pictured herself in front of four newly dug graves, and the ashes of another, with hundreds more behind them, crying inconsolably. While behind her, Ponyville burned.

She shook her head rapidly, ridding herself of these horrible visions of a time that fortunately never happened. She couldn’t regret it, she told herself she shouldn’t. In her heart she knew she did the right thing. Although she would have to bear this new life, she would rather take this than watching the only friends in her life die.

She came out of her thoughts and back into reality when she noticed that her father had stopped a few feet behind her, and was gazing upwards in thought at one of the mountains. Fluttershy walked up to him and asked, “What is it?”

He said nothing at first, only lifting a hoof and pointing towards the hills. “See that hill there?” Fluttershy looked at where he was pointing and nodded. “Can you see a small crack in it?”

Fluttershy turned her head and looked up at the hill and stared at it intensely. It was a moment later when she saw it, and her eyes widened at the discovery. A small crack, wide enough for a pony to slide through, rested almost inconceivably on the ridge face, just above the hill.

Firewing’s smile grew wider. “We’re making progress, my dear. Come on!” He galloped as fast as he could up the slope of the hill, slipping a few times, which scared the life out of Fluttershy.

Fluttershy spread her wings and took to the air. She flew up to where Firewing had gotten and moved in front if him. She brought up a hoof. “Take my hoof,” she ordered, before adding, “Please?”

Firewing stretched out a hoof and wrapped it around his daughter’s tightly. Using the full strength of her wings, she pulled Firewing up to the flat surface halfway up the hill, where the small crack lay.

Upon reaching the flat Firewing and Fluttershy collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. “Wow,” Firewing panted. “That… was steeper… than it… looked.”

Fluttershy got back up first. Her legs ached, her wings felt numb after flapping so hard, and her heart was racing, but she could still feel a smile on her face. “You okay, dad?” she asked, with slight concern as she turned to face her heavy breathing father.

Firewing waved a hoof, and slowly got back up. “I’m fine, sweetie. Don’t worry about me.” He puffed a huge intake of air, and then looked back down to where they were standing previously. “I’m not as young as I once was,” he muttered to himself.

Fluttershy took her eyes off him, relived to see he was okay, and looked at the crack in front of her. From a sideways point of view the crack looked like a crooked smile, while it seemed to burrow its way deep into the mountain, much in a similar way than the Dragonlord fortress back in the Ragged Mountains.

“We go through there then, I take it?”

Firewing nodded. “Yep. Right the other side should be where the fourth key is held.” He walked over and gazed at the width of it. “We should get through there alright.” He turned to face Fluttershy with a slightly worried expression. “Do you want to go first?”

“Um… okay, if you don’t mind.” Fluttershy walked in front of the gap and gulped. She didn’t mind small spaces unlike most pegasi, but this one was narrower than normal, and she felt her heart race just looking in.

“I’ll be right behind you, my sweet,” Firewing said comfortingly. Fluttershy looked around and gave her father a small, brave smile. She took a deep breath of air and squeezed into the gap. She was forced to hold her breath, as the small narrow path seemed to go even narrower. Her ears twitched as she heard Firewing beginning to clamber through the gap behind her, muttering to himself in an attempt to calm his nerves. ‘Must be afraid of spaces like this,’ she thought.

After what seemed like an eternity the end was in sight and Fluttershy jumped through, releasing the large breath of air she’d been holding in since she started. As she waited for her father she looked around, and found herself to be in what seemed like a large bowl, with the mountaintops acting as spiked fences all around the circumference.

When Firewing came through and looked around, his jaw dropped. “Fascinating, a meteor impact crater right here. Must have collided with Terra about a few million years ago at least.” He looked towards him with wide eyes. “But look at that.”

Fluttershy looked at where her father was and her eyes widened. At the corner of the crater, nestled in the rock face was a large stone door, with a large symbol on the front of spread wings and what seemed to be a dragonhead. It was clear to both that it was the symbol of the Dragonlords, and that this was the door they were trying to find.

Before the door stood around eight coned pillars, arrayed so that they formed a path towards the entrance. On top of the pillars were grotesques, staring down onto the ground with vehement eyes and snarling.

The two walked cautiously forward, Fluttershy staying close to her father for comfort as the grotesques unnerved her with their vicious stares, worrying that they might just jump off and attack them. But they did nothing, just stared with blank evil eyes and primed claws.

“Right, now that we’re here, the question is: how do we open it?” Firewing queried.

Fluttershy shook her head and began to walk forward. “Well maybe we could try ope…” She was cut off when she was pulled back by her tail, sending her onto her belly with a, “Oof!”

“Are you crazy?!” Firewing said, his shout echoing across the crater. “We don’t know what the Dragonlords set up to protect this place! So don’t do anything.”

Fluttershy got up from the ground and brushed off the dirt with her hooves. “But shouldn’t this one be just as easy than the last?”

“Well I suspect this one does, a lot of them. Starswirl the Bearded had this place built to keep ponies and other peoples away from here, as well as some others places. No, this one will be rigged with traps and magical barriers, so I advise caution in everything. Okay?”

Fluttershy nodded meekly and sat down, pawing at the ground with a hoof. “So how do we get in?”

Firewing sighed and shook his head, rubbing his forehead with a hoof. “I don’t know, Fluttershy, I really don’t know.” He looked back at the door and walked cautiously forward. “Stay back,” he ordered.

Fluttershy nodded and watched with wide eyes as her father approached the door. She could feel sweat pour down her face as she watched with baited breath.

Firewing felt the sweat run down his face as he slowly approached the door, his heart rate went quicker with every step and he could hear his daughter’s quick breathing behind him. When he was within touching distance of the door he stopped, drips of sweat blurring his vision. “Okay so far,” he mumbled. “Time for part two.”

Fluttershy felt herself lean forwards as her father lifted a hoof up and in slow agonising movements, pressed it onto the door. At first there was nothing, but then he started to spasm as if he was being electrocuted. Firewing screamed and Fluttershy screamed in horror. She raced forward in an attempt to save him, but stopped when he started laughing.

He stopped shaking and looked at Fluttershy with a big smile and laughing uncontrollably. “You should see the look on your face,” he said between bursts of heavy laughter.

Fluttershy felt her teeth grit together and her glare only tightened on Firewing. Her father stopped laughing when he realised his daughter wasn’t laughing. “Oh you’re a sour one, aren’t ya?” he chuckled lightly. The stare from Fluttershy only got deadlier. “Oh come on, Fluttershy, it was just a joke. I bet by the time you’re my age you’ll be doing the same thing.

“A Dragonlord isn’t a pony that walks about in robe all day chanting about how they’re going to die, or kill you know,” he went on. “I have had many good laughs in my time with the Dragonlords, with good friends.” His tone became more sullen as he looked away and hung his head. “All gone now.”

Fluttershy angry glare softened into non-existence. She walked up to him and patted a hoof on his shoulder. “I forgive you for that. But please don’t do it again. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“I won’t,” he promised. He looked from her and back to the door, glancing around. “It’s a shame neither of us are a unicorn.” He pointed a small black hole on the side of the door. “A unicorn places their horns in that, and breaks any spells or de-activates any traps inside. It seems we’re going to have to do this the hard way.”

Firewing turned his attention back towards the door and looked for whatever is used to open the doors. “What’s that in the dragonhead?” Fluttershy asked, pointing towards it. Firewing noticed the large slit in it and saw it was big enough for a sword to fit through.

He reared up and placed his sword leg towards the hole. His sword, Drage Bane sung as it appeared and entered the slit, fitting just enough for it to be twisted about. Firewing felt the sword reach the end and gave it a few twists in both directions, until something clicked.

The blade retracted back into its scabbard as the door creaked open. The two pegasi backed away as dust fell from the tops and the doors parted away from each other, revealing the first chamber of the ancient tomb Starswirl the Bearded created thousands of years ago.

It was barren, with four featureless pillars holding it up, and Fluttershy could barely make out the first door in the darkness, while the smell of death and decay filled the two ponies nostrils. Fluttershy began to think she had walked into one of Daring Do’s adventures.

Firewing led the way in, a torchlight burning brightly in the pouch he had for carrying torches. “Can I risk us a little more light?” Fluttershy asked. Firewing only nodded. Fluttershy opened up her saddlebags with a wing and the gem shot out and floated above her head. It stayed still for a few seconds before advancing towards the main door.

Firewing stopped suddenly and looked down with wide eyes. On the ground before him was couple of skeletons. One was a pegasus pony, while the other had the skeletal structure of a wolf, except it hind legs looked weird, as if they was bipedal.

“Remans,” Firewing hissed, drawing up his sword leg and letting the blade sing out.

“What are remans?” Fluttershy asked worryingly.

“Wolf like bipedal people,” Firewing replied. “They’re like diamond dogs, except much more vicious. They kill for pleasure, and they take any intelligent creature they like the look of back to their lair.”

“What happens to them there?” Fluttershy shakily asked, already dreading the answer.

“They become pets,” Firewing replied solemnly. “After that you really don’t want to know.” He shuddered at memories of some run-ins with remans in ages past, and saw firsthoof their debauchery.

He looked back down and saw the skeleton pony had a weird bracelet around his right leg. It was plain black with the back edge of an axe visible. He fixed it onto his left leg and let it shoot out, forming into the curved, dull metallic shape of an axe.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, had walked forward, and was inspecting a giant hole in the side of the wall, which went through the crater and disappeared into the blackness. She realised that must’ve how the remans got in. “But the question is,” she wondered aloud, turning to face the door. “How far did they go?”

“And another thing,” Firewing added fearfully. “Have they got the key?”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened in alarm as she looked at Firewing, who looked just as fearful of such a prospect. “We better get moving then,” Fluttershy said.

“I am, not you. Head back outside and wait for me,” he said sternly.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened even more and she shook her head. “I’m not waiting outside. I’m coming with you. We’re in this together and we end it together.”

“No, Fluttershy,” Firewing responded persistently. “This is too dangerous. If you get injured or worse then it…”

“Will be my fault,” Fluttershy countered, cutting him off. “I’m a part of this as you are, and I’m not going to sit around and do nothing. Besides, I only feel safe around you.”

Firewing opened his mouth to speak but immediately shut it again. It seemed arguing with her was no good, and once her mind was set on something it would not budge. He snorted. “Fine,” he said reluctantly. “But you stay next to or in front of me, okay?” The yellow pegasus nodded.

With a nod the two walked slowly through the first door and into the dark passageway below the mountains. While behind them, the doors snapped shut.

“So, um…” Fluttershy began as they walked the dark passage deeper under the mountains. “I was just wondering, when I said my name back at the Ragged Mountains, you didn’t say anything about me being your daughter. I just wanted to know why?”

Firewing shrugged. “I guess I didn’t want to jump to conclusions. Like I did one time.”

Fluttershy stopped and looked at him in surprise. “You mean… you met another Fluttershy?!”

Firewing nodded. “She was a photographer, and a very good one if I may add. She had your coat colour, except her mane and tail style was straight, shorter and was green. When I met her and when she introduced herself.” He paused, and blushed at the memory of the most embarrassing moment of his life. “I kinda made a complete fool of myself.

“So after I got away and made my apologies, I promised myself I wouldn’t say ‘you’re my daughter’ until I got the right proof.” He pointed to the medallion that dangled around Fluttershy’s neck. “And that was all the proof I needed.”

Fluttershy looked down at the medallion with a small smile. She looked up and noticed her gem had moved on ahead, and had stopped, revealing a chamber coming up. “We’re approaching a chamber,” she stated.

Firewing looked up and upon seeing Fluttershy was right, gulped down the lump in his throat. “Well, here comes the first hurdle.”

The two fanned out and looked around. The chamber was large; square shaped, and held up by six pillars, which were like the others, plain and simple. But what got the two ponies attention was the thing in front of them. A large area of the ground in front of them was an equal number of black and white boxes between them, filed in a formation of eight boxes wide and eight boxes deep, like a chessboard.

The two ponies walked forward and looked at each other oddly, then back to the obstacle in front of them curiously. “Any ideas, Fluttershy?” Firewing asked.

Fluttershy shrugged. “Perhaps we’re supposed to play chess?” she suggested.

Firewing rolled his eyes and fought the urge to place a hoof on his face. “Okay. What exactly are we gonna use for chess pieces?”

Fluttershy looked around and noticed there weren’t any pieces about the chamber. “Oh… I hadn’t thought of that,” she said quietly, lowering her head a bit.

Firewing looked from his daughter and looked closer at the squares. “See if there’s anything here that can tell us what to do,” he instructed.

Fluttershy, with a quick salute, nodded and started to look around, her gem hovering above her, giving her the light she needed. She firstly looked along the left wall, scanning for words or anything that could give away this peculiar obstacle. “I found something,” she said after a while, looking in the corner closest to her dad. “A couple of words, in Dragonian.”

“What does it say?” Firewing asked.

Fluttershy looked back and muttered the words under her breath. “‘A battle is always seen as good versus evil’,” she repeated in Equestrian, this time louder so Firewing could hear. She looked back at her father with a puzzled expression on her face. “What does that mean?”

“It sounds to me like a riddle,” Firewing replied, placing a hoof on his chin. “And a very good one. As it has nothing to do with anything in front of us!” He kicked at the ground in frustration. “What has that got to do with chess?”

Fluttershy sat down and placed a hoof on her chin, pondering what it meant. She kept looking back at the chessboard, then back at the ground, wondering how these few words work in a chess piece. ‘A battle has always had the narrow minded view of good versus evil,’ she thought. ‘It’s always black and…’ Something suddenly clicked in place and her face lit up as she understood.

“I’ve got it!” Fluttershy exclaimed, making Firewing jump out of his coat. Fluttershy got up and walked in front of the chessboard. She closed her eyes, and with a gulp she raised a hoof and set it down on the white box in front of her.

She peeped open an eye to find nothing happened. She took another step forward onto the next white box, again nothing happened. She jumped through the others until she was safely on the other side.

Firewing’s jaw dropped as he watched his daughter guide her way through, and a wide smile etched onto his face as she made it to the other side. “That was absolutely amazing! How did you get that?”

“The term ‘black and white’, dad,” she explained, “is always associated with good versus evil. That’s what the boxes and words meant. To stay on the white side. The good side.”

Firewing shook his head. “I would never have gotten that one,” he said.

Fluttershy smirked. “Glad now that you let me come with you?”

Firewing nodded as he jumped onto one of the white boxes, then another, and another, until he was the other side. He hugged his daughter tightly with a huge smile across his face. “I’m glad to have finally found you again.” He took off his saddlebags and took out a small piece of bone from one of the pouches.

“Do you have an oven in there?” Fluttershy asked, wondering about how he was able to hold so much stuff in one bag. “I’m starving.”

Firewing laughed. “It’s not that big you know. Now, this bone should show us what happened to those who wanted to go through, but missed the writing.” He threw the bone into the air, and it landed on a white box, before skidding into a black one.

In the moment the bone touched the black box, the room was suddenly filled with dark purple lighting rods that erupted from the ground, the walls, and above. Fluttershy squeaked in fear and jumped behind her dad, who also looked scared as he watched the piece of bone get incinerated by the lightning rods, with not a single trace of its existence left.

“Yeah. I’m really, really glad you’re with me,” Firewing said, with wide eyes.

Fluttershy squeaked a reply. “Shall we press on?” Firewing asked

“Gladly,” Fluttershy squeaked.

The cantered out of the chamber and into another dark passageway.

“Well that’s one challenge taken care of,” Firewing said about half an hour later. “I imagine it won’t be long till the next one.”

The two had left the passageway behind them and were now in a large cavern. A small stream ran through, which made the rocks above seem to glow a bright golden hue. It was held up by a number of naturally built pillars and was, to Fluttershy’s eyes, a stunning sight to behold.

The splendour of the cavern around them was immediately dulled, however, when they found the skeletal remains of ponies and remans. The skeletons of the ponies were wearing in broken, and now useless, light armour, with their wings spread out at their sides, displaying that they were once pegasi Dragonlords. One of the reman soldiers wore thick steel armour, and carried a huge claymore that lay at its feet. The remaining remans wore armour made out of animal fur; well, Fluttershy hoped it was anyway.

Firewing ignored the remans and moved towards one of the pegasus Dragonlords and lowered himself to the ground, his head low as he muttered a prayer of peace and rest to them. Afterwards, he leaned over and gently picked up one of the wings. He then took something off the wings and presented them to Fluttershy. “These are for you. I have no use for them myself.”

In his hoof was a long line of sharp blades, with small slits inside for feathers to neatly fit into. “Are those wing blades?” Fluttershy asked incredulously. She had always thought, as did some historians, that wing blades were a myth made to make the pegasi seem stronger in battle than they actually were.

Firewing nodded. “The Dragonlords used them for defensive purposes, or taking out enemies by surprise by diving from above, then spreading their wings open, cutting the enemies throats before they knew what was happening. It gave us a nickname in one war we fought in. ‘The angels of death’.”

He walked closer to Fluttershy, who backed away from them fearfully. “Do I really have to use those?”

“It’s just a precaution, my sweet, and I’m not going to ask you to use them. I hope we don’t have to use them anyway.” He inched a bit closer. “So spread your wings out please and I’ll fix them on. Don’t worry they’re perfectly safe, for you anyway.”

With a sigh Fluttershy gave a reluctant nod and spread her wings out. She closed her eyes and steadied herself for the complete uncomforting feel of the blades as Firewing gently pressed her primary feathers into the small slits of the blades. She felt the cold touch of the blades as they slid down over her primaries until they nestled comfortably on her wing. With the first wing taken care of, Firewing got hold of the other set and wing and did the same thing.

Once he was done he backed away and looked at his daughters outspread wings, which now looked a bit more metallic, as if she was a robot. Fluttershy, to her surprise, found the blades to be quite comfortable, once the cold feeling had passed. She opened her eyes and looked at how shiny they were against her wings. In all honesty it made them look more impressive than usual. She gave the wings a few flaps and soon found herself floating in the air, again much to her surprise.

“The blades were built not to hinder a pegasi’s flight,” explained Firewing. “So they could also fight in the sky if need be. Now we better keep moving. We wasted enough time as it is.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. She landed back onto the ground and tucked her wings back to her sides. At first the feel of the cold blades to her stomach was weird, like putting on a new dress for the first time. But like many other things that’d happened in the last few days, she would have to get use to them. ‘Although,’ she admitted to herself. ‘It’s going to take a long time to get use to the fact you’re a genetically augmented warrior monk.’

They walked passed the skeletons and soon found themselves back into the dark passageway that connected the chambers together. “You’re sure there’ll be a another one?” she asked.

Firewing nodded. “Pretty sure. It’s not like the Dragonlords to build one obstacle and leave it at that. The next one will be harder I bet, so be prepared for anything.”

Fluttershy nodded and continued to walk in front, whistling a little tune to keep back the silence. “So um,” she said after a while of walking. “Is there any other abilities a Dragonlord has that I should know about.”

Firewing nodded and with a mischievous grin replied, “Well there’s the ability to walk on water.”

Fluttershy looked back at him with wide eyes. “Really!” she squeaked. She thought how easier it would be to feed the ducks back home if she could do that.

Firewing laughed. “No not really, I was just messing. A Dragonlord does, however, have a stronger skeleton, meaning they could easily damage or break stone in just a few hits, and can survive wounds what would normally kill a pony, like that scar on your head. How did you get that anyway?”

She grimaced as she remembered the night she was captured by Andulusian soldiers. “I was running through the woods, on my first day in Horsca, when I got hit by a hoof here, by an Andulusian soldier.” She pointed to the wound on her head. “I was rolled over and hit again in the same place, knocking me out cold.”

Firewing’s eyes widened. “You were captured? By the Andulusians?” Fluttershy gave a quick nod. “How the blazes did you escape? Andulusian horses normally execute Equestrians on sight or at the guillotine.”

“I didn’t escape,” she responded. “I was just very lucky.” She went on to how she was close to having her head severed from her body, when a dragon attacked the city. She told him how it slaughtered the populace, and gave her and a horse named Thowra time to escape.

Firewing placed a hoof to his chin and said in a low whisper, “Fascinating.”

Fluttershy stopped and looked at him distastefully. “Fascinating? What’s fascinating about innocent horses dying?!”

Firewing quickly waved a hoof in dismissal and shook his head. “Not that. I meant the dragon attack on Andulusia. You made it sound as if you couldn’t hear until the last minute.”

“I didn’t. The only time I knew it was there was when the city was on fire,” Fluttershy said, with a shake of the head.

“But that’s impossible. Not dragon in the world can be that quiet, and not even be seen until it was right on top of them.” Firewing’s eyes grew fearful as he looked back at Fluttershy. “It was there for another reason entirely,” he declared.

“What reason was that then?” Fluttershy asked. Firewing said nothing; instead he just gave her a long hard stare. It didn’t take long for her to get what he was implying. “Me?!” she exclaimed. “Why did the dragon want me?”

“I fear it was there to kill you,” he said, now fearing for his daughter.

Fluttershy began to go pale and she collapsed onto her rump. “Why did it want to specifically kill me?”

“I don’t know, Fluttershy, and hopefully we won’t find out why.” He turned away from his heavy breathing daughter and faced the way in front of them. “I think I could see that gem of yours up ahead. It must have found the next chamber.”

Fluttershy didn’t hear. Her mind raced with thoughts about who hated her so bad to actually want her dead. Being a shy, quiet pegasus in her childhood she was often bullied, mostly due to the fact she couldn’t fly too well. But hated? She wouldn’t go that far. She was never really hated, and yet not fully liked. She felt sick at the thought that someone out there, hated her so much they wanted to see her dead. She’d done no harm to anybody and now she was the target of assassination, for no justifiable reason.

But who would hire a dragon to kill her? She ruled out Gilda quickly; it was a one-time meet she didn’t want to go through again, and the griffon wasn’t cut out for mass murder. Iron Will was again crossed out as well. Sure she didn’t pay for his seminar, but he agreed in the end and walked away from it without bitterness. So who?

A name soon entered her mind that at first seemed impossible to the pegasus, and yet the name was the only one who hated her, and her father, with a passion. And it was a name that made her blood run her cold and her heart rate go even faster in fear.

Heimdallr.

But that was impossible, wasn’t it? He was locked away somewhere in a hidden tomb with no contact to the outside world other than mind jumping, and couldn’t get out. But could he? She knew that he was greatly superior with magic than Twilight or Celestia combined, so what if he had even greater magic than the two of them knew about? What if he was able to control the minds of the living?

“Fluttershy?!” Firewing called worryingly from the other side of the passage. She shook her head and blanked out her thoughts. She would worry about Heimdallr mind controlling her and forcing her to jump off a cliff and plummet to her death later. As long she was beside her father she felt safe.

“Coming, dad!” She got up and trotted around the corner to where Firewing was standing, looking at the vast chamber in front of them.

It was bigger than the last one, much bigger, and it was covered in a huge maze stretching to the other side. Fluttershy stared in awe as she walked down the steps towards the entrance. Firewing was already up front and eyeing it curiously.

The main entrance, as well as the whole maze, was covered in bushes of thorns that glowed a dark orange. Fluttershy walked up alongside Firewing and tilted her head. “We have to go through, don’t we?”

“I don’t see any other way around this, my sweet. I wouldn’t want to try flying over if I were you; the Dragonlords might have placed traps to take out any flying creature that attempts to.” He took a step forward. “Just stay by me and we’ll be fine.”

Fluttershy nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat. She walked behind Firewing, her eyes darting all around in the likelihood of a trap being sprung. Firewing walked under the gate, while Fluttershy was just another step behind.

Suddenly, she felt a course of electrical energy surge through her as the thorns of magical energy lashed out at her. With a scream she was hurtled back from the gate, and crashed to the ground on her side.

Firewing turned around and his eyes widened in horror at the sight of his daughter being electrocuted. “Fluttershy!” He rushed forward to help her but was stopped when the gate closed, the entrance covered in thorns. “Fluttershy, talk to me! Are you all right?!

Fluttershy groaned and got up on her four hooves. “I’m fine,” she replied. “I think.” She looked over herself and saw she was okay, her wings weren’t severed and she felt her mane was in one piece. She breathed a sigh of relief and got up and turned around to catch up with her father.

Her heart stopped when she saw that where the entrance was, was now a large wall of thorns. “Dad?!” she called out. “The entrance is blocked. I can’t get through!”

“I know that, sweetheart. Just don’t panic,” Firewing said. Fluttershy, however, was panicking. Her father was in the maze and she was stuck out here, alone. It was the events with Discord all over again. “This is a test to see if we can work on our own rather than a team, but I have an idea. I think that once I make it to the other end, the entrance will open up and it will be your turn to go through. You’re listening aren’t you because this bit is important?”

“Yes, I’m here,” Fluttershy nodded.

“Good, now do you know the tale of Hansel and Gretel?”

Fluttershy furrowed her brow in puzzlement. “Yes, I know it. It was one of my favourite stories at the orphanage. What of it?”

“In the story, Hansel uses pebbles to make a trail in the first abandonment, which leads them back home. The second attempt they use breadcrumbs, but that doesn’t go so well,” Firewing explained. “Luckily there are no birds about, and I have a loaf of bread with me. I’ll peel off the breadcrumbs and leave a trail to the exit, and all you have to do is follow the trail. Okay?”

“I understand. But what if you get lost and have to work your way back?”

“Then I pick them up again and use them for later when I get back on track.” Fluttershy heard him turning around and facing the long tunnel of the maze. “I’ll try not to be too long. I shall see you the other side.”

“Okay, but just be careful,” Fluttershy said. She heard his hoofsteps move away, until only her breathing could be heard. “Okay, Fluttershy, don’t worry. You’ve been alone before and you will only be alone for a little while. So there’s nothing to worry about.” And yet, she still worried; she always worried.

She walked away from the entrance, laid out on the hard rocky ground, and waited for the thorns to part so she could be re-united with her father once more. As she waited her mind began to wonder of what was happening with her animal friends back at the cottage, so many miles away.

She sighed sadly, thinking about Angel, who was probably looking out the window, waiting to see her galloping along the road towards the cottage, where he would welcome her home with open paws. He was sometime an annoying little thing, which she sometimes wished would just go away. But she knew he also wanted to see her happy and mostly thought about her rather than himself.

Her mind trailed from Angel to the other animals in her peace loving home. She wondered if any of the eggs from the birds had hatched? ‘Probably have by now,’ she thought with a little smile, thinking how cute the little ones would be, with their loving mother and father looking down on them.

She looked back at the entrance and thought about her father. All those questions she wanted to ask him about her mother and himself, and why she was abandoned. Why couldn’t she be with him?

At that thought her mind quickly drifted to what she thought she would be like if she was brought up with her father. What would she be like if all she knew was the Dragonlords? She pictured herself standing on a cliff edge, with a cape billowing behind her, her wings spread out and her swords sharp and ready to kill. Beside her, was her father, and behind them, was the Dragonlord order, all of them ready to go to battle to protect those that cannot protect themselves. She imagined herself with a confident grin on her face. A pony that wasn’t picked on because she couldn’t fly well, a pony that wasn’t pushed around all her life. She would have been a pony that was strong, confident, courageous, and yet, cold.

She came out of her thoughts and wonderings when she heard something coming up from the passageway they came through. She looked up and backed up towards the maze entrance, her eyes widening as the footsteps became louder and louder, until the culprits were seen.

They stood on two legs, with a pose similar to that of a diamond dog. But they had the face and body of wolves. Long ragged grey or black fur covered their exposed coats, soulless yellow eyes bared down on Fluttershy along with snarling teeth. While one of the new arrivals was covered in old, rustic metal armour. The two beside it was covered in fur of various types: deer, bear, horse, and pony.

Fluttershy looked down and saw the one in metal armour had a huge sword in its paws, while the other two had shorter swords of various types. They looked old and probably blunt, but to Fluttershy’s mind it’s probably how the remans like them.

The one in metal armour jumped off the steps and landed on the ground in front of her, sneering at her and looking at her all over. Fluttershy backed even further away until she felt her rump touch the thorn bush. ‘If you’re close to the entrance, dad,’ she thought. ‘You better hurry up and get this thing open.’

The reman stood at its full height and raised its sword with one paw at her. “Well ain’t this a surprise.” The reman spoke in a rough tone, as if it weren’t used to talking. “A little pegasus mare gets lost and finds her way here.” It lowered its sword and took a step forward towards her.

Fluttershy felt her breathing get faster as the reman approached. She noticed the lustful look in its eyes and realised with horror what Firewing meant by people they liked taken back to their lair. “But don’t worry little one, we’ll take good care of you,” it said.

The two remans flanking him approached cautiously forward. One was brandishing a rope to tie her up with. Fluttershy glanced at the two and began praying that the entrance will soon reveal itself. “I’m not lost, I’m here with my dad, so would you kindly go away now and leave me alone.”

The Reman in steel armour made a wicked grin. “Oh we’re not going anywhere pegasus. We’re not going to hurt you, promise,” the one in steel armour lied.

Fluttershy raised her wings and showed her wing blades in the hope they would back away and leave her alone. She raised her sword leg as well and the blade sang out of its scabbard. “Please, just leave me alone.”

The remans just laughed and began to move at a slightly faster pace. “You’ve got some fight in you. But don’t worry, we’ll break you soon enough,” one said.

Fluttershy saw that they were now just a few feet away, with even more appearing at the passage entrance, and she sighed. She couldn’t fight them. She wasn’t a fighter or a killer; she was a peace loving pegasus who loved animals. She just couldn’t bring herself to do it. She lowered her sword leg, tucked her wings in and prepared herself for whatever horrors she might face in their lair.

She bowed her head and waited for the rope to go around her neck. “I’m sorry, dad,” she whispered.

The reman with the rope was now next to her and lowered the rope to go past her head and around her neck. The reman with steel armour’s smile had disappeared; it would’ve preferred it if she’d fought them.

Just before the rope was about to go around her neck, the gate behind Fluttershy opened and the way to the maze was clear. Wasting no time, and with great speed, Fluttershy spun around and bucked the reman with the rope in the face, sending it to the ground with an, “Oof!”

“Sorry!” she shouted behind her as she jumped into the safety of the maze. She turned around and watched as the reman in steel armour advanced towards her with a look of rage.

The reman was halted when magical energy spurted from the maze’s entrance, electrocuting him. With a scream he was flung back from the entrance, like she had been. The other reman tried also, but was soon on the ground next to the one in steel armour.

Fluttershy breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the gate closed up once more. She turned back around and looked at the ground. The floor had a line of breadcrumbs going right along the path, and disappearing to the right, out of sight.

Fluttershy hurriedly walked through, watching the way the breadcrumbs went from left to right in an instant. She could hear the sounds of the remans raging behind her, shouting insults and threats in her direction, but she blanked them out by flattening her ears across her head.

She realised about halfway through that the breadcrumbs will not only help her, but also hinder her. The remans were just behind her and once she got out, the gate will open and the remans will come through, one at a time. She moved some of the breadcrumbs down different paths, hoping it would make the remans’ job of getting out a lot harder.

She nodded in satisfaction at what she did and galloped down the right path. About twenty minutes later she saw her father waiting for her at the end. She galloped forward and embraced him with a tight hug. “Thank goodness you’re safe,” Firewing said with relief.

Fluttershy pulled away. “No time for celebration,” she said rapidly. “Remans are on the other side of the maze and they’ll be coming after us shortly.”

Firewings eyes widened. “Remans, here?” Fluttershy nodded. “Blast it. Come on, we gotta find that key before they find us.”

Fluttershy let go of Firewing and the two hastily galloped down the next tunnel away from the maze, with the remans at their tails.

Chapter 12 (part 2)

About half an hour later they’d arrived in a third chamber. This one was a small, rectangular shaped one, with a single black iron door down a flight of stairs leading out of it and into the unknown.

Fluttershy had been glancing behind her for the past half an hour, waiting anxiously for the howls of the remans coming up behind them to attempt to take her again. Luckily, though, Firewing was beside her, which made her feel a lot safer.

Firewing kept glancing behind them also, but when his eyes drifted upwards he stopped and stared with a fascinated gaze. “Fluttershy, look up.”

Fluttershy looked up and her jaw dropped at the sight on the ceiling. “A mural,” she stated. The mural was once a beautiful vibrant painting of colours, but now they have faded away, leaving only faint, white outlines of what it was made to represent. But it was still viewable.

Rows of mountains stood tall and proud, but one in particular stood out to Firewing, one that was shaped like a head of a ram. “That must be the Ramshead range, named after one of the Horscan gods,” he said. “But what has it got to do with this key, or any of the five keys for that matter?”

Fluttershy glanced back behind her once more before looking at the walls, scanning for any text or writing that could explain what it meant. After a moment she gave up and looked back up once more.

The gem that floated above her head floated upwards, revealing the entirety of the mural in its fresh, blue light. She could now make up the writing below as a verse, and potentially a clue.

“The mighty Ram, with its head reared up towards the sky, roars in defiance of the illuminator of the world, and has since stood between him and his destructive gaze.” She read aloud.

Firewings ears pricked up and looked back at the mural. His eyes suddenly widened in realisation. “Of course! The Ramshead range is the location of the fifth and final key. By the sounds of things it’s hidden under the mountain that shaped like the head of the ram.” He grinned with joy and began hopping on the spot. “We did it, Fluttershy, we did it!”

His cheer quickly died a painful death when a ferocious howl echoed across the catacomb. “The remans,” Fluttershy said shakily. “They’re coming!”

Firewing nudged his daughter towards the door. “Quick, through that door!” he shouted. Fluttershy broke out of her trance and ran to the door, pushing it aside and closing it behind them.

“That door won’t keep them between us for long,” Firewing said. He looked down in thought for a moment, and then looked at Fluttershy. “Feeling brave?”

“No,” Fluttershy replied with a shake of the head.

“Good. I want you to go through that door there.” He pointed to the door at the far end of the chamber. “Find the key and get out.”

“But what about you?”

“I’ll stay here and hold them off.”

“No!” Fluttershy shrieked. “Please come with me. We can both get the key and get out together. I don’t want to split up with you again.”

“Fluttershy, listen to me,” Firewing said. “I need you to go inside, get the key, and get out of here and into safety. I don’t want you to get killed here, or worse. So go, now.” Fluttershy shook her head hesitantly. “Please, Fluttershy. I need you to do this, for me.”

Fluttershy looked at Firewing for a moment, before reluctantly nodding. “I’ll wait for you,” she said. She turned around and galloped off towards the door where the key was being held.

“Good luck, Fluttershy. And I’m sorry,” he whispered, loud enough for her to hear.

He watched his daughter disappear through the door, and then looked around. The chamber was made up of giant stone pillars that held the roof in place. The chamber disappeared down one end, and was big enough to be flanked by an army on all sides.

An army of remans still wouldn’t be big enough to defeat him.

His eyes narrowed as the door swung open, and emerged from behind it a huge party of remans. One was wearing heavy metal armour and had a huge sword in its paws, while one next to it had a hoof mark on its face. Firewing chuckled at the wolf, pleased that his daughter did that despite himself.

The remans dispersed from their tight formation and spread out around the chamber, surrounding him. Firewing merely chuckled; he remembered being in tighter spots than this. “Good day to you, pups,” he said as patronisingly as he could. He noticed the glancing looks the remans had as they looked around and chuckled once more. “What’s the matter? Lost your mothers’ teats?”

The reman with the big sword snarled in reply and strode forward, brandishing its sword. “Another pony? They must be invading this country,” the reman said. “Now tell me, gelding, where is that lovely bit of flesh under your protection?”

“You mean my daughter,” Firewing snarled. “She’s safe and away from your filthy paws. You can’t harm her now.”

The reman snorted and as one the other remans raised their swords towards him. “I’m gonna give ya one chance, little pony. Stand aside and let us through, or join your friends back there.” It indicated with a head movement towards the dead Dragonlords in the other chamber.

Firewing didn’t budge. “You’re allowed to pass, when I’m dead.”

The metal armoured reman sneered, and nodded. “So be it.” It raised its head towards the ceiling a let out a mighty howl – the howl of the hunt, as Firewing knew it to be.

Firewing reared up and let his sword Drage Bane, spring from its scabbard, while his axe formed into place on his other leg. Both weapons sang as they appeared; ready to be bathed in reman blood.

Firewing made a quick count of the numbers. Fourteen had swords and shields, and were armoured in various types of animal fur. One had a large steel claymore that was rusty and rotten in some places, and wore thick steel armour. Four more had leather armour strapped around them, while two had spears and daggers, and three more were armed with bows and arrows, and short swords.

Firewing counted twenty-two altogether, and grinned. ‘Too easy,’ he thought.

The first ten of them advanced closer to him, their weapons drawn and ready. They advanced confidently, as if they thought this would be an easy fight. They clearly hadn’t fought a Dragonlord before, and Firewing was sure he wouldn’t leave them wanting.

The nearest one to him was armed with a curved sword gripped in its two paws. With a war cry the reman spurred forward and threw its sword over its head. Once it got close to Firewing it swooped it down to go into Firewing’s skull.

In five seconds Firewing calmly sidestepped out of the way and let the blade tip come harmlessly down onto the ground. He quickly brought his axe leg up and with a grunt, thrust it into the back of the reman. He pulled it out quickly as another reman came forward with its weapon against its chest.

It took it into its paws and swung it at a wide arc. Firewing pulled his chest in and jumped back from the swing. He moved forward and blocked the next blow with his axe, then swung down with his sword and slashed across its shoulder and chest.

He looked forward and urgently ducked as an arrow sped towards him. It missed him by a hair and hit a reman behind him in the eye. Firewing spun around and finished another reman by slashing with his sword across its stomach. It went down without a sound.

Another reman came up to him. Firewing took a step forwards and brought his axe down, which was blocked by the reman’s shield. Firewing took the moment and aimed his sword lower, towards the knee. He thrust it forwards and brought the reman on its knees. He did a quick spin, slashing across the stomach of another reman as he did so, and brought the sword through the neck, decapitating it.

He got back down on four hooves and galloped towards the archers, ducking and rolling from any of the other reman attacks. One reman got in his way with a giant axe that was swung towards his chest. Firewing jumped in the air and smashed him into the ground with his hooves, before running towards the archers once more.

When he was close enough he leapt into the air once more and came down on the first archer, who was trying to prep its bow for another shot, but instead died gurgling with a sword embedded through its chest.

The second archer dropped its bow, pulled out a dagger and charged. Firewing pulled out his sword of the first archer and swung his axe into the neck of the second archer, decapitating the reman and sending the body into a backwards somersault.

Another reman came forward, this time with a shorter, straight sword. It slashed down to split him open, Firewing, however, was barely quick enough to block with his sword. He swooped down with his axe to end it, but the reman was fast and backed away from him, sending Firewing to the ground.

Firewing rolled out of the way as the reman went to plunge its sword into his bare chest. Firewing jumped back on his four hooves then reared up once more, his sword and axe re-appearing.

The reman lunged forwards. Firewing deflected the attack and made a move of his own with his axe. The reman recovered and deflected the axe in a fast motion. Stunned, Firewing made another attack, this time with his sword making a feint attack and his axe bearing the fatal blow.

The reman was quick, and managed to dodge the swing of his sword, and was able to block the axe before it met its shoulder blades. The continued trading blows for a while, with neither of them gaining an advantage.

Another reman came up from his left, hoping to take him out while he was busy, and therefore, defenceless. Firewing saw this in the corner of his eyes and quickly pulled back; bringing the reman he was engaged with into the swing of the sword. The sword came down and embedded itself into the reman’s skull. Firewing took the advantage and rolled around the other reman, who was trying to pull its sword out, and plunged his sword into the creature’s back, who died with a quiet scream.

Another reman suddenly came towards him with a lowered spear. It thrust it forward in the attempt to skewer him. Firewing deflected the spear out of the way and into the reman he had just finished off, before swinging down with his axe into the remans shoulder, and stabbed him in the stomach with his sword.

He pulled both weapons away and allowed the reman to collapse onto its knees. He then spun around and with his sword, slashed once more across the stomach, sending the reman onto its back.

Firewing dropped onto all fours and looked around him upon noticing noone else was attacking him, the sword and axe pulling back into their scabbards and holders respectively.

Around him lay around twelve or so remans, lying dead in pools of blood. ‘Wait a minute,’ he thought. He counted the dead again. ‘Twelve? I’m sure there was twenty two!’

He looked towards the door and his eyes widened in alarm. “They’ve gone after Fluttershy!” he cried. He began galloping towards the door in the hope he could stop them. He was stopped when he felt the wind blown out of him by a powerful punch in the stomach, which sent him skidding across the ground. He opened up his eyes and growled when he saw his attacker.

Above him was the reman in steel armour, sneering at him with drool running down its lips. It backed away and unsheathed its sword. “Your daughter will be mine,” it said with venom. “I’m going to enjoy breaking her, you know. The first thing I’m gonna do, though, is let her watch you die.”

Firewing scrambled up onto his hind legs and his sword and axe sang out once more. He looked at the reman with hatred and anger. He brought up his sword and axe in a defensive position and waited for the first strike.

He hoped, no, he prayed Fluttershy had the key and was out by now.

Fluttershy glanced back once more as she watched her father turn around to face the remans. She scolded herself for leaving him like this, but she couldn’t do anything except be hoof fodder against them – she just didn’t have the courage to kill.

She got to the black iron door, swallowed the crawling lump in her throat once more and opened it, dreading whatever was behind it. She had expected arrows to come out of the walls, magical bolts raining down on her, the floor opening up to reveal lava.

She was pleasantly surprised to find nothing, just a really large hall with tens of thousands of really thin stone columns holding it together, disappearing into the darkness. “If the key is somewhere here,” she said to herself, “then this could take ages!”

She knew she didn’t have ages. The remans might’ve had broken and rusty swords but they were strong and relentless. They would, at some point (and although she hated herself to think of it), kill her father and come after her.

She began galloping for her life in a random direction into the blackness. The saddlebags rustled on her back as she ran, and the gem hovering over her head was having a hard time to keep up.

She darted her head around frantically, searching for any sign of the book in which the key was housed in. “Oh,” she moaned, her ears falling flat on her head, “this is hopeless. How could I find a book in the middle of this place?”

Just then, as if it had a mind of its own, the gem began floating northwards. Fluttershy, upon noticing the fading light, looked up to see the gem moving away. “Wait!” she screeched. “Come back! Don’t leave me here in the dark!” She began galloping after it. The gem was moving quickly but Fluttershy was a fast runner, some would say even faster than Applejack if they ever saw her run, so she had no trouble keeping up with it.

After a while of seemingly running in a random direction the gem stopped and pulsated a bright blue glow, which spread out across the hall, revealing it in its splendour. Fluttershy looked up and tilted her a head a little. “Why have you stopped now?” She looked forward and gasped with a mix of wonder, and joy.

A vast number of empty bookshelves as high as her cottage stood arrayed in rows going back into the darkness. Fluttershy’s smile grew wide as she knew that the book holding the key was in there somewhere. Now all she had to do was find it.

“Thank you,” she said to the gem. The gem didn’t respond; only give off another pulsating light to illuminate the hall. She trotted into the library, as it seemed to be, and began scanning the shelves for a single black covered book.

She realised she wouldn’t get far on the ground, as she could easily cover the whole area from the air. She was a pegasus, after all. She spread her wings and thrust them down towards the ground, giving her a push into the air. She flapped them down again and again, with the sound of air meeting her wings louder, and more metallic, due to the blade that covered her feathers.

She made it above the shelves and gasped at the size of this place. She felt a bit under whelmed at first, but she knew she had to find it. Her father depended on her; the whole world depended on her to find it.

She swung her wings back and kicked out her hind legs, giving her the thrust she needed to go forward. She was soon slowly moving around the shelves, her eyes looking down to the ground for any sign of the book.

She floated above the shelves for around five minutes or so, beginning to lose hope, when something caught her eye. A single, white podium, decorated in markings and runes of ancient Equestrian origin. While on top, rested a big, black book, with the symbol of the Dragonlords embedded into it. Fluttershy grinned. “Found it.”

An arrow whizzing past her ear brought her out of her daze and she quickly dived down to the ground. She landed on her hooves quick but hard, making her hooves feel a bit sore. She hopped over to the podium and quickly opened the book, grabbed hold of the key and stuffed it into her saddlebags.

With that taken care of she had to get out of here. She held her breath and stayed silent when she heard the sounds of grunting and arguing. Her eyes widened with realisation that the remans were here, and coming to find her. And that meant…

“No.” she shook her head despairingly, tears welling up in her eyes. “Dad, please no…”

“There she is!” a reman suddenly cried. Fluttershy spun around and saw a reman with a bow and a single arrow in its paws. “I’ve got her!”

Fluttershy got up and shot upwards into the air. The reman fired its shot, but instead of hitting Fluttershy, it soared right through where she was standing, and killed a reman that was coming up behind her in the neck.

“Don’t let her get away!” another screamed out. Fluttershy shot forwards in a bid to get away and lose them. She would have to find and mourn her father later, right now she had to get away from these beasts.

She soared in a single line, and then darted quickly to the left, trying to confuse them into where she was. She said a silent, “Thank you,” to Rainbow Dash for teaching her that. She looked back once more to see she was losing them and gave a sigh of relief.

She looked back in front of her, but instead of open air, she smashed into one of the columns. She slid down the column with a groan and found herself back on the ground. Apart from her head hurting she felt herself over and saw she was okay.

She got up and made to gallop off quickly when she felt a rope go around her neck. She gasped for breath as it was tightened around her and forced her to move with the holder. “Ha ha, we got you now, cutie,” the reman with the rope in its paws sneered.

Fluttershy pulled and tugged in a bid to get free. But the other remans were now beside that one and had their weapons trained on her. “Please!” she cried. “Let me go! If you don’t we’re all going to die!”

The remans just laughed. “Come on, missy. The boss will be happy with us when we show ‘em you,” one said.

Fluttershy, out of primal instinct, bucked the column behind her. She opened her eyes when she heard the cracking sound of stone. ‘Wow,’ she thought. ‘I’m stronger than I thought.’ Then it hit her.

The crash on the top might have weakened the old stone, the columns were thin enough for such an impact to do so, and the bucking must have loosened it from the base as well. She only had one or two chances of this, and even then there was a chance it wouldn’t work. She just hoped gravity was on her side.

She pulled back with all her strength, staggering the reman to the ground, and bucked hard on the thin stone column, smashing the base apart. Cracks started to show across the length of the column, as age began to show itself. The pillar collapsed onto another pillar, then another, and another, and another, until the entire hall began to cave in on itself.

The remans looked up and their jaws dropped in horror. Fluttershy took this moment and pulled the rope out of its loosened paws, and took it off her neck. She immediately galloped away as the roof collapsed on top of the frozen remans, crushing them in the rubble.

She looked back and grimaced as rubble fell on top of the remans. “Sorry,” she whispered before galloping hard to find a door so she could get out of this place. She looked around her as the columns fell onto each other like dominoes. The whole mountain must be collapsing on top of her, but that was of little concern. She needed to find her father, get the keys and get out.

The gem darted from her head to the right. Fluttershy noticed and took off after it, knowing that wherever it would be going it was in the right direction. It soon sent her in front of a familiar black iron door. She couldn’t care less where it sent her as long as she wasn’t stuck here.

She swung the door open, jumped, through, and closed it again, just as the columns closest to her began to collapse. She reared up and pressed her back against the door, waiting until the rumbling sound behind her stopped. After a while the sound of falling stone faded away and the world went silent, save the sound of swords meeting.

Fluttershy looked up and saw her father; walking three legged with his sword raised against his chest, circling the reman in steel armour. The two were locked in a death gaze, with their weapons pointing towards the ceiling.

The reman came forward and swung his up high, then thrust it down towards Firewing’s head. Her father blocked the blow, but then had the wind blown out of him once more when he was kicked into the air and into one of the columns behind him.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened with horror as she saw the reman sneer and walk up to her downed father with the raised sword. Without even a moment’s hesitation, or thought for that matter, she charged forward, galloping as fast as her legs could go.

The reman raised its sword above the head to deliver the killing blow. Fluttershy leapt into the air and dived towards the reman. Fluttershy closed her eyes and hoped for the best. She didn’t notice her sword appearing from its scabbard, or hear its quiet song of death.

She felt herself hitting the reman on the side, sending him to the ground with an anguished cry, and making him drop his sword. The two rolled for a moment before coming to a stop a few feet away from Firewing, who at that moment opened his eyes and shook his head.

“Ugh, my head,” he complained. He got up and noticed the reman he was fighting wasn’t there. “What happened?” he looked to his right and gasped.

Fluttershy meanwhile opened up one eye when she stopped feeling the world go around. The reman was dead; its eyes were wide open, with shock and pain revealed in its final moments.

Fluttershy looked down and gasped in horror when she saw her sword leg embedded into its side. She pulled it out with a squeal and backed away in horror. She raised her shaking sword leg and saw her sword dripping in its blood. She felt revulsion flow through her as she saw the blood drip onto her foreleg. “Wha… what have I done?!” she cried out into the chamber.

“You did good, Fluttershy,” a reply came from behind her. Fluttershy turned around and saw Firewing staring at her with an unreadable expression.

Fluttershy squeaked and hid behind her mane; some of it was covered in the blood of the reman she had killed. “I’m sorry, dad!” she cried. “I didn’t mean to kill him. I was just trying to stop him from killing you!” She started shaking her head, making Firewing fear she was going into shock. “I… I di… I didn’t want to kill him.”

Firewing walked over and Fluttershy got a good look at him. He was covered in black reman blood and had a few scratches from sword wounds. He wrapped his legs around Fluttershy and brought her in a comforting embrace. “Shh, sweetheart, there’s nothing to be sorry about. But let me ask you something, would you rather watch me die then him?”

Fluttershy shot her head up and looked at him in disbelief. “No, of course not,” she answered.

Firewing nodded in satisfaction. “Then you did the right thing, Fluttershy.” He gave her a small smile, and then backed away. “Now, did you get the key?”

Fluttershy nodded and took out the key with her mouth. Firewing smiled. “That’s my girl.” He took the key in his mouth, placed it in his saddlebags (which he found in the corner), and ruffled his daughter’s hair, making her smile a little. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“But how? I kinda destroyed the other way,” Fluttershy said, pointing towards the door behind them.

“Hmm,” Firewing pondered. He looked around the chamber. “I don’t want to go back in case there’re more remans. We can’t go that way, either. So I’m opting that we should go hmm… left,” he said, pointing into the darkness.

Fluttershy shrugged. “I’m right behind you, dad,” she said. She looked back once more at the reman whom she killed and wondered for a second whether her father was right, whether she was justified killing it. She realised if she hadn’t come a second sooner, the reman would’ve killed him and she would’ve been taken as a slave.

She shuddered at the thought. A part of her felt glad though that she did it and saved her father in the process, but she hoped she wouldn’t have to kill anything else again, ever. It was feeling she couldn’t describe and would probably weigh heavy on her for a long time.

She came out of her thoughts when she heard a mighty rumble echo across the chamber. She looked up and blushed, thinking it was her stomach. “Sorry, I guess I’m a little hungry.” The rumble came again, this time louder and closer. “Okay, that one wasn’t my stomach. Was that yours?”

“No. None of them were either of us, Fluttershy,” Firewing responded. Suddenly from behind them a heavy explosion came. The ground heaved and collapsed behind them as something crawled out of the ground. Fluttershy and Firewing stepped back in horror as the creature showed itself.

Its head was that of a dragon, with huge teeth, a scaly head, with a horn like a rhino’s protruding from between its nostrils. But any resemblance to dragons ended after that. The creature had two claws, while the rest of its body was that of a giant snake that was the colour of twilight.

“Wh-what is t-t-that thing?!” Fluttershy spluttered, as it slowly and menacingly advanced towards them.

“A lindworm,” Firewing replied, slowly backing away from it. “They’re creatures that love to live in places like these. They’re pretty much blind but have accumulated a heightened sense of smell, and can eat anything. Must have disturbed it when somepony collapsed the hall.”

“So what do we do?” Fluttershy asked, backing away from the creature as it loomed over them.

“Basically… rrrruuunnnnn!” he cried. He spun around and galloped into the darkness. Fluttershy shook herself out of her trance and caught up with him.

The lindworm roared and chased after them, its lumbering form soon gaining them with ease. It lunged its head at Fluttershy, who veered to the right as quick as she could, making it smash its head into the ground.

“I can see a door!” Firewing called over to his shoulder. Fluttershy narrowed her eyes and saw he was right. A single black iron door, like the ones before it, stood in their way between safety and becoming a two-course meal.

Firewing spun around and bucked the door open. “Come on, Fluttershy, get through!” Fluttershy leapt through the gap, with Firewing close behind, who snapped it shut behind them. They could hear the sound of the lindworm smashing into the door, trying to force it open. “Will it get through?” Fluttershy asked.

Firewing shook his head. “The wall’s too thick. It won’t be able to get us. It needs to try a different way than that.”

No sooner did he finish speaking, the smashing at the wall stopped. Firewing and Fluttershy pressed their ears to the door and listened. “It’s gone,” Fluttershy stated. “But where?”

“I don’t know and I don’t want to find out. Let’s get out of here.” The two turned around and saw a thin, stone bridge going across a sheer drop that disappeared into nothing.

Fluttershy approached with a sense of unease. Firewing noticed this and chuckled. “You’ve got nothing to be worried about. At least you can use your wings.”

Fluttershy looked at Firewing then looked at her wings. “Oh yeah, I forgot about those,” she said sheepishly.

Firewing rolled his eyes and laughed. “How could you forget about limbs on your body? You are impossible to fully understand.” Firewing nudged Fluttershy forward. “You go first, I’ll be right behind you.”

Fluttershy nodded and swallowing the lump that liked to crawl up her throat, walked forward. She made every step with lightly, in fear of the bridge collapsing under a heavy step, like what happened to the columns back in the hall.

She glanced downwards and saw the blackness below. She didn’t find it as nauseating when she couldn’t see the bottom, but it was still just as intimidating. “You’re doing good, sweetheart, keep it up.” Fluttershy nodded and kept walking, every step closer to the far end was tying a knot in her stomach that told her the bridge is about to collapse even tighter.

“At least we don’t have to deal with a lindworm,” she said with a nervous laugh. No sooner had she said those words, the ground on the side they came across opened up and the lindworm emerged. Fluttershy planted a hoof on her face and groaned. “Why did I just say that?”

“Quick, get to the other side, now!” Firewing barked. Fluttershy jumped the last few feet to the other side and looked back to wait for her father to cross.

“Come on, dad!” she shouted. “The exit is right there!”

Firewing was frozen to the spot as the Lindworm advanced onto the bridge. The stone began to crack under the weight of the monster as it shadowed the Dragonlords. Firewing began to back away from the lindworm, which took another heavy step forward.

The stone couldn’t take the strain and it split apart with a thunderous rumble. The lindworm roared as it plummeted into the darkness below. Firewing watched the creature fall to its death and was about to turn when he felt the bridge fully give way.

He looked up to Fluttershy with solemn eyes and said, “Goodbye,” before the bridge gave way and he fell too.

“NOOOOOOOOOO!” Fluttershy screamed. Without hesitating she slung her saddlebags off and with a scream of defiance dived off the end into the chasm after her father.

She could feel the force against her face as she soared at speeds she had never done before. As she dived she knew how Rainbow must’ve felt performing the Sonic Rainboom on both occasions. She felt her eyes water as gravity pushed against her, trying to force her to give up. But she wasn’t going let the elements of nature get in her way. She needed, no, she wanted to save her father, and not even Heimdallr would stop her.

Fluttershy could see the silhouette of her now unconscious father coming up, rolling about as if he was in a ball that was being kicked about. He was thankfully at the centre of the chasm so he wasn’t hitting the sides, but Fluttershy knew that if didn’t catch him soon, she would have preferred it if he did.

She tucked her wings in and stretched out her forelegs, giving her more of a streamlined appearance as she dived towards her father. She needed to get under him so he could fall onto her back, then there was the trouble of safely landing.

The chasm opened up and Fluttershy saw the ground quickly approaching, with the dead lindworm on its back already there. She knew she had to act now or both of them would die. With a thrust of her wings she veered around her father and positioned herself so that she was right below him. She evened herself up and let herself drop for a while, she then spread her wings and she soared upwards, hitting her father with a squeak.

Her father was heavy, much heavier than what she was used to carrying, but she had him on her back and that was all that mattered. She gave a few flaps of her wings to steady her fall, which worked and soon she was floating to the ground.

She eventually made it to the ground next to the dead lindworm and collapsed onto her stomach, her father rolling off of her, panting heavily. Sweat poured down her face, and her wings felt like they were just about to fall off.

A heavy groan caught her attention as she saw her father open his eyes. “Is this Paradise? It’s not what I was expecting,” he said as he got up on his hooves.

“No… it isn’t Paradise…” Fluttershy said in a raspy voice.

Firewing turned around at the rasping and gasped when he saw her. “Come on, you, let’s get you outside for some fresh air.” He got down on his belly, allowing Fluttershy to painfully crawl up onto his back and lock her legs around him.

With a grunt Firewing got back up and looked around for an exit. He grinned when he saw a flight of stairs. He broke into a canter and made his way up the stairs, all the while not noticing his daughter had fallen asleep from exhaustion.

He made it to a plain wooden door and opened it, feeling the fresh night air on his face as he did so. He stepped forward and looked around. The night sky was dotted with bright stars, and the moon was just beginning to make its way into the sky. “Must be early evening,” he said. He looked behind him to see his daughter sleeping peacefully. “Rest easy,” he sighed. “You’ve had a rough day.”

He jumped off the rock and climbed into the woods, hoping to find a suitable place to bathe and clean up.

Fluttershy woke up a few hours later to the sound of birds in their early evening songs. She felt every bone in her body ache and her wings were even worst. Her back hurt, and she stunk of blood and sweat. “Dad?” she called out. At first there was no reply. “Dad?!”

“Over here, sweetie!” a voice called from somewhere beyond the hedges. She clumsily got up and walked groggily through the bushes into a clearing where a small lake lay. It was round like the spa tub she and her friends went to sometimes to just hang out and enjoy each others company.

At the far end of it was Firewing with a small smile. “Good morning to you. How you feeling?” he said with good cheer.

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow and looked up. “But it’s night time.”

Firewing rolled his eyes. “Yes it is. Now climb on in and freshen yourself up.”

Fluttershy looked down, and saw her legs were covered in dirt and Reman blood. She thought her face wouldn’t fare better, so she took a step in and gave a silent scream as the cold water touched her leg.

She touched the bottom with one leg and soon placed the three other legs in as well. With gritted teeth she lowered herself into the water, the cold water feeling like needles being pinned into her whole body.

She lowered herself until it her neck and head was above the water line, her teeth rattled as she laid out in the lake. “Nice, isn’t it?”

“N-n-n-n-n-ni-ni-ni-nic-nic-nic-nice?” Fluttershy rattled. “I-I-I-I-it-it’s f-f-f-fr-fr-free-free-z-zing!”

Firewing chuckled. “It’s not bad when you get used to it. But if you don’t like it so much then clean yourself up and jump out.”

Fluttershy nodded and dived under the water for a second before emerging once more, the blood and dirt that stained her face now gone. She hastily climbed out of the lake and ran back to the campfire to dry off. Instead of waiting outside the fire, however, she jumped right into it and breathed a relaxing sigh as the warm fire coated her body in its heat.

Once she felt a bit warmer and drier she jumped out and shook the soot and ash that fell on her coat out. She collapsed onto the ground, still feeling exhausted from her dive and other trials she had to face today. It was at that moment when she noticed she didn’t have her saddlebags with her. She remembered with a sad sigh that she threw them off to catch Firewing as he fell. But it wasn’t too bad in the end. She had her medallion with her, and her father was still alive. They were more important than a couple of replaceable bags.

Her ears twitched as she heard her father approached with a cheery smile on his face. “We did well today, Fluttershy,” he said as he walked past Fluttershy and laid down on the opposite side of the campfire. “We got the key, and came out of it with only a few scratches. We are now just one step closer to bringing Heimdallr down.”

Fluttershy smiled. “I’m glad that we did it, dad. Really glad.”

“I should thank you, by the way,” he said after a moment’s silence. “For saving my life. Twice.”

Fluttershy gave him a warm smile. “That’s okay, I’m just glad to know you’re safe. I don’t think I could do this alone.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Guess I’m not brave enough,” Fluttershy replied. Firewing shook his head in disbelief. “I’m not a brave pony, dad. I’m a coward who jumps at her own shadow for goodness sake! What chance would I have against Heimdallr on my own?”

“Fluttershy, I think your being too hard on yourself,” Firewing said with a smile. He got up and walked over to where Fluttershy was, and then laid down next to her. “Bravery is not something you should always have, Fluttershy. That could lead to arrogance.”

“My friend Rainbow Dash is always brave,” Fluttershy said, looking away from him.

“Then your friend is a fool, and an arrogant one at that,” Firewing continued. “Bravery can lead us to do dangerous things, things that we usually end up regretting. True bravery, however, is when a pony stands up against something what they think is wrong, when they need to. And you,” he slung a leg around his daughter’s shoulders, “are far braver than anypony I’ve ever met. Barring your mother.”

Fluttershy slumped and shook her head. “I’m not.”

“Yes you are. You walked hundreds of miles, alone, into one of the most hostile countries on Terra. You stood up against Heimdallr after he stole your mind. You destroyed an entire hall to get away from the remans. You killed a reman when I was in danger, and finally you dived down a dark chasm to save me.” He shook his head. “That, my child, is true bravery. So stop thinking yourself a coward. Okay?”

He ruffled Fluttershy’s mane, hitting a ticklish spot and making her giggle. “Okay, dad,” she said honestly. She could see he was right though. She did do all of those things, one or two of them she wasn’t proud of but all the same many would consider them brave acts. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now if you excuse me, I need to use the little colts room.” He got up and walked away through the clearing and out of sight.

“Thanks for sharing that with me, dad!” Fluttershy called out to him as he disappeared with a grin. With only a light breeze she took off the hair band and let her mane fall down around her ears and her face, the way she liked it.

As she laid out on the grass, staring into the fire, her mind began to wander. Being a quiet pony she did a lot of thinking, and many criticisms she had of others had all been done in her head, so were never spoken aloud in fear of offending the pony in question.

Now, she was only thinking about one thing. Her mother. After today Fluttershy was worried about the future, and whether or not she’d or her father would survive the journey ahead. However, before she died she wanted to know about her mother, what was she like, was she shy? Was she everything Fluttershy wasn’t?

“Okay, Fluttershy,” she told herself, “there’s no more wasting time. As soon as dad gets back I will ask, no, demand him to tell me everything about my mother and why I was left at the orphanage. No more delays, Fluttershy, you can do this. You’ve taken on worse than this so you can easily say; ‘I want to know about my mother now’… Maybe I should add a ‘please’ in that, it seemed a little forced.”

“You want to know about your mother, I hear?”

Fluttershy jumped into the air with a squeak and spun around at the sight and sound of Firewing. After a while of taken heavy breathes and waiting for her heart to slow down, she nodded. “Yes, I do.”

Firewing sullenly nodded. “But can’t it wait till morning?”

“No!” she snapped, making Firewing flinch. “I have waited for twenty years to know about my mother and father, and I’m sick and tired of waiting. I want to know, tonight!” she said, before adding a quiet, “please?”

Firewing looked at Fluttershy for a moment. He knew of course that Fluttershy had a right to know about Rosemary, about what happened, and why she was left at the orphanage and not be with her true family. She had a right to know, and although it was painful for him, he would have to endure it.

With a sigh he lowered himself onto his belly and shifted around until he was comfortable. “Okay then, what do you want to know?”

“Everything,” Fluttershy instantly replied. “From how you met her to when you left me, and everything in the middle.”

Firewing nodded and took a moment to compose himself. “Well,” he began. “I think we should start before all that. By the age of eighty I was captain of a Dragonlord company. I had done many great feats of heroism in that time, most of them I’m not proud of, and by then every Dragonlord in the order looked up to me, barring the Primarch of course. One day, however, was when I decided on a change. A change that would change my life, and bring about yours…”

Chapter 13

About twenty years ago, Fluttershy, I lived with my battle brothers and sisters in a large mountain fortress miles away from Equestria, or any nation for that matter. Most of the veteran Dragonlords at the time was out fighting as mercenaries or exploring the unknown corners of our planet, leaving me with a few younglings and new recruits. And of course, the Primarch of the order.

I remember one day standing at the edge of the cliff face, gazing out into the wide expanse of the mountains that was now my home, and the last hold of the dying order. There I realised, at that moment, that I’d had enough.

I was ninety-six years old, and most of my life had involved killing for causes that were not my own. As I gazed out into the vast mountains and watched the sunset, I decided that enough was enough, and began planning from that moment my retirement.

“Captain Firewing?” a voice called from behind me. I turned my head to see one of the young recruits. Dagger I believe his name was.

“Yes, Dagger?” I asked. I noticed the young colt was trembling slightly. At first I thought it was the cold, for the air around there brought quite a chill in the late afternoons.

“The Primarch just sent me. She said she wants to speak to you,” he said.

My heart skipped a beat. Normally nopony sees the Primarch unless it’s urgent. “The Primarch wants to see… me?” I repeated. Dagger nodded. “Did she say why?”

“No, Captain, she did not,” he answered. “You’re not in trouble… are you, sir?”

I smiled. The young recruits had taken quite a shine to me in their time there, and all of them I had to comfort when I told them they were going to outlive their friends. I got up and put a comforting hoof on his shoulder. “I don’t think so, son. Go and rest with the others back in the barracks. You trained hard today.”

Dagger smiled and bowed his head. “Thank you, Captain.” With that he galloped off towards the barracks, while I headed towards the room of Vidarr, as it was called, which quartered the Primarch of the Dragonlords.

The fortress, from the air, was square shape. Thick dark grey walls outlined it, while everything was squeezed inside. It was nearly impossible for earth ponies to access, quite difficult for unicorns to teleport in, but a dream for pegasi like myself. The fortress was originally built for pegasus Dragonlords, since the area was high up and mostly impassable, which made it perfect training area for pegasi to fly about above the clouds, endure the high altitudes and thin air.

Anyway, I made my way over to the room of Vidarr, which was at the furthest place from the main gate and landing area. In front of it stood two guards, both armed with spears and sword bracelets and armoured in bright gold armour, which was worthy of their rank as honour guard. Whereas I was wearing a light brown hooded robe, which draped down my body and covered my hooves and tail.

“The Primarch has wished to speak to me,” I addressed the two guards. They nodded and bowed their heads, allowing me to enter the stone building.

I made my way through the door into a large chamber that was cold and damp, and had no lighting whatsoever. Its only feature I could make out was the fountain that stood at its centre, which sprinkled high into the air then came down like a waterfall.

I walked up to it and noticed two golden goblets by the side of it, filled with red wine. I looked around, my senses coming into play as I surveyed the room, my heart pounding against my chest. “Hello?” I called out. “My Primarch? Are you there?”

She emerged from the darkness in the furthest corner from me. My ears heard her approach and I spun around on the spot to face her. The Primarch was a dark pink unicorn with a long yellow mane and tail, and she was old, very old. About five hundred I think she was.

She walked slowly; her eyes were mere slits as she looked at me. “Come closer, my child, so I can see you properly,” she ordered. Despite her age, her voice still held great authority, which we needed in those dark times.

I walked slowly up to the Primarch, my eyes focused on the ground and my head low, as it was rude to look at the face of our leader unless told otherwise. “Look at me, Captain Firewing,” she said.

I looked up at her and noticed the kind smile on her face. “My Primarch,” I said. “I was told you wish to see me?”

The Primarch nodded. “Yes, I did.” She walked over to the fountain and picked up one of the goblets with her magic, which gave a bright blue aura. “I hear you wish to seek retirement?”

My heart stopped beating for a few seconds. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Ho-how did y-you know?” I spluttered. I shook my head. “Forgive me for my bluntness, my lady-”

“It’s fine, captain,” she said with a raise of her hoof. “As for me knowing, well, just because I’m old doesn’t mean my powers have lost any of their potential.” A Dragonlord unicorn, you see, was probably one of the most powerful magic casters in the world. Using ancient and nearly forgotten spells, they were able to cast spells that were so powerful and so deadly, nopony would want to remember them.

“As about you retirement,” she went on. “It would be going against the codex to deny your request. But I just want to know, how long?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, my lady. To be honest I’ve only started planning it out today. But I think the best answer would be till I’m ready to return.”

“Hmm, good enough I suppose,” she said. She took a sip of her goblet and then set it back down again. “So, have you had any ideas where you’re going to go?”

I gave it some thought there and then. I realised that’s been a long time since I’ve been to Equestria, too long. “I think I might go to Equestria,” I replied after a while. “Probably central Equestria and see Canterlot and Cloudsdale.”

“Any reason?” she said, with a small smile.

I shook my head. “No reason really. Just a place I’ve never seen before, and I might as well.”

The Primarch gave me a nod that gave away a hint of sadness. “By the time you’ll probably be back, I may have passed on from this world and head into the next. I have already left instruction though as to who will be my successor.”

“And, who is that if I may ask, my lady?”

“You. You I have chosen to replace me,” she replied.

My eyes widened and I felt my heart stop beating altogether. Me?! Primarch?! I wouldn’t have believed it if it came from any other pony’s mouth, but it came straight from the leader of the Dragonlords herself. “I-I-I don’t think I’m worthy enough to accept this,” I stammered. “Surely there are others, like Damos, who are better suited at this than me.”

The Primarch shook her head. “My child, I have watched you with pride as you grew to become one of the greatest Dragonlords to have existed. The young ones look up to you in reverence, the honour guard bow their heads to you, and the other captains hold you with more respect than any other.” She lifted my head up, making me look into her kind, yet cold eyes. “There is no other pony in this order that is worthy of this honour.”

I was speechless. My mouth tried to make words but all I did was make myself look like a goldfish. My heart pounded against my chest even harder than it did when I went in there, and my mind was a buzz of activity.

Eventually I regained my composure and bowed my head. “It would be an honour to replace you, my Primarch,” I said. “But what will happen if you pass on and I haven’t returned?”

The Primarch smiled. “I’m sure it will be. And don’t worry about coming back so soon, Firewing. Captain Malleus of the honour guard will become regent until you return. But first, you must have your retirement.” She gestured for me to pick up the other goblet, which I did, wrapping it in my hooves with a firm grip. “A toast,” she said, raising her glass. “To the bright future of the Dragonlords under their new ruler. But first, a peaceful retirement!”

We banged our cups together and drank our goblets down. I hadn’t had red wine in ages and yet, it was just as tantalizing as the last time I had it, but I refused to ask for more. I put my goblet down and bowed my head. “It has been an honour, my Primarch.”

She smiled and bowed her head in return. “The honour was all mine, captain.” With that I turned and made my way to the door, out of the chamber and out of the only life I had ever known. “May Vidarr’s wings shield you from the evils of this world,” she said in prayer. I turned my head around to look at her and nodded, and then left the chamber.

The honour guard bowed their heads when I came out. I realised they must’ve known I was to become the new Primarch before hoof. But that didn’t matter to me now; I felt a huge burden lift from my shoulders as I walked out of there and towards the barracks at the far right of the fortress. I was finally free. I could go out of this life for a while and enjoy a normal life. One of honest hard labour, probably find another job, build a family, start again, until I felt ready to return.

As I walked towards the door I noticed Dagger waiting outside with a concerned expression on his face. “Is everything alright, Captain?” he asked. Bless him, I had thought. He was always one that worried about everything, and cared deeply about everyone he knew in the order.

“Everything’s better than alright,” I said cheerfully, putting a hoof across his shoulders. “Is everypony inside, Dagger?”

Dagger relaxed a little and let out a breath of relief. He nodded. “Yes they are, Captain. May I ask why?”

“I want to have a chat with them all,” I replied. Dagger nodded and led the way in, through a thin wooden door. The barracks was not a five star hotel. It was spartan in its furnishings, with a single wardrobe and a bed table next to every bed in the room, which had around seventy beds in all, and only a coat of white adorned the walls.

But having a lot of possessions didn’t matter to us at all, for we had a gift greater than any on this earth – life. We all lived when we should’ve died, and yet here we all were, the last of an order that would soon be a memory.

The room was, before I came in, a buzz of activity, of ponies talking about the days training and what they hoped to achieve in their longer lives. It all went dead silent as I entered. They all gave me looks of concern and fear, either for them or me I didn’t know, as I made myself comfortable in the middle of the barracks.

I gave them all a warming smile, which put them at ease for a moment. And then I started speaking. I told them that I would become the new Primarch once the old one had gone, which was met with a chorus of cheers and applause. Those cheers died down when I told them I was going into retirement.

Some of them begged me to stay and help them through their training. But I told them my decision had been made, and no manner of persuasion could change my mind. “When will you be leaving then, Captain?” a pegasus mare, Silvia I believe her name was, asked.

I hadn’t really given it much thought. After all this was something I’d only thought up about an hour or so ago, so at that point it seemed a bit of rush-about. But nevertheless my mind was going far too fast from the rest of my body so I blurted out, “Tonight, maybe tomorrow at dawn.”

This was met with a few disappointed moans, groans and sighs. Before they could sink any lower I told them by the time I return they’d all be Dragonlords, and that I was proud of every single one of them, and would be honoured to lead them into battles in the future.

“And maybe,” I said. “Maybe some of you will be Captains.” I passed a look at an earth pony stallion, whose name has escaped my mind, but was exemplary in everything that he did, despite the disadvantage of having no wings and no horn on his head.

After many goodbyes and thank you’s, I made sure all of them went asleep, as by that time the sun had long set, and a clear night sky loomed overhead. I put out the lights of the barracks and took off my robe, exposing my coat to the natural cold air of the mountains, and placed it in my wardrobe, next to my battle armour.

I didn’t have any possessions, only a large quantity of bits left behind by my mother after she died, for occasions such as this one. I placed the sack of bits in a small saddlebag, placed the bag on my back, and without looking back, left the barracks, whispering a final, “Goodbye,” as I left.

The air was definitely cold, and a long shiver crawled through me as I walked slowly from the barracks to the main gate. There were no guards or other ponies about so it made it a quiet getaway, which I was glad for. I’m not one for pompous send-offs or that sort of thing.

I made it out of the gates and out into the wide cliff-face, which went into a sheer drop into the sharp edges of the rocks below. I looked back one more time with sad eyes at my home, one of many that I’ve had in my lifetime. This one, however, was special to me. When I was there I felt at peace, and I had great memories of it, with some great laughs that were had with all of us, as well as the tears.

I shook my head and looked forwards again, in the direction of the country of my birth, Equestria. I spread my wings and dived off the edge, dropping down a good five hundred metres before veering up again and soaring around the fortress. I gave it a final wave goodbye before changing direction and headed towards Equestria.

Fluttershy put on a polite smile and with a tilting motion of her hoof said, “It’s nice… so far. But what does it have to do with my mother?”

The two sat opposite sides of each other around the large campfire, somewhere in the Horscan highlands. Around them, the sounds of birds echoed as they sang their evening songs. The stars above them were bright and Fluttershy could easily make out one or two of the constellations that weren’t obscured from the canopies.

“Well I am going to get to that, sweetheart,” Firewing said. “But before I continue, I would like to know what you thought your mother was like?”

“Well,” Fluttershy answered with a small smile. “I always thought my mother would’ve been kind, caring, beautiful, a bit shy, and had a sweet voice.”

Firewing nodded, with a faint smile forming. “Ah yes, she was kind, and caring, and insanely beautiful. But shy? I have yet to meet a pony who could talk faster or move quicker than Rosemary did…”

It took me at least six days of non-stop flying to reach Equestria, passing uncharted areas of land that stretched for miles. I passed gigantic forests, rivers as wide as the largest woodland, mountains that soared up higher than the ones we’re surrounded by, and I saw so many things that nopony would ever believe.

At first I had enjoyed the silence and my own company. But by the fourth day the solitude became unbearable, so I began to wish for at least somepony to talk to. A friendly face to keep me company on my journey to the greatest kingdom in the world.

My solitude came to abrupt, and joyful end as after flying so many miles that my wings needed rest, I found myself into a small village surrounded by trees, and inhabited by ponies, a few griffons, and a couple of zebras. I sat down on an empty bench and looked through my belongings. Upon noticing I had run out of food, I looked around for a market stall or somewhere where they sell food and drink.

I eventually found food in the shape of a general goods store. It was a small shack with a large sign posted on it that showed the wares the store sold. I walked in, being greeted by a little bell that ran above me attached to a cable that was in turn attached to the door.

“Well good afternoon to ya, mister,” the storekeeper greeted me with a smile. He was an earth pony with a tan coloured coat and a short brown mane and tail, and he was wearing, if I recall, a long trench coat that covered his cutie mark. He cocked his head to one side when he didn’t recognize who I was. “I don’t think I’ve seen ya before.”

“You haven’t,” I replied. “I’m just passing through.” I looked around, looking for some good food to keep me covered for the rest of the walk. “Could I have four cans of that vegetable stew, please?”

The storekeeper nodded and disappeared under the table, only to reappear seconds later with four cans of the stew I’d asked for. “So where ya headed, son?” he asked.

“Central Equestria,” I replied. “I’ve always wanted to see Canterlot and Cloudsdale.”

The storekeeper nodded with a sigh. “And I’m sure ya will love them both.”

“You’ve been to them?” I queried.

The storekeeper laughed. “Well it would be a miracle for me to get to Cloudsdale. I’ve been to Canterlot, though, and the memories I got from there will keep me smiling for a long time. Could I give ya a tip?” I nodded. “Stay longer than a day, there’s so much to see it’s unbelievable!”

I smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind, thank you.” I turned around and was about to walk out of the store when I stopped. I turned around and asked, “By the way, this may seem like a silly question, but am I in Equestria yet?”

The storekeeper looked at me oddly, then laughed. “Well I sure hope so, lad, or I should be wondering where the heck am I.”

I smiled and said, “Thank you sir,” and left the store. As I walked out I heard the storekeeper calling me back. I turned around and walked back up to him. “What is it, sir?” I asked, hoping I didn’t sound too irritated.

“Two things, young stallion,” he said, making me groan inside. ‘If only you knew how old I really was,’ I thought. “Firstly, if you’re going though here you’ll need this.” He took what looked like an old piece of brown paper and placed it in my hoof. I opened it up and saw it was a map of Equestria. I berated myself for forgetting the one thing I needed and left behind in my haste to get out.

“And secondly you didn’t pay the bits for the stews,” he continued.

“Oh, sorry,” I said. Using a wing I opened up my saddlebag and picked out the right amount of bits for the stews. After that we parted company, with him wishing me good luck on my journey.

I went back to the empty bench in the middle of the small village and looked at the map in detail. I was at the very edge of Equestria, somewhere in the northeast, where nothing but large trees dominated the landscape for miles. I noticed if I kept going southwest from this town, the name of which I’ve forgotten, I should arrive in central Equestria in a couple of days.

Once I checked through the route I needed to take, I put the map away and galloped into the woods, passing through the tall trees and dark canopies.

A day or so later and I arrived in front of the mountain paths that split central Equestria from the rest of the kingdom. It took a few hours to make my way through the small, winding paths but eventually I took my first view of the centre of the kingdom.

From my point I could make out the capital city of Equestria; Canterlot, standing gleaming white on the cliff face with majestic waterfalls running below it onto the ground below. I looked up and saw Cloudsdale, the greatest city in the skies, floating above the ground like a ship on a calm sea.

With my wings recovered from their long flight, I spread them out and took to the air, hoping to get to Cloudsdale by the evening. It took me a couple of hours at most, passing above the Everfree Forest, and the town of Ponyville, which at the time was smaller than it is today.

Eventually I arrived at Cloudsdale, and was instantly taken aback by its beauty. I remember that as I walked through its streets, my mouth was open wide enough to catch clouds, my eyes wide as if they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Its majestic architecture, to me told a story that goes back thousands of years, and is one that keeps making stories.

I walked through the streets, not really caring where I was going, as I was too captivated by the city around me, when I caught a glance of a poster advertising the Wonderbolts. I quickly shot over and read it. I admired the Wonderbolts greatly, as does every pegasi, as no pegasus can go at their speeds and still do what they do. I actually remember there was one Dragonlord that was a Wonderbolt, but had to put that life behind him after an incident with a house on fire.

Anyway, I read the poster and saw that it was on today at the Cloudesium at one o’ clock. I looked around for directions, as I had no idea where the stadium was. It was at this point, where I felt the air in my lungs leave me and my sides caved in on themselves, as I fell to the ground, with something rather heavy on top of me.

It was when I felt the thing move off of me that I knew it was a pony. I didn’t know yet that it was a pony that would change my life forever. “Oh my goodness I’m so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going and you were like ‘huuuhhhh?’ and I was like ‘arrrgh!’ and then we were like ‘uuurrrgghhh’,” she said loudly, in one breath with a dramatic re-enactment of the whole thing.

I groaned as I got up. My sides killed and my legs felt wobbly. I turned around and looked at the pony angrily, but my anger disappeared when I looked into her eyes, your mother’s eyes, my child.

She walked up closer to me, her eyes full of concern. “Are you okay?” she said softly. She had a delicate voice like yours, but was a slight bit higher, and faster, and her eyes seemed to sparkle with a love I have never seen at that point.

“I’m fine,” I responded, trying not to hide my agitation.

She cocked her head to such an angle I thought was impossible. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before. You new?”

I nodded. “Yes, well just a tourist really, you know, just passing through.”

She grinned. “Oooooooo!” she squealed. “A tourist! I love tourists as they are amazingly fun to be around and they tell soooo many stories of the world outside and I love stories they’re always fun and I love to have fun and not be a biiiiiiiiiiiigggggggggggg bore!”

She kept talking but I trailed off after that moment. I was looking into her eyes and felt something that I hadn’t felt in a long time, something that I didn’t know at first but would very soon.

“I’m sure that’s nice and all but I’ve gotta get going,” I said politely.

“Ooo, got touring things to do, eh?” she enquired.

“Uh yeah, something like that. Look I better go before I miss The Wonderbolts perform.” I said. As I turned to leave I heard a huge gasp behind me. I sighed in annoyance as I realised what was about to happen.

“You’re going to see The Wonderbolts perform! What a coincidence I was about to see them myself. We should go together as Wonderbolt buddies!” She took my hoof in hers and dragged me towards the Cloudesium. “I’m Rosemary, by the way,” she introduced herself.

“I’m Firewing. It’s… nice to have bumped into you.”

She giggled. “It’s funny cause it’s true.” Her giggle was probably the sweetest thing I have ever heard, and it still is.

We made it to the Cloudesium just in time, as the performance was just about to start. We got our tickets and took our seats, Rosemary being rather close for comfort to me as we watched them do their stunts, barrel rolls et cetera.

As we watched we talked about ourselves. I learnt she was a weather pony who made the rainbows at one of the factories. She had a slightly younger sister who lived in Ponyville; her parents were once soldiers of the royal guard but were now retired, and that Rosemary loved animals and rainbows.

I wanted to tell her about my life as a Dragonlord, as a warrior, but found I couldn’t. I was scared I would scare her away from me. Sure I was annoyed with her at the start, but the time that we had when we sat there talking to each other, I found myself beginning to admire this pony more and more, and wanted to be near her. She was my only friend in this world.

So I told her I left home when I was sixteen, which was true, and have travelled the world all my life. I told her only half of my adventures, the ones that didn’t involve everyone I’d met die at the end of it; just the ones that made me see the most beautiful places on this earth.

She had a wide grin on her face as I told her when I ran from a basilisk, or flew from a ten-headed hydra. She giggled at all my misadventures. “Wwwooooowwwww,” she gaped once I had finished. “You must have been to every corner of the planet!”

I chuckled, trying to hide the fact that was more or less true. “Sort of.” I glimpsed at the performance before us. The newest member of the team, a filly pegasus named Spitfire, was about to make her debut the announcer said. But I wasn’t fully paying attention to that. No matter how hard I tried, my eyes kept glancing back at the pony next to me. A pony that had first irritated me, I had come to admire.

The sun was lowering from the sky by the time The Wonderbolts had finished. We both walked out of the stadium with smiles on our faces, chatting excitedly about the performance.

“Weren’t Spitfire just awesome!” Rosemary squealed. “The way she went zoom! Zoom! Zoom, all over the place! She’s gonna have a bright future in The Wonderbolts, that’s for sure!”

I nodded in agreement. “Well, Rosemary, I have to say it’s been a pleasure to have met you. But I better get going and find somewhere to stay. Take care of yourself!” I said and began trotting off to find a hotel to stay. I didn’t get far when I heard her calling my name.

“Firewing!” She hopped up to me and stood in my way. “You have nowhere to stay?” I shook my head. She lowered her head and pawed at the ground with a hoof. “Well… you could… if you wanted… stay with me for the night?” she blurted out the last part.

My eyes widened and I recall stepping back in shock. This pony, whom I barely knew, was offering to me to stay at her house! My mouth moved but I couldn’t make up any words. After a while I was going to say no, but instead my mouth said, “Okay.”

Rosemary grinned and jumped me in a hug. “Oh you’re not gonna regret I promise you.” She took my hoof in hers again. Her hoof felt soft and warm. “Come on, this way,” she beckoned me on.

So we both ran through the deserted streets of Cloudsdale to her place.

Fluttershy felt a string of emotions run through her as Firewing told her of how he’d met her mother. First surprise, then she couldn’t stop laughing at her father’s attempt at impersonating her and acting out her movements, then warmth. It was truly a lovely and rather funny way of meeting the love of your life. “That was so sweet,” she said with a smile.

Firewing nodded. “Yes it was.” His wide smile faded. “But that day I also learnt that Rosemary was like a flower. Extremely beautiful and full of life, but terribly delicate…”

The sun had gone, and the first stars had come out when we arrived at her house. It was a bungalow really, made entirely out of clouds. A small rainbow waterfall adorned the small front garden, and fell to the ground thousands of feet below.

Rosemary trotted up in front and opened up the door with a key hidden under her left wing. “Honey, I’m home,” she greeted the house with a giggle as she walked through. I remember looking oddly at her, then around the place.

It was small, the corridor being only wide enough for one pony to go through. I passed the kitchen on my left, again small but big enough for one pony cooking. I walked further along and noticed the bedroom with its bed big enough for two.

I walked into the living room as Rosemary plopped onto one of couches. The room was, like the rest of the house, welcoming, with pictures hanging the wall of her family and some of her friends. “Well sit down,” she said to me, shifting her rump out of the way so I could sit down next to her.

I walked over and sat down, my eyes drifting over the living room as we sat in silence. It was about a few minutes later that we started talking again. We talked about anything and everything. The weather, what’s hot and what’s not, the Princess and how well we think she runs the place, you get the picture.

After a while, we both started to get tired and began yawning. “Well,” I said. “I think I’m gonna call it a night.”

Rosemary looked a bit disappointed, but nodded. “Where am I gonna sleep anyway?” I asked. I immediately wished I hadn’t.

“Oh that’s easy. With me. My bed’s big enough for two,” she replied, without any hint of embarrassment. She got up and led me to the bedroom. I hoped she couldn’t see the blush on my face as we entered.

“You can have the right side, I’ll have the left,” she said, pointing to the bed. With a sigh I dropped my saddlebags from my back and fell into the bed. “Goodnight, Firewing,” she said warmly.

“Goodnight, Rosemary,” I replied in kind. I closed my eyes and instantly fell asleep.

I awoke later that night to the sound of sniffling and crying. I was used to getting woken up by young Dragonlords who were missing their families and were trying to get used to the fact they would live longer, and I was used to having to spend the nights comforting them. I thought that during my retirement I wouldn’t have to do any comforting, and get a full night sleep for once. I was wrong.

I looked over to see Rosemary with her back to me; her shoulders shook as she cried her eyes out over something I didn’t know yet. When I flicked on a light she jumped and turned over, looking at me with tear stained cheeks and bloodshot eyes. “How long have you been awake?”

“Not long,” I replied.

She rolled over again and continued to cry. “I’m sorry, you shouldn’t be seeing this,” she sobbed.

I shifted around and placed a leg on her shoulder in comfort. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

She moved her head so she could look at me. “It’s just… you’re going away tomorrow. You’re leaving me, like everypony else has left me.”

“I’m sure that’s not the case,” I said. “You’ve got your sister, and your parents, and I’m sure you have friends.”

She shook her head, her eyes spilling even more tears. “My sister hates me, my parents can’t stand me and nopony wants to be my friend. I always scare them away, like I’m going to do to you. I’m gonna die alone and unwanted and it’s just… just…” she trailed off and continued to cry in her forelegs.

My eyes went wide and my heart filled with sorrow and pity for this pony. I lowered myself down so that my belly was touching her back, and I wrapped my hooves around her. “I don’t hate you, and I’m not going to leave you, Rosemary,” I whispered into her ears. I could feel her grip onto my hooves. “I promise.”

“Ponies have always said that,” she sobbed. “But they don’t mean it.”

“I’m not an ordinary pony,” I replied. “And I will keep that promise.”

I whispered the lullaby I sung to you into her ears and she fell asleep not long afterwards. I wiped the wet tears off her face, turned off the light and fell asleep next to her.

“I learnt later that they all fell out over some big argument,” Firewing said to a teary eyed Fluttershy. “And afterwards placed the blame on Rosemary for it. Cruel I know.”

“Cruel?” Fluttershy said. “That’s just despicable!” She was infuriated that her auntie, and her grandparents could ever be like that.

“Yeah, but she seemed quite happy with me by her side that day and night, and so I decided to stay, for her benefit as well as mine. We were both friendless in this world so we turned to each other. And it gave us a stronger friendship than anything else in this world…”

I woke to the sound of ponies on their own businesses, the sound of flapping wings that whisked overhead, and the loud calls of the market that was not too far down the road.

I noticed that at some point in the night Rosemary had turned over and had wrapped her hooves around me in an embrace to which there was no escape. I didn’t want to move her legs in fear of awakening her, as she looked so peaceful and content with me being there. It was as if she was making me keep that promise that I made to her last night.

A couple minutes later she opened her eyes and looked at me with a warm, loving smile. “You’re still here,” she said.

“Of course,” I replied. “I never hold back on my promises. Could you let go of me now, by the way? I really need to use the bathroom.”

“Oh, sorry.” She let go of me and let me race off to the bathroom. When I got back she was busy brushing her mane and preening her feathers. “So what are you going to do today?” she asked. “See the weather factories? See the chariot racecourse?”

I shook my head. “I was actually planning on leaving Cloudsdale and head to Canterlot.”

She dropped her brush and turned to face me, tears that were threatening to break the dam that was her eyes started to show. “Please hear me out,” I continued comfortingly. “I plan to go to Canterlot. But I really don’t want to go alone.”

The tears sucked back into her eyes, which I might add is the creepiest thing I have ever seen, and her face lit up with excitement. “You’re saying that…”

“I was wondering if you would like to come with me?” I asked her.

She gave out the biggest, most delightful squeal pony ears have ever heard and jumped me in a hug, pushing me to the ground so that she was on top of me, pinning me down. “Oh thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!” she thanked me over and over again.

“I take that as a yes, then?” I asked. She giggled and nodded. With that I let her pack some things, like bits and a few snacks for the trip there and at first back again. “Don’t worry about food for coming back,” I said. “I’m planning on staying there for a night or so.”

About an hour later she was packed and ready to go. I lead the way out of the bungalow and she closed the door behind us, locking it and tucking the key under her left wing.

“Right, so what’s the quickest way to get to Canterlot?” I asked as we walked side by side through the streets.

“Oh that’s easy,” she said with a mischievous grin that made me feel uncomfortable. “By cloud.”

“By cloud?” I asked in disbelief, tilting my head to the side. She nodded but said nothing as she began galloping to the edge of the city closest to Canterlot.

“It’s simple,” she explained to me as the long line of clouds came into view. “We jump from cloud to cloud until we reach Canterlot.”

“Okay, sounds easy. But I thought pegasi make the clouds move,” I said.

“Sometimes for quicker results, but normally we let the wind move them about. And today, they are all in line.” She lined herself up and spread her wings. “I’ll race ya to Canterlot!”

“Um, I’m not really one for racing,” I said hesitantly.

“Oh, okay.” She paused before adding with a wide grin, “Slowpoke.”

“Oh… it’s on,” I said with a grin of my own and before we knew we were in the air and hopping from cloud to cloud, laughing all the way. When I looked up to see where she was, I recall my jaw dropping as I noticed how far she was out in front of me.

She stopped, looked back and blew a raspberry and shook her rump at me, making me blush. “Can’t catch me!” she grinned and hopped on to the next one. I grinned and followed quickly.

It wasn’t much longer till we reached Canterlot. The tall spires of the city’s towers were our first sighting of the majestic white city. We stopped on a cloud that sat just above the city and took deep breaths. It had been a while since I’d run or jumped like that. “That was fun,” I said to Rosemary, with a large smile as I laid on my back.

“Wasn’t it just?! I asked other ponies to do it with me but they always said no and that meant they were boring and I hate hanging around with boring ponies. But you on the other hoof aren’t dull, and I love you-I mean love hanging around with you,” she corrected herself. She looked away with a small blush around her cheeks.

I noticed the slip up but I decided to let it pass for now. I got up and looked down at the city below, then turned to face her. “Ready to see the sights.”

She giggled. “Firewing, I was born ready.” She grabbed hold of my hoof and jumped off the cloud, hurtling down to the city below. We arrived in relative safety and began exploring the city.

For the next two days, we saw the palace, which was open to the public back then. The fun fair. The museums, where in one Rosemary tried some of the poses of the ponies in some of the paintings, much to the other visitor’s annoyance, but I didn’t care about them. All that mattered to me was the piece of art on four legs and beautiful eyes.

We went shopping, had a lovely meal out, and went to the theatre where she told me about her parents and her sister. She cried silently for a little while but I was there to get her back on her hooves once more, and she was grateful for it.

It was in the gardens at the end of the second day though where our lives changed. The sun had gone and the twilight hours closed in with the first stars appearing in the sky. We walked silently, looking at the various statues of the gardens. I told Rosemary about some of them and what they represent, to which she was deeply fascinated by them, but seemed more interested in hearing me speak.

After a while we went to a quiet area where we wouldn’t be disturbed by anypony nearby. It was here where I decided to ask. “Rosemary?”

“Hmm?” she replied.

“You know yesterday, when we came here, that you said you loved me but corrected yourself, did you mean it? Do you love me?”

She looked sheepish and backed away fearfully. She gave a small squeak in reply and hid her face behind her mane. My heart was bleeding out now at this point as I realised she started to cry. “You love me, don’t you?”

“Y-ye-yes!” she shrieked through her tears. I remember flinching back at her outburst. “You are the only pony in my life that has been kind to me for a very long time,” she reasoned. “But now I’ve said that, I’ve probably lost you forever.” She placed her head in her hooves and continued to cry.

I walked up to her and, gently placing a hoof under her chin, lifted her head up to look at me. I gave her a small smile as I leaned forward and kissed her lips quickly, before leaning back. I realised at that moment, love was the thing I had been feeling. It was love at first sight for both of us, and it was the best feeling I’ve ever had.

“I love you too,” I replied.

She jumped me and pinned me to the ground, and placed her lips onto mine as we kissed. I wrapped my hooves around her waist as I rolled her onto the side, the kiss staying for a very long time. We parted our mouths after a while so we could breathe, and we both wore huge, joyous smiles on our faces as I looked into her love struck eyes. I moved a hoof across her face and wiped away the tears from her cheeks.

“Keep to smiling,” I advised. “Tears don’t suite you at all.”

“Are we a couple now?” she asked.

“Of course. It would seem weird laying here kissing a friend.”

“Ah, not unless its truth or dare,” she said with a giggle.

“Good point,” I agreed with a chuckle. “So what do you want to do now?”

She gave me a very seductive smile and a faint blush formed on her cheeks, as well as mine, as I realised what she was implying.

She gently rolled me over onto my back and sat on top of me, then…

Firewing stopped talking when he felt a hoof slam into his mouth. He looked down to see a yellow leg protruding from his mouth, while at the far end was the blushing, embarrassed face of his daughter.

“That’s lovely and all,” she said. “But I really, really don’t want to know… you know, that.”

Firewings eyes widened as he realised he was going a bit too far. He gave a faint nod and Fluttershy pulled away the hoof from his mouth. “Sorry, sweetheart,” he said apologetically, whilst bearing a sheepish smile. “I sometimes do get a bit carried away when I’m telling a story. But you know, you were asking for it when you said you wanted to know everything, and I thought you meant everything.”

“How I was conceived should not be something you should tell you daughter,” Fluttershy said sternly, with the blush on her face melting away.

“Well I don’t think you were conceived there. I think it was…” He was cut off again by another hoof in the mouth. “Okay I’ll stop,” he said through the hoof.

Fluttershy nodded, pulled her hoof out and backed away. “Thank you. So what happened next?”

“Well,” Firewing answered. “I think afterwards we fell asleep in each others embrace in the gardens that night. Luckily we weren’t disturbed, or found, even when the morning came. We woke up, cleaned ourselves up a bit and went back to Cloudsdale.”

He paused for a moment. “A month passed. In that time Rosemary’s parents passed away, but before they died they asked forgiveness for their actions, which Rosemary gave while I received their blessings. I got a job, while she made some good friends at last. And one day after a good day at work I came home to the greatest news I would ever hear…”

I managed to find in one of the weather factories during my retirement in Cloudsdale. My job was to make the individual snowflakes that were to be used for the winter, and I loved every moment of it. I made a few good friends there, including one whom I believe is now in charge of the entire factory.

Anyway I finished my shift, feeling proud of myself to have created around two hundred snowflakes in one day. Even the boss was proud of me that day and said I might be getting a promotion, and a raise, very soon.

The sun was descending from the sky as I arrived at my home, well, Rosemary’s home I had to keep reminding myself. I was a guest at her house, but then I had to keep reminding myself that I was more of a guest. I was a friend, and I was her lover.

I popped the spare key she had given me from my wing and opened the door. “Rosemary, darling, I’m home!” I called through the house, but I got no reply. I frowned as I looked around. I saw her favourite horseshoes were on the ground by the door so she hadn’t gone out. I walked into the living room and saw she wasn’t napping there either.

My fears came to an abrupt end when I heard the tiptoe sounds of a pony creeping up behind me, and the littlest giggle. I knew who it was instantly and I grinned.

I spun around and went, “Boo!” into her face before gently tackling her to the ground, herself giggling all the while. I planted my lips onto hers and wrapped my legs around her, not wanting to leave her side, ever. Even the Dragonlords were now a dim memory, a black stain in my mind.

I was at some moment I noticed she was trembling. I looked into her eyes and saw nervous excitement in them. “What is it?” I asked with concern. “I felt you trembling.”

She smiled and showed me something that was hidden behind her back. “Have a look yourself.” She said to me. I took the thing in my hoof and looked at it. My eyes widened when I saw it was a pregnancy test, and my eyes widened even further when I saw the plus sign on the front.

“Y-y-yo-you-your p-pregnant?” I stammered. She gave a little nod with a small smile on her face. I felt a smile crawl along my face as I realised I was going to become a father. I started laughing, for no reason; I just wanted to express my joy to the world. I wanted to run down the street shouting, “I’m going to be father!” But all I did was wrap my forelegs around her and spun her around the room, laughing all the while, with her laughing along.

I stopped spinning and looked at her in the eyes. “Rosemary? I wanted to ask you at a restaurant tonight but I think now should be right.” I lowered myself onto one leg and took her hoof in mine. She looked at me with wide eyes as she knew what I was gonna say.

“Will you marry me?”

“Yes!” she squealed, and tightened her hold over me.

At that moment I felt our bond strengthen. I thought that nothing could separate us, nothing.

I was wrong. So wrong.

“The wedding was a small, but joyous affair. Rosemary’s sister didn’t come. Heck, I don’t even think she was invited. All my friends from the weather factory came and saw us become husband and wife. As well as Rosemary’s mare friends, who congratulated her for becoming pregnant with you.

“The next nine months were quite a blur actually. We had the bungalow extended, to make a baby room for you to sleep in. We had arguments but they were small and never really got out of hoof. Our relationship was strong, very strong.

“The next nine months was an anxious wait as I watched Rosemary’s belly begin to swell. She joked about how fat she looked, but she always kept hold of that smile, like I told her to. I too was excited, but…”

“But what?” Fluttershy tilted her head a little to the side, curious as to why he hesitated. “What got you so concerned?”

“I didn’t know at first, my sweet,” he answered. “I felt that I should remember something, something about you. But it slipped my mind. I’ll come to it later.”

“Oh, okay. So then what happened?”

Firewings eyes started to glisten with water as he began to remember that day. “After nine months of waiting, you were finally coming. That day would be the happiest day, and the worst day, of my life…”

I paced up and down the waiting room of the Cloudsdale hospital, anxious about the safety of my wife, and my child. It had been nearly twelve hours since Rosemary’s water broke, and that I had to rush her to hospital, even as she felt you beginning to make your way out.

I glanced at the clock and noticed it was around eleven at night. There was nopony else around me so that didn’t help the nerves in my body. I sat down and planted my head in my hooves, worrying about what was taking so long. Had I been forgotten?

I looked up when I heard hoofsteps coming towards the waiting room. I got out of my seat and had a look of anticipation on my face as I saw the nurse coming in. “Excuse me?” I called to her. “Is there any news of my wife, and my child?”

She came up to me and looked at me solemnly. I felt my heart beat a little quicker, and I began to feel a sense of dread as she stood before me. “What’s wrong?” I demanded.

She gestured for me to sit down, which I duly did so. She then said, “I’m afraid the labour is not going well. The foal is coming out the wrong way and is stuck, and your wife is losing a lot of blood.”

I felt tears in my eyes as I heard this. “Can you do anything?” I said through my tears.

She winced and placed a hoof on mine. “We’re doing what we can, sir,” she said, comfortingly and professionally. “I’m just here to prepare you for the worst.” With that she got up and left me to my thoughts.

“Wait!” I called to her. She turned her head back around. “Please, when the foal comes, let me know, please?”

She nodded. “Of course, sir.” She turned and left through the door.

My mind raced with horrific thoughts. The nurse told me to prepare for the worst, so did that mean it was possible for you and Rosemary to die? I have fought in many battles in my lifetime, and lost good friends. But those losses I endured. The loss of you or Rosemary, however, I didn’t think I could live through.

Another hour or so later did the nurse come back. “Good news, you have a healthy daughter.”

I got up and galloped past her, not even saying thank you, towards the delivery room. I had to hurry. I wanted to see her. I wanted to see you both.

I pushed the doors of the delivery room open and ran up to Rosemary, who was lying on the beside looking weak, but had a small smile on her face. It was then I noticed the bundle of adorableness in her forelegs that was you, my child.

You were wrapped up in a linen cloth and had a curious look on your face as you scanned the room around you. Your eyes were as wide as saucers and only a forelock of you pink mane was in view.

Tears of joy were in my eyes as I looked at you. I leaned my head forward and nuzzled you gently. You reacted by pressing a hoof on my nose. “She’s so cute isn’t she?” Rosemary said weakly.

I nodded, unable to say anything as I looked at you. “What should we call her?” I asked eventually.

“I thought of one earlier,” Rosemary said hoarsely. “I didn’t want to say anything till it came.”

“That’s okay, sweetheart,” I said. I brought up a hoof and ran it down her face. “What did you think of?”

“My mum once said she wanted to call me Fluttershy, but changed it, saying it didn’t suit me. I want to call our daughter that, if it’s okay with you?”

I looked from her back to you, a little foal only a few minutes old, with your beautiful cyan eyes staring back at me. “I love it,” I responded later. “Fluttershy it is.”

She smiled and was about to say something, but coughed up a bit of blood instead. I gasped and pressed her close. “Firewing,” she said. Promise me tha-”

“Don’t say that? Don’t say your goodbyes,” I whispered into her ears. I felt tears in my eyes.

“Listen to me,” she said persistently. “Promise me you’ll look after our daughter. Make sure no harm will come to her, and teach her not to harm others. Teach her to love and cherish everything in life. Do that for me, won’t you?”

“I will, but with you by my side,” I promised.

“Sorry, sir,” the doctor said. I could tell from his tone he didn’t like what he was about to say. “We’re going to have to ask you to wait outside while we check on your wife.”

I looked at him teary eyed, and then back to my wife. “Get through this, Rosemary. For your daughter’s sake as well as mine.”

“I’ll try,” she said weakly. She was going paler and weaker by the second, but I failed to notice, probably out of denial of what was transpiring. She looked at me and with a small smile, agonisingly raised a hoof and wiped my cheeks. “Tears don’t suit you, my love,” she said. “A smile’s better.”

I smiled half-heartedly. “I’ll be back, my love, I’ll be back.” I got up and watched as you were carried away, while I walked back to the waiting room. I turned my head one last time towards the room, catching a glimpse of my wife, little knowing it would be the last time I would see her.

Two hours later I was told she was dead.

“She died of the complications in childbirth,” Firewing said, looking at the ground with tears in his eyes as he remembered those words going through him like the words of Death himself. “The doctors tried everything they could but… she just lost too much blood, and she seemed to lose the will to live.”

He looked up to see Fluttershy with tears of her own. They ran down her cheeks like waterfalls and she wasn’t looking at Firewing at all. “Is that why?” she asked. “Is that why… you left me? Did you blame me for my mother’s death?”

Firewing shook his head rapidly. “Never! I would never blame you for what happened to Rosemary! The reasons I left you are an entirely different matter altogether.”

“But isn’t it my fault, though? Didn’t I cause Rosemary to die?”

Firewing walked over and embraced his daughter in a tight hug. Fluttershy returned the embrace. They stayed like that for a long time, until Fluttershy’s silent tears stopped spilling altogether.

“The doctors told me later that Rosemary’s death couldn’t have been avoided, no matter how hard they tried saving her. You had nothing to do with her passing, my child. So stop thinking otherwise.”

Fluttershy nodded, but inside she still felt a little guilty. “Look at me, Fluttershy.” Fluttershy looked up, allowing Firewing to wipe the remaining tears on her cheeks with a hoof. “Keep to smiling. Tears don’t suit you at all.”

Fluttershy gave a small smile, making Firewing smile in return. “So what happened next?”

“At first it was hard, being a single parent. But I carried on, for your sake, as well as mine. I changed your diapers, which by the way I’m so glad I didn’t have to do for long.” Fluttershy giggled. “I carried on, in Rosemary’s memory. Until a month later, on the last day I would see you for twenty years…”

I woke up once more to the sound of your crying, your pleas as you wanted to be fed. I grumbled as I got up and got your milk, then took it to the crib where you slept. I placed the milk bottle in your mouth and you started sucking. The world went quiet once more.

I smiled as I watched you drink. “What would Rosemary think of you now?” I wondered aloud. “How grown up you are?” You drank down the whole thing and fell asleep quicker than I ever saw.

I was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. I walked over and opened it, revealing the mail mare. “Morning, Mr Firewing,” she greeted me. She was old and could barely see, but had a kind heart and knew your mother and me well. “How’s the little filly? I’m sure she’s getting a bit bigger by the day.”

I nodded. “She sure is, Mrs Stamp,” I said. I looked down at the single letter in her hoof. “Just the one today?”

She nodded. “Yep, said to be delivered immediately. Sounds urgent, if I say so myself. The only problem is there’s no bleeding return address.”

“Well as long as it ain’t taxes I’m glad,” I chuckled. “Thanks, Mrs Stamp, take care.” She said her goodbyes and left. I closed the door and walked into the living room, all the while wondering what was in this strange, yellow envelope.

I sat down and opened the envelope. I took the letter outside and opened it, and my heart stopped when I read it.

All Dragonlords in retirement are to return to the fortress for emergency deployment immediately.

I couldn’t believe it at first, so I scanned the single line once more, until the message finally sunk into my mind. My retirement from the Dragonlords was over, so soon. But whatever it was sounded urgent, and the Dragonlords sounded desperate. So I had to do my duty, even if it meant leaving my peaceful life behind.

I suddenly stopped and realised with a heart stopping moment one thing. You, my child. I slowly walked over to the room where you lived and looked down at the crib in which you laid. I remember you were sleeping with your hoof in your mouth, sucking on it slowly.

I realised at that moment what I was feeling nine months ago, when I realised I was going to have you. You had my DNA in you. You were a Dragonlord, a warrior unlike any other. Born out of fire and augmented to fight the many evils this world had, and annihilate them, without mercy.

It was a life I didn’t want you to know, or have. I wanted you to live a peaceful life, living in a cloud home like your mother’s, doing ordinary things. Fall in love, have children, and die a hundred years old in your bed surrounded by family and friends, not on a battlefield where all you feel is anger and hatred for someone you don’t even know.

I promised your mother to teach you to enjoy life, and not to harm others. And you coming with me would be breaking that promise to her. I knew what I had to do, and hated myself for it. “I’m sorry, Rosemary,” I whispered aloud.

I set about boarding up the house and locking away anything of value to your mother or myself. I got hold of a basket and wrapped it in baby bed sheets. I waited till nightfall for the next part of my plan, and dreaded every second of it.

Nightfall soon came, quicker than I hoped. I walked up to your crib, gently picked you up, and placed you in the basket. I covered you up so that you were nice and warm, and then took you outside.

The streets were thankfully empty, and it was one of those rare occasions were Cloudsdale was low enough for rain to fall on it. I walked on though, my tears covered by the rain to the orphanage I knew was nearby, and where I knew you’d be safe.

When I arrived, I could see a light was on so thankfully I walked over, and knocked on the door. “Hello?” an old, kind voice called from the other side. The door opened to reveal a white old mare with huge glasses on her face. “Good evening, sir. Looking to adopt?”

I dolefully shook my head. “I’m afraid not, I’m here to place my child in your care.” I went on to explain my predicament and why I had to leave her.

The old mare’s eyes widened at the tale, but she accepted it. “I’m so sorry about that, my dear. Could I have a look at her?”

I said, “Yes,” and placed the basket on the ground and showed you to her.

The mare’s face lit up in joy as she studied you. “She has to be one of the most adorable fillies I have ever seen. I will take care of her for you, my dear.”

“A few more things,” I said. I brought the medallion out of my saddlebags and gave it to her. “Give this to her when she’s of age and got her cutie mark. Tell her it gives her good luck.” I paused before adding, “And tell her if she asks, she was found out here, alone.”

“But what if she wants to find you again?” she protested.

“She cannot. It’s important that she thinks I’m dead. For her own safety.”

She didn’t like it, her eyes told me that, but she accepted it. “I will. Would you like to say your goodbyes now?”

I nodded and bent down, and nuzzled you face. “Forget me, Fluttershy,” I choked back tears. “Forget me and live the way your mother wanted; peacefully. Maybe our paths will cross again, who knows. But I don’t want that, and if you knew who, or what I truly was, you wouldn’t either. Goodbye, my girl. Goodbye, my love.”

I nuzzled you once more before looking away and galloped into the night. Never once did I look back, out of shame.

Fluttershy was stunned; her eyes went wide as old, faded memories, ones that had been locked away for so long, began to form in her mind. The memories of her father leaving her at the orphanage, the rain she could feel fall onto her face as he had said his goodbyes.

“So… you were trying to save me… from this?”

Firewing gave a sad nod of his head. “Yes. I had hoped that keeping you away from me would prevent you from learning of your Dragonlord heritage. But it seems as if fate, and destiny, had other ideas.”

“But why couldn’t I be with my auntie?” Fluttershy asked. She may not now like her aunt but she was still family.

“Your auntie never knew you existed, Fluttershy,” Firewing answered. “Rosemary and I had sent a letter to her, but we never received a reply. We assumed she just threw it away when she saw whom it was by. There was, however, enough for authorities to be able to track you down and give you the deed to the cottage in Ponyville.”

“Yes, I remember that day well…”

It was a beautiful day outside, and it was the summer also so we all had time off at school. I remember sitting on my bed in the far corner away from all the other colts and fillies, reading a Daring Do adventure book.

I looked up when I heard one of the carers call my name. “Ye-yes miss?” I asked shyly.

“Miss Foster would like to see you, my dear,” she said with a warm smile. She could see the worry on my face and laughed. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy, you’re not in trouble. You never are.”

I smiled as I got up and headed to the office where Miss Foster sat. She was always a kind mare and saw me as a daughter she couldn’t have. I recall she once said to me about adopting me herself, but couldn’t for some reason. Still I didn’t mind.

I walked up to the door and gave it a light tap. “Come in,” I heard from the other side. I entered and was greeted by a big, loving smile from Miss Foster. “Fluttershy, so good to see you.”

“Thank you, Miss Foster,” I curtsied. I walked in and sat on the chair in front of her desk.

“Now first off, my dearest condolences to you. And congratulations.” She said.

I tilted my head at a weird angle and said, “Excuse me?!”

“Firstly,” she explained, holding up a piece of paper. “This said you have an auntie living in Ponyville, but she has recently died and since she had no children or family of her own, the cottage, as well as her possessions, pass down to you.”

I recall my heart skipping a few beats, before accelerating into overdrive. My mind raced with thoughts that went too fast to remember. Only one, however, stayed.

I had a home now, my own home.

“But… but,” I stammered. “Wouldn’t that mean…”

She nodded, the pain of what she was about to say clear in her eyes. “Yes. You will have to leave here.”

My heart dropped into my stomach as I realised what was happening. I was gaining a home, but to have it I would be losing the only home I knew. “But I… but I don’t know anything about a home, let alone looking after one.”

“Fluttershy.” She got up, walked around her desk and knelt down to look me in the eye. “You don’t want to stay cooped up here all your life, do you?” I shook my head. “You’ll be fine, my dear. The carers and I here have taught you all you need to survive on your own. Yes, moving in would be daunting, but in time you will grow to love it, and I’m sure it would be as bright and loving as you are.”

I smiled and wrapped my forelegs around her in a hug. “Come and visit me, please?” I asked.

“I’ll try to, Fluttershy,” she promised. “Now go and pack your things.” I nodded and walked out of the room. I only heard the sound of her crying as I left. I knew I should be crying also, but I found I couldn’t, I shouldn’t. Like Miss Foster said I should be looking forward to this, and the more I thought about it, the more exciting it got.

I could stay up as long as I liked. I could have my own bedroom to sleep in. My own bathroom, read what I want, go where I want. Everything I could never have if I stayed here.

I packed my things, said aloud, “Goodbye,” to all the other fillies and colts, but they didn’t hear me, and left.

I walked out of the orphanage door and as I got to the main gate, looked back at the only home I knew. It felt like I stood there for a long time, for by the time I had gone and was on my way to leaving Cloudsdale the sun was beginning its descent.

Fluttershy finished talking and took a deep breath. It was very rare for her to talk for this length of time, and in that much detail. But it felt liberating to talk about something she hadn’t talked about for a long time, except with her friends.

“I know that telling you about why I left you won’t pardon me from my actions, Fluttershy,” Firewing said after a moment of silence. “But you had the right to know and it would be wrong of me to have kept it locked up. Just know that I love you. Always.” Firewing bowed his head and wept silently.

At that moment Fluttershy realised he had been in pain for twenty years. He been beating himself up for a long time over it and now, upon letting it out, it became agony for him. Fluttershy knew she had to put it right, and she knew only one way how – through kindness.

She got up and slowly walked over to her weeping father, then embraced him. “I forgive you,” she said, rubbing circles across his back.

Firewings eyes shot open. He looked at Fluttershy with wide disbelieving eyes. “I… I don’t…” He was cut off when Fluttershy gently pressed his lips together with a hoof and gave him a loving smile.

“What you did, dad, I cannot condemn, as I have done something similar, so I know how much pain you’re in. You think that you don’t deserve forgiveness, but you do dad, everypony does.” She gave him a light kiss on the forehead. “You’ve been in pain for twenty years, Firewing, and I’m here to heal you.” She wrapped her forelegs around her dad once more and gave him a tight embrace.

Firewing at first was stunned, but he returned the embrace just as tightly. In that moment he felt twenty years of pain and heavy torment on himself go away, he felt lighter than he ever had done in his life. He felt relief, and all of this from three words he thought he would never hear for his actions.

They stayed like that for a long time, weeping silently in each other’s shoulders, while the owls howled and the mice scurried about. Fluttershy eventually let go and gave her father the loving smile that reminded him of Rosemary. “Feeling better?” Fluttershy asked.

“A bit, thanks to you,” Firewing said. He looked up towards the night sky and sighed. “It’s getting late; I think we should call it a night.”

Fluttershy nodded and shifted herself closer to the fire to keep warm. “Dad?” A grunt was the reply. “What are you going to do, when this over I mean?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “I know that after this I don’t want to take up my sword again. Why?”

“Because, I was just wondering.” She paused for a moment before blurting out, “Would you like to live with me in Ponyville?”

Firewing opened his eyes and looked at his daughter. He could see the pleading look in her eyes and smiled. “I would like that, a lot.”

Fluttershy beamed and let out a little squeal of joy. “Oh, you’re gonna love it in Ponyville. It’s full of lovely ponies; delicious foods and great places to just relax and enjoy the day. Maybe we could play games of ‘shh’ and…” She stopped upon noticing her father was fast asleep. “Oh.” She placed a hoof on her mouth. “Sorry. Goodnight, dad.”

She set herself down on the grass, tucked her legs into her stomach, rested her head on the soft grass, and fell asleep. Her dreams were full of things that she as going to do with her father once they’ve returned home. Things, which she never could do in her childhood.

Chapter 14

When the sun rose next morning, it rose in a reddish colour, painting the sky blood for a few hours before resorting back to its natural blue. The day was a beautiful one; the sky was a clear blue, with puffy white clouds dotted here and there, while a small, gentle breeze kept the tall, green grass and trees flowing like they were slow dancing.

Fluttershy, upon feeling the warmth of the sun hit her coat, opened her eyes. She raised her head, let out a long yawn and scratched a small itch on her neck with a rear hoof. The revelations she learned from the night had left her in a mixed mood. She was glad and happy to have learned about her mother, and the events of what brought her to the orphanage. But at the same time, she felt a pang of sorrow go through her at the thought of how much pain her father had been in for almost twenty years.

She looked over at his sleeping form and began thinking of a way to cheer him up, to bond with him properly. Sure she was getting on with her newfound father well, but they never truly bonded, like fathers and daughters should, as they were too busy saving the world. She hoped that would change either today, or when they returned to Ponyville as father and daughter.

She tiptoed over to where Firewing’s saddlebags were and opened them. She looked inside to find some small eggs inside, chicken ones she realised. She picked them up in her hooves and made ready to fry them. “Sorry about this,” she said to the eggs as she took a sharp rock, and cracked the first one open, the egg white and yolk spilling out of the shell and onto the small frying pan Firewing had.

After cracking the second one, she began building up the fire once more, and with a flat rock for a stool, placed the frying pan in the middle. Soon the fire was raging and the eggs were burning nicely, much to her delight. While she waited for the eggs to fry she laid out on the grass and watched and listened to the crackle of the flames.

It wasn’t long before she heard the sniffing of a nose as her father began to stir. “Morning, dad,” she greeted him with a smile.

Firewing sniffed the air a few more times before replying. “Morning, Fluttershy.” He stretched out his legs, then walked closer to the fire, inspecting the eggs. “My, they look lovely.”

“Oh the eggs, do you like them like that?” Firewing nodded with a lick of his lips. Fluttershy got up, walked over to the campfire and took off the frying pan from the rock. “Do you have any plates?”

Firewing nodded and indicated to his saddlebags. “I don’t understand, though,” he said as Fluttershy walked over and brought two small plates out. “What’s this about?”

“No reason really,” Fluttershy said, her voice muffled by the plates in her mouth. “I just wanted to do something nice for you, being my dad and all.” She set down the plates on the grass. “And we may not get a chance like it for a long time.”

After a moment of silence, Firewing nodded and settled down next to the plates. Fluttershy took the frying pan in her mouth and placed both eggs on his plate, much to Firewings surprise. “You’re not having the eggs?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No I don’t eat them. I only eat things that are grown out of the ground and not in another’s belly.”

“A picky eater then.” Fluttershy nodded, making Firewing chuckle. “The dinner ponies at the orphanage must have loved you.”

“They did actually. They always said how polite I was compared to the other colts and fillies there, and taught me how to cook as well,” Fluttershy said with pride.

Firewing rolled his eyes and set about eating his eggs. Fluttershy meanwhile got hold of some edible flowers to have for her breakfast. The two ate their meals in silence, the only sounds around were of birds singing, the high whistle of the gentle breeze, and the sound of ponies eating.

“I have to say, Fluttershy,” Firewing said as he finished the last of the eggs. “I have never in my hundred years had eggs that good. What’s your secret?”

“I didn’t do anything at all,” Fluttershy said with a shrug, and a small blush at the compliment. “I just placed them on the frying pan and left them to fry.”

“Well if you’re cooking is this good, I can’t wait to see what’s it like in Ponyville.”

“Hey, I’m not doing all the cooking, mister,” Fluttershy said with assertiveness and a pointing hoof. “You can forget that you’re going to have it easy because believe me.” She leaned closer and whispered, “It will be very hard indeed.”

Firewing seemed to go pale, as his neck and eyes shrunk from Fluttershy’s fearful gaze. Eventually Fluttershy couldn’t hold it anymore and started laughing. “You should see the look on your face, priceless,” she said between heavy bursts of laughter.

Firewing just laid there stunned. Once Fluttershy stopped laughing she stood up and gave a sharp nod of the head. “That was for yesterday,” she said.

Firewing blinked, and then started laughing as well. “Oh okay, you got me. Now let’s get packed and get on the move. We have a big day in front of us, and we need to cover ground fast.”

Fluttershy nodded, then set about putting out the fire, which took a while as she couldn’t beat it down with her hooves, so had to smother it with some water from the lake nearby. Afterwards she went to the bathroom and by the time she was ready Firewing had his saddlebags packed.

“Ready, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy gave a quick nod. “Okay, I believe to get to the Ramshead from here we have to go that way.” He pointed towards where the lake was. “Then find the old Horscan road and make our way along that and in three to four days, maybe less, we should be in the Ramshead range. Let’s go!” He reared up, whinnied and proceeded to gallop off through the trees. Fluttershy did the same and had soon caught up with him.

“So… you stole the Princess’ pet bird?!” Firewing exclaimed. The two had been walking for about an hour now and had decided to tell each other stories of each their adventures, or misadventures in most cases. Fluttershy had already told him of the near destruction of Ponyville by parasprites, and Firewing had told her of when he met a basilisk, and how he was nearly killed by the great eyes of the reptile.

“I wouldn’t say I stole it, more burrowed without permission,” Fluttershy said with a little nod. “When I first met Philomena I thought the poor thing was sick and needed healing. So I took her back to my cottage and used every treatment I know to try and make her feel better. But none of them worked.”

“You know, I’m surprised you weren’t thrown in a dungeon for such a thing.”

“The Princess was very understanding in the end, she would never had done such a thing in the first place. I knew that but my friend Twilight was beginning to panic a little and wouldn’t take any alternatives. But everything turned out alright in the end.”

“Yes, I know the story quite well actually.”

“You do?!” Fluttershy exclaimed.

Firewing nodded. “Oh yes. When I was in Canterlot the Princess, after introducing me to the phoenix, said that once a pegasus pony from Ponyville tried to heal her when she was at the end of one of her life cycles. She never said your name, I think due to some confidential thing or other, but if she did we might have met sooner.”

Fluttershy laughed. “Funny if things turned out like that.”

“Yeah, it would’ve been,” Firewing chuckled. “Now, would you like to know about my encounter with a ten-headed Hydra?”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “There’s such a creature?!” Firewing nodded. “I only encountered a four-headed hydra myself.”

“Well a ten-headed hydra is far bigger than a four-headed one, and far deadlier,” Firewing went on. “It was a simple routine tour I did that was my last before going into retirement. Two others and me were out in large swamplands in the far west, after we received reports of cattle and sheep disappearing from the area. Anyway we arrived at the swamplands and looked around for any sign of the missing cattle. After a while we…”

As Firewing talked Fluttershy’s ears perked up at their highest, her eyes glancing at the trees around her. “Shh,” she whispered.

“The hydra started chasing us, so we took to the air and tried to get…”

“Dad, please be quiet.”

Firewing stopped and looked at Fluttershy in an offended manner. “Did you just tell me to be quiet?”

“Sorry, but just listen.”

Firewing’s ears perked upright as well and listened hard. After a while he said, “I can’t hear anything.”

“But that’s just it. There’s nothing. Not even a bird song.” Fluttershy’s breathing began to go a bit faster.

Firewing’s eyes widened as he realised that Fluttershy was right. The birds that had been singing so loud since the two started had gone quiet, like they couldn’t sing anymore. A gentle light breeze kept the trees swaying but that was it. Nothing. It was as if the whole world’s population had disappeared and Fluttershy and Firewing were the only ones left.

Fluttershy began to feel the butterflies in her stomach flare up, trying to escape something they knew that was coming but couldn’t. She inched closer towards her father until their sides were touching.

Firewing’s head darted from left to right, looking for whatever could have caused the birds and animals to make flight like this. Surely it wasn’t them as they had been walking now for an hour or so. So who, or what?

He looked down to see Fluttershy at his side starting to shake in fear. He bent his head down and nuzzled the side of her face. “It’s okay, Fluttershy. I’m here.” Fluttershy gave him a little smile and started to look as well for whatever caused the silence.

Her heart dropped to her stomach and her nerves left her at the sound of a thunderous roar.

“Dragon!” Firewing exclaimed. “Quick, back the way we came!” He gave Fluttershy a nudge and sent her forward. With a squeak from Fluttershy the two began galloping back the way they came. Fluttershy looked behind her to see the dragon and gasped in horror when she recognized it.

“It’s the same dragon!” Fluttershy called to Firewing. “The one that attacked Andulusia!”

Firewing’s eyes widened even further and looked back to get a good look at his enemy, the one that wanted his daughter dead. The dragon was big, with dark green scales that were darker than the leaves on the trees around him. A long, spiky tail, razor sharp claws, and a fierce, growling head. While dotted across its body were small crossbow bolts and grazes from sword slashes. But its eyes are what disturbed Firewing the most, as they were literally fire.

The dragon was flying in a diagonal pattern across the forest, seeking out the two ponies that were the last of the Dragonlord order. Upon noticing Fluttershy and Firewing running through the forest path, it let out a deafening roar and swung about and flew as fast as it could towards them, its mouth drooling in hunger.

Firewing looked forward once more and saw a clear opening in the woods. “Fluttershy, follow me!” he shouted to her, before darting into the woods.

Fluttershy looked back and saw the dragon was now close, too close. It went to pick her up with its claws but before it could do so she skidded into the woods after her father, the dragon only picking up dirt.

The dragon soared back up into the sky and hovered above the woods, searching for any sign of the two ponies, but couldn’t find any. It bellowed fire in its frustration towards the trees, setting them alight.

Fluttershy looked back and saw the trees being ignited, one by one. “What’s it trying to do?!” Firewing wondered. “If it thinks it can burn us out, it’s got another thing coming.”

Just as he spoke, one of the trees gave way and collapsed onto the ground with heavy thud just inches away from them. “I don’t think he wants to burn us out,” Fluttershy corrected her father. “I think it wants to crush us!”

“Then run!” Firewing spun around and set off away from the dragon and the now raging forest fire, Fluttershy was close behind. The two looked back to see that the distance between them and the dragon had widened, and they began to relax a little.

The two came out of the woods and in front of a small gorge that ran away from them back into the highlands. Their ears pricked up again once more to hear the roars of the dragon had gone louder and, much to their alarm, closer.

“Quick, into the gorge!” Firewing yelled.

Fluttershy jumped down first and slid down the slope into the gorge, saying, “Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness,” over and over again. She made it to the bottom and waited for her father to come down after him. “Come on, dad!” Firewing just stood there. “Come on, we have to hide!”

“Fluttershy, listen to me,” Firewing said. “You must stay down here and stay out of sight. I’m going to try and take that dragon off our backs. I won’t be long, I promise.” He took off his sword bracelet and threw it down to the wide-eyed pegasus. “Here, keep hold of this until I return.” And with that he darted out of sight and galloped away.

“Daddy, wait! Please don’t leave me!” Fluttershy yelled. But he was already gone, leaving Fluttershy alone, again. Fluttershy ran up to the sword bracelet, replaced the one on her right leg to her left one, and placed the bracelet on her right leg. “Don’t worry,” she said to the bracelet. “Your master will return. My father will return. I know he will, I’m sure of it.”

She heard the dragon ring out another terrific roar, which made her heart stop for a few moments, before realising it was moving away from her. She moved to the wall of the gorge and curled up into a ball, a ball that was shaking violently with fear. She wished she had one of her teddy bears with her to be comforted by, or even better still, her father.

Suddenly there was silence. The dragon had gone, and with it, Firewing. Fluttershy began to hope that Firewing knew the way back, that he hadn’t gotten lost, or devoured by the dragon. “Stop thinking those thoughts, Fluttershy!” she screamed at herself. “He’s going to come back to me, you’ll see. In a minute he’ll appear down that slope there and we’ll be joined together again, you’ll see.”

Minutes passed, and still there was no sign of her father. Smoke from the forest fire began to cloud over the sun, dulling it. From the other side of the gorge, the birds had returned, and stated to sing their mid-day songs. Fluttershy usually found them comforting, but now she couldn’t. Every second that passed by without any sign of her father only increased her fears. “Please, dad,” she pleaded to the sky. “Come back now.”

“I’m here.”

Fluttershy jumped up and turned around to see her father smiling at her. Fluttershy beamed and gripped him in a bear hug. He was little worse for wear. His breathing was hoarse and his lower body was covered in dirt. “Umm… Fluttershy… can’t… breathe,” he rasped out.

“Oh, sorry,” Fluttershy said. She let him go and backed away from him to give him some air. “Did you… did you lose the dragon?”

Firewing nodded sharply. “Yeah, I gave it the slip, made it think we’re heading east. Either way I think we won’t see that dragon again.”

Fluttershy’s grin went a little wider and she hugged him again, this time a little less tight. She broke away and made to give him back his sword, but Firewing stopped her with a gentle touch to her hoof. “Keep it, it’s yours now. As it should be.” Firewing could see the hesitation in her eyes and chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ve got the axe so I should be able to look after myself.”

Fluttershy smiled and relaxed her hoof from the bracelet. “Okay then. So where should we go now?”

“We get out of here and then head as planned,” Firewing answered. “Ready?”

“Of course,” Fluttershy replied. With beaming smiles the two made their way up the steep slope and out and away from the burning woodland.

“-So, at night, when Pinkie was standing guard and when the others were supposedly asleep, I crept into the carriage and took a quick, tiny bite of the cake, hoping that I didn’t leave a large chunk in it and that Pinkie wouldn’t notice,” Fluttershy said. The two had been continuing their tales of misadventures and, after Firewing had finished his story of how he defeated the hydra, Fluttershy went on to tell about the time with the cake on the train.

Firewing listened with a rather amused expression. “And did she?”

Fluttershy slumped and looking at the ground, nodded. “The next morning it was found with three huge chunks taken out of it. Pinkie and Twilight carried out an investigation into who did do doned it, as Pinkie put it. Later we learnt it was I, Rainbow, Rarity and later Applejack, who confessed later, that took bites out of the cake, while the bakers were responsible for eating each other’s. We all apologized and were forgiven.”

“So who won the cake competition in the end?”

“Oh, Pinkie did.” When Firewing’s face furrowed in confusion she went on. “Pinkie and the bakers were able to put together a cake made out of all of they’re entries. They won first prize and as thanks, the other bakers let Pinkie keep all the prize money.”

“So all’s well that ends well then?” Firewing said with a small smile.

Fluttershy nodded. “I still feel bad, though. Pinkie did comfort me afterwards saying don’t worry about it anymore, that she was still my friend and wouldn’t hear anymore of it. But I still think about how stupid I was.”

Firewing moved closer and put a hoof around her shoulders. “You’re a pony, my child, and like everypony on Terra, are capable of doing stupid things. It’s called learning, sweetheart, so don’t work yourself up over it.” He paused for a moment before adding, “I have to say I’m looking forward to meeting your friends. They sound quite a lively bunch.”

Fluttershy slumped even further and her ears went flat across her head. “They probably don’t like me anymore. Probably won’t even want to see my face again.”

“Now what makes you say such a thing?”

With a sad sigh Fluttershy explained, “When I went after you, my friends came with me. When we got to Detrots and there I learnt of the dangers of Horsca for all of us. To save them I drugged my friends and left them asleep there, while I headed off on my own into Horsca to find you.”

There was an eerie, and unnerving silence coming from Firewing. Fluttershy took her eyes off the ground and looked up, expecting to see an angry scowl and a verbal telling off of what she did. Instead, she got a comforting nuzzle and smile from her father.

“So that’s what you meant when you said last night you did something similar.” Fluttershy gave a little nod. Firewing chuckled. “I wouldn’t worry about it, my child. From the sound of your friends they are a loving, forgiving bunch and would forgive you instantly. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had already forgiven you.” He looked up and around them. “Heck, I wouldn’t even be surprised if they were out here in Horsca looking for you.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened and she gave a little smile. “You think so?”

“Your friends clearly love you, and care deeply about you to have wanted to come with you on this trip. I’m sure when you see each them again, there’ll be hugs and tears of joy to be had.”

Fluttershy looked back to the ground and smiled. They never blamed her for the parasprite attack; Pinkie instantly forgave her for eating some of the cake, and several other things that she thought she didn’t deserve forgiveness for.

But every time she was forgiven and every time, she felt her friendship with them grow stronger. She began to feel assured that they would see her again, may give her another chance. But she just had to wait and see.

“Hmm,” Firewing pondered as he looked in front. “Seems to me like a dead end.”

Fluttershy looked up and saw what Firewing was looking at. They had just emerged from the woods and were now at the edge of a large cliff in the shape of a ships bow, albeit roughly.

Ahead of them though, sheer natural beauty presented itself. From their vantage point they could see the country of Horsca stretch out before them. The land was dotted with rivers, forests, hills and mountains. While small clouds of snow white littered the sky, darkening some of the country below.

“Fluttershy, stay back. I’m going to see if I can find a way down,” Firewing said. With a nod of agreement from Fluttershy he stepped forward, his eyes wandering across the landscape before him. He wished he could paint, then he could get a canvas and some brushes and start painting.

Fluttershy watched as her father walked up to the cliff edge, scanning the landscape before him, probably looking for a path she thought, before looking down over the cliff face to the ground below.

“Is there a way down?” Fluttershy enquired. But she received no response. Firewing was standing perfectly still, looking at the ground below the cliff intensely. The butterflies in Fluttershy began to flare up again and she took a step closer. “Dad? You okay?”

Firewing looked up, turned his head to face her and gave her a comforting smile. “Fluttershy, my daughter, the only thing I care for in this world. I just want you to know that I… I am so proud of you, and I love you, always.”

Fluttershy gave a blissful smile and took another step forward. At that moment, time slowed to a near standstill.

As she walked forward, she blinked and when she opened her eyes again, the dragon was behind her father, reaching out to grab him with its sharp teeth. When Fluttershy blinked again, the dragon had Firewing in its jaws and had locked down hard, impaling him with its long teeth. It soared off into the sky with Firewing in its mouth, leaving a wide-eyed, horrified Fluttershy.

While her mind trying to tell what had just happened, her heart was trying to tell her it didn’t happen. She slowly turned and around and watched with horror as her father, the only thing she had in the world that was family, was hurtled into the air by the dragon and disappeared on the other side of the trees.

Fluttershy screamed.

“Hey, guys, quiet for a minute,” Rainbow shushed the other ponies below her. After going through the tunnel and the small castle built into the mountains. Rainbow, Pinkie, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity and Thowra had arrived in the lush, rocky paradise that was the Horscan highlands.

That is, it was paradise, until Rainbow heard something. “What is it, Rainbow?” Twilight asked. Her ears pricked right up as she tried to hear what Rainbow heard.

“Can you hear that?” Rainbow enquired, her coat going pale and her heart rate went just a little faster. After a while the ponies all heard it too and gasped as the sound of a scream echoed across the land.

“It sounded like Fluttershy,” Rainbow declared once it stopped. “It sounds like… she’s in pain.”

“Come on, then!” Thowra whinnied, and pointed to a path leading down then up again around the hills. “The scream came from that way. Let’s go!”

Rainbow, however, was already gone. She soared into the sky and raced off into the direction of her friend’s anguished cries. She couldn’t wait for the others; her oldest friend was in trouble and she wasn’t going to let her down again.

Her hooves ached, but she didn’t care, she just ran faster. She felt the sting of cuts and scratches on her body from the bushes and plants she raced through, but again she didn’t care. She felt tears in her eyes but she wasn’t going to cry, not yet. She was going to find her father first, and then she was going to save him.

Fluttershy looked up and saw the dragon hovering overhead where she saw her father was thrown down. She felt her teeth grit together in anger as she stared at the dragon. She wasn’t going to let this monster take her father, nor was she going to let it get away with what it just did.

She felt the thud of the dragon landing beyond the clearing in front of her and she galloped even faster, ready to give it a piece of her mind. She came through another bush and emerged into a flat clearing that was surrounded by the forest. Fluttershy’s body was covered in cuts and marks where sharp twigs had grazed her coat. While blood wept from those cuts, she didn’t care or take notice of the pain. She just stared in horror at what was in front of her.

Her father was lying on his side, covered in blood, with huge marks on his body where the teeth of the dragon had dug in. It was a miracle he was still breathing, but just barely. He was looking with wide, pained eyes at the dragon in front of him, staring at him with malevolent intent. “And now,” it said. “I will feast on your flesh.”

Fluttershy’s teeth gritted together even harder, her pupils became mere dots as her anger was at the point of exploding. She screamed out and began to gallop forward, straight for the dragon and her father.

She made her way in front of the winged beast, spun around, and bucked with all her strength at the dragon’s open teeth, shattering one completely. The dragon reared back up in pain and howled, holding a claw at where its tooth was.

“Leave him alone!” Fluttershy reared up, and pointed Drage Bane at the dragon, while the other was pointing towards the ground. “I will kill you if you touch him!”

The dragon sneered and lowered itself back on all fours, snarling at the pegasus who had just annihilated a tooth. “Do not come between Heimdallr and his prey,” it said.

Fluttershy felt all courage leave her at the mention of his name. She lowered back on all fours and backed away in fear. “Y-you… you’re… Heimdallr?!” The dragon nodded, sneering all the while. “How… how can you be here?!”

Heimdallr laughed. The dragon didn’t even sound like the monster she met in Ferghana. “You still don’t get how I managed to destroy your pathetic order. How I managed to destroy Andulusia. How I managed to unlock the abilities you had from birth.”

“By… by controlling others?”

Heimdallr laughed once again. “Silly foal, this body is merely a puppet, for it has been dead for some time. Quite like how your father will be soon.”

Fluttershy shook her head and raised her right leg, presenting Drage Bane at him. “You’re not going to get my father! I would rather die myself before you touch him again!”

Heimdallr laughed once more and spread his bat-like wings. “Your father will not survive his wounds, Fluttershy Firewing. But I wouldn’t worry about that, cause you will soon be joining him. And this time, I can touch you.”

He raised a claw and brought it down onto where Fluttershy was standing. The pegasus quickly hopped out of way of where the claw was going to land, and instead of being crushed by the titanic size of the claw, instead had dirt thrown into her face.

She raised her right leg and lunged it forward, sending Drage Bane into the claw of the dragon, who cried out in pain. Fluttershy pulled away and began to gallop back out of the clearing, with Heimdallr on her tail. Fluttershy looked back and saw her father watching her with proud eyes. “I’ll be back,” she called to him. “I promise.”

Heimdallr spread his wings and let out a roar that echoed across the Horscan highlands, before taking to the air and soaring after Fluttershy. “You can run, Fluttershy Firewing, but you can’t hide!”

Fluttershy galloped back into the woods, hoping that the high trees would keep her safe from Heimdallr’s claws. She just needed to get Heimdallr away from her father, and then lose him so she could tend to his grievous wounds. She didn’t want to believe that monster that Firewing was not going to live, she couldn’t.

Fluttershy looked up and saw Heimdallr directly above her. He beat his wings down in a powerful thrust forward so he was now ahead of the pegasus. He wheeled about to face her and lowered himself until he was above one of the trees. He placed his claws onto it and with a tiny ounce of strength, pushed the tree towards Fluttershy in the hope of crushing her.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she saw this and turned to look at her wings. “Don’t let me down now,” she said to them. She spread her wings and shot upwards, barely missing the tree collapsing as she did so, and flew into the clouds.

Heimdallr looked up and gasped in surprise as he watched Fluttershy quickly disappear in the clouds. He flapped his wings once more and took off after her. But before he could get to her she was gone, disappearing into a large cloud formation.

Fluttershy looked behind her, hoping not to see Heimdallr right on her tail. She knew she couldn’t out fly him, but she could deceive him and make him think she was faster than he was. She landed on a large cloud and began digging into it, pushing bits off the cloud until there was a hole big enough for her to squeeze in and hide from Heimdallr’s gaze.

She dived into the hole, squeezing herself into a ball and throwing some of the cloud over her to help in her disguise. She waited for him to appear. Her breathing was quick, her eyes wide as they moved across the skyline, expecting for Heimdallr to appear.

Slowly and menacingly, he emerged in front of her, making her go lower into the cloud and start to shake in fear. She held a hoof over her mouth to stop a shriek and began praying to Celestia and Luna that she will not be seen.

Heimdallr hovered there, his head slowly turning around for any sign of the weak pegasus. He roared in anger upon not finding any. It was as if she had disappeared from existence altogether. “I know you are here somewhere, Fluttershy Firewing. I know that you won’t forsake your dear, precious father over your own life. I will find you, and I when I do, I shall feast on your still beating heart!” Heimdallr roared, before heading away from Fluttershy.

Fluttershy watched as Heimdallr flew away from her and her father, until he disappeared from view altogether, the clouds covering his movements. She blew a sigh of relief, got out of the little hole she dug for herself, and set off in the direction of her father, hoping she wasn’t too late.

“Fluttershy!” a voice that the yellow pegasus thought she would never hear again called out.

She stopped and looked at where the voice came from. She squinted her eyes as the figure of a cyan pegasus pony emerged from the clouds, a beam of sunlight at the newcomer’s back. “Rainbow?” she called out in disbelief, her eyes widening at who she was looking at. At first she thought she was hearing things. But no, Rainbow Dash was hovering in front of her with a large grin on her face and her chest rising and falling fast.

She was so busy looking at Rainbow, that she didn’t notice Heimdallr appear beside her from one of the clouds. Before Rainbow could cry out a warning he raised a claw and smashed it into Fluttershy with a sweeping motion.

Rainbow’s eyes widened and made a dive to rescue her, but was blown back by the dragon’s ferocious roar, sending her spiralling away through the sky, and away from Fluttershy, who was now spinning towards the ground.

Fluttershy lost all sense of control as she fell, she tried to get her wings to work properly and set her down gently, but they weren’t responding. So she closed her eyes and waited for the feel of the ground, knowing that once she did, she’ll be waiting for her father to appear.

With a cry of pain she smashed into a slope on her open right wing, but she didn’t stop. The slope went downhill towards a small clearing surrounded by trees with a few rocks at one end. She tumbled down the hill, being able to miss any of the trees that dotted the hillside, until she reached the flat and rammed into a large boulder on her side. She cried out once more as she felt her side smash into the boulder, although luckily, no bones were broken.

She was now bleeding in many places; the wound on her head had re-opened and was weeping blood once more. Dirt covered up most her legs and lower body, and she felt weak and dizzy after such a tumble.

She gritted her teeth and tried to rise onto her legs once more. She made it halfway up before her legs gave way and she collapsed back onto her stomach. She craned her head and looked up to see Heimdallr circling overhead like an eagle, sneering bloodied teeth at her as he descended from the sky and landed a few feet before her.

She cried out as she tried to rise again, but again failing and collapsing back onto the ground. “And you still continue to fight. Do you not know death when you see it, Fluttershy Firewing? This is my hour!” Heimdallr roared triumphantly.

‘It’s over,’ she thought. ‘Heimdallr’s won, we’ve lost.’ She looked back up at Heimdallr, staring at him with loathing. “Do want you want with me,” she said, looking back towards the ground.

Heimdallr sneered. “With pleasure.” He advanced slowly, teasing Fluttershy with every step, savouring the victory that was assured. He had taken care of Firewing, now the last of the Dragonlords was in front of him. After five thousand years, he will have his revenge.

“HEY, GET AWAY FROM OUR FRIEND!” a high-pitched voice yelled from the tree line. Heimdallr and Fluttershy looked in the direction of where the shouting came from. Both Fluttershy’s and Heimdallr’s eyes widened at the appearance of five ponies and one horse.

Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Thowra were standing there, with their sword legs raised and Rainbow’s crossbow primed and aiming straight at Heimdallr’s eye. “You take one step closer to our friend and I will stick this bolt in your eye,” Rainbow threatened.

“Yeah,” Applejack snarled. “Back away now, and leave her alone, or deal with us.”

“Anyone who hurts one of our friends hurts all of us,” Twilight growled.

“Well fighting is not usually my thing. But I will GUT YOU WITH MY BARE HOOVES IF YOU TOUCH HER AGAIN!” Rarity screeched.

“Yeah… what they all said,” Pinkie finished, before reverting back to a threatening stance, and growling at the dragon in front of them. Thowra said nothing, just stared at the winged beast with a snarl and a raised sword on his leg.

Fluttershy couldn’t believe it; she began to think she was imagining things. Where her friends really all here? She painfully moved her neck to see Heimdallr’s reaction, only to find herself unnerved by his small smile. “Girls… get… back,” she croaked out, but they couldn’t hear her.

Heimdallr chuckled, and then poured out fire from his mouth straight at the six equines. Twilight closed her eyes and activated a quick shield around the six equines, protecting them from the worst of the fire.

When the flames cleared, the six equines were surrounded by burnt grass and the smell of burning trees behind them. Heimdallr snarled and widened his eyes, aiming them straight into the equine’s eyes.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she realised his plan. “Girls! Thowra! Close your eyes! He’s using the dragon stare!” But it was too late, the six equines were frozen in place by Heimdallr’s stare, their eyes wide as they tried to move, but found themselves too paralysed with fear.

“So these are you friends then, Fluttershy Firewing? They are just as weak as I suspected.” Heimdallr shifted to face the ponies and horse and moved towards them. Fluttershy tried to get up again to stop him, but again found herself back on her stomach. She closed her eyes and looked away, not wanting to see what he was going to do with her best friends.

“Oh I’m going to enjoy torturing them,” Heimdallr proclaimed, sheer joy in his tone. While the ponies and horse in front of him began whimpering in fear.

Fluttershy’s eyes snapped open. All pain she felt immediately ceased. Her irises became dots the size of pin needles. Her blood pumped around her body faster as she felt her anger explode on a scale she never felt before, and her teeth gritted together so hard she thought she felt some pieces of them shatter. With slow movements, she got back up on all fours and turned to face Heimdallr as he now loomed over her friends.

‘You… threaten… my friends. My friends!’ She raised her right leg and Drage Bane sung as it appeared. She didn’t have a choice; she didn’t want another choice. This dragon is going to die. At that moment, her mind went blank.

With a scream of pure, psychotic rage she charged at Heimdallr, who turned to face her just as Fluttershy slammed her entire body into him, sending him onto his side. Fluttershy then began stabbing, slashing with her swords into the belly of the beast. Heimdallr’s burning eyes widened in surprise, and fear, at the sight of rage in Fluttershy’s eyes.

Heimdallr swiped a claw at the pony, but Fluttershy jumped back out of the way, and slashed off several of the claws with Drage Bane. Heimdallr howled, then lunged his head at her, trying to claim her in his jaws.

Fluttershy, however, was quick, way too quick for him. She stepped sideways; missing Heimdallr’s teeth, then stabbed her swords into the open nostril of the creature, sending Heimdallr a world of pain. Fluttershy became a whirlwind of violence, slashing, hacking, stabbing into the winged beast without thought, or conscious. This monster had taken away her order, wounded her father. It was not going to take her friends too.

The five ponies had recovered from Heimdallr’s stare and were now watching with horror as Fluttershy, screaming in rage, attacked the now howling dragon. “Make her stop,” Rarity whispered to Twilight, unable to watch the torture anymore.

If Twilight heard the other unicorn, she didn’t acknowledge it. She was too mesmerised by the ferocity of her quietest friend beating the stuffing out of this dragon.

Heimdallr spread out his wings and took to the air, hoping to retreat and make a recovery before attacking again. Fluttershy leapt onto Heimdallr’s face, and began stabbing her swords down through her scales, working her way forward towards the brain. Heimdallr howling with every infliction put upon him.

Heimdallr tried to shake her off by shaking his head widely. Fluttershy stayed on by embedding Drage Bane into his scales. She worked past the head and made her way forward towards the wings.

Heimdallr then tried to do some barrel rolls, trying to force Fluttershy to lose her grip and fall to her death. But still Fluttershy stayed on, moving slowly across the dragon’s body to the wings.

She made it to Heimdallr’s right wing and, with a loud cry, sliced her sword across the wing, cutting it off as though it were scissors to paper. Heimdallr screamed in agony. He watched with wide, frightened eyes as his right wing fell away from him. He now saw he was plummeting to the ground, and found he was unable to slow his descent.

Fluttershy made her way back to Heimdallr’s head, and began hacking at where his brain would lie. After a while, Fluttershy let out a roar and stabbed down with Drage Bane, straight through the skull and into the brain itself.

Heimdallr’s eyes widened even more as he felt agony course through the body he controlled, and he let out a deafening roar. His body slumped as it now nosed dived towards the ground at such speed. The six equines on the ground saw what was about to happen and ran for the cover of the trees, watching as the dragon slammed into the ground, creating a huge explosion of dust and mud.

Before the dragon hit the ground, Fluttershy leapt off the head and hit the ground rolling, coming to a stop just a few feet away from where the dragon impacted the ground. She got up and turned around and readied to charge once more into the fray. Bu the dragon didn’t get back up; it lay huddled in the crater it created, dead once more.

Despite the creature’s death, Fluttershy still stood on her hind legs with her back to her friends. She breathed heavily through gritted teeth. Her eyes were still mere dots. Eyes, which spoke of a bloodlust for the dragon in front of her.

After a moment of silence Twilight stepped forward. “Fluttershy?” There was no response, so Twilight took a step further.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Thowra cried. He raced in front of the unicorn and stopped her before she could go any closer. “Do you want to get killed also?!”

Twilight laughed nervously. “Fluttershy won’t kill me.” She took a moment to study Thowra’s eyes, and saw to her surprise he wasn’t joking. “Won’t she?”

“She could, and she wouldn’t even know it,” Thowra replied, his tone full of sorrow. “She’s gone berserk, Twilight.”

“What does that mean?” Rainbow stepped forward.

“When a person of any species gets so angry they literally lose control over everything. They feel no pain, have no conscious, and will kill anything that stands in their way, including those on their side. Until their desire for blood is sated,” Thowra explained.

Twilight looked from Thowra to Fluttershy. The pegasus still had her blades out, both of them pointing towards the ground, and she didn’t seem to acknowledge their presence. Twilight felt her nerves go at the very thought of her friend turning into something worse than what happened at the Grand Galloping Gala, something that could easily harm her and everypony else. “I have seen horses go berserk many times on the battlefield, and it is never a great thing to watch as they cut down the enemy whilst screaming their lungs out,” Thowra added.

“So you know how to get her out of it then?” Rainbow enquired, her tone full of hope.

Thowra sullenly shook his head. “I’m afraid not, Rainbow. Every horse that had gone berserk in the past was put down if they survived the battle, their minds too broken to be re-forged.” He lowered his head to the ground. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can help her.”

Rainbow started to shake her head. “You’re lying. You’re lying!” Thowra just shook his head. “Twilight, there must be something we could do, anything!” Rainbow was close to tears now.

Twilight looked from Rainbow to Fluttershy, deep in thought. They had travelled so many miles to find her and now, when they were so close, they were being told they might have to put her down. Twilight wasn’t going to go home a friend less. “I have to try something, Thowra. She saved my life a month ago, maybe it’s my turn to save hers.”

“Or maybe mine,” Pinkie stepped forward. “Twilight, let me go and try to bring her out of it.” Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but stopped when Pinkie continued talking. “She brought me out of depression about a week ago, Twilight. The least I can do is try to bring her out her rage.”

After a tense silence, Twilight gave her nod of approval and reluctantly stepped out of the way, allowing Pinkie to pass. With a gulp, Pinkie stepped forward, her head held high as she tried to stay brave, but she found it waning. Fluttershy had just taken on a dragon and won, what chance would she have against her in a fight? But her pegasus buddy had derailed, and auntie Pinkie was here to put her back on the track.

Twilight watched as Pinkie inched closer to Fluttershy, and then turned to Rainbow, whose eyes were full of tears. “Rainbow, forgive me for asking you this. But, if Fluttershy so much raises a hoof aggressively at Pinkie, will you please pull that trigger.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened and she glared at her unicorn friend. “You want me to kill my own friend?!” Twilight nodded, her eyes with tears as well, as well as disgust for herself. “How dare you even come up with that?! There is no way on this earth that I’m shooting Fluttershy! I wouldn’t do it even if Princess Celestia asked me to!”

“Please, Rainbow. I don’t want you to shoot Fluttershy either, and I certainly don’t want to go home with a dead friend, let alone two,” Twilight sniffed.

Although Rainbow hated to admit it, Twilight was right. If Pinkie were killed as well as Fluttershy, she wouldn’t forgive herself. She gave Twilight a little nod, sniffed back her tears, and took to the air. She raised her crossbow leg and aimed at the back of Fluttershy’s head, praying she wouldn’t have to pull the trigger.

“Pinkie,” she called to the earth pony, “if you break Fluttershy out of her psychotic episode, I’m going to kiss you.”

Pinkie just gave a little nod in acknowledgment as she approached. She was now a couple feet from the pegasus, so started to circle around her to face her directly. “Fluttershy? It’s me, your aunt Pinkie,” she said. She received no response.

The others watch on baited breath as she moved in front of Fluttershy. At the sight of Fluttershy’s face Pinkie’s heart was blown into pieces. Instead of the features of the sweet, innocent, kind and caring pegasus pony she knew, it was instead the definition of rage. Fluttershy face was covered in blood, her own and the dragons, which dripped down her body like rainwater.

Pinkie stepped closer. “Fluttershy, please listen to me. I know you’re in there. I know that inside that mind if yours is the sweet, loving pegasus we all came here to look for.” Pinkie moved closer, her eyes brimming with tears as her gaze was met with intense, thoughtless hatred. “I’m here now, Fluttershy, and I’m never going to leave your side again, I promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she said with all the right gestures.

At the mention of the pinkie promise, Fluttershy’s body relaxed little by little, as if it brought her mind back into focus as it started to remember her pinkie promises. Her teeth came apart and her breathing slowed down to a steady, relaxed pace. Her two swords retreated back into their scabbards and her eyes returned to their normal size, bringing back the love and kindness Pinkie remembered they had.

“P…p-pi…Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy mumbled. Pinkie Pie beamed and indicated with a hoof for Rainbow to lower her crossbow, which the pegasus duly did so with a heavy sigh of relief.

“Yes, Fluttershy, it’s me,” Pinkie said. She took one of Fluttershy’s hooves and pressed it against her cheek, in a similar way as what Fluttershy did to her about a week ago. “I’m here, as are we all. And we are not going to leave you again.”

Fluttershy at first thought she was seeing things, but the moment Pinkie pressed her hoof against her cheek did Fluttershy know she was real. “Wha… what are you doing here?” she managed to say as she lowered herself back onto her fore hooves.

“Looking for you, of course,” Twilight’s voice said from behind her. Fluttershy turned around and gasped when she saw not just Twilight, but Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Thowra were standing there. All of them with relived smiles across their faces.

Fluttershy moved forward to jump them all in a hug, but suddenly stopped and prostrated onto the ground, shaking with fear as she remembered what she did to them. “I’m so sorry!” she cried. “I didn’t want to do that to you at first but I didn’t want to see you get killed because of me so I had to for your sake and…”

“Fluttershy, shut up,” Rainbow said. Fluttershy went silent. She peered out of her hooves and looked at Rainbow, who had a warm smile on her face. “If we were mad at you for leaving us like that do you honestly think we wouldn’t be out here in the first place?” Fluttershy simply shrugged. Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Well we wouldn’t, we’ll be back in Ponyville trying to forget you. But we came all this way to find you, and we’re not going home without you.” Rainbow landed and walked up to the other pegasus. “So get up and give me a hug, you bird brain.”

Fluttershy jumped up and wrapped her forelegs around her pegasus friend. Pinkie soon joined in, followed by Twilight, then Applejack, and finally Rarity, until they were all having a group hug for the first time since leaving Strutford. Thowra just smiled as he watched the re-union of the six friends, and felt the satisfaction of a job well done.

Fluttershy tightened her hold over her friends, a bright, wide smile on her face. They had forgiven her, and had come all this way to find her and bring her home. Her father was righ…

“Dad!” she suddenly exclaimed. She pushed her way out of the group and galloped up the hill as fast as she could, not bothering to say sorry as she sent all her friends to the ground.

“Fluttershy, wait!” Rainbow called out. But Fluttershy was racing away from them already.

“Did she just say… dad?” Rarity asked to the other perplexed ponies.

“Come on, ya’ll,” Applejack got up first. “We gotta get after her or we’ll never find her again.” The others nodded in agreement and set off after Fluttershy. “I sure hope we get an explanation to what the hay is going on out here,” she said to Twilight as they galloped through the trees.

Fluttershy meanwhile was ages in front. She galloped through bushes and jumped over fallen trees. She raced passed small animals wondering what the heck just happened. She could’ve stopped and helped them up, but her priority was getting to her father, and praying she wasn’t too late.

She galloped past the tree that Heimdallr had knocked over to crush her with and realised she was getting close. Her breathing became a little bit faster and her stomach began to ache agonisingly with worry. She saw the clearing come up and prepared herself for whatever was around the other side.

She emerged and saw her father exactly where she left him. She cantered up to him. “Dad, I did it. I got rid of Heimdallr, I defeated a dragon,” she said as she slowed into a trot. “I’m a true Dragonlord now.”

She received no reply. At first she thought it was because he was whispering and she couldn’t hear him, but once she got closer did she realise that wasn’t the case. Firewing lay motionless in a pool of blood, with his head resting against the trunk of the tree, his eyes closed, and his mouth just slightly open, but no breathing was heard.

“Dad?” Fluttershy whispered. “Wake up. You promised me you won’t play tricks like this to me again, so wake up.” She placed a hoof on his shoulder and nudged him. She felt his body was cold to the touch, and her heart fell apart. “No… oh Celestia, please no.”

She nudged him again, this time a little bit harder. Tears started to stream from her eyes and down her cheeks as her mind tried to tell her that he was dead. “Wake up! WAKE UP!” she screeched. “Don’t leave me again. You promised you wouldn’t. YOU PROMISED!”

But Firewing was dead. Fluttershy shook her head disbelievingly. She cradled his head in her hooves and began to cry uncontrollably.

Not too far away, the other ponies began to hear the sound of crying, and their hearts beat a little faster. “This way!” Applejack pointed towards a clearing. The five ponies and one horse turned in the direction of where Applejack said and in no time at all they emerged into the clearing where Fluttershy lay gripping onto her father.

Rainbow flew up to her. “Okay, Fluttershy, you better have a pretty good excuse…” she trailed off after seeing what Fluttershy was gripping onto and a hoof went over her mouth. “Oh my goodness.”

Fluttershy’s shoulders shook violently as she cried over her father’s body. Twilight and the others walked up to her, all of them recognising Firewing’s body from the picture. Fluttershy turned around and looked at Twilight. “Ple-e-e-ease, Twilight,” she pleaded. “Help him.”

Twilight didn’t know how to say she couldn’t, so just shook her head solemnly. Fluttershy closed her eyes, turned around and buried her face in Firewing’s face, tears spilling out once more over Firewing’s body. “Leave me,” she whispered, before crying her heart out once more.

The six equines hesitantly complied with Fluttershy’s request and walked slowly out of the clearing. “If you need us, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said comfortingly. “We’ll be in a clearing over there.” She pointed to the furthest corner of the clearing, where they could see a smaller clearing just behind.

With that Rainbow flew off to be beside the others. She kept glancing back at Fluttershy, wanting to be next to her and be a comfort for her. Celestia knew she needed it.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, felt sheer sorrow flow through her. And yet, when her eyes opened, they sparkled sheer sorrow, and pure hatred.

For half an hour they could hear the slight whisper of Fluttershy’s mournful cries echo across the highlands, until there was suddenly silence. Rainbow, Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack and Thowra sat close together, in silence, all of them wanting to get up and comfort their friend.

“That’s it! I can’t stand waiting here anymore,” Rainbow said suddenly. “I’m going to her.” She made to dash off through the trees, but what stopped by a magenta glow around the tip of her tail.

“We shouldn’t, Rainbow,” Twilight said. Rainbow could tell it pained her just as badly to be sitting where they were doing nothing.

“What do you mean we shouldn’t?” Rainbow snarled. She was let go and instead of flying away, flew into Twilight’s face. “One of my best friends is in a lot of pain at the moment, and you want me to sit here and do nothing?!”

“I want to do something as well, Rainbow,” Twilight countered. “But what good can I do?”

“How about being there for her, maybe that would work,” Rainbow reasoned.

“I’m curious though,” Rarity came in. “Fluttershy said that Firewing was her father, and yet she told us she never knew him. How does that work?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight said. “But if it’s true, then why leave Fluttershy at an orphanage? Why couldn’t he raise her himself?”

“Because he did it for that same reason I left you at Detrots. Because he loved me too much,” Fluttershy’s voice came into the conversation. All eyes turned towards where Fluttershy emerged from the trees into the small clearing the ponies and horse had inhabited, and their hearts shattered at the devastation in Fluttershy’s eyes.

Her head was low, facing the ground. Her ears were flat on her head, her eyes were red from crying so hard, her face was covered in blood that also had smears were her tears had cleaned the blood away. He hooves and lower body was covered in dirt while her tail dragged along lifelessly behind her. While on her back was her father’s saddlebag, with small bloodstains on it, whether it was her own or Firewing’s the ponies couldn’t tell.

She moved till she was close to the other ponies and collapsed onto her rump without saying another word. Rainbow looked towards Twilight, almost as if she was daring her to stop her. When nothing came, Rainbow moved closer to the mourning pegasus and put a comforting hoof across her shoulders. Fluttershy reacted by lowering her head and resting on Rainbow’s chest, whilst spilling out the last of her tears. “There, there,” Rainbow cooed softly into Fluttershy’s ears. “We’re here for you, Fluttershy. Aren’t we, guys?” Five heads nodded in unison.

“Fluttershy, I know this is hard, but would you like me to get pyre ready? To burn Firewing I mean?” Rainbow added softly.

“There’s no need, Rainbow, thank you,” Fluttershy replied dryly. “I just buried him back there. Facing Equestria, and home.” She indicated with a wave of her head.

Rainbow removed her leg from Fluttershy in shock. “But… but, Fluttershy, you know what happens to pegasi who aren’t…”

“Yes I know full well what happens, thank you,” Fluttershy snapped. “But you can’t burn a Dragonlord body, so I had to bury him.”

“A drago what now?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“That doesn’t matter now,” Twilight said, glaring at Rainbow. She then turned back to Fluttershy and said gently, “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up. You look a right state.”

“Don’t worry, Twilight darling, I got this one,” Rarity said as she stood up and walked to Fluttershy’s side.

“Me too,” Pinkie said, with a nod from Rarity. Pinkie walked up to Fluttershy and offered a hoof. “Come on,” she said in such a gentle manner, it was hard to believe it was from Pinkie.

Without looking up, Fluttershy grabbed her hoof and held it tight. “There’s a small lake just over there you could use,” Thowra said, pointing the way. Fluttershy’s heart pounded a bit faster as she thought it was the same lake she and her father had shared for a moment yesterday evening. She tried to halt them but Pinkie dragged her on, not once letting go of Fluttershy’s hoof.

After a moment or so of walking they arrived in front of the lake, and Fluttershy relaxed slightly to see that it wasn’t the same one. It was on a flat, and was far bigger as well, with dark blue water that rippled as Pinkie stepped in.

“Come in, in here,” Pinkie said gently as she guided Fluttershy into the water. Fluttershy slowly made her way into the water. It was warm and would’ve been relaxing, if Fluttershy was able to be in a right state of mind to relax.

Pressing her hooves down onto the pegasus’s shoulders Rarity lowered Fluttershy into the water, until Fluttershy’s stomach touched the bottom. “Comfy?” Rarity enquired. Fluttershy just gave a faint nod, her face full of sadness that made Pinkie’s heart splinter and crack even more.

“Rarity, why don’t you go and get some rest. I’ll stay here with her,” Pinkie offered.

After a while Rarity nodded and lowered herself back to Fluttershy’s ear. “Shout if you need anything, darling,” she said. With that she trotted back to the others, leaving Pinkie and Fluttershy together.

Pinkie knew this wasn’t the time for jokes. She knew just what Fluttershy was feeling at the moment and visibly shuddered at the memory of Granny Pie’s passing, which was still clear in her mind, and had never dulled. She put on her serious, comforting face and swam up next to her mourning friend.

“Come on, Fluttershy, let’s get started on cleaning you up,” Pinkie said, looking at Fluttershy and in all honesty feeling a bit queasy at just how much dragon blood was on the pegasus’s face. Fluttershy just sat there staring at the water.

Pinkie leaned behind her and got holds of a flannel that Rarity left for her. She then dipped it into the water and then gently started cleaning Fluttershy’s face. Fluttershy grimaced sometimes when Pinkie touched a scratch but she didn’t complain about it, she just stared at the water, with her reflection staring back at her.

After a while Pinkie had gotten most of the blood and dirt off Fluttershy’s face, and cleaned up some of the scars so that they weren’t clearly visible. “There you are. I thought there was a Fluttershy there somewhere.”

Suddenly Fluttershy muttered something. “Sorry, Fluttershy, I didn’t hear that.”

For the first time Fluttershy looked up, her eyes watered once more, as the dam was about to break again. “I failed him, Pinkie. We were supposed to look out for each other, but I failed. Now he’s dead because of me.”

Pinkie shook her head. “No, Fluttershy, you had nothing to do with Firewing’s death. There was nothing you, or anyone, could’ve done to prevent it.” Pinkie placed her hooves on Fluttershy’s cheeks and lifted her head to look her in the eye. “So please, Fluttershy, don’t blame yourself.”

“But how can I, Pinkie,” Fluttershy argued, “when I just stood there and let that dragon take him. Why couldn’t it have been me?!”

“Don’t ever say that, ever,” Pinkie said sternly. “You would’ve been killed too, and then we would have to bury you and Firewing. And I don’t think I could take losing you a second time.”

Pinkie let go of Fluttershy and allowed the pegasus’s head to slump once more. “Pinkie?”

“Yeah?”

“What did it feel like, when you heard Granny Pie died?” Fluttershy asked softly.

Pinkie ears went flat atop her head and her face contorted into thought. “At first I didn’t believe it,” Pinkie answered. “Not even at the funeral did I believe she was truly gone. It was only when she stopped coming on her monthly visits did I realise she was gone, and I couldn’t stop crying after that.”

“Does it get any easier?”

Another period of silence fell. “Yes, and a big no,” Pinkie finally replied. “It leaves a hole in you that never gets fully filled. But over time, you know its there and you know you have to walk around it. That’s what I had to do, Fluttershy; I carried on, in Granny’s memory, and I’m sure you will do the same, in his.”

Fluttershy looked back at the water for a moment. After a while of listening to the birds she looked back up again and said, “I’m sorry if I seem rude but could I be left alone for a bit please? I just want to get my thoughts in check.”

“No problem, Fluttershy,” Pinkie said gently. She hopped out of the water and trotted off back to the camp. “You know what else helped get through it,” Pinkie added. Fluttershy twisted her head around to look at her. “Having good friends like you around to be there for me, and knowing they will be there for you, thick and thin.” With that she trotted away from the lake, leaving Fluttershy with her thoughts.

Fluttershy knew Pinkie was right; her father was gone, but his memory still remained. And Fluttershy knew she had to honour it, by continuing what they started together. Finding the keys, and stopping Heimdallr.

“Now you know my pain,” Heimdallr’s voice echoed through her mind. Fluttershy looked down into the water and instead of seeing her own face, it was the large, bulky, burning head of Heimdallr, with a wicked sneer across his face.

Fluttershy felt her teeth grit together and she snarled at the reflection. “You know nothing of my pain, Heimdallr.”

“Oh but I do. I watched my son get killed by ponies during the Great War, and then have his body paraded about like a trophy. So don’t you dare lecture me about the pain of loss.”

“I know what happened to your son Heimdallr, and believe me when I say my heart wept for what happened, truly,” Fluttershy said. “But there is no justification for killing thousands of innocents like what you have done.”

“I wouldn’t say thousands of innocents,” Heimdallr sneered. “Hundreds of thousands is a better number.”

Fluttershy felt her body heat increase as her anger rose once more. “You must think you have broken me by killing my father, that there is no way this little pegasus pony from Ponyville, who jumps at everything she hears or sees, can do anything to stop you. Well you’re wrong, Heimdallr. If anything it’s made me stronger, because now it’s given me a better reason to keep fighting, to stop you from destroying everything I hold dear.”

Fluttershy stare intensified. “I am Fluttershy Firewing. I am a Dragonlord and I swear on this day, that I will find you, and I will kill you for your crimes!”

Heimdallr sneered. “Good luck,” he said before fading away from the water, and his voice disappearing from her mind.

Fluttershy shook her head and jumped out of the lake, shaking off the excess water on her body, which was now mud and blood free. She trotted back to the others with a sense of purpose and a plan on what she was going to do next. She was going to follow her father’s example, and finish what they and the Dragonlords started. Only then when it’s over, can she truly mourn her father.

The six equines went silent as Fluttershy emerged from the trees and nestled herself near the campfire that was now going at the centre of the group, with a look of confidence on her face. They all sat in silence for a while, taking a moment to listen to the songs of the birds, which sang a sad, lowly tune that seemed to the animal loving pegasus, speak of loss. It was as if the world itself mourned the death of Firewing.

“Okay, sugarcube,” Applejack spoke up. “I think now ya owe us an explanation. What the hay is going on here? Was that Firewing really your father?”

“AJ, I don’t think…”

“No, Twilight,” Fluttershy cut her off, “she’s right. You all have a right to know what’s going on, and what I have become.”

“Become what, darling?” Rarity said. “If you’re hating yourself for killing that dragon then you shouldn’t. You saved our lives doing that, and for that you have our sincere gratitude.”

“Not that, Rarity, although I’m glad to know you are all okay. But I’ll tell you everything.”

The six equines nestled down around the pegasus as Fluttershy began to tell them what happened after leaving them in Detrots, without leaving a single detail.

“So, let me get this straight,” Rainbow said once Fluttershy had finished. “You’re saying that you, your father and your ancestors were, and are, part of a warrior order called Dragonlords.”

“That have far greater eyesight and hearing,” Twilight brought in.

“Have stronger skeletons and muscles and live longer,” Applejack said next.

“Speak an ancient language that nopony could do, only write,” Rarity added.

“And kick the backsides of anything on the entire planet!” Pinkie finished.

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

Night had fallen by the time Fluttershy had finished re-telling her experiences to the group. The darkened sky was covered in clouds, blocking out the moon and the stars, leaving only the large campfire in the middle of the group the only illumination possible. They gasped when Fluttershy told them how she learnt Firewing was her father, by showing them the picture of Firewing and her mother, and wept silently at Fluttershy’s re-telling of her birth, and Rosemary’s death.

Once Fluttershy had finished, Rainbow puffed out a lot of air and rubbed a hoof through her mane. “That’s crazy. In fact crazy doesn’t even begin to describe it. The world’s shyest pony is in fact, the greatest warrior in Equestria, possibly even the world. It seems impossible.”

“But it’s true.”

“I’m not saying it ain’t, Fluttershy, but the idea of you, a pony who loves animals and would never normally raise a hoof to fight, is actually a super-solider, seems… well, mental.”

Fluttershy’s ears flattened and she pawed at the ground. “It is mental, Rainbow, I agree with you there, but it’s something I don’t want. This life has, and will, cost me everything. First my father, and later you all.”

Rainbow frowned deeply and walked up to the grieving pegasus and sat by her side. “I bet you would trade places with me if you could?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” Rainbow said after a while. “I mean, living a bit longer doesn’t sound too bad. I get to train longer to be part of the Wonderbolts, have a longer career, and survive really bad crashes. But like you said, I’ll eventually lose you all.”

The seven equines sat in silence once more, listening to the crackle of the fire as the wood burnt away and the ashes were spurted into the air, before gently falling to the ground like snow.

“So what do we do now?” Rarity asked aloud. Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie and Twilight looked at Rarity for a moment, and then took into consideration of what the unicorn asked.

Twilight looked straight at Fluttershy, who met her gaze, and asked gently, “Are you ready to go home, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when she saw the looks in their eyes. They were all hopeful to return home and be reunited with the families and loved ones. She didn’t know how to tell them without breaking their hearts, so she came out with it. “Well you all can. But I can’t, not yet.”

“Whatever do you mean, darling?” Rarity asked, walking up to her side. “I know the circumstances have not been kind to you. But haven’t you achieved what you set out to do in the first place, and more?”

“Yeah, so why can’t you go home?” Twilight finished.

“Because I’m the only one who can save the world,” Fluttershy answered. “I’m now the only one who can stop Heimdallr.”

Applejack cocked her head to the side. “Who the hay is Heimdallr?”

Fluttershy proceeded to tell them how thousands of years ago a dragon, whose original name has long been forgotten, tried to destroy every living creature with fire and magic, but was stopped and defeated by the Dragonlord order, who were created to bring him down.

“That was five thousand years ago, but he was never truly defeated. He’s been fighting the order all this time in the shadows and only now he is emerging. If I don’t stop him, the world will burn,” Fluttershy finished.

The six equines in front of her sat on their haunches, their faces shaped in horror and fear as they summarised what was going on. They had landed themselves in the middle of a five thousand year old war, one that Heimdallr was winning at the moment. Out of all them, however, it was Twilight who was disturbed the most, and it showed plainly on her face.

“You said that Heimdallr could shut his claws together and turn ponies into fire?” Fluttershy nodded. “But that’s impossible! The practice of pyromancy hasn’t been around for nearly two thousand years!”

“What the hay is pryromacey or whatever you said it was?” Rainbow asked.

“Pyromancy, Rainbow,” Twilight corrected her. And pyromancy is the ability to create fire in the palm of a casters hoof or claws, and was renowned for creating terrible accidents. If Heimdallr is a pyromancer, and a powerful one, how do you hope to beat him, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy shifted around and got hold of Firewing’s saddlebags, and took out one of the keys, showing the six equines. Even in the dark, they could make out a faint, fiery glow coming from it. “This, as well as four others, was created by Starswirl the Bearded with an enchantment that would block magic users and disable Heimdallr’s abilities completely. I just need to find the fifth one of these, then find him and kill him, this time for good.”

“Wait, wait,” Applejack said with a little wave of her hoof. “Did I hear ya correctly? Did ya just say… kill him?”

Fluttershy nodded firmly. “But… isn’t kill too strong a word?” Twilight asked.

“Not for him it isn’t,” Fluttershy replied, the hatred she had for this creature more apparent as her voice rose.

“But, Fluttershy…”

“But nothing, Twilight!” Fluttershy spat, sending the unicorn jumping backwards and flinching at the venom in Fluttershy’s words. “You didn’t see the slaughter he made at Ferghana! When he killed everyone in the city, the young, the old, the unborn, everyone! He destroyed Andulusia! He killed my father! And he tried to kill you all! By Celestia and Luna if it’s the last thing I ever do, I will make him pay for what he’s done!”

Twilight was now cowering under Fluttershy angered gaze, while the others stood where they were, dumfounded by what was transpiring. Fluttershy, upon noticing Twilight cowering on the ground, squeaked and stepped back in horror, and looked at her shaking hooves. “I’m so sorry, Twilight, I’m sorry to all of you. You didn’t deserve that.” She looked down at the ground and said through gritted teeth, “I just feel… so angry.” She looked back up again. “Does that make me a bad person?”

Twilight got up and gave Fluttershy a warm smile whilst shaking her head. “Fluttershy,” Thowra spoke up. He walked over and sat down next to the pegasus. “It’s okay to feel anger. It is a perfectly normal emotion for all of us, even at a time like this. And you’re not a bad person for feeling it. You’re a good person that unfortunate things have happened to.”

Fluttershy gave a little nod in understanding. “But you must know,” Thowra continued, “That vengeance doesn’t solve anything. It will certainly not bring your father back.”

Fluttershy looked up at Thowra. “I know that, Thowra. But this isn’t about vengeance.” Thowra raised an eyebrow, forcing Fluttershy to tell the truth. “Okay, maybe a little. But mostly this is about doing what’s right, because if I don’t do anything, everything I know and love dies. My father died trying to do what’s right, and I’m going to follow his selfless example, by continuing to fight in his memory.”

Thowra nodded and patted Fluttershy on the back. “Well if that’s the case, I’m coming with you. If you’ll have me.”

Fluttershy gasped in surprise. “You mean that?!” Thowra nodded with a grin. For the first time in hours Fluttershy could feel a coming of a smile on her face.

“Fluttershy,” Rainbow chipped in, “remember what I said back in Canterlot. We begin this together and we end this together. I’m coming with you as well. And if we go down, we going down hot!” Fluttershy felt that smile grow a little bit bigger.

“Shucks, I’m in too, sugarcube, and there isn’t no amount of that druggy thing ya put on me goin to tell me otherwise,” Applejack said. Fluttershy’s smile formed into a grin.

“As am I,” Twilight said confidently. “You need us for this, now more than ever.” Fluttershy could feel tears of joy in her eyes.

“Darling, I simply cannot go home and leave you to ruin that splendid mane of yours. I’m with you too,” Rarity said, puffing out her chest. Fluttershy was now beaming.

“I think it’s time we met this meanie and smashed him to pieces, and then we will grind his pieces to pieces! I’m with you as well, Fluttershy Firewing!” Pinkie said, before murmuring, “I’m gonna have to find a bigger banner to fit your full name now for your birthday parties.”

Fluttershy stretched her forelegs out and grabbed all her friends in a group hug. She was so happy that they wanted to come, she needed, no, she wanted them to be with her, nor did she want to separate from them ever again. “You girls and horse are the best friends a pony could ask for. How could I deserve such good friends?”

“Easy,” Pinkie responded. “Because you’re the kindest soul we know, and everything you do is to help others.” She suddenly let out a long gasp. “Imagine what you could tell your children in many years time, and your children’s children!”

She jumped out of the group hug and did a spot on impression of Fluttershy, but sounding a lot older. “Okay kiddies, gather round and I will tell you about how I faced this big dumb meanie and kicked him to the sun, the moon and back around!”

Fluttershy’s face faded to sorrow at the mention of children, but once Pinkie started to impersonate her she couldn’t stop laughing. “That was good, Pinkie,” she complimented her afterwards. “Do you practice?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, yes,” Pinkie answered bashfully. “I tried to do all of you, but for some reason, I can only do Fluttershy really well.”

Thowra chuckled, and then changed the subject. “So, Fluttershy, do you know where the fifth, and final key is?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy replied with a nod. “It’s somewhere in the Ramshead range.”

Thowra’s eyes widened. “The Ramshead range! Do you have any idea where that is?”

“Yes, it’s south west of here…”

“In the Andulusian territory. So not only have we got to stop a evil dragon from destroying the world, we have to navigate our way through a civil war.”

The five ponies that had been following him looked at him incredulously. “Ya never told us there was a civil war goin on!”

“I didn’t? I’m sure I mentioned about once or twice.” The five ponies shook their heads. “No? Well there is, and we have to get around it.”

They stared at each in other in shock for a moment, until Applejack spoke up again. “We’ve been through a war before, even fought in one. We could get through this lickety split. What say ya’ll?”

The other ponies nodded. “How long will it take us to get there, Thowra?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, barring that we don’t run into any… difficulties, I would say about two or three days minimum,” Thowra replied with an assuring tone.

“Well I think we should all get some sleep, then set off early in the morning. It’s been a rough day for some of us,” Twilight said, looking at Fluttershy with sympathetic eyes.

“I agree,” Rarity said. “Baggy eyes are not good for one’s features. Goodnight, all of you.” With that she layed out on the grass and instantly fell asleep. The others followed one by one, leaving only Twilight and Fluttershy.

“Twilight,” Fluttershy called, making the unicorn turn around. “I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier. You didn’t deserve that.”

Twilight walked up to the pegasus and gave her a comforting hug. “It’s okay Fluttershy, and you didn’t deserve what happened to you today. Just know we’re here for you, okay?” Fluttershy nodded. “Would you like me to put that nightmare spell on you tonight?”

“Thank you, Twilight, but I think I should be okay,” Fluttershy replied with a shake of her head.

“If you do, just wake me, okay? Don’t be shy about it.” Twilight pattered her friend on the shoulders and then walked closer to the fire. She threw her saddlebags off her back, got down onto her stomach and slowly fell asleep.

Fluttershy lowered herself down onto the ground and curled up into a ball. Before she went asleep she looked up at the starless sky and wondered whether her father was watching her with a proud, loving smile he had.

“I won’t let you down, dad,” she whispered to the sky. She lowered her head onto the soft grass and slowly sank into a haunted sleep.

I know you won’t, my child.

Chapter 15

From the horizon back, the landscape was littered with natural beauty. To her right were small hills that were the shape of lumps, and covered in lush green grass. To her left was a river surrounding a large meadow that was dotted with varying coloured flowers that she adored, and made her dark world a little bit brighter.

In front of her, which covered the horizon like a city wall, was a large forest where some trees stood taller then others, and swayed about slowly as a light breeze touched them. All around her and her friends, the world was abundant with wildlife, from ants crossing the road, to grey feathered eagles soaring overhead.

Fluttershy took a deep breath of the fresh, cool air, then let it out again as she walked. She was at the front of the group with a small smile on her face. She truly couldn’t stay sad in an area full of beautiful nature like she was now, nor could she afford too. She needed now to stay strong, or her father’s death would’ve been for nothing.

Above her was Rainbow Dash, looking at an eagle and thinking about asking it for a race. Twilight was just behind her with a notebook and quill held in her magic, studying some of the plants of Horsca. Applejack was a few feet behind Twilight, looking down to the ground with a large frown on her face.

Rarity was off the road, with her nose buried in one of the flowers. “Oh, these are just beautiful!” she exclaimed. “I wonder if these would be any good as a fragrance? Oh, just imagine it, Rarity. ‘Something, the exotic new fragrance from Rarity, because you’re worth it’. That’s actually not a bad slogan, just needs a title…” She trailed off into whispers as she came up with a new business scheme. Fluttershy just rolled her eyes.

While Pinkie was behind with Thowra asking him a question. A question that had been handed down from Pie to Pie since the very beginning of Equestria. Well, according to Pinkie anyway.

“A chimicherry, or a cherrychanga?” Thowra pondered, putting a hoof to his chin. “Hmm, have to say a cherrychanga. Sounds delicious, even just saying it makes my mouth water. But I’ve never tried anything like it.”

“Well you wouldn’t, silly,” Pinkie said with a wave of her hoof, “since I made it myself and all.” That confused the horse greatly. “It’s mashed up cherries in a deep fried tortilla. Sounds delicious with a great name huh?”

Thowra nodded with a wide, enthusiastic grin. “When we get back to Castilian you’re gonna have to show me how to make that.”

“Really!” Pinkie squeaked. “Oh I would love that and I can show you some other things like the MMM.” She gestured for Thowra to lean closer for her to whisper, which he duly did so. “Although I wouldn’t do it in front of these ponies.” She pointed to the five ponies in front of her. “They have noooooo self-control.”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes and chuckled at the mention of MMM. They all had a good laugh about it in the end, and the cake won, so that was that.

“So, Fluttershy,” Twilight said as she trotted up next to the pegasus, “I was wondering. You said yesterday those key thingy’s were made by Starswirl the Bearded. Is that the same unicorn mage I know and love?”

Fluttershy nodded. “The very same. It also shows how he was able to live so long, since Dragonlords can live a fair bit longer than normal ponies.”

Twilight let out a little squeal that was usually reserved for meeting an idol, but since Starswirl was dead, it didn’t matter. “I can’t believe that we, I mean you, found the true reason of Starswirl’s ‘immortality’! I remember sending a letter to the Princess about it after the Hearths Warming eve play and…”

“Yes, Twilight,” Fluttershy said with a small giggle. “You’ve told us this five hundred times.” After the play Twilight had written a letter asking the Princess about why Starswirl's name was included in the play. Celestia replied saying because he was there. Twilight sent another letter asking how is that possible. Celestia sent another one saying she didn’t know. By the end of the day, however, Spike was exhausted and in a lot of pain from belching out letters all day.

“Oh, I can’t wait to tell Princess Celestia about this when we get back. She’ll be thrilled to learn about this,” Twilight squealed. “So how long do Dragonlords live for?”

Fluttershy shrugged. “It’s hard to say really. Some, like Starswirl, can live up to a thousand years, while others can live up to five hundred. Given they aren’t killed or die of disease first.” Fluttershy sighed and her head slumped low to the ground, remembering with a visible shudder that nearly twelve hours ago her father was killed, at only one hundred and sixteen years of age.

Twilight’s ears flattened and she nuzzled Fluttershy’s cheek in comfort. “I’m so sorry for bringing it up, Fluttershy,” she said guiltily.

“No, Twilight, it’s okay. You wanted to know about it,” Fluttershy said with a sincere smile. The two went silent for a moment, as they took their time to enjoy the scenery. “So, Twilight, are you okay with me living a bit longer?”

Twilight took a moment to think about it. “I have to say it’s going to be a bit strange. I mean we,” she indicated with a hoof to the rest of the group, “are going to grow old, while you won’t age a day. And yet, when we are dead and buried.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Fluttershy cut her off. “Please?”

“Fluttershy, when we are dead and buried,” Twilight continued, “We would become legends. Think about it, in two hundred years time or so they would talk about how we defeated Discord, or Nightmare Moon.” Twilight giggled as a thought came to her. “They would wonder whether we were as tall as Celestia, and our voices were powerful enough to topple the tops of mountains. Or something silly like that. But you would be able to say you were with us in those times. You knew us and would tell them what we were really like. Just normal ponies trying to live normal lives.”

“I… I never really thought about it that way,” Fluttershy said. She looked back and noticed how glum Applejack looked. “What’s wrong with Applejack?”

Twilight looked over her shoulder, gazing at the earth pony, before replying, “Ah she’s just a little bit homesick. It has been a while since she’s seen her family.”

“But why didn’t she go when I said you could?”

“Oh you know her, Applejack is as stubborn as a mule and won’t back out of anything, especially her promises. She should be fine after a while.”

Fluttershy, however, wasn’t convinced. “I’m gonna talk to her,” she proclaimed. She slowed herself down until Rainbow had flown by, and watched Rarity skip by with some flowers hanging out of her saddlebags. A few seconds later Applejack came up alongside her. “Hey, Applejack,” Fluttershy greeted her, and began walking at her pace.

“Huh, what?” Applejack’s head darted around, looking for the speaker. She stopped when she saw Fluttershy alongside. “Oh, hey, sugarcube. How’re ya holding?”

“Could be worse, but could be better,” Fluttershy replied. “How about you?”

“Oh I’m fine, Fluttershy. Don’t ya worry none about me,” Applejack said with a big, false grin.

Fluttershy shook her head. “I’ve known you long enough to know you are lying, Applejack. Tell me what’s up, please?”

Applejack sighed and her head fell. “Nothing gets past you now does it,” she said with a small smile. “I’m just missing my family is all. It’s been about a week or so since I last saw them and well… let’s just say I’m worried about them.”

“Then why don’t you go home? Your family might need you.”

“You’re more important to me at the moment. I don’t think I could forgive myself if I just left you all out here. I think I would be worrying my guts out over ya’ll.” Applejack sighed and her shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry by the way about ya father. Ya must have been mighty close.”

“We were. But again we weren’t.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What do ya mean?”

Fluttershy sighed. “We were too busy running for our lives, or fighting for our lives, or just stayed silent to each other to truly bond like father and daughter. The only time when we really started getting to know each other was before…” Her voice faded away and she hung her head, with her ears falling flat across her head.

“I wish I could be more comfort for ya, sugarcube, I really do,” Applejack said, hanging her head in shame.

Fluttershy looked up and smiled at her. “You are being a comfort for me, Applejack, by just being here. As are the rest of the girls… and boy, of course,” she said, looking towards Thowra who was still talking to Pinkie about baking.

“Fluttershy!” The pegasus and Applejack looked up to see Rainbow looking down on her. “It’s been a month or so since I’ve had a good race, and I was wondering whether you could help me out with that.” She noticed the hesitation on Fluttershy’s face and added, “I’ll go easy on you, I promise.”

“It’s not that. Yesterday when I fell from the sky I think I might have sprained my right wing when I landed on it,” Fluttershy said.

Rainbow grimaced. For a pegasus to land on an open wing was a very painful experience, and could lead to a sprained or worse, broken wing. Rainbow dived to the ground and walked up to her side. “Do you feel any pain at the moment?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Not yet, but I’m afraid that when I open my wings up they would hurt.”

“Mind then if I take a look?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Sure, but be careful.”

“What do you mean be careful? It’s not like you’re gonna have blades in-ouch!” she said as she reached a hoof into her feathers, but had to withdraw it again upon feeling something sharp on her hoof. She saw a little scratch on the tip of her hoof, with a bit of blood weeping out of it. “What the hay have you got under there?!”

Fluttershy closed her eyes and clenched her teeth together, before opening up her wings. Instead of pain and the urge to pull them back, she found them to be fine. Applejack and Rainbow stood back in shock as Fluttershy’s wing blades were revealed to all. Even Rarity, Twilight, Pinkie and Thowra stopped and stared in awe at the metallic blades that now rested on her wings.

“Those are wing blades! Actual wing blades?!” Rainbow asked incredulously, with also a slight hint of jealousy.

Fluttershy confirmed it with a nod. “Why, darling, they are simply fabulous!” Rarity proclaimed. The unicorn bounced over and started examining the blades closely.

“You really think so? A weapon of death looks… fabulous?” Fluttershy said doubtfully.

“Oh not the whole rip your enemies throats out bit. The design themselves really makes your wings stand out, and they also just have style and… and glamour!” Rarity zoomed in front of Fluttershy, looking at her with wide, excited eyes, which made the pegasus a little uncomfortable. “You gotta let me have those so I could create a hundred if them! Not sharp, of course, but imagine the queue of pegasi outside my shop. I would make a fortune!” she finished. Then quickly added, “And you of course for finding them.”

Fluttershy stared at her friend for a while, unsure of how to say what she wanted to. Eventually she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Rarity, but these are weapons of war and not a fashion statement. If they get in the wrong hooves accidents could happen, maybe even deaths. No, they will stay with me.” She emphasised this by tucking her wings back to her sides. “Sorry,” she added.

Rarity looked disappointed, but agreed with a nod of the head. “I understand. You are right though, about them getting in the wrong hooves. I don’t think I could forgive myself if my sister got hold of them, which she probably would.”

“I don’t think so. Sweetie Belle is a smart pony. I’m sure she knows not to touch anything sharp or potentially dangerous objects,” Fluttershy said reassuringly.

“Yeah you’re probably right. But the others, no offence Applejack, could be quite curious.”

“Are you saying that my lil sister is dumb when it comes to that sort of thing?” Applejack glared at the unicorn.

“Um… so, Rainbow, how about that race?” Fluttershy turned to Rainbow, eager to be getting away from the inevitable heated exchange between the two ponies.

Rainbow grinned eagerly. “Sure why not.” Rainbow spread her wings and took to the air, followed close behind by Fluttershy. Rainbow could hear the metallic swing of the blades as Fluttershy flapped her wings. “So where should we race to?”

“Um…” Fluttershy looked around, looking for a place they could stop, until her eyes rested on the forest ahead of them. “How about the edge of that forest there?”

“Hmm, okay you’re on,” Rainbow grinned. She got herself into a ready position. “Ready?”

Fluttershy nodded and prepared herself to thrust forward. “Just so you know, Rainbow,” Fluttershy smirked. “I’m getting faster and better.”

“We’ll see about that,” Rainbow smirked in kind. “One two three go!” as one the two dashed off towards the tree line. At first Fluttershy was in front as she spurted her wings at a remarkable burst of speed. Rainbow, however, had trained herself to endure faster speeds, while Fluttershy hadn’t. She thrust her wings, making her spurt forward quickly. She soon passed Fluttershy with a wide grin and then blew a raspberry at her friend, all the while laughing. It felt good to be going at these speeds again at her own accord, and not in an emergency.

Rainbow stayed in front the rest of the way until she reached the tree line first. “Oh yeah! I’m still as awesome as ever!” she shouted triumphantly. “Great race, Fluttershy. For a minute there I actually thought you were going to win.” She turned back to face her friend, only to find that Fluttershy had stopped some distance away, staring beyond into the forest itself.

“Fluttershy?” Rainbow called out concernedly. There was no reply. Rainbow zoomed over to where the other pegasus was hovering and waved a hoof over her face. “Hello? Terra to Fluttershy?”

“Crows.”

“What?” Rainbow cocked her head to the side.

“All those crows.” Fluttershy pointed to a large flock of black birds that hovered over the forest. Suddenly some dived down and disappeared behind the trees. The rest in what looked like a heavy rainstorm soon followed them.

Rainbow whistled. “Now that’s a lot of crows.” She turned to look at Fluttershy again, and did a double take when she saw her quickly flying back towards the rest of the group. “Hey, wait for me!”

“Thowra!” Fluttershy called. The grey horse looked up and saw Fluttershy’s alarmed eyes. “Crows. A lot of them, in the forest ahead.”

Thowra’s eyes widened in worry and fear. He knew full well as did Fluttershy what crows represented. He suddenly broke into a gallop and raced away from the ponies towards the forest, his belly growling with worry. “Oh please. By the gods let Freya not be among them,” he whispered in prayer.

“Hey, wait for us!” Pinkie called, galloping after him. Twilight, Rarity, Applejack soon followed, galloping past Rainbow, who cursed and changed course after them.

“I don’t understand. What’s the big deal about some birds?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy landed and galloped alongside her. “Crows are carrion birds, Twilight. They feed off the dead wherever they find them, and are always on every battlefield you find. The aftermath of one that is,” she explained.

Twilight’s eyes widened when she realised what Fluttershy was getting at. “So you’re saying that…” Fluttershy nodded. Twilight gulped and began to feel dread course through her as she realised what she was about to see. Fluttershy, however, seemed unfazed. ‘Perhaps death is all too common in her life now,’ she thought sadly for her friend.

The six ponies emerged from the woods into a large clearing, standing on a ledge of a small hill looking down onto the field. Thowra was already there, his eyes scanning the contents of the field. While the six ponies gasped and their eyes widened in horror. “Sweet Celestia of mercy,” Applejack said.

The field was littered with hundreds, if not thousands of dead horses. All of them in battle armour of different types, and all of them covered in flies and crows gorging themselves. Swords, spears and crossbow bolts also littered the landscape, some sticking into the ground, others into the dead themselves. While here and there, standing upright and blowing in the wind, stood tall and impressive banners, all of them differing in colour, size, and paintings, but some were ruined by smears of blood. What was worse, however, was the smell of urine, manure and rotting flesh that hung in the air. If Fluttershy didn’t look horrified before, she did now.

“You lot should go back,” Thowra ordered. “This is something ponies like you should not see.” Thowra hopped off the small rock and advanced cautiously through the battlefield.

Applejack snorted. “Since when did he tell us where to go?”

“Uh, I believe in Andulusia when we asked him to navigate for us through this country!” Twilight replied.

“Well, maybe you lot,” Fluttershy said. “But not me.” Without another word Fluttershy hopped off the rock and walked through a clear path towards Thowra, who was scanning each of the bodies that littered the ground. Applejack just shrugged and caught up with Fluttershy. The others soon followed suite.

At the far edges of the field were individual horses, shot through in various places by crossbow fire, or blasted apart by what seemed to be catapults, or trebuchets. At the middle of the battlefield was the largest concentration of the battle dead. Horses mangled together with various wounds across their underbellies or other exposed parts of their armour. Some were naked where the enemies’ teeth had ripped off their armour, or were slayers like Thowra was. While across the ground, facing various directions, were the hoof prints of the horses in perfect condition.

Thowra began picturing in his mind the battle as he looked around. He imagined the two armies emerging from the woods on opposite sides, completely unaware of the other’s presence until the very last moment. And once battle lines were set up and war engines prepared, all hell broke loose.

Fluttershy trotted up alongside Thowra, who nearly jumped upon hearing her hoofsteps. He looked back and saw the others walking towards them and sighed. “You lot really shouldn’t be here. This is no place for mares like yourselves.”

“I’m no stranger to death, Thowra, even before I became a Dragonlord,” Fluttershy said sadly. “There have been many times when I arrived too late to save a bunny from it injuries or a bird from falling out of its tree.”

“That must have been very hard on you.”

“Oh, it was,” Fluttershy agreed with a little nod. “Never really gets easier. But I just carry on. They would’ve, so why shouldn’t I?” She looked at her surroundings and shuddered. “Does it get any easier for you to see sights like this?”

“Never,” Thowra answered with a sharp shake of the head.

Meanwhile, Applejack was chasing the crows off the dead. “Get lost ya varmints!” she shouted at them, flaying her hat at any of the crows nearby. “Don’t ya have any respect for the dead?!”

“Applejack, stop,” Thowra said. “Let them gorge themselves. The dead won’t care what happens to their bodies, for their spirits are long gone. And besides, they don’t know any better.”

“But why aren’t they buried?” Rarity enquired. The unicorn was going greener by the second. “Leaving them out here is just horrible, not to mention it leaves a foul stench.”

“Because we Horscans believe that when a horse dies, a Valkyrie from the other world will come down and guide the spirit back to their place,” Thowra explained. “So the dead are left where they died so the spirits could be released from their mortal prisons by the Valkyries and guided away.”

Rarity nodded in understanding, before galloping away to the other side of the battlefield from when they came to vomit. Pinkie went after her to comfort her, as well as wanting to get away from the battlefield.

Fluttershy however was looking at the banners that were dotted about the battlefield. “Thowra? What do the banners represent?”

Thowra looked up from inspecting a dead horse and looked at Fluttershy, then trailed his eyes to all the banners. “What those?” Fluttershy nodded. “Oh, they were left here to show what regiments were destroyed, and who won the battle. Wait a minute?” He walked towards one of the banners and saw the blue emblem of the Andulusian family. He moved to each of the banners and numbered the amount of emblems of the Andulusian family to the Palominan families.

In the end there was about ten banners belonging to the Andulusians to the four of the Palominans. Thowra couldn’t believe it. Freya had managed to wipe out some of the most powerful regiments in the Andulusian army, and came out with remarkably few losses. “Freya won!” Thowra whopped for joy and punched the air.

Fluttershy was relieved that Freya managed to win, and most of all was still alive. She looked around to find her friends, only to see them in the forest waiting for them two. “Can we go now?” she asked Thowra. “My friends have kinda left without us.”

Thowra stopped hopping and looked at Fluttershy with wide eyes. “Ah yes, of course. Come on let’s go.”

Fluttershy and Thowra walked off towards the forest where the others were waiting. Then suddenly Thowra stopped, staring at one of the bodies for a moment. “Oh no,” he whispered sadly.

Fluttershy turned her head to look at him. “What is it?” Thowra didn’t respond, so she looked to where his eyes were looking at and gasped. He was staring at the body of a familiar chestnut coloured stallion, with his eyes closed, and a large gash across his side. “I recognise him, from the Heimwart feast in Castilian.”

Thowra nodded. “Yes. He was a good friend of mine. Breuna his name was. We grew up together actually, never were we apart.” He knelt down on his knees and bowed his head. “If you don’t mind, Fluttershy, I would like to be alone for a moment. I won’t be long.”

Fluttershy nodded and patted Thowra’s shoulder in sympathy. “I’m sorry,” she said, before turning around and joining up with the others. Rarity was on the ground, her legs shaking after vomiting so hard, while Pinkie was at her side rubbing her shoulders and calming her down. Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow sat around together talking about something, but Fluttershy didn’t take notice. She moved herself out of the way and settled down on the grass, deep in her own thoughts.

She had seen too much death, from the destruction of Andulusia, to now. She began to think that death was following her, in the guise of the crows and ravens that now feasted behind her. And if it was, did that mean if her friends were in danger? If they stayed, could that mean they might die too?

She shook her head, and rang a hoof through her mane to calm the nerves she had left. Even if her friends were in danger, they still wouldn’t leave her side. She knew no amount of convincing would make them do so. She looked back at her freinds and smiled at them. ‘We’ll make it through,’ she thought. ‘I’m not going back home otherwise.’

It wasn’t long before Thowra emerged from the battlefield, looking sadder and slightly older. “Ready to move on?” he asked everypony. The head nodding from the ponies was frantic. “Come on then, this way.” He lead the way, followed close behind by Fluttershy, then Twilight, then Rainbow, then Applejack, and finally Rarity and Pinkie, who was helping the former stay on her hooves.

That evening Fluttershy woke up with a start. She squeaked as she woke and sat upright as she gasped for air, her face dripping with sweat. It had been now about seven or more hours since they had left the battlefield and from there it had been an uneventful trip. The sun was halfway over the horizon when Twilight and Thowra had agreed to stop for the night. They had set up camp in a small wood just off the main road that was filled with oak trees, and found a small area with a little pond that was practical for a bath, to which Rarity was over the moon about.

“Fluttershy?” a voice that sounded like Rainbow’s came from what seemed like her mind. “You awake?”

Once Fluttershy had calmed down enough she looked around, her eyes squinting in the dark as she tried to make out her pegasus friend. “Where are you?”

“Up here,” Rainbow responded. Fluttershy looked up to see the silhouette of Rainbow Dash hanging off a small, puffy white cloud.

“What are you doing up there?” Fluttershy enquired.

“Couldn’t sleep, so I came up here to watch the moon move across the sky. Helps me calm down sometimes,” Rainbow responded. “What about you, why are you awake?”

Fluttershy looked away and rubbed a hoof across her left leg. “I had a nightmare.”

Rainbow looked at her sympathetically and asked, “Care to share, for old times sake?” In flight school, when sometimes the pegasi had to sleep over at the campus, Rainbow would sometimes stay up and comfort Fluttershy if she had a nightmare, which for the very shy filly was mostly every night, but Rainbow never cared.

Fluttershy spread her wings and flew up to the cloud Rainbow was perched on. She found the cloud to be big enough for not just her, but for the rest of the girls as well, maybe even Thowra. She sat on her haunches and began telling Rainbow the nightmare.

“I was in a forest, alone. It was night, and I was calling out to all of you, but noone was responding. I began running, hoping to run into one of you but the woods were unending and it felt I was running around in circles.” She paused for a moment to shudder as she remembered what happened next. “I suddenly noticed a pony standing with his back to me on a path that went across the forest. I went up to him and asked if he knew where I was, but when I got closer, I realised the pony was my father. He suddenly spun around and got hold of me with his forehooves, and began screaming at me, with blood beginning to stream down his face and body. I tried to get away but I couldn’t, he was forcing me to listen to him calling me a failure, a disgrace to the Dragonlords and such. I couldn’t do anything but scream,” Fluttershy finished, her eyes started to glisten and her body shook at the memory.

Rainbow brought her in a hug, which Fluttershy returned. “It’s just a nightmare, nothing more,” Rainbow said comfortingly.

“But what if it was right, though,” Fluttershy continued. “What if I am a failure? I failed my flight exams, I failed you all and worst of all I failed my father.” Fluttershy slumped and her ears fell flat. “I am a failure.”

“Now that’s just your inner demons talking.” Rainbow smiled, shaking Fluttershy a little. “You are not a failure. So what you failed your flight exams? When I said you were my number one flier that day with the tornado I meant it. You have never failed us, and most of all you never failed your father. There was nothing that you could have done to save him. Even an awesome pony like you can’t do everything.”

Fluttershy looked up and looked at Rainbow with wide eyes. “You really think I’m awesome?”

Rainbow nodded. “Come on, you took on a dragon for Pete’s sake and won! Even I couldn’t do that, especially at least kill one.”

“Technically I never killed it. I just cut the puppet strings from its master, nothing more.”

“Well nopony could’ve done it better,” Rainbow said with a smile. The two shifted around and watched the moon move slowly across the sky. They watched the stars twinkle and small chunks of passing comets fly across the sky, and then disappear, all in a matter of seconds.

“Rainbow?” Fluttershy began. “When you said that you like to watch the moon cross the sky to calm you down, what did you mean?”

Rainbow sighed and bowed her head. Fluttershy thought now it was her turn to help out. She placed a leg around Rainbow's shoulder and gently shook her. “Come on now, you can tell me anything,” she said encouragingly.

Rainbow looked into her eyes. “Have you considered to yourself the possibility that you won’t survive this?” she asked.

Fluttershy moved the leg off Rainbows shoulders and looked at her incredulously. “I… well… um… yes, I have,” she answered.

“And do you?”

After a moment of silence, Fluttershy shrugged. “I… I don’t know. Does it matter?”

“Of course it matters!” Rainbow snapped, making Fluttershy flinch. “You are possibly walking to your death and you don’t think it matters?! If you die, Fluttershy, what about all of us? What about me?”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Rainbow. “When you were in a coma for a month I was lost. Broken as it were. I spent entire nights crying my eyes out because I’m the failure! I failed you that day and I thought I would never hear your voice, or see you trotting through Ponyville again, because of me. Because I had lost the courage that you had gained.

“And then you came back, and I must’ve stayed up all night dancing for joy after seeing you again, and hoped you would never do as something as brash and brave as standing up to a dragon again. Just leave it to ponies like me.”

Rainbow sighed and lowered her head again, speaking a lower, sadder tone. “But now you’re doing it again. Going off to face a dark, evil creature and putting your life in danger. It shows that you’re not the pony I had to stay up all night to comfort from a nightmare, who would run from the first sign of danger, or who I would have to rescue when surrounded by a group of changelings. This new lifestyle of yours, it just makes me worry for you a lot more. You’re the sister I never had and…” She was now close to tears. “And… I don’t want to lose you again.”

Fluttershy quickly embraced Rainbow once more in a comforting hug. “Oh, Rainbow, I’m so sorry for worrying you like this.” She pulled herself away and looked Rainbow in the eye. “But that’s why I want you to come with me. So you don’t have to worry about me, and you can rescue me if I need it. And… I see you as a sister as well. In fact, you’re the best sister a pony could have.”

Smiling, the two ponies embraced once more, then after a while separated and watched the stars. “Rainbow?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you remember how we first met?” Fluttershy asked, grinning mischievously.

Rainbow went bright red in embarrassment. “Uh… I don’t think so, it must have slipped my mind.”

“Oh, I remember. Prom night I believe, my first year there.” She reared up and did an impersonation of Rainbow, throwing her forelegs wide. “Sunstorm, baby, there you are, now give me big sloppy kiss!” Upon noticing Rainbow’s embarrassed expression, she giggled and set back down on all fours. “I still can’t understand how you mistook me for a stallion.”

“Hey, in my defence he did accidentally dye his mane pink and he had a yellow coat, and from the back you do look a bit like him. I just thought he had a wig on as it was fancy dress prom,” Rainbow huffed. Despite the angry tone, Fluttershy could see a small smile on her face. “Your face afterwards, though. I wish I had my camera for it.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. I had to rinse my mouth out for hours afterwards,” Fluttershy said with a large smile.

“So did I,” Rainbow said with a grin. The two laughed about it for a moment.

When the laughter died down, Fluttershy spoke again. “But I still became your friend after that, and I still have that memory, even though it might take to dying a thousand times just to get rid of it. You said I’m not the same pony, yet I have that memory, and many others of our time together. I’m still the same pony you knew from then, and I doubt nothing is going to change that.”

Rainbow looked at Fluttershy for a moment, then smiled. “You’re right. Sorry if I sounded rude or horrible for saying that. It’s just weird seeing you this bit braver is all.”

Fluttershy gave her a playful nuzzle. “That’s okay. I think me from a month ago would be freaked out if I saw myself like this.”

The two ‘sisters’ fell silent and spent the rest of the night until they fell asleep watching the stars twinkle and the moon glow.

“So, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked the unicorn the following day. “You know you said the other day that Heimdallr is a pyromancer.”

The seven equines had left the solitude of the small wood and had made many miles before deciding to stop in a rocky area on top of a hill for lunch, much to Pinkie’s delight. They decided to use it as they could see for miles so, incase a patrol approaches, they could quickly hide. They also decided to use this moment to practice with wielding swords and shooting crossbows.

Now, Rainbow and Applejack were fighting each other, slowly at first so as not to hurt each other, then faster as they got better. While Thowra was busy teaching Rarity the art of duelling. Pinkie had gone off somewhere for a wash, or so she said. While Twilight and Fluttershy sat on a rock next to each other, resting after having a quick duel, to which Fluttershy easily won.

Twilight looked over to the pegasus and said, “That I did. What about it?”

“Well,” Fluttershy began, rubbing her hooves together. “Um… well, forgive me as I wasn’t paying much attention to what exactly a pyromancer is. So what are they?”

Twilight laughed. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy, I should’ve thought your mind would be at other places at that time. Well a pyromancer is able to cast fire from their bodies and try to wield it effectively.”

“Sorry for interrupting, but what did you mean by ‘try’?”

“Pyromancy is a dangerous, if not the most dangerous form of magic in known existence. It was so dangerous that the last time it was heard of Princess Celestia banned it after the ‘accidental’ great fire of Canterlot, which nearly destroyed the city. That was two thousand years ago, and nopony has heard of the use of that magic ever since.”

“Till just two days ago,” Fluttershy corrected her. Twilight nodded. “So how does somepony, or a dragon, manage to master such a form of magic?”

Twilight shrugged. “Noone really knows. Some historians and arch-mages believe that pyromancy is connected to Celestia somehow, but the Princess has always denied such a thing. I asked her once about it and she genuinely didn’t understand why they all thought it, and I know she didn’t lie about it as I know when she lies.”

“The Princess lies?” Fluttershy’s eyebrows rose in surprise, and interest.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, she does this little wiggle with her nose when she lies, quite funny actually.” She started giggling at the memory of one of those moments. “But anyway, how ponies, or dragons, can do pyromancy like the way you described Heimdallr can is a mystery.”

Fluttershy nodded in understanding. “To be honest I don’t think I want to know.” Her voice turned more into a growl. “The moment he’s dead then the world will be safer.” She hung her head. “I hate him, Twilight. I really hate him.”

Twilight looked away, then chuckled about something. “You know, when I first met you, I thought you were incapable of hating.”

“Everypony hates something, Twilight,” Fluttershy reasoned.

Twilight chuckled. “Yeah, I hated this teacher at school who would give us homework during the school holidays. Homework on a subject that I didn’t enjoy at all. Citizenship.” She visibly shuddered at the long hours she could have spent studying magic but instead having to look up socialising and such.

Fluttershy laughed. “Now I am surprised. I thought you loved every subject.”

“Well I do now, and sure I was good at it but back then I had other goals I wanted to reach.” Twilight shook her head rapidly. “Anyhow, do you know yet how you’re going to defeat him?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “No I haven’t yet. I think it might be best if I find out where he dwells first, and then use it to my advantage.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “It might be best.” The fell silent as they watched Rarity move slowly towards Thowra with her sword leg raised high over her head. Thowra lunged his sword slowly at her, but Rarity stepped to the right, swinging her sword into Thowra’s and sending it towards the ground. While having the advantage, she rapidly moved her leg around and placed her sword tip on the horse’s neck, winning the duel, even if it was a training exercise.

“Yay,” Fluttershy cheered to her, clapping her hooves together. “You rock, Rarity.”

Rarity gave a modest bow. “Thank you, my dear, and I have to say well done to you for beating Twilight like that. I never thought you had it in you.”

Fluttershy blushed and smiled at the compliment. “Thank you, and I’m sorry for beating you, Twilight.” She turned to face the unicorn, who giggled.

“There’s no need to apologise, Fluttershy. You beat me fair and square.”

“Well I wouldn’t call if fair and square if I was born a warrior now.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she remembered something. “Oh yeah! That’s what I’ve been meaning to ask you. How is that possible? To be basically born a warrior? Surely it takes time and lots of training like what we’re doing at the moment to get to your level?”

“I think it’s because we are technically descendants of dragons,” Fluttershy replied. “I think it’s… well, dragons sort of know how to fight, how to defend themselves from their birth. I think the Dragonlords got that trait from them, so we could train more on fitness and less in sword practice.”

Twilight rocked her head side to side a little, trying to understand what she meant. Eventually she just nodded, although she was not entirely convinced. “Okay, so how do you become a Dragonlord?”

“Well,” Fluttershy started, “You need to get killed by fire firstly, and then hidden genetics buried in a Dragonlords DNA comes to life. It goes around the body faster than a Wonderbolt before the pony could actually die, and then it starts to repair the body, restoring feathers, coat, mane and tail, you know. Once it’s done that, though, it needs time for the body to get to grips with the new DNA so it puts the body in a deep sleep for a month and lets it recuperate until it’s fully completed changing the body.”

Twilight nodded in understanding. “So all those abilities, like that new language you have. You say they came all down from a couple of chromosomes?”

Fluttershy nodded, then began to chuckle lightly at something. “You know what’s funny right?” Twilight shook her head, confusion expressed on her face. “I’m supposed to be a lord over dragons, and yet I’m terrified of them.”

Just as Fluttershy finished speaking, Pinkie emerged from the bushes looking greatly refreshed and humming a happy tune to herself as she moved to where Fluttershy and Twilight sat. “Hey guys, did I miss anything?”

“Apart from getting my rump handed back to me by Fluttershy here in a practice fight. Not much,” Twilight replied.

Pinkie couldn’t stop laughing. “Fluttershy beat you in a sword duel?! Oh man, I wish I saw that!”

“All right everyone, I think it’s time we moved on,” Thowra said. “We’ve got a lot ground to cover before tonight.”

Everypony agreed and set about packing their saddlebags, or gushing down some water after a long fight, in Applejack and Rainbow’s cases anyway. Once they had completed their preparations they left the rocks and moved back onto the road, knowing full well they were now in Andulusian territory, and as such, they had keep a sharp eye out.

They walked for about three hours, going through thick woodlands where the trees seemed to go as high as the sky itself, to vast plains where they could see ahead for miles, giving Thowra plenty of sight to see if there were any Andulusian patrols or even Palominan patrols passing through, to which fortunately there wasn’t.

They passed an old castle, broken and derelict. They gave two villages a wide berth by crossing through the woods or hills behind, and encountered a farm where Thowra had learned the on goings of the war from quite a friendly horse.

Thowra learned that Freya had split her forces into two: one side went east with her, another under Luthor’s command headed west. At first he thought the idea was ludicrous, since Freya wouldn’t have the strength to launch such an offensive on two fronts, but he changed his mind upon hearing each of the two armies were rumoured to be numbered about ten thousand each.

It seemed as if most of this army was made up of Andulusian turncoats who lost heart after hearing of the dragon attack on Andulusia, and upon thinking it as either a sign or a curse, moved north to Castilian to join up with Freya and her armies. With these forces, the old stallion told him, the second largest city in the south, Breton, fell without a fight. Well, it was rumoured anyway.

“Did Freya’s army pass through here?” Thowra asked.

The horse shook his head. “They may have done during the night I suppose, but I never heard a thing.” Upon learning all that the farmer knew, Thowra thanked him and set about with the others west, towards the Ramshead range.

After walking through another woodland they emerged at a riverbank, with a long stone arched bridge running across it. The river was fast flowing and looked deep, and they could clearly see the start of a rapid at the other end of the bridge. Twilight trotted on first with, for some reason nopony knew, her eyes closed. Rainbow was just behind her and when she noticed something in front of them she gasped in horror. “Twilight, stop!”

The unicorn didn’t hear her, so the pegasus raced in front of her and pushed her back. Twilight opened her eyes and glared at Rainbow upon noticing she was being pushed back. “Rainbow, you ruined my concentration in a book I was thinking through. Happy?”

Rainbow’s jaw dropped at the accusation. Her mouth was moving but was making no noise. Finally she made a hopeless gesture with her hooves. “Okay, if you want to take a dive, fine by me.”

Twilight looked confused at first, until Rainbow hovered out of the way, and letting her see what Rainbow had saved her from. She gasped when she saw the bridge had been split in half, with a huge gap between the two sides, too wide to jump across. “Blast,” Thowra cursed as he walked up alongside her. “Either the Andulusians or Palominans must have blown the bridge behind them to cut off any chance of flanking them.”

“So now how do we get across?” Pinkie wondered, looking around for a part where the river turned shallow. Her ears fell flat when she couldn’t see any.

“Could we try swimming over?” Applejack suggested.

“No way!” Rarity protested. “My mane has taken hours to look like this and I’m not planning to get it ruined by this mucky water. Can’t we try looking for another bridge?”

“Sorry, Rarity, but Applejack’s right,” Thowra said. “There’s no bridge about for miles, and we want to get this key as fast as we can. Right, Fluttershy?” He looked back at the pegasus, who nodded. “I guess we have to swim across.”

“But how?” Twilight queried. “The water’s too quick. If we try to swim across we’ll be swept away. And I dare not imagine what’s on the other end of that rapid.”

“Hmm,” Thowra pondered. Twilight was right, though. The river, thanks to a large amount of rainwater from the area, had risen to a threatening speed and could easily take away any horse or pony that wasn’t careful. “To be honest, I don’t know.” He looked to the unicorn. “Do you have any ideas?”

Twilight sat on her haunches and looked from pony to pony, seeing their strengths and weaknesses race through her mind. After a while she turned to Rarity. “You remember that teleportation spell I taught you, don’t you?”

Rarity nodded. “Why of course, darling. I never forget a spell.”

“Great, I want you to teleport to the other side and wait for me there,” Twilight said instructively.

Rarity gave a little nervous nod, before turning to face the far side of the river. She closed her eyes and, with the other side of the river pictured her mind, activated the spell. In a flash of blue light she disappeared and only seconds later, emerged on the other side. “I made it! I made it!” she whopped for joy, waving at the others on the far side. Fluttershy was the only pony to wave back.

With Rarity safely over the other side, Twilight turned to Applejack. “Do you have your rope?”

“Sure do, sugarcube. I never leave home without it,” Applejack replied. She opened up one of the pouches from her saddlebags and produced a long piece of rope.

“Fantastic, if you’d forgotten it, we will all be in trouble. Now, tie one end around Thowra, then give me the other end.”

Applejack did as instructed, and soon a tight bit of rope was around Thowra’s waist. “Nice and tight, just like ya asked. But what’s it for?”

“Yeah, and it better be quick because it’s very hard to breathe,” Thowra said, his breathing getting a bit quicker as a result.

“Right, give me a moment.” Twilight turned to face the other side of the river, and then in a flash she was gone, only to appear seconds later next to Rarity. “Can you hear me okay!”

“I can,” Fluttershy responded, holding a hoof up. “So can everyone else.”

“Good. Right, here goes nothing.” Twilight spread out her forelegs and pressed them hard against the ground. She then closed her eyes, and a familiar magenta glow appeared from the end of her horn, her mind focused on a picture of the loose end of the rope.

A magenta glow surrounded the rope, which raised the rope end up high and with a sound of a hoverfly whizzing by some ones ear, shot at the speed of a bullet to the other side, the rope being long enough to cross.

As soon as the distance between Twilight and the rope was narrow enough, she grabbed it with her teeth, then spat it out and secured the end with her hoof. “Okay, me and Rarity will pull from this end,” she called to the others. “Fluttershy, Rainbow, when Thowra gets into the water make sure he stays level, and that he doesn’t get swept away. Got it?”

Rainbow and Fluttershy saluted. “Got it,” they said one after the other. The two pegasi took to the air and hovered just a few inches off the waterline.

“Okay, Thowra, ready?” Twilight asked. The horse shook his head. “Good,” Twilight carried on anyway. “One two three, go!”

With a heavy nudge from Pinkie, Thowra dived into the water and began swimming with all his strength to the other side. “Fluttershy, get hold of the rope and help me pull it in! Rainbow, stay at Thowra’s side and keep him even!” Twilight called out to them. Without another word the pegasi dived down and did what they were asked. Fluttershy pulled with all her strength on the rope, while Rainbow kept her hooves around Thowra’s waist, using all her strength to keep him even.

Twilight, seeing the rope now won’t be going anywhere, picked it up with her teeth and pulled hard. “Help me, Rarity,” she said through gritted teeth.

Rarity considered saying no, that Twilight, Fluttershy and Rainbow had it in hoof. But she saw the struggle Fluttershy and Rainbow was fighting and realised if she didn’t help, they could lose hold and lose Thowra, and possibly Twilight.

“Budge up, Twilight,” Rarity said. “Time to see if those exercises in the mornings have finally paid off.” Twilight, using her hooves, pulled the rope so that Rarity could have the end. The unicorn picked it up with her teeth and began walking backwards, pulling hard on the rope, and nearly sending Twilight off her hooves.

After a few moments of uncertainty, and one frightening moment when Rainbow lost hold of Thowra for a few seconds, forcing Fluttershy to use her teeth as well as her hooves, Thowra clambered up the bank of the other side and rolled on his back, panting heavily. “Thanks,” he croaked.

“You’re welcome, dear,” Rarity said. She turned to the others. “Right, we should all take a rest for a moment before setting off.”

“Um, Rarity, aren’t you forgetting two things?” Rainbow asked, pointing to the other side where Applejack and Pinkie were waiting for the rope to return so they could cross.

“Ah.” She looked back at Twilight and saw she wasn’t in a state to try again. “Give it ten or fifteen minutes and we’ll get Applejack or Pinkie across.”

The others nodded in agreement, too tired or their hooves too sore to try again so soon. About fifteen minutes later, once everypony got their breath back, brought Applejack over, then another fifteen minutes later, brought Pinkie over the other side. All the while Thowra stood aside and watched, impressed by the ponies teamwork.

Once Pinkie was safely across, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, pleased that no incidents occurred. “I have to say,” Thowra commented, “I have never before seen teamwork that efficient in all my life.”

The group shared smiles. “Because on our own we can be defeated. But as a group, we’re unstoppable,” Twilight said proudly.

Fluttershy shot her head around to face Twilight for a moment, then looked away as she thought of what the unicorn just said. She remembered Twilight saying the same thing before they went into the maze to defeat Discord, but that didn’t work out too well thanks to the Draconnequus’s magic. But once they got back together they had defeated him and encased him in stone once more. The same went for Nightmare Moon, the changeling army in Canterlot, and several other examples.

She first thought that only she and nopony else would take on Heimdallr, but now she began thinking differently. Could the seven of them really take on the dragon and avenge the deaths of countless lives? ‘Yes,’ she thought. ‘Yes we can, and we will.’

“You okay, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked upon noticing Fluttershy’s absent-minded look.

Fluttershy jumped out of her skin upon hearing Applejack’s voice, then spun around to face the earth pony. “I’m fine thanks. Just thinking,” she replied.

Applejack gave a little nod, and then turned to join the rest of the group. “Well, Fluttershy,” Thowra said, looking into the distance. “We’re nearly there.” He pointed to the mountains that looked the size of the ponies in the distance.

Fluttershy worked her way next to Thowra and gasped at the sight of the mountains that made up the Ramshead range. She squinted her eyes to make out the mountain that looked like the head of a ram, but couldn’t see it. She eventually looked up at Thowra and said, “Thank you, Thowra. I don’t think any of us would have got this far without you.”

“Thank you’s” and “cheers” came from the rest of the group, which Thowra modestly gave a little bow for. “It was a pleasure, but no need to thank me yet. We’ve still got a long way to go.”

With that, the seven equines made their way along the path that followed the river west for at least three hours. It then slowly moved away from the river and snaked along a large plain that was dotted with rolling hills, brightly coloured meadows, small ponds that were filled by rainwater, and here and there were willow trees, their long branches swaying in the low breeze.

As they got closer, Fluttershy began to make out the mountains in greater detail, and her heart sank when she saw all the mountains were half covered in tall, dark green leaved trees. She moaned quietly as she realised how much harder it will be to find the entrance of the hidden location of the final key if they had to navigate their way through a dense woodland.

“Holy moly, that’s a lot of oakies,” Pinkie said, as they were all now able to see the forest that clung onto the mountainsides.

“Actually, Pinkie, they’re pine trees mostly,” Twilight corrected her. “But how are we’re going to find this entrance in there?”

“I don’t know, Twilight,” Fluttershy replied. “But we’ve got to.”

Thowra looked to where the sun was and his eyes widened in surprise as he watched it descend over the horizon. “I think we should worry about that tomorrow,” he said. “Let’s call it a night.”

They all agreed on moving off the main road and camped on the other side of a hill that obscured them from the road, incase an Andulusian patrol decided to come through. “Okay, who’s good at building a fire?” Thowra asked.

“Definitely not Applejack,” Rainbow called out with a little grin.

Applejack opened up her mouth to retort, but closed it again with a smirk as she came up with an idea that would bite Rainbow on the rump. “I agree, that’s why I think Rainbow should do it this time, since she claims to be an expert.”

Everyone else nodded their heads, tired of having had to put up with Rainbow’s whining about no fire for the past few days. Rainbow groaned and berated herself for walking right into that. “Fine, I’ll try.” She sped off towards the forest to look for some good wood to burn.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy looked over in the direction of where they come from with a small frown on her face. She moved away from the rest of the group and stood atop one of the hills that surrounded, looking into the darkness for something.

Despite her improved eyesight, she wasn’t able to make out anything other than a few isolated trees blowing in the wind. “You okay, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked as she walked up alongside. “What have you seen?”

“I don’t know, I just think there’s something shadowing us. Keeping to the dark for some reason.”

“Could it be Heimdallr?”

“I don’t think so,” Fluttershy replied with a shake of her head. “He would have already attacked if it was.”

“But he’s already underestimated you,” Twilight countered. “He could be buying his time and waiting for the right moment. He has waited for nearly five thousand years after all.”

Fluttershy didn’t reply, she just continued to look out into the growing darkness, and listened to Rainbow’s curses as she tried to get a fire going. “I’m scared, Twilight,” she said suddenly. “Really, really scared.”

Twilight smiled comfortingly. “To be honest, I would have thought of you as a fool if you weren’t.”

“Are you scared? Scared about what might happen if I fail?”

After a moment of silence, Twilight nodded. “I’m terrified, Fluttershy. But you seem to missing something.” Fluttershy looked at her oddly. “It’s what would happen if we fail. We’re in this together now, all of us, and we’re not going to back out while our friends and family are in danger.”

Fluttershy gave a faint smile. “You wouldn’t quit even if I forced you too, would you?”

Twilight gave a firm shake of her head. “Nope.”

Fluttershy chuckled lightly. “Come on, let’s get back to the others. I can smell something good on, and I am feeling hungry.”

As on cue, Twilight’s belly rumbled, and she blushed a little. “Ha, ha, agreed.”

They made it back down to find, to everypony’s surprise, Rainbow had managed to make a roaring fire, where a large bowl of stew was being made with Thowra’s instructions by Pinkie.

Half an hour later, once all had their meals, they slowly drifted off to sleep, one by one.

When Fluttershy opened her eyes once more, instead of the firm, dry ground she had laid down on, it was a soft, wet cloud. Her eyes widened as she wondered what brought her here, and whether or not it was one of Heimdallr’s tricks.

She got up and spun slowly around on the spot, her eyes looking out for even the slightest movement that would give away the burning dragon. She was surprised to find none whatsoever. She moved to the edge of the cloud and looked down, wondering how far she was to the ground. She was horrified to discover she couldn’t see the ground, just a black abyss.

“But it’s daytime,” she said aloud, looking up to find the sun in its slow movements across the sky. She looked back down and wondered that to get out of this dream would be to easily jump off and fall into the darkness. But in the end curiosity got the better of her, so she decided to start walking and find whatever she was brought to see.

Fluttershy broke into a trot and walked up to the edge, then hopped to the next one, then the next, and the next one, until she broke into a full gallop and began laughing as she hopped from cloud to cloud, rising higher and higher into the seemingly infinite sky. ‘So this is what my mother and father did to get to Canterlot,’ Fluttershy thought with a little grin. ‘Me and Rainbow will have to try this when we get back to Equestria.’

Eventually, she began running out of breath and stopped for a moment to regain it. She looked up and saw the tip of a mountain that looked like the point of a spear. With her head cocked to one side in curiosity, she walked closer, gazing at the mountain tip for a moment, then brought her head through the cloud to look at where the rest of the mountain was. Her jaw dropped when she couldn’t see the end, just the blackness.

She suddenly saw something emerging from the darkness. She galloped back away from the mountain tip and obscured herself in one of the clouds. “Please not be a dragon, please not be a dragon, please not be a dragon,” she said over and over again. She cursed quietly when it appeared and Fluttershy could see it was a dragon.

The dragon was huge, a bit bigger than most others, with huge bat-like wings. But what struck Fluttershy the most was just how beautiful the dragon’s scales were. She had seen a red dragon, a green dragon, and a purple dragon. But never a bright, golden dragon like this one, with black spikes and grey claws. Its eyes were a beautiful, yet incredible bright green that Fluttershy thought was impossible for dragons to have. Even though she wasn’t an expert on dragons, in fact, she usually stayed well clear of the subject.

The dragon landed on the tip of the mountain, and then looked up into the sky, looking for something. Fluttershy emerged from her hiding spot and presented herself in front of the dragon. She frowned when it didn’t even acknowledge her existence. “Okay,” Fluttershy said to herself. “So why I am here?”

“To watch,” a voice called out from nowhere, a voice that sounded a bit familiar.
Fluttershy spun around and presented Drage Bane, which sang as it emerged from its scabbard. “Watch? Watch what? Who are you?”

The voice didn’t answer, it just disappeared like a gale would suddenly turn into a soft breeze. Fluttershy turned back around to face the dragon, who raised its claws in the air and its mouth began moving. She couldn’t make out what the dragon was saying, but it seemed with its movements like a prayer.

Fluttershy looked up and gasped when the sky above started to turn from a bright blue to a fiery orange, and moved like waves far out at sea. The dragon’s mouth began moving faster, its head raised into the air and its eyes closed as it continued its chant, or whatever it was.

Suddenly, a lightning rod landed right next to Fluttershy, who screamed and dived back into where she was hiding when the dragon emerged. Another lightning rod came down, then another, and another, until they were surrounding the dragon at the centre, who didn’t even budge.

Fluttershy wanted to cry out a warning, but knew it was folly, as it wouldn’t even hear her. Suddenly, and with a cry of alarm from the pegasus, a lightning bolt hit the dragon dead on the back.

The dragon jarred, its teeth clenched together in pain as it felt its scales unexpectantly burn away. Another lighting bolt crashed down on another part of its back, burning away more of its scales and blacking them out. Fluttershy flinched as another bolt came crashing down on the dragon, then another, and another, each one landing on another part of the dragon’s body, each one scorching its beautiful golden scales black.

More lightning bolts were now coming down onto it, in rapid succession, but the dragon didn’t attempt to get away, it was as if it wanted this torture. Fluttershy thought she was going to throw up as the dragon was becoming unrecognisable as what it once was.

Suddenly, bright flames spouted across its body, from its tail back towards its head was becoming a mass of flame. Fluttershy’s eyes widened in horror as she started to understand what she was seeing; about why she was brought here.

She was here to watch how the dragon she had seen appear, become the monster that became known as Heimdallr.

The dragon shook uncontrollably as the changes it had brought upon itself started to form. Its mouth was open wide, letting out a scream as flames consumed its scales and burnt into its skin. Its insides burnt, and melted, leaving only a brain and a hull. Heimdallr’s eyes opened wide. And instead of those nice green ones, they were bright, golden flames that burned out of control, and spoke of Heimdallr’s hate.

Fluttershy backed away from the now newly formed Heimdallr, expecting him to turn around on her and pounce. She was too busy looking at Heimdallr that she failed to notice the large gap behind her. She screamed as she fell off her cloud and into the dark abyss below. Then the world went black.

Fluttershy’s eyes shot open and she sat upright, her breathing quick and her throat seemed sore from screaming. She looked around and gave a sigh of relief when she noticed that she had woken noone up. She got up and moved away from the group, sitting on top of one of the hills that surrounded her and her friends.

She wondered how Heimdallr was able to do that. How was he able to do that to himself? Destroy his body and leave only the fires of hatred. She closed her eyes and began remembering what happened.

Heimdallr was looking up into the sky; his eyes seemed to have been looking towards the sun yet he wasn’t squinting. He began chanting something or other, which told her he brought about that strange anomaly in the sky. ‘Whatever that thing was,’ Fluttershy thought, ‘could hold the key to how Heimdallr got his power. Then maybe we may have a chance to defeat him.’

She looked back down at the group and contemplated waking up the one pony that might know what happened and, with this armament of knowledge, may be able to defeat him.

Eventually, and reluctantly, she slowly walked over to where Twilight was sleeping. Fluttershy gave a little squeak sometimes and would go back to where she was sleeping and wait until the morning. But in the end her determination won through and she made it to Twilight’s side. She raised a hoof and gave a little tap on the unicorn’s shoulder. “Twilight?”

“But Spike, it’s too early for reshelving time. Go back to your dreams of Rarity,” Twilight murmured.

Fluttershy cocked her head to one side and raised an eyebrow. ‘Spike has dreams about Rarity?’ she mused. ‘I’ve never noticed he had a crush on her.’ She shook her head rapidly, and then shook Twilight once more, this time a bit more forceful. “Twilight, wake up, I need to talk to you.”

Twilight gave out a little groan and she groggily opened her eyes. “Oh this had better be worth waking me at this ho… oh, Fluttershy, it’s just you,” she grumbled before realising who woke her. “You’re not having nightmares, are you?”

“Well,” Fluttershy replied, “I sort of had a nightmare, but it’s what happened I wanted to talk to you about. Unless you’re feeling tired and you want to go back to sleep then I don’t mind waiting a bit longer.”

Twilight held up a hoof to silence her concerns. “It’s fine. I’m up anyway so might as well do it now. Come on, let’s move away from here and talk where we won’t disturb anyone else.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement, and then followed Twilight up the slop of one of the hills to talk. Once they were out of the way, Fluttershy proceeded to tell Twilight about what happened, without leaving any details out.

When Fluttershy finished telling her nightmare, she noticed how pale Twilight had gotten. “You okay, Twilight?” she asked. “You’ve gone pale, and I mean really pale.”

“You’re certain that the sky turned orange. Absolutely positive it moved like a aurora.”

Fluttershy nodded, slightly nervous by the panicky tone in Twilight’s voice. “You know what I saw, don’t you?”

Twilight sighed and gave her a little nod. For a moment Fluttershy thought she was going to avoid it entirely. “I’m afraid so,” she said. “That was the effects of a solar flare that crashed down on Heimdallr. A solar flare that was summoned… by him.”

Now it was Fluttershy’s turn to go pale. “He… he used the sun?!”

Twilight nodded again. “What he used must have been old, and forgotten magic to have created a solar flare that powerful, and then able to use that power to create…” Twilight trailed off as she realised where the art of pyromancy came from. “Pyromancy really did come from absorbing the sun’s power, and therefore it…”

“Is connected to Princess Celestia,” Fluttershy finished for her.

Twilight’s legs gave way and she collapsed onto her stomach. “I don’t think we can beat him Fluttershy. If he is connected to the sun, then his power would be infinite, and therefore unstoppable.”

Fluttershy gave Twilight a disappointed look. “Now that’s not the Twilight I know. The Twilight who didn’t stop until she reached the castle and defeated Nightmare Moon. Or the Twilight who never gave up on us even when we abandoned her when Discord returned. Or even when you persisted on the fact the Cadance was evil, and you were right when it was revealed she was the changeling queen.”

Fluttershy gently lifted Twilight back onto her hooves. “You never gave up then, and you shouldn’t give up now. Yes Heimdallr might have some of the power of the sun. Nightmare Moon had the power of the moon, and Discord had both when he took over. Yet we defeated them, and only together we will defeat Heimdallr.”

Twilight looked at Fluttershy in amazement. “Even with my doubting, you still haven’t lost hope?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I can’t. My father never gave up hope, and neither shall I, and neither should you.”

Twilight gave Fluttershy a little nuzzle. “You are one of the bravest ponies I have ever met.”

Fluttershy returned the gesture. “I’m not that brave.”

“Yes you are,” Twilight persisted, breaking away from her. “I know how terrified you are, I mean it is you after all. But still you don’t go back. You go forward, and I admire that greatly.”

“You make me go forward, Twilight. You and the others. I don’t think I could go on without any of you by my side. You and the others is why I’m still fighting.” Twilight brought Fluttershy into another hug; the pegasus smiled and wrapped her forelegs around her friend.

The two friends broke contact and went silent for a moment. Suddenly Twilight let out a long yawn, which was soon followed by Fluttershy. “Pinkie was right,” Fluttershy giggled, “your yawn’s infectious.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “I think we should get back to sleep and talk about this later. We’ve got a long day tomorrow.” Fluttershy agreed, and followed the unicorn back into the camp thanks to her illumination spell enveloping her horn. “Would you like me to put that spell on you? Just incase Heimdallr decides to do it again.”

‘But that’s the thing, it wasn’t Heimdallr that showed me it, it was someone else,’ she wanted to say. But all she said instead was, “Thank you, Twilight, but I’ve kept you up long enough. I should be okay from now on.”

Twilight wasn’t satisfied, but she was too tired to argue. “If you’re sure, then goodnight.” She laid back down on the grass and fell asleep as soon as her head touched the ground.

“Goodnight, Twilight. And thank you,” Fluttershy said with a smile. She turned away from the snoring unicorn and went back to where she was sleeping. Before she closed her eyes she looked to the sky and wondered whether her father was watching her tonight, whether he was one of those stars that was said to appear when a loved one dies. She hoped that was true, so then he could look down on her and her friends, and smile.

Chapter 16 (part 1)

For the next three days, the seven equines navigated their way through the thick forest that hung onto and around the mountains of the Ramshead range. Their eyes were as wide as saucers as they looked out for any openings in the rock faces they encountered during their walks. Their spirits lifted when they did find openings, only for them to drop like stones in water when it was revealed that they were just caves.

Sometimes they would have to take shelter in these caves due to the storms that quickly came into the Ramshead range. They would use that time to think of home and what their families were doing, or have some laughs of good times and have a sing-along. Fluttershy, however, never joined in.

With each passing day that ended up with failure, her mood had become more and more sombre. She would raise a smile every now and then at a good memory they shared around, but her heart wasn’t in to singing. She was beginning to doubt herself on whether she could find this key. And even if they do find it, would they still be able to defeat Heimdallr?

Twilight’s theory on him using the sun to gain his powers put a lot into question. Such as where is he hiding, and if he was using the sun to stay alive, how, if he’s buried hundreds of feet under?

It troubled her and Twilight to no end, and the two would stay up longer than the others, trying to think what exactly was he waiting for. When Fluttershy asked the unicorn on him using the sun, Twilight theorised that his connection to it was spiritual, rather than physical. Meaning he didn’t need to be within sight of it, just needed it to be there. As for what he was waiting for, Fluttershy had suggested that he was waiting for another solar flare to occur, so he can ravage the planet without having to move. Twilight quickly swept it aside, thinking it ludicrous since Celestia now controlled the sun. If he wanted full control of it again he would have to kill the Princess to get at its power. But since she’s miles away it would be impossible for him to do so.

Fluttershy accepted it, albeit reluctantly. Since becoming a Dragonlord, since becoming a bearer of the Elements of Harmony, she had a change of view on what’s impossible or not, and now thought that nothing was impossible.

On the fourth day, they emerged from the forest and arrived in the Ramshead range proper, overlooking a vast array of mountains, hills, valleys, and lakes. They walked through small streams, and down steep cliffs into an old abandoned village that was once inhabited by miners, or so Thowra told them all.

It was going towards this village where Rarity made her genius known.

“Suppose…” she began hesitatingly, but stopped when she thought it was a silly idea.

“No, go on,” Twilight beckoned her on. “What were you going to say?”

“Well, I was just thinking. Suppose that these miners had found this entrance?”

The question Rarity asked never really came into their minds. But when it did, they instantly understood what Rarity was getting at.

“It’s possible I suppose,” Thowra said with a shrug. “You reckon they might have left a marker indicating where it could be?”

Rarity nodded. “And possibly a map as well. What do you all think?” she asked, looking to the others.

The grins from Twilight and Fluttershy said it all. “Rarity, you’re a genius,” Fluttershy complimented. Rarity blushed at the compliment and waved a hoof modestly.

“Okay,” Twilight said, “I propose we split up into groups of two and a three. Fluttershy, Thowra, and Rarity you go in one and cover that road of this village.” She pointed to the road heading right. “Applejack and me will cover the second road.” She indicated with her head the road that ran down the centre of the village. “And Rainbow and Pinkie, you will cover the third.” She finally pointed to the road on the left, following a river. “Okay, everyone?”

“On it!” they cried out in unison. They split up into their groups and went about looking for a map, or something that could give them an indication of where this place with the final key was.

The village was old, very old. It was split up into three roads going from south to north, or north to south, depending on which way you would come in. The houses that made up the village were mostly two-storeys high, and were built out of wood. They were also ruins, since the roofs on most of them had broken through and destroyed the second, or even ground floors. The houses were placed in nice little rows along a thin, concrete road wide enough for four horses to walk across. On the right a small river flowed gently behind one row, which Fluttershy made out now and then due to small alleys that split some of the houses apart.

Fluttershy, Rarity and Thowra walked down the road towards the northern end of the village, their eyes scanning the buildings for any sign of one that could have been a headquarters the miners used. Thowra said they should be looking for a building that has three floors, maybe more, and probably made of bricks rather than wood like all the houses here had been made of.

“So, Fluttershy, Thowra, what do you both think of the name ‘Dancer’?” Rarity said suddenly.

Fluttershy shook her head and said, “Oh, um… I’m sorry, Rarity, I didn’t hear what you just said.”

Rarity looked back at her pegasus friend with concern. “You must have a lot on your mind.”

“Oh, I do,” Fluttershy agreed. “I was just thinking about my animal friends back home. I was wondering if they’re doing alright without me.”

“I’m sure they’re fine, Fluttershy. Spike has taken care of them before, albeit not too well thinking about it, but I know that he should be okay,” Rarity said re-assuredly.

Fluttershy smiled. “Okay, but what did you say before?”

“Oh yes, of course. I was wondering what you both thought of the name ‘Dancer’?”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow in confusion, and then turned to look at Thowra, who also had the same gormless face. “Um… well, it’s okay I guess,” they said at the same time. They looked at each other then laughed. “You go first, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy nodded her thanks, and then turned to face the unicorn, who by now was beginning to look impatient by the lack of an answer. “It’s… well, nice. But why did you want a name?” She suddenly let out a gasp. “You’re not pregnant, are you?!”

“Oh goodness, no!” Rarity shouted with a shake of a hoof. “I was just thinking a name for my sword here.” She stroked the bracelet around her right leg as if it was a small dog. She looked back to see the utmost confused look from Fluttershy, but a look of understanding from Thowra. “What?” she exclaimed upon seeing Fluttershy’s face. “I know you’ve called your sword Drage Bane, so why can’t I call my sword something?”

“My father called it Drage Bane. It means ‘dragon bane’ in Dragonian. I always wondered why he called it that, but now I know why, as it has done its purpose. I personally wouldn’t have called it that, or anything for that matter. It’s a tool, not a thing.”

“Well I think it’s a great name,” Thowra said with a smile. “Dancer it should be.”

Rarity grinned. “You see, Fluttershy, at least someone’s got good taste in names. Come along, Dancer, we’ve got a map to find.” She trotted merrily in front of them, leaving Thowra to explain.

“It’s a Horscan tradition to name your sword, Fluttershy. My father used to say that if you had a sword, it would be like naming and caring for a child. You would cradle it in your hooves. You would weep when it’s broken or lost, and most of all you would proud of it as it was by your side when noone else was.”

Fluttershy’s mouth hung open. She closed it again quickly and looked to the ground, thinking about what Thowra just said. “Well… when you put it that way.” She looked down at the sword that Star had given her back at Detrots, the one that spilled the blood of a Reman and a dragon in what seemed like years ago, and contemplated on a name it could give. “I think I’m going to call this one Firewing,” she declared after a while. “In my father’s memory, as well as knowing that if I have to use this sword again, when I have to press it to my chest, I know my father will be close to my heart.”

Thowra nodded with approval. “Do you have a name for your sword?” Fluttershy asked.

“Not this one, no,” he answered. “My first sword I did, though. I named it after my wife.” He stopped talking and bit his bottom lip when he realised he said too much.

“You never said you had a wife?!” Fluttershy exclaimed, visibly shocked.

Thowra lowered his head and nodded. “I met her in Castilian during a family visit. A beautiful creamy with brown mane and tail, and bright green eyes like sapphires. But she was a giant of a mare, taller than me by half a foot. Thuelda her name was.

“When we first met we really didn’t like each other, thought we had too many differences to really get on. But over time we talked a bit more and realised the things we didn’t have in common were not important, but our personalities. We came to love each other and much later got married with Freya’s blessings.

“We moved away from the city and settled down in a small village on the coast, far from the war, or so we hoped. In time, one thing lead to another, and I had a daughter.”

Fluttershy smiled. ‘It must be nice to have children,’ she thought. “What’s your daughter’s name?”

“Her name was Nadra,” Thowra replied, his tone quiet and seemingly sad.

“So where are they now?”

Thowra’s head sunk even lower and closed his eyes. Fluttershy felt her heart skip a beat when she saw tears in his eyes. “I lost them when I lost my sword,” he answered.

Fluttershy placed a hoof over her mouth in horror. She could feel her own eyes begin to water. “I’m so sorry, Thowra. I… I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ve kept it inside for too long. In fact, it feels quite nice to tell someone other than Freya about it. So thank you, Fluttershy.” He continued telling her what happened next. “Afterwards, I was left broken and I felt like I failed my family. Still do, really. So as soon as I recovered from my injuries I went to Castilian and took up the mark of the slayer.”

“A s-s-s-slayer?” Fluttershy stammered.

Thowra nodded. “A slayer is a horse who believes he has failed at something. So much so that he or she thinks they can never be forgiven for it. So they take up the mark of the slayer, and then go out into the world to fight anything until he or she is killed. Only through death can a slayer be truly forgiven.”

Fluttershy looked at him with a mixture of pity, and disgust. She looked away and continued walking, her eyes darting across the houses to look what they were here for. “Can you break off the mark of the slayer, and continue your normal life?” she asked suddenly.

Thowra shook his head. “Sometimes I wish I could, but I can’t. Once you have accepted the mark there is no breaking it. Not until you die.”

“Well there should be,” Fluttershy growled. She fell silent once more and continued walking. She hated Thowra for wanting to go to his death because he believed he failed his wife and daughter. She wanted to tell him there was no need to do that, no need to blame himself for their deaths. But she could see it would’ve been folly. Freya had probably said the same thing to him over and over again, and still he didn’t relent.

She sighed sadly for Thowra, and prayed it wouldn’t be this battle he would fall in.

“Dashie?” Pinkie began in a singsong voice. The two ponies were making their way up the road Twilight asked them to go down. To their left was a wide but shallow river, to which Pinkie could see little fish floating for a moment before disappearing in a flash. To their right were ruined houses, much like the other ones in this dead and deserted place.

Rainbow sighed wearily. ‘Why did I have to be paired with Pinkie Pie? This is like the fiftieth question she’s asked me already.’ “Yes, Pinkie?”

“You know you said a few days ago that if I broke Fluttershy out of her psychotic episode that you would kiss me?”

Rainbow’s eyes widened in horror. ‘Surely she isn’t thinking…?’ “Um… yeah… well I think so anyway. Why?”

“I haven’t got that kiss yet,” Pinkie said.

‘Darn it.’ Rainbow turned around to face Pinkie and looked her in the eye. “Look, Pinkie, nothing against you or anything. But there’s no way I’m kissing you.”

Pinkie drew her bottom lip. “How about a quick, friendly peck on the cheek? I know some ponies do that when they greet someone.”

“There is no way under Celestia’s sun that I’m kissing you,” Rainbow said, surprised and annoyed about Pinkie’s persistence. “Kissing a mare, or my friends for that matter, just isn’t me.”

“But you promised,” Pinkie pouted.

“I didn’t pinkie promise though, did I?” Rainbow countered. When Pinkie didn’t reply she congratulated herself in thought, then turned around to continue walking.

“Dashie?”

Rainbow fought down the urge to scream out what she was going to say. “Yes, Pinkie?” she whispered, her voice on the verge of a growl.

“What’s that building over there?” Pinkie was pointing to a large rectangular building that stood on a small block of land, where the river split up and went around. It was three-storeys high, with a tiled roof and bricked walls, and surprisingly still in one piece. A wide wooden bridge tied the building and the village together, and was held by large wooden poles that dug into the riverbed.

“I think we’ve found what we’re looking for,” Rainbow said with a grin.

“Let’s see, shall we?” Pinkie said as she skipped over the bridge and towards the building. Rainbow galloped off after her. The two arrived at the door at the exact same moment. Pinkie tried to get the door open with her hooves, but found it to be locked.

“It’s locked,” Pinkie stated.

“Not for much longer. Stand aside,” Rainbow said as she backed across the bridge, ready to charge it. Pinkie stepped out of the way and watched as Rainbow lined herself up for a charge.

Just when Rainbow was about to charge, Pinkie giggled at herself as she remembered something. “Oh you silly filly, Pinkie. You push doors, not pull them.” She quickly moved in front of the door, and pushed it open, leaving Rainbow to gallop through the open door and smash into the wall with a scream before she could put on the brakes. Pinkie put a hoof over her mouth in shock, and then raced in to see if the pegasus was okay. “Dashie, are you alright?”

Rainbow was on the ground flat on her back, her eyes spinning around in their sockets, and a large bruise where her head met the wall. She shook her head, clearing her dizziness, and looked up at Pinkie with knives for eyes. “Pinkie! What did you do that for?!”

Pinkie took a moment to control her laughter, and then helped Rainbow back onto her hooves. “Sorry, Dashie. I just remembered you push doors, not pull them.”

Rainbow dusted herself off, shot Pinkie another glare, then turned around to look at the house. The interior was left untouched, as if the owners had just gone out for a morning stroll. There were a few large couches, a large bricked fireplace blackened by soot, a smooth wooden floor, a large map of Horsca embedded on the wall above the fireplace, and a door on the far side leading into another room.

“How did you know this place might be it?” Rainbow asked.

“I didn’t,” Pinkie shrugged. “My pinkie sense told me.”

Rainbow looked at her oddly. “Your pinkie sense told you this place was the mining headquarters?”

The earth pony nodded. “Sort of. First it was my right hind leg shaking, then my left, then my left foreleg, and then my right. It told me something integral was near by,” she finished with a massive grin.

“Uh huh? Pinkie, did I ever tell you that you are so random?” Pinkie shrugged. “Whatever, you head upstairs and look for the map up there. I’ll stay down here and look for it.”

Pinkie gave a quick salute. “Yes, sir.” She spun around on the spot like a soldier on parade, and trotted towards the stairs.

“Pinkie, you do realise I’m a mare, right?”

Pinkie giggled. “Of course you are, silly. Some soldiers address female commanders as sir, not ma’am.”

Rainbow blinked, and stayed silent as Pinkie skipped upstairs. “Yep, like I said. Completely random,” she muttered to herself. She cleared her head on Pinkie, the pony being too hard to explain in the first place, and concentrated on the present. She scanned the room carefully, looking for anything that could help them all, and especially Fluttershy.

She sighed sadly when she thought about her oldest friend. Although she seemed okay with the fact she will outlive her and the others, something told her that Fluttershy was anything but okay with it. She knew it would be hard on the kind pegasus to watch her and her friends and loved ones grow old, and eventually die. It was a hard, cold fact, but true all the same. She hoped that by then Fluttershy would’ve found new friends to be around, friends that could be beside her when Rainbow does leave.

“No need to think like that yet, Rainbow,” she berated herself. “You’re only eighteen, and still a lot to give and get.” She made her way through the open door that led into a large room that looked like a debriefing room with a large table at the centre. She took to the air and hovered above it, getting a pegasus eye view of the whole map. On the map were around twenty different markings; each was a large tower of some sort, with a wheel at the top and a lot of cogs and such in the middle. Except for one. One was a mountain with scribbled lines below it. Rainbow grinned.

“Pinkie!” Rainbow called. “Find the others and get them here, quick! I think I found what we’re looking for!”

Applejack and Twilight were plodding through the street they had chosen the look through. Their eyes locked in front of them as they made their way through the broken street. Unlike the others, this one looked like it had been bombarded with rocks. The houses were more broken for some reason than the others, and huge cracks broke up the path like an unfinished jigsaw puzzle.

“What do ya think happened here, Twi?” Applejack asked.

“An earthquake most likely.” The unicorn stopped to examine one of the destroyed houses. “These houses were made entirely of wood.” She stood on a piece of wood and it broke at the slightest pressure under her hoof. “And extremely brittle. These houses didn’t stand a chance.”

“Yeah, that’s mighty interesting and all, but we’ve got other matters. Namely finding Fluttershy’s spooky Dragonlord place,” Applejack said. The unicorn stepped away from the ruined building, and then proceeded to walk beside Applejack once more as they continued their search.

“What do you think about that anyway? About Fluttershy I mean?” Twilight queried.

Applejack looked to the ground as she thought about what Twilight just asked her. “I don’t really know what to think about it, Twi. I mean she’s sort of the same pony, but the way she killed that dragon a few days back… it just wasn’t her.”

“Hey, to be fair she lost her father that day and did it to defend us. What would any one of us have done if we were in her hooves?”

“But would she have done the same thing before she became a Dragonlord?” Applejack countered. Twilight didn’t know how to reply, so she stayed quiet. “She’s changed a fair bit since we met. But now she’s changed dramatically, not just in personality but in body as well, and I’m worried about what it might mean.”

There was a short silence as Twilight began to understand what Applejack meant. “You’re scared of her, aren’t you?”

Applejack gave Twilight an odd look. “I ain’t scared of her, Twilight; I’m scared for her. I’m scared she might do something that she will regret.”

“Like what happened with Rarity and Pinkie?”

Applejack visibly shivered. “Possible. I still find it hard to believe those two about what Fluttershy said to them.”

“I know. When they came to me about it I thought it was ridiculous. But then I heard about what happened around town, and I just couldn’t believe it.”

“The question is though, whose going to be the one to stop her if she does something like it again?”

“You think she will?”

Applejack nodded dolefully. “I pray I’m wrong, but I know some things tend to repeat themselves, and this could lead to one.”

“I hope you’re wrong also,” Twilight replied. The two ponies ears twitched when they heard Pinkie’s voice call out their names. “Over here, Pinkie!” Twilight called out.

A few moments later Pinkie emerged, but not alone. With her were Fluttershy, Rarity and Thowra, all with huge grins on their faces. “What’s going on?” Applejack enquired.

“Rainbow Dash’s found something!” Pinkie said excitedly. “She didn’t say what or where or how but it’s something and it’s this way, come one!” She beckoned the five equines to follow her to the house where Rainbow was waiting.

After crossing the bridge and entering the building, they found Rainbow Dash sitting on a large table with a smug grin on her face, and her wings extended outright in her excitement. “So, girls, am I a genius or am I a genius? And you too, Pinkie, since you brought us both here,” she added upon seeing Pinkie’s glare.

Thowra stepped forward and took a look at the map, scrutinizing it for every detail. Fluttershy and Twilight stood beside him, having to stand on their hind legs and rest their fore hooves on the table so they could see the map as well.

“Well this is definitely what we were looking for. So thanks, Rainbow,” Twilight said. Fluttershy looked up and gave Rainbow a look of gratitude.

“There was one thing that caught my eye while I waited for you slowpokes,” Rainbow said. She took to the air and hovered above Thowra.

“Rainbow, I can’t concentrate while you’re above me flapping your wings like that,” Thowra said agitatedly.

Rainbow grinned sheepishly. “Oh, sorry.” Once she set down opposite Thowra, she pointed to the picture of the mountain. “I saw this one was the only one that looked different to the others, and I wanted to know what the scribbly line below it meant.”

Thowra looked at where Rainbow was pointing, and his eyebrows rose in surprise. “To be honest I wasn’t expecting something so quickly. That there is the Horscan language, and it says ‘unidentified’.”

“So this could be what we’re looking for?” Twilight said excitedly. She glanced over at Fluttershy and saw to her confusion the pegasus didn’t look as happy as the unicorn thought she would be.

“I think so. There may be a chance it’s nothing, but give me a moment and I’ll map out the route we need to go.” Thowra looked at the map carefully and began looking at the roads.

Twilight meanwhile put Fluttershy to one side. “I thought you would be more happy about this, since this is what we’re looking for.”

“Oh, I know. And believe me I am happy we may have finally found it. But…”

“But what?”

“If they found it, they may have broken into the chamber and…”

“Taken the key,” Twilight finished for her. Fluttershy nodded. Now the feeling of worry was creeping through her once again. If they did find the key and take it, and they wouldn’t be able to find it, then the whole world was doomed to burn. The very idea of the world burning didn’t sit well for Twilight, nor did it for anyone.

In the end Twilight gave her a comforting smile. “I think we should worry about that when we get there. Plus with Thowra as our guide, we’ll be able to find that key, even if it means going to the ends of this country.”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak. But stopped and turned her head when Thowra pulled away from the map. “Right, if I got my bearings correct, we should be here.” He pointed to a small black dot that lay on the bottom right corner of the map. The six mares surrounded the horse as he trailed the route they needed to take. “It seems this,” he pointed to a small purple line running from the main road, which was lined in a thick black, towards the spot, “is an old goat path the inhabitants of this place use to take hundreds of years ago, before the Horscans drove them out that is. It breaks off from the main road after about a mile or so and then makes its way up and over and around this mountain.” He pointed to, and around the large spear shaped mountain. “And then finally to here.” He pointed to the unknown location.

“How long do you think it will take us to get there, Thowra?” Fluttershy asked, desperate to be there as soon as possible.

Thowra simply shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. But judging from the distance between it and us, I would say about half a day. Maybe longer, maybe shorter.”

Fluttershy nodded, although she didn’t bother to hide her feelings in her eyes. They all knew she wanted to be there, get it and get out as quick as possible. “Well then,” she said suddenly, breaking the silence, “I guess we better get moving. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover before nightfall.”

The others nodded in agreement, and after rolling up the map, and taking any good food that was left in the house, they filed out of the place and made their way back into the village. Above them, a large formation of clouds moved slowly over them, blocking out the sun and making the rather warm day slightly chillier. “Rainbow, Fluttershy, would you be really good dears and go up there and tell those clouds to go away? I’m getting kind of cold here,” Rarity whined.

Fluttershy and Rainbow looked at each other for a moment, then nodded. “Give us a sec, Rarity,” Rainbow said as she and Fluttershy soared into the air. They disappeared into the grey clouds, and soon were dispersing the formation away from the sun, bringing the warm summer feeling back down on them.

Thowra’s jaw hung from his mouth. “How… how… how are they doing that?”

“Pegasi can manipulate clouds,” Fluttershy explained as she touched back down. “I don’t normally do it, but sometimes I like giving a little patch of rain for my frog friends in the bogs back home. Rainbow’s more of the expert, so you should ask her.”

With Rainbow explaining to Thowra how pegasi control clouds, they departed from the village and made their way along a thin, mud road that wormed its way around the trees that made up this range. After about an hour they arrived at a T-junction, where a thin, overgrown road disappeared into the woods heading towards the mountains. After much complaining from Rarity, they made their way through the thick bush, guided by Twilight’s illumination spell, and Thowra’s sword cutting through the thicker foliage.

An hour or so later they had left the darkening forest and were now heading uphill. The mountains around them were coated light green from the soft grass that covered them, and were distanced from each other to make it easier to navigate. They stopped at a small waterfall where a couple of otters resided for a quick break and lunch and wash. Fluttershy watched them with interest as they caught their meals and ate them greedily. She looked up from the otters and was mesmerised by the natural beauty around her.

Behind them was the forest stretching out towards the road, while a mountain shaped like a wall ran across the horizon. She could make out with her eyesight an edge of a river snake its way around the woods, which she figured was the river this stream was connected to. In front of them, was a long uphill climb with what seemed like iron towers burrowing out from the ground.

“Those are mining lifts,” Thowra explained upon noticing what Fluttershy was looking at. “They were built to carry whatever they found down to where the main base was and then make their way back up to be reloaded.”

After half an hour or so of another round of duelling and practicing with swords and crossbows, they continued on their way up the old path. They saw some of the towers had collapsed from metal thieves, or so they imagined, or were rusting away from being left out here in this rather cold and lonely place. The higher they went, the chillier it got, and soon all of the equines’ coats where standing on end, keeping them warm to some degree.

By the time the sun was descending from the sky they made it to the top of one of the tallest mountains, and had a pretty good view of the surrounding area. It was here where Fluttershy’s eyes widened in excitement, and hope. To the northeast of the mountain they stood on was a larger mountain that seemed to be the shape of a ram’s head, with rocks resting on the edge forming the horns and was arched to roughly resemble a head looking towards the sky.

Fluttershy brought the map out of her father’s saddlebags and spread it out, looking up from time to time to see if she’d got her bearing right. She grinned when she was indeed correct. “We need to go towards that mountain there,” she said, pointing to the ramshead.

“Ya sure, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked, looking towards where the sun was setting. “The sun’s going down awfully quick so we need to make some shelter before it goes completely.”

“I think so, Applejack.” She looked to where the sun was setting and was surprised to see it beginning to disappear over the mountains. “Right, follow me, please?” she asked pleasantly to the others, trotting back down the mountain towards the Ramshead. The others followed quickly as Fluttershy took the lead.

By the time the sun was halfway over the horizon, they had arrived under its shadow. It didn’t look as big from far away, but now as they were below it, it was huge and quite intimidating.

They found another goat path and followed it as it rounded its way around the mountains base. Halfway round they discovered to their horror the path hugged the edge of the mountain, while the right side descended at a sheer drop onto some sharp rocks below. “How the hay did horses manage to find this place through there?!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“We are as sure footed as goats, Pinkie,” Thowra replied.

“But just to be safe,” Twilight muttered. She turned to the two pegasi of the group. “Rainbow, Fluttershy, stay aside of us and make sure nopony falls off. We don’t want any accidents,” Twilight instructed them. A fake cough from Thowra made her quickly add, “Oh and make sure no horse falls off also.”

With Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash hovering over the chasm, the wingless equines literally hugged the mountainside as they moved cautiously on the narrowing path. “Say, Twi?” Applejack called to the unicorn in front. “Do ya know any spells that may change our appearance, like say, turn us into goats? It would be much easier to get around this darn rock.”

Twilight chuckled. “Oh how much fun that would be,” she said to herself. “Sorry, Applejack, I don’t. I’ll have a look into transfiguration spells when we get back, if you’d like.”

“I was only thinking it as a necessity here, really. I’m perfectly fine as a pony thank you,” Applejack said, hoping not to be the test subject of one of Twilight’s magic experiments. She suddenly lost balance for a second, and believed she would soon be falling to her death. Before she could fall, Rainbow put a hoof onto her back and pressed her against the wall. “Thanks, Rainbow,” Applejack said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“It’s what I’m here for,” Rainbow replied with a grin. Knowing that Applejack would be safe, she let go and hovered back within catching distance of everypony else.

Fluttershy flew slightly ahead to see whether the path gets any narrower or wider. She was relieved when she saw it was the latter. “Girls, the path widens into the mountain not too far ahead of us,” she said to them as they rounded the bend. Soon they were free of the chasm and back between solid rocks, with a path cut right through the middle, leading directly into the mountain. Fluttershy was up front, her wings stretched out trembling, showing her nervous excitement as they followed the path out into a large open area.

It was square shaped, with the mountains forming an impenetrable wall around it. But what was in front of them truly astounded the Dragonlord. A huge stone arch, shaped like two long wingless dragons with their claws locked onto each other. Behind the arch was a huge stone door carved into the mountain, with the symbol of the Dragonlords carved upon it. Before the door, formed into a path were about six pillars, each with a grotesque in the shape of a wingless dragon sitting on top of it, and all of them facing the seven equines as they entered.

Fluttershy’s grin was as wide as herself. They had found it! “We did it, girls, we did it!” she whopped for joy, hopping on the spot. The others didn’t reply; they were too much in awe and completely fascinated by the architecture of the Dragonlords.

Rainbow flew up to one of the grotesques and eyed it with a look of curiosity. “These guys knew how to sculpt, didn’t they?” She poked one to be sure it wouldn’t wake up and attack them all suddenly.

“I was going to do that myself when I first saw on those,” Fluttershy said, joining her pegasus friend. “But I was too afraid to even go near one.”

“Well, you’re afraid of nearly everything,” Rainbow said with a teasing grin.

Fluttershy feigned offence. “I’m not afraid of everything.”

“No, you’re afraid of nearly everything. There’s a difference,” Rainbow said.

“So what do we do now?” Pinkie asked.

Fluttershy looked at each member of the group. She didn’t need good eyesight to see how tired they all were, Rarity even looked about ready to collapse. If Fluttershy were alone or with her father, she would’ve gone in straight away. But now she had to look after her friends, and look out for their well-being. They were with her because of her after all.

“I think we should settle down here for the night, then head in at dawn.” She looked to the door. “Or, at least try to get in.”

With that settled, the equines built a small fire and slept soundlessly before the door, with the grotesques looking down on them.

The next day started off with no sunrise, as the sun was hidden by a huge number of grey clouds flying in from the west, giving a cold, dull start to the day. Twilight’s eyes shot open and she sat upright, gasping for breath after suffering a nightmare. It wasn’t a nightmare, more of a flashback, but it scared her nevertheless. She remembered watching in horror as Fluttershy attacked and killed the dragon in a fit of rage, and when she saw the look in her eyes, it was a gaze of absolute hatred, rather than love she usually saw.

Twilight knew Fluttershy would never attack or hurt her or her friends. But would hurt those that harmed them, and that’s what she was worried about. Could Fluttershy, thanks to these abilities and an increased aggression, take defending her friends too far? Applejack seemed to think so, and that troubled her to no end. Applejack said yesterday that she had changed and so did Rarity before her, and it made her wonder who else was.

“Twilight?” Fluttershy’s voice rang through her ears. She turned her head around to see the pegasus sitting on her haunches in front of the door, looking at her with a look of concern. “I heard you gasping for breath, are you alright?” she called as quietly as she could without disturbing the others.

Twilight got up and shook some loose grass out of her mane and tail. “Yeah… I’m fine,” she said as she rubbed her eyes. “Just a little bit tired and… what are you doing up so early?”

Fluttershy’s eyes drifted to the ground. “I had a nightmare,” she answered as Twilight came up alongside her.

Twilight’s ears fell flat across her head. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“I’m sorry but I didn’t want to disturb you. You just looked so peaceful.”

“Didn’t stop you from waking me up five days ago?”

“Because that was important. This one was just a normal nightmare.”

“No nightmare is normal, Fluttershy. I have said before you should wake me if you have one. Besides, I was having a nightmare myself.” Twilight eyes widened in horror as she realised what she said.

Fluttershy looked up at her friend in horror. “What was it about?”

Twilight’s eyes darted around, as her mind went into overload to think of something so she needn’t worry the pegasus any further. “Um… well… I… I don’t remember most of it,” she said at last, hoping that would be enough.

Thankfully, it was. Fluttershy gave her a sympathetic smile, then turned back to face the door. The said door was massive, easily the size of a fully-grown dragon, or even a wyvern. The symbol of the Dragonlords, a large dragon head with spread out wings, was carved into the smooth stone itself. And although old, some of the bronze paint could still be made out. “So any idea how to open it?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy shook her head. “The last one was much smaller, and had a small key hole in the eyes for Drage Bane to fit through. Yet when I had a look at the eyes, I found nothing.”

“Have you tried looking around the door?” Twilight suggested.

“I thought I didn’t need to, as it looked too plain.” Fluttershy turned back towards the pillars and thought for a moment, putting a hoof to her chin as she did so. “The keyhole could be in one of those pillars.”

“Well let’s see, shall we?” Twilight closed her eyes and focused her mind on a spell she learned a few months back. Her horn glowed it usual magenta hue, and soon a magenta cloud formed on the faces looking towards them of two of the closest pillars.

Twilight and Fluttershy quickly examined the pillars, and found a small slit made to fit with a sword like Drage Banein each. “It seems these were made for two swords much like your own to go in, and built to unlock at the same time, like a gate,” Twilight said.

She looked around to see Fluttershy’s devastated face. “But… we only have the one sword like that, and I won’t be able stretch it between them,” Fluttershy said as she collapsed on her rump, completely lost on what to do next.

“Perhaps…” Twilight started. “Perhaps I could try something that I only read once, and see if that’ll work.”

Fluttershy looked up again, the glimmer of hope visible in her eyes. “But I’m not going to guarantee anything. There’s a fifty fifty chance this will work,” Twilight said with a hoof in the air.

“I would still go for it even if it was a twenty eighty chance. Do you need me to do anything?”

Twilight smiled. She couldn’t help herself but admire Fluttershy’s willingness to continue, even going against odds themselves to succeed. “All I need you to do is hold up your right leg, and allow the blade to come out as well,” she instructed. Fluttershy nodded, and lifted her leg so that the blade end was pointing away from Twilight. With a song Drage Bane shot out of its scabbard, its shark-like teeth glinting even in the dim sunlight. Twilight walked up to the bracelet, got hold of Fluttershy’s leg to steady it, and lowered her own head so that her horn was touching the face of the bracelet, and then cast the spell.

Fluttershy watched as several magenta shockwaves shot from Twilight’s horn and worked around the bracelet and the blade, before working their way back into Twilight’s horn.

After a while, she raised her head back up and backed away, letting go of Fluttershy’s leg. “Right, that’s one bit taken care of. You see I was scanning the bracelet and how it works and how it’s made, et cetera. So now I have a print of the sword bracelet in my head, and now I’m going to try and mould it out from my head, onto my other foreleg. Okay?”

“I… I think so, Twilight. Good luck,” Fluttershy said.

Twilight brought up her left leg close to her head so that her horn was touching it. She closed her eyes and concentrated everything she had on moulding out the sword. Fluttershy watched with awe as the locks of the bracelet were starting to appear on her friend’s leg, then the face of the bracelet itself, until it was a sparkling magenta, ghostly thing on Twilight’s leg.

“You did it!” Fluttershy squeaked and jumped for joy.

“Not yet. I hope the spell was able to pick up the blade itself.” Twilight moved her leg about until without warning, the ghostly version of Drage Bane appeared from its scabbard. Both ponies grinned. “Right, let’s get that door open before this disappears.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement, then moved to the pillar on the right, while Twilight took the one on the left. The two ponies simultaneously placed their swords into the slits and got ready to turn. “Ready?” Fluttershy called.

“Ready!” Twilight replied, before adding, “Wait, which way are we turning it?”

“Clockwise, I think. Okay, one. Two. Three. Now!” Fluttershy yelled. As one the two ponies twisted their swords clockwise. They heard the sound of a locking mechanism click loudly as the locks that haven’t been used in a long time turned free. Then with a huge groan that made the world tremble, the door began to slowly rise.

The tremors made by the door opening caused the sleeping four ponies and one horse to wake up instantly, their legs shaking as the tremors shook the very mountains around them. “What in tarnation is going o…!” Applejack bellowed, only to stop and let her mouth hang open as she watched the door rise between a slim built into the mountain, and disappear like a portcullis.

Fluttershy and Twilight stood side by side, beaming with pride as they watched the door stop with a mighty groan, and watched as little specks of dust fell from the bottom to the ground. They didn’t notice the ghostly image of Drage Bane fade away from Twilight’s leg. “So… now what do we do?” Twilight asked with raised eyebrows.

“We go in,” Fluttershy replied with a small gulp as fear crept back into her. Now that it was open and she could see inside, she didn’t want to go in. She could see nothing but darkness before her, and it terrified her to no end. The sound of hooves hitting the stones brought her out of her daze, and she looked back to see her friends standing behind her, all with their saddlebags on and ready to go in. She looked beside her to see Twilight giving her an assuring smile, the unicorn’s saddlebags already on her back, with Fluttershy’s being held by her magic. With her friends behind her, she felt her fears go away quickly, and now she felt ready for anything.

She gave a little nod and allowed Twilight to place her saddlebags onto her back. Then after swallowing the lump in her throat, she took a step forward. Then another step, and another, and another until her legs were moving by themselves into the first chamber. She glanced over her shoulder just be sure if her friends were following, and thankfully they were, albeit cautiously.

She looked back in front of her and felt the shadow of the mountains around her as she entered the first chamber. She wished she still had that gem Freya had given her, for it would have been useful for times like this. Suddenly a bolt of light from Twilight’s horn whisked past her and then exploded, showering the chamber in a bright light.

Whilst the outside would be considered beautiful, the inside would be considered dazzling. It was perfectly preserved, with huge stone pillars forming a path down the middle, beautifully decorated with carvings of dragons. Shining bronze statues representing heroes of the Dragonlords stood at the corners of the rectangular chamber. The floor was filled with squared shaped stone tiles, all decorated with Dragonian runes, and the walls were made of plain stone, but had been decorated with carvings of battles that formed a story through the ages across the length of the walls.

Twilight’s mouth hung open in amazement as she brought out a large sketchbook and quill from her saddlebag and began to sketch out the runes and paintings on the walls. The other ponies and horse spread themselves out to admire the carvings and paintings that adorned the walls.

“These guys must have definitely been big show offs in their heyday. Probably bigger than me,” Rainbow said as she looked at a statue of one of the stallions. It was extremely life like, with the neck muscles clearly visible between the armour and helmet it was wearing. If it wasn’t for the fact that it was coated bronze, it could be easily mistaken for a sentient being. Rainbow’s eyes moved to the helmet, and couldn’t look away upon noticing how awesome it looked. It was shaped like a head of an eagle, with the beak covering the nose, and still allowing the pony to speak. Two slits where the eyes would be were stretched across the front, allowing the user to see without being an easy target for a spear or an arrow to the eye, and two pegasi wings like the crown Rainbow won at the young flyers competition were placed where the ears would be. “I wonder what his name was?”

“Captain Gabriel,” Fluttershy answered.

Rainbow looked from the statue to her friend with a surprised look. “How did you know that?”

“It says here, in Dragonian,” Fluttershy replied, pointing to the runes on the tiles in front of the statue. “It also says he commanded a group of two hundred Dragonlords during the siege of Liberum, and alongside seven thousand Liberans defended the city from an army of around twenty thousand Equestrians!” Her voice rose in surprise as she read they fought against Equestria itself.

“What must have happened for them to take up arms against Equestria?” Twilight asked, having heard her. “I thought they would be friends, being ponies and all.”

“The Dragonlords weren’t friends with anyone, Twilight,” Fluttershy replied. “They merely did their duty.”

“How do you know that?” Twilight asked, clearly amazed about Fluttershy’s sudden knowledge of an order they barely knew.

“Oh, because it says up there,” she answered quietly, pointing to a large group of runes lined up on the wall.

“Mmm, well that makes sense,” Twilight said with raised eyebrows.

“Hey, girls!” Applejack called from the far end of the room. “I take it we have to go through here?”

The six equines broke off from what interested them and rendezvoused alongside Applejack who was standing in front of a single black tunnel that led deeper into the catacombs. They felt their coats stand on end as a deathly chill came from within. “So, who would like to go in first?” Thowra enquired.

“I vote Twilight,” Rarity said quickly, raising a hoof. The others quickly agreed, much to the unicorn’s dismay.

“But why me?! Why can’t Fluttershy go first since she’s the one who wanted to come here?”

“Well… you do have a illumination spell,” Fluttershy countered, trying to sound as polite as possible. “So with you up front we can see where we’re going.”

Twilight opened her mouth to argue back, but closed it again when she realised the pegasus was right. She sighed and lit up her horn with a bright light. “Alright. Would you all mind staying close to me, then?” With a gulp she walked slowly in, not noticing that Rainbow was whispering for the others to hide.

“So how old do you think this place is, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked. She looked back to see her pegasus friend, only to find noone behind her. Twilight’s heart started to beat faster. “Girls? Girls, are you there?” Nopony replied. Twilight walked back the way her came, her eyes wide and her heart racing, as she feared the worst. She neared her way back into the main entrance, hoping to see her friends there, but found noone.

“BOO!” Rainbow suddenly yelled, jumping right in front of her with as scary a face as she could muster. The scream that came from Twilight could probably be heard as far away as Castilian.

When Twilight managed to recover, thanks to Fluttershy’s breath control she had learned to calm herself, she looked to the pegasus who was still rolling on the floor, laughing to the point of crying, glaring at her vehemently. She opened her mouth to scold Rainbow, but closed it again when she thought of a way to get back at the pegasus. The other ponies saw that look and backed away fearfully.

“Oh you should have seen the look on your face, absolu- hey, what gives?!” Rainbow yelled upon realising she was wrapped in Twilight’s magic and thrown into the tunnel, then held in place as Twilight came up behind with the others.

“Thank you for volunteering to go ahead, Rainbow. How very thoughtful of you,” Twilight smirked. She let Rainbow go, and let the pegasus get back up on her hooves. Rainbow didn’t retort, but just walked ahead, with Twilight right behind her shining a bright light from her horn, and the others following suite.

The journey through the tunnel seemed to take hours. It was damp, chilly, and positively creepy for the lot of them. Especially to Rainbow since she was out front, her wings held in place by two magenta clouds so she couldn’t try to fly to the back. Again. Twilight was several inches behind, with her horn lit up so they and Rainbow up front could see where they were going.

The seven equines moved cautiously, their eyes darting to every turning and corner as they looked out for a hidden foe that wasn’t there. They passed many points where a path cut away from the main one and lead into another room, but the passing of time had brought the tunnels to cave in, cutting off whatever was inside.

Eventually the tunnel ended, and the equines found an old stone bridge leading to where the tunnel continued, while below was nothing but a dark abyss. Twilight moved up next to where Rainbow was standing and looked down, gulping in fear when she saw the black abyss. “Let’s take it slow,” she whispered, as if the ceiling would collapse at the sound of more than a whisper.

Fluttershy moved to the other side of Rainbow and looked down. Upon feeling nauseous she looked up to examine the ceiling. Like the last holding place of one of the keys, she theorised that looking at the ceiling might hold the next place for the next key. She stopped looking when she realised there wasn’t a next place. Her destination after this would be Heimdallr’s prison, and her final encounter with him.

She looked to where Twilight was walking forward, then looked to the ground and saw a large circle with a dragon’s head on its face. It took a second to realise it was a trigger of a trap. “Twilight, stop!” she cried out. The call came too late.

Twilight’s hoof landed on the trigger and it sunk into the ground, creating a little rumble that was like an earthquake. Fluttershy quickly grabbed hold of Twilight’s tail and yanked her back from the bridge and into the tunnel to safety. She looked back and gasped when eight giant axes emerged from the walls and began swinging back and forth in quick motion across the bridge.

Fluttershy’s ears flattened against her head. “I’m so sorry, Fluttershy,” Twilight sniffed from behind her. Fluttershy looked back to see the unicorn looked like she was about to cry. Fluttershy walked up to her and gave her a comforting smile and put a hoof on her shoulder.

“It’s okay, Twilight, I don’t blame you at all. I should have known we would have run into one of their traps sooner or later,” she said warmly. “I’m just glad you’re safe.” She looked back at the axes to see they haven’t relented from their fast pace across the bridge.

“So what do we do now?” Rarity said quietly. “Go back, wait and see if they stop, or try to find another way in?”

Fluttershy didn’t know what to do next. She was driven to finding the final key and for all she knew it was on the other side of the bridge. She sighed to herself. If she was faster she could easily dodge the axes and make it through, and she didn’t want to ask her friends to do it for her. They came with her willingly enough, but she didn’t want to put them in harm’s way because of her. A part of her now wished they had gone home rather than searching for her.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t notice Pinkie squeezing past the ponies. “Pinkie, what are you doing?” Rainbow demanded. Pinkie didn’t answer, her mind was in one place for once; all thoughts were to getting to the other side.

Pinkie took a deep breath, and stepped forward. “Pinkie, no!” Fluttershy screamed, reaching out to grab her by the tail before it was too late. Which it was. Pinkie jumped out of reach from the other ponies and galloped towards the first axe. The blade swung towards her and she quickly leapt into the air, missing the blade and using the handle holding it to the roof to swing around it, and landing back gracefully the other side. She dodged the second, third, fourth and fifth blades with relative ease, while the others watched with their mouths hung open.

Pinkie waited as another one slid by her, then spun around to the other side, letting the blade slip harmlessly behind her. She felt the rush of the axe fly past her, nearly bringing her off balance. But she kept in place, and concentrated on the next one, and gulped.

The next and last two blades were moving much faster, and seemed to be moving towards, then apart from each other in rapid succession. She shook her fear out of her head and forced herself to concentrate. Fluttershy and everypony else was counting on her. She closed her eyes and her listened to the sound of the axes whistling, getting an idea of how they were moving.

She suddenly opened her eyes and leapt forward into the blades.

Everyone behind her looked away and covered their ears, not wanting to hear the sound of steel on flesh, or seeing their friend falling into the abyss. All they heard instead was the sound of a lever being pulled down, and the axes slowing down. They looked up to see Pinkie Pie on the other side, leaning against the wall on her hind legs with a massive grin, while the huge axes slid back into their holds. “Come on, you silly fillies and colt. What are you waiting for?!” she called from the other side.

The other equines soon made it to the other side and looked at Pinkie with newfound admiration. “That was awesome!” Rainbow said as she crossed. “How did you learn to do something like that?!”

“Oh, it was nothing really. It wasn’t much different to ice skating,” Pinkie replied. With that she trotted off in front humming a little tune and leaving behind a confused horse.

“How could someone compare that to ice skating?!” Thowra exclaimed.

“It’s just Pinkie Pie, Thowra. That’s how we usually explain things,” Twilight said.

“Oh, okay,” Thowra nodded, but was still confused at the explanation. He put it to one side as the six ponies he was with had moved quickly off through the tunnel without him. “Hey, wait for me!” He galloped after them.

About half an hour later they left the small confines of the tunnel and reached a small square-shaped chamber with a large portcullis at the far end. In each of the corners were statues of famous Dragonlords rearing up on their hind legs, and their faces carved out to be screaming battle cries.

“I’m exhausted,” Rarity panted as she collapsed on the ground. “Can we take a break here, please? My hooves are going to kill me at this rate.”

They all turned to Fluttershy for confirmation. “Of course, Rarity,” the pegasus said with a smile. With that the six equines collapsed onto their stomachs and let out exhausted groans. Fluttershy giggled and rolled her eyes. With them resting she looked around the chamber they were in, and the statues that they shared this place with. She wondered why the Dragonlords would bother placing statues in a place noone could see them or admire them. For they were fantastic, and represented a different age of chivalry, violence, unrest, plague, and fear. Thinking about it she was glad to be born in this time and not then.

She looked from the statues to the large gate in front of her, and analysed it with two narrow eyes. A long rusty metal chain that was connected to that gate finished at a pulley at the centre of the chamber, which had a sort of letter system attached on its face. Fluttershy moved closer and looked at it. The letters were in Dragonian, so she had no difficulty understanding it, but she what she didn’t understand was why it was here.

“Twilight?” she called back to the unicorn. “Can you make a little ball of light again, to lighten the room I mean, please?”

Twilight walked up to Fluttershy with a thoughtful look. “Sure, but why?” Fluttershy pointed to the contraption in front of her, and Twilight’s eyes went wide with wonder, and curiosity.

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked

“I think it’s a code breaker of some sort,” Twilight responded, darting left, right and centre around it. “Where you put in a word that it contains, and it unlocks whatever it is guarding.”

“Okay. So how do we know the answer to open it?”

Twilight stepped back from the device, and then looked around the room. “There must be a question, or a riddle, around here somewhere.” Twilight sent a bright ball of light out that lit up the room as if it was day, which startled the other equines for a moment, but they relaxed when they saw who did it. The two ponies eyes scanned the room, looking for what might look like words.

Twilight’s eyes narrowed when she saw a large group of what looked like written words directly above the gate, but she couldn’t make them out. “Fluttershy, come and have a look at this?”

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked as she came up alongside. Twilight pointed to the runes on the wall. When Fluttershy looked up, her eyes widened as she read the passage through, then again as she tried to understand what it meant. “I am loved and wanted by everyone. There are many different types of me, and yet we are the same. What am I?” she read aloud in Equestrian. She sat on her haunches and put a hoof on her chin in thought, Twilight followed suite. The pegasus looked back at the code breaker. “Whatever it is, its five letters long.”

“Yeah, and tricky. Is that all it said?” Twilight asked. Fluttershy nodded in reply. The two fell silent once more as they thought it out.

Chapter 16 (part 2)

Another hour or so later, Rainbow let out a pained groan. “Is this what being a egghead feels like? Thinking for a long time, I mean? I’ve got a splitting headache,” she complained as she placed a hoof on where it banged against her skull like a drum. After not being able to come up with anything, Twilight and Fluttershy turned to the others for help. Now they were all sitting in a circle, exchanging ideas and putting down ones that didn’t fit.

“Only for you, Rainbow,” Twilight teased with a smirk. “As for those that think often. Any ideas?”

Fluttershy, Pinkie and Thowra shook their heads. “I’ve thought of one. What about books, in a plural?” Twilight suggested with a large, hopeful grin.

Everyone turned to look at her oddly. “Oh come on, don’t give me that look! Think about it, doesn’t everyone like books in one form or another?!”

“Um, sorry but I don’t read often. I find it hurts my eyes,” Thowra said, looking rather guilty.

Twilight looked at him as if he had just bad-mouthed the Princess. “Okay, but you all like reading, right?” she asked her friends.

“We all like reading, Twilight. But I don’t think adding an ‘s’ to the word is going to work,” Fluttershy reasoned. “Sorry.”

Twilight sighed and visibly slumped to the ground in defeat. They went quiet for a moment until Rarity started laughing, making Twilight glare at her. “Oh I’m not laughing at you, Twilight. I think I got it, and it seems so obvious.” She turned to face Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, darling, put in jewel in that code breaker thingy, please?”

Fluttershy looked at her for a moment, then realisation dawned across her face as she realised Rarity was right. She walked over to the code breaker and began fiddling with the letters until it played out ‘jewel’ in Dragonian. “I hope you’re right, Rarity,” she said nervously, pulling the lever on the side down.

With a huge metallic groan, the chain began moving backwards, lifting the gate from its hinges and raising it through the gap out of sight. The equines cheered, Rainbow punching the air with her hooves, as the gate screeched to a halt just high enough for Thowra to walk over without having to lower his head. “Right then, everypony,” Fluttershy said, excitement filling the tone of her voice. “Let’s get that key and get out of here!”

The six equines gathered up their saddlebags and proceeded quickly after Fluttershy who, in her haste, was up front and moving through the dark tunnels at a fast trot, hoping and praying that there wasn’t any traps or riddles left; that they passed it all and were now on the final stretch.

She didn’t need to wait long to find out. She slowed down to a stop upon realising the dark tunnel had ended and waited for the others to catch up. After a minute or so of standing in the complete darkness she could see the white light of Twilight’s horn coming from the tunnel, faint at first then brightening as they approached. “Don’t run off like that again, Fluttershy,” Twilight said to her as they came up. “You could have had an accident and we would never know.”

Fluttershy’s ears folded onto her head and she looked guiltily at them. “Sorry. I guess I got pretty excited after that. How did you know it was jewel, Rarity?” she asked, turning to face the unicorn.

“Well at first it didn’t seem right. But after a while I realised everyone loves jewels, and there’s different types of them, like diamonds, sapphires, rubies among them. After that it wasn’t so hard,” Rarity explained.

Fluttershy smiled gratefully at her, then turned back towards the front as Twilight created a light powerful enough to lighten the whole chamber. The six equine’s eyes squinted as Twilight created a ball the size of a globe then shot it into the air. The ball flew upwards, hitting the ceiling then exploding in a great white light that turned the chamber into day. After a moment the light dimmed, allowing the equines to see the chamber, and they gasped in wonder and awe.

It wasn’t a chamber they were standing in; it was a cavern, which was inhabited by what looked like an ancient city. The buildings were small squared huts that were stone built, with a single doorway but no windows. Wooden bridges connected small islands that hovered over a large dark green sea, dividing the city up into islands. The cavern the city resided in was taller than the highest tower in Canterlot, with dark blue, green and even red plant life growing on the rocky walls. While at the far end, which Fluttershy could barely make out as it was hidden by the huts and a small, rising slope, was a tower of what seemed to be part of a castle or keep. The place, she realised, would definitely be where the key is kept.

“We need to get to that keep there,” she said, pointing to the tower in the distance. Upon receiving no response, she looked back to see everyone’s jaws were low to the ground and about to fall off.

“This… this… this is,” Twilight said, her breath taken out of her by the view they were seeing.

“Incredible,” Rainbow finished for the unicorn, her own voice barely above a whisper. Twilight nodded in agreement and brought out her sketchbook and quill to start drawing the city and the cavern it dwelled in.

“It’s an eye opener and make no mistake of that,” Applejack agreed, moving forward slowly without taking her eyes off the flora that hugged the rock face.

Behind the earth pony, the six equines moved forward, their eyes unable to look ahead but instead looking at the small huts that made up this city. “How old do you think this place is, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight looked at Fluttershy for a moment, before looking at one of the stone built huts. “Hard to say, really,” she replied. “Huts like these were built out of mud or wood back in the past, but never out of stone like these.” She put an illumination spell on and proceeded towards one of the huts for closer inspection. Fluttershy lagged behind also while the others walked off to explore. Although she wanted to get the key now, she figured she could afford to see a bit of history – her ancestor’s history.

Twilight glanced at the hut walls and then walked inside, while Fluttershy stayed outside to look at the walls. Each brick had a sentence sprawled out across it in Dragonian, each one different and made much less sense than the last.

A quick gasp from Twilight made Fluttershy jump from the walls and gallop inside to help her friend who she thought was in danger. She looked at Twilight to see a look of shock on her face. “What is it?” she asked. Twilight just pointed at what was in front of them. Fluttershy’s eyes moved to where she was pointing, and she gasped at what she saw.

At the centre of the hut were two large rectangular caskets, built in stone. On the outside were carvings of warriors and dragons and basilisks and other creatures they know and feared. On the top were two stone reliefs of ponies lying on their side, back to back, dressed in battle armour and a sword lying on top of them: the handle at the head and the blade reaching to the tail. While above the two caskets were two large crystals that were a sky blue, and pulsated a small burst of light every minute or so. “A sarcophagus,” Twilight stated. “I’ve never seen one with so much detail.”

“Neither have I,” Fluttershy agreed. “The ones at the Dragonlord fortress where I met my father were bare in comparison.” She moved closer to the sarcophagus, followed close behind by Twilight. Age began to show in the stonework in the guise of the cracks that littered the top of the casket. “Do you want to try and open it? I’m not going to unless you want to,” she whispered to the unicorn beside her.

The idea of looking at a over a thousand year old corpse seemed partly disgusting, and yet mightily interesting at the same time to Twilight. Eventually the temptation was too much. “Oh, go on then,” she replied. The two ponies reared up and made ready to push the lid open.

“I wouldn’t if I was you,” Thowra said from behind them. With a squeak of surprise the two ponies jumped into the air at the sound of Thowra’s voice. They turned around to find him and their friends standing by the doorway, looking at them with confused expressions. “I’m surprised you didn’t hear me, Fluttershy.”

“Sorry, I was a bit occupied with this.” Fluttershy indicated with her head the sarcophagus behind her.

“Well I still wouldn’t open it,” Thowra insisted. “You could wake the draugen inside.”

A cold unearthly chill went up everypony’s spines at that moment, but they all had confused looks on their faces. “You know. Wights?” This was met with a shake of their heads. “Wraiths?” Again, this was met with a shake of their heads, forcing a sigh from Thowra. “Zombie ponies?”

“Z-z-zombie ponies?” they all stammered. Fluttershy and Twilight instantly and hastily backed away from the two coffins and moved outside into the streets. Fluttershy began to have a bad feeling about this place. In a city where every hut had a dead warrior that could possibly be cursed to walk forever wasn’t a place she wanted to stay longer than she needed to.

“Do you think we could get moving so we could get out of here, please?” she asked the others. They all agreed and soon were moving towards the keep, their eyes and ears on constant alert incase they had disturbed the deads rest.

The streets were narrow, and had sudden paths splitting off from the main road that lead to the keep. The seven equines looked at each of the huts, seeing a light blue light of the diamonds illuminating the room from within. Eventually they arrived at the top of the slope and had a good view of the keep.

It was square in shape, and rose to about two or three storeys high. The top of the keep had four turrets at the edges with arched windows, but no glass in them as they had broken off at some point. Much like the sarcophagi in the city below them, the keep was beginning to show signs of its age. And cracks started to show in the stonework, some of them so large a buck kick could send the whole thing crashing down on them.

Fluttershys eyes darted around the entrance for signs of traps or other devices that could risk their mission here. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy, there’s none here,” Twilight called from behind her.

Fluttershy turned her head around and gave the unicorn a look of surprise. “How do you know that?”

“I just did a quick magical scan of the place. Much like a medical scan, really. But anyway there’s none there, so we’re okay to go in,” Twilight said, although it sounded more of a suggestion than a statement – as if she was waiting for Fluttershy’s permission to enter.

Fluttershy nodded gratefully for Twilight’s magic, then turned around and proceeded inside the keep. The place was dark and damp, with old stone floors that had cracks in it, with weeds of various types of flora were sprouting up from. But it was at the far end of the chamber that made the Dragonlord grin. A large podium, with carvings on all four sides of a dragon reaching its claws out, while on top was an old dusty black book with the symbol of the Dragonlords on it.

Fluttershy flew over to the book, her entire body shaking with nervous excitement as she extended her forelegs out to touch it and open it. She looked up to see her friends waiting and watching with anxious anticipation. “Well go on, then,” Pinkie called. “Open that book, grab that key and let’s get out of here. This place is starting to give me the creeps.”

Fluttershy nodded, and in one quick motion, opened the book to the place where the key would be, only for her heart to drop into her stomach when she saw to her horror it wasn’t. Her friends gasped in horror when they saw Fluttershy’s reaction.

Tears began to form in her eyes. “Where… where is it?” She began flicking through the pages to see if it was on another page, but found the book to be empty. “It’s not here, how can it not be here?” She looked to the ground and began searching the corners and darkest moments. Upon finding nothing she sat back on her haunches and put her hooves over her mouth, trying to stop her tears and control her breathing as panic swept through her like wildfire. “How can it not be here?!”

“Fluttershy, darling,” Rarity said as she approached the panicking pegasus. She wrapped Fluttershy in a hug in a bid to calm her down. “Shh, it’s okay, sweetie, it’s okay. We’ll find it. You’ll see.”

It seemed to have the desired affect, for Fluttershy’s breathing slowed to a steady pace and her tears disappeared. “You’re right, Rarity. I know we will,” she whispered.

“Alright. I suggest we all split up and search the city to see if we can find it,” Twilight suggested. The ponies and horse nodded in agreement. “Fluttershy and Pinkie will go one way, Rainbow and me will go another, and Applejack and Rarity and Thowra will go another. We’ll all meet back here in two hours. Agreed?”

The others agreed, and scurried out of the old keep and back into the city, hoping it would be in there somewhere.

For the next two hours they searched the city, looking in every corner, every street, every hut, even the seabed. But they found nothing. Fluttershy and Pinkie had returned from scouring the eastern half the city first, soon followed by Applejack and Rarity and Thowra, and finally after a ten minute wait, Twilight and Rainbow.

The seven equines stayed silent as they realised they had failed. With the loss of the fifth and final key there would be no chance of disabling Heimdallr’s magical abilities, and with it their chances of saving the world. Fluttershy looked more devastated than anyone. She had failed her father, but worst of all she felt that she failed everyone. “I’m so sorry, everyone,” she said quietly, trying to hold back tears.

“Sugar, there’s no need to apologise for something that’s not ya fault,” Applejack said comfortingly. “None of us could have known it wasn’t here.”

“But I led you all this way.” She looked at Pinkie. “And some of you even risked your lives. And what did we get out of it? Nothing!” In frustrated anger she bucked out at the column, destroying it utterly and sending the book that rested on top of it to the ground by her side. She took a deep breath to calm down, which surprisingly worked.

“Feeling any better?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy nodded. “A little, thanks.” She glanced at the book that had fallen at her side and began looking at the page it was opened at. The page next to where the key would have been had a very good sketched drawing of what looked like a large lake, honed in by large mountains, and what appeared to be an island that was but a blob of pencil work.

Fluttershy shifted around to get a proper look at it, her head cocked to one side as she began to understand what it was there for. The others wondered what had Fluttershy so engrossed and crowded around her. “That’s a nice picture,” Twilight remarked. “But what’s it supposed to be?”

“The Horscan Sea,” Thowra answered. The others shot their heads around to look at him.

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy enquired.

Thowra nodded. “Sure I’m sure. When you see the Horscan Sea once it’s very hard to forget such a beautiful place. It’s one of the calmest and most beautiful places in the country. The mountains are so tall that they shield the sea from the wind, so the sea is always calm. You can take a boat out and just relax and watch the world go by.” He looked at the picture once more and nodded in confirmation, as it was definitely the Horscan Sea. “But why is it in this?”

“Because it is where Heimdallr is held,” Fluttershy answered.

Everyone gasped. “How can you possibly think that?!” Rainbow demanded.

“The last place where the fourth key was held had a mural on one of the ceilings,” Fluttershy explained, “telling us that the fifth key was at the Ramshead Range. This one would be telling us where Heimdallr himself is held, and since we didn’t see it out there it has to be this picture that’s the final clue.”

“But why is Heimdallr in a place of water?” Rarity enquired. “Surely being a burning dragon he would die from getting water splashed over him. I know I would.”

“I don’t think he’s in the water, Rarity,” Fluttershy said. She pointed to the small blob that might be an island. “I think he’s beneath the water. And that thing, if it’s an island, could be the way into his dungeon.”

“But the Dragonlords surely couldn’t have moved a huge dragon beneath the water and then left him there,” Twilight said.

“There is reason to believe, Twilight, that the sea was not naturally built,” Thowra put in. “There’re some legends that say it was created by the natives of this part of the country for a purpose only they knew.” He looked back at the book. “And now, we have found that purpose.”

Fluttershy nodded. “The battle between Heimdallr and the Dragonlords must’ve taken place where the Horscan Sea is. My father told me that when the Dragonlords defeated him they created a giant lake so noone could find him. That giant lake is the Horscan Sea, and also his prison guard.”

“Then what are we worrying about?” Applejack said, a huge relieved grin on her face. “Heimdallr’s trapped under the water and can’t make his way out due to all that water above him. There’s no way he would be able to survive even that amount for long.”

The grim face Fluttershy had said otherwise. “I wish I can think the same, Applejack. I really do.” She turned to face Twilight. “You know those talks we’ve been having about what Heimdallr could be waiting for?” Twilight nodded. “Well… I think I may be right about the solar flare theory.”

Twilight sighed and placed a hoof on her head. “But we’ve already discussed this. There’s no way Heimdallr has power over the sun anymore, since the Princess controls it.”

“Um, I don’t mean to interrupt,” Pinkie said, drawing the two ponies to her. “But, Fluttershy, you said that Heimdallr was over four thousand years old, yes?” Fluttershy nodded. “And, Twilight, the Princess is over two thousand years old, yes?” Twilight nodded. “So you see, Heimdallr still has power over the sun since he technically never died. Meaning the two are sharing its power, albeit one’s weaker than the other.”

Twilight and Fluttershy’s eyes widened when they realised Pinkie was right. “Okay,” Twilight conceded, “but I still don’t know what Heimdallr will do with what power he has over it.”

“Well, I originally thought he was going to use it to create a solar flare that will ravage the planet,” Fluttershy said. “But now…” she looked at Twilight grimly as another possibility coursed through her mind. “I know I’m not as good at science as you are, Twilight. But couldn’t a solar flare warm up the planet a bit more than usual?”

Twilight looked down in thought. Her eyes widened in horror as she realised what Fluttershy was implying. “Are you thinking that Heimdallr will create a solar flare that would warm up the planet and cause it to evaporate the water? Therefore destroying the only defence mechanism that holds Heimdallr imprisoned and therefore allowing him to escape?!”

Fluttershy nodded. “Got it in one,” she said humourlessly. The others looked at each other in horror.

“Hold on now,” Applejack said, waving a hoof in the air. “I don’t know as much about science as the rest of ya’ll. But I know that solar flares can’t cause temperature changes, just huge, freakish lighting storms and such.”

“That’s true, Applejack,” Twilight agreed. “But only if the flare isn’t manipulated by magic. And by someone who knows pyromancy. If Heimdallr has a spiritual connection to the sun, and still has some power over it like Pinkie and Fluttershy say, then he would be able to alter a flare… with disastrous consequences.”

Thowra shook his head in disbelief. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Twilight shook her head. “That is one of the disadvantages of controlling nature, I’m afraid. When it gets in the wrong hooves or claws it can have terrible results for all.”

“But what are we going to do about it?” Pinkie asked. “We can’t let this meanie take all our water and then burn the world. It would be a very boring place if he did.”

“I’ll tell you what we’re going to do,” Rainbow came in. “We’re gonna go to the Horscan Sea, watch him evaporate the water in the sea, then when he rises we send him back under the ground where he belongs!”

“For once, I agree with Rainbow Dash on this,” Fluttershy said with a raised eyebrow and a smile. Rainbow gave Fluttershy a nod of thanks for her support. The others were slower but they agreed as well in the end.

“Then let’s get moving,” Twilight said. “I’d rather be back outside than in here.” They filed out of the room chamber and headed back outside. Fluttershy felt confident once again that they could still defeat Heimdallr – even without the last key’s help, they could still try.

She came out of her thoughts when a huge booming sound like an horn filled the cavern, followed by what sounded like ten thousand glass windows shattering, and then silence.

“Oops,” Rainbow whispered, her face grimacing as she realised she was the one who caused that. “Sorry, everyone.”

The equines before her instinctively put hooves on their noses, their faces possessing the look of revulsion. “That was disgusting!” Twilight yelled. “Couldn’t you have at least waited until we got outside?!”

“Hey, it wasn’t me, it was the trigger!” Rainbow said defensively.

Twilight snorted. “Yeah, okay then, blame the trigger. What trigger?”

“This trigger!” Rainbow pointed to the plain circular stone her hooves rested upon, to which Twilight’s eyes widened in horror. “One that you said never existed!” Rainbow retorted.

“It must not be connected to something, though,” Twilight said, her eyes darting about for whatever would have been released. Her friend’s eyes moved about also, but much to their confusion saw nothing.

“Can we go now?” Fluttershy whispered. The others agreed unanimously. The only sound around them was each other’s breaths, which was quick and revealed the fear that infested them.

That fear turned visible because of the sound of thousands of unnatural shrieks that echoed from the city. “What the hay was that?!” Applejack screeched.

“The draugen. They’ve awakened,” Thowra replied, his coat becoming paler by the second. His heart dropped into his stomach as the sound of rotting hooves galloping towards them got closer and closer. “Back inside, now!”

The seven equines galloped back inside, their hearts racing as they began to understand the danger they were in. They moved themselves to the back of the chamber and saw the shadows of the first draugen closing in on them. “Quick, bar the door!” Thowra barked. Applejack and Twilight moved to the door and slammed it shut, Applejack placing a locking mechanism across, while Twilight used a spell to make it as if there were a hundred locks on it.

Twilight and Applejack backed away to join with the others. “That should keep them out long enough for us to find a escape route. How’s that coming, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, looking back at the pegasus.

Fluttershy was moving along the northern wall, pressing herself up right against it and feeling along the wall with her hooves to find an escape route from the chamber. Her face contorted to panic when she couldn’t find any on the western wall. She darted across to the other wall and felt along there. Upon finding none she moved to the eastern wall and felt along there, her breathing becoming faster and more panicky as a result of finding nothing.

“There’s no escape route!” she cried. “We’re trapped in here!”

“There is one way out,” Rainbow said. “But it’s…” She took a second to swallow the lump in her throat. “That way.” She pointed to the door where an army of draugen converged on their only route of escape.

Thowra gulped also. “Well, it looks like we have to fight our way out of here.” He drew his bronze sword from its scabbard and pointed towards the ceiling. After discarding their saddlebags at the back of the room, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow and Pinkie followed suite.

They knew there was no choice in this; they wished there was but now there wasn’t. They had to fight their way out and through. Fluttershy, after discarding her saddlebags and taking a deep, calming breath, strode forward and stood next to her friends, bringing up Drage Bane to her chest. The sword sang as it appeared from its scabbard, as if it anticipated the fight that was going to happen. Fluttershy narrowed her eyes in confidence; every sense in her screaming to run had gone silent, for they knew she couldn’t run or hide – only fight.

“What are you doing?!” Twilight demanded upon noticing Fluttershy standing alongside them.

“Going to help you, of course,” Fluttershy replied. Twilight stared at her friend in horror. It wasn’t the idea that Fluttershy wanted to fight that unnerved her, it was the thought that if Fluttershy died here then their biggest advantage against Heimdallr would diminish, and then everyone would die. She couldn’t allow that to happen.

Before Fluttershy could stop her, or even know what she was going to do. Twilight lit up her horn, and wrapped the pegasus in a huge, magenta bubble, and took her to the back of the chamber. Away from where the fighting would take place.

“Let me out, Twilight!” she cried, trying to burst the bubble with her hooves but to no avail. It felt like jelly to her and would simply bounce back once she pulled away.

“Fluttershy, listen to me,” Twilight said. “This bubble will protect you from the draugen when they come. When you get the chance, gallop towards the exit and get outside. Don’t wait for us.”

“NO!” she screamed. “I left you once, I’m not leaving you again. Let me out of this bubble, NOW!”

Twilight shook her head solemnly. “I’m sorry, but you’re too important to die here.”

Fluttershy banged her hooves against the bubble in frustrated anger. “You are important, all of you. More important to me.”

Twilight ignored her. She turned around and walked back to the line where the others were waiting for the draugen to break through, all of them deafening out Fluttershy’s protests.

“Ya okay, sugarcube?” Applejack asked Rainbow upon noticing the pegasus’s nervous look.

“Yeah… it’s just, well… I’ve never killed anything in my life,” Rainbow replied, now visibly shaking.

“Technically we’re not killing them, Rainbow,” Thowra said comfortingly. “You could say we’re giving them a kindness. They’ve been dormant all this time and now we’ll put them finally to rest.”

Rainbow nodded in understanding, then looked around at her friends. Twilight seemed confident, if a little bit nervous, and was muttering something about avoiding sword swings and such. Rarity was shaking worse then her. Pinkie looked confident, even rather scarily excited about it. Applejack beside her was shaking with fear, but her sword leg was steady. And Fluttershy was still demanding to be released from her bubble. Rainbow didn’t blame Twilight for what she did; she would have done the same thing if she had the power.

“Say, Applejack, how bout we turn this into a contest?”

Applejack looked at her with a mix of disgust and curiosity. “A contest?”

“Yeah, see how many we take in the end. You game?”

Applejack considered it for a moment. Sure they could be facing their deaths, but the idea of taunting Rainbow about her win in the afterlife sounded too good to pass up. “Okay, Rainbow, you’re on. May the best pony win?”

“May the best pony win!” Rainbow repeated, slamming her hoof into Applejack’s.

The door was now just seconds away from breaking down. Even Fluttershy grew silent as she watched with despair the shapes of spears and swords breaking through the weakened wooden door. She wanted to close her eyes or look away, but found she couldn’t.

“Get ready!” Thowra needlessly called. Four of the five ponies pointed their swords at the door, forming a wall of sharp blades. While Rainbow sat back on her haunches and prepped her crossbow, taking a bolt from the quiver on her side and pulling it back on the crossbow. Once done, she pointed it at the door and held a hoof on the trigger, ready to release it at the first enemy that would come through.

A spear came crashing through the door, breaking off the last of the hinges, and then pulled back. They waited for another to appear, but none came. They waited on baited breath for the door to come smashing down, but it didn’t happen, yet none of them dared move closer to see if they had truly gone.

After a minute of waiting they began to relax, little by little. “Well,” Applejack said with a relieved grin, “we sure scared them of-”

Suddenly the door came crashing down and from the other side the draugen poured through. They were all once ponies, but their flesh had degraded into near nothingness, while some were just skeletons. They all wore dark and degraded steel armour that covered their backs and their chests. Swords and axes hung from either their mouths or their legs, and some had spears, all old but by no means blunt or broken.

Although they were basically dead, they moved like they were living, and even screamed battle cries as they charged towards the now terrified ponies and horse. Rainbow quickly fired a bolt from her crossbow, hitting one in the head and sending it to the ground with an unnatural shriek; the golden light in its eyes faded out, as it became a corpse once more. “One for me!” Rainbow cried before they draugen was on top of them, and the dance of battle had begun.

One draugen lunged its spear at Rainbow, but the agile pegasus leapt into the air and landed on top of it, stabbing into the creature’s back and sending it to the ground. She pulled the blade out, spun around and ducked as another came at her with a swing of its sword. Rainbow countered with a thrust of her own sword, but it was deflected in quick recovery by the creature. The draugen head-butted her onto the ground and moved on top to finish her. Rainbow kicked it in the groin and stabbed up through the neck. The draugen fell on top of her and she could smell the ancient stench of the creature, which was repulsive. “You guys need to take baths.” She kicked it off and called to Applejack, “Hey, Applejack, three already!”

She saw the earth pony finishing off a draugen by slashing across the neck. “I’m on six!” she called back with a grin.

Rainbow’s eyes widened in surprise. “What?! No earth pony’s going to outscore me!” She picked up a spear that was on the ground and threw it into the ranks of draugen, hitting one through the open mouth. Another suddenly leapt into the air, attempting to dive on her, while another charged at her head on. She backed up from the two, allowing the two draugen to collide with each other and fall to the ground in a heap of bones.

Twilight meanwhile was firing spell after spell at them, sending each she hit crashing into another behind. A draugen dodged one spell and came at her with a huge sword in its mouth. It swung it in an attempt to cut off her head. With a squeak of alarm she dived to the ground and let it swing over, missing her head by millimetres. She quickly got up, and then thrust her blade into the draugen before it could defend itself.

Another came at her with an axe raised in the hope it would embed itself into her skull. She raised her sword and felt the impact of the axe meeting her blade. With an amazing, almost unnatural strength it began inching its weapon closer towards Twilight. The unicorn gritted her teeth together and tried to force it away, but it was too strong. She quickly closed her eyes and powered up her horn. With a blast of magenta light the draugen turned into ashes. She turned around and steadied herself as another came at her with a spear.

Rarity was somehow able to fight with such grace. She had reared up on her hind legs and was in a guard position, with her face giving nothing on what she was going to do next. A draugen came at her, swinging its sword downwards towards her exposed chest. She gracefully spun around the creature and thrust Dancer into its side. Another moved forward and lunged its sword at her. She deflected the attack and made one of her own with a stroke, but that was blocked. She stepped back as the draugen swung its sword at a wide arc, then dived and thrust Dancer forward into it’s chest as it was about to make a sweep down.

She felt the knee joint of one of them hit her in the belly, sending her to the ground on her side. She rolled away from the draugen that hit her and got back up on two hooves, Dancer being held protectively against her chest. The draugen eyed her for a moment, and then tried to make a quick slash across her face. She pulled her head back, missing the sword edge by millimetres, then brought Dancer down onto the draugen’s sword, smashing it. She took the moment of confusion to thrust the sword into the creature, then pulled it out again as another came at her.

Pinkie had turned this into a game. “Miss me, miss me, now you have to kiss me,” she sang as a draugen swung its axes at her left, right and centre; each one missed her, however – she was just too quick. She dived when another axe came at her, but squeaked when she felt a bit of her mane get chopped off. “Oh, now it’s personal.” She met the draugen’s next attack with her own sword and then punched the stinking creature in the chest, winding it. She then backed away and then slashed her sword across its neck, severing its head from its body.

She turned to face another draugen, which was coming up behind her, only to have her mouth hang open in horror. The draugen was tall – very tall – and had a huge sword easily the length of her in its mouth. It moved its head so that the sword was raised in the sky, then came crashing down towards her in the hope the strike would split her in half. Pinkie ran forward, stepping out of the way just slightly for the sword to come crashing down on the ground. She then flung herself beneath the creature and stabbed upwards into the belly. Before the thing could fall on top of her she jumped out again and bucked the creature to fall the other way.

Applejack was hacking her way through the draugen. “Nine…. ten… eleven… twelve,” she whispered to herself as she hacked, cut, stabbed, slashed at the creatures that came at her. A draugen smashed into her and sent her onto the ground. She kicked out with all fours into it, sending it staggering. She got up, slashing up the chest and into the neck. “Thirteen,” she whispered. She looked quickly at her rival, who managed to shoot her crossbow once more, hitting another in the chest, before another came at her friend. “Isn’t there a end to these things?!” she cried as another approached cautiously.

It circled her for a moment, trying to understand its opponent, before jumping at her with a strike aiming to slash across her chest. She jumped back from the attack, and then deflected the next one as it tried again with a raised sword. The two held it for a moment, struggling to weaken the other ones resolve, before Applejack pulled away and stepped to her right, bringing the sword through where the shoulder would’ve been. “Fourteen,” she whispered to herself as the creature fell to its side.

Thowra was sending scores of draugen back to the grave. Although the horse was slower than the ponies he fought alongside, the way he used his sword was like someone wielding a claymore. He raised it into the air and struck down onto another draugen, hacking it in half. Another came at him from his left, which he swung around and sent it flying across the room, a huge gash from its belly to its shoulder.

Fluttershy flinched every time she saw an axe come down, or a sword slash or thrust forward towards one of her friends. Her heart beat to the point that she feared it might explode from going so fast. She couldn’t help but watch helplessly as her friends performed the dance of battle around the draugen, their swords slashing, hacking, and stabbing. She feared that any moment she would see one of her friends fall, and she couldn’t allow that to happen. In fact, it made her more determined to break out of the bubble Twilight had placed her in. Ignoring the screams of the draugen and the cries of her friends, she punched the bubble with her hooves repeatedly in the same place, but to no effect. She sighed heavily and looked at the magic wall that separated her and her friends, while trying her best to dim out the battle in front of her.

She suddenly got an idea that seemed ludicrous, but might work. Twilight said it would protect her from outside attacks, but not from inside. Raising her right leg, she drew Drage Bane out of its scabbard and prepared to thrust it through the bubble, hoping that it would break. She took a deep breath, a quick prayer to Celestia, and thrust Drage Bane forward. The bubble popped in an instant like a balloon and she fell the few inches to the ground.

She looked up, and gasped in horror as she saw Twilight get knocked down by a draugen, with two more to the sides with their swords raised ready to finish her. “Leave my friend alone!” she snapped. Without a second thought she dived onto the one in front, stabbing through the chest with Drage Bane and Firewing, then spread her wings out and impaled the two at her sides through the chest, neck and face with her wing blades. She pulled them out, sending the three draugen to the ground, lifeless once again.

Fluttershy looked down to see Twilight looking up at her in wonder. “You… you saved me.”

Fluttershy backed away from Twilight and helped lift the unicorn back onto her hooves. “Yeah. Let’s try not to make a habit of this, okay?”

Twilight nodded. “Agreed.” The turned their backs onto each other as four more draugen surrounded them. “You take two, I take two?”

Fluttershy nodded, then reared up and drew her two blades, Drage Bane and Firewing. One came at her with a sword, slashing at her neck. She leaned back, the sword missing her neck by inches, then attacked back with both her swords, but each one was blocked by the draugen. She pulled back, and then quickly made a feint attack to the left, hoping it would leave the draugen exposed. The draugen moved to counter the strike, and then Fluttershy moved with Drage Bane to the right. The draugen noticed the movement and moved its sword back to its chest, deflecting the attack downwards.

The second draugen attacked, thrusting its sword towards her exposed side and belly. With Drage Bane she sent the sword to the ground, then slashed across the draugen’s neck with Firewing. The first draugen attacked again, this time aiming for her hind legs. She went back on three legs to protect them once she figured out what it was up to. It growled when she did this, as did she. It made a quick slash with its sword at her chest. She stepped to the right quickly, but not quickly enough as she felt a sharp pain appear in her shoulder.

She looked to see a small cut across her shoulder, with blood weeping from it. She looked up again to see the draugen coming at her once again, this time with its sword raised in the air. She quickly rolled to her left, missing the blow of the sword as it came down, harmlessly hitting the ground, then with Drage Bane slicing its forelegs off the creature. “I’m sorry,” she whispered as she brought Firewing down into its side, finishing it.

She felt disgust at herself as she watched the golden eyes of this creature fade out. It might have been dead, but it was sort of living nonetheless. She pulled Firewing out and looked around. She could see Applejack was beginning to tire, as was Twilight and Rarity. She knew that they wouldn’t last much longer – if this needless fight continued they would die.

She suddenly remembered that these were draugen Dragonlords they were facing, and as such might understand her if she spoke in Dragonian. Well, she hoped anyway. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and cried out, “Hold opp (stand down)!”

Everything stopped. Fluttershy opened an eye to see everyone was looking at her. “Jeg sa. Hold. Opp (I said. Stand. Down)!” she shouted again. The draugen backed quickly away from her friends, who quickly fell back behind Fluttershy. The pegasus breathed a heavy sigh of relief. “Those would have been terrible last words,” she muttered to herself.

“What did you do?!” Rainbow asked, stunned by the sudden lull in the fighting.

“I told them to stand down,” Fluttershy replied. She looked back at her friends and saw the state they were all in.

Applejack had a few small cuts where she wasn’t quick enough to dodge completely a blade or an axe. Rainbow had one wound on her right side, near her wing. Rarity had several cuts across her body, but most weren’t deep enough to spill blood. Pinkie seemed fine; in fact, she looked ready for more. Twilight had a pained shoulder where she was knocked over, and a small cut from her fight with two of the draugen.

Apart from a few scratches that weren’t serious and untidy manes, they were fine. All, except for one.

Thowra’s body was full of huge gashes and cuts that streamed with blood; he looked ready to fall over there and then. Fluttershy rushed over to his side and, after taking a towel from her saddlebag, wiped off some of the blood that dripped down his body. “Leave it, Fluttershy. I’ve had worse.”

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you,” Fluttershy replied. “There’s no way I’m leaving you like this.”

Twilight walked closer to Fluttershy, her eyes never leaving the draugen barring their way. “I don’t understand. What are they waiting for?” she whispered.

“Hvem er det som gir kommadoer her (Who commands here)?!” A voice called out from the group in slow, seemingly painful tone.

Fluttershy’s ears shot upright. “Whoever that is, he’s speaking in Dragonian.” She turned to Applejack. “Here, take this.” She gave the earth pony the reddened towel in her hooves. “Clean out Thowra’s wounds and put pressure on them to stop the bleeding.”

Applejack nodded, then proceeded to clean Thowra’s wounds. With that taken care of, Fluttershy turned around to face the draugen horde that barred their way. She gulped down the lump in her throat, and trying to keep the fear she had from her voice, responded in Dragonian. “Jeg snakker for dem, meg jeg kommandere dem ikke (I speak for them, but I do not command them).”

She waited for a response, but none came. “Vis hvem du er! Hvis du vil (Show yourself! Please)?” she asked.

A huge, bulky figure emerged from the draugen horde. It was taller than most of them, and was wider and more fleshy. It bore a beautiful bronze helmet that was shaped like a dragon’s head. Its amour was dark steel like the rest, and was worn out after centuries of neglect, but was decorated in runes, which was the written style of the dragons. And a torn, dark and dirty red cape covered its back and flanks.

“Jeg er kaptein Erlabald fra Drageordenen (I am Captain Erlabald of the Dragonlord order),” it said. It narrowed its golden eyes at the seven equines, which seemed to radiate respect and hatred at the same time. “Hvem er du og hva gjor dere ved et sted som dette (Who are you? And why are you here)?”

She felt her heart beating against her chest, threatening to burst through her ribcage. She glanced back to see her friends, and despite having fought an entire army of them, and gotten through although not unscathed but alive, they were shaking with fear. Fluttershy took a deep breath and began remembering on how to be assertive; she needed too now for the sake of her friends lives, as well as her own.

Fluttershy slammed a hoof to her chest and bowed her head in respect to the draugen Dragonlord. “Jeg er Fluttershy Ildvinge av Drageordenen (I am Fluttershy Firewing of the Dragonlord order),” she responded.

The creature snorted in disbelief. “En virkelig Drageherre ville ikke ha brutt seg inn i dette stedet. Hva er du, en forræder eller en sviker (A true Dragonlord wouldn’t have broken into this place. What are you, a renegade, or a deserter)?”

Fluttershy’s jaw dropped in shock at the accusation. “Ingen av dem! Jeg trengte å komme meg inn hit og finne en nøkkel så jeg kan drepe Heimdallr. Den eneste vegen å gjøre det var å spørre mine venner om hjelp (Neither! I needed to get into here and get the key so I can finish off Heimdallr. And the only way I can do that was to ask my friend for assistance).” She indicated with her head to Twilight, who was watching the conversation with interest. “Jeg kunne ikke spørre de andre Drageherrene for hjelp. Grunnen er at, for alt jeg vet, er jeg den siste av dem (I couldn’t ask other Dragonlords to help me, because for all I know, I’m the last).”

The draugen lord snorted once more, and stepped menacingly closer. “Løgner (Liar),” it said coldly. “Dere er forrædere av ordenen, her for å stjele alt av verdi denne plassen holder skult (You are a renegade of the order, here to steal any wealth that this place holds)!”

Fluttershy’s wings snapped open in anger. She’d been called a freak, and many other things, but never a liar. “Ngen kaller meg en løgner (Nopony calls me a lair),” Fluttershy growled, her voice and tone lacing with venom that sent a chill down everyone’s spines. “Nå, fortell meg hvor nøkkelen er, og jeg lar deg være (Now, tell me where the key is, and I’ll be on my way. Please)?”

The draugen shook its head. “Jeg vil ikke fortelle en forræder, eller en løgner for den del, noen ting (I will not tell a renegade, and a liar anything).”

Fluttershy moved so fast that it was done in the blink of an eye. She charged into the creature and tripped it up with her hind legs, sending it onto its side with its legs pointing away from her. She placed a foreleg on its neck and pressed down hard, chocking it, while another was holding it down on its side. “Jeg vil ikke skade deg, men hvis du har livet kjært, fortell meg det jeg vil vite (I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you don’t tell me what I want to know),” she growled. “Nå, fortell meg hvor nøkkelen befinner seg. NÅ (Now tell me where the key is. NOW)!” The draugen behind them moved forward to defend their fallen lord. “Et steg til og han er død! Tilbake med dere (One more step and he dies! Now get back)!” Fluttershy roared – Firewing came out of its scabbard, threatening to go through the neck of the draugen warlord. The draugen backed away fearfully, their heads low and submissive.

“Fluttershy, sto-” Twilight started, but went silent by the glare coming her way from Fluttershy. Twilight backed away a little, her head and ears low.

Fluttershy saw this and she sighed, her ears falling flat on her head. “I’m sorry. Believe me when I say I don’t like doing this. I really don’t. But I need to know where that key is, and I can’t see any other way of getting it out of him.”

“We all do,” Twilight agreed. “But choking the life out of him is not going to get us anywhere!”

“Hestene kom for noen månder siden, ved bakinngangen. De fant hovedinngangen, men de kunne ikke komme seg inn. Så istedenfor klarte de å finne bak inngangen og gikk inn der. De tok med seg nøkkelen til et sted som kalles Jernhovefestingen. Det er det jeg tror (Horses came a few months back, through the back entrance. They found the front but they couldn’t get in, so they managed to locate the back entrance and entered that way. They took the key back with them to a place called Ironhoof fortress, I believe),” the draugen lord said quickly and breathlessly.

“Og hvordan vet du dette (And how do you know this)?” Fluttershy asked, pressing down harder to get it to speak.

“Dette stedet har ører (This place has ears),” the draugen answered. “Mens vi lå I dvale, kunne vi høre ord fra de som kom fra verden utenfor i våres drømmer (Although we slept, we could hear the words of those outside in our dreams).”

Satisfied, Fluttershy released her hoof on its neck and backed away towards her freinds, giving the creature space to breath. “It said horses came here and took the key and a few other items back to a place called Ironhoof fortress.” She turned to look at Thowra, who looked paler than before. “Do you know where that is?”

Thowra nodded weakly. “It’s a castle belonging to the Andulusians to the north of here. I think so anyway.”

Fluttershy nodded her thanks, then turned back to face the draugen lord. “Vi vil dra nå. Vi har ingenting mer å gjøre her. Hvis du vil slippe oss ut fredsomt vil vi… (We’ll be going now. We have no more quarrel with you. If you would let us through peacefully and we…)”

The draugen lord’s laugh cut her off. “Trodde du virkelig at jeg hadde tenk til å slippe dere fri fra dette stedet? Etter at du og dine venner har drept så mange av mine soldater (Do you really think I’m going to let you leave this place, after you and your friends killed many of my soldiers)?”

Fluttershy strode forward, her wings stretched out to defend her friends. “Dere angrep oss! Vi kom i fred for å kjempe sammen mot en felles fiende og dere prøvde å drepe oss (You attacked us! We came here in peace to fight our common foe and you tried to kill us)!”

“Det er fordi dere er intrengere her! Før jeg lå i dvale her, sverget jeg å beskytte dette stedet og demmes rette hvileplass av Drageherrene med mitt liv. Og beskytte nøkkelen (Because you are intruders here! When I was buried here I swore to serve after death to defend the resting place of these Dragonlords, and protect the key).”

Fluttershy snorted. “Vel du har ikke gjort en god job, har du vel (Well you haven’t done a very good job, have you)?”

The draugen lord’s eyes seethed with anger. “Jeg har fått nok av å dele ord med en forræder (I have had enough trading words with a renegade).” He glanced back at his draugen warriors. “Drep dem! Slakt dem og fang demmes sjeler (Kill them! Slaughter them and imprison their souls)!”

Fluttershy’s assertiveness left her at that moment. She backed away fearfully into the others, who also began to back away as the draugen army began to move towards them once more. “I’m sorry, girls, Thowra. I’ve messed up,” Fluttershy said, bowing her head in shame.

“Don’t be. Although I admit that was pretty impressive, and you got the keys location out of it,” Rainbow said with a half-hearted grin.

“Yes,” Fluttershy agreed, “but what’s the point if we won’t be leaving this place alive?” They felt their rumps hit the back of the wall, and sighed sadly. They drew their blades as they prepared to fight once more.

Suddenly an idea came into Twilight’s head. “Girls, Thowra, stay close to me, okay?” she whispered. The six equines squished up against the unicorn as she prepared to put her plan in motion. The draugen were now directly on top of them, and the nine or so that were in front of them raised their swords as one and prepared to finish them.

Twilight closed her eyes and emanated a bright light from her horn, so bright that the draugen were blinded by it, and were forced to back away, while the equines behind her had to squint their eyes. “Alright, everyone, run!” Twilight yelled, cantering into the draugen host before them. The six equines followed suite, Thowra limping slowly behind, supported by Rainbow Dash.

The draugen parted from them as they cantered through, not slowing despite their exhaustion, just the thought of survival going through their minds. Twilight glanced back to see everyone close behind her still. “Keep going, don’t stop!” she goaded them on.

They soon were out of the keep and back on the path. Thankfully there weren’t any draugen out here so she stopped. “Head left and keep moving, don’t stop!” she yelled. Applejack broke out of her canter into a gallop, followed by Rarity, then Rainbow and Thowra, who was getting weaker by the second, then Pinkie, and finally Fluttershy.

“Thanks, Twilight. And I’m sorry about earlier,” she said with a small, sad smile.

“Don’t mention it,” Twilight said sincerely. “Now let’s get out of here!” Twilight spun around and with Fluttershy galloped up the slope towards the exit, with an army of draugen cantering after them. They moved up an embankment that went into another tunnel, this one brighter due to a small amount of daylight coming from the far end.

Fluttershy glanced back and her heart slowed slightly to see that they had put a reasonable distance between them and the draugen. She quickly passed Thowra who needed medical attention immediately, and saw the passage turn around a bend and back outside. She looked back and the pupils of her eyes shrunk to mere pins at the sight of Thowra collapsed on the ground.

She galloped over to him and with a squeak tried to get him back on his hooves, but found it hard since Thowra wasn’t co-operating. “Leave me, Fluttershy. I’m done. There’s no way I’m going to survive for much longer,” he gasped.

“No!” Fluttershy spat. “You can forget that! There’s no way I’m going to leave you to the mercy of those things!”

“You have to,” Thowra argued. “My wounds are too great. Like I said, I’m not going to live long enough to be much else use to you.”

“Don’t say that,” Fluttershy sniffed, glancing down the tunnel every now and then to see if the draugen were near. “You are going to live, Thowra. You said yourself you lived through worse.”

“Yeah. And that’s why I think it’s time for me to go.” He looked down the tunnel where the exit would be. “Now listen, Ironhoof fortress is north of here. Keep going north until you find a river, and then follow that east. You can’t miss it after that.”

“We won’t, because you’re going to show us,” Fluttershy said, her eyes brimming with tears.

Thowra shook his head. “We all know that’s not true. But hay, I’ve lived a good life. I may have done some things that I regret, but I still wouldn’t change them for the world.”

Fluttershy felt a few tears run down her face as she realised she was saying goodbye. “Hey,” Thowra smiled, painfully raising a hoof to take Fluttershy’s own. “I want this, you know that. There is no greater wish than a death of a slayer’s choosing.” He gripped Fluttershy’s hoof tight as a spasm of pain went through him. “If you see Freya, tell her that I love her, and that I died well. Please?”

Fluttershy, nodded, and then kissed him lightly on the forehead. “Goodbye, Thowra. And thanks for everything,” she sobbed.

“Goodbye, Fluttershy Firewing. And good luck,” Thowra smiled. With that, Fluttershy let go if his hoof and galloped towards the exit, not once looking back.

Thowra watched her go with a sad smile. It was true he wanted this, more than anything, but he felt guilty for leaving Fluttershy and her friends out there alone. But he took heart knowing they could defend themselves, and with his directions, knew they would be all right.

Painfully, he got up on his hooves, and turned around to face the draugen horde coming up the tunnel towards them. He didn’t expect to go down lying on the ground, nor did he want to. He would face death standing, with a sword on his leg, as a slayer of Horsca. He saw the first of the draugen coming up the hill, and readied himself for his last battle with a sigh of content.

He’ll be seeing his wife and daughter real soon.

The sound of steel clashing into bronze hit Fluttershy’s ears as she ran around the bend. Her eyes were watery, which clouded her vision, but she could still make out the light of day at the far end of the passage.

As she arrived at the exit, she stopped and looked back, hoping to see Thowra emerge around the corner, bloodied but alive. Her ears fell flat when she heard the sound of swords hitting each other fade away, and suddenly there was silence.

She dived out of the cave and into the warm, yet breezy day. Her friends were sitting in a circle, all of them out of breath and exhausted after fighting and running for their lives.

Pinkie was the first to look up, and her face pulled a grin when she saw Fluttershy standing there, but it quickly faded when she realised who was missing. “Where’s Thowra?”

Fluttershy didn’t answer; she just stared at Pinkie grimly, then turned around and moved the large rock that sealed the cave across the entrance, blocking the way. She pressed an ear by the rock to see if she could hear the sound of hooves coming towards the exit, and the calls of the silver maned horse asking them to be let out. She sighed sadly when nothing came. She backed away and moved to join the others, her head low and her eyes showing her sorrow.

“You mean, he’s…” Pinkie’s eyes began to water.

Fluttershy gave a doleful nod. They all fell silent and sombre as they remembered Thowra, and what he did for them. Fluttershy was mixed in her feelings about Thowra’s loss. On one hoof she was upset at the loss of such a great friend, and a good guide. But on the other, she was glad he would be able to see his wife and daughter again. But she kept such thoughts to herself. “Before he died, Thowra said to me I need to head north, until I meet a river. Then I need to follow it east until I get to Ironhoof fortress,” Fluttershy said suddenly.

The five ponies looked at her incredulously. “Whoa right there, Fluttershy. Why suddenly this ‘I’ business? You know there’s six of us,” Rainbow asked.

“Because you’re all going home,” she answered. She gave them all pleading looks. “Please, I beg you, I implore you. Go home and let me do this alone. I don’t want to lose you like I lost my father and Thowra.”

“Absolutely no chance that’s going to happen, sugarcube,” Applejack said. The others nodded in agreement. “We’re all in this together now, and don’t ya forget that.”

“But what if you die?” Fluttershy demanded. “What if you die and I survive? My father and Thowra have already died, and I’m scared that because of me you are all going to die too.”

“It is a fool who believes they are the cause of death, Fluttershy Firewing. And I know you are no fool,” a voice came out of nowhere. The six ponies clambered closer together, their blades drawn and crossbow bolts in place, as they looked for the speaker, a speaker that seemed all too familiar to Fluttershy.

“I know that voice,” Fluttershy said.

“So do I,” Applejack said.

“Me too,” Rainbow said, surprising both Applejack and Fluttershy.

A startled gasp from Pinkie made them all turn around on the spot to where she was facing, and saw the great dragon hanging off the edge of the mountain from which they all came out of. He was slightly smaller than other dragons that they had encountered. His scales were a sunny yellow, but unlike other dragons had a long black mane like a pony’s running from the back of his head down his shoulders. While spikes came from his mane running down his back to the edge of his rather long tail, and black claws that were as dark as a starless night. His eyes were a dark green that seemed to stare into their very souls, and yet showed wisdom that they’ve only seen in Princess Celestia’s eyes. And a small smile was on his face as he looked at the ponies, who stared back at him with unease.

The dragon spread its huge wings out wide, and said in an old but wise voice, “We meet again, Dragonlord.”

“Wait, wait, hold on for a moment. Fluttershy, you know this dragon?” Twilight said, surprised.

Fluttershy brought her head out from behind Applejack to give a little nod. “He was the dragon me and Applejack met on the railway bridge, on the day we left Canterlot,” Fluttershy explained.

“Yeah, and gave us a real scare, ya did!” Applejack growled.

“I apologise for any fright I caused you, Applejack Rosaceae,” the dragon said sincerely. “And to you also, Fluttershy Firewing.”

“W-why where you there?” Fluttershy asked as she moved from behind Applejack to face the dragon. “And how do you know who I am?”

The dragon flapped its wings; the sound of the wind swishing through the holes in them met the ponies’ ears. “I learnt of your first name from your friend Rainbow Dash. Your surname I learnt from your dreams and also that of your friends,” the dragon answered.

“Wait, it was you who showed me Heimdallr’s transformation?” The dragon nodded. “Then how did…” Fluttershy looked from the dragon to Rainbow with inquisitive eyes.

Rainbow sighed. “When you were out for a month, Fluttershy,” she explained. “Me and nearly every pegasus in Ponyville that was still capable of flying went out to find that dragon and make sure it pays for what it did. On the second day we ran into him.” She pointed to the dragon.

“Rainbow Dash told me the reasons about why she and a few other pegasi where out in the Unicorn Range, and I was understandably curious, for I haven’t heard of a Dragonlords birth in a long time. So I followed Rainbow Dash back to Ponyville and kept an ear to the ground, hoping that I was right and you would wake shortly,” the dragon continued.

“A few weeks later and you indeed awakened, stronger and more keen eyed than most of your peers. I was thrilled by this turn of events, for I have thought of the Dragonlord order destroyed. So I arranged a meeting between us on the railway bridge, so I could get a good look at you, and also a good smell of you.”

“So if you knew what I was, why didn’t you tell me there?” Fluttershy asked.

“Would you have believed me if I told you?” After a moment, Fluttershy shook her head. “Besides, some things are better found out on your own. I wanted to make sure you were safe, however, so I followed you and your friends at a distance. Until I lost you in Horsca, after you were captured. After a few days I managed to pick up your trail again as you left the Horscan Highlands. So once again I followed you to the Ramshead, where I decided I had enough trailing you and now was the time we came face to face.”

“So… you’re not here to kill us?” Pinkie asked, still fearful of the winged reptile.

“Pinkamena Diane Pie, if I wanted to kill you all I would have done so by now. So that’s a no,” the old dragon replied with a friendly smile.

Any tension between them vanished at that moment. Rainbow lowered her crossbow slowly, but still kept it loaded. Fluttershy walked closer to the dragon. “So you know who my father was, then?” The dragon nodded. “So you know… what’s become of him.”

The dragon’s eyes lowered to give his face a look of sadness. He gave a brief nod. “That I do, my dear, and might I say that I am so sorry for your loss. It grieved me to learn that one of the greatest Dragonlords that had ever lived has fallen, for I knew him really well. When he became Primarch, I was his aide and his mount in times of battle, for a Primarch of the order is the only pony to ride dragons. I believed him to be dead when the last Dragonlord fortress fell five years ago to a brutal dragon attack.

“Afterwards I was lost, unable to decide what to do next as the Dragonlords were the only life I’ve ever known. That was until I learnt about you, and what happened that day in Ponyville.” The dragon jumped from the mountain face and landed on its knees facing Fluttershy with its head low, as if it was bowing. “If you will have me, I will serve you, and protect you, and aide you when you need it. You only need to shout my name, and I will come.”

Fluttershy looked at the dragon in confusion, then back to her friends for help. The five mares nodded and mouthed for her to go with it. She nodded then turned back to face the dragon, who was waiting patiently for a reply. “And what is your name, um, sir?”

“I am named after my great, great, great grandfather, who was the one who founded the Dragonlord order.”

Fluttershy’s jaw dropped. “Yo-you are related to Vidarr?!” The dragon Vidarr nodded. “Then, if his blood is running through my veins, doesn’t that make me-”

“My kin? Yes it does,” Vidarr answered, much to everypony’s shock.

Fluttershy couldn’t believe it. She was related to a dragon! One of the most terrifying things in existence and they both had the same blood! Although one part of her was horrified of such a discovery, another part was overjoyed, for she did have family after all on this world. “Wait, you said that you were his mount in times of war?” Vidarr nodded. “But my father said nothing about riding dragons.”

Vidarr chuckled. “Hardly surprising, to be honest. Your father was a modest pony, and never thought of me as his mount, more than his friend and aid. He never forced me to be his mount, and was always considerate when I was involved.” He flexed his wings. “But now is not the time for such talk. Come, I will show you a place where you can all rest until you are ready to continue.” He took to the air and headed east, stopping to see if the ponies were following.

“Should we trust him?” Twilight asked Fluttershy, still wary of the creature. “I mean he said he could have killed us ages ago, but we had our guard up. He could be waiting for us all to fall asleep and then eat us!”

Fluttershy looked at Twilight oddly. “I don’t think he would. Like he said, if he wanted to kill us he would have done so by now. We’ll follow him and see what happens.” Fluttershy galloped on after Vidarr, while the others cantered along behind, still exhausted after the battle.

Vidarr guided the six friends to a large clearing where a large number of tree stumps remained. On the far left end was a large pool with warm, clear water that was deep enough for them to sit in and still have their heads above the waterline. Rarity squealed with glee upon seeing it, and promptly dived in, creating a huge splash that soaked Pinkie, making her mane fall flat around her head.

Vidarr rested on the ground and watched as the six mares cleaned themselves up and relaxed and got their energy back after the mad rush through the mountain. “Say, Applejack, how many draugen did you take down in the end?” Rainbow enquired.

Applejack looked towards the tip of her hat as she counted. “I think I got about twenty four in the end.”

Rainbow drew out her bottom lip and nodded. “Twenty four? Well… that’s not bad for an apple bucking earth pony.” Rainbow chuckled. “I think I’m on the count of twenty three.” Rainbow gave a smug grin and puffed her chest out.

Applejack’s laugh echoed across the clearing. “Ya do realise, Rainbow, that twenty four is higher than twenty three?”

Rainbow’s eyes widened in surprise. She did a quick count with her hooves, and when she realised her friend and rival was right, she slammed a hoof into the water in frustration. “Darn it, just one out!”

Fluttershy washed away the blood around her shoulder, then got out of the pool and shook off the excess water. She looked down to see the cut she got from the draugen had fully closed and was now a small pink scar across her shoulder. “A Dragonlord’s wounds take quicker time to heal than a ordinary pony’s,” Vidarr explained. Fluttershy took her eyes off the scar and looked at the yellow dragon. “Does it feel okay?” he asked.

Fluttershy moved her shoulders in circles to see if it pained. Thankfully it didn’t. “It’s okay,” she replied, “doesn’t ache at all, thankfully.”

“That’s good to know,” Vidarr said. “So you should be able to continue with your mission?” Fluttershy nodded.

A few seconds later, Rarity jumped out of the pool, her mane and tail completely straight and soaked. “After that, I could do with a nice towel to dry off the water,” she said as she walked up next to Fluttershy.

“Allow me to help you with that, Rarity Turquoise,” Vidarr said. Without much warning he drew in a gust of air into his lungs, then blew out fire onto the open grass before them, creating a large inferno of flames that somehow didn’t spread, despite being on flammable land.

“How did you do that?” Rarity demanded, shocked at seeing such power.

“Dragons are pyromancers, Rarity Turquoise. We live and breathe and play with fire like a child would with a toy,” Vidarr answered. “Is the fire warm enough for you?”

Rarity scooped herself closer till she was about the right distance so the heat from the flames wouldn’t be too uncomfortable. “Oh, yes,” she gasped. “That feels so good, thank you.” She slumped down onto her stomach and let out a relaxing sigh.

Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow and Pinkie soon got out as well, their manes and tails and the cuts they received cleaned up and tended to, and joined Fluttershy and Rarity in a circle.

“So, young Dragonlord,” Vidarr said, “do you know where you need to go next?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes. I need to find a place called Ironhoof fortress. Our horse friend knew where to go, but…” Her ears fell flat and she slumped. “He left us,” she said, unable to say he was dead, “and now we’re lost and have no idea where to go. Do you think you can help us?”

“I will do as you command, Fluttershy Firewing,” Vidarr said.

“I didn’t say it as a command, I said it as a request. Would you like to help us?”

“My answer is still the same. It would be a great honour to assist the last of the Dragonlords,” Vidarr said with a bow of his head.

Fluttershy’s ears fell flat. “So… I am the last?” Vidarr nodded sorrowfully, to which Fluttershy drew a sad sigh. “I was kind of hoping my dad was wrong about that. That I wasn’t the last, I mean. It would be nice to have ponies with equal abilities by our side to help us.”

“I’m afraid you are, my dear. For the past five years I searched high and low for any Dragonlords that may have gone into hiding. But to no avail, except you.”

Fluttershy looked to the ground in dismay, a long sigh escaping her mouth. “Then the order will die with me.” Vidarr nodded in agreement.

“Hey, sugarcube, don’t think like that,” Applejack said comfortingly. “I’m sure there will be plenty more Dragonlords in the future. You know why?” Fluttershy turned her head to look at Applejack. “Because ya gonna have kids at some point, and then ya can train them and look after them an…”

Applejack stopped and her eyes widened when she saw Fluttershy’s look of sorrow. The pegasus drew another sad sigh and looked back to the ground. “I can’t,” she whispered.

“Oh don’t be so ridiculous, darling,” Rarity said, putting a hoof on the pegasus’s shoulder. “You may be shy and squeak and hide and blush and even faint when a stallion so much glances at you. But I’m sure you will find a nice stallion someday that will give you beautiful children.”

“No, Rarity. I mean it’s physically impossible for me to have children,” Fluttershy said. The five ponies around her gasped in surprise.

Rarity’s jaw dropped in surprise and horror. She could feel her eyes beginning to water. “Your… your…”

“Barren? Yes, I am,” Fluttershy whispered.

Rarity squeezed the pegasus in a tight hug, sniffing back her own tears as she did so. The ponies and dragon around them looked at Fluttershy in sympathy and sadness. “Why have you never told me?” Rarity asked.

Fluttershy chuckled lightly. “That’s a good thing to bring into a conversation, isn’t it? ‘Hey, Rarity, guess what? I can’t have kids’.” Her smiled faded. “I just couldn’t think of a right time to tell you. So I kept it to myself. I’m sorry I never told any of you.”

“Don’t be, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, moving into the hug. Applejack, Rainbow and Pinkie quickly moved in. “If it’s okay to ask, what happened that made you unable to conceive?”

Fluttershy pulled away from the hug, stepped back a bit, and looked at the ground. “It wasn’t long after I hit puberty, that I got a disease. I can’t remember what it was called but because of it I was told I wouldn’t be able to conceive a child.

“The doctor I saw was such a nice pony. She stayed with me and comforted me while I cried my eyes out. We must have been in that room for hours while I wept. Afterwards, I was given treatment for the disease before it spread, but the damage was already done.”

“So all that time we talked at the spa? The time where we dreamed of what our children would be like?” Rarity sniffed.

“It was all a dream, Rarity. For me anyway but not for you.” Fluttershy put a comforting hoof on her unicorn friend and gave her a small smile. “It’s okay.”

“How can it be okay? How can you be standing there with no tears in your eyes, like I am?” Rarity wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to keep a level of composure.

“I cried about it for so long that I don’t see the point anymore. Besides, maybe it’s for the best.”

Rarity thought for a moment she was hearing things. “How can it be for the best?”

“Think about it, Rarity, if I could have children they could either live normal lives. They would be born, grow old and die, and I will have to bury them while I live on. Or they could be Dragonlords. Warriors, and killers.”

“But you can change that!” Rarity protested. “You’re not like any other Dragonlord. You’re a kinder soul than most. You can change the way they live and think. With you as their role model they would be exactly like you.”

“That’s what my father thought. He thought that by leaving me at the orphanage he would be saving me from the order, and my life would go in a different direction to the one he led. I don’t think that I would be able to change their fate, no more than my father could to change mine.” Fluttershy’s shoulders slumped. “But what’s the point of thinking about what might have happened, when it can’t happen.”

“There must be something we could do,” Twilight said. “Some spell that might reverse the eff…”

She was cut off by a firm but gentle hoof placed in her mouth. “Thank you for that, Twilight. I appreciate that you would go that far for me. But this is something that can’t be fixed with a wave of your horn, like so many other things. And even if there was, it would have been fixed ages ago.”

Fluttershy looked at them all and gave them all an assuring smile. “I’ll be okay, but I think we’ve got bigger problems than infertility to deal with. Such as finding the last key and defeating Heimdallr.”

Applejack, Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie and Rarity’s eyes widened as they just suddenly remembered why they were here and what they were here for. Fluttershy looked at them all with a loving smile, then turned to face the dragon. “Do you know where Ironhoof fortress is, Vidarr?”

The ancient dragon nodded. “If you want, I can take you all there myself.”

“You can?!” the five ponies behind her exclaimed. Without warning Vidarr scooped up the four non winged ponies and placed them gently on his back. “Better hold on tight to something,” he warned them, “for I’m known for my speeds.”

“May I have a ride on your back as well, please? It would be nice to see how the dragons see the world,” Fluttershy asked.

Vidarr smiled warmly, and then lowered his head so the pegasus could hop on his nose, then hop onto his head. “And what about you, Rainbow Dash?” Vidarr asked the other pegasus.

“No thanks,” Rainbow replied with a wave of her hoof. “I prefer my own wing power to fly me, not another’s.”

“Very well, if you insist,” Vidarr smirked. “But I’m not slowing down for you.”

Rainbow laughed. “We’ll see about that, grandpa.” Rainbow suddenly shot into the air and waited for Vidarr to lift off. Vidarr twisted his neck and loosened the tight muscles in them, and then after he spread his wings he shot up into the air faster than Rainbow could on her own, and was soon heading towards the mountains with five screaming ponies on his back.

Vidarr looked back and chuckled at Rainbow’s shocked expression. “Better keep up, grandma,” he called teasingly.

Rainbow broke out of her shock and raced off after him, leaving a rainbow trail behind her. She soon caught up with Vidarr, but was unable to go faster than him.

Fluttershy meanwhile was lying prostrate on his head, gripping onto Vidarr’s mane as best she could, and shaking with fear. She really wished she could go as fast as Rainbow, then she wouldn’t have to be gripping on for dear life here. She looked back to see the others were in much the same position, except Pinkie who had her forelegs spread wide in the air and letting her mane blow in the wind behind her. Vidarr eventually stopped climbing and evened out above the clouds, allowing for a calmer ride than lift off. She slowly loosened her grip on his scales, and steadied her legs out as she rose onto her hooves, wanting to see what it was like for a dragon.

The wind was strong, but it didn’t want to sweep her off her hooves and make her fall flat on her face. Her long mane and tail blew behind her, making her look elegant and mighty, while her eyes sparkled with awe and wonder as she saw an amazing view.

Although she was a pony that could fly, she still found seeing the ground from the air an amazing sight. But from the head of a dragon seemed to make it more breathtaking than before. She could see things for miles all round: lakes, rivers, forest, meadows, valleys, hills, and mountains, and loved it. She could feel a smile growing on her face as she stretched her wings out and let them feel the breeze. She gave a great cry of joy as Vidarr thrust his wings down again and changed course, heading northward once again. “Well at least some ponies are having a good time!” Twilight shrieked, the pupils in her eyes just tiny dots as she gripped onto one of Vidarr’s spikes.

“We’re not too far from the fortress now,” Vidarr called as loud as he could over the wind. Fluttershy set herself down as the dragon began a slow, calm descent towards the ground. Pretty soon they passed a wall of mountains and dead ahead of them was Ironhoof fortress.

It was standing on a small hill, with a gentle slope leading up to it from the western side, while the eastern side ended on the edge of a cliff next to a wide river. It had three walls surrounding the main keep: the outer wall, the largest and strongest, and held the houses and living spaces of the horses that lived here. The second wall was a reasonable distance from the first, and protected the barracks, smithies, and armoury, while the third was smaller and surrounded the large keep in a small circle. The keep was about three storeys tall, with a domed roof, and four towers around it that held war engines like trebuchets. It did indeed look a formidable fortress.

And outside its front gates were untold thousands of horses besieging it.

Fluttershy’s jaw dropped in horror when she saw the large army that was standing outside its walls, while trebuchets flung rocks, trees and other large objects that they could throw into the walls or town beyond them. A large cheer echoed across the valley the fortress was nestled in as one of the towers collapsed. Fluttershy fought down the urge to scream out; what was going to be difficult had now turned even harder at this latest turn of events. She saw that the besieging army stretched far back, all in disciplined lines and formations, and all with banners decorated with a rearing silver horse – the mark of the Palominan family. Freya’s army. Behind them were thousands of tents and campfires and baggage trains that an army of this size needed to survive for a long time.

She looked to the left of the army and saw a ridge that was covered in trees and obscured from the army’s view. It was the perfect place to land. She gently tapped Vidarr on the head and called into his ear, “Take us down to that ridge there, please.” She pointed to the place.

Vidarr followed her hoof and saw the ridge. “I will take you down about half a mile away.” This was met with a few groans. “If I’m seen they may attempt to hunt me down and kill me, and may kill you also if they see you with me.” Vidarr thrust his wings in an upward motion, bringing him above the clouds, and hopefully allowing him to glide unseen past the Palominan lines.

Thankfully, noone looked up to see a large yellow dragon flying soundlessly across the sky into the forest behind, for they were too busy concentrating on bringing down the walls. Vidarr flew till he found a clearing where tree stumps were all that remained of the trees that lived here. “They must have used the trees here as ammunition for their war engines,” he realised. “Once I have set you all down, run into the cover of those trees, and I will go.”

“You’re not going to stay?” Fluttershy asked, crestfallen that her new friend was leaving.

“I’m afraid I can’t, Fluttershy Firewing. But do not fret about me, for I will not be far away. Should you ever need me again. Call my name, and I will come.”

Fluttershy nodded, and then nuzzled his head. “Thank you, Vidarr, my friend.” In her twenty years of living, she had never expected to call a fully-grown dragon her friend.

Vidarr smiled at the gesture. “You’re welcome, Fluttershy Firewing. Now hold on.” And with that warning, he let himself drop to the ground.

Fluttershy could feel her insides break out of their places and shift themselves into her back. She could hear the shrill screams from Rarity, Twilight and Applejack behind her as Vidarr descended rapidly from the sky straight to the ground, while Pinkie cheered with maniacal glee. Rainbow herself still hovered in place as she watched in awe of Vidarr’s rapid descent.

At the last moment before hitting the ground, Vidarr spread his wings out and slowed his descent, landing on the ground with a loud but gentle thud. “Quickly, ponies, get off and get into the woods!” he shouted.

Fluttershy got off first, surprisingly none the worse for wear after that. Rarity and Twilight slowly and groggily jumped off Vidarr’s back, their legs shaking and they looked like they were going to be sick. Applejack seemed okay but she looked a bit shaken from the sudden descent. “Thanks… Vidarr… for… that,” Twilight rasped.

“You’re welcome, Twilight Sparkle.” He smiled at them all, then shot back into the air. “May my grandfather Vidarr’s wings shield you, Equestrians. You’ll need them to get into that fortress,” he said. He spun around and soared off into the distance, the only sound giving him away was the flaps of his wings.

Rainbow tutted as she watched him fly away. “Pity. He could have been handy in a tight spot, him. Despite the fact he’s a dragon.”

“I’m not going to force him into anything, Rainbow. Besides, it would be harder than it is if he was with us,” Fluttershy said. She turned away from where her new dragon friend had gone and looked at the woods. “Right, everypony,” Fluttershy said, “let’s get into the woods like he said.” Five heads nodded in agreement, and they galloped into the woods towards the ridge where they would have a good view of the fortress.

A few minutes later they arrived at the ridge, and looked on as the Palominans began their assault on the fortress. A huge hole had been made in the wall and the thundering sound of hooves echoed across the world as thousands of horses charged towards the breach, all the while being assaulted by the trebuchets and arrows of the Andulusians. It was exactly like Fluttershy thought; this wasn’t going to be easy, but they had no other choice.

“We have to get in there,” Fluttershy said, her eyes and voice showing not just her determination, but also her fear as they saw another flaming shot from a trebuchet fly over the wall and into another building, setting it alight.

“That sounds fine,” Twilight said. “But the question is…” She swallowed back a lump in her throat. “How?”

Chapter 17

The battle for Ironhoof fortress raged on throughout the afternoon and into dusk. It had commenced with a barrage of rocks and other heavy materials the Palominan army could get its hooves on, and hurling them across the plain into the large stonewalls of the fortress by crudely built trebuchets. Most of the shots went either too far or too short, but the few that made it hit the walls in the right areas.

After a while of constant bombardment, part of the outer wall collapsed, allowing entrance for Freya’s forces. The battle in the breach was long and hard but the Andulusians defending it managed to push them back and forced them into retreat. Despite gaining a small reprieve which they could have used to rebuild defences, the Andulusians foolishly counterattacked, charging out of the breach in their hundreds in an futile attempt to drive off their enemies permanently.

The battle before the walls of Ironhoof was fought with swords, spears and crossbows. Once they broke or ran out of bolts they fought with teeth and hooves, creating a bloodbath in the gap between the fortress and Freya’s army. Eventually the Andulusians broke and retreated back into the fortress, losing many but giving the Palominans a large blow as well. It was then when both sides decided to retire for the night.

Silence had now fallen across the land, save for the sounds of the birds tweeting their goodnight songs, oblivious to the carnage that lay out in the fields before the fortress walls. Fluttershy looked at the distant fires and the fortress with sadness and disgust. “Why can’t the Andulusians just surrender?” she wondered aloud. “So much needless bloodshed and for what?”

She turned away from the distant fortress and made her way back to where she and her friends had camped out. They were camped in a small clearing out of the way from the battle and surrounded by trees, that only those that were lost had any chance of discovering them. When she returned Fluttershy set down onto her stomach and looked at each of her friends. All of them were looking at the campfire in dead silence, all thinking the same question as she was: how the hay was they going to get in there?

Pinkie immediately raised her head up and the grin she had was maniacal. “I’ve got it!” she exclaimed, stomping down a hoof. Everypony turned to look at her with wide, excited eyes.

“What is it, Pinkie?” Twilight asked.

“Well, if we build a giant wooden rabbit, then all of us hide inside the rabbit, then they bring it in and then we slip out, we then go inside the stronghold, find the fifth key, leave, find and defeat Heimdallr, then go home,” she said without pausing. She took a deep breath and then asked, with her forelegs wide, “What do you think of that?”

The others looked at each other perplexedly. “Um… I have a few problems with it,” Twilight said. The others nodded slowly in agreement.

“Oh,” Pinkie’s ears flattened on her head, “what’s the problem with it?”

“Well firstly, how do we build the rabbit?” Twilight asked. “It would take days to build something like that and time is something we don’t have.”

“Secondly,” Rainbow added, “how could we leave it outside a besieged fortress, without attracting attention from the Palominans?”

“And thirdly, have you considered the possibility that they might burn the rabbit as soon as they bring it in, or fling it back into the Palominans believing it to be a trap?” Rarity asked last. The thought of a bunny burning made Fluttershy go pale, even a wooden one.

Pinkie put a hoof to her chin and pondered those points over. “I never actually thought about them. I’ll get back to you when I’ve solved those issues,” she said. The others groaned and facehoofed.

“Oh, this is ridiculous,” Twilight moaned. “Can’t we just go down there and ask the Palominan forces to allow us to enter once they’ve taken the fortress?” After watching the battle for the rest of the day, they quickly realised it wasn’t a question of if they took the fortress. It was a question of when will they take the fortress.

“I don’t want to take that chance, Twilight,” Fluttershy said.

“But you said you knew the leader of the Palominans. And Thowra was her cousin,” Rainbow argued.

“Yes, but what if Freya isn’t down there? What if someone I don’t know is leading the attack?” Fluttershy reasoned. She looked back at where the fortress resided. “And besides, I’ve asked much of Freya already, and I don’t want to ask her anymore.” Another reason she didn’t want to see Freya so soon was because of Thowra’s death. She knew she had to tell the old horse at some point, but was reluctant to do so at the moment.

“But why don’t we wait until they take the fortress, then look among the ruins once they’ve gone?” Rarity suggested.

Fluttershy shook her head in disagreement. “When they get in, they’ll take whatever they find in there that they think is valuable. One horse might find the key and take it away with them as a trophy when it’s over, then we would never find it.”

“So, we have to do this ourselves. Is that what you’re saying?” Applejack asked. Fluttershy looked her way and nodded.

“I know!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Why don’t me and Fluttershy fly over, sneak into the fortress from above and find the key that way.”

“Yeah, and then you both would make great target practice for their crossbows,” Twilight said with a shake of the head.

Fluttershy sighed. “Right, I need the loo.” Before they could reply she disappeared into the bushes and began walking through the woods. Just before she got out of earshot she could barely hear Twilight say to Rainbow, “You upset her.” In truth she didn’t need the loo, she just wanted to get away for a bit. They had been here for half the day deciding on how to get in, and still nothing that wasn’t ridiculous came up, and it was beginning to stress the pegasus out.

They meant well, Fluttershy knew that, but some of the ideas they came up with were just other, fancier words for suicide. Earlier in the day Applejack had suggested they find a catapult or a trebuchet, then fling them one at a time over the walls in the hope they would land on something soft. The others surprisingly agreed… if Applejack agreed to go first, to which the earth pony politely declined. Fluttershy felt like she was going to snap at one of them at any moment, so she decided to take a walk back and forth around the woods to calm herself down. This was the fifth such walk of the day.

She suddenly found herself out of the woods and on a wide dirt road. On the other side of the road was the river that Thowra had told her to follow before he died. To her left was the way back into the Ramshead range; while to her right were the Palominan army encampment and the fortress, with the faint sounds of singing coming from the camp. Her ears suddenly twitched at the sound of two horses coming down the road towards her. She leapt back into the bushes and listened intently as the speakers became clearer.

“How long do you think till this fortress falls?” one horse, a mare, asked. The horses were now so loud she could guess they were just in front of her.

“I’ve got no idea, but not for a while I guess,” the other, a stallion, replied. “You ‘eard what those gitz said after ‘earing our peace terms. They told Freya to take ‘er peace terms and stick them up ‘er-”

“Yes, I know what they said, I was right next to her,” the mare cut him off. “I just want to get back home as soon as, you know.”

“We all do, love,” the stallion said. “But think about it. When this is over then this war would be as well. We would never ‘ave to fight again, and I can tell many good mares of my ‘eroics in this last battle.”

The mare snorted. “Yeah, like how you guarded the baggage train from the evil mice.”

“‘Ey, that job is just as important as any other around ‘ere. Without me you all could be starving and ‘aving to eat something else,” the stallion snorted. “Come on, let’s get back to camp. There’s nothing out ‘ere, and I’m so ‘ungry I could eat a bush.” The two horses spun around and trotted back to camp.

Fluttershy poked her head out and moved back onto the road, watching them to see if they turned back at the last moment, which they didn’t. Fluttershy was relieved to know that Freya was okay, and she was in charge of the army here – but it still didn’t change her mind on asking Freya for support.

She looked to the river and realised just how thirsty she was. She moved to the edge, stuck her tongue out and had a little taster of the water. Upon touching it she pulled back and spat it all out, making a little sound like Opal makes when she has a hairball. The water was fowl, and tasted like dirt. Her eyes widened as she realised it wasn’t dirt – it was sewage. Sewage from the fortress. She ran back into the woods to find something to get rid of the horrible taste. She quickly found a large number of leaves from an oak tree, so she tore them off and stuffed them in her mouth in a bid to get rid of the foul taste.

After chewing for a while she swallowed the leaves, leaving her mouth feeling cleaner and minty afterwards. She looked back at the river and her eyes went wide as she had an idea. She walked back onto the road, took to the air and hovered over the river. She then followed the river as she came under the dark stonewalls of the fortress that rested on a cliff edge just above the river.

Her eyes soon managed to make out a black hole in the rock face, and grinned. “I’ve got it!” she squeaked. She spun around and flew back to the campsite, all the while moulding her plan together.

As she got closer she could hear multiple voices, raised and sounding angry. Her ears fell flat as she realised her friends were arguing about something, so she moved a little quicker so she could stop this. She arrived at the campsite to see her friends looking angry at each other and shouting in each other’s faces. “GIRLS!” Fluttershy yelled, loud enough to be heard over them all.

They stopped arguing and turned to face Fluttershy with surprised looks. “I don’t care how it started, or why. But I don’t want to see, or hear my friends arguing over themselves when we’ve got bigger problems at the moment! And I hate it when you argue!” she berated them, looking at each of them with a scowl. “Now what do you have to say to each other?!”

The ponies looked at her guiltily, and then at each other. “Sorry,” they muttered one at a time.

Fluttershy nodded in satisfaction. “Good. And anyway, I think I know a way in.”

“You have?!” they exclaimed.

Fluttershy nodded. “You’re not going to like it, though.”

“Fluttershy, at this rate I would take any way of getting in, even the sewers if any,” Applejack said.

Fluttershy giggled despite herself. “Funny you should say that, because I found a sewage tunnel beside the river that goes below the fortress. If we could get in that way then we could go to the keep and come out from underneath it.”

A great silence fell among them. Four of the five ponies looked perplexedly at each other as they began to realise Fluttershy was being serious. After a moment, though, Rarity started laughing. “Oh that’s good, that was very good. Fluttershy, I never knew you had such a good, if a little bit wicked, sense of humour.”

Fluttershy looked at her seriously. “Um, Rarity, I’m sorry but I’m being serious. I think we should go into the sewers, and get in that way.”

Rarity’s laughing suddenly turned into something like crying and laughing. “But darling, don’t you realise that would mean we would have to walk through horse-”

“I’m well aware of that, Rarity,” Fluttershy said, slamming a hoof into the unicorn’s mouth before she could finish. “But we have no other choice. It’s either that or do nothing at all.”

“Well,” Rainbow sighed, “it’s going to be messy. But I’ve done a lot of messier things than this. I’m in.”

“So am I,” Applejack seconded.

“Me to,” Pinkie said.

“As am I,” Twilight said. They all looked to Rarity now with pleading eyes.

Rarity eventually caved in. “Alright fine, I’m in.”

Fluttershy grinned, and moved back towards the fire. “Right, I suggest we have something to eat then go to sleep. We’ve got an early start in the morning.”

“Whoa there, sugarcube,” Applejack said, darting in front of her. “But you’re suggesting we wait until tomorrow, when they recommence the attack?!”

Fluttershy nodded with a sigh. “I’m sorry, but it might be easier.”

“How can going through a war make this even easier?” Rainbow asked.

“Actually, I see her logic,” Twilight said. All eyes turned to her for an explanation. “Tonight the Andulusian soldiers will be relaxing, knowing that the Palominan forces won’t attack tonight. But they would be keeping alert incase of attacks from inside. While if we wait until the attack begins, they would be concentrating on the walls, while leaving the back basically defenceless.”

“So you’re saying, that the closer we are to danger, the further we are from harm.” Twilight nodded. “Well that don’t make much sense to me, but I won’t argue with ya, Twilight,” Applejack said.

“So we wait until tomorrow morning, then?” Pinkie asked. The five friends nodded their heads.

“Right. I’m glad we came to a decision,” Fluttershy said. She shifted around and brought something out of her father’s saddlebags. “How about for dinner I make us some soup?”

“Oooo, that sounds soup-er,” Pinkie said with a grin. Everypony either groaned or laughed at Pinkie’s pun. After a beautiful vegetable soup they fell asleep with the stars standing watch over them.

The sound of whinnies from horses, and the groans of trebuchets and crashing sound of rock hitting stone bolted the six ponies awake. The sounds of battle that followed echoed across the countryside like an explosion. “We’ve overslept,” Twilight stated.

“No. We’re up on time,” Rainbow said, looking towards the sun. “They just started early.”

Fluttershy instantly shot up and began attaching her sword bracelets to her legs. “Come on then, everypony. Let’s get this key.”

“But what about breakfast?” Pinkie said. “My mum always said that I mustn’t start the day on a empty stomach.”

“We need to get in that fortress now while there still is a fortress, Pinkie. We can have a big dinner when we get back here,” Fluttershy said persistently, throwing her saddlebags into some bushes for hiding. Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie and Rainbow copied Fluttershy by throwing their bags in the same bush. Fluttershy suddenly noticed one pony was missing. “Where’s Rarity?”

“It’s okay, Fluttershy, I’m here. I’m not chickening out of this,” she assured them all.

“We didn’t even doubt you would, sugarcube,” Applejack said, although her face said otherwise. “But what ya doing, anyway?”

“Yeah, now is not the best time to make yourself look nice. I mean, we’re about to walk through hors- OH MY GOSH!” Rainbow yelled in horror as Rarity emerged from the bushes. The rest gasped in shock.

Fluttershy stepped forward, fighting an urge to hug and comfort the unicorn. “Rarity, how could you do that to yourself?”

Rarity’s mane had been cut down so short it was now solely behind her head and run halfway down her neck, while her tail had been cut down so that it was shorter than Big Macintosh’s. “Oh, don’t worry about it, girls, really,” Rarity said with dismissive wave. “Short manes and tails are in this season. And besides, I’m not gonna let my hair be ruined by someone else’s… mess.”

“Rarity, if ya wanted to save your mane and tail from that, then I could’ve given ya one of my spare hair bands I keep with me,” Applejack said. She emphasised this by giving out small red hair bands to the others for their manes and tails. Rarity felt an eye twitch.

Soon they were ready to go. Fluttershy had put her mane into a bun that rested on the top of her head, and her tail was also bunned so that it was a large lump sticking out from her backside. Rainbow only tied back the tip of her tail, shortening it while Twilight, Pinkie and Applejack copied Fluttershy with their tails, and Applejack stuck her mane under her hat. “Applejack, I have to ask,” Twilight said. “Does this style of tail make my rump look big?”

Applejack looked at Twilight oddly, then looked at her tail. “Of course it does,” she answered eventually.

“Are we ready?” Fluttershy asked. The five ponies nodded their head. “Then let’s go!” She let out a whinny and galloped the way she walked yesterday evening, the others following behind her with determination in their eyes.

They soon arrived at the dirt road, and the light brown river that flowed the other side. They could hear to their right the battle cries of thousands of horses as they launched their attack on the fortress once again. Fluttershy walked up to the river and looked to see if she could see the bottom. Thankfully the water was shallow enough so that it would go up to their waists.

“Right,” Fluttershy said, trying to ignore the distracting sounds of battle a few minutes away, “we follow the river down until we reach a large hole in the cliff face.” She stepped into the water, grimacing at the cold touch of the water on her coat. Twilight stepped in next, squeaking at the coldness of the water. Pinkie dive-bombed in, soaking the ponies that weren’t in yet, and began swimming like a dog around the river. Applejack quickly followed, and finally Rarity who was pushed in by Rainbow, who decided to hover over the river instead.

With the five ponies in, they began following Fluttershy down the river towards the sewer entrance. The current was weak compared to the river they had to cross to get to the Ramshead range, but it gently flowed against them as they made their way down, forcing them to work harder.

“Is that it there, Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked, pointing to the cliff face. Fluttershy looked to see where her friend was pointing and grinned at the dull grey cylindrical object emerging from the cliff face.

‘At least I wasn’t imagining things,’ she thought to herself. “That’s it, everypony.” She set her legs down onto the riverbed and walked slowly over to the sewer entrance.

The entrance itself was thankfully big enough for a pony to fit in, but was too far off the ground for a pony without wings to help them, and six large, iron bars blocked the way. Fluttershy’s ears fell flat upon seeing them. “Allow me to deal with that,” Twilight offered. She walked beside her and using her magic snapped the bars off their attachments, and flung them into the river, avoiding their friends as she did so. “After you.”

Fluttershy nodded her thanks, and then flew up into the sewers. Rainbow followed behind, helping Applejack, Twilight, Pinkie and Rarity up after them. The tunnel was dark, but surprisingly clean, yet a foul smell still hung in the air, and it made Fluttershy’s nose itch because of it. “The sooner we’re out of here, the better,” she said, and proceeded down the tunnel at a nimble trot. The others followed close behind at the same pace.

A few minutes later they had moved into the sewer network itself. The tunnel was made out of bricks, and the sides were bricked up to form walking platforms, while also creating a trench for the sewage to run through to the river. What surprised the Dragonlord most, however, was the lack of sewage running down towards them, or the dirt that hung around the walls. Apart from a few small splotches it was spotless.

Realising she didn’t need them any more, she took the hair bands off her mane and tail and gave them back to Applejack. She was glad to be rid of them, to be honest, for they might be practical but not comfortable. “So any idea where to go from here?” Rarity whispered, her voice sounding a bit squeaky due to the peg on her nose.

Fluttershy looked at her friend, then back in front of her. The tunnel kept going down into the darkness, but was divided by a large number of intersections leading into different tunnels, some smaller, some larger, but all the same it made navigation look impossible.

“I would suggest splitting up here and going down each tunnel, and see if we could find the keep,” Rainbow said.

Twilight shook her head dismissively. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Rainbow. I would prefer it if we stayed together, safety in numbers and all that. And besides, what if one of us gets captured?”

“She’s right,” Fluttershy agreed, “and if they capture one of us they might kill us on sight for being spies. I was nearly executed just for coming here, so I don’t want to imagine or see what they do to those they accuse of spying.”

“But that still doesn’t help us on which way to go from here,” Pinkie said.

“It’s moments like this that reminds me of a piece of advice Granny Smith gave me one time. ‘If ya ever doubt ya eyes, then follow ya nose’,” Applejack said with a chuckle. The earth pony walked ahead of them and then proceeded to sniff the air. She walked to the opening of one tunnel and sniffed down there. She shook her head and trotted down to the next one, doing the same thing she did with the first one, sniffing down the tunnel then backing away with a shake of her head. “Not this one either,” she announced. She trotted ahead of the group; the only sounds heard were her loud sniffs, and the low rumble of stones falling onto the fortress above them.

The six ponies made their way down the main tunnel, with Applejack up front sniffing the foul air, and Twilight close behind illuminating the way with her horn. They passed at least eight other tunnels leading off from the main one, but Applejack said they weren’t the right ones also.

Eventually they came to another intersection with a tunnel that moved away from the main one on the left and on the right. The one on the left was the same size as the others, whereas the one on the right was small, a foot or so off the ground, and big enough for one pony at a time. Applejack stopped and sniffed the air from the main tunnel, and then she moved to the smaller tunnel and sniffed the air, and then did the same with the right side by stuffing her face inside and making a loud sniffing sound. She repeated the motion one more time and stopped to think, screwing up her face in thought. “We go that way,” she declared suddenly, pointing down the left tunnel.

“How can you be sure?” Rainbow demanded.

“The air is not as fowl down that way than this one. In fact it’s worse down here than the others. If the keep is the most populated area of this place than that would be… ya know,” Applejack answered with a smile. “Like my granny says, always follow ya nose.” She trotted ahead of the others, her nose pointing to the air and sniffing every now and then to see if she got it right.

Fluttershy meanwhile trotted behind, her face wearing a large smile. “I’ve just realised I would never have gotten this far without you all. So thank you.”

“Ah, think nothing of it, sugarcube. I’m just glad to be of service,” Applejack replied. The six fell silent once more as they followed the tunnel deeper into the fortress.

Above them, they could hear a low rumble of rocks hurtled into the fortress by trebuchets, which broke off dust from the ceiling above and fell to the ground. Some of it landed on Pinkie’s nose and caused her to sneeze confetti.

“Are those stairs?” Applejack called out after what seemed like an hour of walking. They saw to their joy that she was right. The tunnel continued down into the darkness, while a flight of wooden and old stairs led up through a horsehole. “Who wants to go up first?” Applejack turned her head around to face the others.

Fluttershy took a step forward, but Rainbow gently pushed her back and rushed onto the stairs, ready to go up. With a deep breath to calm her nerves Rainbow walked slowly up the stairs, every step creaking under the pressure of her hooves. “Be careful, Rainbow,” Fluttershy called to her.

Rainbow looked back and grinned re-assuredly. “I’m always careful,” she said, just as she arrived at the top and banged her head on the horsehole. Fluttershy rolled her eyes and facehoofed. Rainbow shook her head to clear the dizziness, and then carefully opened up the horsehole.

She peered through to see that they were in a small square room, built out of grey stone with a single wooden door facing her. She moved up a bit to see of there were any horses inside – thankfully there wasn’t. “It’s okay, guys,” she called down in a whisper. “There’s noone here.” She shifted the horsehole out of the way then moved to the door.

With a gentle push the door opened and Rainbow was able to make out part of the corridor on the other side. The stonewalls were decorated in the banners and tapestries of the Andulusian family and its armies, and were a bright white rather than the plain stone in what she considered to be the closet room she was in. Her breathing quiet yet quick, she moved slowly out into the corridor and glanced left and right, and her ears right up to hear any approaching horses. Her five friends waited in the small room, waiting for Rainbow’s all-clear.

The corridor had a beautiful blue carpet laid out across its floor, decorated with dark red lines that curved and swayed across it. To her right was a large, black door leading out into the courtyard with a rearing white horse on its face. To her left the corridor stretched down about forty feet then disappeared in a sharp turn to the left, all the while many plain and boring doors leading to many rooms broke up the wall and the banners.

After a while of listening to the sound of battle cries coming from outside, and the crashing of rocks and stone and trees, Rainbow gestured for the others to come out. “I think it’s okay,” she called to them. With them moving cautiously out of the room, Rainbow made her way right and found around the corner a flight of stairs built out of white stone and a red rug carpeting the stairs. “Guys, there’s some stairs here we can use,” she informed the rest.

They moved up beside her and grinned, pleased to know there was way around the keep. “Okay, now that we’re here, what’s the next part, Fluttershy?” Twilight queried, turning to face the pegasus.

Fluttershy looked surprised. “Um, excuse me?”

“You know, what’s the next part of your plan?” Rainbow reminded her.

“Oh, I only came up with the part of getting inside. I didn’t bother to think about what to do when we got here. Sorry,” Fluttershy said with her head low.

Everypony sighed. “That’s okay, sugarcube,” Applejack said. She turned to the most intelligent member of the group. “So Twilight, what do ya suggest we do?”

Before Twilight could respond, Fluttershy and Rainbow heard the whine of something falling through the air, and Rainbow gave out a screech of alarm. “Get back!” She pushed them and herself against the wall as tight as they could before a massive lump of rock smashed through the front wall, destroying the black door completely, and rolled through the corridor, before coming to a stop at the far end. The only sounds that can be heard afterwards were the quick breathing of the six occupants of the corridor.

“Everypony okay?” Applejack asked. Five responses followed quickly.

The six ponies moved off the wall and inspected the stairway, which thankfully wasn’t damaged by the shot. “Right,” Twilight said, “I think if we have a chance of finding this key, then I’m afraid we’re gonna have to split up.” The five ponies reluctantly agreed. “Rarity, Fluttershy, you go in one team and cover the top floor. Applejack, Pinkie, you cover the bottom floor. And Rainbow and me will cover the middle. We’ll all meet back here in less than an hour, okay?”

“On it!” the five ponies cried out together. Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Rainbow proceeded up the stairs, while Applejack and Pinkie watched them leave. “Oh, girls, one more thing,” Fluttershy brought them all to her attention. “If any horses come up against you, avoid killing them if you can. Please?”

“Of course we will,” Applejack agreed. “I might’ve taken out some undead thingy’s, but never will I want to kill an actual living thing.” The four ponies around Fluttershy nodded in agreement.

Fluttershy smiled. “Okay then, let’s go and find that key!” She spun around and led Twilight, Rainbow and Rarity upstairs, while Applejack and Pinkie galloped and bounced around the bend and out of sight.

When the four ponies made it to the second floor, Twilight let out a sigh. “Good luck to you both,” she said to Fluttershy and Rarity. “And be careful.”

The two ponies nodded. “We will, and you two also,” Rarity said. With that, the four ponies parted ways – Fluttershy and Rarity heading up the next flight of stairs, while Twilight and Rainbow disappeared down the corridor.

“Fluttershy,” Rarity said as they walked up the stairs, “I’m glad we’re together on this, because I believe I have a apology to make to you.”

Fluttershy stopped walking and looked at Rarity oddly. “Apology?”

Rarity nodded. “All that time we were at the spa, talking about how are children would come out like, I must have been crushing you with every word I said on the matter. So I would like to take this chance to say how sorry I am for doing that.” She looked down to the ground, her ears folding flat on her head as she awaited judgment.

Fluttershy giggled and gave her friend a quick and comforting hug. “Oh, Rarity, you never knew I could never have children, so why should you be sorry?”

“But have I though?” Rarity demanded. “Was I hurting you with all that I said?”

After a moment of silence, Fluttershy sighed and looked down. “I would be lying if I said no.” She looked up to see the guilt in Rarity’s eyes. “But it was the first few times we started going at the spa together!” she quickly added. “After that, I didn’t mind.”

“All that time… and you let me blabber on with my fantasies. Why?”

Fluttershy looked at her for a moment, then smiled. “Because it made you happy, and I didn’t want to ruin that for you.”

Rarity tilted her head slightly, and with a sigh she shook her head. “Fluttershy, you are sometimes too kind and selfless for your own good.”

Fluttershy shrugged. “I know, but I’m okay with it.” They continued a bit up the stairs until they came to a landing. “Oh that’s what I’ve been meaning to ask you. Who’s that stallion that keeps coming to your shop every week or so?”

Rarity looked back at her friend with an odd look. “Now? You want to talk about this, now?!”

Fluttershy shrugged. “Better time than any. So who is he then?” She looked at her with big, irresistible eyes.

Rarity visibly started to sweat and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. “He’s a… stallion from Baltimare who’s quite into fashion,” she came out with at last. “He likes my dresses so much he buys a load of them to show off at his fashion shows, and said he would shoot me to stardom in the fashion world.”

“Do you like him?” Fluttershy asked slyly, her eyes flickering. Rarity was one of the very few ponies she felt safe to tease or be ‘different’ around, knowing Rarity would never be cross unless she took it too far, which she was always careful to avoid.

Rarity looked about and when she couldn’t think of an answer she sighed. “A little, but I doubt anything will come out of it. I think he’s already got somepony back home.”

“It’s always okay to ask, you know,” Fluttershy advised.

Rarity looked up in shock at Fluttershy’s advice. “Who are you and what have you done with Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy giggled, and was about to burst into laughter when her ears pricked upright when she heard voices, and it weren’t any of her friends. She lowered her body close to the ground and sneaked up the stairs. When she got close to the end she pressed her back up to the wall and walked on her hind legs slowly to where the wall ended and where the third floor began. She gestured with a hoof for Rarity to stay where she was, which the unicorn complied.

She peered around the corner to see a horse standing guard in front of a large door with a large red banner hanging overhead halfway down the corridor. She cursed when she saw there wasn’t any way around the horse. She turned around to address Rarity. “There’s a guard standing by a door just down the corridor,” she whispered. “There’s no way we can get around him, or her.”

“There is, darling, and it’s staring at you in the face,” Rarity argued.

“What, you?”

Rarity shook her head. “No. Behind me.” She indicated with a hoof to a large window behind her, arched and slightly open. Fluttershy grinned and flew up to it, pushing it a bit more just to see how far it could open, and found it was big enough for the both of them to go through. She peered out the window, looking left to see small horses running around like mice in a maze, and then looked right to see a narrow ledge leading along the wall to a large balcony that was part of the room that the horse was guarding.

She looked back at her unicorn friend with a grin. “Do you want a lift up?”

Rarity began walking backwards, her eyes revealing her fear. “Are you sure, Fluttershy? I mean, is it… safe?”

Fluttershy nodded comfortingly. “I’ll be by your side, Rarity.” She stretched a hoof out for the unicorn to hold. Rarity hesitantly brought a hoof up and gripped it around Fluttershy’s tightly. Then without warning Fluttershy quickly flung herself onto her back, gripped her legs around her shoulders and waist then lifted her in the air, Rarity meanwhile doing her best to hold down the scream she so desperately wanted to release.

They made it outside and Fluttershy quickly placed Rarity onto the ledge so her chest and belly was touching the wall. “Do you have grip?” Fluttershy asked. Rarity nodded. Fluttershy slowly fluttered away from the unicorn, a hoof always on her back to keep her from falling. Fluttershy looked down and saw below was just the stone courtyard with nothing to soften her fall if she did. She quickly looked back up again. “Just don’t look down.”

“What do you think I’m going to do?!” Rarity squeaked. “You know how much I hate heights since I fell from the sky.”

“Well, you did come up with this idea,” Fluttershy countered. “And I’ve fallen from the sky also when I was a filly, so I know how it feels. Just move slowly and you’ll be fine. I won’t let you fall, Rarity. I promise.”

Rarity slowly nodded. “I know you won’t.” Slowly she lifted her left hind leg and moved it forward, followed by her right hind leg, then repeated the process until they were inching their way to the balcony. “So tell me, what was your father like?”

“Oh, well…” Fluttershy went silent as she thought what she knew about him from the small time she had with him. “He was kind, loving, had a wicked sense of humour, but a fierce warrior. I remember when I got the fourth key and after finding him again he was fighting this reman with about a dozen other remans dead around him. He cared about his friends, my mother, and me, more than his own life. And I think that’s why he died in the end.” She looked towards the clear, blue sky. “That’s all I can tell you, really. I barely knew him, and that’s the worst part of it.”

“You knew him, though. You knew who he was when once upon a time you had no idea. I’m sure that counts for something.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. “I… I guess you’re right.” She looked left to see that they were right beside the balcony. “Do you want help getting over?” she asked.

Rarity shook her head. “I should be fine, darling. Go on ahead and see what’s in there.” Fluttershy was unconvinced, but nevertheless nodded. While the unicorn was slowly and carefully bringing herself over the balcony wall, Fluttershy moved to the window and peered in.

The room appeared to be a study. Along both sides of the room, shelves lined up the walls, all of them filled with books. The floor was made of cold stone, with a huge circular carpet with the horse of the Andulusian family lying in the centre. Beyond the window was another level that split the room in half, with large tables and chairs for horses to sit on, with a small group of stairs leading down into the main section.

If the key would be anywhere, it must be in there. She heard a yelp from Rarity beside her and looked around to see the unicorn had fallen flat on her face. She rushed over and helped her friend back on her hooves. “Are you alright?” she asked concernedly.

“I’m fine, darling,” Rarity replied, wiggling her nose just to be sure. She shook her head to clear the dizziness, then walked up to the window and peered through. “It looks like a study to me.”

“I thought that as well,” Fluttershy agreed with a nod. She looked around the doorframe to see if there was a way in from this side, but found the doorknobs on the other side. She tried pulling it open, then pushed it, but it was locked. “Any ideas of how to get in?” she asked her friend.

Rarity nodded, then walked up to the glass window and touched it with the tip of her horn. She closed her eyes and let a bright blue glow emerge from it. After a moment of nothing happening a large blue circle emerged from her horn and formed out until it was the size of the pony. Rarity lifted her head away from the window then walked slowly through the circled and emerged inside the study room.

Fluttershy thought she would lose her jaw as Rarity walked through the glass and emerged okay the other side. The unicorn, after checking to see if the coast was clear, spun around and unlocked the door with her teeth. “How di- how di- how did you do that?” Fluttershy asked as she walked inside.

“A spell Twilight taught me in return for teaching her my gem finding spell,” Rarity explained. She turned around and looked at the study room. The room seemed and looked empty, but both ponies were not going to take a chance.

Fluttershy pricked her ears up at their highest and wiggled them about as she tried to pick up the sound of horses in the room, Rarity looking at her all the while. “Anything?”

Fluttershy was about to say no, but she suddenly picked up the sound of horses moving towards the study room and darted behind the balcony cover. “Quick, Rarity, close the door and take cover!” she ordered. Rarity slammed the door shut with a hoof buck and dived behind Fluttershy, putting a hoof over her mouth to silence her breathing.

Fluttershy heard the door get shoved open, groaning in protest as they did, and the sound of eight hooves clopping on the hard, cold stone floor. “Milady, they’ve taken the outer wall and the town, and are making their way past the second wall. I’m not sure we can hold for much longer,” one voice, a stallion’s, said.

“Oh, they will hold, general. They will hold knowing that every moment they hold back the scum they increase the chances of reinforcements to arrive, and then our victory will be at hoof!” a mare’s voice said.

Fluttershy and Rarity peered around the corner to see the two horses. The stallion was a dark bay with a light grey mane that was very short and wearing steel armour that clicked every time he raised a leg or shifted himself. The mare was a pinkish white with a blonde mane that was tied in a long braid that ran down the back of her neck and over her right shoulder, and wore on her side a scabbard with a sheathed sword.

“What reinforcements, milady?” the stallion asked. “Me and Anaius have already told you that we have no other forces outside the ones we have here. All of our other forces have either been crushed or defected to Freya. Face it, Baroness, we have lost!”

The mare glared at him. “How dare you! You insult my father’s memory by admitting defeat at the hooves of these… inferiors. I promise to you that there will be victory, and I always keep my promises.”

The horse shook his head. “Not this time, milady. You can’t keep this one.” When the mare didn’t respond he went on. “I will fight for you till the very end, milady, you know that. That’s why I suggest we find a way out of here and then go and rebuild your forces.”

The mare chuckled. “And what if I refuse to leave this place?”

“Then I will leave anyway, milady, and continue the fight in your name,” the stallion replied, his head high and proud.

The mare contemplated this for a second, but only for a second. Fluttershy looked away and put a hoof over hers and Rarity’s mouth to silences their gasps as the mare pulled out her sword and plunged it through the horse’s chest. The stallion let out a silent scream, his eyes wide and his voice was nothing but a gurgle. “Do you really take me for an idiot, general?” She plunged the sword deeper. “You just wanted to get me out of here then turn me in, didn’t you? How much did that witch Freya pay you? How much?!”

The stallion didn’t reply, because he was already dead. She pulled the bloodied sword out and let the horse collapse on his side. She cleaned the sword on the dead horses armour and whispered, “You are relived of your duties, General Crastus.” She lifted her face towards the door and called through. “Someone dispose of the traitor’s body, and someone clean up the blood. I hate the sight of blood, and it’s ruining my floor.”

Fluttershy leaned back as two guards emerged from outside the room, picked up the dead horse’s hind legs with their mouths and dragged him out, leaving a path of blood heading out the door and turning left down the corridor. After a while the two guards returned. “Will that be all, my lady?” one asked.

The mare nodded. “Yes. Now go and die outside like all soldiers should,” she ordered, leaving the guards with perplexed looks on their faces as she slammed the door shut. “Right, with them out of the way, I better make plans for re-building Andulusia,” she said to herself. She walked to her desk, sat down and with a quill in mouth, began writing something, all the while humming loudly to dim the sounds of battle outside.

Fluttershy looked away from the mare to Rarity. “She’s gone mad,” Rarity said.

Fluttershy shook her head. “No. Not mad. I think she’ll listen to only what she wants to hear. But that’s not important to us right now. How are we going to search this place if she’s staying here?”

Rarity lifted her head over the balcony and looked around the room. The mare was sitting in the far left corner of the room, and easily had a good view of the whole room. There seemed to be no way to get around the place without attracting attention from the horse, and they couldn’t wait until she did leave incase it would be too late. She sighed and lowered herself back to the ground. “I think we may have to ask her for it,” she said.

“So we should go down there and force her to tell us where it is?” Fluttershy suggested with an agreeing nod. She looked up again to see the shock on Rarity’s face. “What? Was it something I said?”

Rarity nodded. “Once upon a time you would have shunned such a suggestion, but now you would willingly force this mare, to the point of death if need be, to ask her for this key’s location? Has becoming a Dragonlord changed your views so quickly?”

Fluttershy lowered her head and her ears fell flat. “I… I just thought that we might get it quicker if we were more forceful. You didn’t complain when I did the same thing to that draugen back in the mountains.”

“Yes,” Rarity admitted, “but that was different. The draugen was a creature cursed to wander Terra forever and should be dead in the first place. This is a living mare that still has a lot of her life ahead of her, if she survives this siege. Would you gladly put that aside for this key? Or is only taking this dragon down everything to you now?”

Fluttershy opened her mouth, but no words parted from her lips. She couldn’t defend herself; she had no reason to defend herself. After a moment she let out a low whimper and hid her face behind her mane. “I’m so sorry, Rarity,” she whispered.

Rarity looked at her sternly, and sympathetically. “Look at me,” she whispered. “In the eyes.” Fluttershy brought her mane out of her face and looked up. She looked like a filly that had just been caught stealing from the cookie jar. “I’m not cross with you, but I am disappointed,” Rarity said. “I thought you would be beyond such thoughts.”

Fluttershy lowered her head, her ears still remaining flat on her head, but she never lost contact with Rarity’s eyes. “But, if I was in your hooves I probably might have said the same thing,” Rarity went on. “I imagine the stress you have doing this is enough to make you think such things. So let us forget you ever said that and get on with finding this key.”

Fluttershy nodded, then gave the unicorn a brief hug. “I’m sorry, Rarity,” she whispered one more time.

“Sorry for what? What did you do wrong? What were we even talking about a few seconds ago?” Rarity patted Fluttershy on the back and then pulled away, looking at where the mare was sitting and writing. “Right, I’ll do the talking. You stay behind and guard my back incase there’s another horse here.”

Fluttershy nodded, and moved so that she was behind the unicorn, while Rarity prepared herself to leap over and drop down onto the lower level. “Ready?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy nodded confidently.

As one, the two ponies leapt over the balcony and landed gracefully on their hind legs, their swords Dancer, Firewing and Drage Bane out of their scabbards and pointing towards the ground.

The mare shot up upon hearing them and reached for her sword. “Who the hay are you?!” she demanded.

Rarity bowed her head. “Apologies for the break-in, but we needed to get into here. Allow me to introduce us. I am Rarity Turquoise of Ponyville, and this is my friend Fluttershy Firewing of Ponyville. We are both from the land of Equestria and are here to search for something valuable to Equestria and us, and might I say I love your style of mane!”

A fake cough came from behind her. “Stick to the matter at hoof,” Fluttershy whispered, fighting an urge to plant a hoof on her face.

“Oh yes, ha ha, excuse me.” She looked back at the mare, who had a pink blush on her face thanks to the compliment. “We are looking for a circular object, black with a faint, golden glow like fire emanating from it.” She looked back for confirmation on what it looked like, which Fluttershy gave with a nod. “We learned it was here and since you look like a mare who knows her way around here, me and my friend were wondering whether you knew where it is at this moment.”

The mare shook her head and the blush faded away, and she gazed at them with once more with un-welcoming eyes. “I know what you are on about, but why should I give up something to you?”

“Well, you see… um… how about… in return for the object, I share some things with you that will help you win the war,” she blurted out.

Fluttershy’s eyes shot wide open. “Hmm,” the mare pondered, looking at Rarity with interested eyes, “allow me to think about this.”

Fluttershy walked up to her friend’s side, then got hold of her shoulders and spun her around. “Would you mind if I was awfully blunt with you?”

Rarity nodded. “Of course not, darling. Speak your mind.”

Fluttershy nodded her thanks, then exclaimed, “Has cutting your mane and tail down driven you insane?!”

Rarity shook her head. “Think about it, Fluttershy,” she explained. “You said yourself that this mare will only listen to what she wants to hear. So why don’t we tell her we can help her win this war, and then she will give us the key.”

“And then what?” Fluttershy asked. “Do we wait here until the Palominans come and kill us?”

“Heavens no,” Rarity said. “While she’s occupied with something, we sneak back the way we came in and get back to the others. What can go wrong?”

Fluttershy’s mind went through the thousand ways it could go wrong. But she trusted Rarity with her life, and would stand by her in every decision. “Okay, Rarity, I trust you,” Fluttershy said with a nod.

Rarity smiled. “Thanks.” She turned away from the pegasus and walked up to the mare, who looked like she had made a decision. Fluttershy looked from her friend to the mare and saw something in her eyes that made her blood run cold. She thought she had seen that look from somewhere, but couldn’t point out where.

“I have thought about your offer, and I decline your assistance,” the mare answered. The two ponies’ ears fell flat. “However,” she went on, “I have another offer in mind.” She slowly began walking around Rarity, who stayed as still as stone as the mare walked around her, the mare’s eyes looking all over Rarity’s body.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she realised with horror where she had seen that look before. It was the same look that reman gave her when she’d first met one – a look of lust. She stepped forward to help her friend but stopped when the mare started to speak. “I will give you the object, and in return I ask you, Rarity of Ponyville, to stay here, with me.”

Rarity looked horrified by the offer. “I have never seen such a beautiful creature,” the mare said, bringing up a hoof to stroke her face. “You would make a great asset to me, Rarity.” She said her name as seductively as she could.

Rarity looked back at her friend, who was shaking her head frantically, telling her to refuse the offer. “Done,” she agreed.

“No!” Fluttershy screamed. Her eyes wandered about as she tried to think of a way to get her friend out of this. “What about me?” she eventually asked the mare.

The mare looked at her all over, and then shook her head. “You are way too ugly for me, whoever you are. No, Rarity is what I want, and I always get what I want.” She looked to the back of the room, towards the stairs to the second level. “The thing you’re looking for is kept in there, in a dark blue book with a plain cover at the far end of the room.”

Fluttershy turned around to see that below the second level was a room with a single iron barred gate separating it. The windows were blacked out so she couldn’t see inside, but from what she could see through the gate were aisles of bookshelves like the archives back in Canterlot.

“Well go on, then,” the mare goaded her on. “Get what you came for and leave me be with Rarity here.”

“It’s okay, darling,” Rarity said. “Get the key and get out of here.”

Fluttershy looked back at her friend, and mouthed, “I’ll come back for you.” She turned away and walked up to the gate. She opened it and walked briskly inside. The room was cold, despite the torches that hung neatly on the brick walls. “So tell me, Rarity. What else can you do with that horn of yours?” she heard the mare ask her friend.

It took a great effort for the pegasus to not throw up there and then. She quickly walked down the central aisle with a torch in her teeth, all the while coming up with a plan to get Rarity out of this predicament. She scanned the multitude of books that rested on the shelves: red, purple, yellow, black, green, orange, and many other colours brightened up the covers of these books. As well as books, there were other artefacts that appeared to be from across the world: pony, griffon, horse, dragon, changeling, minotaur, and many other items from thousands of species across thousands of years of history. Yet none of them was the one she wanted.

She was beginning to think she was fooled, that the mare wanted her out of the way so she could have her way with her friend. The very thought made her grip onto the torch tighter as anger built up inside her. She wasn’t going to let the mare use her friend like a child would with a toy. She would rather watch Heimdallr burn the world than see that happen.

She stopped when with the corner of her eye she made out a dark blue cover on her left. She grinned and prayed the mare was telling the truth. She dropped the torch and took the book off the shelf with her hooves, then with her teeth, opened it up, and grinned in triumph.

The key rested inside the book, the faint, fiery glow emanating from the device, and the symbol of the Dragonlord order displayed across its face. She took the key out of the book and placed it inside her mane for safekeeping. She put the book back in its place then cantered out of the room.

She found Rarity and the mare (thankfully) talking to each other and getting to know each other. “I got it!” Fluttershy exclaimed, taking it out of her mane and presenting it to the two of them.

Rarity looked around and grinned, and that was when time seemed to slow.

Fluttershy remembered one second seeing Rarity smiling at her, then the next second she was next to her, lying on her side after being kicked in the head by the mare. Blood seeped from Rarity’s head where the mare kicked her, and where the other side of her head hit the windows.

Fluttershy stood still, her face carved in shock as her mind processed what happened. She slowly looked down to see Rarity’s unconscious form, and then tried shaking her awake. “Wake up. Rarity, please wake up,” she whispered, to no response. She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip as tears streamed down her face.

“Did you really think I’m that stupid?” the mare said in front of her. Fluttershy brought her gaze off her fallen friend and looked at the mare with cold, hateful eyes. “Rarity only agreed to be close to me so that she could poison me, isn’t it? I should’ve known you were under Freya’s employ. My father should have wiped out your kind ages ago.”

Fluttershy moved so that Rarity was behind her. “May I ask your name, miss?” she enquired flatly.

“Velenta Andulusia, Baroness and queen of Horsca,” the mare replied. “Why do you want to know?”

Fluttershy snapped her wings open, revealing the wing blades hidden in them. “Because, Baroness Velenta, you just made the greatest mistake of your life. If you value that worthless hide of yours then is one thing you never, ever, do in front of me,” Fluttershy growled. She reared up and let Drage Bane and Firewing emerge from their scabbards.

Velenta snorted, and drew her own sword; it was long with runes engraved into the metalwork. “What is that then, Fluttershy of Ponyville?”

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes and brought her blades into a battle ready position. “Hurt. My. Friends,” she growled. She lowered her body and prepared herself to fight. Although one part of her screamed to pick up Rarity and run, it was like a whisper in the wind – Fluttershy was not going to let this mare get away with hurting her friend.

Fluttershy, with a cry of rage escaping her lungs, made the first move by launching herself in the air and whizzed past Velenta before the horse could swing her sword to defend herself or hit Fluttershy, creating a long but thin gash in the horse’s side with her wing blades. Velenta went down on one knee with a cry of pain. Fluttershy veered about and tried again with the other side before Velenta could recover, but Velenta ducked and spun away, then kicked Fluttershy in the side with a fore hoof.

Fluttershy fell to the ground, winded but otherwise unhurt. Velenta cantered up to her and made to plunge her sword through her neck. She jumped up and backed away from Velenta, whose sword hit only air. Fluttershy leapt forward and with a cry of rage launched a number of furious sword slashes and swings and thrusts, aiming high, low, left, right and diagonally, but the horse in amazingly quick succession blocked each.

Velenta grew tired of fighting in defence, so launched a wide swing at the pegasus. Fluttershy learnt from Thowra that horses, although slow, were incredibly strong, and their sword swings could easily cut through flesh and bone.

Fluttershy brought her two swords together and blocked the attack by wedging the sword between them, gritting her teeth and using all her strength to push it away. Velenta stepped back and then thrust her sword once again. The pegasus swung Firewing and deflected the attack, then thrust forward with Drage Bane. Velenta sidestepped out of the way and retreated.

Fluttershy galloped forward and attempted to pin her to the ground. Velenta spun around and gave her a slight slash with her tail across the eyes, blinding the pegasus for a moment. Velenta wheeled around on the spot and lunged her sword towards Fluttershy’s chest, hoping to skewer her.

Fluttershy’s ears twitched at the sounds Velenta made, so she rose up on her hind legs and deflected the attack with Firewing, while slashing across Velenta’s chest with Drage Bane, making the horse cry out in pain.

Fluttershy, having recovered from being blinded for a moment, opened her eyes to see she had cut into Velenta’s chest, yet she didn’t feel any remorse for the act. Fluttershy jumped up, spun around and bucked Velenta in the face, sending her across the room and against the wall. ‘That was for you, Rarity.’

Velenta coughed and shifted herself onto her stomach. She tried to get back up, but her legs gave way and she collapsed once more, blood leaking from the wounds Fluttershy caused. “I… I give up,” she panted. “I surrender.”

Fluttershy continued to stare at the fallen horse with cold and merciless eyes. She brought up her right leg and Drage Bane emerged once more, much to the horse’s horror. Fluttershy began to walk forward, her eyes never leaving the horse’s eyes, and feeling no sympathy for her.

“No. No, please… no, please no,” the mare pleaded. But Fluttershy didn’t hear. She stopped next to the mare and slowly raised her sword into the air, ready to plunge it into the heart of the Baroness. “Please don’t kill me, please, I’m sorry!”

“You will be,” Fluttershy whispered, her teeth gritted together and her eyes displaying fiery hate for the mare. She felt nothing when she saw tears in Velenta’s eyes, no compassion for her, no remorse, just anger and hatred.

With a cry of rage she brought Drage Bane down.

“Fluttershy, stop!”

Fluttershy stopped the sword so that the point was only millimetres from where the heart would be. She looked up to see Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow and Applejack standing at the door, looking at her with wide eyes. Fluttershy’s teeth came apart and her eyes widened in horror when she realised they weren’t eyes of anger or disgust, but of fear – fear, she presumed, of her. She looked down at where Drage Bane was pointing and at that moment felt her anger fade away, to be replaced with disgust at herself. She looked back at her friends and thought for a moment she saw her father, looking at her with disapproving eyes.

She stepped back in fright from the fallen mare, Drage Bane sliding sorrowfully back into its scabbard, and moved into the furthest corner of the room, curling up into a ball, and covered her face with her mane and hoped that they would leave her.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief when Fluttershy began backing away, and then watched her with sad eyes as Fluttershy curled up into a ball. “Rainbow, you and I will check on Rarity. Pinkie, keep an eye on this horse. Applejack-”

“I know, I got her,” Applejack said with a raised hoof. Twilight nodded, then with Rainbow she galloped to Rarity’s side, Pinkie literally kept a single eye trained on Velenta, while Applejack walked slowly to Fluttershy.

She knew this would happen. She had said to Twilight that Fluttershy would do something she knew the pegasus would regret, and now she had done it. As she got closer she could see Fluttershy was shivering, and heard her sniffing back tears, and felt her heart skip a beat. “Fluttershy,” she said softly.

“Fluttershy’s not in,” Fluttershy responded quietly. “Please leave a message at the sound of the squeak.” She made a little squeak sound and curled around herself tighter, expecting a severe scolding from the earth pony.

Applejack looked at her with sympathetic eyes. “Fluttershy. Please look at me,” she said softly. “I’m not gonna yell at ya, I promise.”

Fluttershy slowly brushed her mane out of her face and looked at Applejack with sorrowful and regretful eyes. “Oh, Applejack, she whispered. “What have I become?”

Applejack gently wrapped her forelegs around the pegasus, who buried her head in her friend’s shoulder and sniffed back tears. “It’s over now, sugarcube. It’s okay.” Applejack turned her head to look at Twilight. “How’s Rarity?”

“She’s alive. Got head wounds on either side of the head but otherwise she’ll be fine,” Twilight replied, her eyes never leaving the fallen unicorn.

Applejack smiled, then looked at Fluttershy, who looked a little better at hearing Rarity will be all right. “Ya see, sugarcube. Rarity’s gonna be okay.”

“I know.” Fluttershy’s ears fell flat. “But it doesn’t change what I did. I fought to defend Rarity, but instead I went too far.” She rested her head on Applejack’s shoulder. “I’ve changed, haven’t I?”

Applejack didn’t reply for a moment, until she said with a nod, “Yeah.”

“But not for the better?” Fluttershy asked. Although Applejack didn’t reply, her silence screamed out in agreement, and it shattered the pegasus’s fragile heart,

“Come on, everyone, let’s get out of here!” Rainbow called, while Twilight placed Rarity on her back.

“Did you get the key, sugarcube?” Applejack gently asked the pegasus, and received a nod in response. “Then let’s get back to camp.”

“Leave me here,” Fluttershy said. “I don’t deserve to continue.”

“Nonsense,” Applejack said. She turned around and lowered herself down on the ground so Fluttershy could climb on top. “If your legs ain’t gonna carry ya out of here, then I will.” She said. Fluttershy, looking miserable, moved herself groggily onto Applejack’s back, and gripped around her barrel as Applejack broke into a gallop to catch up with her friends.

As they left the study room Fluttershy met the surprised gaze of the Baroness and felt new tears spring up into her eyes because of herself. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed as Applejack galloped out of the study room.

Applejack, with Fluttershy on her back, soon caught up with the rest and they all made their way back towards the sewers. As they went down, Fluttershy could’ve sworn she heard maniacal laughter echoing around the staircase.

“I think she’s coming around,” was the first voice Rarity heard after a long time. Her head felt like an anvil had fallen on top of it and every inch of her ached. She opened her eyes, expecting to be in Paradise, but instead saw a blur of four familiar looking figures. Her vision cleared and she smiled wearily when she saw Applejack, Twilight, Rainbow and Pinkie surrounded her, with relieved grins on their faces. “How’re you feeling?” Twilight asked.

Rarity groaned and sat upright. She instantly recognised the campsite they stayed in the night before, and felt the cold chill of the night brush against her coat. “Could be worse, but could be better,” she said, letting out a pained groan.

Twilight turned her head behind her and brought out a vial of some sort in her teeth. “It’s something I found when scouring the second floor in the keep,” she explained. “It’s supposed to cure any aches and pains during a long night’s sleep. Take this and tomorrow you’ll feel like nothing happened.”

Rarity took the vial in her hooves and drunk it down in one gulp. It tasted like lemon, but with twenty times added sugar, giving it a major kick in sweetness. She shook violently as it took hold and stuck out her tongue in distaste. “Thanks, Twilight. But what did happen? Last thing I remember is turning around and seeing Fluttershy wit-” she stopped abruptly when she realised her pegasus friend was missing. “Where’s Fluttershy?”

The four ponies looked grimly at each other, and for a moment Rarity thought they were going to tell her she was dead. Applejack and Twilight stepped aside to reveal Fluttershy, giving Rarity a reason to start breathing again.

Fluttershy was lying on her side, with her back to them, and curled up so she looked like a flattened ball. For a moment Rarity forgot to breathe again as she feared Fluttershy wasn’t breathing, but relaxed when she saw her side rise and fall. She looked back at her friends, and was confused and terrified by the grim expressions on their faces. “What happened? Tell me what happened?”

Twilight drew out a long, sad sigh. “Me and Rainbow, after having no luck, were heading back to the stairway when we heard the sounds of swords coming together. While Rainbow rushed to get Pinkie and Applejack, I went upstairs to see what was happening. I tried bucking down the door but with no such luck, so I waited until Applejack and Rainbow arrived, all the while the sounds of fighting and cries from what I thought to be Fluttershy.”

“I found Applejack and Pinkie waiting by the door leading into the sewers for us,” Rainbow went on, “and explained we heard swords clashing. We rushed upstairs and found Twilight trying to bring down the door. We told her to step back and me and AJ smashed it down.” Rainbow visibly shuddered as she remembered what she saw.

“Then what?” Rarity goaded them on.

Applejack continued. “We found Fluttershy, looking like she was possessed, with her sword in the air ready to bring it down into the horse who was on the ground pleading for her life.”

“If I hadn’t cried out when I did,” Twilight added grimly. “Fluttershy would’ve killed her.”

Rarity stared at them all in disbelief. She looked to each of the ponies, hoping that one of them would say she was just joking, and that Fluttershy would never do such a thing. But their faces told their agreement to Twilight’s story. “She… she would never…”

“We stopped her just before her sword pierced the horse’s hide,” Applejack said, her ears flat against her head. “She hasn’t spoken since we left the fortress and refused to eat anything. She just curled up there and blanked us all out.”

Rarity got up and moved to be next to her friend, but Twilight gently pushed her back. “It’s best just to leave her be at the moment, then talk to her in the morning about it. The best thing we can all do now is get a good nights sleep. We’ve had a rough day.”

“You’re telling me,” Rarity said, putting a hoof on her head as it still felt like a ten-ton weight. The ponies moved away and started settling down for the night.

Rarity watched them all fall asleep, then turned back to Fluttershy. She tiptoed up to the pegasus and softly petted her head so not to wake her. “Oh, darling,” she cooed. “Please don’t beat yourself up again over this.” She walked away and back to Fluttershy’s sleeping bag, which was splayed out for her. She turned around and gave one last sad look at Fluttershy before falling into her sleeping bag and drifted to sleep, the pains and aches she had she hoped would be long gone by the time she’ll wake up.

Fluttershy took a deep breath, although it came out more like a sob, to hold back the tears threatening to spill as she listened to her friends talk about her behind her back. She was relieved to know Rarity was okay, and stayed awake specifically to know that. But now she was awake, she wished she wasn’t as Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow went onto how they saved her from making a grave mistake. Then Twilight said “we’ll talk to her about it in the morning” and it made her heart shatter once again.

She had read those words once before in a cheesy romance novel that made her laugh. But now, she feared this talk would lead down the same path those words usually implied – the end of the relationship. In this case, her friendships.

Now that they were all asleep, Fluttershy rolled over and looked at each of her friends, wondering what they all felt about her now she was a Dragonlord. Twilight didn’t seem sure; neither did Applejack, or Pinkie. Come to think of it, none of them seemed sure of what to make of it all, and it scared her as much as she scared them.

She then wondered whether this was part of Heimdallr’s plan, to separate her from her friends, make them think differently of her, and finally making them shun her, making her an easier target to take down. It mattered not if it was. The seeds of doubt had been planted in her friend’s minds, and she had noone to blame but herself.

She got up and galloped in a random direction, hoping to find somewhere were she had a place to think and how to fight for her friendships. Being a usually calm, frightened pony, she rarely showed her aggressive emotions, for fear of hurting of wrong ponies. The last time she displayed her anger was a year or so back when Iron Will came to Ponyville and taught her to be more assertive, but she hurt far too many ponies those two days. She had hoped she had as well as learning to put her hoof down on things, she hoped she could control her anger when she does let it out, but today proved that wasn’t the case.

She eventually emerged in a large clearing with a small stream running down the middle, splitting it in two. When she arrived she sat down and looked at the stars. “Is this what it was like for you, dad?!” she called to the heavens. “Were you as angry as I am when you became part of the order?!” The response she so desperately wanted didn’t come. “Please! Give me a message, a sign, anything!” She lowered her voice and began to sink into the ground. “I really need your help.”

“Then tell me, Fluttershy Firewing. What appears to trouble you so greatly to hope that the dead would advise you?” a voice enquired from behind her. Fluttershy spun around to look behind her to find noone there. She then looked up to see Vidarr hovering soundlessly above her. He stopped flapping his wings and came down onto the ground with a soft thud. He raised himself up onto his claws and bowed his head to the Dragonlord, his eyes giving away his concern for his kin.

Fluttershy bowed her head in return, and then walked up to him with devastated eyes. “I… I got angry today, really angry. I nearly killed a horse that was begging for her life. My friends stopped me, but I feel that…”

“They don’t trust you as they once did?” Vidarr finished for her.

Fluttershy looked up at him, and then nodded solemnly. “They’re still my friends, for the moment, but they fear me, more than anything in the world. I don’t want to be feared by my own friends, or they would start separating themselves from me, and then they would tell me to go away completely. I don’t want that, not again.” Fluttershy looked down at the ground and began to cry silently.

Vidarr looked at her sympathetically. With a single finger from his claw, he stroked Fluttershy head, and with another he gently lifted her head up so he could look her in the eye. “You said not again. Does this mean something like this happened before?”

Fluttershy sniffed and nodded. “So you have trouble controlling your anger then?” Fluttershy nodded again. “To be honest I thought, being the bearer to the element of kindness, that you would be above such things.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I wish I was. In fact, I wish I could get rid of anger completely, so I would never have to feel angry again.”

“If you could, then someone could just as easily get rid of love, joy and some of the most cherished emotions our world holds,” Vidarr said. “Anger is an emotion that dwells in all of us, from the tiny ant, to the giant mammoth. It isn’t wrong that you feel anger, Fluttershy Firewing. But you need to know how to control it, before it controls you.”

“But how?” Fluttershy asked. “I’ve tried many meditation therapies in the past, but none of them worked. I thought bottling my anger in would be okay, but over time that bottle becomes overfull, and then suddenly bursts open. I’m worried that I would hurt the wrong people when that happens, like I did today.”

“Then you must learn the vows, oaths, and rules, of the Dragonlord order,” Vidarr said.

Fluttershy looked at the ancient dragon oddly. “Rules? Vows? Oaths? My dad never told me about any of these? And how could they possibly help me?”

“Your father probably didn’t think it would be the right time. Rules are made for everything, Fluttershy Firewing,” Vidarr explained. “The Dragonlords even more so. They followed the codex closely and abided by its rules in battle across the centuries. They believed that by following its guidelines that they would be able to control their anger, and not become the creature they destroyed at their creation.”

Fluttershy’s jaw hung off her mouth. She shook her head in disbelief. “So… if I can’t control my anger, then I’ll become like Heimdallr?”

Vidarr nodded. “Heimdallr let his anger and hatred consume him totally, destroying him not just in body but in soul as well. The first Dragonlords came up with several rules that all Dragonlords must abide by so they can escape the same fate.”

“Do you know these rules, Vidarr?”

“Indeed I do, young Dragonlord,” Vidarr replied. “As a honorary member of the order I was sworn to its laws and the vows that were given to me. As final rites they ask you to make one vow of your choosing, so that you are sworn to that service. For you, it will be like getting a second cutie mark.”

“Can you tell me them, please?”

“Certainly,” Vidarr said with a smile. Fluttershy hopped up onto his nose, then laid down on it as Vidarr began telling her the laws of the lords of dragons.

“The first rule: you must never harm an innocent creature, always protect them.

“The second rule: you must never kill an unarmed opponent. When they are down and unarmed they possess no more threat to you. If they try to take up arms once again, then you are free to put them down. There are no second chances with the order.

“The third rule: you must never fight in anger. Anger might make you stronger but will make you think less, and will give your opponent a greater advantage as they are thinking clearer than you. Plus it’s bad for the soul, as I have already said to you.

“The fourth rule: never hate your opponent. This one is the hardest, I know, but it ties with the third. Anger and hatred are brothers, and combine just as easily as carrots to a cake.”

Fluttershy gave a little pleasurable moan and licked her lips at the mention of a carrot cake. “Are you even listening?!” Vidarr bellowed. Fluttershy jumped in the air, giving a tiny squeak of surprise as she did so. She nodded sheepishly once she returned to the dragon’s nose.

“And finally, the fifth rule,” Vidarr continued. “Never call your opponent your enemy. Enemy is another word for hate and as such ties with the fourth and third rules. The Dragonlords don’t fight because of anger or hatred; they fight because of what’s right, and because they want to prove they are better than them. By displaying no prejudice towards an opponent.”

Fluttershy’s brain worked hard as it tried to dissolve this information. Although they sounded relatively straightforward they would be really hard to do. She hated Heimdallr with everything she had, so being told she couldn’t call him an enemy or even hate him made her feel divided. On one hoof she really didn’t want to call Heimdallr an enemy; in fact, she wanted nothing to do with him. But she couldn’t get over the crimes that he’d committed over the past five thousand years, nor could she get over the death of her father at his claws.

Fluttershy looked up into Vidarr’s eyes. “And what of the oaths?”

“The oaths are sworn to say that you will abide by these rules. While the last vow is your own, and what you promise to uphold to in the Dragonlord order. The penalties for breaking these oaths and rules, particularly the first and second rules, are harsh, and most resolve in death in many ways.”

Vidarr narrowed his eyes at her. “And you have broken some of these rules already.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened in horror. She put her fore hooves together and began pleading for her life. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know about the rules I didn’t mean to cause offence! Oh please don’t kill me…” she stopped when Vidarr started laughing.

“Relax, Fluttershy Firewing. The punishments for hating and feeling anger are less harsh than the first and second, and never result in death. As for your punishment I cannot carry out the punishments the Dragonlords made. Only a true Dragonlord can do that, and since you’re the only one left, you must punish yourself.”

Fluttershy sat upright and looked at his nose, wondering how to punish herself. She eventually brought a hoof up and slapped herself across the face. “Ouch,” she yelped. “Was that a good enough punishment, Vidarr?” she asked.

“That’s up to you, Dragonlord,” he chuckled, heartily surprised that Fluttershy would go that length. “I suppose you want to know the oaths now, and take them?” Fluttershy nodded. “Then jump down and take up Drage Bane.”

Fluttershy hopped back onto the ground and waited for Vidarr to give instructions. “Firstly, a Dragonlord must always take his or her oaths in a dragon fire, and the words must always be repeated in Dragonian.” He looked away from the pegasus, and then with a deep breath, a bright jet of flame erupted from his mouth, incinerating a small area of the clearing, and creating a huge fire.

Instantly understanding what to do next, Fluttershy placed herself into the fire. She could feel the flames wrap themselves around her body like a blanket; she could feel her mane be lifted by the wind as it blew the flames into a merry dance around her. She raised her right leg, and let Drage Bane slide out of its bracelet. She pressed the sword up against her chest, and felt the cold, finger like stroke of the blade as it touched her coat.

She bowed her head at Vidarr, who upon noticing she was ready, began to say the oaths. “Now, repeat after me. I, Fluttershy Firewing.”

“Jeg, Fluttershy Ildvinge.”

“Will abide by these laws of the Dragonlord order.”

“Vil overholde disse lovene av Drageordenen,” Fluttershy repeated.

“I swear to protect the innocent, and never harm them. I swear I will never hate, nor feel anger against those that take up arms against me. I will never call my opponent my enemy, and I will respect him or her as much as I respect my fellow warriors. I swear I will help those in need, and those that cannot protect themselves. That is the Dragonlords way, and I am a Dragonlord.”

“Jeg sverger å beskytte de uskyldige, og aldri skade dem. Jeg sverger at jeg aldri skal hate de som vil meg vondt. Jeg vil aldri kall mine motstandere mine fiender, og jeg vil respektere han eller henne like mye som jeg respektere mine med krigere. Jeg sverger at jeg vil hjelpe de som er i nød eller de som ikke kan beskytte seg. Dette er drageherrenes vei, og jeg er en drageherre,” Fluttershy repeated the words once more perfectly. Vidarr nodded with approval then with a sweep of his claw, the dragon fire Fluttershy stood in was extinguished, leaving no trace of it ever being there; not even scorch marks left on the ground were present. “But what about my personal vow?” she asked. “Don’t I have to make that now?”

“You can. If you have one,” Vidarr replied. “When you do realise your vow, tell it to the sky and my great grandfather Vidarr will hear it.”

Fluttershy moved away from the where the flames once was and eyed Vidarr once more. “But how can I not hate Heimdallr? He killed my father and killed so many more with a smile on his face. I think it’s impossible to not hate him.”

“I’m not telling you to not hate him, Fluttershy Firewing.”

“Yes you are,” Fluttershy argued. “The third, fourth, and fifth rules say…”

“Those rules are merely guidelines. It is impossible to remove anger and hate from a living being. But what can be done is to control your anger and hate, so it doesn’t consume you, like Heimdallr. Just remember, Fluttershy Firewing, he too was a victim of war, and in his grief he brought about a war which he called his vendetta.”

“But I’m not like him, I’m not doing this for revenge.”

“Fluttershy Firewing, I can see through you clearer than the cleanest river.” He pointed an accusing finger at her. “You have turned this war into a vendetta against him, and as such are dooming yourself to become like him. The proof is what happened today, when you went to kill a horse begging for her life.” Vidarr leaned his massive head closer to the pegasus. “Do you imagine what you would have done had you plunged that sword into her? Do you imagine seeing the pain in her eyes and the fear as you bleed the lif-”

“Stop!” Fluttershy cried, shaking her head and trying to get out the vile images in her mind out by placing her head in her hooves. “Please, just stop.” Vidarr was right, though. She had imagined what would have happened if her friends didn’t come a second sooner, and she felt sickened by it. She realised that Heimdallr was the same; he killed first in vengeance, but then killed more and more until it was all he did, and he enjoyed it. She had turned this into a war of vengeance, and she hadn’t even noticed, and it seemed she would harm those who got in her or her friends way.

She brought her head out of her hooves and looked at Vidarr with narrow eyes. “What do you want me to do, then?” she snapped. “What do you want me to fight him for?”

“I want you to fight him for the same reasons your father fought,” Vidarr answered. “I want you to fight for what your ancestors fought for, and the reason the one that died fighting for you – the right reasons. Your father’s death is not one of them.

“The dead will not care about vengeance, Fluttershy Firewing. So rather than focusing on those that are lost, focus on those that could be lost, like your friends.” He leaned even closer, bringing his voice into no more than a whisper. “Your father was a great pony, one of the greatest Dragonlords of them all. If your places were exchanged he would be fighting to bring Heimdallr down not out of revenge, but out of duty. You know this in your heart, don’t you?”

Fluttershy didn’t want to believe that; Firewing would’ve continued fighting to avenge her. But thinking that seemed wrong to her, and would be insulting his memory more. She looked up at Vidarr with a sad frown. “But what about my anger, Vidarr? How can control it before it controls me, again?”

Vidarr took a minute to think about it. “Do you reflect on the past often, Fluttershy Firewing?”

“What has that got to do with anything?” Fluttershy asked defensively.

Vidarr didn’t express any emotion at Fluttershy’s sudden outburst. “Was it really that bad for you to get defensive about it?”

Fluttershy looked away, but not before giving a few nods of the head. “I was bullied for most of my childhood, Vidarr. I was the shy quiet one in the corner that was an easy target for bullies. I was teased because I couldn’t fly well, and because I couldn’t run fast, and I had longer legs than everypony. I’ve been called a freak by older ponies because of my weak flying abilities. I stored my anger away until I released it about a year back, after I took assertiveness lessons. I… I got out of control, and my friends Pinkie and Rarity tried to bring me out at it.”

“And what did you do?” Vidarr asked.

The hurt and guilt was all too plain in Fluttershy’s eyes. “I… I yelled at them. I told them that they lived pointless lives, and they fled from me crying their eyes out. But you know what the worst part was? Afterwards they didn’t blame me; they blamed the one who taught me! I don’t think I can ever forgive myself for what I did. I hurt too many ponies that day.”

Vidarr was clearly surprised. “You seem to dwell too much on the past, young Dragonlord. Particularly the worst moments of your life, and it’s come to the point where just thinking it makes you feel angry. You need to set the past aside if you want to be free of anger, at least for a time. The past cannot hurt you anymore, only the present can.” Vidarr spread out his wings and was ready to take to the air once more.

“Wait!” Fluttershy called before he could take off. “How though? How do I just let it all go?”

“Instead of reflecting on the bad things in your life, how about the good things. Good things, no matter how small or few can be cherished for a lifetime.” Before Fluttershy could speak again, he thrust his wings downwards, sending him into the sky, and was quickly swallowed by the darkness. Fluttershy didn’t even hear the sound of flapping wings.

“The good things?” she said to herself, wondering what the great dragon could have meant by that. She moved away from the clearing and galloped back towards where they made camp for the last two nights. Soon she arrived at the campsite and was glad that her moving off into the night didn’t disturb any of them. She then moved west from the camp, towards a cliff edge that she recalled seeing when she was on Vidarr’s head.

She soon arrived at the cliff edge and sat on her haunches at the very edge. Before her stood mountains arranged in a line with a gap in the middle where a river snaked its way out of and wiggled towards Ironhoof fortress itself, while hugging the banks of the river were trees of various types and sizes. She hoped this idea of Vidarr’s worked, or else she would lose her friends. She closed her eyes and began reflecting on her life.

She remembered the orphanage, and how the other orphans would shun her because of her shy demeanour, or lack of flying ability. She skipped forwards to flight school, flinching at every horrible word said towards her, and feeling her anger begin to rise because of it. How most of her life was spent alone and unloved except by the carers of the orphanage, and Rainbow Dash when she met her.

A small smile rose when she got her cutie mark, then got a little bigger when she moved to Ponyville, that smile faded as she spent a long time with no pony friends, too scared to talk to anyone, and it faded completely to sorrow when she remembered the day she was told she would be unable to conceive children.

Then came the smiling face of Twilight Sparkle, when she first arrived to Ponyville, and when the six came together as a group. Fluttershy’s frown rose back into a small smile as she remembered those early days, where they started getting to know each other better, and put aside their differences and conflicts. Her smile grew as she remembered the laughs they had, and the great times they shared.

Most of the memories of the good times in her life involved her five friends in one form or another, and that was when it dawned on her, just like the sun was beginning to rise before her. Her friends were, and had become her life. Everything she had done in the past two years was with them, or for them. And they made it a great life, one worth truly living. With that thought, her anger seemed to evaporate instantly, like a puddle of rainwater on a hot, sunny day. She opened her eyes and saw the top of the sun was beginning to rise between the mountains, the rays like beams of light shooting up into the sky. She wore the most blissful smile on her face as she watched the sun rise. She now fully understood why Twilight was sent on her mission by Princess Celestia to study the magic of friendship.

Her friends had become her life. And with that thought, she had her vow. She looked up at the early morning sky and called out in Dragonian, “Jeg vil ikke kjempe for noen land. Jeg vil ikke kjempe for noen ledere. Jeg vil ikke kjempe for ære og rikdom. Istedenfor, så vil jeg kjempe for mine venner og deres familie. De er mer dyrbart for meg enn alt jeg eier og har, så jeg vil kjempe for dem, selv om min siste luft forlater mine lunger. Dette er mitt løfte som drageherre, og jeg vil holden den til den dagen jeg dør (I will not fight for any country. I will not fight for any leader. I will not fight for glory or riches. Instead, I will fight for my friends, and their families. They are more precious to me than anything I own, so I will fight them even as my last breathe parts my lips. That is my vow as a Dragonlord, and I will hold it until the day I die)!”

A strong, sudden breeze nearly swept Fluttershy off her hooves. It curled around her and sent a chill from her waist upwards, blowing her long mane into one of her eyes. Although any other pony would think it was coincidence, Fluttershy had seen too much to think that was just coincidence. Vidarr the First had given his own approval of her vow, and now she was held to it for life. She smiled and watched as the sun crept over the mountains.

An ear twitched at the sound of someone coming behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see Pinkie emerge from the trees, her eyes half open and some twigs and leaves in her poofy mane and tail. “Heya, Fluttershy,” she greeted her, stifling a yawn as she did so.

Fluttershy looked clearly back at her, and Pinkie could see the kind, loving eyes that she remembered from over a month back. “Hi, Pinkie,” Fluttershy greeted her back. “Did you sleep well?”

Pinkie moved to sit beside the pegasus to watch the sunrise with her. “Yeah, not to bad thanks. I would ask the same for you but you’re already awake so it would be a no, so tell me what’s up?”

Fluttershy looked from Pinkie back to sun, the blissful smile never leaving her face. “I think I just had a spiritual re-birth, Pinkie. My anger is now completely gone, and I haven’t felt this good in ages.”

“Now why would you want to get rid of your anger?” Pinkie asked.

“Because… because.” Fluttershy’s smile faded away and tears formed in her eyes. “Because I don’t want to lose you.”

“Whatever do ya mean, sugarcube?” Applejack’s voice came in. Fluttershy and Pinkie turned around to see Applejack, Twilight, Rainbow and Rarity looking at them.

“I noticed that you all fear me, and I don’t want to be feared by anyone, especially my own friends. I was worried I would lose you all because of it and… and I don’t think I could live without you, not anymore.”

The five friends looked at each other guiltily. “Fluttershy, if you weren’t the sweetest pony I know I would slap you for even thinking we would abandon you because of this,” Rarity said.

“Sugar, we’re not afraid of ya, we’re afraid for ya,” Applejack came in with a loving smile.

“But… you agreed with me that I changed for the worse,” Fluttershy argued.

“I agreed that ya changed, sugarcube, but I never said anything about it being for the worst,” Applejack pointed out.

“You didn’t need to. Your silence said more than words ever could.” Fluttershy’s head sank lower towards the ground as if gravity was pulling her head to it.

“Fluttershy, I said nothing because I was unsure of what to think of it,” Applejack said. “These changes you’re going through have happened so fast that it’s difficult to decide what to say about them yet. But don’t think for one second that we will stop being your friend because of them.”

“Darling,” Rarity explained, “there are some changes that happen in this world that are small, and easy to adjust to, like a new picture in the house. But others, like finding out you are part of a warrior order that’s been genetically augmented, is a massive change. One that could take years to adjust to.”

“But never think for a second you have to adjust to these changes alone,” Twilight said. The unicorn moved and sat next to the miserable pegasus. “Do you ever wonder why I was so quick to adjust to my new home in Ponyville?”

Fluttershy looked up. “Because you like the liberation you got out of it?”

Twilight shook her head. “Nope. I actually spent the first few nights in Ponyville crying myself to sleep because I missed home so much.” Fluttershy looked at Twilight in shock, as did the others. “But I quickly adjusted to my new life there because of six things.”

The unicorn placed her hooves on Fluttershy’s cheeks and gently lifted her head to face her. “I had you. I had Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity, Pinkie and Spike to help me get through what was a difficult moment for me. I adjusted quickly because of my friends, and that it was I hope to do for you, Fluttershy. I want to help you with these changes, and adapt your old life with them.”

“We care about you so much that it would take a thousand cakes to fill how much we care about you,” Pinkie went on. “But then we won’t be able to eat them because they are filled with how much we care about you and if we eat them then we won’t care about you anymore…” Pinkie went on rambling.

“Pinkie surprisingly has a point, though,” Rainbow said. “We do care about you so much, and we going to help you through what must be a nerve wracking time for you. Your nerves must be fighting themselves in there, it’s a surprise really that you haven’t fallen dead yet.”

“It’s what we’re here for. To help you out,” Twilight said with a smile. By now Fluttershy had lifted her head up and was looking at each of them with kind eyes and a bright smile.

“I know you are. I should’ve always known, I shouldn’t have even doubted you.” She hung her head low once again. “I’m sorry again for what happened yesterday. My father would’ve have been ashamed of me if he saw me. Can you forgive this bad-tempered, bird-brained pegasus?”

There were no words spoken, for the group squashed Fluttershy into a hug. “Oh, of course we forgive you, darling,” Rarity said.

“And you’re wrong,” Twilight added, “about your father, I mean. I’m sure he would be very proud of you. You realised your mistakes and learned from them. I’m sure that’s something he would be proud of.”

“Thanks, but… I think he would be proud of you all more,” Fluttershy responded. The six mares pulled away from each other, then sat side by side and watched as the sun rose between the mountains, shining its warming light down on the trees below, and making the river glisten as it rippled because of the wind. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Mmm hmm,” the five mares beside her responded, unable to say anything else. For some reason the sun looked more beautiful rising here than in Equestria.

“You know what, when we get back home we should do this more often,” Twilight suggested.

Applejack nodded in agreement. “I agree. Usually I don’t get a chance to watch the sunrise due to work. But I think I can spare a moment with you girls for something like this.”

“I’m usually asleep around then, but I could try getting up for this just for you guys,” Rainbow said.

“Ha! So you would rather watch a sunrise than help me do some work,” Applejack smirked.

“Yep, much more lazy and much more relaxing,” Rainbow smirked back. Silence reigned once more as the sun rose higher into the sky. All the ponies had smiles on their faces as it did so, none of them wanting to bring up the question about why they were here in the first place.

That is, until Twilight spoke. “Are you ready to face Heimdallr now, Fluttershy?”

The mood turned sombre at that moment. Everypony knew it had to happen at some point, even though they didn’t want it to. Fluttershy’s ears fell flat against her head and she sighed. “If we must.”

“Of course we do!” Pinkie shouted. “That no good meanie will kill us all if we did nothing!”

“Yeah,” Rainbow agreed, “and since you hate him so much, I thought you would be more keen on getting at him, for what he’s done.”

Fluttershy drew another long, sad sigh and looked at the ground. “I agree with if we did nothing then we will all die. But…”

Twilight tilted her head to the side on confusion. “But?”

“I can’t hate him anymore. My mind, my darker side, is screaming at me to hate him, but I can’t. I don’t like him, but if I do hate him, then I will become like him. A monster.”

Rarity placed a hoof on her cheek. “Oh, Fluttershy, sweetheart, I said this to you once before. You are not a monster, and never will be.”

Fluttershy looked up at her friend with a grim face. “Yesterday I nearly killed a horse begging for her life. If that’s not monstrous then I don’t know what is.” She moved away from the edge and made her way back to the main camp, leaving the others stunned as they processed what Fluttershy meant. “Are you all coming?!” Fluttershy’s voice echoed from the trees. They broke out of their daze and trotted away from the cliff edge, glancing back at the sun that dawned what could be their last day on Terra.

Chapter 18

This is it. Today was the day Fluttershy had been preparing herself for the past few days. Soon she will face Heimdallr in battle. She wasn’t doing this alone, and that gave her some small comfort, knowing her friends would be beside her when the time came.

As she waited for her friends to get ready, she sat on her haunches and looked at the picture of her mother and father. She smiled at them as they smiled at her with proud, loving eyes. Their faces made her wonder whether they would still be proud of her, whether or not her mother would approve of her new life, and whether she would be angry at Firewing for deceiving her on something so major like being a member of an order of warriors.

She wondered that if her father was still alive, or could talk to her for only a moment, what advice – if any – he would give to her. But she had to make do with her own advice, the advice he’d given her in the short time she knew him, and her friends.

She brought the medallion up to her face and kissed the heads of her mother and father on the picture. “I won’t let you down. Both of you,” she whispered to the picture. She closed it again and put it around her neck upon hearing her friends quieting down.

She lifted her head up to see them looking at her with determined, yet scared eyes. Fluttershy looked back at them the same way. She was terrified of what was about to happen; every nerve, every instinct that she had lived with for the twenty years of her life were screaming louder than ever before to run. But she kept a hold on them, and willed herself to move forward. “That, my child, is true bravery,” she heard her father’s voice whisper in her mind “Are we ready?” she asked.

The five ponies shook their heads. “Fluttershy, I’ve just realised we have a small problem,” Twilight said, stepping forward.

“Actually, it’s a pretty big one,” Rainbow corrected her.

Fluttershy cocked her head to the side. “What is it?”

“Well which way do we go?” Twilight asked, throwing her forelegs wide as if she was about to give her a hug. “We know where to go but we don’t know how to get there.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened when she realised Twilight was right. She looked to the ground first, wondering how were they going to get there without Thowra’s guidance. She briefly considered calling for Vidarr, knowing he wouldn’t be far away. But he wasn’t a taxi service, and she didn’t want him to be waiting outside Heimdallr’s prison forever.

Her head shot up once again and towards the sounds of war where the Palominan army had camped out, and were re-commencing their attack on the fortress. She wished it hadn’t come to this, but now she had no other choice. And as much as she despised the expression, it would be killing two birds with one stone. ‘I’m so sorry, Freya,’ she thought. She turned back to face the others. “Stay here. I won’t be long.” She spun around and galloped off into the bushes towards the Palominan camp, all the while her friends calling her to come back.

Freya pulled the flap of her tent open, walked in, and with an exasperated sigh collapsed onto the large pile of straw in the far left corner of her tent. The tent was the colour of blood, with golden stripes running along the sides and the roof. A map of the area rested on a small, wooden table in the far right corner that was too small for the whole thing so most of it rested on the muddy ground. Freya, however, didn’t care; this was the last held fortification the Andulusians controlled, and when it falls, the war would finally be over.

The cost, however, was terrible. This battle alone it was reported the losses were over a thousand, maybe even two thousand lay dead out there or in mass graves behind the baggage trains. But the fortress will eventually fall; they all knew that. It was only a matter of time.

The offensive against the south had been going quite well for the most part. They received a massive boost in morale and numbers when one of the Andulusian generals came to Castilian with a peace banner, proclaiming his allegiance to her, and his army of thousands. An hour later before she would give the order to move out another general came with a thousand of his fyrd. Although wary of them, she accepted them as one of her own, but refused for them to be part of the final war council, incase they suddenly turned.

With the increase of troops, Freya and Luthor agreed to split the army into two: one under Freya would head west and take the cities of Breton, and Fresia, while Luthor would head east and for Andulusia, and Hackney.

For Freya, taking Breton was a walk in the park – they had just opened the gates and surrendered themselves to her forces. Fresia was harder and a few horsecarls were lost in the fighting, as well as many of the fyrd. But the city fell after two days of resistance, and after leaving a small garrison of troops, she moved on into the Ramshead Range.

She’d learned in Fresia from a high ranking captive that Baroness Velenta held herself up in Ironhoof fortress, and decided to move quickly to take her before she escaped to raise an army someplace else. She moved her forces deep into the Ramshead Range, destroying all bridges and dams they came by to make crossing harder for those attempting to escape them, or outflank them. After many battles and skirmishes that were short but brutal they soon surrounded Ironhoof fortress, and in Freya’s haste, began the attack in earnest, hoping for a quick victory.

She sighed sadly as she realised her rash actions got so many horses killed. The first day was a disaster; not a single horse made it to the walls, and all siege towers were destroyed and burned. On the second day they fared better; a hole in the wall was made and allowed her army to get inside, but was zealously defended by the Andulusians, who forced them to retreat. The third day they managed to get inside and hold the first section of the fortress, and by the time the sun fell they managed to hold the outer and middle sections.

Now, it was the forth day, and what Freya hoped to be the last. Her ears twitched at the sound of a voice outside, and turned her head around to see the newcomer. A young creamy stallion entered, sweat pouring from his face after having galloped hard, and a large bag hung on his right side. He bowed his head. “Milady, a message from Luthor.”

Freya’s heart beat a little faster at the mention of her second in command – she had not heard from him since they’d left Castilian many days ago. She got up and took the letter from his bag with her teeth. “Thank you, young sir. Go and rest in one of the tents. And please, help yourself to some food.”

The young horse bowed his head once more. “Milady,” he said, then spun around and cantered to where the food was being prepared. She set herself back onto her stomach and opened up the letter. As she scanned the letter her eyes widened in delight.

Luthor had taken Andulusia easily – there was noone there to fight him in the first place. Her eyes widened as he explained the horror of what he’d found there. After burying all of the dead, he’d moved on towards Hackney. He didn’t make it very far when his forces ran into a large number of Andulusians heading east in the hope to attack Freya’s forces from behind. The battle was large and savage and he lost a good number of his regiments, but he emerged victorious. After taking a moment to lick their wounds, they moved and seized Hackney after a brutal fight that ended with the destruction of Hackney – the city was burned to the ground under the Jarl’s orders so that it couldn’t fall into the wrong hooves.

Freya chuckled at that. A city was made of wood, and stone, and could easily be re-built. A horse, however, cannot. She looked back at the letter and saw where Luthor was planning to go next; he was coming to Ironhoof fortress to reinforce her, and would arrive within days. She sighed happily and rested her head on the ground. Despite the numerous casualties, the horrific battles that will plague her dreams for the rest of her life, it was coming to an end. The war was nearly over; Freya had won. “I wish Thowra was here to see it, though,” she said to herself.

She suddenly noticed a shadow of something just behind the tent. She quickly took her sword from her desk and pointed it towards the shadow. “Who are you?” she asked the shadow. “Show yourself?”

“Freya?” The high, angelic voice of an old friend made Freya’s heart skip a beat. She put the sword down and pulled the tent side up. She gasped for joy when she saw the yellow pegasus pony on the other side.

“Fluttershy, is that really you?”

With a wide, false grin Fluttershy nodded. The pegasus opened her mouth to speak but before she could she was gripped in a tight hug from Freya. The horse pulled Fluttershy back inside the tent and away from prying eyes. “I can’t believe it!” she cried in joy, spinning around. “Oh I missed you, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy gripped onto her tighter, even as she was dreading what was to come. “I missed you too, Freya.”

Freya’s joyful expression faded when she heard the tone of her friend’s voice. She let go of Fluttershy and looked her in the eye. “You don’t sound like it, though.” Fluttershy’s ears folded across her head and she looked to the ground. “What is it, what’s wrong?” Freya asked.

Fluttershy didn’t want to do this; she didn’t want to be the one to do this, but she had to. It would be cruel to keep Freya in the dark forever. She took a deep breath and looked back at her with sad eyes. “I’ve got something to tell you.”

“What is it?” Freya asked, her tone expressing her fear and concern.

Fluttershy took another deep breath and said, “It’s about Thowra.”

Freya thought her heart had just stopped. She didn’t to be told any more – she knew what Fluttershy was going to say the moment she said his name. Fluttershy saw this in her eyes and moved on with his messages. “He said he loved you, and… he told me to tell you that… he… he died well,” Fluttershy said softly. She put a hoof on Freya’s cheek. “I’m sorry, I am so sorry.”

Freya suddenly burst into tears. Fluttershy wrapped her forelegs around her and held her tight, rubbing her back in circles as she comforted the old horse. Fluttershy felt her own eyes begin to moisten, but she refused to let them spill. After a long time, Freya’s tears stopped flowing and her breathing relaxed a little. She pulled away from Fluttershy and blinked several times to clean her eyes. “Where did he die?”

“In the Ramshead Mountain,” Fluttershy replied, her tone solemn. “We were attacked by a horde of draugen inside while trying to find this object. We all fought and managed to fight our way out and escape, but… Thowra’s wounds were too great, and he didn’t survive. I’m sorry, Freya. If I could’ve done something to save him I would have, but… I couldn’t.”

Freya sighed. “I’m never going to blame you. Did Thowra ever tell you that he wanted to die?” Fluttershy nodded. “Did he tell you why?” Again, Fluttershy nodded. “I know I shouldn’t cry for him. He was a slayer and when he took the mark he was dead to begin with.”

“Slayer or not, he was still your cousin, Freya,” Fluttershy said, placing a hoof on her cheek. “You have every reason to weep for him.”

Suddenly the tent entrance flapped open and a horse in chainmail armour strode in. “My lady, we’ve just taken five prisoners coming towards the camp. They appear to be Equestrians to my eyes.”

Freya looked at the horse oddly, then back to Fluttershy, whose eyes widened in alarm. “Do you know them?” Freya asked.

Fluttershy nodded meekly, then lifted her head to face the horse. “Did you hurt them?” she asked, trying to sound calm but it came out as a threatening growl.

The horse looked nervous upon meeting Fluttershy’s gaze. He quickly shook his head. “Uh, no, miss, we just bound them and left them out there.” He indicated with a hoof outside the tent. His eyes widened when he realised who he was talking to. “Hold on, you’re a Equestrian! How did you get inside this tent?!”

Fluttershy ignored the question. She quickly got up and raced passed the soldier and out into the open. In front of the tent were her five friends, their legs and Rainbow’s wings tied together with rope, and their weapons and saddlebags had been removed. “You better untie me now, or I swear I will-” Rainbow threatened them. She stopped when she saw Fluttershy emerge from the tent.

She looked at them with a mixture of relief and annoyance. “What are you all doing here? I told you all to stay at the clearing.”

The five ponies’ ears fell flat against their heads. “We’re sorry, Fluttershy, but we wanted to make sure you were safe,” Applejack said.

Freya emerged from the tent a second later, having taken a moment to wipe her eyes and compose herself. She looked at each of the five ponies, and then looked at Fluttershy. “Who are these ponies?”

Fluttershy began introducing them with a hoof pointing at each. “These are my friends from Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack.”

Freya looked at her with surprised eyes, then turned and smiled warmly at them, her eyes moving from pony to pony. “Soldier, release them of their bonds. I don’t think they are necessary, or polite.”

The soldier bowed his head, and then proceeded to cut the binds off their legs and wings. “Yeah, you do that,” Rainbow growled, glaring at him as he cut away the ropes around her wings.

“I have to say, from what I heard from Fluttershy I thought you would all be a bit older, with what you have done and all,” Freya said with a chuckle. “I am Freya Palomino, queen of Horsca, and it is a pleasure to meet you, and a surprise, I might add.”

The five ponies lowered their heads to bow, but Freya stopped them with a shake of her hoof. “That will not be necessary here, Equestrians. Friends of Fluttershy are friends of mine.” She turned to the other horse that was standing guard over them; she was a black horse with a white mark running across her face to her nostrils. “I would like a team of horses to head into and around the Ramshead Mountain to find and retrieve my cousin’s body,” she said, trying to keep a strong face but her lips were trembling all the while. Fluttershy flew into the air and patted her shoulder in comfort.

The horse bowed her head. “I will get on with it straight away, milady.”

She made her way to gallop into camp when Fluttershy stopped her. “There’s a large boulder in the way of the entrance,” she informed the mare, “on the northern side of the mountain. You can’t miss it.”

The horse nodded her thanks, then spun around and galloped into the camp, leaving the queen of Horsca with the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. “I apologise for any rough treatment you received when you were brought here, ponies,” Freya said. “As you can see, we’re in a bit of rough situation.”

“You’re telling me,” Rainbow muttered. She was about to go on but a glare from Fluttershy told her to keep quiet about going inside the fortress.

“But I can’t help but be curious as to why you are here,” Freya added. “Surely you must have heard the sounds of battle from miles away, and yet you came closer rather than further, like any sane equine would have done.”

“Um… actually,” Fluttershy spoke up. “The reason, well, two reasons actually, we came here was to find you.”

Freya looked flattered. “You came all this way to find me and tell me about Thowra?” Before Fluttershy could continue Freya gripped her in another tight hug. “You really didn’t have to do that.”

“It would have been wrong to keep you in the dark for so long. But I’m afraid that wasn’t the only reason we came to see you,” Fluttershy said, pulling away to look her in the eye. “Please know that I was against this from the start. I asked so much of you already and I didn’t want to ask anymore from you. But now, I have no other choice.” She looked towards the ground, unsure of how Freya would react.

Freya looked confused. “What do you need?”

Fluttershy looked back up, locking her eyes with Freya’s. “Me and my friends need to get to the Horscan Sea, but we don’t know where to go. So I was wondering if you could point us in the right direction.”

Freya looked at Fluttershy emotionlessly for a moment, and then smiled. “Follow me,” she said, gesturing with her head.

“Give us a moment. We just need to get out stuff together,” Twilight said, darting to where her sword and saddlebag was and began attaching them to her leg and back respectively. The others followed suite and set about putting on their swords, Rainbow putting around her waist her quiver of bolts, and placing their saddlebags on their backs.

Once they were ready, they followed Freya away from the fortress and down the dirt road they found yesterday beside the river they used to get into the fortress. They followed the road for around ten minutes, every few minutes or so passing a horse going towards the fortress with a large bag on his or her back filled with supplies.

Eventually they arrived at what looked like a harbour. The ten or so quays that lined the river were crudely built with trees that were cut down from the woods, and fastened together with large rope that made the place a tripping hazard. Tied up to seven of these quays was a row of ships: four of them were large longships with a single sail at the centre, a bow shaped like a ram’s head, and beautiful paintings of krakens, sirens, and other sea monsters that dwell in the deep adorned their hulls. Two were the larger supply ships, stronger in design but slower. Each had three sails: one at each end and one in the middle, and two levels for the vast number of supplies they had to carry. And the last one was a miniature version of a longship, albeit without the decorations on the hull. If they were sentient beings, then it would be the child of two of the longship harboured here. “That one is so cute,” Fluttershy said, pointing to it. The five ponies behind her rolled their eyes.

Freya looked at her oddly. “How can you think a ship of war as cute?”

“I think anything that’s small looks cute,” Fluttershy explained. “Anyway, why are we here?”

Freya ignored the question, or didn’t hear it, but instead turned her attention to an appaloosan coloured horse who had her back turned to her and was shouting in the foulest language any horse had ever heard. “Admiral Horsa?”

The horse immediately stopped his ranting and spun around on the spot, his head low and his ears flat. Behind him, the horses he was shouting at breathed a sigh of relief and quickly made their escape. “My lady, forgive me for my foul mouth,” he said. His voice was deep yet gruff.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve lived long enough to hear every foul word in the Horscan language, but these ponies haven’t.” She pointed to the six ponies behind her, who looked horrified and confused by what they had just heard.

“What did those words mean?” Twilight asked curiously.

“It’s best you don’t ask,” Freya replied.

“Apologies once more, my lady,” Horsa said. He raised his head once more. “If your visit’s about the slow arrival of the supplies, I can explain.”

“It isn’t about that, fortunately for you. I would like to know if that Karvi is being used at the moment?” Freya pointed to the little ship beside her.

“Oh, that little thing. That thing’s useless now for what you want, Lady Freya.”

“It’s not for me. It’s for them.” She turned around and looked at the six ponies behind her, who were taken aback by the gift.

“Well, if they want it, they can help themselves to it. Anything else, my lady?” Freya shook her head. Horsa bowed his head and turned around to give the horses he was shouting at a further scolding, but his face went red with anger when he saw they were gone. “When I find those five foals I’m gonna…” He trotted further down the quay, shouting out his threats.

“We can’t take this, Freya,” Fluttershy said, stepping forward. “All I ask for is the directions, nothing else.”

“You’ll need it to get into the Horscan Sea, Fluttershy,” Freya said. “To get there you will have to follow this river down current, past the fortress and keep going until you see a wall of mountains with a opening. Behind those mountains is the Horscan Sea. However, I’m afraid if you leave now it will take you till evening to get there.” Fluttershy’s ears flattened upon hearing that, but she had no other way of getting there quicker – other than Vidarr, of course. But she didn’t want to ask him anymore than she needed.

“Thank you, Freya,” Twilight said from behind her. “Come on, everypony, let’s get this boat ready for sail.”

“Um, Twilight,” Rainbow said, flying up to her side. “What about the fact we’ll be going against the current? Surely this ship won’t be able to do it, especially with the wind this strong.” Rainbow had a point; the wind wasn’t strong enough to be considered a gale, but was going in the opposite direction they needed to go, and it would make rowing a bit more difficult.

“It got up here all right, Rainbow,” Twilight said. “I’m sure it would be alright going a bit further.”

“True, but this ship had horses stronger than bulls coming here,” Applejack said. “We’re meek and little compared to them. I don’t think we could row this ship all the way the Horscan Sea and back.”

“We won’t have to,” Twilight assured her with a grin. “I’ve got it completely under control.” Twilight turned back around and jumped onto the little boat, followed by Applejack, the Pinkie, and finally Rarity.

Fluttershy watched her friends jump on board, and then looked back at Freya with concern. She didn’t like the idea of leaving the now grieving mare here alone, but she had to bring Heimdallr down first. “Will you be okay?”

Freya lowered her eyes and shook her head. “Do you have to go?” The tone of Freya’s voice made her sound like she was pleading for Fluttershy to stay.

Fluttershy jumped up and wrapped her forelegs around the mare’s neck. “I wish I could say I don’t. That we were going there for a weekend to relax and bathe in the sun. But I would be lying if I said that, and I hate lying. I have no other choice but to go.”

“But why?” Freya asked. “What’s so important there that you must get there?”

“I wish I could say, Freya,” Fluttershy replied. “But it’s complicated.”

“Then maybe you can tell me later,” Freya said, with a little smile. “When you return to Castilian.”

Fluttershy wished she could say that she was looking forward to it, but a part of her was saying this would be a one-way trip. She let go of Freya and took a few steps back. “Goodbye for now, Freya,” she said, her eyes sad.

Freya bowed her head. “Goodbye for now, Fluttershy.” With that, Fluttershy turned around and trotted onto the boat, her head held high and trying to keep a positive and strong demeanour in her trot, but every inch forward felt like someone had a rope around her neck and was pulling her forward, tightening her throat and making her unable to breathe.

She jumped onto the boat and Applejack untied the rope holding the ship to the quay. “So who’s going to row first?” Fluttershy asked.

“Noone needs to row,” Twilight replied with a grin. “I’ve got this one.” She spread her forelegs out and lowered her front half of her body towards the ground. She closed her eyes, and concentrating on the come to life spell that she had trained hard to control for so long, began to cast it from the magenta glow of her horn.

The ship suddenly had a magenta hue around its hull, sail and bridge. With a sudden lurch the ship began to move forward, sailing as if it was going with the wind and the current. “Be careful, all of you!” Freya called to them as they began to pick up speed.

“We will,” Fluttershy called back. “Thanks again!” The six ponies waved to the old mare, who waved back until they rounded the bend and out of sight.

Just as the ship disappeared from view, a white horse with a black mane and a black and grey tail galloped up to Freya and stopped just inches from her, his head low and his voice excited and quick. “Lady Freya, victory is yours!” he beamed. “The remaining Andulusian soldiers have surrendered and the fortress is completely in our possession!”

Freya’s eyes lit up in delight. It was truly the first good news she’d heard all day. “And what of the Baroness?” she asked. “Is she still alive?” The stallion’s ears flattened against his head. Freya didn’t need to be told anymore. “How?”

“At first we thought it was these wounds she had on her side and chest,” the stallion said. “But then we found a empty box of sleeping tablets. She must have taken a very heavy dose, my lady, for what happened to her.”

Freya nodded in understanding, until she realised what he had said at first. “Wounds?” she asked with a quizzical look.

The stallion nodded. “Yeah, a large slash across her left side and one right across her chest. When I had a look at them I realised any weapon a horse can carry couldn’t have caused them. The one across her chest looked like a shark’s been biting into her.”

“Have you asked the Andulusian soldiers whether or not one of them killed her just to be in our good books?”

“Yes,” the stallion answered with a nod. “Although, asked is a bit timid for the way we did it. But they all said they were all fighting out front and noone was with the Baroness throughout the afternoon and evening, except for General Crastus but we found him dead with the pigs. But I believe the wounds caused were not enough to be considered fatal.”

Freya nodded, confused about the wounds but otherwise unconcerned. ‘What’s done is done.’ She put on a big smile and said, “It matters not, and whatever was the cause of death, it does not change what has happened here. The war is finally over, young stallion.”

“Is there anything you need of me, Lady Freya?” he asked.

“First, find Admiral Horsa and tell him I need a ship to take me back to Castilian; I need to prepare for my cousin’s funeral. Secondly, send a messenger to General Luthor to inform him of the war’s end, and that I command his army to disband and return to their homes with extra pay. And finally, head back to the fortress and tell the captains I have ordered that the prisoners are to be escorted from the fortress and taken to Castilian where they would await trial to see if they can be loyal, and the army will be disbanded with extra pay for their actions.”

The stallion smiled and bowed his head once more. “It will be done as you instruct, Lady Freya.” He veered away from her and galloped into the harbour to look for the foul-mouthed admiral, while Freya made her way back to the camp.

Freya felt like she could skip back to the camp. The war was finally over! The war was finally over! Those words were running through her mind faster than a falcon going into a dive. She slowed down into a slow walk when she remembered Thowra and that she wished he had been here to see such a thing. Their family have been fighting to defend the north for many years, and now they were free from Andulusian tyranny, and it was all thanks to a ticked off dragon and a quickly put together plan.

She shook such thoughts out of head and broke into a canter back to the camp. She can focus on her cousin’s loss when she got back to Castilian. What mattered now was planning on rebuilding a re-united nation.

The ship made its way down the river and a calm, yet quick speed. It had been many long hours since they left Freya and the war of Horsca behind them, and had returned to the tranquillity of the Horscan countryside. Bushy breasted birds fluttered on their perches, disturbed by the sudden appearance of a ship and six small equines. A fox that was taking a drink scurried away into the trees on sight of the ship coming close to the riverbank. Just as it looked like it was going to plough into it, it swerved about and straightened its course once again.

“Sorry, sorry!” Twilight whispered after the tenth time that had happened since they left. Fluttershy didn’t really care; her mind was too occupied of what would happen at the end of this boat trip. Her final battle with Heimdallr was in the Horscan Sea and every inch towards it was more agonising than the wound she received from the soldier on her first day in Horsca.

She stood at the prow of the ship, leaning over the side to look at the multitudes of fish that swarmed around the hull, picking off bits that they considered food. She wondered if they worried about the world they lived in, if they knew about some events that happened in their country or other countries and worried about what it might mean to them. She knew they were probably oblivious to the threat they were facing at the moment, the one only her and her friends now knew, so it was probably for the best that they didn’t know.

“Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream. If you see a crocodile, don’t forget to scream,” Pinkie sang, before letting out a high-pitched scream. She was lying with her back against the mast, looking rather relaxed. Fluttershy looked back at her with a perplexed look; she couldn’t understand how she could be like that when this could be their last day on this world.

Applejack and Rarity were sleeping on a bench each, their legs tucked beneath their stomachs and looked peaceful. When Fluttershy had told them it would take all day and into some of the evening, Applejack and Rarity decided to get some shut-eye to preserve their strength. While Rainbow had flown ahead to scout for them and hadn’t returned since; in all honesty it was making Fluttershy worried about where she’d gone, and if she was all right.

“Hey, Fluttershy,” Twilight said quietly, moving next to her and leaning against the edge of the hull. “What are you looking at?”

“Oh, just some fish who was eating some chunks of this stuff off the hull of the ship. I’d hoped it would take my mind off what’s coming. As you can see.” She lifted a hoof and Twilight could see it was shaking violently with fear. “No luck so far.”

Twilight smiled comfortingly at her, and then placed her hoof on Fluttershy’s. The pegasus could feel Twilight’s rather warm hoof shake with her own, but she found it to be slightly comforting. “Thanks,” she said, a small blush appearing. “You’re doing good work with the ship, by the way.”

Twilight blushed and waved her free hoof modestly. “Oh, I’m not that great. I mean I nearly crashed the ship into the bank about a hundred times.”

“Well, I counted ten times. But the keyword here is ‘nearly’. You’re doing well so far, so keep it up and we should get there.”

“I bet you don’t want to get there, though. Do you?”

After a moment of silence, Fluttershy shook her head. “I wish I had nothing to do with him, Twilight. But I just can’t ignore the threat he is to everything I hold dear.”

Twilight nodded in understanding, then looked back at the ripples flowing from the ship as it made its way across the river. “Actually there is something I wanted to talk to you about. Well, two things actually,” Twilight said.

Fluttershy looked up from the river. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Well… you see, I was wondering if you were ever interested in writing a book?”

Fluttershy tilted her head slightly to the right. “Well, there has been sometimes where I thought about doing one, to see if I could do it. But I was always put off by the amount of attention authors received, and I didn’t think I could cope with that, so it was always thrown aside. Why do you ask?”

“I was thinking… if it’s okay with you, that when we get back to Ponyville, maybe you and I could start writing about the Dragonlord’s history. From what you’ve learnt and what you told me, I just couldn’t believe noone had ever heard of them, and I was hoping you and I could change that. These warriors had done so much that they deserve to be at least commemorated for their actions. Not to mention it would be utterly fascinating for ponies who’s in to that sort of thing,” Twilight explained.

Fluttershy looked at her with wide eyes and a parted mouth throughout her explanation. “I agree that they should be known for what they did,” she answered after a while, “and I don’t think there’s any rule saying that there shouldn’t be a book about them. I’ll think about it and see what happens. It sounds like a nice idea, though.”

The two fell silent for a moment as they watched the world go by them. Fluttershy’s eyes moved to a family of swallows nestling in one of the trees closest to the river. The one perched on the trunk had beautiful light blue-green feathers that seemed to glitter in the sunlight. “What was the other thing you were wondering about?” Fluttershy broke the silence.

Twilight pawed the deck of the ship with a hoof as she tried to come up with what she wanted to say. “You know you said that night you lost your father. When you said you killed that reman…” Twilight stopped when she saw Fluttershy wince.

“I… I never wanted to kill him,” Fluttershy said, the pain of that memory still fresh in her mind. She looked away. “It was an accident… I never…”

Twilight put her free hoof on her shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay, I’m not judging you about it.”

Fluttershy looked her way again. “You’re not?”

Twilight shook her head. “Of course not. You did it to save your father I completely understand that. No, I wanted to ask you how it felt.”

Fluttershy looked confused. “Felt?”

Twilight nodded. “I’ve read so many books where the main character kills someone for the first time, and each character feels a different emotion,” she explained. “Some feel shock and sick at doing such a thing, some feel joy at doing it, and others feel saddened by it. But since they were fiction I didn’t really think they were correct. So I was wondering what you felt at doing such a thing?”

Fluttershy nodded as she began to understand what she was asking. She looked back at the river and began to think of the emotions that ran through her at the time. “I think it’s really a combination of all three,” she answered eventually. She looked once again at Twilight, who looked surprised at the answer. “I was shocked at first when I did it, realising I took a life when all I wanted was to help life, not destroy it. Then I felt sadness because of it, then finally joy as I realised in doing what I did I saved my father.” She looked away from the unicorn and back towards the water. “Even so, I feel… scarred by it. Tainted, as it were. Should I feel that?”

Twilight shifted herself closer to comfort the mare, her hoof never removing itself from Fluttershy’s. “I don’t think so. You did what was necessary and you knew your father for longer than you would have if you did nothing.”

Fluttershy looked at Twilight for a moment, and then sighed. “All the same, it was a feeling I never want to have again.”

“But you’re going to have to,” Twilight pointed out. “If we’re facing Heimdallr today.”

“Not if I find another way,” Fluttershy said, much to Twilight’s surprise.

“You… don’t want to kill him anymore?” Fluttershy nodded in reply. “But, you said that night you lost your father there was no other way. In fact, you didn’t want there to be any other way.”

“That was when I was stricken with grief, and rage,” Fluttershy said, moving a part of her mane out of her face and behind her ear. “I let my anger do the thinking, and according to the rules of the Dragonlords I was dooming myself to become like him.”

Twilight snorted. “You two have nothing in common, and never will. Even so, you’re a better pony than I am. I would stop at nothing until he’s dead if he killed any of my family, or my friends.”

Fluttershy stayed silent for a moment. “Do you know why Heimdallr began his war of genocide?” Fluttershy asked. Twilight shook her head. “Because he lost his son in the Great War. The war was dragging on and he had had enough. So he ordered his dragons to oppress the races involved to stop the war, but it failed, and in the process he lost his son to ponies. He was then sent in exile for breaking the dragon’s code, and turned away and shunned when he needed comfort. He was so overcome with grief and rage that he began to hate everything, and that was how Heimdallr was born.”

Twilight gaped at Fluttershy with a look of disbelief on her face. “I… I can’t believe that. How can anyone be that cruel and turn away from someone who needs help?”

“It was a dark, and cruel time, Twilight.” She let out a sigh and stared back at her reflection at the river. “So you see, we have more in common than you thought.”

Twilight leaned over and looked at her reflection, and then Fluttershy’s. “There is one thing that you seem to have forgotten.” Fluttershy looked back at her friend. “Heimdallr had noone to turn to after his son died, and noone to help him through a difficult time. But you have us.” She indicated with her free hoof to the three ponies lying on the deck before them.

Fluttershy looked at them with a small smile, then back at Twilight. “I haven’t forgotten about you. How could I forget about you? I’m grateful for all of you for wanting to come with me. And thank you, Twilight. You always know what to say to comfort me, and all of us.”

Twilight smiled and waved a hoof modestly. “You’re welcome.” The two friends fell silent once more and watched as another school of fish appeared beside the ship, then dashed forward and was gone faster than a lightning strike.

“Hey, lovebirds,” a voice came from behind them. The two ponies turned around to see Rainbow Dash sitting on the deck with a large grin on her face. “Ha ha, you answered to that,” she pointed at them. “So how long have you two been going out?”

Twilight and Fluttershy looked at each other, then back at her incredulously. “We aren’t in a romantic relationship, Rainbow,” Twilight said. Fluttershy beside her nodded in agreement, even as she tried to fight a blush of embarrassment.

Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. “Oh really? Then explain the holding hooves.”

“She was comforting me when she saw my hoof shaking,” Fluttershy explained. She held her hoof up and Rainbow saw it was shaking like a leaf on a tree during a gale.

“Relax, you two, I was only joking,” Rainbow said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. She moved up alongside them and leant up against the side. “I can pretty much understand why she was doing that. I imagine your nerves must be at breaking point or something by now.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. “They are, but I’m keeping them in check at the moment. Anyway, where did you go? I was beginning to wonder where you were.”

“I went ahead and had a look at the Horscan Sea,” Rainbow replied. “It truly is a breath-taking place. Calm as the sky on a summer’s day, like Thowra said it was. It’s hard to believe that a battle took place there once.”

“Yeah, and today another will take place there, this time under the sea,” Fluttershy said. She looked ahead to see the two mountains that were still many miles away, standing apart from each other like towers to a gatehouse. ‘They are a gatehouse,’ Fluttershy thought. ‘A gatehouse to Heimdallr’s prison.’ She felt a knot tie in her stomach as they inched closer, and wished they could make this ship go a little faster so they can get it over and done with. But it wouldn’t be fair on Twilight.

“So you were wondering where I was, huh?” Rainbow asked with a little grin. “Were you worrying about me?”

Fluttershy looked back at her with a concerning look. “I always worry about you, Rainbow Dash. I worry about all of my friends.”

Rainbow chuckled, and flung a hoof over Fluttershy’s shoulders. “And it’s vice versa for me.”

Fluttershy suddenly felt Rainbow’s leg across her shoulders shake. “Rainbow, you’re trembling.”

Rainbow grinned re-assuredly, and removed the leg from Fluttershy’s shoulders. “It’s alright, I’m just a bit cold, that’s all.” Fluttershy raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Rainbow sighed. “Alright, I’m a little scared as well.”

“There’s no shame in being scared, Rainbow,” Twilight said. “I imagine we all are.”

Rainbow nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” The three ponies fell silent once more as they watched a family of otters sit by the riverbank, watching them pass and waiting for them to leave, so they could dive in and get their dinners.

“How much longer do you think it will take us to get there, Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow’s forehead furrowed in thought as she remembered how long it took her to get there, and then taking a moment to see how fast the ship was going. “Well, judging by the speed of this tortoise of a ship,” she answered. “And the fact that the sun has begun its descent, I would say the ship would get there between early to mid-evening.”

Fluttershy’s ears fell flat against her head and she sighed sadly. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy, but I don’t think I could get this ship to go any faster,” Twilight said.

Fluttershy looked at her and smiled comfortingly. “Don’t worry about it. It wouldn’t be fair on you if you could.” She looked back across the riverbank. “So what do we do while we wait?”

“How about,” Twilight answered instantly, “we plan out what we’re going to do when we get there. And when we have to face Heimdallr. With a plan at our side, what can possibly go wrong?”

Fluttershy fought down an unwanted urge to punch Twilight for saying those words. All she did instead was groan and plant a hoof on her face. Rainbow, on the other hoof, looked like she had lost the will to live. “Well, that’s it. There is absolutely no chance of us winning now. If anypony needs me, I’ll be in Paradise,” Rainbow said, bringing her bracelet up so the blade can across her throat. Fluttershy quickly brought her hoof up, and tried to pull the bracelet away. She stopped when Rainbow started laughing. “Relax, Fluttershy, I was only joking. I doubt the sword would even come out to kill its own master.” She moved her hoof out of the way of the slit for the blade to come out, and brought it up to her throat to see if it would work. Despite several attempts, the blade wouldn’t come out. “See, harmless to me.” She smiled assuredly at Fluttershy. “Thank you, though, for trying to stop me.”

“Yo-you’re… welcome,” Fluttershy responded, slightly confused at the thank you. “Now go and start waking the others for our war council.” Rainbow saluted, and trotted off to wake Pinkie, while Fluttershy turned to Twilight. “A war council sounds like an excellent idea, Twilight. But say those words again, and I will push you into the Horscan Sea myself when we get there.”

Twilight tilted her head to the side, completely oblivious to what she just said. “What words?”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. “You know, the ones that say that nothing could go wrong, when now there is a huge chance that everything can go wrong!” she fumed.

“Oh.” Twilight’s ears flattened against her head and her eyes lowered towards the ground. “Sorry.”

Fluttershy relaxed and gave her a friendly smile. She couldn’t stay mad at her friends for long, no matter how hard she tried. “It’s okay, I forgive you.”

The two ponies turned around when they heard Rainbow shouting in Pinkie’s ears and shaking her like a sack by the shoulder’s. “Come on, Pinkie, we need to get ready for a war council!” When she had finished, Pinkie’s eyes were spinning and she felt like she was going to be sick. “That was for when you woke me up the morning we left Canterlot,” Rainbow said, with a sharp nod of her head.

Twilight and Fluttershy shook their heads displeasingly. “Kids these days,” Twilight complained. Fluttershy nodded in agreement. “You wake Rarity, I wake Applejack?” Fluttershy agreed, and went off to go to Rarity, with Twilight close behind her to wake Applejack.

About half an hour later the six mares were sitting in a circle, with some small pebbles Twilight found below some of the benches to represent them, and one large one to represent Heimdallr. “Okay,” Twilight began, “Rainbow said that we should be there in about a few more hours, so I thought we should make a war council so we could have some idea of what to do when we face him. This is going to be difficult without the Elements of Harmony with us, but I know we can do it if we do what we always do; work together.” The five ponies around her nodded as confidently as they could in the present situation.

“Out of curiosity, what do ya think the Elements would have done to Heimdallr if we had them with us?” Applejack asked, lifting her hoof up as if she was in class.

Twilight shrugged. “Don’t know. Freeze him in stone, probably.”

“That’s well and all,” Fluttershy came in. “But that will only last while we live, after that then the spell will start to break. It is probably best if we find a way to bring him down. Permanently.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “So this is what I came up with.” With her magic, she moved two of the pebbles so that they were floating above the large pebble. “Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, if there’s enough room for both of you to fly, you could take him from above, with Fluttershy delivering the fatal blows since her father’s sword is the only one that could easily finish him. If not, then fly low around him and then when he’s low, strike at his head.” She moved the remaining four pebbles in a line in front of the giant pebble. “Fluttershy, those keys Starswirl made. Do you think they would affect other magic casters as well, rather than just Heimdallr?”

Fluttershy looked behind her at the five keys that were arrayed in a line, each with the emblem of the Dragonlord order in front of it, and each beginning to give off a faint, fiery glow as the day was starting to dim. There was a lot of blood spilled to get these, and she hoped that they were worth it. “I’m not sure, Twilight,” she answered, looking back at her friend. “They could do, but my father said Starswirl built them to only affect Heimdallr’s magic abilities, so then again they might not. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”

“That’s okay. In any case I’ve planned for both possibilities. If me and Rarity will be able to cast magic, we will stand at the sides and fire beams of light at him, hopefully blinding him and distracting him from Rainbow and Fluttershy. If not, then we would attack from the sides and hit his wings, belly, tail, you get the idea.” She paused for breath, and then shifted the two representing Applejack and Pinkie forward a little. “While you two will attack from the front. Pinkie, with your faster than light reflexes, and Applejack, with your strength, you should keep Heimdallr busy while we take the sides. With him distracted from the front, the sides, the rear, and the top, we will surely take him down.”

Fluttershy’s jaw hung off her mouth as she realised how sound Twilight’s plan was. “That was… impressive,” she commented. “And you came up with that in half an hour?”

“Well, no,” Twilight replied, with a small blush growing. “I’ve been thinking about how we could take him down for a while. I just thought now would be a appropriate time to bring it up.”

“It’s certainly a impressive plan, nonetheless,” Applejack said with a confident grin. “With a plan like that, what could-” Before she could finish, the five ponies immediately jumped on top of her.

For the next five hours the ship made its slow, yet steady way up the river, with the six ponies on board practising with their swords and crossbows, and steeling themselves for the coming battle. The duels with the swords were a one-sided contest when Fluttershy took part, as she brought them all in a yielding position in less than a minute. The duels with her friends took her mind off the eventual battle with Heimdallr for a while, but only for a little while.

As well as duelling, Fluttershy watched the sun begin its agonisingly slow descent over the horizon, and the mountains that held the Horscan Sea together getting closer and closer, until the low light from the sun made them as black as shadows and barely visible. When they disappeared she looked down at the river, watching the ripples from the ship as it ploughed through the river.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight said next to her, shaking her left shoulder with a hoof. She couldn’t recall how long she had been looking at the water, but it must have been for a long time, for when she looked up the sun had completely gone and the stars had begun to appear. Fluttershy looked around to see her friend looking scared. “We’re here.”

Fluttershy looked up and around her to see she was right. Between the ship the two mountains stood, higher than the mountain that Canterlot rested upon, with their slopes steep and treacherous. The sight of the mountains made the knot in Fluttershy’s stomach tighten as they went beyond them and out into the Horscan Sea itself. She looked from the mountains to the sea itself and gasped.

It was as Rainbow had described it – breathtaking. The sea was as calm as the sky on a summer’s day, with a bright, clear reflection of the moon illuminating the water. Around them, mountains arranged together like a city wall penned the sea in, and were illuminated a dark grey by the extraordinary bright moonlight. ‘Luna must know we are here and what we’re up to,’ Fluttershy thought. ‘So now she’s helping us by lighting the way.’

“Say, Twilight,” Applejack said, “I just thought of a great idea as part of your plan.” Twilight turned around to listen to what she had to say, as did Fluttershy. “How about we bundle Heimdallr’s head and give him a nasty headache?!” She placed a hoof to her head and groaned.

Twilight rolled her eyes. It had been at least five hours when the five ponies bundled Applejack to stop her from saying the most accursed words known to ponydom. “I can’t believe you’re still sour about that.”

“You try having five rather heavy ponies on top of ya and see how ya feel like afterwards!”

Fluttershy lowered her ears and walked up to her earth pony friend, her eyes confessing her guilt. “I’m really sorry about that, Applejack. I didn’t want it to go as far as it did. I’m sorry about the headache as well.”

Applejack looked at her for a moment, then smiled comfortingly. “Relax, sugarcube. I am not mad, really. But you lot are a superstitious bunch, you know that.”

“Says the pony who adamantly believed Zecora placed a curse on us,” Twilight said with a smirk.

“Hey, so did you,” Applejack retorted.

“After a while,” Twilight reminded her. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re here, Applejack. I wanted to try something on your sword that I had been reading a while back. Would you mind?”

Applejack tentatively nodded, then lifted her right leg up and allowed her sword to come out of its scabbard. Twilight lowered her head so that the tip of her horn was touching it, and then enveloped it in a bright magenta glow at first. For a while nothing happened, but suddenly the sword began to glow white as if it was being forged, then resumed to its dark steel colour. Twilight backed away from it with a satisfied grin on her face, while both Fluttershy and Applejack looked confused.

“What did ya do?” Applejack demanded.

“I made the sword heat resistant and fireproof,” Twilight answered. “Heimdallr being a burning dragon and all I thought it might be best.”

“You can really do that?” Fluttershy asked.

“Of course. How else do you think my library survived the dragon attack? It won’t last, though. Till the sun rises again, probably, so we have to be quick. Now, Fluttershy, could I do the same to your other sword?” Fluttershy nodded, and her left leg up and presented Firewing. Twilight did the same thing to that, then moved away and proceeded to do the other swords as well, leaving Applejack with Fluttershy.

“Ya nervous, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked.

Fluttershy nodded. “Terrified. Yourself?”

“I don’t wanna leave this ship when we get there, to put it one way,” Applejack replied with a shaky smile.

“Well, you can if you’d like. I’ll go down there myself while you girls stay up here and relax.”

Applejack chuckled. “How could we relax while ya down there beating him? I said I don’t wanna leave this ship when we get there. That doesn’t mean I will stay here. I’m going down with ya, if ya like it or not.”

Fluttershy smiled, trying to look confident for her friends but found it waning. She feared that Heimdallr would be a match for them. The ancient dragon was only defeated by ponies that were genetically augmented with dragon blood before, so what use could the five of her friends be, other than cannon fodder?

That was when she realised with wide eyes that Twilight’s plan was just that; them being the bait while Fluttershy made the fatal blows. She knew it would be too late to change Twilight’s plan now, so she hoped and prayed that she could be quick for their sakes, and finish Heimdallr before he could hurt one of them.

“Sugarcube, ya alright?” Applejack asked. Fluttershy realised she had zoned out and shook her head to cleanse it. She looked back up at Applejack. “Ya looked like ya were somewhere else just then, and ya seem tense.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Sorry, I did zone out for a moment. And yeah I do feel tense.” Her shoulders felt clenched together and her legs felt heavy.

Applejack gave her a sympathetic smile, and then slowly walked behind her. “Hold, still, I’m gonna give ya a shoulder massage.” She reared up and pressed her hooves into Fluttershy’s shoulders.

“I-I don’t think that’s necessary, I…” She trailed off and let out a pleasurable sigh as she felt the tension in her shoulders disappear as her friend’s hooves made their way up and down her shoulders.

“Ya shouldn’t be tense, Fluttershy. I know this is gonna be hard on ya, but ya need to stay calm and have a blank mind,” Applejack advised. “A clear mind would help ya think straight when we do face Heimdallr. Don’t worry about us; just stick to Twilight’s plan and everything will come out fine. I promise.”

Fluttershy nodded, before letting out another pleasurable moan as Applejack hit a really tense point and destroyed it. “Are you okay with Twilight’s plan, though? Are you comfortable being basically… bait?”

Applejack stopped the massage, and didn’t move for a moment as Fluttershy thought she was considering Twilight’s plan. “So ya figured it out then?”

Fluttershy spun her head around to face her. “You knew?!” she whispered. “You knew and you still want to go through with it?!”

“We all knew, Fluttershy,” Applejack said. “Twilight rang it through us quick before we came after ya when ya ran to Freya’s tent.”

Fluttershy stared at her in disbelief. “How can you risk your lives like this?”

“Because we have the utmost faith in ya. We know that ya won’t let us down, and we know that ya won’t let any of us come to harm.”

“But what if I do mess up?!” Fluttershy demanded. “What if I lose the courage I have seemingly gained and cower in a corner while you girls die at his claws?”

Applejack didn’t reply for a moment, but simply stared at her with emotionless eyes. “We know that won’t happen. We know that ya won’t stand by and watch us die. We know it and you know it. We have faith in ya, Fluttershy Firewing, but do ya have faith in yourself?”

Fluttershy studied Applejack for a moment, and then looked at her other friends. Rarity was jumping for joy and hugging Twilight after the unicorn had somehow placed a spell on her that re-grew her tail, but unfortunately her mane was still as short as it was. Pinkie was at the front of the ship, her eyes peeled across the sea and looking for the island that was the entrance to Heimdallr’s prison, and Rainbow was at the back, curled up with a blanket atop of her as she slept soundlessly. When they all noticed her looking at them, they gave her small, brave smiles then looked away.

They all had faith in her, every single one of them, and it filled her with a confidence she thought she would never feel at this point. ‘If they have faith in me,’ she thought. ‘Then I will have faith in myself.’ She turned back to face Applejack. “I have faith in myself, Applejack. I won’t let you down.”

Applejack grinned, and patted the pegasus on the shoulder. “I know ya won’t.” She opened her mouth to speak but stopped when Pinkie let out a squeal.

“Look! We’re here, we’re here!” she cried out, pointing a hoof at whatever she’d seen. As one the other ponies raced to the front of the ship and leaned over the side to get a view, even Rainbow who had heard the commotion and shot out of her blanket. Fluttershy took to the air and floated above Pinkie, her eyes shot across the horizon to see what it was, hoping that Pinkie just saw a bird or a fish move above the water. She was surprised and horrified to see it wasn’t either.

It definitely was the island that was the entrance to Heimdallr’s prison. It was from the air, a large circle, with a rock shaped like a termites’ mound sitting at the centre of the island. The rock was huge; it was big as a two-storey house and as wide as her cottage back home, and had little spikes of rock coming out of it.

The ship suddenly lost its magenta colour and began to slowly crawl towards the island. “Right, girls,” Twilight said, with a hint of nervousness in her voice. “We best get ourselves ready to land.”

The six mares then set about getting ready for the landing. They placed their saddlebags in a pile at the back of the ship, while Applejack, Fluttershy, Twilight, Rainbow and Rarity each took possession of one of the keys so they could open the way into his prison. Afterwards, they all sat around with whatever food they had left, and had a meal. They all ate in silence, exchanging glances now and then as the island got closer and closer by the minute.

“Girls,” Rarity said suddenly, putting down her piece of lettuce. “If I don’t…”

Applejack slammed a hoof over her mouth. “Don’t you dare say what I think you’re gonna say, Rarity,” Applejack glared at her.

Rarity gently removed the hoof from her mouth. Applejack didn’t resist. “Please, let me continue,” Rarity said. Applejack kept glaring at her, but remained silent. “If I don’t come out again alive, I would like you all to sell the boutique, and keep the dresses for yourselves, or finish ones that I started, if you would like.”

Fluttershy looked at her friend with her mouth agape. “Well, if I don’t ma…”

“Oh, don’t you start!” Applejack shouted at her, her eyes glistening.

“It’s okay, Fluttershy, we know what you want us to do,” Twilight said sullenly. “You put it in your letter you left us in Detrots. And Applejack, I think it might be best if we do go with this, just incase.”

Applejack sniffed back her tears. “I know. I just don’t want us to think like that.”

“I know,” Twilight said with a comforting smile. “If I don’t come out again, I want one of you to look after Spike for me. Sell the library and tell my mum, dad, Shining and Cadence that I love them all.” She went against telling saying specifically who should do what, just incase more than one of them didn’t make it.

“Well, I would like my house to pass over to Scootaloo when she’s older,” Rainbow said. A small smile came across her face as she remembered her number one fan. “I’m sure her mum would like that. She’s always liked me for being an inspiration for her. I just wish I was a better one than I was.”

“If I don’t make it,” Applejack said next, her tears running freely. “Tell my family that I love them all dearly and be a comfort for them, yeah? And stick with Applebloom. She loves hanging around with me, so ya’ll be sure to fill my hole if I’m gone.”

“Noone could ever fill that hole, Applejack,” Fluttershy said. She turned to look at Pinkie, who looked a little solemn. “And what about you, Pinkie? Do you want us to do anything for you?”

Pinkie looked up and nodded. “Keep partying and keep laughing. That’s all I want you to do for me.”

The six mares looked at each other for a moment, and then wrapped their forelegs around each other into a tight group hug. “Even if one or some of us falls,” Twilight said, her eyes glistening with tears. “We will all come home together.” The six mares nodded in agreement, even as tears ran down their faces.

They suddenly felt the bow of the ship lift a bit, and come to a sudden stop as it hit something. The six mares didn’t need to look up to know what had happened; they had landed. ‘We have arrived,’ Fluttershy thought. ‘And now I have to finish what my father and the Dragonlords started.’ Fluttershy broke contact with her friends, wiped her eyes, spun around, and with a deep breath of air trotted to the side of the ship and jumped off.

Upon landing she screamed out as the water felt like a thousand cold needles piercing her legs. She ran ashore and began jogging on the spot to warm them up, fearing they would break off from the freezing temperatures. “Careful, girls!” she called to the others. “The water’s freezing!”

Rainbow appeared above the ship a second later and landed next her. “Seriously, you could have just used these for once.” She gestured with her head her wings, and wiggled her feathers.

“I thought the water wouldn’t be that cold,” Fluttershy said defensively.

Twilight teleported next to her a second later, and then moved to the water edge. She lowered her head and her horn started glowing. While she was doing this, Rarity appeared next to Rainbow after teleporting, followed by Pinkie, who swung from a rope from the ship, and finally Applejack, who jumped in the water and screamed out at its icy touch.

They waited for Twilight as she studied the strange temperature of the water. They had other matters to press on with, Twilight knew, but this was extraordinary. Her horn stopped glowing and she looked up with a look of surprise on her face. “The water’s cold,” Twilight stated.

“Tell us something we don’t know, Twilight,” Applejack chided, rubbing her legs together to warm them up.

“Okay, the water is impossibly cold. So cold that if you stay in it for long enough you will freeze to death in less than a minute,” Twilight went on. “The sea should be a thick block if ice, or a massive glacier, but instead it’s this.” She waved her hoof to the water that now surrounded them.

“But how is that possible?” Pinkie asked. “It’s been out in the sun all day and it couldn’t get this cold that quick. The night’s not even that cold.” She was right – there wasn’t a cold, night breeze that would make their coats stand on end.

Twilight looked at Pinkie, and then around her at the mountains that hemmed them in. “Magic,” she answered. “The entire Horscan Sea is built, no, grown by magic that’s completely off the scale. The Dragonlords must have been incredibly gifted in magic. I wish I was one now.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “Well we could see by setting you in fire and see if you rise from the dead.”

Twilight looked at her in horror. “On second thoughts, I’ll pass.”

Fluttershy smiled. “That’s good. I wouldn’t want you to in the first place.”

“Well anyway, girls,” Applejack interrupted them. “Shouldn’t we be getting on with what we’re here for?”

Twilight and Fluttershy sighed simultaneously, and then both ponies nodded. Twilight moved away from the water and stood facing the giant rock. “Right, so what do we do now?” She turned her head to look at Fluttershy.

Fluttershy put a hoof to her chin in thought. “I imagine we find the places on the rock where the keys fit, then slot them in and let the keys do the rest.” She looked at the rock intensely, as did the others. “But where would they go?”

“Hmm, let me have a look,” Twilight offered. She lowered her head and let her horn glow once again. After a moment, four magenta clouds appeared around four neat circles in the rock where the keys would be placed, much to the confusion of the six ponies that were there.

“One, two, three, four,” Rarity counted. “There’re only four slots for the keys to go in.”

“Then where does the fifth go?” Pinkie asked, looking at the key Fluttershy had in her hooves.

Fluttershy looked confused. “I don’t know,” she replied. She put it back in her mane for safekeeping, while the other four ponies with a key began slotting them into place one by one. The keys fitted perfectly, with each one sitting with the emblem facing the rock. Twilight had the last one and with a gulp of dread of what would happen, fitted the last one in place.

Nothing happened. “So what do we do now?” Pinkie asked.

Everypony shrugged. “Play the waiting game, I guess,” Rainbow replied. Just as she finished speaking, a low rumble echoed from the ground below them, then the rock began to spin anti-clockwise, slowly at first then faster as it began to sink into the ground like it was in quicksand. The six mares backed away in fright as the rock began to disappear and in its place was a set of stairs that spiralled down into the darkness.

With the stairs revealed, Fluttershy was the first to take a step. She didn’t make it far, however, when a beam of bright, golden light shot out of the hole, sending Fluttershy onto her back and the others going low.

The light shot up into the sky, lightening the sky into something that looked the earliest hour of dawn. When it made it above the mountains, it stopped and a vast number of beams of light shot out of the main one, each heading towards a mountain. The beams struck the tops of the mountains, and created a huge golden shield that could be seen as far as Ironhoof fortress.

Fluttershy grinned. ‘This must be the spell that blocks out Heimdallr’s abilities.’ She got back on her hooves and turned towards Twilight. “Can you do any magic, Twilight?”

Twilight looked at the ground for a moment as she thought of a simple spell she could try. Eventually, she went with levitating Rainbow Dash. She closed her eyes and pointed her horn towards the pegasus, who began to nervously back away from her. Twilight’s horn began to glow magenta once again and Rainbow squealed as she was lifted into the air by Twilight’s magic.

Although Fluttershy would have laughed at Rainbow’s squeal, she didn’t feel like it. The spell, by the looks of things, didn’t work. “Don’t give up hope, darling,” Rarity comforted her upon seeing Fluttershy’s ears fall flat. “There’s still a chance that it just affected Heimdallr.”

“Yeah,” Fluttershy agreed, “but the only way we going to find out is to go down there.” She looked at the golden shield that now enveloped the Horscan Sea and saw it fizzing out suddenly, and then returning to normal. She realised that if Heimdallr weren’t able to use his magic abilities, it wouldn’t be long before he could, and then there wasn’t a chance they could stop him.

Fluttershy took a deep breath, and then took a step forward towards the entrance. She looked back to see her friends looking at her expectantly. Now they were here, it felt like she had to make the decisions, and if she was completely honest, it felt good to be in charge for a little while. “Let’s go,” she ordered. She turned away from her friends and trotted to the top of the stairs. The stairs spiralled away to the right, not giving her the comfort of knowing where the bottom is. She glanced back to see Twilight close behind her, and drew another sigh as the first step down was in front of her. She placed a hoof on the first step, then the second, then the third, until her legs were guiding her down the stairs, followed close behind by her friends.

Meanwhile, in the darkness, two eyes shot open. They were wreathed in flame, with no pupil to see what the creature was looking at. He could sense her, feel her; she was close now, herself and her friends. He sneered and raised his head towards the doors where they would come through to face him.

“Den siste av Drageherrene er her (The last of the Dragonlords is here)!” Heimdallr announced to the darkness. “Tiden har kommet (It is time)!”

Chapter 19

For the next fifteen minutes the six mares made the agonising descent down the spiralling staircase. The staircase was thin, only allowing one pony at a time down it, and featureless grey walls were on either side, with not even a hint at what they would find at the bottom. Fluttershy was up front by her choice, in fear that if she suddenly lost the courage she seemed to have, she would have to run through her friends to get out, and they wouldn’t allow that to happen.

Just behind her was Twilight, with her horn glowing like a star as she illuminated the way down, her head held high but her eyes giving away the terror gnawing her. Behind her was Applejack, followed by Rainbow, then Pinkie and finally Rarity. The only sounds coming from the ponies were the sound of quick yet heavy breathing, and their hooves touching the cold stone steps.

As Fluttershy descended she wondered about what would she find at the bottom of these stairs. She wondered if Heimdallr looked different to the way he did when she had first met him in Ferghana. Is he actually smaller than when she first met him? Has he got fewer horns that make him look less terrifying? Is he actually dead to begin with and was his memory and spirit plaguing her mind? She hoped so, to be honest.

She glanced back and saw and smelled the fear on her friends. She could even smell the fear coming from herself, but she wasn’t going to allow it to control her actions. Like Applejack said on the ship, she had to keep a clear and straight head, so she might actually stand a chance of taking down Heimdallr.

A few more steps and she suddenly found the staircase had reached its end. In front of them was a straight corridor, one that seemed to go on forever as it disappeared into the darkness. She lifted her head up and trotted forward, the others going at her pace to keep up. As they walked down the corridor, the light from Twilight’s horn revealed the murals that decorated the walls. Each of the walls was split up into panels, and each panel told the story of Heimdallr, from his creation, to his defeat at the hooves of the Dragonlords. It felt to Fluttershy like the murals were a warning to her and her friends, as if they were telling her to turn back. But she wouldn’t turn back; even Princess Celestia herself wouldn’t dissuade her.

Eventually, they reached the end of the corridor and found themselves in front of a large iron door that had a huge wooden bar across it, locking it. ‘As if that would do any good against Heimdallr,’ she thought upon seeing it, but then again the doors were way too small for him to get through. The door’s face had a large mural of Heimdallr, old and worn but the burning eyes of the monster were still visible in the work. She looked around to see if there was a slot for the key to go through, but found none.

“How’re you feeling?” Twilight whispered into Fluttershy’s ear as they stopped in front of the door.

“I’m okay, to be honest,” Fluttershy replied. She was telling the truth. The voices in her body that usually screamed at her to run had gone silent, as if they knew there was no other way out of this. She didn’t feel scared or angry; she just felt nothing.

“I take it Heimdallr is through that door?” Applejack enquired. Fluttershy looked her way and nodded. Applejack took a deep, relaxing breath. “Well then, let’s get this over with.”

“Wiser words have never been spoken, Applejack,” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. She flew up to the large plank and prepared to lift. “One of you cares to help?”

Applejack walked up next her friend and got hold of the other end. “Ready, partner?” Rainbow nodded, and with a groan the two lifted the plank off its hinges and dropped it on the ground with a loud bang that made Fluttershy’s ears ring.

Fluttershy shook her head to clear the ringing, then walked to the door, reared up and prepared to push it open. “You ready, girls?”

“As ready as we will ever be, Fluttershy. Meaning just barely,” Rarity replied shakily. “Let’s do this.”

Fluttershy nodded, took a deep breath and with the help of Rainbow, pushed the door open. With a heavy groan, the door that hasn’t been moved since it was first built moved slowly and painfully out of their way, enabling the Dragonlord to see what was inside.

The place was so dark she couldn’t make out all of it, but from what she could make out it was a really large, with thick stone pillars at random points supporting the ceiling, and keeping the water above out. The hall was featureless, with no murals or carvings to decorate the pillars, nor was there any sign of a large, burning dragon that was meant to be down here.

Fluttershy moved slowly forward, her eyes going left and right for any sign of an ambush, while her friends moved to her side, their eyes fixed on different points. They moved away from the entrance and walked until they reached what they believed to be the centre of Heimdallr’s prison. They formed into a loose circle, with their eyes looking left and right and above.

Rainbow suddenly took off and flew up into the air before anyone could stop her. She disappeared into the darkness for a long minute, before reappearing from the ceiling and landing back amongst them. “The ceiling’s about as high as the tallest Canterlot tower,” she whispered to the others. “Fluttershy and me will have plenty of space to fly when we do face him.”

“If we face him,” Fluttershy corrected her. “Where is he?” They had been here now for a few minutes and there was still nothing from Heimdallr. Was he actually someplace else, and they had misread the clues? She doubted it, for as Twilight said, the magic coming from this place was immense, and was definitely needed to hold something like a megalomaniac in place. So if he was here, where?

Fluttershy stepped out of the group circle and cleared her throat. If they weren’t able to find Heimdallr, then she would bring Heimdallr to them. She lifted her head towards the ceiling and shouted in Dragonian, “Heimdallr! Jeg lovet meg selv om å finne deg, og nå har jeg holdt det løftet! Kom frem nå! Kom frem og møt dine synder for folkemord, mord og andre typer synder som du har gjort over de fem tusener av år. Kom frem og se meg (Heimdallr! I’m made a promise that I would find you and now I have kept that promise! Now, come forth! Come forth and answer for the crimes of genocide, murder, and various others that you have committed over the five millennia! Step forth and face me)!”

She didn’t know where the words came from, but they seemed the right ones to say. Despite her challenge, she only received silence in reply, and it was more unnerving than actually seeing him. The six mares shifted closer to each other, their eyes wide and darting left and right for him. “Come on, Heimdallr, show yourself,” Twilight whispered.

Suddenly, a great burning eye snapped open. The six mares jumped back in fright at the sight of it. Fire suddenly erupted from the eye’s owner like wildfire, spreading across its back, belly, head, wings and tail. The burning creature shifted itself around to face them, and gave them all a wide sneer. “Heimdallr,” Fluttershy needlessly said.

“Wow… he’s… big,” Rainbow said, with a couple gulps of terror. Big was an understatement – even on all fours he was taller than the highest Canterlot tower. Horns protruded from behind his eyes and arched towards his nose like elephant tusks. Massive spikes ran from the back of his head to the tip of his tail like the blade of a saw. And huge smouldering wings stretched out across the hall and into the darkness.

“Velkommen til mitt fengsel, Fluttershy Ildvinge (Welcome to my prison, Fluttershy Firewing),” Heimdallr greeted her with a mocking sneer. “Dette er rat, for vi har møttes før, men også er dette den første gangen vi kom sammen, fjes til fjes (It is strange, for we have met before and yet, this is the first time we’ve come face to face).”

“Og forhåpentligvis vil dett bli våres siste (And hopefully it would be our last),” Fluttershy said, nodding in agreement.

“Jeg kunne ikke ha vært mer enig (I couldn’t agree more),” Heimdallr said. He looked from his enemy to the five ponies behind her. “And these five ponies are the friends that you cherish so much. You brought them here to do your dirty work, right?”

“Wrong!” Twilight stepped forward. “We came here to help, in any way that we can!”

“Even if that means dying for her, Twilight Sparkle?” The shock on Twilight’s face was plain to see, making Heimdallr chuckle. “Oh, I know who you are. I know who you all are. You, Twilight Sparkle, the personal protégé of the ruler of Equestria, and one of the most powerful unicorns this world has ever known. But also one of the most insecure, living in constant fear of disappointing and angering her teacher, who is also her ruler.”

He looked from a shocked Twilight to an angry looking Rainbow. “Ah, the great Rainbow Dash. Loyal to the end, and would go an extra mile for her friends. But also arrogant and brash, and sometimes would put herself before others.”

Rainbow glared at him, but restrained herself to not do anything stupid. “You put my oldest and bestest friend in a lot of pain, Heimdallr. I’m here to make sure you pay for that.”

Heimdallr didn’t reply to the threat, but instead turned to Pinkie. “The young Pinkamena Diane Pie, with a heart full of love and laughter, and yet a large black hole full of sorrow, and fear.” He looked from her to the unicorn next to her. “The beautiful Rarity Turquoise, generous and selfish at the same time. You give to others yet keep more to yourself.”

“Well there’s a saying, a very old saying. ‘The more you have, the more you can give’,” Rarity said in her defence, all the while glaring at the dragon.

Heimdallr sniffed, and then shifted his eyes to look at Applejack, who stared back at him with intense loathing. “And Applejack Rosaceae, the most honest pony alive. In fact, you are the most brutally honest pony alive. Tell me, how many hearts have you broken because of your honesty?”

“You’re beginning to sound like Discord,” Applejack growled. “And it’s making me feel sick.”

Heimdallr chuckled. “I’ve met Discord once. Him and his entire race. He was the one who taught me to manipulate the minds of dragons, pushing other thoughts aside and giving them over wholly to greed. Once I had finished with the dragons, I turned on the draconnequus race and wiped them out, leaving only Discord as thanks for teaching me.”

Fluttershy felt sick to her stomach. “You are no better than Discord, Heimdallr.”

“I am way better than that freak!” Heimdallr bellowed. “I didn’t start an entire war that resulted in the slaughter of millions, because I was bored! But he did, he and his vile kind. You should be thanking me for what I did. I defeated an army of monsters!”

“Yeah, but then you took their place as the greatest monster of them all,” Rarity growled.

Heimdallr mockingly bowed his head. “I thank you for the compliment, Rarity Turquoise.”

“Do you have any compassion left?” Twilight asked, disgust apparent on her face.

“When you’ve been betrayed as many times as I have, Twilight Sparkle, then you tend to lose your sense of compassion. I’m surprised you have any, to be honest. Especially after your friends, mentor, and even your own brother abandoned you once.”

“Enough! Leave them alone!” Fluttershy yelled. She took to the air and flew up to his face. “It’s me you want, not them. They have no part in this.”

“Oh, but they do,” Heimdallr disagreed. “Since you’ve brought them into our little war they have become a part of it.”

“I didn’t bring them into this,” Fluttershy countered. “They came willingly because they love me. As I love them.”

Heimdallr produced a wheezy chuckle. “Love? Love is a weakness. Something for those too weak to hold on to when they think they have nothing left. They think that someone would come to love them and help them when they need it most. Well here’s a news flash for you, Fluttershy Firewing! The world is a cruel and merciless place! The strong only thrive the way they do because they walk over those that are forced to live in the gutter!”

“I’m not going to say you’re wrong, because you aren’t. There are some cruel people in this world,” Fluttershy admitted. “But it’s not like that everywhere. There are many good people out there who help others because they want to. Like I want to. I want to help everyone, by keeping them safe, from you!”

Heimdallr snorted. “And you think you can help others by just love? Only anger and hatred will make you reach your goals, like the hate you have for me.” He raised his head towards the ceiling and sniffed loudly. “I can smell your hate. I have felt it. You have so much anger in you it’s just a hurricane waiting to burst forth and destroy all in its path. Embrace your anger and hate, Fluttershy Firewing. Use it to destroy me, and avenge your coward of a father.”

Fluttershy hovered in front of him for a moment, contemplating on whether or not to ignore Twilight’s plan and strike him now. But she knew if she did, she would ignore everything the Dragonlords stood by, and that’s what Heimdallr wanted. ‘If it wasn’t, then he wouldn’t have insulted my father,’ she reasoned to herself.

She moved away from the dragon and set herself back down in front of her friends. “Jeg vil aldri la meg selv bli som deg, Heimdallr. Ingenting du gjør vil endre på det (I will never let myself become like you, Heimdallr. Nothing you can do will change my mind).”

Heimdallr blinked, surprised that the tactic didn’t work. He suddenly sneered as another idea sprang into his mind. “Selv om jeg dreper dine venner nå (Even if I kill your friends now)?” He raised his right claw into the air. “Jeg kunne ha drept dem let, vet du. Alt jeg trenger er å vri på klørne, og la dem brenne (I can kill them easily, you know. All I have to do is clench my claw, and they’ll burn). Do you want to watch your friends die in agony, Fluttershy Firewing?” He sneered at the horrified looks of the ponies behind the Dragonlord.

‘Got him,’ Fluttershy thought triumphantly. “Okay then,” Fluttershy said with a shrug. She sat down on her rump and waited for Heimdallr to carry out his threat.

“Excuse me?!” Heimdallr exclaimed.

“Carry on, don’t mind me,” she said, looking at a hoof as if she just had a hooficure. “Any chance of a cup of tea? I’m parched.” She looked back at her friends. “How about you guys?”

Her friends looked absolutely horrified by Fluttershy’s actions. “I knew her nerves would be in a state,” Rainbow whispered into Twilight’s ear. “But I didn’t know they were that bad to make her lose the plot!” She looked back in the other pegasus’ direction and noticed the wink she gave to them all.

“Du vil la meg få lov til å drepe dine venner rett foran deg, uten at du vil løfte så mye som en hov for å hjelpe dem (You would allow me to kill your friends in front of you, without so much as lifting a hoof to help them)?” Heimdallr laughed. “Du er en større tosk enn jeg trodde. Nå, se at dine venner brenner (You’re a greater fool than I thought. Now watch as your friends burn).”

“Vi vil se på det (We’ll see about that),” Fluttershy said, her lips rising into a smug grin.

Heimdallr snorted, and raised his right claw so the palm was facing the ceiling. The ancient dragon closed his eyes as he began concentrating on a spell, while Fluttershy sat and watched with cocky grin. That grin wavered when a bright orb as bright as a star appeared on Heimdallr’s palm, which seemed to intensify as it built up with power. By the time it was ready, Fluttershy’s grin had completely gone and she turned to scream at her friends to run.

At that moment, Heimdallr’s palm snapped together with a sound like a clap of thunder. Fluttershy looked away and flattened her ears, not wanting to hear the shrill screams of her friends as they died in agony. After a moment of nothing, she looked back around to see them all still standing there, pretty much alive, looking bewildered.

She looked back towards Heimdallr to see he too looked gormless. “How… how can this be?” He opened up his claw again and once again emitted a bright golden orb. He shut it again and nothing happened. Fluttershy’s smug grin returned as she realised Starswirl’s keys were working. “This can’t be right!” Heimdallr roared again. He tried again, then again, and once more, but every attempt was met with no success. He looked down at Fluttershy and snarled at the smug face she wore. “What have you done?!”

Fluttershy glanced to her sides to see her friends move up alongside her. “I have managed to defeat you without lifting a hoof, Heimdallr. There’s a spell on this place that’s blocking your magical abilities and connection to the sun. You are now weak and helpless without your powers. The Dragonlords have outsmarted you even as you wiped them out! I have defeated you without a drop of blood spilled!” She reared up on her hind legs and spread her forelegs out wide. “Who the mare?!” she exclaimed.

The five ponies alongside her each raised an eyebrow and gave her an odd look, so too did Heimdallr. Fluttershy glanced at each of her friends and slunk back to the ground with an embarrassed look. “I promise I will never say that again. Ever.” In truth she wanted to shout it out multiple times. She was on high. She grinned at her friends, who grinned back at her. The feeling that she had managed to defeat this burning creature, without resorting to violence was amazing.

That amazing feeling died an agonising death when Heimdallr started laughing. She felt her nerves return at frightening speed as she turned back to look at the burning dragon. “You really think you have defeated me that easily, Fluttershy Firewing?!” he roared. He laughed once again, the flames on his back intensifying in their ferocity. “My dear, you are by far the easiest opponent I’ve ever faced. While it is true that you have blocked out my connection to the sun, meaning I am unable to use my pyrokenetic abilities, I have studied other types of magic in my lifetime to get by. Like this.”

He reared his head back, raised his fore claws in the air, and let out a long, terrible shriek.

Fluttershy watched in horror, with her ears covered by her hooves as Heimdallr let out a long shriek that seemed to shake the foundations of his prison. Behind her, the five mares were also covering their ears and grimacing in anguish as the flames on Heimdallr’s body started to go out.

“What the hay is going on?!” Rainbow yelled. She looked up at Heimdallr and her jaw dropped in horror. “Look!” she pointed. The others looked up to Heimdallr and gasped in horror.

Heimdallr was beginning to melt like candle wax. His lower jaw was spurring magma like blood would leak from a wound down to the ground, while his head disintegrated into nothingness. Heimdallr’s belly suddenly began to melt, followed by his wings, then finally his tail, until his entire body began to melt and the magma that it became spilled onto the stone floor.

“Get back!” Fluttershy yelled, stepping away from the magma as it began to move slowly towards them. The magma was black and a fiery orange like Heimdallr’s body, and flowed like a quick mudslide towards them. The six mares kept backing away from it, wanting to turn around and run back through the entrance but for some reason their legs wouldn’t respond.

The magma suddenly split up and began to encircle them quickly, cutting off their route of escape. “Tight circle!” Twilight yelled. “He won’t catch us off guard then, whatever he’s doing.”

The six mares backed into each other and formed a circle so tight they could feel their flanks touching. Fluttershy gulped as she watched the magma surround them, scared and confused at the same time. How was this possible? Heimdallr shouldn’t be able to use magic at all, and yet he had just melted himself and was now surrounding them.

She yelped suddenly when she felt something grip onto her tail. She looked around to find to her surprise Twilight’s tail wrapping tightly around her own. She looked at the unicorn, who stared back at her with terrified eyes. Fluttershy gave her a brave smile, and then gently wrapped the end of her tail around Twilight’s. Applejack glanced behind her and saw the two holding tails, and wrapped the tip of her tail around the two. Rainbow did the same moments later, followed by Pinkie and finally Rarity.

Although the sight of seeing six mares holding tails might look strange, to the six ponies it meant they would be now as one. That whatever it is Heimdallr was doing around them, none of them would break apart and run away – they would stand and fight, and live or die together. Fluttershy felt each of her friends’ tails shake with her own in fear as the magma that was once Heimdallr surrounded them, but she felt like she didn’t want to be anywhere else.

“Any ideas yet of what he’s up to?” Rarity enquired, trying to keep her voice from sounding like she was panicking, and failing.

Twilight shook her head. “The keys should’ve worked. Why didn’t they work?” she demanded from Fluttershy.

“I’m not sure either, Twilight,” Fluttershy replied. “But I’m not going to die without finding out.”

“Same here,” Twilight agreed. The six ponies looked in front of themselves to see that the magma had now completely surrounded them, and cut off their route of escape. Rainbow primed her crossbow and got ready to fire, while the others raised their right legs, and their swords shot out of their scabbards, ready to do battle.

A shrill shriek from Pinkie made them turn around where she was looking and gasped in horror. “That’s impossible,” Twilight exclaimed.

A head similar to Heimdallr’s began to slowly emerge from the magma, except it was no bigger than an adult horse’s. Two long arms appeared, with each holding a long sword that glowed fiercely. A huge bulk appeared seconds later, followed by two outstretched wings. Two long legs followed, with a sharp spike coming out of the knees joints, until a smaller version of Heimdallr was standing before them. The creature stepped forward and brandished its swords at them, making the six mares come closer together.

A gasp from Rainbow made them all look to the right, and saw to their horror the same thing was happening, except it was carrying a large club. Fluttershy looked all around her as the same thing was happening on all sides; dozens, if not hundreds, of Heimdallrs were emerging from the magma around them like the undead would rise from the grave. “How is this possible?!” Fluttershy yelled.

“Twilight, please explain to us all what the hay is going on here! And please, before you start, say it in Equestrian so we can all understand!” Rainbow shrieked.

Twilight looked around her, horrified as she watched a spell being performed that should be impossible. “He’s duplicating himself,” she finally said.

“Duplicating himself?!” the five mares around her repeated.

Twilight curtly nodded. “It’s a spell that, simply put, cuts you up into pieces and then sticks you back together into multiple copies of yourself. The spell also develops things that suit your needs, like spikes can be formed into weapons. It also degrades the size of your copies depending on how many you want. And in this case, hundreds.”

The five ponies looked at her in horror. “But the spell is so complex, so difficult, that even if I had a hundred years to master it I never could.”

“But I have had thousands to master it!” one voice but yet sounded like a thousand cried out.

Fluttershy’s head darted from duplicate to duplicate, trying to understand what had just happened and how bad things have gotten. Each of the duplicates looked so similar to each other, yet they all had a different number of spikes running down their backs. All of them were strangely absent of the fires that made up Heimdallr’s body, yet all had the same burning eyes of malice that Heimdallr had. Each had different weapons: one handed swords, two handed swords, short axes, heavy axes, warhammers, spears, tridents, clubs, flails, and maces.

Fluttershy took a step forward towards the Heimdallrs, who stared back at her and her friends malevolently. “How have you done this?!” she demanded. “You shouldn’t be able to use magic at all!”

The Heimdallrs laughed so loud and with such menace, that it made the six ponies’ legs shake with fear. “That’s the problem with you ponies,” they said. “You are so… limited, when it comes to the laws of magic, and believe when one can cast one type of magic, then that is their only power. Starswirl the Bearded even thought the same. I’m not limited like you ponies to one caste, as we dragons call the types of magic, so as I rotted down here I learned new spells like this one to keep me occupied. Surely me being able to possess dead dragons and use them like puppets would give you a clue to that.”

Fluttershy shook her head in disbelief, and yet it made complete sense to her. “So the keys were useless then?”

“Oh no,” they replied, a wide smirk on their faces. “If anything they were more important than what they are worth. How was I going to get out of here without them?”

Although it had never happened to Fluttershy, the question was more painful than a kick in the stomach. Her eyes widened even more and realisation dawned across her face as she realised to her horror what Heimdallr meant. She forelegs gave way and she collapsed onto her knees in shock. “No,” she whispered, curtly shaking her head and her eyes watering. “NO!”

“What is it, what’s wrong?” Rainbow asked.

Fluttershy looked back at her, tears welling up in her eyes. “This is what he wanted, Rainbow! He wanted us to get the keys! He wanted us to come down here! He wanted everything that happened to happen!” She looked away and then looked towards the ground. “What have I done?” she whispered.

The Heimdallrs sneered. “Yes. Thanks to you, Fluttershy Firewing, the way to the rest of Terra has been opened, and I am finally free. I needed you to get the keys here, so I could get out. I knew there was no other way out of here except through the front door, so I discovered this spell and began learning it, so when the doors are finally opened then I would shrink down and walk out of here. Then once I’m free, return to my original form.

“Starswirl the Bearded realised what my plan was at some point, as well as his grave mistake, but by then the four keys were already made and couldn’t be destroyed. So he had them scattered across Horsca’s mountain ranges in specially built dungeons to keep Dragonlords away, even re-animating corpses to act as bodyguards was just one of some the desperate measure he took to make sure they were never used. He was about to send written messages to all Dragonlords of the sudden move of the keys, but before he could he had a fatal accident, which took quite some time to arrange.”

Twilight charged forward in a blind rage, but didn’t get far as Rainbow pulled her back by the tail. “You monster! You killed the greatest mage that ever lived!” she yelled.

Applejack, meanwhile, walked up to Fluttershy and helped her back up onto her hooves. “It’s okay, sugar, it wasn’t your fault. None of us could’ve known,” Applejack said comfortingly.

Tears were in Fluttershy’s eyes. “But I don’t understand. If that was your plan all along, then why did you involve me?”

“Then allow me start from the beginning,” the Heimdallrs offered. “About a year ago, I had a prophetic vision. I dreamed of a pegasus pony with a long pink mane and tail and a bright yellow coat standing before me, with hatred in her eyes and sword bracelets attached to her legs. I did not know what happened next for the dream ended, but I knew I had to find her. So I reached out and took the body of a recently deceased dragon and began searching for her. It was not until a month ago did I discover who she was – until I discovered who you were.”

“Wait a minute, it was you who attacked Ponyville?!” Rainbow shouted, her voice barely able to control her fury. “You nearly killed so many! You nearly killed Twilight!”

“Count yourselves lucky that I didn’t kill anyone, for it wouldn’t have been safe for me had I done so. Anyway, the attack on Ponyville was enough to bring you forward and the moment you appeared to give me a little scolding, I instantly knew who and what you were.”

“But why?!” Fluttershy demanded. “You could have left me alone then let my father get the keys for you, but instead you unlocked my Dragonlord abilities. You helped me, knowing I would be a hindrance to you.”

“Because I had to,” the Heimdallrs replied. “I knew what your father was up to, but since he wasn’t in the vision I figured he wouldn’t have made it, so I decided finding you would be easier, which it was. And besides, do you really think that you would have been a normal pony forever? At some point in your long, pathetic life you would’ve been burnt, and then your true heritage would’ve been revealed. You cannot escape destiny, Fluttershy Firewing. No matter how hard you try.”

They took a long, wheezy breath, then continued. “When I sensed you again I realised you had awakened from your slumber, so began planting those visions in your thick, little skull, hoping you would be taken to the Princess of Equestria, which you were. All that was left was for you to find Firewing, so I planted a thought into Celestia Solaris’ mind into making her believe that he was the only one who could help you, which is true, but she wouldn’t have known that.” Twilight’s teeth gritted together harder than before at the realisation that Celestia had been manipulated as well. “After that, it was simply you having to find him.

“It was all going fine, until you were captured by the Andulusians once you got into Horsca. I couldn’t let you die, so I attacked Andulusia and destroyed it, giving you the chance to escape.”

Fluttershy gritted her teeth and growled like a dog. “I now wish you’d left me to die.”

“It wasn’t time for you to die, Fluttershy Firewing,” the duplicates sneered. “At least, not yet.”

“So why did you attack us in the Horscan Highlands? Why did you kill my father?”

“I needed to make you believe I was putting an effort into stopping you, to make you think you were winning. As for your father, he had to die. He would have seen through the lie before the end, and would’ve turned around and left, and I would be stuck here forever. As well as that, he had a hundred years worth of experience behind him, and was a powerful opponent.”

“Whereas I…”

“Whereas you are far too gullible and you have had only a week’s worth of experience. With your father out of the way, and your thirst for vengeance driving you forward, all I had to do was wait until you came through those doors and release me,” he finished.

Tears poured down Fluttershy’s face as she realised what she had done. She lowered her head and put her hooves over her face, fighting back tears. Twilight walked up next to her and gently shook her shoulders. “It’ll be okay.”

Fluttershy’s head shot up to look at her. “How will everything be okay?!” she shouted. “Don’t you understand, Twilight?! My father, Thowra, all those horses in Andulusia, the entire Dragonlord order! They died for nothing!”

“Noone dies in vain, Fluttershy Firewing,” the duplicates said delicately. “Every one that does die, dies for a purpose either good or ill. And they and you played their parts perfectly.”

Fluttershy looked from Twilight to the duplicates in front of her with intense hate. That hatred was quickly re-directed back at herself. “I was so stupid,” she scolded herself, looking towards the ground. “The signs were all there saying this was Heimdallr’s plan all along. But I chose to ignore them. All of this could have been avoided had I not been driven by vengeance. Driven by hate.” She closed her eyes and fought back tears of despair.

“I should thank you, Fluttershy Firewing. You and your friends. You have given me another chance to finish what I started five thousand years ago,” the duplicates went on, making Fluttershy look up. “For this kindness you have given me, I’m inclined to forgive everything you have said and everything you have done against me, and give you and your friends mercy.”

The six mares looked around them with confusion on their faces. “Mercy?” Pinkie repeated.

The duplicates nodded simultaneously. “Yes. Mercy. I will allow you, Fluttershy Firewing, and you friends, to live out the rest of your days here in peace.” They gestured with their claws their prison. “You will be fed and watered appropriately, and given all the luxuries you require and requests to spend your lives here. But you will not breed and multiply, oh no. But it is better to live down here, than not live at all, don’t you think?”

“What about our families?” Applejack asked. “What about them?”

“They will come and live with you down here as well, Applejack Rosaceae. There is enough room, after all. But like I said, there will be no breeding between you. If there is, then I will remove them.”

Fluttershy’s eyebrows rose in surprise and consideration of Heimdallr’s offer. It was perfect – too perfect – an offer that only a mad mare would refuse. She looked back at her friends who had gathered in a circle to discuss something. “Right, so now we know this guy has to die, how exactly are we going to do that?” Rainbow enquired, her voice just below a whisper.

Twilight tapped her head with a hoof as she tried to remember what she knew about the spell Heimdallr had performed. “Ah ha!” she cried out. “I just remembered Celestia telling me this story once about when she and Luna cast it on themselves to get inside Discord’s stronghold during their rebellion against him.”

“Great!” Applejack grinned. “So what do we need to do?”

“Basically, there is always one duplicate that is in control of the others. That duplicate is made up of the brain of the original body and keeps control of the lot.” Twilight looked from her friends to the ranks of duplicates around them. “If we could find that one duplicate, and take him down, then the rest would simply dissolve into nothingness.”

“So basically, it’s a ‘cut off the head and the body will die’ type plan then?” Rainbow asked. Twilight looked her way and nodded. “Okay then. One problem with that plan,” Rainbow pointed out. “One duplicate, in an army of hundreds!” She spread her forelegs out wide, gesturing to the army surrounding them.

“But here’s the thing,” Twilight continued. “The duplicate controller, as Celestia called them, always has something about them that makes them stand out from the rest. Something she said about the controller’s imagination enabling him or her to have it. Like more horns, a suit of armour-”

“Or a large crown on the top of his head?” Pinkie enquired, cutting off the unicorn.

“Exactly, or a large crown on the top of his head,” Twilight agreed with a nod. Her eyes suddenly widened and she slowly turned her head towards where Pinkie was standing, and whom she was standing on. “What did you just say?”

Pinkie was standing on Applejack’s back. “There’s a duplicate at the far back with a burning crown on his head,” she said, pointing to it. She jumped off Applejack’s back, allowing Twilight to jump on, while the earth pony below her having to grit her teeth and use all her strength to hold Twilight’s weight. The unicorn grinned when she saw what Pinkie was pointing at. A Heimdallr with a large burning crown that seemed to have a halo above it around the top of his head stood at the far back of the group.

She jumped off Applejack and gestured for her friends to huddle. “Okay, the Heimdallr controller is at the back of the group. All we have do is fight out way through this lot to get to him.”

“Do you think we can do it?” Rarity asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” Twilight replied. “But we’ve got to try.”

A sigh from Fluttershy made them all turn to her. She looked back at them despairingly. “What’s the point of trying?” Fluttershy said solemnly. Her friends looked at her in shock. “I caused this. This whole world is going to burn because of me and my carelessness.”

Twilight walked towards her, her face revealing her shock and sadness for the pegasus. “You’re giving up?”

Fluttershy nodded. “What else can I do other than mess things up more?”

Twilight placed her hooves on Fluttershy’s cheeks to get the pegasus to look at her. “No. No, you haven’t messed up at all. I don’t blame you for this. None of us do.”

“Why don’t you?” Fluttershy demanded. “I should’ve seen through this, but I was so wrapped up in my hatred for him to even notice I might be walking into a trap!”

“Fluttershy, don’t you even dare start blaming yourself for this!” Twilight scolded her. “We’ve all had a part in this. We all should’ve seen it yet we didn’t. We all are responsible for this, and you know we can do about it?” She didn’t give time for Fluttershy to answer. “Make up for it, by making sure he doesn’t get outside.”

Fluttershy still didn’t look convinced. “How? It’s hopeless, Twilight. Simply hopeless.”

Twilight gave her a look of disappointment. “Now that’s not the Fluttershy I know. The Fluttershy who saved me and the cutie mark crusaders from a cockatrice, despite being scared of the Everfree Forest.”

“Or the Fluttershy who, despite being terrified of dragons, walked up and towards one rather than away, and then sent it packing when we all had failed,” Applejack put in.

“Or the Fluttershy who did everything she could to help the Princess’ pet bird, when she didn’t need to,” Rarity added.

“Or the Fluttershy who gave it her all to become a better flyer, and then proved she was when she helped with the tornado,” Rainbow came in.

“You might have been close to giving up then, but you never did,” Pinkie said, her eyes pleading. “And right now we need you to help us take this guy down. Now more than ever.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened a little. “You’re… you’re all not giving up?”

The five ponies shook their heads. “Sure ain’t, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “As fine as Heimdallr’s offer is, I wouldn’t trust his word if my life depended on it. And besides, I would rather be a free mare out in the light, than live down here in the darkness for the rest of my days.” The others nodded in agreement.

Fluttershy looked at each of them, surprised and amazed that they would still act. “But… your families…”

“Fluttershy, if we stay down here, it is a death sentence. Fight them, and it’s most likely a death sentence. Do nothing, and it’s a death sentence. So you know what that means? We have nothing to lose in trying,” Rainbow pointed out.

Fluttershy looked at each of them for a moment, her mouth agape and her mind trying to process what they all said. Eventually her face slowly but surely turned into a thin smile. “I love you all, you know that.”

“We know,” Twilight replied, a small smile on her face. She took a deep breath then said, “For Equestria?”

Fluttershy shook her head, her eyes going from pony to pony. “No. For you.” She spun around and galloped as fast as she could towards the duplicates, and the duplicate controller.

Rainbow whistled. “Wow. I can actually wipe off, ‘Fluttershy charges head first into danger’, off my, ‘things to see before I die’, list.”

“I hope that list of yours is mostly complete, Rainbow,” Applejack said, tightening her hat on her head. “Because today might be it.”

Rainbow shrugged in response. “I think I can live with that. Or not.” She chuckled at her own joke. She looked at Applejack, nodded, then brought her crossbow up and fired it into the duplicates, hitting one right in the throat and sending it to the ground dead. Then with a battle cry she surged forward, followed close behind by Applejack, and then finally Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie charged as one, screaming battle cries together.

In the few seconds it took Fluttershy to charge into the duplicates, her mind was a buzz of activity. She felt sickened at herself for what she was about to do. She came down the stairs hoping to get through this while avoiding violence, but now she found herself charging towards them with intent on killing. She quickly glanced behind her to see her friends charging also, and smiled. ‘They are far braver than me,’ she thought. Despite all that had happened, the fact that so many died for nothing, they wouldn’t give up. Not while their families, their country, their friends were in danger. She admired that greatly. It gave her such a boost in confidence that she willed herself to see this through to the end. Whatever that end may be.

She cleared her mind of her thoughts when she noticed the line of duplicates in her way. She prayed silently that she would be quick; any longer than her friends could take and they would all die. The duplicates all lowered their weapons, forming a wall of swords and spears for the six ponies to charge through. Fluttershy, despite the obvious danger she was in of getting skewered, felt herself grinning. She felt her Dragonlord instincts kick in instantly. The blank, yet fast acting mind of a warrior began coming into play. She was glad it was for once, for she needed it more now, for the sake of her friends and their families. It was time for her to uphold her vow.

She was only a few feet away when she suddenly leapt into the air and dived towards two she’d picked out, Firewing and Drage Bane coming out of their scabbards, singing as if in anticipation for the battle to come. Firewing went through the stomach of one, while Drage Bane went through the chest of the other, sending them both to the ground without harming Fluttershy at all. She rolled and kicked her hind legs at the next two in front, sending them both to the ground and making them drop their weapons.

She pulled her swords out of the two that had originally fallen and met the blade of a duplicate with them both. She pushed the duplicate back and with Drage Bane, cut off the right leg, and with Firewing, tore out the belly. She spun around that one and slashed across one on her left quickly before moving on. Another came at her with a spear, and another came from behind her. She veered away from the spear point, got hold of the spear, and thrust it into the chest of the duplicate behind her. She broke off and spun around the spear holder, and stabbed through and up the back quickly, then pulled away to take on the next one. She was in a sea of opponents, so she knew she had to be quick and brutal.

The others, meanwhile, smashed into the duplicates together with the force of a train. Before they knew what was happening, ten of the duplicates were dead and melting. Now her friends were hacking, slashing, stabbing, decapitating, and firing bolts of spells at any duplicate that stood in their way. Fluttershy smiled at them, before turning back and began galloping forward once more. She reared up when she went up against one with an axe and deflected the attack made against her with Firewing, then slashing up to the neck with Drage Bane, and then she spun away. As she spun she met another attack from one with a spiked warhammer, blocking the hammerhead with Firewing, then slashing across the stomach with Drage Bane, and then across the chest with Firewing. She pulled away, pushed the melting creature aside, and galloped forward once again, ducking away and diving under the legs of some of the duplicates, tearing their legs apart with her wing blades as she did so, as she tried to get to the duplicate controller. It wouldn’t make any difference on how many she took down; all that mattered was getting to the controller.

She jumped up and smashed another into the ground with her hooves, then reared up and blocked a swing from a sword of another with Firewing. She pushed the sword away from its owner, then spun around and bucked hard on the knees, which cracked like a nut. The duplicate went down on its ruined knees, screaming in pain. Fluttershy spun back around, reared up, put her hooves above its neck, and then twisted the head hard and fast, breaking the neck. As the creature went down, she looked up and locked eyes with the controller. It too saw her and sneered, before turning around and started to run away from the duplicates. Fluttershy gritted her teeth. “Come back here!” she yelled. She pushed the gurgling creature away from her and ran after the controller, not noticing or caring that the other duplicates were now ignoring her. She barged her way through, sending some to the ground, and slashing indiscriminately at others with her swords, while her wing blades tore open any that stood too close to their sharp edges.

She suddenly found herself in open space with rows upon rows of duplicates behind her. She took a deep breath, and then looked up to see the controller running into the darkness. She growled and prepared to give chase, only to stop and spin around in horror as she heard the cries of her friends. She quickly took to the air and her jaw slackened in horror as she helplessly watched her friends fall one by one.

Rainbow was the first to go down. The pegasus rolled around one wielding an axe, who was swinging it clumsily in the hope it might hit her. She managed to roll behind it and slash across the back of the knees, which made it collapse onto them. She brought her sword up and thrust it quickly into the neck, then pulled it out again as she heard another come up behind her with a trident. Although the duplicates shared the same voice and usually copied another, in battle, however, they all moved and fought differently from each other.

Rainbow jumped back as the duplicate with the trident thrust the three pointed head at her. It missed her barely, but it gave her time to counter with her own sword thrust, which took it quickly in the chest. Before she could pull it out, the claw of the duplicate hit her in the chin and sent her onto to her back. She jumped back up on he hooves, but the butt end of a long axe slammed into the back of her head, knocking her out.

Several duplicates surrounded Rarity, but she felt ready. The fear that gnawed at her had gone, to be replaced with a peaceful calm despite being surrounded and forced to fight. She felt good knowing Dancer was by her chest, ready to defend her. One suddenly stepped forward, brandishing its swords at her; one weapon was curved while the other was straight. It quickly made a feint attack with its straight sword, leaving the curved one back so it could make the killing blow. Rarity dodged the first attack, then deflected the second with Dancer, and then fired an electrical bolt from her horn, which instantly disintegrated the duplicate. ‘Thank you, Twilight, for teaching me that,’ she thought.

Another duplicate with a huge great sword quickly charged her, swinging the blade at a wide arc, and forcing Rarity to duck. She moved forward to make a fatal blow, but the duplicate brought its sword back and deflected it. It pushed her back, and then raised its sword again, hoping to use the pommel of the blade to take her down. She deflected the pommel away from her, then spun round it and stabbed through the side. The duplicate went down and began to melt. “Take that, you ruffian!” she cried triumphantly. She turned around to face the next opponent, only to see the tip of an elbow slam into her face. And then she saw no more.

Pinkie was next. She jumped into the air and hind kicked one in the face with such force its neck snapped. She landed on her hind legs and stabbed another through the stomach. She spun away from that one and slashed across the chest of another. Several of the duplicates backed away in horror of the ferocity of the pink pony, who was now surrounded by about half a dozen melting duplicates. Another came at her from behind, swinging its sword to go through her neck. Pinkie’s ear twitched at the attack coming from behind her, and waited until the very last second to duck.

The blade missed with just inches between her mane and the sword’s blade. She spun low and stabbed through the groin up. The duplicate howled in pain, while the ones around them both winced at the sound. She pulled the sword out and tempted the others to come for her. A sudden cry of one of her friends made her spin around towards its source. She gasped when she saw Rarity fall after being knocked in the face with an elbow. She growled and prepared to charge, but suddenly felt something like a hammerhead hit her on the back of the head, and her world went dark.

Sweat began to pour down Applejack’s forehead as she tried to block attack after attack coming from a duplicate that was quick with a sword. She blocked the next one, then suddenly felt the wind taken out of her as a fist rammed into her belly. She fell to the floor, a hoof holding over her belly as she tried get her breath back. ‘Don’t fall yet, Applejack,’ she told herself in thought. ‘Fluttershy is counting on ya.’ The duplicate walked around her, and brought its sword in the air, aiming the tip at the back of her neck. Before it could hit home, Applejack rolled to the right. She brought her sword through its right leg and cut deep into it. The creature staggered, trying to regain its balance. Applejack seized the moment and stabbed through the belly, killing it instantly.

She pulled the sword out then spun around, expecting more to face her. She glanced to her right and her eyes widened when she saw the tip of a rainbow coloured tail lying on the ground. Applejack instantly began to gallop towards her friend, hoping she was still alive. She head butted a duplicate coming from her side in the stomach, sending it to the ground, and slashed at a duplicate coming at her from the front, before pushing it aside and stopping beside her friend. Blood dripped from the back of Rainbow’s head where she was hit, but her chest was rising so she was alive; at least for the moment. Applejack’s teeth gritted together and her face darkened.

“Ya’ll pay for this!” she cried, rearing up and slashing down the chest of a duplicate coming from behind her. Another with a large club in its claw came at her next, sneering and growling as it approached. Applejack raised her leg again to strike down, but found her leg caught in the free claw of the duplicate. It head butted Applejack, sending her onto her back. She shook her head to clear the dizziness, and attempted to get up again. She didn’t make it far, however, when the duplicate swooped the club down and whacked it hard against her skull, knocking her out.

Twilight watched each of her friends go down with tears in her eyes, unable to do anything except watch. Her chest rose and fell quickly and heavily, while her horn glowed a fierce magenta as it created a shield around her, keeping the duplicates away from her for a while. She had fought fiercely, so hard that her brother would most likely be envious if he was here, but in the end a sword had swung down against hers so hard the blade shattered, forcing her to use the shield. Around the shield lay around twenty to thirty melting duplicates that she had taken down, and many more were disintegrating as they crashed against her shield in an attempt to take it down – a tactic that would eventually work, Twilight knew, but it would give Fluttershy a chance to find the controller.

She looked up and gasped to see Fluttershy hovering over the duplicates, tears pouring down her face as she had watched her friends fall, and now had to watch her fall. “GO!” she screamed at her. Fluttershy shook her head hesitantly, fighting over whether to help Twilight, or go after the controller. “YOU HAVE TO STOP HIM, FLUTTERSHY! JUST GO!” At that moment, the shield broke, and she collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion, while a duplicate came up from behind and brought its club down on her head.

Fluttershy looked away, although she was unable to dim out the sound of the club hitting her friend’s skull. She felt like a coward; her friends have all fallen because of her, and she just watched as each was taken down, one by one, while she did nothing. “I am a coward,” she said to herself.

Mocking laughter soon echoed across the prison, making Fluttershy turn around to the source. She gritted her teeth in anger, and raced into the darkness to find the source of the laughter. Her friends might be gone, but she wasn’t going to let their sacrifice be for nothing.

Twilight’s vision was blurry at first; she saw a mishmash of black and dark grey and white, coming together like some twisted painting. She then felt herself moving and quickly realised she was being dragged, for her belly felt cold against the cold stone beneath her. She blinked a few times and her vision cleared, and she saw what was around her. A multitude of the duplicates were looking at her with malevolent eyes, each brandishing its weapon at her, making threatening gestures with them.

She looked back to see she was being dragged by the tail by a duplicate, and then quickly squirmed about in a bid to get free. She suddenly felt herself being thrown through the air, and landed into a circle where the rest of her friends were now kept.

Applejack was squirming under the foot of a duplicate, trying to push it off with her head, but unable to get far due to her head screaming out in pain. Pinkie was conscious, but she was completely still as if she wasn’t. She blinked every now and then but her eyes gave away her fear, and her sorrow. Rainbow was closest to Twilight, and was struggling to get back up like Applejack, but was making a better job at it. With a groan she pushed the duplicate off and sent it staggering away. She quickly tried to get back up but was soon forcibly pushed back down again, with the point of a sword at the top of her head in case she tried again. Twilight couldn’t see if Rarity was awake for she was facing away from her, and a large foot covered her head, but was relieved to see her sides rise and fall.

“Girls,” she croaked, trying to get back up on her hooves. She made it halfway before she felt a foot digging into her back, making her cry out in pain, and pushed her back on her belly.

“I would stay still if I were you,” the duplicates said.

“How are you all?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, never felt better,” Rainbow said sarcastically, gritting her teeth through the pain she was feeling.

“Is Rarity awake?”

Rainbow only shook her head. “She’s got a nasty black eye, and a large bruise where an elbow rammed into her face,” Applejack said, crying out when the duplicate holding her down pushed a little harder for her own good. “I don’t understand. Why don’t they just kill us?”

“Only when the last of the Dragonlord’s lifeblood has stained the floor, then you will die,” the duplicates answered in a lifeless tone.

Twilight’s eyes widened in fear, and hope. She saw Rainbow struggling even harder to get away from the duplicate. “Rainbow, stop. Just stay still.”

“Stay still!” Rainbow cried. “How can I stay still knowing my one of my best friends is about to fight alone?!” she tried getting up again, with no success. “How can you just still lie there?”

“Because I have faith in Fluttershy to do what needs to be done,” Twilight replied. “She isn’t the pony that is scared of everything anymore. She’s a Dragonlord, Rainbow; a warrior without peer, with the blood of possibly the greatest warrior that ever lived in her veins, if I’m right. If anyone can take Heimdallr down, it’s her.”

“But what can we do?” Pinkie whimpered.

Slowly, and painfully, she reached out a hoof for Pinkie to take hold of. Pinkie reached out hers and merely touched Twilight’s own. “Pray,” she answered. “Pray and hope that Fluttershy has the strength to end him.”

The four ponies instantly relaxed, closed their eyes and silently began to pray.

Fluttershy couldn’t recall how long she had been flying in the darkness, or how long it had been since she had left her friends behind and ran off to find the controller and take him down. Either way, she hadn’t heard anything from the controller since, and it was beginning to unnerve her.

She looked around, until suddenly she saw what looked like a faint light of a torch in the far distance. Taking to the air again, she followed it, hoping it would lead her to Heimdallr.

She looked back every now and then, in case the other duplicates were following her, or one or all of her friends suddenly appeared. She highly doubted it. She had watched them fall, and were all probably now dead with gaping holes on them from sword wounds. She quickly cleared her head to rid herself of the thought. They had been through a lot, the six of them, surely they could survive this? She hoped so, for she promised herself she wouldn’t go back home without them.

She eventually arrived at the place of the light and gasped at its beauty. It was a large torch that rested in a sconce on the side if a pillar. She was surprised to see it burning, especially after what might have been less than five thousand years down here in the cold and dark, with nopony to illuminate it. She suddenly noticed the flame going a dark blue for a second, before returning to its original orangey glow. “A magic flame,” she guessed. “At what must be the very centre of the prison.” She looked around for a second, before looking back at the sconce holding the torch.

The sconce in question was carved to look like a dragon. Its bat-like wings spread out, its mouth holding the piece for the torch to slot it, and in its claws was a large circle, perfectly formed to fit whatever fitted in it. Fluttershy tilted her head to the side as she guessed it was big enough to fit the key she had tucked away in her mane. Curious, she took the key out of her mane and held it with her hooves, and saw to her complete shock that the key was a perfect fit.

‘But how in Celestia’s, Luna’s, and Vidarr’s names is this possible?’ she wondered. Starswirl created the five keys, her father told her, yet he wasn’t around when this prison was built. But then again, did he create them? And even if he did and set this up down here, why didn’t he just place the key in the hole and do what needed to be done? Why just leave, and leave him alive? Her head began to play a nasty beat as she became more confused by the second.

“Ingen flere venner for å hjelpe deg (No more friends to aid you).” Fluttershy turned away from the sconce to look at her father’s killer. In his right claw was a long, two-handed blade; glowing red hot as if it had just been pulled from the fire it had been forged in. While his left was hidden behind his back – whatever was behind him, she already didn’t like it. Heimdallr’s scales were a tar black, absent of fire as now he had run out of his reserve magic – from now on it would be a fight with blades.

Fluttershy gulped down the lump in her throat, and quickly hid the key in her mane. Her heart and head was beating at an alarming rate, but she ignored it. She felt her nerves once again disappear to be replaced with not anger, but something else. She began walking forward towards the dragon, her heart and mind steeled as she readied herself for this battle. “Ingen flere magiske skjold å gjemme seg bak (No more magic to shield you),” Fluttershy said.

Heimdallr began walking forward, the point of his sword barely grazing the ground and malice in his burning eyes. “Bare erfaring med sverd... (Just skill with the blade).”

“… og forstanden (And wits),” Fluttershy finished for him. The two were now standing about eight feet apart from each other, anticipating who was going to strike the first blow. Fluttershy reared up and presented Firewing and Drage Bane in a salute pose, both still dripping in the blood of the duplicates she had brought down to get here.

Heimdallr chuckled at the gesture. “Er jeg virkelig vært respekten, Fluttershy Ildvinge (Am I really worth respect, Fluttershy Firewing)?”

“Alle som går imot Drageorderen er vært å bli respektert (Everyone that goes against the Dragonlords is worth respect),” Fluttershy replied.

Heimdallr chuckled once more. “Well I’m not one for standing on ceremony. Let’s get this over with.” He took a few steps forward, and revealed from behind his back a large perfectly rounded flail like a wrecking ball, held on by a long chain in his left claw.

Fluttershy had barely the time to react as he swung it towards her skull. She fell hard on to the ground and let the ball hiss past her. She got up and charged forward, hoping to use the break between swings to her advantage. Heimdallr brought the flail close to him and shortened the length of the chain, then flung it high in the air and brought it crashing down towards her. Fluttershy stopped right in front of it, the ball crashing down into the stone, denting it. Heimdallr brought it up again and gave it another swing, this time low to catch her legs.

Fluttershy saw it coming and jumped like a filly would with a skipping rope. She charged once again, but Heimdallr kept taking large steps back, swinging the flail once more. This time he looked to swing it low, making Fluttershy jump into the air, thinking she had him read, but at the last second Heimdallr raised it high, high enough for the ball to smash into her left side with the force of a train.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened in agony as the flail smashed into her side; the pain she had from the attack was so much she thought she might pass out, yet she stayed awake, her body knowing if she fell unconscious she would lose. She felt herself fly for a moment before her right side smashed against a pillar, and her belly hit the stone floor. She gritted her teeth hard, fighting down the urge to release the scream of pain that was on her lips, and she found herself winning that fight. ‘I will not scream,’ she promised herself. ‘Heimdallr wants to break me first, but he’ll be disappointed when he won’t hear a squeak from me. He might beat me in this duel, but he won’t win in breaking me.’

Heimdallr sneered as he saw Fluttershy laying there, her left wing mangled beyond recognition, and blood seeping out where her wing blades turned on her. It was time to finish this. He raised the flail to him once more, swung it behind him at full length into the air, and watched as the ball moved to crush Fluttershy’s skull.

Fluttershy looked up and saw the ball coming. At first her mind told her to just rest, and wait for the final peace, but suddenly another voice came in, one that sounded familiar. ‘Don’t give up,’ the voice said. ‘We’re all counting on you.’ Whatever or whoever it was, it was enough. Fluttershy’s eyes snapped open and she jumped back, letting the ball slam into the ground before her. Before Heimdallr could bring it back she brought out Drage Bane and severed the ball from the chain. She looked from the now melting flail to Heimdallr who was staring at her in disbelief.

That disbelief turned into a snarl. He dropped the chain and brought his sword up so he was holding it with two claws. With a cry of rage he charged forwards, his white-hot blade humming in its intense flame. Fluttershy went back down on all fours and charged forwards. She whispered a brief prayer in Dragonian before rearing up once more and meeting Heimdallr’s sword with her Drage Bane. The two blades came crashing down on each other with a force that would send shockwaves if it could. Both opponents nearly lost their balance, but quickly regained it by pulling away from each other.

Heimdallr attacked again, raining attack after attack on the Dragonlord from left, right, high and low. Yet every time Fluttershy was able to jump back, duck, or use her swords to parry. Heimdallr took another step forward, and brought his sword down from above his head. Fluttershy blocked the blow with both her swords. Suddenly Heimdallr released a claw from the sword and slashed its sharp fingers across Fluttershy’s left cheek.

Fluttershy staggered, holding a hoof over where Heimdallr had struck, giving Heimdallr the chance to finish her. He took his sword in both claws once more, and made ready to swoop it down into her skull. Just as he struck down, Fluttershy recovered and rolled around him, then cut off the dragon’s right wing with Drage Bane. Heimdallr howled at the pain he had been given, and then spun around to face her. Fluttershy now had three long scratches across her left cheek and below an eye, and they wept blood. Yet through it all, Fluttershy stayed calm and cool. She charged once again, and jumped and thrust Drage Bane forward, aiming for his throat.

Heimdallr jumped back, then took a step forward and swung the blade low, hoping to catch her neck. Fluttershy brought her head low, making her miss the blade by inches. She reared up again and tried to thrust her swords into Heimdallr. Heimdallr stepped back and deflected Drage Bane and blocked Firewing, sparks spitting out of Heimdallr’s sword on contact. Heimdallr attacked again, this time with a swing from above the head. Fluttershy stepped aside, and then bucked out with her hind legs, hitting him in the stomach and winding him.

Grinning, Fluttershy spun back around, reared up and brought Drage Bane down to go into his head. At the last moment Heimdallr brought his sword up and blocked the blow, then with his free claw he punched Fluttershy hard in the stomach and sent her onto her back. Slowly, he got up and gave his sword a few swings, then slowly walked towards the Dragonlord. Fluttershy rolled back onto her belly and began to get up, presenting her back to him. Grinning at the chance, he brought his sword up and swung it down, the tip of the sword cutting between her shoulders right down to the tip of her tail.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened once more at the pain she was feeling as she felt Heimdallr’s sword go down her back, but again she didn’t scream. ‘I will not scream, I will not scream, I will not scream,’ she kept telling herself. She stood on her hind legs for a moment, her face distorted as she tried to fight back the scream that wanted to be released, before collapsing back onto her stomach, blood dripping from the long line that now ruined her back.

Heimdallr chuckled, pleased that he was actually winning; won, was the better term for it. He was surprised Fluttershy was able to take a flail to the side like she did and still stand and fight, but now there was no chance she was able to get up from that.

Fluttershy felt her breath quicken, and began to see her life flash in front of her. She saw her friends, the crushes she had, the places she visited, the lives she’d helped, and the future, where it all came crashing down in fire. ‘Fluttershy,’ that voice called out again. This time, however, it sounded like Twilight’s. ‘I don’t know if you can hear me, or even if this spell is working, but I have faith in you. We all do. If you are down, if you are at the verge of giving up, don’t. Please don’t give up. We need you, as you need us.’

Fluttershy’s eyes snapped open once again, and with a groan of pain she started getting back on her hooves, her hind legs first then with all the strength she had left, her forelegs, until she was standing at full height. She slowly turned around to face Heimdallr, who had a look of sheer disbelief on his face. “You fight well,” he said, grudgingly impressed. “For someone who abhors violence.”

“You’re right. I hate violence. I hate killing and anything to do with it,” Fluttershy responded.

Heimdallr’s laugh echoed across the prison. “Then why do you fight? Why not just accept my offer and live down here? Why do anything you have done tonight?”

“Because I have five reasons worth fighting for,” she replied. With a cry she galloped forward, ignoring any pain she was feeling to the best of her ability. Upon reaching Heimdallr she reared up and began attacking him in a number of furious slashes with her swords. Heimdallr managed to block every time effortlessly, his sword producing ferocious sparks as it made contact with her swords.

Fluttershy stepped back, goading him into swinging his sword down from above him. Her gambit worked. Heimdallr swung his sword over his head and brought it down. Quickly she deflected the sword with Drage Bane, and charged forward, thrusting Firewing into his stomach. “Applejack!” she cried as Firewing went in. She pulled it out and took a step back. Heimdallr, roaring with rage and pain, charged at her, swinging his sword at her like he was possessed. She was able to duck every swing, and step aside from every swoop. Vidarr was right; having a clear head was helping her think clearer in battle, while Heimdallr seemed to have been lost in a rage. Fluttershy ducked low and dived between his legs, slashing with her okay wing blades at his right leg. “Rainbow Dash!”

Heimdallr, snarling in pain, spun around and raised his sword again and thrust it towards her. With a hoof she pressed down on the claw holding his sword, then with Firewing hacked it off. “Ra-rit-ty!” she cried out Rarity’s name, every syllable said as she brought Firewing into Heimdallr’s arm. Once finished with the arm, She spun around him and slashed across his back. “Pinkie Pie!” She moved back in front of him and looked into his eyes, which where of shock, pain and fear. “And Twilight Sparkle!” She jumped into the air and slashed Drage Bane through the neck, severing the head from the body, silencing the roar of defiance from Heimdallr’s lips.

And then the whole of Heimdallr’s body exploded into tiny chunks of magma.

“Get off of me, you vile creatures!” Rarity yelled, as she tried to get away from the grip of the duplicate above her. Just as she finished speaking, the duplicates raised their heads to the ceiling and let out an agonising roar. The five ponies flattened their ears, unable to do anything else to muffle the screams coming from them. Twilight looked up and gasped in disbelief at what she was seeing.

Slowly, but surely, the duplicates were beginning to melt.

Seizing the chance, Twilight tried to power up her horn again, but only thing that came up was sizzles. ‘That spell to contact Fluttershy must have taken a bigger toll on my magic than I’d thought,’ she mused. ‘Either that, or that knock to the head must have weakened my magic for a moment.’ Either way, she couldn’t rely on magic, so only her own strength would have to do. Using what strength she had left, she pushed the melting duplicate off her and got back to her hooves. She began running around, bucking off the duplicates that held their friends.

“Thanks, Twi,” Applejack said as Twilight helped her back on her hooves. She looked from the unicorn to the duplicates as they began to melt like candle wax into pools of magma. At first she had no idea what was going on, but suddenly it clicked – Fluttershy had won. “Did she do it?” she asked, turning back to Twilight.

The unicorn looked her way and nodded, a wide grin on her face, and tears of joy in her eyes. Behind her, Rainbow gave a loud cry of, “Wahoo!” followed closely behind by Pinkie, who jumped the pegasus in a hug and danced around with her. Rarity jumped for joy and punched the air, then joined in Pinkie and Rainbow’s hug. Applejack and Twilight joined in the hug, and soon all five mares were spinning around on the spot, cheering with joy as they realised what happened.

It was over. After everything that happened, Fluttershy had won.

Twilight glanced to her right and her wide grin faded as she saw the magma that was once a duplicate began to crawl away. Another soon began to crawl, then another, and another, until all of them were moving into the darkness like a thick river, towards where the controller went. “What’s happening now?” Pinkie asked.

“Fluttershy took out the duplicate controller, breaking the spell but that was it. Now the pieces of him are going to be put back in place and he’ll be restored to his original size. Battered and gravely injured but still alive,” Twilight answered, her eyes narrowing. “Whether or not he continues to live is for Fluttershy to decide.”

Fluttershy thought she could feel the world go round; it kept going round and around and around, almost like she was falling. The world blurred out for a moment, before coming back. Although there were many thoughts going through her head, one was strongest – she had won; she had actually defeated him. Then the world went dark once more.

The next thing she remembered was seeing large pools of magma crawling past her, and she groaned as she realised that Heimdallr wasn’t entirely dead yet. Now, she realised, she would have to choose; let him live, or finish him and end the threat he is to everything she holds close to her heart.

She closed her eyes again and the world went dark for a second. When she opened them again, she saw that the magma that was once Heimdallr was now beginning to build up into the massive dragon again. She lowered her head to face the ground, and with gritted teeth began to raise herself on all fours again. The move was painful, but she bit down the urge to cry out. Eventually she found herself standing on all fours and shifted them apart to strengthen her stand. Comfortable that she wouldn’t be falling on her face anytime soon, she looked up to see that Heimdallr’s reconstruction was complete.

Heimdallr was lying on his belly in his huge, normal form. His black, broken wings stretched out, while blood that looked like lava flowed out of him from the many gashes and wounds he had received when he was split apart, and one big cut where his brain was, the one she gave him. “How… did you do this?” Heimdallr choked. “How… did you defeat… me?”

“Because you underestimated me and my friends, Heimdallr,” Fluttershy replied weakly. She knew she was loosing blood quickly, and if she didn’t get out of here soon she would die also. But it didn’t seem to matter for some reason.

Heimdallr closed his eyes and coughed up some lava like blood. “Then… finish it. End me as you promised. Bring about your vengeance and kill me.” Heimdallr closed his eyes and waited for the final blow.

Fluttershy just stood where she was, her cold-hearted stare unyielding. Killing Heimdallr was the one thing she wanted to do since she’d lost her father. And now she was here, why couldn’t she? Would her father have wanted to kill him? The answer would most likely have been yes, but not out of vengeance, but out of duty like Vidarr had said. Killing him now would be going against the laws of the Dragonlords.

She sighed and limply stepped away from him. “I can’t,” she said.

Heimdallr opened up an eye and chuckled, spitting out some blood. “Because you are weak.”

“No!” she shouted as loud as she could. “Because I’m better than you. You lost your son in the Great War, and turned your grief into rage and hatred. Turning you into… this. Have you ever thought of what your son would think if he saw you? Do you think your son would love you for what you’ve done?”

The questions hit Heimdallr harder than what any sword or axe blow would’ve done. His eyes widened and his claws clenched together as the hurt and pain came up all over again. “I’m not going to kill you, Heimdallr, nor can I forgive you for what you’ve done. Instead, I’m going to turn around and leave this place, and lock it behind me. You will never get out, but you will be alive. That’s more that can be said for those you butchered.” She bowed her head in respect, turned around and limped towards where she hoped the exit was. She didn’t think she would get far, but she could at least try.

“Stop!” Heimdallr called from behind her. Fluttershy stopped, and looked at him without contempt. The dragon closed his eyes; fighting back the pain he was feeling, both physical and mental. “It’s too late, Fluttershy Firewing. These wounds I have are too great that not even I can survive them. I will die in agony. Will you leave me here? Leave me in the dark to die in agony? Or if you are indeed the spirit of kindness, then maybe you can give me mercy.”

Painfully, he raised his right claw and pointed to the burning torch and sconce behind Fluttershy. “That sconce is what the last key is for, Dragonlord,” Heimdallr explained. “Upon placing the key in that hole, this chamber will break and flood, destroying the prison and killing me. Although it will be painful, it will compare little to what I will feel for a while if you don’t.”

Fluttershy looked from Heimdallr to the sconce, then back to Heimdallr again with a confused look. “How is that even possible? Starswirl created the five keys, he made them to stop you using your magic.”

“And I imagine your father told you this, who had read it from Starswirls’ journals?” Heimdallr enquired weakly, making Fluttershy think he was going to lay his head down and die. Fluttershy nodded, her teeth gritted together as a wave of pain went through her. “Just because Starswirl the Bearded wrote it down and said this is what happened, doesn’t mean it is the truth, Fluttershy Firewing. Only those in power write history, and the truth is always discarded in every case so those in power can make themselves look better.”

“So what’s the truth behind this?”

“In truth, the fifth was created along with this prison soon after I was defeated. Starswirl discovered the fifth key in the Dragonlord archives upon realising I was alive, and then made four copies of the original to act as keys for the new door he had built above the original.”

“Then why didn’t they activate it? Why do all of what they did, then leave?” Fluttershy asked, her voice just above a whisper in her weak state. “If they weren’t sure about your survival, then why didn’t they make the key do what they intended it to do?”

Heimdallr chuckled. “It is simple, Fluttershy Firewing. The Dragonlords were the most arrogant, most reckless ponies alive. They believed themselves superior over everything, and some even looked down upon others. Their arrogance blinded them to what truly mattered – taking me out. Only a few saw through that veil of arrogance the Dragonlords were cursed with, but their allegations and requests were always denied. Through their arrogance, your father, your family and your freinds have paid a terrible price.”

Fluttershy looked at him, her mind, although weakening, processed slowly what she had been told. After a while, she narrowed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. “You’re lying.”

A claw from Heimdallr lashed out at her, hoping to get hold of her and crush her. It didn’t get far for as soon as he extended it, he gritted his teeth in pain and was forced to stop. “Don’t you dare accuse me of lying!” he roared. “There is one thing I take pride in, and that’s my honesty. I have never lied to you; I have no reason to lie to you. So don’t you dare call me a liar again. I might be dying, but I could still crush you like a nut.”

Fluttershy’s legs wobbled as they tried to keep her upright. “Then... what are you waiting for?” Her body complaining in protest, she reared up and stretched her forelegs out wide. “The last of the Dragonlords is before you. All you need to do is stretch out your claw, and finish me. Do what you’ve wanted to do for so long. End me, and we would both die and this war would end with us, as it should.”

Heimdallr only coughed up some more magma-like blood in response. “I can’t,” he choked out.

Fluttershy really didn’t expect that. She set herself back down on all fours. “Why not?”

Because I am tired, Fluttershy Firewing. Tired of killing, tired of war, tired of despair. All I want now is for it all to end,” Heimdallr answered. “You’re right. My son wouldn’t want to look at me if he saw what I was, and wouldn’t even want to know me if he knew what I had done. The only way this can end for me is death, a quick death, one that only you can grant. So if you have any compassion left in your heart, use that key and break the spell that surrounds this place. Kill me and let this world be rid of me, and I be rid of it.”

Fluttershy looked from Heimdallr to the sconce, then back again. “I can’t do that,” she said.

“I do not live a life, Fluttershy Firewing. I am a sickness, a cancer that must be cleansed, and only you can do it. So please, do it. Do it. DO IT!” Heimdallr roared.

Fluttershy took the key out of her mane with a hoof, and limped heavily towards the sconce. She felt sick to her stomach as she approached, her heart beating faster and faster as she realised she was about to do a mercy killing. Heimdallr nudged her forward gently with a claw till she was right in front of it. “I haven’t got all day,” he said.

Fluttershy reared up and placed the key into the hole. Like she predicted it slotted into place perfectly, now all she needed to do was push it completely in.

“May I ask, what was your son’s name?” Fluttershy asked, as she placed a hoof on the key, ready to push forward.

“Meili, his name was,” Heimdallr answered, with a warm smile at his son’s memory.

“And what is your original name? Because I know Heimdallr’s not your true name?”

“My real name is Yngvi,” the ancient dragon answered.

“Tilgi meg, Yngvi (Forgive me, Yngvi),” Fluttershy said.

“Ingenting å tilgi for, Fluttershy Ildvinge (There is nothing to forgive, Fluttershy Firewing),” Yngvi answered. With that, Fluttershy pushed the key forward, and a clicking sound echoed from it being fully placed. At the moment Fluttershy pulled away, the torch above it went out.

“Shh,” Rarity whispered, raising her hoof to silence her friends whom were all talking at once. “What’s that rumbling sound?”

The other four ponies stopped what they were doing and listened intently to hear what Rarity heard. After a moment, they all began to hear a rumbling sound, low at first but was getting louder and louder in its intensity. “Please tell me that was one of ya’ll stomachs,” Applejack said, her eyes going from pony to pony.

Suddenly, from above them, a large spout of water burst through the ceiling and landed not too far from them. The five mares jumped back in fright as it appeared, then jumped again as another hole gushing with water appeared, then another, and another, until the entire prison began to fill with water. “OUT!” Twilight screamed, turning around and galloping towards the entrance. The other quickly caught up with her.

“What about Fluttershy?” Pinkie enquired.

Twilight stopped in her tracks. She looked back at where Fluttershy had gone and felt awful for a moment for even thinking of leaving without her. “You all get outside, I’ll get Fluttershy,” she ordered them. The four ponies looked at each other hesitantly. “GO!” She snapped at them. It gave them the boost she wanted, for they began running to the stairs and outside. With them safe, Twilight spun around and galloped back into the darkness, jumping and avoiding the puddles of water that was slowly beginning to fill up the prison.

Fluttershy watched as the water began to flow in, spout after spout appearing from the ceiling as the water began to rise and fill up the prison. At first she felt like running towards finding the entrance, probably find her friends’ bodies, and try to find a way of getting them all to safety, but now that felt like an idea she would never accomplish. She felt weak; she could feel one or two of her legs beginning to go numb, her side and back screamed in pain, and her vision was beginning to blur. Yet for some reason it didn’t matter. She collapsed onto her rump, bowed her head and simply waited for the end.

A wheezy but pained chuckle from Heimdallr made her look up. “Hvorfor sitter du der, klar til å kaste ditt liv vekk? Din tid er ikke over ennå, Fluttershy Ildvinge (Why are you sitting there, ready to throw your life away? Your time is not over yet, Fluttershy Firewing). He quickly grabbed hold of her, making Fluttershy fear he was going to crush her, but instead he gently threw her towards the entrance. “GO!” he shouted at her, just as a jet of water broke through the ceiling above him, and crashed against his back, hissing as his body went into a cool down. Heimdallr screamed at the touch of the water. “RUN!” he screamed out. Then he disappeared under the huge jets of water, and he was no more.

Fluttershy realised Heimdallr was right; her time was not over yet, and she would fight to live, even for a little while. It would be worth it just to say goodbye to her friends. She got up from the floor and began galloping as fast she could towards the entrance, hoping she was going the right way. She glanced back to see the water now filling up the chamber, and coming after her in a huge tidal wave, seemingly intent to finish her.

But Fluttershy had other intentions, so she ran faster. She suddenly tripped on her own hooves and fell onto her side. She tried to get back up but her strength left her. She sighed sadly and realised she won’t see her friends again. If they were lucky and were still alive they were all on that boat and away from here. Herself, on the other hoof, knew this would probably happen. She knew it was going to be a one-way trip the moment she set hoof in here. “Goodbye Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack,” she whispered. With that, she closed her eyes and waited for the end.

She suddenly felt herself being lifted into the air, and thought for a second she would soon be seeing her mother and father. That changed when she heard Twilight’s voice echo through her ears. “Not today, Fluttershy!” Fluttershy opened her eyes to find herself wrapped in Twilight’s magic – the unicorn herself looking pained as she used her magic – and was being flown towards the unicorn.

“Let’s get out of here,” Twilight said, gently placing the pegasus on her back.

“I… agree,” Fluttershy said, her vision blurring as she started to feel weaker and weaker.

Twilight looked ahead to see water beginning to flood the chamber, and heard Fluttershy produce a wheezy breath. She didn’t know if Fluttershy would make it, but she had to try and save her. She spun away from the water and began galloping as hard and fast as she could in her state, the only thing keeping her going was her and Fluttershy’s survival.

She veered away from another jet of water as it crashed through the ceiling, and began joining the others in flooding the chamber. Twilight still wasn’t sure how this was happening, but it mattered little now. She suddenly saw the stairs, lowered her head towards the ground and galloped even quicker to get out. “We’re nearly there, just hang on!” she called to Fluttershy, even though the pegasus could barely hear her friend.

Twilight made it to the stairs just before the water managed to catch up with them. She raced up the stairs, taking each step in three’s. She looked back once more and saw the water was just beginning to flood the stairway. Feeling slightly relaxed at their situation, she slowed her gallop, but quickly realised that Fluttershy still needed help, so began to take the stairs three at a time once more. After ten minutes or so she could see the first hint of light from outside, and smiled.

She leapt the last few and was soon back into the light of dawn. She looked eastward to see the top of the sun rising over the mountains. “Look at that sunrise, Fluttershy,” Twilight whispered. “Although Celestia is the one who raises it, you were the one who gave us it.”

Fluttershy weakly raised her head and looked in the direction of the sun, her eyes narrow and her back covered in her blood. She raised a small, although pained smile, as she watched the sun’s rays shoot out from the sun and into the sky.

Twilight’s smile faded when she saw the full extent of Fluttershy’s injuries, and turned to face where the boat was. She gasped in horror when she saw their only chance to escape drifting away from the island, while her friends watched with solemn eyes as it departed. “I’m sorry, Twi,” Applejack said. “We just got here and saw the boat float away. We couldn’t stop it in time.”

Fluttershy let out a breath of air, and fell off Twilight’s back and onto her right side. “Fluttershy!” the five ponies cried, rushing over to the fallen pegasus and trying to get her back up. They all jumped at the sound of something being broke apart. They watched with horror as one of the mountains that looked so sturdy, suddenly collapsed on itself. From within came a great whoosh of water that began filling the Horscan sea up. The spell that held this place together was broken, and now a place of magic was collapsing on itself. It would leave no trace of Heimdallr’s existence – none.

“We did it, girls,” Fluttershy whispered, loud enough for them to hear.

“No, Fluttershy. You did it. You saved us all,” Applejack said, tears pouring from her eyes. She knew what was happening, but didn’t want to believe it – Fluttershy was saying her goodbyes.

Fluttershy shook her head. “I didn’t save you. I brought you all here and now you’re going to die because of me. I brought this about. I did this, and for that I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Fluttershy. Just save your energy,” Twilight said, whilst trying to think of a way to save them all, but yet every escape plan that she had escaped her. She looked towards Rainbow. “Rainbow, go. Save yourself. You don’t need to die here.”

Rainbow looked at her plainly for a moment, and then replied, “You’re kidding me, right? I would rather cut off my own wings than leave you all.”

They all bowed their heads as they realised this was it. “Well,” Fluttershy whispered, “I’m glad I’m with you all, here at the end.”

Twilight smiled, and then wrapped her forelegs around Fluttershy, even as tears poured down her cheeks. The others followed in quick succession, having one last group hug before the end. “We’ve been through a lot, all of us,” Rarity said, sniffing back tears. “We’ve had some good moments, and some bad ones, but I still wouldn’t pass any of it for the world.” The others agreed. “I just wish I could say goodbye to my sister,” Rarity added, “and my parents.”

“We all do, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “But I’m sure they will hear us, wherever they are.” She emphasised this by shouting into the sky, “Applebloom! Granny Smith! Big Mac! I love you all! And remember me!”

“Sweetie Belle! Mother! Father! I love you with all my heart! Don’t forget me!” Rarity followed Applejack’s example.

Rainbow looked at them both, and then followed their example. “Mom! Dad! I know I might not have been the best daughter you had! I know I might have been harsh in what I said to both of you the last time we saw each other! But I have always loved you both dearly, and I couldn’t have asked for better parents! Remember me as I was!”

Pinkie, with tears in her eyes, called out in the sky. “Mom! Dad! Inkie! Dinkie! I’m sorry that I ran away like I did! There hasn’t been a moment gone by where I wanted to see you all again and see how you’re getting on! I love you all! Always!”

Twilight was last. “Mom! Dad! Shining Armor! Cadence! Spike! I hope you can hear me, but I love you all so much! And I’m sorry!”

Fluttershy glanced at the cold water that closed in around them, then up towards where the sun was rising. She gave a small smile, as she knew she was the one who gave the world this, but the cost to her seemed a bit too much. Why did her friends have to die also? It mattered little now, for she was beginning to feel nothing. She breathed a small sigh of content as she prepared herself to join her mother and father.

And then the world went black.

Chapter 20 (part 1)

At first there was nothing but darkness in front of her, until she saw a small, bright white light at the end of what seemed to be a tunnel. That light started to become brighter and brighter, and she felt like she was running towards it. The light was now so close she thought she could reach out and touch it, but just as she about to be engulfed in it, she felt something like a great gush of wind come towards her and she was quickly pushed back and the light quickly disappeared, and darkness returned.

A moment later, she thought she could hear voices, familiar voices calling out to her in concern, begging her to come back and join them. But as soon as they appeared they were gone, and she heard nor felt nothing again.

A while later she felt her senses return to her one by one, and she slowly opened her eyes. At first she could make out a plain grey but blurred ceiling above her, so closed and open her eyes several times until her vision cleared. She saw it was definitely a plain grey ceiling, but something about it seemed familiar to her, as if she’d woken up with it above her once before.

“Where… where am I?” she called out to the world.

“Hush, my dear friend,” a voice said, seemingly from beside her. “You’re in Castilian, Fluttershy. Safe.”

Fluttershy twisted her head to her right to see who was it that spoke. Her eyes widened when she saw the old grey mare sitting beside the bed in which she laid in. “Freya?”

The old horse nodded. “Yes, my dear, I am here. And you are lucky to be here, too. You were more or less dead when you arrived. But you amazed us all with your recovery.”

Fluttershy brought herself up with a groan as she felt pain down her left side and her back. “Please, my dear, stay down,” Freya said, as she gently pushed the weakened pony down flat onto her bed.

“But… what happened? I remember flooding the chamber and drowning Heimdallr, but after that I remember nothing.” She suddenly let out a gasp as she remembered the boat’s disappearance, and her friends stranded on an island where the water was rising around them. “What about my friends?! Are they all right?! Where are they?!…”

Freya raised a hoof to silence her. “Fine. They’re all just fine. A bit shaken after what they and you have been through but otherwise okay.”

Fluttershy relaxed a little, a small sigh of relief escaping her mouth. “But how? The boat was gone and with it our chances of escape. How did we all get out of there?”

Freya smiled. “It seemed you had a guardian angel close by, Fluttershy…”

The water was now coming in at all sides. The boat, which they came in, had now drifted away; so far that Twilight couldn’t get a hold of it with her magic. They were trapped; with no way out, and worse, Fluttershy had slipped into unconsciousness and if she didn’t get help soon, she would die. ‘She’s probably the lucky one, though,’ Twilight thought. ‘She won’t drown like the rest of us.’

“Well then,” Applejack said as she watched the water filling up the island, “I guess this is it, girls.” The five ponies had dragged Fluttershy up to highest point if the island as the water began filling up the banks. They looked behind to see the water filling up the stairway that led down to Heimdallr’s prison, which had now become his tomb.

“It’s been great, you know,” Twilight said with a sad smile. “I’m glad to have known you all.”

“You make it sound as if it’s the end, Twilight Sparkle,” a voice called out from the heavens. The five ponies looked up and gasped with joy and relief as Vidarr descended from the sky towards them. He landed before them and got onto his belly. “Quickly, Equestrians, onto my back!”

“What about Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked as she took to the air. The other four ponies quickly jumped up and clung onto Vidarr’s back.

“No worries, Rainbow Dash. I’ve got her.” He picked the unconscious pony in his claws, and took to the air, just before the island disappeared under the rising water. The five ponies and one dragon watched as the water stopped flowing from the mountains, and the Horscan Sea returned to its calm nature once more. It was as if nothing had happened. Satisfied, Vidarr swooped around and headed east.

“We have to get Fluttershy some medical attention, Vidarr. Now!” Twilight shouted, trying to make herself heard to the sound of Vidarr’s wings as they beat against the air.

“I’m taking you all to Castilian, Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy Firewing shall receive medical attention there,” Vidarr replied.

“But she won’t survive the journey there!” Rainbow called up from her place next to Fluttershy. She had a hoof on the pegasus’ cheek, and was trying to hold back the tears as she felt her friend going colder by the second. “She needs help, now!”

Vidarr could feel the last of the Dragonlords’ lifeblood fading in his claws. Rainbow was right; Fluttershy would not survive the journey there, so he would have to take matters in his own claws. “Can you do anything to help her, Vidarr?” Pinkie asked, sniffing back tears.

He looked down and saw a large clearing, large enough for him to land in. He looked back at Pinkie and smiled. “Pinkamena Diane Pie, just you watch me. Hold on!” he bellowed to the ponies on his back. Without another warning he plummeted towards the ground, then levelled back up before hitting the ground. He dropped Fluttershy to the ground, and then took back to the air, hovering just a few feet off the ground.

Rainbow shot to the ground and ran up to Fluttershy to see if she was all right from the tumble. Her heart broke when she felt her friend was now cold – too cold to still be alive. She put a hoof to where her friend’s heart was, and felt nothing. Her heart forgetting to continue beating, she moved a hoof to where a pulse would be, and again felt nothing.

Fluttershy was dead.

“Rainbow Dash,” Vidarr said delicately. “Stand aside.”

Rainbow turned around to face the dragon, her face revealing her complete devastation. “There’s no point, Vidarr. She’s dead.” The ponies on the dragon’s back put hooves over their mouths in shock, even as tears poured down their faces.

“Rainbow Dash, I’m asking you to stand aside please,” Vidarr persisted.

“There’s no point doing anything if she’s DEAD!” Rainbow shrieked, tears pouring down her face. “I failed her. I said I’d protect her, look out for her, and she in turn would look out for me. And now she’s dead.”

“I can still save her, Rainbow Dash, but if you don’t get out the way now then she would be truly dead, and only yourself would be to blame,” Vidarr said, getting angrier by the second. “So get out the way!” He growled when Rainbow still wouldn’t move, too broken in her grief over the loss of her friend. “I need you to trust me, Rainbow Dash. Like Fluttershy Firewing did. Can you do that?”

Rainbow looked from the ground to the dragon with a look of shock. He was right; if Fluttershy, a pony who was terrified of dragons since she had known her, could trust him, then so could she. “Okay, Vidarr, I trust you,” she said, nodding her head in approval.

“Then please move away from her. We don’t have much time left.” Rainbow galloped out of the way to stand below him. She sat down and put her hooves over her mouth, even as tears still spilled from her eyes. With Rainbow out of the way, Vidarr then raised his head to the sky and began to chant, supposedly in Dragonian. The others had no idea what he was saying, but Twilight could tell it was something like a spell being cast, like the mages of old.

He suddenly stopped chanting, his eyes lit up with an unnatural fire, then a jet of golden flame erupted from his mouth and covered Fluttershy’s body. A minute later, he stopped jetting out flames from his mouth, and with a swipe of his claw extinguished the other flames around the Dragonlord’s body. The others watched and waited as Fluttershy lay on her side, not moving; they weren’t even sure if she was still breathing. Suddenly a shrill gasp escaped from Fluttershy. Her eyes shot open and her chest rose and fell in quick succession as the pegasus got her breath back.

Rainbow started galloping over to wrap her in a hug, but stopped when Fluttershy’s chest fell again, silencing her heavy breathing, and her eyes closed as she drifted back into sleep. Rainbow looked from Fluttershy to Vidarr with a fierce glare. “What did you do?!”

“I saved her life, Rainbow Dash. She will be in a deep sleep for about a week while her body recovers from her ordeal. Her injuries will need some caring for but other than that she will live,” Vidarr said calmly. He gently picked Fluttershy up once again and took to the air, making his way to Castilian.

“How… how did you do that, Vidarr?” Twilight asked. “I thought healing magic on that scale didn’t exist.”

Vidarr chuckled at this. “Magic is a force of energy that has no limitations, has no master, and is entirely unpredictable. Noone would ever completely understand it, and noone would be able to truly master it. Not even Princess Celestia Solaris and Princess Luna Nocturnus Solaris, and I know them to be the most powerful mages in all of Terra.”

“Wait, you know the Princesses?” Twilight asked.

“I know of every ruler on this world. But those two have always had a special place in my heart,” Vidarr replied, a thin smile on his lips as he remembered them.

They fell silent once more as they left the mountainous regions of the west and were flying above a large flat plain. Rainbow was still flying close to Fluttershy, to make sure she was all right still. And sure enough, when Rainbow placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s cheek, it was warm rather than cold, and that made the pegasus’ heart slow in pace as her fears over her friend’s well-being resided.

Soon they caught sight of the great city of Castilian. “Rainbow Dash, would you be able to go down there and tell them I mean them no harm, and I have six ponies who need medical attention, please?” Vidarr asked.

Rainbow flew into Vidarr’s face, saluted, and then raced off into the distance towards the city. As she closed in she could see several of the inhabitants start to flee towards the large building at the top of the hill, while guards were setting up defences. Rainbow noticed Freya giving out commands to others from the large building at the top of the hill. She dived right down and landed right in front of the old grey horse. “Stop! Don’t shoot him!” Rainbow cried.

Freya looked shock at seeing Rainbow Dash here, and if she was here, Fluttershy was here also. “Everyone, stand down!” she yelled out into the city. With reluctance, the crossbow horses and horsecarls stood down, allowing Vidarr to fly over their heads.

Vidarr hovered over the courtyard, then lowered the claw holding Fluttershy to the ground, allowing the pegasus’s body to roll off his claw and onto the ground. Freya covered her mouth with a hoof in shock at the sight of Fluttershy’s injuries. A horse came at Freya’s beckoning and with some difficulty, carried Fluttershy on her back inside the hall. “She will live, Freya Palomino of Horsca, but her wounds will take a long time to heal. So try to be careful with her, and make sure none of them reopen.”

“Thank you, dragon, for bringing her here,” Freya said.

“One more thing, could I leave her friends in your care as well? They have been through a great ordeal.” He leaned his head closer to whisper. “And may need some help to get over it.”

“I understand. Thank you again,” Freya said, bowing her head to the dragon. The dragon bowed his head in return, and then let his other passengers off.

“How did you know we were in trouble?” Rarity asked.

“I heard your voices as you shouted your goodbyes to the world, Rarity Turquoise,” Vidarr said with a smile.

“Well we owe ya our lives, partner,” Applejack said.

“It was my duty as a Dragonlord, nothing more. Now, I will let you rest. Goodbye for now.” Vidarr took to the air and was soon gone, just a sun like spot in the sky.

“After the dragon had gone, I gave you my room and the other guest rooms to your friends, and that’s how it’s been for the last week. Your friends have hardly left your side,” Freya finished.

Fluttershy tried to sit upright again, but only made it halfway when her body screamed out in protest. She gritted her teeth and went back down on her back with a sigh. She tried to spread her wings out, and found she couldn’t spread either. She felt her right wing was okay, but her eyes widened in horror when she couldn’t feel her left. “My wing! What happened to my left wing?!”

Freya gave her a sad smile. “It’s fine. Just tightly bandaged around you body.” Fluttershy pushed off the covers to see she was right. Her left wing that Heimdallr’s flail had smashed was beneath a heavy number of bandages that was wrapped around her belly and her back. “We were able to save it thanks to Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle and their knowledge of pegasus wings. You won’t be able to fly yet, but you will. I’m afraid, however, that you might not be able to fly as well as you use to. It was in a bad state when you got here,” Freya explained.

Fluttershy smiled half-heartedly. “It’s okay. As long as I can fly then I should be all right. I don’t know what I would do without them to feed my flying animal friends.”

“But what happened to bring it, and yourself, in such a state?”

Fluttershy looked from her bandages to Freya, and smiled. “It’s a long story.”

Suddenly they heard the sound of the door opening. Fluttershy looked to the door and smiled wide when the heads of Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie and Rarity appeared through, their faces holding large grins at the sight of their friend awake. “Girls!” she squeaked in joy.

The five ponies rushed over and jumped Fluttershy in a hug, tears of joy in their eyes and talking all at once. Fluttershy felt tears in her eyes, but whether it was from the sight of seeing her friends again, or the pain running down her back, she didn’t know or care – it was worth it just to see her friends again. “Don’t you ever worry us like that again, you hear me?!” Rainbow cried, embracing the pegasus even tighter.

“I won’t,” Fluttershy replied. They all sat around the bed, grinning away like it was Hearths Warming Eve, and talking all at once.

Beside them, Freya smiled at the warming scene in front of her. “Well I’ll let you all get on,” she said as she got up from her seating position. “I’m looking forwards to hearing this tale of yours.” She turned around and left the six ponies together.

“Are you girls alright?” Fluttershy asked once Freya had gone. Fluttershy had a good look at them all. They all had small pink scars from cuts where they were too slow to avoid swings and such, but were healing nicely. Rarity had the remnants of a black eye ruining her left eye, and a large bruise on her cheek, but she was grinning.

“We’re fine,” Twilight said. “A bit sore in places but otherwise good.”

“Yeah, it’s yourself you should be worrying about more,” Rainbow said. “How the hay could you take whatever crushed your side and still be here?”

“When you were examined by a doctor about your injuries, he was amazed to see that your whole left side had basically been crushed, and you were still alive,” Twilight explained. “With me and Rainbow we managed to save your left wing from being amputated.”

“I know, and thanks to you both I’ll be able to fly still,” Fluttershy said.

Rarity leaned up on the bed. “No, darling, thank you. You saved us all with your actions, and gave us all a better world.”

Fluttershy smiled at her. “It was a team effort, Rarity. Without any of you I don’t think I would have gotten far, or even fought and lived to tell the tale.” She leaned back flat on the bed. “So what’ve you all been up to while I was sleeping?” she asked, in a bid to start up conversation.

The five mares looked at each other, slightly taken aback by the question. “Fluttershy, we’ve all been here looking after you and making sure you were alright,” Rarity said.

“Yeah,” Pinkie added. “We never left here except for eating, going to the bathroom, and sleeping.”

Fluttershy looked at them all in shock. “You didn’t have to do that, girls.”

“Sugarcube, we couldn’t explore the city and enjoy ourselves knowing the state you were in,” Applejack said.

“We knew you would be fine,” Twilight said, “and that you would wake up sooner or later. But it didn’t change our minds on leaving your side.”

“Yep,” Rainbow said, nodding in agreement. “Besides we had fun together. Told jokes, a few secrets and crushes we once had, or have, and had a all round good laugh.”

“That cheer died down when we looked at you, and we all went super saddy for a moment. But then we cheered up again knowing that you would wake up and they’ll be hugs and tears of joy and everything would be alright with the world,” Pinkie finished.

Fluttershy smiled at each of them. “I appreciate that you all stayed with me. But I bet you don’t want to be cooped up here while there is such a beautiful city to explore.” She gestured to the door. “Go and have some fun. I think I’ll be alright from now on, really.”

They all looked at each other, wondering whether they should or not. Eventually, Applejack sighed. “Will ya be alright? Truthfully?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Of course I will. I’m awake now so you have no reason to be worried about me anymore, and I don’t want to be a burden on you.”

Rainbow tilted her head. “You are never a burden on us, Fluttershy, and we will always worry about you, even if you are some genetically augmented super warrior.” Rainbow looked to the door, then back to Fluttershy with a cheeky grin on her face. “You won’t go anywhere, will you?”

Fluttershy looked at her with narrow eyes and a small smile. “I was hoping you would resist the temptation to say that.”

“How could I?” Rainbow asked with a smirk. “We’ll be back later then, okay?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, now go and have some fun,” she said to them. Although still unsure, the five ponies said their goodbyes and filed out of the room. “Oh, and Twilight?”

The unicorn turned around and walked back to the bedside. “What is it?”

Before she could understand what was happening, Fluttershy leaned over and wrapped her forelegs around the unicorn. “Thank you. For saving my life in Heimdallr’s prison.”

Twilight chuckled and gently placed a hoof around the shoulders of her friend. “You are most welcome.” She pulled away. “Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“I’m sure,” Fluttershy said with a dismissive wave of a hoof. “Besides, I bet you wanted to study the Horscan language a bit more.”

“Yeah, but I couldn’t do it properly knowing the state you were in.”

“But you can now, right?”

Twilight shrugged. “I suppose. We won’t be long.” She hugged the pegasus one last time and then cantered out the room, leaving Fluttershy to relax.

“Okay,” Fluttershy sighed to herself. “Now I can just relax and let the day go by.”

A few hours later Fluttershy found herself banging her head gently against the back of the bed, trying to overcome the agony of boredom. She was resting on her right side after discovering that being on her back for a while made it begin to feel like a hundred thousand pins were piercing her back. “Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored, bored,” she said every time her head met the headboard of the bed. Being a pony that loved animals she was quite active most of the time, so being confined to her bed usually felt like sitting in detention back in school.

Even when she was confined to her bed, she usually had a book she could read to let her imagination run riot. Now, she didn’t even have that. Most of the books, like Twilight said, were in Horscan and as such were impossible to read. She wished Dragonlords had the ability to read every language ever made, then that would make the hours flow by nicer.

After what felt like another hour, but was only a minute, she finally had enough. “Now I know how Rainbow felt when she was stuck in hospital. Then again she had a Daring Do book with her,” she said to herself. Her eyes wandered around to think of something to do other than lying here looking like she needed some sympathy. As much as she loved her friends, she didn’t want them worrying over her on every whim she wanted because she couldn’t do anything. Besides, it gave her some time to think alone without them.

She looked at her back and suddenly came up with an idea. She realised this would probably hurt, but she wanted to know what Heimdallr had done to her when he brought his sword down her back. Gritting her teeth, she moved a leg out of the bed and brought it onto the ground. She pressed down to be sure it won’t hurt, and breathed a sigh of relief when it didn’t. “Part one okay. Time for part two.” She shifted herself so that her front half was off the bed and both her forelegs were on the floor.

She breathed another sigh of relief to feel they were okay, so began to move slowly out of the bed and get on all fours. Her legs felt achy and she thought they might begin creaking, but she was glad they all seemed okay. She began moving to the bathroom in the hope to find a mirror, but stopped when she felt a sharp pain coming from her left hind leg. She lifted her hind leg and limped heavily into the bathroom, gasping in pain every time her left hind leg had to come down.

The bathroom was decorated with around ten beautiful tapestries of rearing horses opposing each other on all the walls. In the furthest corner from the door was a large wooden bathtub big enough to fill her and all her friends. In opposite corner was a hole for a toilet, and arrayed against the wall closest the door was a large mirror, with a dark bronze frame with the head of a horse on the edges facing each other. It was set up so a young horse the size of Fluttershy could look at him or herself.

She gasped when she saw the three pink scars that ran along her left cheek, with one barely missing her eye, and one running to the corner of her mouth. She was surprised none of her friends quoted something about it. ‘Probably so not to upset me,’ she thought. She didn’t know if would be covered up by her coat once it had re-grown, but she couldn’t help but think it made her look cooler in some way. She giggled lightly at the thought. “I’m beginning to think like Rainbow Dash.” Her eyes moved from the scars to her back. ‘That’s one piece of the damage,’ she thought. ‘Time to see what he did to my back.’

Fluttershy brought up a hoof and began removing the bandages down her back, taking care not to break the ones that held her wing together. Eventually she felt the last piece of the bandage peel off her coat, feeling like it took some of her coat with it. She turned around, reared up, with only loose pressure on her hurting leg, and when she looked in the mirror she gasped at the wound.

It was a long, pink scar that ran right down from between her shoulder blades to the tip of her tail. She realised if it got any deeper it probably would have cut her in half, and shuddered at the thought of dying that way. She ran a hoof right along the scar. Although it looked, as she figured how Rainbow would put it, pretty awesome, she couldn’t help but wonder how long would it be there; a few days, weeks, months, her entire life?

She turned around again and saw a part of her left side seemed abit out of shape compared to the right. It was barely noticeable, however; the only reason she saw it was because of her amazing eyesight. “I’ll ask my friends if they notice it.” She set herself back on all fours and turned around, preparing to get back to bed, but stopped when she saw the bathtub. She smelt herself to be sure and realised she did stink. “I could do with a bath.”

She found a stepladder that was kept aside for foals, tall enough to allow her to clamber into the tub with some minor difficulty, and was able to get the tap to work with, again, some minor difficulty. Soon she was sitting in a large pool of warm water that felt as comforting as wool. She let out a relaxing sigh and rested her head on the bath edge, glad that now it was over and she could be allowed to mourn her father.

Her eyes snapped open as she remembered the promise she made to herself the day he was killed. Just as that thought came into her mind, her eyes began to glitter with tears, and then another thought came to her mind. ‘I never said goodbye,’ she thought sadly. ‘I never even told him I loved him.’ With that thought, the dam suddenly split open and all the emotion she held in since that day spilled out onto her hooves. She felt like she could cry for hours, and didn’t care if anyone said otherwise.

A minute later, her ears twitched at the sound of the door opening and the concerned voices of her friends. Twilight looked in the bathroom, and upon seeing Fluttershy in tears, raced up the ladder and lovingly embraced her around her neck, Fluttershy returning the gesture quickly after. “Just let it all out,” Twilight cooed softly, not rubbing her back incase it puts her in more pain.

“I just remembered… I… I never even told him I loved him,” Fluttershy sobbed. She tightened her hold around the unicorn and she cried even more fiercely then before.

“I don’t think you needed to, Fluttershy,” Twilight said softly. “Love emanates from your eyes. I’m certain your father would’ve known.” Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity and Pinkie came in quickly soon after, and joined the comforting hug as they allowed the pegasus to finally grieve for her father.

After what seemed like an hour, all that was coming from Fluttershy was just little sniffles and droplets like rainwater dripping down her cheeks. She removed her face from Twilight’s chest to reveal her bloodshot eyes after crying so hard, and her wet cheeks that glistened in the low light. “Thanks for that, girls,” she whispered, wiping her eyes with her hooves. “I really needed that, I think.”

“Of course you did, darling,” Rarity said softly. “After what you’ve been through, I think you’ve earned it.” The four ponies beside her nodded in agreement. Fluttershy smiled gratefully.

“Anyway, what are you doing here?” Rainbow asked. “You should be in bed resting.”

“I got bored, and I realised I started to smell, so I wanted a bath and relax a bit,” Fluttershy replied.

“But what about your wounds?” Rainbow persisted. “Were you okay getting up? Were you in pain?”

“Rainbow, I was fine, really. I limped a little but otherwise I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not fine. You said yourself you were limping. Come on, out you get so you can go back to bed and rest.”

Fluttershy was touched by Rainbow’s concern over her well-being, even if she felt it was unnecessary. She truly was the sister Fluttershy never had, and that meant an easier pony to tease.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Rainbow asked, noticing the predatory grin appearing on Fluttershy’s face. “Why is she looking at me like that?” she asked the others, who looked just as confused. “Okay, seriously, Fluttershy, you can stop now.”

Before anyone knew what happened, Fluttershy flung herself onto Rainbow, and then pulled her into the water with her, laughing while Rainbow screamed like a little filly. The four ponies outside the tub looked perplexed at the sudden move, but then one after the other, began to laugh.

A second later, Rainbow emerged from below the waterline, spitting water out of her mouth and looking at Fluttershy with a glare. The other pegasus didn’t care, or notice, for she was too busy laughing. “I never heard you scream like that before, Rainbow,” she got out between breaths.

Rainbow’s glare softened into a smirk. “You’ll pay for that.” She raised a hoof in the air and splashed water over Fluttershy, who instantly stopped laughing upon feeling her face get drenched. She looked in shock at the other pegasus, who began to laugh.

“Oh, it’s on,” Fluttershy said with a grin, and began splashing water in Rainbow’s direction, who in turn began splashing water in hers, all the while both ponies giggling like little fillies.

“Oh, do be careful, you two,” Rarity advised. “I would hate you to hurt yourselves, not to mention ruin your beautiful manes.”

The two ponies stopped splashing at each other, and then looked at Rarity emotionlessly for a moment, then back at each other, then back to her with the same grin Fluttershy gave to Rainbow before she tackled her into the water. As one, the two ponies got hold of a hoof each, and pulled Rarity into the water, the unicorn giving a cry of alarm and plead to the others for help. They just laughed as Rarity emerged once again soaking wet and her mascara running down her face. The unicorn looked at the two pegasi, and grinned. “It, is, on.” She lifted both her hooves in the air and crashed them into the water, splashing the both of them, and Twilight behind her.

“Hey, if that was a challenge then it’s been accepted,” Twilight said, and jumped in also, laughing.

Applejack took off her hat and placed it on the ground. “Best ya stay out of this one,” she reasoned with it. She jumped in the air, crying out, “Geronimo!” as she did so, and belly diving in, while being careful not to hit Fluttershy and hurt her even more.

“A water fight? Without me? I’m insulted!” Pinkie exclaimed. She jumped in the air, froze, and rolled into a ball and did a cannonball into the large bathtub. The six ponies laughed as they jumped about each other, splashing each other, and basically celebrating their victory and survival with good cheer.

After a quarter of an hour, the splashing died down, and the six ponies each went to a corner of the bathtub, out of breath from laughing so hard, and their forelegs were aching from exhaustion. They grinned at each other, with no words needed to say what was on their minds; it felt good to be alive. At least, that was on Fluttershy’s mind anyway. She imagined her father wouldn’t want her to be mourning him for the rest of her life, no matter how long that will be. So instead of grieving for him, she will remember him, as she knew him – kind, fierce, an evil humour, but most of all a loving father, who would go to every length to keep a promise he made to her mother.

“So what do we do now?” Applejack asked.

Twilight let out a relaxing sigh and sunk a little into the water. “I think we should just relax, and enjoy the water.” She turned her head around as if to call to Spike to do something for her. She stopped halfway and her ears fell flat when she remembered he was back home, safe.

Fluttershy inched closer, gritting her teeth as she moved to hold down the pain, and patted the unicorn on the shoulder. “We’ll see him soon, Twilight. In fact, would you all like to go home now, while I stay here until I get better?”

“That is never going to happen, sugarcube,” Applejack said, shocked at the suggestion.

“We came into Horsca to look for you, and we are not going to leave without you,” Rainbow said.

“I just thought… if you’re missing your families… that…”

“Oh, darling, we know,” Rarity said. “But then we didn’t know if we would see them again. Now, we can relax, and recover from our wounds, knowing that we will see them again.”

“Oh… well if you’re all sure,” Fluttershy said, looking at each of them.

“We are. In fact, I don’t think I’ve been surer of anything than this,” Twilight said. With that, the six ponies sunk till only their heads were above the waterline, relaxing and enjoying the tranquillity of the bath, and the pleasure of each other’s company.

Fluttershy’s ears suddenly twitched when she heard the room door opening. “Hello? Fluttershy, are you in?” Freya’s voice echoed from the other room.

Fluttershy turned her head to face the door. “Freya, in here!” she called. A moment later Freya emerged through the bathroom door, looking tired but had a small smile on her face. Her head rose in surprise when she saw the others in the bath as well.

“Hello… everypony. Is that how you say hello to multiple ponies back home?” Freya asked. The six ponies nodded their heads. Freya breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. It wouldn’t look good to visit Equestria and make myself look an idiot.”

“You’re planning to visit Equestria?” Fluttershy asked, excitement at the idea plain in her tone.

“Oh, yes,” Freya answered with a nod. “With the reunification of the country, I must start planning with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna on re-opening the trade routes into our countries. They are the rulers of your country still, aren’t they?”

“Sure are, ya majesty,” Applejack answered.

Freya nodded. “Well that’s good.” She moved to put more weight on her left side. “Anyway, as I have some time off and have nothing else to do for a moment, I was wondering, Fluttershy, if you were willing to share your story with me.”

Fluttershy’s grin faded slightly and she looked back at the water. It would be hard to go through it all, especially the most horrid moments of the experience, but she thought it might be liberating for her. She looked back at Freya and began telling her what happened just after leaving her in Castilian, and flying off towards the Ragged Mountains. She talked of the catacombs that lie deep in the mountain range and that it was a Dragonlord fortress. She talked of meeting Firewing and him and her heading into the Frozen Steppes and where she discovered her heritage as a Dragonlord, and her father.

“Firewing… Firewing’s your father?!” Freya exclaimed. Fluttershy nodded. Freya blew out a lot of air. “I find that hard to believe, to be honest. I mean, the resemblance between you two is practically non-existent.”

Fluttershy didn’t take offence to the thought. “At first I found it hard to believe, also. I was angry at first, and yelled at him. It was only after he showed me this picture of him and my mother that I couldn’t deny it anymore.”

“I’m surprised he’s not with you. So where did he go?”

Fluttershy’s eyes veered away from Freya’s gaze. “He…he died. The dragon that attacked Andulusia killed him, and I killed the dragon in return.”

Freya’s mouth hung open and her ears fell flat. She brought a hoof up. “My dear, I am so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help you?”

Fluttershy smiled warmly. “Don’t worry about me, Freya. Just worry about your own loss. Besides, my father wouldn’t want me to cry over him.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” Freya said. “So what happened next?”

“Um… there is something I didn’t tell you when I last met you,” Fluttershy said, her eyes downcast. “You know that I said that there were two reasons as to why we were at Ironhoof fortress?” Freya nodded in response. “Well… the first reason was inside the fortress itself.” She went on about how she and her friends swam down the river into the sewers, and from the sewers went into the keep itself, and how she and Rarity met Baroness Velenta and how she fought her after hurting Rarity.

“Wait, you were the one that gave those wounds to the Baroness?!”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened at the mention of the horse’s name. “What happened to her? Is she all right?!” Freya’s eyes lowered and her ears fell flat. Fluttershy didn’t need to be told anymore. “I… I killed her,” she whispered, shaking her head in disbelief.

“You had nothing to do with the Baroness’ death, Fluttershy,” Freya said.

“I didn’t?”

“No. The wounds you gave her were not deep enough to be considered fatal. She took a heavy dose of sleeping tablets in the end. She killed herself rather than let herself be captured by my soldiers. Sad really. Did you know she lost her entire family in that dragon attack on Andulusia?”

The six ponies gasped. “I… I never knew,” Fluttershy said. She wished now she could go back in time and help and comfort the poor mare, rather than bring out her swords and try to kill her. She looked back up again at Freya and saw something in her eyes when she looked at her. Was it disappointment? Or something else? “I’m… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about going into the fortress. It’s just… I don’t know. I didn’t want you to get involved, or hurt at my expense.”

Freya nodded. “I’m not mad, just confused. Why did you need to go in there?” Fluttershy began telling the story of Heimdallr, and the five thousand year old war between him and the Dragonlords. Freya’s eyes widened in horror as Fluttershy told her how he committed genocide, burnt entire cities, wiped out armies, and even after he was supposedly killed, continued to do so. “I needed to get inside the fortress because the fifth key that had the ability to block Heimdallr’s magic was inside,” Fluttershy finished to pause for breath.

Freya nodded in understanding. “So these keys. Did they work?”

Fluttershy’s eyes lowered. “Kind of,” she replied. She went about her and her friends faced him in his prison, and how he had tricked them and duplicated himself so he could walk out through the front door. She talked of the battle that followed and how she managed to fight her way through, and her final duel with Heimdallr. The five ponies behind her never knew what happened between her and Heimdallr, so when she began telling the final duel, their jaws dropped in horror when she went on about how she had her side crushed, or the scratches on her face, or the large slash down her back.

By the time Fluttershy was done recounting her story, Freya’s jaw hung off her mouth and her eyes were wide. “That was incredible. That truly was the stuff of legends.” Freya closed her mouth and formed a smile. “You are amazing, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy blushed, and bashfully looked away. “I’m not that amazing. Not as amazing as these ponies.” She swam back from the edge and put her forelegs around them all. “I wouldn’t have even made it without them. I probably wouldn’t have even fought if they weren’t there to put me back on my hooves.”

Freya’s smile grew a little wider at that. “So modest, and so brave. If more equines were like you and your friends, then this world would be a better place.” She turned towards the door and began to walk out. Before she left, she looked back and looked at her with a huge, loving smile. “You have done more than save Equestria, Fluttershy. You’ve saved the world. You have my sincere gratitude, and my love.” She waved to them all, then turned around and headed back to the main hall.

Once Freya was gone, Fluttershy let out a long yawn. “Well time to go back to sleep. Yeah, sleep sounds nice right about now.” She swam to the edge of the tub so she could jump out. She only made it halfway when a number of gasps came from behind her.

“Darling! Your back!” Rarity cried.

“Oh… yeah, that.” She looked behind her and could barely make out the long scratch that now scarred her back. “Do you think it would stay like that forever?”

Twilight moved closer and gently ran a hoof along it. “Does that hurt?” she asked.

“A little,” Fluttershy replied with a nod.

Twilight grimaced and pulled her hoof away from it as if it was on fire. “Then I’m not so sure, to be honest,” Twilight said. “It will probably stop hurting after a while. But whether or not your coat will grow over it I don’t know.”

“All the same,” Rainbow said with a small smile. “That does look pretty awesome.” The other ponies glared at her. “What?! It does! Nopony back home is probably going to believe a dragon with a sword gave that to you, but still. And you look pretty cool with those scars along you face.”

Fluttershy only giggled. “I had a feeling you would describe them like that.”

“You know me far too well,” Rainbow chuckled. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but the water’s getting too cold for me. I think I’ll head out as well.” She swam to the edge jumped out, and helped Fluttershy down, taking her by the shoulders delicately. Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack soon jumped out as well and dried off, while Rainbow re-made Fluttershy’s bed and cleaned it up. Once done, Fluttershy hopped up and laid down, shifting about until she felt comfortable.

“Right, if you’re happy then we’ll set off for bed. I can’t believe how quick the day has gone,” Rarity said. “We’ll see you tomorrow then.” The others waved at her, and then turned around to head to their own rooms.

“Wait!” she called out. They turned back to look at her. “I was just wondering… if you want to, that is… could you stay with me for just this night please?” she asked them, her tone suggesting she was pleading for them to.

The others looked at each other. The last time Fluttershy was alone after waking up from a horrific experience was when this all began, and that night she had the nightmare that started her journey. Rainbow had heard about this and was determined for it never to happen again. Without a word she hopped up on the bed and settled down next to Fluttershy, the other pegasus smiling in thanks. Rainbow then spread her wing out and used it like a shield, covering Fluttershy. The wing was surprisingly soft, much like a duvet that she had back home, but just as comforting.

Fluttershy looked to her side to see Twilight snuggling up on the large pillow next to her, and smiled in thanks to her. Applejack jumped up next and set herself down next to Twilight, and Rarity and Pinkie moved to lie next to Rainbow. “Thank you, girls,” she whispered, before drifting off into sleep, surrounded by her best friends.

“Hey, ponies, I was wondering if you would like some dinner…” Freya said as walked through the door with a tray of food on her back a while later. She cut herself off when she saw the six ponies lying on the bed fast asleep, huddled together. Freya smiled; they truly were the bestest of friends, inseparable even in sleep. She tiptoed over to the wardrobe, opened it, and got out a huge spare duvet for the bed.

Carefully she lowered it onto them, taking care not to drop the tray of food on her back and wake them. Applejack and Pinkie, stirred a little but otherwise were untroubled by the slight disturbance. “Goodnight, my little ponies,” she whispered sweetly, before turning around and walking out the door, leaving the six ponies to their slumber.

Author's Note

Hey everyone, here is the first half of the aftermath for you to have while I finish this leviathan off. This last chapter is a complete bitch to finish but I'm nearly there, as well as the final revisions and the epilouge to do, and that's that.

See you soon and I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 20 (part 2)

For the next five days the six ponies relaxed and enjoyed the peaceful tranquillity of the city that played host to them.

As a group, five of the six ponies got up early in the morning to watch the sunrise together. Although it was nice to do, it still felt empty since Fluttershy wasn’t there with them. Afterwards they checked up on the pegasus, had an hour with her, and then set off into the city to explore once again. They discovered early on – to their relief –that the horses were quite polite and friendly to approach, so they were soon making friends left, right and centre. Other times, when they couldn’t decide what to do together, they agreed to split up and do their own thing, only promising to meet each other when the sun was about to go down. Afterwards, they would go and see Fluttershy once more, and tell them about their days over dinner together.

Applejack spent her time alone outside the city walls looking at the farming techniques the horses used. When approached the horses even allowed her to try some of their techniques, which she did and mastered in next to no time. The farm horses were impressed, and even asked her to stay on and help, but Applejack politely declined. “I was taken aback when they asked me to stay here and help them out,” she said to Fluttershy and the others that evening. “But I don’t do what I do for the money, I told them. I do it for my family, and to help them out. They respected that a lot.”

Rainbow spent her time helping the horses out removing unwanted clouds, and entertaining some of the young colts and fillies of the city by showing them some of her tricks. “You should have seen the looks on their faces, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said wearily to the other pegasus the night after. “They were lit up with utter amazement. One of them came up to me and said they would want to be like me one day. I’m telling you, my awesomeness has now spread outside of Equestria, and that’s something I thought would never happen in a million years. There’ll soon be colts and fillies running around here wearing hats with my face on them saying how awesome I am.” Fluttershy just rolled her eyes and giggled.

Rarity spent her time looking at the various dresses and fashions of Horsca. Although both horse and pony shared a common ancestry, both seemed to have a different sense of fashion. “Some of the dresses I saw were a bit… eye straining, to put it nicely,” Rarity said to them all later. “But I think I gave them a helping hoof to maybe equal, or even rival Equestrian fashion designers.”

Pinkie decided to go to any party that was around. The Horscans were having festivities celebrating the end of the civil war and the re-unification of Horsca, and throughout the weeks there were parties across the capital. Pinkie, despite not being a horse, was openly welcomed by the horses in all of them and partied along with them till the sun began to go down. “I taught them some of the party games like we have back home like pin the tail on the pony!” Pinkie said one night as they were having dinner. “And they taught me some of their party games as well, and I’m looking forward to trying them out when we get back.”

For Twilight, she guided Freya on social customs of Equestria, as well as its laws, since she was the only pony in the group who knew the most on Equestrian politics. “So… you have a event for every special occasion that comes in the calendar? Even, what do you call it again? The event where you clean up winter?” Freya said on the subject of social events. The two were walking down one of the hallways of the great hall towards only Freya knew where on the fifth day since Fluttershy had woken up.

“Winter Wrap Up?” Freya nodded. “Oh, yes, that one in particular is important,” Twilight answered. “Without it the entire country would be stuck in winter.”

“But surely you could just let nature take its time and clean it up for you, like we do here.”

“Nature works a bit differently in our country, Freya. Due to advances in magic and a pegasus’ ability to walk on clouds, we can control the weather to suit our needs. Like if we wanted a summer’s day, the pegasi would go out and make sure we have a sunny day. The only part that isn’t influenced by Equestrian magic is the Everfree forest, but I would highly recommend you don’t even take a step in there.”

Freya nodded in understanding, and then stopped just outside a door with a golden horse head on its face. Twilight looked at it oddly. “So what is it you wanted to show me?”

“Realising you wouldn’t be able to read most of the books here,” Freya explained, “I took the liberty of trying to find some books in Equestrian for you.” She opened the door they stopped outside and Twilight gasped in wonder, her eyes lighting up in pure delight. She stepped inside and began to spin around, her eyes never leaving the sight of a book.

Around them, a numerous amount of shelves stacked full with books stood in rows all around the large room, so large Twilight couldn’t tell just how big. She looked back at Freya and opened her mouth to say thanks, but Freya pointed and spoke first. “It took me a while but I managed to find some books in Equestrian for you to read. And have, if you like them.”

Twilight’s eyes widened even further. “You’re giving me a part of your library? For free?”

Freya nodded. “How else can I thank you for helping to save my country, and the world?” As she said that, an idea sprang into Freya’s mind. “Actually, I just thought of a way.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, Freya,” Twilight said, waving a hoof dismissively. “It was Fluttershy who saved the world, not me or any of us. Just her.”

Freya smiled. “Yes, but without you, like Fluttershy says, she wouldn’t have even made it. So you deserve as much credit as she does.” She turned around and moved towards the door. “I’ll let you get on with the books. And please, take any you like with you when you go home. They’re just rotting here so they would be in better care in your hooves.” She left without further word, closing the door gently behind her.

Once Freya had gone, Twilight raced over to the pile of books that were left on the giant table, and began flicking through them all, hoping to find a book with what she was looking for. She had been thinking about something concerning Fluttershy and the Dragonlords for a while, and wondered that, if Fluttershy’s ancestry is to be believed, the legend that she once read was actually true.

After a few minutes, her face formed a massive grin at the book that she now had in her face. “‘Myths And Legends Before The Age Of Equestria’,” Twilight read the title aloud. Without pausing for thought she set the book down and began to flick through the pages, scanning quickly the legends that could be what she was looking for, and completely skipping the ones that weren’t.

She suddenly froze, and the grin on her face grew wider when she found what she was looking for. “It’s true,” she whispered. “The legends about him are actually true.” She picked the book up, and galloped out of the room, down the hall, up the stairway, through the corridor and skidded to a halt outside the room Fluttershy resided in. “Fluttershy, are you decent?” she called, knocking on the door.

“Um, Twilight, I don’t normally wear clothes,” the pegasus called back. Taking that as her cue to come in, Twilight opened the door to find Fluttershy lying on her right side, facing away from door with a small smile on her face. “How are you today, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked, once Twilight came into view.

Twilight walked in and made herself comfortable just inches away from where Fluttershy’s head laid. “I’m good, thanks. Yourself?”

“A bit better then I did when I woke up. The pain in my back isn’t so bad as it was, and I can walk to the bedroom door and back a few times before having to lie down again.”

Twilight’s smile faded a little upon knowing her friend was still in a bit of pain. She let out a small, sad sigh and lowered her head a little. “I wish I could help you out with that. I hate seeing my friends in pain.”

Fluttershy stretched out a hoof and raised her friend’s head a little. “It’s okay,” she said softly. “As soon as I can walk outside to that balcony at the top of the building, then I think I’ll be okay with getting home.”

“Don’t think that far ahead. Just take your time. Like we said before, we’re in no rush now.”

Fluttershy smiled in reply, then changed the subject when her eyes moved to the large book on her back. “What’s that you got there?”

“Oh, this.” She looked back at the book. She picked it up with her magic and placed in front of her. “The thing is, I’ve been thinking about what you was telling me about a Dragonlords’ ability to fight as a warrior from birth, and then I remembered a while back about an old legend I remember reading.” She flipped through the pages quickly until she found the pages she was looking for. “Have a look at this,” Twilight said, flipping it over for Fluttershy to see.

Fluttershy’s eyes moved across and down the page, narrow at first, then widening in surprise as she read even further. “‘The Legend Of Vidarr The Great’,” Fluttershy read the title aloud. “Is this really the same dragon as the one that sacrificed himself to create the Dragonlords?”

Twilight nodded. “I can’t see this as any other dragon. He was reputed to be the greatest swordsdragon of the age. He mastered every form of sword combat known to the world, and put it all together in his own style with his sword, ‘Ragnarök’. After nearly a hundred years of fighting so many enemies he just disappeared from records and existence altogether.”

Fluttershy looked from Twilight to the page opposite the writing that had an artist’s depiction of what the first Vidarr may have looked like. A bright white dragon with golden spikes that ran down his back, with vicious red eyes that spoke of wisdom, and yet cruelty. What was different to him compared to other dragons, however, was a large sword that was held by a belt on his left right side, with a cross guard that looked like the symbol of the Dragonlords, a pommel that was shaped like a dragonhead, and the blade that had jagged edges like shark teeth in it. “What happened to his sword?”

Twilight shook her head. “Nopony really knows. One theory suggests that it was broken into pieces after whatever happened to Vidarr, and those pieces were re-used to create other weapons.”

Fluttershy bit her bottom lip as she thought. “Twilight,” she said at last, “could you get me ‘Drage Bane’ please?”

Twilight nodded, then went over to the wardrobe and fished it out. The bracelet had a few scratches across its face after the fight with Heimdallr, but otherwise it was fine. Fluttershy lifted her right leg up, and allowed Twilight to strap it on with her magic. Once on, Fluttershy willed the sword to come out, which it did with a song of metal, and gave it a long, hard stare. “Is it possible that ‘Drage Bane’ could be made out of one of those pieces?”

Twilight’s eyes widened at the suggestion. “Then if that’s the case, where are the other pieces?”

The two ponies fell silent as they both wondered what fate the other pieces could have made. Perhaps there were other blades like Fluttershy’s out there, and if so, was there a chance they could belong to dormant Dragonlords? Heimdallr said he was only able to track Fluttershy down because of his prophetic vision, and his amazing sense of knowing when a Dragonlord is awake. So was there a chance other Dragonlords, whose DNA had been long dormant, were out there? “There could be other Dragonlords!” both ponies said at once. They looked at each other for a moment, and then came into a hug.

“Do you think that’s possible though, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, pulling away. “Could there be dormant Dragonlords out there?”

“Twilight, I have a hard time these days thinking what’s impossible and what’s not,” Fluttershy replied. “There might be other ones out there somewhere, but I don’t want to go finding them, incase I think I found one, and it turns out he or she isn’t one after all. The best we could do is be patient about it, and hope another one appears.” She looked at the book again and smiled. “Thanks for bringing this to me, Twilight. It’s nice to actually know how I was able to fight so well.”

“You’re welcome. Right, I better get back to the other books. So much to read, in so little time. Talk to you later.” With that, Twilight turned around and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Fluttershy watched her go with a small smile, and then with a glance noticed that she had left the book behind. “Twilight!” she called. She received no response. It didn’t take long for Fluttershy to realise she had left the book behind intentionally. “Oh, Twilight, you cunning fox,” she said, giggling away. She picked the book up and began reading from the beginning. “With this beside me,” she said to herself, “the days should go by a lot quicker.”

Five days had passed since Twilight had come to see her, and in the warm yet breezy day that signalled the first day of autumn, Fluttershy found herself sitting on the balcony at the top of the great hall, looking down on the city and the country around it. It felt good to be outside after being stuck indoors for more than a week, with only the smell of her own sweat hanging in the air. But thankfully, after a long recovering process, she was now able to walk from her bedroom to the balcony and back again, all without support from her friends.

She let out a blissful sigh and smiled. Although she had been up here a few times before, she was occupied with other thoughts, or was with Freya to really take in the beautiful scenery that surrounded the city. Vast plains stretched to the horizons, mountains and forests she could make out in the distance, including the Ragged Mountains where she met her father. And long, clear rivers broke the plains apart like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

But even with all their natural beauty, none of it compared to the beauty of her homeland. She sighed as she realised just how much she missed Equestria; its people, its amazing wonders, its smells, its wildlife, but most of all she missed the peaceful tranquillity she got out of it. At that moment, she decided that her time in Horsca was over, and tomorrow she and her friends would set off for home.

She stayed up there until the sun was starting to go down. “Fluttershy!” a voice called from the bottom of the stairs. Fluttershy spun her head around, and then moved slowly towards the stairs to see who was calling her. “Fluttershy!” the voice called again, this time clearer and easily recognisable.

“Rainbow Dash! Up here!” she called. A moment later, the head of Rainbow Dash appeared.

“Ah, there you are,” Rainbow said as she walked up the stairs. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Anyway, Freya sent me to look for you. Said she wants us all in the main hall for something.”

Fluttershy’s smile fell, and she gave Rainbow a look of curiosity. “Any ideas on what it could be?”

“No, not yet. But there’s only one way to find out. Come on,” she said, leading Fluttershy down the stairs. Rainbow stretched out a hoof to help her down but Fluttershy didn’t take it; she was able to get down okay on her own after all.

Soon the two arrived at the main hall, and both ponies gasped in wonder. The hall’s ceiling was decorated in the banners and sigils of Equestria and Horsca, and a large number of horses crowded the hall. At the sides, facing the crowd emotionlessly, were the personal bodyguards of Freya – the horsecarls. All of them wore metal armour on their backs and chests, and each had a ceremonial crown on their heads, and swords at their sides.

“Over here,” Twilight whispered. Rainbow and Fluttershy found Twilight and the rest of their friends at the front of the crowd, and hurried over to join them.

“Hey, girls,” Fluttershy said quietly as she stood alongside them. “Any ideas of what this about?”

“No idea,” Twilight replied with a shrug. “But we’re about to find out.” She gestured with her head to the left door, where Freya emerged.

Freya wore a long dress that covered her chest, back and rump. It was a royal purple with golden swirls that formed into a pattern along the edges of the dress, and on the face was the emblem of Horsca; a rearing golden horse. “That is a beautiful dress,” Rarity muttered to Fluttershy. “Could do with a jewel or two, but otherwise dazzling.”

Freya looked from the horses that inhabited the hall, and then looked at the six ponies at the front of the group, and smile at them. “My friends. Today we are here to honour the bravery, the daring, and the friendship of six Equestrians that, through their actions, saved this world, and brought about a new era of peace for us all.” She looked from the crowd to the six ponies before her. “Applejack Rosaceae, Rarity Turquoise, Rainbow Dash, Pinkamena Diane Pie, and Twilight Sparkle. Could you step forward please?”

Confused, the five ponies stepped away from the crowd and stood inches from the queen of Horsca. Freya looked quickly at Fluttershy to see she looked glad about probably not being called up as well. She looked back at the five ponies and began to speak. “You all stood when others would have ran. You went forward, rather than back. You fought, when others would have threw down their weapons – but most of all you loved, when others would have forgotten the meaning of the word. Your courage, love, and friendship towards each other gives me a light to cling to in this otherwise dark world, and for that, you should be rewarded for your actions.”

She looked at a horse with a large chest on her back and gestured with her head to come forward. The mare moved so that she was alongside Freya, and allowed the queen to take something out of the chest. In her mouth was a crown of silver, with a dark green laurel that wrapped around it. “With these crowns, I hereby decorate you all as horsecarls of Horsca, and award you with the laurels of peace.” She set the first one down on Twilight’s head, then went back into the chest and got another one out, and placed it on Rainbow’s head. She repeated until all five ponies had a silver crown on their heads. “These are the second highest awards a horse can receive, and only a few are great enough to have them. When you go home, wear these with pride, for you are the only ponies in Horsca’s long history to receive such a gift.” Freya bowed her head at them, and then the five ponies bowed their heads in return.

“Rise, horsecarls of Horsca,” Freya finished in a clear, commanding voice. The five ponies raised their heads again and turned around, and were met with cheers and applause from the horses present. But out of all of them, none were as loud as Fluttershy, who clapped her hooves harder and cheered as loud as she did when Rainbow Dash performed the Sonic Rainboom for the second time.

The five ponies bowed their heads once more at the crowd, then went back to their places and stood beside Fluttershy, grinning like they had just been given the best birthday present ever. “And finally, could Fluttershy Firewing come forward.”

Fluttershy’s heart froze, and after a few encouragements from her friends, hesitantly stepped forward. She looked behind her to see all those horses looking at her, and quickly looked back in front of her, trying not to think about all those horses. ‘Some things just never change,’ she thought to herself. She stopped when she stood in front of Freya, and looked up to see the old queen of Horsca looking at her with a loving smile.

“Fluttershy Firewing, your love for your friends is unparalleled to anything I have ever seen. You fought for them when they were in danger, and bested any odds set against you to keep them safe. Even when you were death’s door, you fought on knowing if you die, then they would surely follow. Your kindness knows no limits, and your bravery is second to none. These are traits that only a few horses can share, and only that few are worthy of what I’m about to give you.”

She put her head back into the chest behind her and brought out a golden crown a moment later. It was a bright gold, with a bright red jewel on the front that was shaped like a star. Freya placed the crown on Fluttershy’s head. “With this crown, and a kiss from the queen of Horsca.” She leaned over and kissed Fluttershy’s forehead, making the pegasus go red with embarrassment. “I now pronounce you as a Thane of Horsca, the highest status a horse or pony can have under a queen. Rise and be recognised, Thane of Horsca!”

Fluttershy bowed her head and turned around, and was met with louder cheers and applause from all the horses in the hall, and especially her pony friends who cheered the loudest. Fluttershy gave a meek wave, yet was grinning with joy – at least, it looked it. “Thank you, everyone,” she said. “Thank you all.”

Freya stopped applauding when Fluttershy went back to stand alongside her friends, and then reared up and shouted, “Now let’s show these ponies how we party Horscan style!”

Fluttershy had to flatten her ears to deafen the roar of approval this had with the other horses. She looked to her left to see Pinkie staring at Freya with her mouth agape and her eyes wide. “She just started a party before me!” she yelled through the noise. She shook her head and a small smile came on her face. “She’s good.” And before Fluttershy knew it Pinkie was gone; she dashed into the crowd and began to dance to the music being played by a couple of horses in the corner. The rest of her friends soon dispersed to enjoy the party, while Fluttershy stayed where she was for a moment.

“Time for me to go, I think,” Fluttershy said to herself quietly. Despite being a Dragonlord who had fought and killed and nearly died, she still couldn’t be comfortable in large crowds, and thought that she never would. Having one last look around incase she got pulled away suddenly, she trotted on a light limp up the stairs and back towards the balcony, not noticing Twilight watching her go, then quickly turning back to face Applejack.

As Fluttershy walked she looked up and eyed the crown that now presented her title as thane of Horsca, and wondered if she actually deserved it. Was killing so glorious in this country that they honoured it with so many awards? It had been almost two weeks since she had defeated Heimdallr, and she still wished there could have been a better way other than what happened.

She made it up the balcony in no time and soon sat down, with her head resting on the wooden railing, and looked down at the city lit up with lights and the night sky that began to appear. Despite the beauty of it all, she didn’t feel like smiling. She felt undeserving of the title given to her. ‘Is killing something to cheer about?’ she thought gloomily, sighing heavily.

“Why so glum, Fluttershy Firewing?” Fluttershy looked up to see Vidarr lowering himself into the courtyard, and finally had something to grin about.

“Vidarr! So good to see you,” she greeted him cheerfully.

“And I, you,” Vidarr replied with a smile. “It is nice to see you up and about after a long time. How are you feeling anyway?”

“Still hurts a bit, and I can’t walk properly still but I’m sure it will pass.”

“That it definitely will,” Vidarr said.

“And I should thank you, Vidarr,” Fluttershy went on. “You saved my life and brought me back when I died, and thank you for saving my friends.”

“You are most welcome, Fluttershy Firewing, Dragonlord and now Thane of Horsca. I thought that would be something to be happy about. But you, for some reason, are not. So why?”

Fluttershy’s ears fell flat on her head once more, and she placed her head on the banister. “I was just thinking, about my victory over Heimdallr. I was wondering… if there could have been a better way, rather than killing him I mean.”

Vidarr lowered his head so that he was facing Fluttershy directly. “I would like to know, what happened down there? What happened when you faced him?” Fluttershy went on to how she met Heimdallr for the first time, how he deceived her and her friends, how they all fought and how she watched her friends fall one by one, how she met him in a one to one duel, and how she triumphed against him.

She paused for a moment and went on about how Heimdallr asked her to place the key in and flood the prison chamber and drown him. After this, Vidarr sighed. “You should’ve left him, Fluttershy Firewing. If I weren’t around things would have turned out very different. He wanted you to feel sympathy for him, so you could flood the chamber and not just kill him, but yourself and your friends. Even on the verge of death he still wanted to bring about death and destruction.”

“I’m not so sure, Vidarr,” Fluttershy countered. “He had me in his claws when the walls broke and the water rushed in. But instead of crushing me, he threw me in the direction of the entrance and told me to run.”

For once, Vidarr looked lost. “The mind of a dragon is a fickle thing, Fluttershy Firewing. It is always hard to truly understand what a dragon is about to do, and what they do in the end, and what Heimdallr did is an example of that.”

“Do you think he did it so he could redeem himself in his eyes, and that of his son’s when he sees him?”

“We will never know that. And how it happened down there is unimportant compared to what happened in the end. You managed to succeed in something that the entire Dragonlord order couldn’t do.”

Fluttershy gave Vidarr a long, cold stare. “Couldn’t, or wouldn’t?”

Vidarr jerked his head back by the hostile tone in Fluttershy’s voice. “Why the sudden hostility, Fluttershy Firewing?”

Fluttershy’s ears fell flat and she sighed. “Sorry, Vidarr, I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at the order. Were they as arrogant as Heimdallr claimed?”

Vidarr’s ears fell and he gave her sad eyes. “I wish I could say he was lying about that. But then I would be lying. The Dragonlords were highly arrogant, and sadly that’s not an exaggeration. They were almost blinded with it by their superiority in battle and their genetic enhancements. It is a trait that cursed the Dragonlords throughout their existence, something that maybe my grandfather had something to do about. He was well renowned for his arrogance, and carried it through to how he fought in battle.”

Fluttershy gulped. “Could… could I become as arrogant as he was?”

Vidarr smiled at her re-assuredly. “It depends on Dragonlord to Dragonlord. You’re only ponies, after all. But I think I can say you won’t become as arrogant as they were anytime soon.”

Fluttershy smiled gratefully; glad to be assured on that, although her ears remained flat on her head. “All the same, it still feels like a hollow victory, though. So many ponies and horses died for nothing, and now I’m the last of the order.”

A silence fell between them, as if they were remembering those they lost. “What will you do now?” Vidarr asked suddenly.

Fluttershy thought about it for a moment. “In my room there’s two bracelets and a pair of small blades that fit over my wings. When I get home I’m going to find a sack, put them in it and store it away so nopony could find them, and I never have to use them again.”

Vidarr frowned at her, then looked to the stars. “I wish I can share your optimism, Fluttershy Firewing. But I can’t. There will be a point where you will have to take up arms once again to defend your friends and their loved ones. I don’t know when, and I don’t exactly know why, but you will take up arms once more.”

Fluttershy looked up at the dragon with a look of confusion and fear. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not entirely sure yet, Fluttershy Firewing. But I fear something dark and terrible is coming. A hammer fall so large and powerful it will split Equestria into chaos and violence it hasn’t seen in thousands of years. When that time comes your friends will need you, more than ever. Always be vigilant, Dragonlord. Always be ready.”

Fluttershy felt a great fear suddenly pass through her. Once was bad, but a second time…? But then she remembered her vow to Vidarr the first, the vow to defend her friends, and realised at some point they would be in trouble, and she would have to stand up for them. She looked back into his eyes, and grinned. “Then, if it’s to defend my friends.” Her eyes narrowed into determination. “Bring it on.”

Vidarr’s laugh echoed across the country. “Strong words, Dragonlord.” He smirked. “You are definitely your father’s daughter. You have his strength in you, as well as your mother’s fragility. I’m sure they would be proud to call you their daughter.”

“And I’m proud to call them my mother and father,” Fluttershy said, raising her head towards the sky. Vidarr chuckled, and then spread his wings, ready to take off. “Wait! You’re leaving?”

“I’m afraid so, young Dragonlord,” Vidarr replied. “And this will be our last meeting for a while.”

“Will I see you again?”

“Of course you will, but hopefully not for a long time. Farvel, Fluttershy Idlvinge. A måtte freden du har fortjent bli lang og velstående (Farewell for now, Fluttershy Firewing. And may the peace you have earned be long and prosperous).” With a final bow of his head, Vidarr thrust his wings down and disappeared into the night sky, a large roar echoing across the plateau as a final goodbye.

“Farvel, Vidarr. A måtte freden være med deg og (Farewell for now, Vidarr. And may peace be with you, too),” she called out to him in Dragonian. She sniffed back a tear at seeing not just a dragon, but also a good friend, leave. But she knew she would see him again, just hopefully, like he said, not for a long time. She knew what he meant by that, and her heart beat a bit faster because of it. But she knew she shouldn’t worry about the future, as she learned from Twilight. She would carry on, and worry about it when the time came.

“Hi, Fluttershy,” Twilight called from the bottom of the stairs.

Fluttershy looked down to see Twilight with a wearied grin on her face, and small black bags under her eyes. “Hey, Twilight, are you alright?” Fluttershy enquired, a small part of concern in her tone.

Twilight trotted up the stairs to join her. “Sort of. Bit tired and hot after the party downstairs, so I thought I’d come up here for a bit of fresh air. But otherwise I’m fine. You?”

“I’m okay. A bit achy here and there still but I’ll live,” Fluttershy replied with a smile.

“Whom were you talking to anyway? I swore I heard another voice up here,” Twilight asked, looking around for the other speaker.

“I was talking to Vidarr,” Fluttershy answered. “He came by to see how are we all doing, and was glad to see that I was getting better. And he…” she trailed off, wondering whether she should tell the unicorn about it.

“And he… what?”

“He told me that at some point I’m going to take up arms once again. He couldn’t entirely say when or why but he seemed sure I will.” Fluttershy was going to tell Twilight what Vidarr exactly said, but decided against it at the last minute, thinking it would only panic the poor mare.

Twilight chuckled. “I wouldn’t let it bother you, Fluttershy. As I’ve learnt, enjoy the present and don’t worry about the future.” Fluttershy nodded in agreement, and then turned her head to look at the stars. “But would you though?” Twilight queried.

Fluttershy looked back at her with a look of confusion. “Excuse me?”

“Would you take up your swords once again? Would you risk everything once more?”

Fluttershy instantly replied, for she already knew the answer. “Yes, I would. If you and the others are in danger, if your families are in danger, or even your loved ones, then I will put them on again.”

Twilight nodded in understanding. “I have to ask, would you have done all you did if you weren’t a Dragonlord? That you were the Fluttershy I met that day on the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration, would you have done what we’ve been through?”

Fluttershy bit her bottom lip in thought. “I… I don’t know. Possibly. I mean I did face my biggest fear when you were all down, and I did face a cockatrice to defend you and the cutie mark crusaders. So I might have done, who knows?”

Twilight smiled. “I think I know,” she muttered. She looked back at the stars and breathed a sigh of content. Although Fluttershy showed herself as an easy to push around pony most of the time, she had strength in her that was unrivalled by most ponies, and for that reason alone, Twilight believed Fluttershy would do what she had done if she wasn’t a Dragonlord.

“Twilight?” Fluttershy suddenly said.

“Yeah?”

“You know you asked me the day my father died if I was ready to go home?” Twilight nodded. “Well, I can answer that for you now if you like.”

Twilight smiled. “Are you ready to go home now, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy looked from the sky to her friend with a warm smile. “Yes. I am ready to go home.”

“But what about your injuries?”

“Oh I think I should be okay, thank you,” Fluttershy said re-assuredly. “Let’s go and find the others and ask them if they are ready as well.” Fluttershy turned around and made her way back into the main hall, taking every step extremely slowly so not to fall, while Twilight followed close behind to be there to catch her if she falls.

Freya, meanwhile, was standing in the corner of the main hall, watching as her flock danced and celebrated the reunion of the country, as well as Fluttershy and her friends’ victory against evil.

“My lady Freya.” Freya turned her head to face the one who’d called her name. Her heart beat a little faster and her eyes grew wide when she saw it was one of those she had sent to find and retrieve Thowra’s body.

She sniffed back tears and walked up to the chestnut horse. “Do you have my cousin’s body?”

“I’m afraid not, my lady,” he replied solemnly.

Freya’s eyes narrowed in anger. “And why not, pray tell?”

“Because we never found one, my lady.”

Freya’s eyes widened into the size of saucers. “What?” she whispered, almost at a loss of words.

“We found the place easy enough. But when we looked inside, all we found was rotting pony corpses. None of the bodies we saw were the size of a horse.”

Freya felt her hind legs give way and she collapsed onto her rump. The chestnut stallion sprang forward to help her but she pushed him away with a hoof. “Are you absolutely sure there wasn’t a body?”

The horse nodded. “We checked twice all over, but still found nothing.”

Her heart began to flutter with joy and hope. “What about the Ramshead range? Did you check around there?”

The horse nodded once more. “Yep, we searched everywhere, and still nothing. Anyone we found hasn’t seen him, nor do they recall anything like him. I don’t know, my lady, but it seemed as if he’s become a ghost.”

Freya looked to the ground in hope and dismay. If Thowra was alive, then why wasn’t he here? “Are you absolutely certain of this?” she asked again.

“I speak the truth, my lady,” the horse said. He then asked, “What shall we tell everyone?”

“We tell them nothing,” she said at once. She got back on her hooves and began to whisper. “These times are going to be our darkest. We might be as one once more but there are many enemies around us, and inside our borders, and sensing weakness they may strike. Spread the word however of a ghost horse that roams the land, fighting these evils wherever he goes. Give the people something to hope for.”

The horse looked confused, but bowed his head. “It shall be as you wish, my lady.” He spun around and galloped back outside, to deliver the story of this ghost horse, who disappeared in the mist and reappeared, who fought anything with tooth and blade, and before his enemies could get a fix on him, he was gone once more. Freya smiled at the idea. ‘Thowra would like that,’ she thought.

“Freya? Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked as she walked up to her.

Freya looked at Fluttershy with a huge smile on her face. “Never felt better, Fluttershy,” she replied. Fluttershy didn’t need to know about Thowra’s possible survival. She didn’t want to give the little pegasus false hope if it turned out false and Thowra was indeed dead. “Are you feeling better, my friend?”

“Oh I feel much better, thank you, Freya. Which is why I wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure thing, Fluttershy. What did you want to ask?”

Fluttershy swallowed down the lump in her throat and asked, “Would it be alright if me and my friends leave for home tomorrow? It’s been a while and we’re beginning to miss our families and loved ones.”

Freya chuckled and put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Fluttershy, like I said before, you are not a prisoner here. You are free to leave the city and the country whenever you like. But just know that you will always have a home here in Castilian.”

Fluttershy grinned, then jumped up and hugged the queen of Horsca. She tried to ignore the quick pain going through her back of doing such a thing, but couldn’t help but grimace because of it. Freya returned the hug with a single hoof by the shoulders so not to hurt her back. “Have you told your friends about this?” Freya asked once they pulled away.

Fluttershy shook her head. “I’m trying to find them to ask if they want to go back, but I can’t find them anywhere.”

“Oh, you’ll find them in the courtyard outside,” Freya said, pointing to the door leading into the courtyard.

Fluttershy said her thanks and limped out of the hall and into the courtyard, Twilight by her side for support. The two found Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack sitting in a circle with a small cup in their hooves, looking at each other hesitantly.

“So who wants to go first?” Rainbow asked, her eyes moving from pony to pony.

“How about we do it together?” Rarity suggested.

Applejack nodded her head in agreement. “We do it on the count of three, okay?” The four ponies raised the cups to their mouths and prepared themselves for the taste. “One. Two. Three!” she said, and simultaneously with the others gulped down the entire content of their cups.

Rainbow dropped her cup and violently shivered. “That was nasty!” She stuck out her tongue and made a disgusted look with her face.

Pinkie shook as well, but afterwards had a large grin on her face. “Where can I get some more of that?!”

Rarity made a disgusted look as well. “Well I admit that it would be nice to indulge in such pleasantries on occasions such as these. But I won’t ask for more of that any time soon.”

“I thought it was fine. And since it’s made of apples I might make some more when we get home,” Applejack commented. She looked towards the hall and grinned to see Fluttershy and Twilight standing by the steps. “Hey you two, care to try some of this?”

“Um, I think I’ll pass, thank you, Applejack,” Fluttershy said. She limped over and set herself down onto her stomach. Rainbow leaned forward to help her up. “Rainbow, it’s okay, I prefer laying down like this. It’s not as painful as sitting.”

Rainbow leaned back and sighed quietly in relief. “Um… girls?” Fluttershy started. All eyes turned on her. “How do you feel… if… if we start back to Ponyville tomorrow?”

The grins from Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie and Rarity said it all. “Ya certain, sugar?” Applejack queried. “As long as you’re okay to walk that far then I’d be happy to head back.”

“I’ll be okay, so don’t worry about me. What about you three?” She turned to look at the others.

“Yippee!” Pinkie cheered. “We’re going home!” She bounced around the courtyard in absolute glee.

“Darling, if it’s fine by you when I will be happy to return home. Besides, I’ve started to miss Sweetie Belle and my parents,” Rarity said.

“Yeah, I bet my boss is going to wonder where I am,” Rainbow sighed. “As nice as it is here.” She gestured the city of Castilian. “I would like to see Equestria and Ponyville again.”

Fluttershy nodded in confirmation, glad that her friends were ready to return as well. “Then, if it’s okay with you all, we’ll set out at first light?” The five ponies nodded in confirmation. They fell silent as they watched the stars and listened to the sound of the horses celebrating their re-unification.

“I’m glad that they gave us these nice new saddlebags for us to take,” Rarity said, admiring the saddlebag with her cutie mark on its face. When the boat had disappeared, it took their saddlebags with it, and unfortunately the horses Freya sent to retrieve them never found the ship, so it was presumed the ship sank when the waters began to get rough. Fluttershy was more gutted than the others about the loss, for her saddlebags originally belonged to her father, and had nearly everything about him in them.

“However,” the horse had gone on, “we did find this washed up on the river bank just outside the Horscan sea.” He took something from his bag and held it in his teeth. Fluttershy’s face lit up in delight at the sight of her medallion. She took it from the horse, said, “Thank you so much,” and checked to see if the picture was damaged, which thankfully it wasn’t.

As for the saddlebags, Freya requisitioned the making of six new saddlebags for them all, each with their cutie marks on their faces, and also the new emblem of Horsca on the other side, as a remembrance feature. As well as the bags, replacement sleeping bags were supplied, and some Horscan delicacies for their long trip back home.

Fluttershy looked back at her new bag, smiling at the kind gift they were given. Her eyes drifted upwards, looking back to Castilian, which was now in the far distance. The departure from Castilian had been cheery, and sombre at the same time. Although Freya was happy for them that they could leave, she was sad to see her friends go. “You’ll all come and visit again, won’t you?” she’d asked before they had parted.

“Of course we will,” Fluttershy promised. “Won’t we, girls?” The five ponies behind her nodded in agreement. “And you come and visit us Ponyville, won’t you?”

“Of course I will,” Freya promised. After a few more words and a few tears, Fluttershy and her friends turned around and began the long walk down towards the gates of the city.

Along the way, horses lined the streets to bid farewell to the six ponies. They bowed their heads as they passed, and beautiful flowers were thrown before them as a mark of respect, or placed on their backs or behind their ears next to the crowns they wore.

After a while, they arrived to find the city gates open to them, and beyond that, the open world, and the road home. They passed the gates with a few goodbyes and best wishes from the guards on duty, and were soon in the open plains, following the main road south, towards Equestria.

Fluttershy opened her eyes, and looked back at the city that had been her home for two weeks. It was now a small lump on the world, but it still looked as beautiful as it looked from up close. She looked away again and back towards the way they were going. She began to wonder if anything’s changed in Equestria in the time she and her friends had been away. Had Ponyville been fully re-built? Had any of her animal friends got any better? The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to get home. She began moving once again, limping heavily as she tried to keep at a good, quick pace.

“Say, how about a song as we walk?” Twilight suggested. “Something to remind us of home.”

“I know one,” Applejack said. “I remember Big Macintosh singing it once on our way home from Vanhoover once.”

“Go on, let’s here it,” Pinkie said, hopping as she usually did.

Applejack nodded, took a deep breath and began to sing. As she sung, Fluttershy wondered why she didn’t sing often, because she had a beautiful voice. It felt to her like listening to a nightingale sing its morning song as the sun’s rays crept onto the trees.

“Land of bear, and land of eagle.

“Land that gave us birth and blessing.

“Land that calls us ever homewards.

“We will go home across the mountains.

“We will go home, we will go home.

“We will go home across the mountains.”

At that moment, the ponies next to her joined in:

“Land of freedom, land of heroes.

“Land that gave us hope, and memories.

“Hear our singing, hear our longing.

“We will go home across the mountains.

“We will go home, we will go home.

“We will go home across the mountains.”

“Ya’ll know that song?” Applejack asked, surprised.

“Oh yes, I love that song,” Fluttershy said, sounding abit out of breath. “I admit when I first heard it, I cried a little.”

Applejack looked back at her and chuckled. “Sugarcube, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. I admit I cried when Big Mac sung it. It moved me more than any other song I have heard, and still does in a way. When did the rest of ya’ll first hear it then?” She turned her head forward to look at the others.

Rainbow turned her head back around to look at her friend. “Well I heard it first when-” She cut herself off and her eyes widened in horror as she looked behind Applejack. “Fluttershy!”

Applejack shot her head around to see Fluttershy on her side, panting furiously and her side rising and falling rapidly after collapsing of exhaustion. Rainbow shot past her and moved to Fluttershy’s side, with a hood extended to help her up. “There’s no way you’re continuing like this,” Rainbow said. “Get on my back, I’ll carry you the rest of the way.”

Fluttershy weakly pushed her hoof away. “It’s okay… Rainbow Dash, I’ll get there by myself.” She tried getting back on all fours again, only to make it halfway then collapse onto her stomach.

“I’m not taking no for an answer, Fluttershy!” Rainbow snapped. “The entire world can see you are not fine! And there’s no way you can get there by yourself.”

“Sugarcube, Rainbow’s right,” Applejack said. “In the state you’re in, you most certainly strain yourself, possibly even die.”

“No!” Fluttershy shouted. “I have to do this. I have to prove I can do it.” She tried getting up again, while the others looked on hesitatingly, unsure if they should act. Fluttershy made it on all fours and she grinned to herself at this victory. She took a step forward and felt another one of her legs give way and she fell forward.

Before she could hurt her face, she was stopped by what felt like a warm blanket covering her. She looked at one of her legs to see a blue aura glowing around her, and then looked up to see Rarity’s horn glowing. She was flown through the air and set on Rarity’s back. She didn’t have the strength to protest, so she gripped her legs around Rarity’s shoulders and waist. “Comfortable?” Rarity enquired. Fluttershy gave a weak nod in response. “Right. Come on, everypony, let’s get going.” She spun around and continued trotting down the road, the others following behind and looking at her stunned.

“You don’t have to do this, Rarity,” Fluttershy whispered a little later, when she was able to speak again.

“Darling, no offence but sometimes you can be a little thick-headed. I’m doing this because you are my best friend, and I can’t stand to see you suffer like you were back there. I admit I might have been a little forceful but I think I had to be.” She craned her head around to look at her with a warm smile. “I will not take any other answer.”

Fluttershy looked at her for a moment, then smiled. “Thanks, Rarity.” She turned her head around to look at the others. “I’m sorry if I was being a bit stubborn, girls. I appreciate you all care about me, really. I just don’t want to feel like a weight to you.”

The four mares smiled comfortingly at her. “Don’t mention it,” Twilight said.

“And don’t you ever feel like you’re bogging us down. Ever,” Pinkie added.

Fluttershy’s eyes moved to look at the ground before them. “I can’t help it.”

“Well you can,” Rainbow said, flying up to hover next to her. “We’re your friends, and we will help you and each other out through everything. Remember that.”

‘I think I will,’ Fluttershy promised in thought. ‘Although you’re all more to me than friends. Much more.’ She smiled at Rainbow lovingly, then rested her head back on Rarity’s neck as she found herself getting tired and sleepy.

The rest of the day was passed with poor jokes, bursting into random songs, and casual talk and companionable silence. They passed through a couple small villages where horses were returning to their homes now that the war was over. They stopped what they were doing and stared at the six ponies as they walked down the road south, prompting the mares to pick up the pace as they found the emotionless stares they were given unnerving.

Eventually the sun began to melt into the horizon, and they decided to call it a night. They moved off the road into a small wood where they could shelter from what they feared to be a storm approaching from the north. Upon making camp, Rarity lowered herself onto her belly, and then with her magic she guided Fluttershy gently into her blanket so as not to hurt her. “I hope I wasn’t a burden on you,” Fluttershy said as Rarity laid out alongside her.

“Oh nonsense, Fluttershy,” Rarity said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “You are as light as a feather, truth be told.”

“You’re just saying that.”

“Nope, it’s the truth.”

From behind them, Rainbow yawned. “I don’t know about you ponies, but I need my shut-eye. Goodnight.” With that, she disappeared behind her blanket and fell asleep instantly.

“Do ya think we’ll get to the border tomorrow, Twi?” Applejack whispered.

Twilight shrugged. “We’ll see, but I hope we’ll get as close as possible so we would be in Equestria the day after. Goodnight, everypony.” Soon Twilight was lying in her blanket and had fallen asleep. Soon everypony was asleep, all except for Rarity and Fluttershy.

Rarity tried to go to sleep, but she couldn’t due to hearing Fluttershy fidget about, rolling from one side to another, and squeaking every time she had to go onto her back. Eventually the unicorn rolled over to face her. “Are you alright, Fluttershy?” she asked, trying to keep the agitation of being awake from her voice.

Fluttershy stopped moving for a moment, then slowly rolled over and looked at her guiltily. “I’m sorry, Rarity, am I keeping you awake?” Rarity only nodded. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just can’t get comfortable, nor do I feel like going to sleep yet. I’m sorry. I’ll stay quiet from now on.”

Rarity’s agitation faded instantly, and tried to think of something to help her friend sleep. “How about I sing you a lullaby?” she suggested eventually.

Fluttershy looked at her oddly. “Are you sure? I mean, wouldn’t it be a bit… weird?”

“Of course not, sweetie,” Rarity replied, waving a hoof in dismissal. “Sweetie Belle told me how you sung to her and the girls once before.”

“Um, so she didn’t tell you how she actually did most of the singing, and not in a lullaby way.”

“Um, I don’t think she did. I’ll have to ask her about that. But anyway, I shall sing you a song that will put in a such a deep, pleasant sleep that you wouldn’t want to wake up for ages.”

Fluttershy blinked, unsure if Rarity was telling the truth, but she nodded nevertheless. “Okay, Rarity, if you want to, sing it for me.”

Rarity grinned; glad she had a chance for this. “Okay, my dear, just lay down and let me do the rest.” Fluttershy nodded, then laid out on the grass facing the unicorn. Rarity got up, and then moved herself closer to the pegasus. She placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s head and began stroking her delicately. To Fluttershy it felt like a much-needed massage, and she already felt like she wanted to sleep. That was, until her friend began to sing. Rarity had such a beautiful voice, but it seemed the song coming from her mouth was what she was born to sing.

“Fear not this night, you will not go astray.

“Though shadows fall, still the stars find their way.

“Awaken from a quiet sleep, hear the whispering of the wind.

“Awaken as the silence grows, in the solitude of the night.

“Darkness spreads through all the land, and your weary eyes open silently.

“Sunsets have forsaken all, the most far off horizons.

“Nightmares come when shadows grows.

“Eyes close and heartbeats slow.

“Fear not this night, you will not go astray.

“Though shadows fall, still the stars find their way.

“And you can always be strong.

“Lift your voice with the first light of dawn.

“Dawn’s just a heartbeat away.

“Hope’s just a sunrise away.”

Rarity would have continued, had it not been for the sounds of what seemed like a cat’s purr. She looked around, expecting to see a cat of some sort wanting attention, then looked down and smiled as she realised it was Fluttershy’s snoring. The pegasus was now fast asleep, her side rising and falling peacefully. Rarity smiled, glad that the song had worked, even though she didn’t consider the song a lullaby. “Goodnight, Fluttershy,” she whispered, before turning around and making her way back into her blanket, hoping she could get some sleep.

Despite that fact it was all quiet now, Rarity still couldn’t fall asleep. Ever since she had learnt that Fluttershy was barren, she felt awfully guilty for coming up with the subject of having foals. So guilty that she didn’t even think an apology would make up for it. She felt incredibly stupid also. ‘I should have seen the signs in Fluttershy’s eyes,’ she thought. ‘She was hurt all the time I came with it and I was too stupid to notice. Even when she was hurt by it, she took it like a mare.’ She sighed outwardly. ‘She’s braver than I am.’

She rolled over once again and looked at Fluttershy for a long time, wondering how she could make up for it, how Fluttershy could feel like having a family. Her ears pricked up at a thought that might work, but then again, would it? ‘What if I make Fluttershy feel worse because of it?’ She decided on asking Twilight about it at some point, and hoped she might agree on it, and maybe the rest of the girls. With her plan together, she finally settled into sleep.

The next morning, the six mares woke at the first sign of the sun creeping over the horizon. After a quick snack, bathroom break, and cleaning up after themselves, they set off south once again in the hope they would make it to the Equestrian-Horscan border by nightfall. Fluttershy tried walking again, and kept going for about two hours until she collapsed of exhaustion again, with Rarity insisting on carrying her again.

It was around mid-day when they discovered the first of the mass graves.

“We must be approaching Andulusia,” Twilight stated grimly as she looked at the first mound of recently moved mud. The graves stretched right along the main road; cut off at different points and each were at a random length. The six mares lowered their heads as a mark of respect and moved quickly on, with Fluttershy bouncing on Rarity’s back due to her heavy canter.

A few hours later, they caught sight of the city of Andulusia. Along the road into the city were more and even larger mass graves than the ones they’d seen previously. Horses walked along and below the walls, busy repairing or patrolling the city. One horse above the front gate saw them and hailed them. “What business brings you here?!” he called.

Rainbow Dash flew up to him, which surprised him a little as he jumped back. “Hey there,” she greeted the horse with a salute. “We amazing ponies are on our way home after saving the world for the three hundredth time in our short lives, so would you mind opening the doors and letting us be on our way?”

The horse blinked, then looked up and saw the crown of a Horsecarl on Rainbow’s head. He quickly nodded and called for the gates to be opened. Rainbow nodded in thanks, and then joined her friends. With a heavy groan the gate doors parted away from them, letting them see the inside of the city, and the progress the horses were making.

Nearly every building had wooden ramps alongside them leading up to gantries, with teams of horses working on putting bricks and stones into place. The entire city was alive with whinnies and chatter, the sound of rebuilding, the sound of life getting back into the city. To Fluttershy, it looked better then it did when she’d last been here as under her Rarity walked through the streets towards the gates her friends had used to get inside.

She looked towards one of the newly finished buildings and saw a black scorch mark of where some poor unfortunate horse met his or her end at Heimdallr’s puppet. The city would rebuild, and be re-populated, but the scars of what happened here would never leave, like the ones she had.

At that moment, she wondered if she would be able to cope with being back in Ponyville. She lived such a peaceful life there before all of this took place, and never wanted it to end. Now, she was a warrior, and a pony that has killed. The thought made her shake with revulsion. Throughout the whole experience, she wished she could just see home again, but now she was on her way home, she questioned if she would ever feel like being home again.

After a few minutes they left the city and were back into the wild plains of southern Horsca. They followed the main road, passing more mass graves and the stumps of cut down trees to make the ramps and gantries to rebuild the city. Another hour later and they finally passed the last of the graves, and were back into the woodlands where Fluttershy was captured and taken prisoner.

At night it had all looked the same, but in the lowering sunlight the leaves on the trees seemed to glow gold. All the leaves were starting to get the brown colour of autumn, and some littered the ground before them. Fluttershy looked from the leaves to what was ahead, and gasped.

The mountains that she had crossed to get here was a large wall in the distance. It was all the stood between her and her friends, and home.

“I think we should stop here, Twilight,” Rainbow suggested. “Then make it over the border tomorrow and make it to Detrots by the next evening.”

Twilight looked her way and nodded in agreement. “We’ll set up camp over there.” she pointed over at the edge of the wood a small area they could use. The six ponies moved off the road and set up camp, with Applejack setting up the fire with a fantastic new piece of equipment she received from the farm horses. It was a piece of twig formed into the shape of a bow with two pieces of string holding on to another twig. With it, they soon had a good fire going.

“That’s a nice little gadget you got there, Applejack,” Rainbow commented.

“Yeah it is, isn’t it? The horses at the farm I went to gave it to me as a gift. It’ll come in handy when I go camping next time. Care to come camping with me some time when we get back home, girls?”

“Um, I’ll think about it,” Rarity replied. “But I admit I’m getting a bit tired of all this… nature.” The five ponies chatted until the moon was high in the sky, talking about what they were going to do once they returned home, and what they were going to miss most about Castilian. Out of all of them, only Fluttershy looked lost in her own mind.

“I don’t think I can go back,” Fluttershy said suddenly, and solemnly.

The five ponies’ smiles faded and as one turned to face the pegasus with looks of concern. “Now why the hay do ya think that, sugarcube?” Applejack asked gently.

Fluttershy looked up at them with sad eyes. “After everything we’ve been through. After everyone we’ve met and lost. How could I continue being the shy, quiet pegasus pony from Ponyville after all I’ve seen, and done?”

“Ya don’t,” Applejack answered honestly. “Ya adapt and move on, that’s what ya do. That’s what I have done.”

“We know you will probably never go back to what you were more than a month ago,” Rarity added. “But you still have the same kind, open heart, and that’s what we love about you.”

“Besides, you still have us,” Rainbow said, sitting alongside her friend. “And if you need help getting back in the swing of things, just shout.”

“Yeah,” Twilight agreed. “To be honest I thought the same with Discord, and the changeling invasion. How could we continue after all that? But I continued, because I had you lot by my side to help me.”

“And I can throw super special awesome helping Fluttershy Firewing parties to get you back on your hooves,” Pinkie said.

“Just know we’re here for ya, sugarcube,” Applejack finished. “And know we’re going through the same thing.”

Fluttershy perked up for the first time in a while, and smiled at them all. “Thanks, girls. Now I know I can go home.” She suddenly let out a long yawn. “Well I’m going to sleep. It’s surprisingly tiring lounging on Rarity’s back all day.”

“Now you know how I feel,” Rainbow said, quickly adding, “But not lounging on Rarity’s back, of course.”

“We all know what you meant, Rainbow,” Twilight said, giggling. “Anyway, goodnight, everypony.” With that, the five of the six ponies moved to their sleeping bags.

Twilight tucked herself into her one when Rarity suddenly appeared above her. “You okay, Rarity?” she asked.

“Yes, but I wanted to ask you something. Could we talk somewhere a little more private please?” she whispered. “It’ll be quick, I promise.”

Twilight nodded, then carefully and quietly got out of her sleeping bag, then followed Rarity away from the camp towards the main road. Once they considered themselves out of earshot Rarity asked, “I wanted to ask you a question for a while now. Well, since yesterday, but still it’s a long time. Is it okay to name a pony a godmother, even if you don’t have any children or haven’t even considered it?”

Twilight’s eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed in confusion at what she was just asked. “I’m not entirely sure, Rarity. I mean, I don’t think there is a rule against it, but I’ll have a look for you if you like when we get back. Why did you want to know anyway?”

Rarity explained to Twilight how horrible she felt after discovering Fluttershy was barren, and going on about how lovely their kids would be together at their spa dates, and her idea of how she could make up for it. “Do you think that could work? Or could it make Fluttershy feel even worse?”

Suddenly two cyan legs wrapped around her and she was pulled into a hug. “Rarity, you’re a genius!” Rainbow cried.

“Shh,” Twilight whispered, “keep your voice down. And were you listening to us?”

“Yes, but that’s not the point right now. Think about it, you two, when we’re gone Fluttershy is going to be all alone, right?” It was a harsh question, but it was probably going to end up true, so both ponies nodded. “So what better way can we ensure Fluttershy has something to remember us by is what Rarity just suggested. That way, Fluttershy will never be alone.”

Rarity and Twilight exchanged looks. “It’s a good idea, Rainbow, but we’ll wait and see what happens.” Twilight yawned. “Come on, you lot, let’s get back to bed. A big day tomorrow.” The three of them went back to the campsite, glad upon noticing that they hadn’t disturbed anypony else, especially the pony they were talking about. They slipped into the sleeping bags and fell asleep, dreaming about what would happen tomorrow.

The sun was crawling over the horizon when they set off again the next day. Fluttershy requested if Rarity could carry her until they reached the mountain path, then she could try and make it up there herself. Rarity agreed, and with Fluttershy on her back they moved back onto the main road and towards the mountains once more.

They passed more trees, old and forgotten farm fields, and one burnt out building that Fluttershy recalled seeing as she passed through here the first night she came into Horsca. She knew then that the mountain path would soon be beginning, and soon she would leave this country.

Another hour later, and sure enough, the path started to go up towards the sky as it hugged the mountainside. “Rarity, would you mind letting me off now, please?” Fluttershy whispered. “I’ll try and walk the rest of the way.”

Rarity reluctantly nodded, then she let Fluttershy off and helped her to stand on her own four hooves, which the pegasus did with little to no difficulty. With a few words of encouragement to herself, and her friends by her side to aide her if need be, she started the climb up the path, followed close behind by her friends.

About halfway up, she looked towards Horsca, and thought if she would actually miss this place. Sure she had a few friends here, but the only thing she knew and remembered the country by was death and destruction. “Remind me to come back at some point,” she instructed them.

“I agree with ya there, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “It’ll be nice to try and get some better memories of this place at some point.” The others nodded in agreement. Fluttershy gave one last look at the country that saw her become what she is, then turned around and continued her slow climb up the mountain.

About half an hour later, she noticed the road disappeared over the edge of the mountain, and realised with a faster beating heart that the top was approaching, and Equestria would soon be in sight. She picked up the pace; the limping she was cursed with began to show more heavily as she quickened herself. She jumped the last few feet and was standing where she was when she had begun her time in Horsca. A gasp of joy escaped her lips at she saw what was before her.

She was finally home. She had returned to Equestria.

Fluttershy quickly started the descent at a more reasonable pace; relishing every step she took now she was back in her homeland. Rainbow, on the other hoof, couldn’t wait any longer. She quickly soared passed the others and prostrated herself on the flat ground, kissing it roughly. “Oh have I missed you, my sweet, sweet, Equestria!” Rainbow squeaked. She rolled onto her back and yelled, “I’m home!”

She was kissing the ground when her friends arrived on the flat, all giving her weird looks as they watched her roll about in the dirt. They then simply shrugged and began rolling about as well, enjoying the feel of Equestrian dirt with tears of joy in their eyes, laughing as they realised they were in their home country, and safe.

They soon picked themselves off the ground and soon followed the road towards Detrots, with Fluttershy walking after saying how much better she felt. It was about two hours later when Rainbow Dash realised something. “Um, guys, I think we may have a problem.”

They ponies stopped and looked at their friend with confusion. “What do you mean, Dashie?” Pinkie enquired.

“Remember the last time we were in Detrots?” Rainbow reminded them. A few sighs of, “Oh,” or, “Ah,” came from them a moment later. All of them, except for Fluttershy, who looked confused.

“What happened in Detrots?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well after we woke up from that drug you gave us we all quickly decided on going after you,” Rainbow Dash explained.

“We went into the main hall of the inn, when we bumped into Star, the commander of the garrison,” Twilight went on.

“That meanie locked us in the inn after we tried to get out,” Pinkie added, “but thanks to Brewman he showed a passage below the inn and out of there.”

“And that passage is our way into the city,” Twilight finished.

“You can remember where it is, Twi?” Applejack asked. “Because I can’t.”

Twilight nodded. “Yep, just follow my lead and we’ll be back inside the city before nightfall.” They followed Twilight along the path, passing the orchard Rainbow and Applejack had a try in crossbow shooting, which the weapon was in Rainbow’s bag. “I’m going to mount this on my wall somewhere,” she had said before they had set off from Castilian. “A reminder of how awesome a shot I am with it.” The five ponies only rolled their eyes.

A few hours later, and they crossed over the little bridge Twilight remembered crossing when they had escaped from the city. “The entrance is just there,” she said, pointing at it. Fluttershy followed her friend’s stretched out leg and saw with her eyes the cave entrance her friends had taken to get out. Some branches and a few overgrown twigs hid it from sight, but she could just make out the dark passage behind it.

“Wow, you were right. You’ve got a great memory, Twi,” Applejack said, upon remembering the bridge and the path they took.

Twilight looked back at her and smiled, then trotted towards the cave entrance and disappeared behind the branches. Fluttershy followed close behind, then Applejack, then Rainbow, then Rarity, and finally Pinkie, who bounced up the hill to the cave entrance.

“Uh, one more thing I just remembered, Twi,” Applejack said, walking alongside the unicorn. “Now we know how to get into the city, do you have any idea yet on how to get out?”

“Easy. If the carriage he hired for us is still in Detrots then we finally take up Star’s offer of taking it back to Ponyville, then stroll on by and get in and take the carriage back home. No problem.”

“No problem? Then what about Fluttershy?”

Everypony froze as they remembered Fluttershy was still with them, when they remembered leaving the city with her two days ahead. “Think about it, ya’ll,” Applejack explained. “As far as we know Star thinks we’re still imprisoned in that inn, with Brewman watching over us, and not going out helping our friend and taking part in spectacular battles and nearly getting killed. We go and show ourselves with Fluttershy inside the inn then questions start to be raised, and Brewman could get in a lot of trouble for us.”

Twilight’s ears went down, for she knew Applejack was right, but all the same they couldn’t leave Fluttershy down here. “It’s okay, girls,” Fluttershy broke the long silence. “I’ll just head out again and go through the main gate. Star won’t suspect a thing.” She gestured with her head down the tunnel. “Go on and get back inside. I’ll see you in twenty minutes.”

“Ya sure you’ll be alright, sugarcube?” Applejack asked with a questioning look.

“I walked here didn’t I? I’m sure I’ll be fine for about twenty minutes. Really.” Fluttershy turned around and made her way back to the cave entrance.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight called out to her. Fluttershy stopped, then looked back. “Be careful.”

“I’m always careful,” she replied. With that, she walked back outside and towards the path leading towards the city. She took a deep breath of the fresh air, and then began to follow it towards Detrots. ‘One more obstacle, Fluttershy,’ she thought. ‘Then you can take these weapons out of your saddlebags and put them somewhere until you have to use them again.’

Nearly half an hour later, mostly because she had to stop for a moment to catch her breath, she arrived outside the northern gates of Detrots. The gates seemed a lot smaller then she remembered them by, but it was of little concern. She walked up to and gave it three hard knocks; the sound of her hoof hitting the wooden gate seemed to echo across the forest that surrounded her.

For a long time, nothing happened, and Fluttershy began to think there was nopony in, so she started turning around and making her way back to the cave, with plan B in her head. She was on her way back when suddenly a heavy groan from behind her made her stop dead. She turned back around to see the gate opening with glee in her eyes.

A unicorn, clad in the golden armour of the Equestrian army suddenly emerged from the other side, and looked at Fluttershy in complete shock. Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak but before she could utter a word the unicorn bolted back into the city. Fluttershy shrugged, then trotted lightly into the city, not acknowledging the looks she was receiving, which were as if they had just seen a ghost.

Fluttershy moved until she was standing just where she and Star had fought nearly three weeks ago. ‘Three weeks? It’s been that long?’ Fluttershy mused as she looked around. Detrots hadn’t changed much in her time away, except the wet mud that stained the ground had dried up and was now much easier to walk around.

“Well I be,” a voice said from her left. Fluttershy looked around to see Star walking towards her, a look of surprise on his face. He stopped just a few feet away from her and looked all over her, and in particular the scars that she had across her face and her back. “How… how are you alive?”

Fluttershy shrugged. “Because I was awfully lucky,” she replied. “Now, is my friends back home safe as I asked?”

The nervousness on Star’s face began to show. “Um… well, you see… they, didn’t want to go home. Instead they wanted to come after you, so I locked them in the inn and left them there since.” Fluttershy gave a low, threatening growl. “But they have been well fed, Brewman informs me!” he quickly added. “If you want to see them now then I’ll have the barrier taken down.” He turned around and led Fluttershy back towards the inn, all the while the pegasus doing her best to keep a straight face.

They soon found themselves outside the inn, and with a flick of golden light from his horn, Star brought down the shield around the door. A moment later, the door burst open and the five mares Fluttershy was not supposed to have seen in three weeks emerged.

They all jumped her in a tight hug and yelled at her at the same time for leaving them the way she did. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed, trying her best to sound like she was crying. “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry.”

“Well you will be sorry,” Applejack growled convincingly. “Very, very sorry.” With quick movements, they gently pushed Fluttershy back inside, and slammed the door behind them, locking it so they couldn’t be followed. Once they were out of Star’s earshot, they all burst out laughing.

“You should have seen his face when we pulled Fluttershy in!” Rainbow cried, tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

“You know something,” Twilight said, sounding a bit out breath and her chest ached after laughing so much. “We should all take up acting, because we are just amazing at it.”

“Well, I’m amazing at everything I do,” Rainbow said. “It’s in my nature after all.”

Fluttershy took a deep breath, and was about to speak again when she received a hug from behind. “I can’t believe you actually made it!” Brewman cried happily. “When I heard knocking from the basement, it made me jump out of my skin but then I wondered who it was so I opened the door and found this lot with big smiles on their faces and they told me you weren’t far behind… Oh, I’m rambling, it’s just good to see you!”

Fluttershy managed to turn around and quickly gave Brewman an awkward hug. “Yeah, it’s good to see you too,” she said, and then adding jokingly, “It’s good to see all of you.” They all chuckled at that.

“So tell me, everypony. What have you been up to?” He looked at Fluttershy once more and saw the scars for the first time, causing him to gasp. “And how did you get those?!”

So throughout the rest of the night, Fluttershy proceeded to tell him what happened after leaving Detrots and what she discovered about herself, and how she managed to fight the greatest threat the world held and defeated it. Once she was done, Brewman sat speechless. He had heard tales like this before, but they were always from books and fairy tales; this, on the other hoof, was reality, and the fact it was real scared him.

“Brewman,” Twilight enquired, “do you know if that carriage is still here for us to take home?”

Brewman looked over to Twilight, stayed silent for a moment as he thought about it, then nodded. “I think so. Star kept coming to the door every now and then seeing if you lot were all right and had re-considered his offer. I told him you all said no and were sleeping at the moment. So as far as I know the carriage is still there.”

“Good. Because now that Fluttershy is back, we can take the carriage straight to Ponyville.”

“Oh, and not see Fluttershy’s girlfriend in Strutford,” Rainbow teased, making the pegasus in question go red.

“She’s not my girlfriend, Rainbow,” Fluttershy countered, the blush on her face disappearing. ‘She’s never going to let that down, is she?’ “But anyway, I’ll go with the idea of taking the carriage back. Anything to beat walking anymore. I feel like if I walk any further and my legs will fall off.”

Rainbow opened her mouth to say, “Use your wings then,” but stopped when she remembered her left wing was still tightly bandaged together, keeping her from flight. “Then it’s settled then,” she said instead. “We’ll stay here tonight, then set off in the carriage in the morning.”

With that settled, the seven ponies went off to their respective beds, and waited patiently for the dawn.

The next morning, loud knocking on the front door awakened the six mares. Rainbow grumbled something as she rose off her pillow, with some of her mane going over her right eye. “Whom the hay knocks at this time of day?” she complained.

“Oooo, you’re a poet and you didn’t know it,” Pinkie joked, giggling. She looked at her party watch and bolted off the bed when she realised what the actual time was. “Wake up, everypony, it’s nine o’clock! Come on or we’ll never get home today!”

At once, the remaining half-asleep ponies jumped out of bed and started packing for the trip home. Fluttershy was the last to get up; with most of her mane over her face and bits of it sticking out like long pieces of grass, it wasn’t a pretty sight. She ran a hoof through it and soon enough it was fine and straight again. She turned her head around to see her friends packing their saddlebags for hopefully the last time, all of them with wide grins on their faces as they chatted excitedly about coming home. Fluttershy too felt excited, and yet surprisingly nervous about it. She wondered if her animal friends would believe her when she told them of her adventures, whether or not other ponies would believe her or her friends if told. ‘I shouldn’t worry about it,’ Fluttershy assured herself. ‘If other ponies don’t believe it then that’s fine by me. I’m just glad to be going home with all my friends.’

Her brooding was cut short when Brewman opened the door. “Star’s outside,” he said. “Wants to know if you want to take that carriage now.”

“Tell him we gratefully accept,” Twilight answered. “Do you know if it’s ready?”

Brewman nodded. “He said it’s all ready, it just needs its passengers.”

“Well then,” Rarity said, “best not keep them waiting.” She placed her saddlebags on her back, and then walked pass Brewman and towards the main door. The rest followed in quick succession.

When they got outside, they found the carriage with six pegasi of the royal guard harnessed to it. Star was waiting by the door with a small smile on his face, which looked odd from a pony who the group had never seen smile before. “Ladies, your carriage awaits,” he said, opening the door for them.

The six mares nodded at him, then turned around and said goodbye to Brewman. “And thank you for helping my friends,” Fluttershy whispered.

“You’re welcome,” Brewman replied, smiling. “You’ll all come back and visit won’t you?”

“Well we’re gonna have to pass through here to get to Horsca for a holiday, so we will,” Applejack replied. “And you come to Ponyville at some point for a visit.”

“I think I will,” Brewman replied. “Take care, you six.” With that, the six mares turned around and began to board the carriage.

When it was Fluttershy’s turn, Star stopped her quickly. “Oh, Fluttershy, one more thing.” He took out a bag of bits from a pouch and threw them to her, which she caught with her mouth. “Your fifty bits I believe.”

Fluttershy looked shocked. “But… you said it was a pay toll. I thought I wouldn’t get them back at all, if I ever got back.”

Star chuckled. “In a way it’s a pay toll, but it’s more a deposit,” Star explained. “I give the money back to those that return from Horsca alive, and in – more or less – one piece. If they don’t return then I find out their next of kin and give them the bits.”

Fluttershy blinked, surprised by this. “In that case, could I have Firewing’s bits as well?”

Star looked at her oddly. “I would, if you know his next of kin.”

Fluttershy nodded. “I do. In fact, I’m his next of kin. I’m his daughter.”

Star’s jaw dropped at the revelation. He quickly recovered and returned a questioning look. “Do you have proof?”

Fluttershy quickly nodded, then took off the medallion around her neck and opened it up with the word, “Åpne.” She showed the picture to him, and Star nearly fell back in surprise. “And that’s my mother if you were wondering.”

“Well, that changes things. Give me a moment to find his bits.” He raced away back to his chambers, then came back a minute later with a small sack of bits in his mouth. Passed them over to Fluttershy, who then put the bits in her sack along with her own. “Fluttershy, whatever you did, and whatever you suffered while you were in Horsca, I don’t think I want to know. I’m just glad that you returned to us.” Star opened the door of the carriage for her and bowed his head. “I wish you a long peaceful life.”

Fluttershy bowed her head, and then said, “Thank you for looking after my friends, Star. And I wish you a long peace too.” With that, she jumped in the carriage and laid out across some of it, since the carriage had spaced for ten ponies.

With the six ponies secure, Star slammed the door shut, then with a gesture of his hoof, the team of pegasi began to gallop down the road, and then with a few bursts of their wings, they took off into the sky and began to make their way to Ponyville. Star watched the carriage disappear with satisfaction, knowing the six of them would return safe.

“Why didn’t you tell them that you knew they had gone after her?” Brewman asked, walking up alongside him.

Star shrugged. “I don’t know. Why didn’t you?”

Brewman shrugged as well. “I’m not sure either. Thought that maybe it might have been best if we didn’t.”

“I couldn’t have agreed more.”

He turned around to face a unicorn stallion that was supposed to have been guarding the northern gate. “Commander, a few horses are outside requesting entry and request permission to start trading with Equestria.”

Star’s eyes widened in surprise, while Brewman’s widened in delight. “Well then, we’d better go see what this is about.” So with Brewman in tow, Star walked over to the northern gate, little knowing of the economic boom Detrots was about to endure.

Fluttershy looked out of the window and at the ground, watching as small villages and towns and forests and rivers rushed by. They had been flying now for an hour or so and the pegasus was beginning to get restless. She knew it wouldn’t have been fair on the pegasi pulling the carriage, but she wished they could get there faster.

The others were getting pretty impatient as well. “Come on, come on, come on!” Pinkie yelled, jumping out her seat. “I really need the loo.”

“I thought we told you to go before we left,” Rarity said, glancing out of her book to give her an annoyed look.

“I didn’t need to go then, but I really have to go now,” Pinkie retorted. “Do you think we could have a quick break?”

So that’s what they did. They stopped in the middle of nowhere so Pinkie could have a quick toilet break. Once she came back they set off again, this time with Rainbow Dash outside following the carriage from above after saying she wanted to stretch her wings.

A while later, Fluttershy rested her head on the windowsill, watching the clouds go by and a flock of birds fly south. ‘The start of the migration,’ she thought cheerfully. She now wished she could go out there and fly like Rainbow Dash was, and fly with the birds some of the way. Although she preferred the ground to the air, every now and then her pegasus instinct told her to take off and fly, and this was one of those moments.

“Rainbow Dash!” she called. Soon enough, Rainbow Dash was soon flying by the window, looking at her friend with concern.

“Hey, Fluttershy. You alright?”

Fluttershy nodded. “I’m fine at the moment, thank you. I was just wondering if you could help me to fly again when I can take this bandage off?”

Rainbow grinned. “You mean that?”

“Of course. Who better to ask than Equestria’s best flyer?” Fluttershy replied, grinning.

“Oh, right!” Rainbow cheered, doing a loop in her joy. “Mark my words, with me as your coach, you will become the second best flyer in Equestria, damaged wing and all.”

Fluttershy grinned a little wider. “Yay,” she cheered.

The two shared a grin before looking in front of them, and when they did their eyes went as wide as their heads. “Look!” they both squeaked, tears of joy coming into their eyes. Pinkie, Twilight, Rarity and Applejack poked their heads out of the windows and gasped in joy.

Ahead of them, the familiar buildings of Ponyville began to appear, all of them gleaming in the bright sunlight and looking majestic. The five mares in the carriage began to jump about in excitement and hug each other as they had done it.

They were home.

“It looks amazing,” Pinkie said, her eyes wide and a grin as wide as her face. The town looked to be fully re-built, with the repair work that had lined some of the roads were now gone, and even the town hall, which was in a dire need of repair, was rebuilt and had a amazing new roof.

A few minutes later, the carriage began to descend, prompting everypony on board to hold on tight to something as it felt like they nose-dived into the town. Along the street the carriage was going to land on, everypony stopped and stared as the carriage levelled out and landed with a few bumps.

“Everypony okay?” Applejack asked once the carriage stopped. Four heads nodded in response.

“Oh man, that was awesome!” Rainbow exclaimed, her face with a large grin across it as she praised the pegasi crew. “You guys and me should have a race at some point!”

Twilight shook her head quickly to clear the dizziness, then pushed the door open with her magic, and quickly jumped out, followed close behind by everypony else. A few gasps and whispers came from the ponies in the street when they emerged, Fluttershy could hear, though, that most of them were of joy of seeing them all back.

“Applejack!” a recognisable voice called from the crowd. Applejack looked about for the speaker, and grinned when she saw Applebloom push her way through the crowd, racing towards her.

“Applebloom!” she cried, racing towards her. The two met each other in a tight embrace, tears of joy in their eyes.

“Where have you been?!” Applebloom yelled, making Applejack flinch. “You’ve been gone weeks and weeks and weeks and I… I thought…” Applebloom broke down and began to cry.

“I’m here now, lil sis. It’s okay, everything’s gonna be okay from now on,” Applejack cooed softly.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo emerged from the crowd a second later, with the little unicorn gasping in joy at seeing her big sister. The two met each other’s eyes, locking for a moment, then galloping up to each other and hugging just as tightly as Applejack and her sister was. “Oh, I’ve missed you, Rarity,” Sweetie cried, trying to hold back tears.

Rarity was another matter, for her tears were falling down freely. “I’ve missed you too, Sweetie. I’ve missed you so much!”

Pinkie suddenly squealed with joy as she saw her keepers, Mr and Mrs Cake and their kids. “Oh, I have missed you all so much!” She bounced over and gave them all a quick hug.

The Cakes quickly returned the hug. “If I’m honest,” Mr Cake said, “we were beginning to get bored of the peace and quiet we had.”

“It’s good to see you back, Pinkie,” Mrs Cake said, glaring at her husband. “It’s good to see all of you back.”

Fluttershy smiled at the heart-warming scene, and watched as Rainbow picked up Scootaloo and gave her a quick hug and noogied her head. “Twilight?” a voice behind her made the pegasus and the unicorn beside her turn around to find Spike standing there, with boxes on the ground after having dropped them in shock.

“Spike!” Twilight cried. She raced over and picked him up with her hooves, hugging him tight.

“I thought I would never see you again,” Spike sniffed.

“If I’m honest, there were a few moments where I thought I wouldn’t come back,” Twilight sobbed in response. “It’s good to be back home.”

Spike pulled away from Twilight and looked at Fluttershy with shock as he saw the scars on her face. “How did you get those?”

Fluttershy smiled. “It’s a long story, Spike. One that I will tell you later.” She turned to head in the direction of her cottage.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Rainbow called. Fluttershy turned around to see her friends looking at her. “I thought we might get dinner together, my treat. What do you say?”

Fluttershy tilted her head a little. “It sounds lovely, Rainbow. But not yet. There’s something I need to do first. Give me an hour and I’ll join you all. See you all later, and thanks, for everything.” With that, she turned around and walked slowly towards her cottage, while ponies moved out of her way, looking at her in shock due to the scars on her face and back. None of them asked about the wounds, nor did they say anything about the fact she was limping a little, but they simply smiled and exchanged quick words of greeting and said how pleased they were to see her.

About half an hour later, after being stopped by some of her neighbours and other ponies wondering where she and her friends had been, she found herself back in the outskirts of Ponyville and gazing at a familiar sight, making her sigh in relief and joy.

Her sweet, peaceful cottage, with its stream running under the bridge and birds’ nest on the roof and the trees around it, standing as it did as if she had never left. Without a second thought, she began to break into a trot, then at a canter, and quickly she found herself galloping towards her cottage, tears of joy in her eyes at seeing it.

As she neared, she suddenly saw a torrent of colours coming towards her from the windows, doors and even the chimney. She stopped as the horde of animals and birds rushed over and jumped her, pinning her to the ground and making her giggle as she felt their ticklish tongues over her face. Those that didn’t chirped and squeaked at her in welcome, and jumped about as their caretaker had finally returned to them.

She got up from the ground and rubbed her back quickly, hoping that would ease the pain she was feeling after the tumble. She looked among the horde for one particular animal, but didn’t see him. She looked up towards her door and saw Angel sitting by his hutch, tapping his wrist as if he had a watch and saying Fluttershy was late for dinner. Fluttershy rushed over to him and embraced him, with the bunny quickly returned the hug with joy and relief.

“I have missed you so much, Angel!” she squeaked. The rabbit pulled away and pointed the scars on her cheek with a look of concern. “What, them? I’ll tell you later. Right now I need to do something quick, then I’ll have all the time in the world for you.” She rushed inside and raced upstairs, not bothering to notice the mess the animals had made whilst she was absent.

She chucked off her saddlebags, flung them onto her bed, then quickly went into her wardrobe and found a small sack for her to use. She took it out then walked over to her saddlebags and got out Drage Bane, Firewing and her wing blades. The set that was on her left wing looked surprisingly fine after having been crushed and mangled by the flail that smashed her side. At that moment, she shivered as she remembered the flail meeting her side, the sound of crunching bone, and the sound of steel to unnatural steel.

She cleared her head, and quickly stuffed her weapons in the sack, and tied up the end with a bit of string. “Vi har vært gjennom mye sammen. Det har vi alle (We’ve been through a lot together, the lot of us),” she said in Dragonian to the weapons. “Og hvis Vidarr fortalte sannheten, vil vi oppleve mer i fremtiden. Men for nå, du vil hvile, for du har fortjent hvilen like mye som jeg har (And, if Vidarr was telling the truth, we’ll be going through a lot more in the future together. But for now you will all be put to rest, for you have earned it as much as I have).”

She turned around and brought up a part of the bedroom floor with her teeth, then once it was high enough, held it up with a hoof. Below the floor were a few inches of empty space, perfect for a hiding place for things such as the weapons in the sack.

She picked up the sack and placed it in the space, with it being just big enough for the sack to fully go in, and still be able to close the door. “Jeg taker deg, mitt våpen, for å forsvare meg da jeg trengte det, kjempet med meg, og for å ha vært der da jeg var alene. Jeg ønsker at jeg kunne hengt deg opp på en vegg for å minne meg på hva som hadde skjedd, men jeg trur jeg ikke trenger det nå, kanskje senere, men ikke nå. Farvel, og måtte freden vi fikk bli lang og velstående (Thank you, my weapons, for defending me when I needed it, for fighting with me, and for being close to me when I was alone. I wish I could mount you on all a wall as something to remember what happened by, but I don’t think that’s necessary, at least, not yet. Goodbye, and may the peace we have achieved together be long and prosperous).” With that, she shut the floorboard up and flattened it, making it look as if she never did anything at all. “Inntil vi møtes igjen (Until our next meeting).”

She breathed a heavy sigh of relief. With the blades there, and finding herself in a familiar place, she could now truly feel like it was now officially over. Her adventure was done. She got up and made her way downstairs, her mind fixed on getting the cottage cleaned up, and then join her friends for a well-earned proper dinner.

Author's Note

Wow, who would have thought I would get this far? We're coming to the end now, or is it...

The first song is from the film King Arthur and called 'Song of the Exile' (or 'We will go home'). The second song is 'Fear Not This Night' from Guild Wars 2 composed by Jeremy Soule.

Stay tuned for the Epilouge, for one final part, and one final farewell...

Epilogue

Two months later…

A young blue tit, its coat still growing into a more recognisable blue, yellow and grey, hopped out of the hole in its tree. It stopped just outside its hole and flicked its head up, then left and right, and finally down, looking around for any sign of birds of prey or other creatures that liked migrating birds for a good meal. Seeing and sensing none, it hopped to the furthest point of the branch and looked down. The ground was a long way down, giving the little bird second thoughts about going.

“What’s wrong?” The bird looked up in shock at the sweet angelic voice greeting its ears, but relaxed when it saw the kind yellow pegasus that gave its parents this home, flying before it and smiling amiably. The bird tweeted to her, telling her how scary it was to fly away from this lovely place to go on an adventure into uncharted places and meet new friends, and terrifying enemies.

“Oh sweetie, I know how you are feeling. I really do,” the pegasus said, her smile giving way to a sympathetic frown. That frown quickly turned back into an encouraging smile. “But I know that you will be fine. Adventures are scary, yes, and possibly dangerous. But they are life-changing, mostly for the better, and this adventure you will take in particular will show you what you can do, and who you are and what you are made of. I should know.” She finished that statement by running her hoof along a bright pink mark that ran along the side of her face.

The bird stared at her for a long time, contemplating her words, and then spread its wings. Hearing her speak, seeing that encouraging smile spread across her face, was all the bird needed. With a little tweet of goodbye, the bird jumped off the branch, and plummeted. Before it made it to the end, it brought its head up, veering its body away from the ground, and used its wings to flap and push it forward.

The bird couldn’t believe it. It was flying! It had practice before, granted, but that was just from one branch to the next. This flight would be different in that it would be much longer. The bird was ready for it, however. The blue tit looked back when it heard the pegasus cry out in encouragement, and tweeted in thanks and said its goodbyes. With that, it turned its head around and concentrated on heading south.

Fluttershy watched the bird go with a blissful smile, and briskly gave it a wave goodbye as it left its home in the tree to head out on an adventure of its own. Once the bird was out of sight, she let out a heavy sigh of relief, happy that the bird had done it and was flying away to join all the other birds. She knew the blue tit’s adventure would probably not be as dangerous as her own was, but it would certainly be just as life changing.

She fluttered back to the ground, and after making sure her wings were still okay, walked back to her small table outside her cottage, sat down by it and sipped some more of the tea that was waiting for her. She sighed and had a look at the woods beyond her garden. The leaves of the Everfree Forest were falling like snow, leaving the trees looking lifeless and boring, and the animals of the dangerous forest had gone into seclusion, which was a great relief to Fluttershy.

She closed her eyes and rested her head on the table, her ears at their highest as the remaining birds sang their farewell songs before setting off. With nothing on her hooves at the moment, she began to pore over the hectic two months that followed since she and her friends returned to Ponyville after saving the world once more, and the recovery from her battle wit Heimdallr as well as counselling herself over the fact that she was a Dragonlord.

She smiled as she remembered helping Twilight with some study on flora in Whitetail Woods. The two of them had gone on a camping trip for a few days in the blissful forests to look for a rare plant. Though the first two days were unsuccessful, the pair didn’t see the trip as pointless; they learnt much more about one another, and shared some laughs as they camped out under the stars. On the third day – technically, it was the third night – the pair did find the plants, shining in the moonlight. Before Twilight could record everything about them – height, size, width, colour, number of petals, et cetera – the plants disappeared into darkness. The pair was shocked to watch them disappear like that, but decided to keep it their little secret.

As well as helping the unicorn out with her studies, Fluttershy would help Twilight out on the book she had promised to write with her. On a rainy day, with nothing for them to do, Fluttershy would go to the library, and with a giggling Twilight, the pair would write about what they had learnt about the Dragonlords, and arrange them into chapters starting with their beginnings.

The pair did have a problem, however, one that Twilight nearly had a panic attack about. How were they going to finish it? “How about we end it on the Dragonlords’ extinction?” Fluttershy had suggested.

Twilight nodded thoughtfully. “We could do that, but then what if ponies discover that the Dragonlords are not entirely extinct, and then those Dragonlords that aren’t actually dead sue us for saying that they are extinct in the first place? And then they could say that we made some of it up since we’re having to make some of it up, and then they would have to sue us for getting it wrong, and then we would be left broken and penniless, and nopony would want to read anything that we write ever again!”

Fluttershy could only slam a hoof into her face and sigh.

She quietly giggled to herself in remembrance. Twilight may be smart, but sometimes she can be one of the silliest ponies alive. That was something she never wanted the unicorn to lose. And she was glad that Twilight was still here to show her that intelligence and that silliness.

She breathed through her nose and turned her thoughts to Rainbow Dash.

With the pegasus, Fluttershy took flying lessons from her to improve her left wing muscles after they were damaged in her battle with Heimdallr. Surprisingly, Rainbow remained patient and thoughtful throughout the training as Fluttershy was, at first, unable to go higher than four feet into the air.

Since then, with Rainbow’s instructions as well as her unique ways to treat a damaged wing, she had greatly improved, and eventually was able to fly from her cottage to the edge of town. Now, two months later, she was able to fly as if nothing had ever happened.

However, when she tried to get to Cloudsdale, she fell just after she reached the halfway mark. Rainbow Dash, luckily, was on hoof with a cloud, which she placed just below the pegasus to catch her fall. Once Fluttershy was safe, she flew up to console the poor mare, who wept silently as she realised her failure.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get to Cloudsdale on my own now,” Fluttershy sniffed quietly, holding Rainbow close.

“Hey, I’m sure you will. Maybe not now, but possibly in the future,” Rainbow replied comfortingly. “All you’ve got to do is keep practicing, and you will eventually get there. I know you will.” Fluttershy eventually let go of her, and smiled. She was right, as she usually was about many things. It will undoubtedly take her ages to get there, but she will eventually make it, and she would have her friends by her side all the time.

Rarity was always a pleasure to be around, but lately that pleasure had only increased. The two friends, on occasion with Spike when he was able to help them, would take walks outside Ponyville and hunt for gems and other rich materials to use for Rarity’s fashion line. At first Fluttershy couldn’t go as quick as the unicorn, as her injuries played up at the most inappropriate moments. But Rarity was always patient and helpful with her, and always grateful for her help, even when Fluttershy sat and only watched.

As well as helping to find the gems, Fluttershy helped the unicorn out with the making of the dresses when Rarity was behind. The two would spend what time they could playing games, gossiping, randomly bursting into song, and having a good laugh. And sometimes, the pair would silently hug and console one another for a various number of reasons.

Applejack – Fluttershy’s smile grew wider at the thought of the times she shared with Applejack. She rarely had time for the farm pony, and it was the same vice versa; the two were always working and never had time to spend in each other’s company, no matter how much they wanted it. But not long after they had returned from Horsca did Fluttershy offer to help her friend, despite the weak state she was in.

Applejack eventually agreed after a ton of offers, but was glad in the end she did say yes. Fluttershy helped Applejack remove the apples from the trees, and in return, Applejack helped her with clearing the rodents and other “varmints” as Applejack called them, out of the farm.

And sometimes, Fluttershy would stay at Sweet Apple Acres for the night, being too weak to make it back on her own and share a bed with the earth pony. The two would talk long into the night about anything, even the most upsetting stuff. They both had a cry about them for sure. But it felt good to be letting out some of the thoughts she had been bottling in, and she could imagine the same went with Applejack.

And finally Pinkie Pie – she giggled to herself as she remembered the times she had with Pinkie Pie. When the Cakes went away for a week on holiday with the little ones, she was the only one who could help Pinkie with the responsibility of running the shop, and she was glad she said she could.

The two always ended up messy after a delicious food fight. Sang songs, laughed at each other’s terrible jokes, and simply enjoyed each other’s company into the late evenings.

It had been a difficult time, with her injuries playing up from time to time, but eventually most of the aches and pains had gone, and she felt like she could live normally again. All but one of the scars on her cheeks had disappeared, with the remaining scar running from under her right eye down to the tip of her nose. The thing that reminded her most of her ordeal was the long, pink scar that ran down from the end of her neck to the top of her rump. It became apparent after the first month since coming back that her coat would never grow over it, and would remain there for the rest of her life.

Still, it didn’t matter now as much as it used to. She had her friends still, and her life in Ponyville had gone back to the way it was before. Most of it, anyway. Yet, at night, she sometimes would wake up sweating heavily and short of breath, leaving her with little sleep most of the time, as she found her mind going back to when she lost her father, and the way he was killed, as well as her battle with Heimdallr.

She told her friends about her nightmares, and they all assured and comforted her, telling her they were all experiencing nightmares as well; finding themselves back in the darkness and facing the great burning dragon once more. Some, apparently, involved watching each other die horribly down in the darkness, and the pony experiencing the nightmares couldn’t do anything about it. But they stayed together, talked about it to each other, and helped each other carry on with their lives.

Like Fluttershy thought when they got back two months ago, it wasn’t going to be easy, but through each other’s support and friendship, they could do it.

She was too busy wrapped in her thoughts that she didn’t notice, or hear, the sound of hoofsteps getting louder and louder, as well as a gentle humming. Before they reached the edge of her cottage they stopped, and a face peered from the other side to reveal Twilight Sparkle.

The unicorn smiled when she saw Fluttershy, with her head resting on the table, and began to quietly walk up to her, the unicorn’s saddlebags rustling as they rubbed against her sides. “Fluttershy?” Twilight called quietly, approaching the seemingly sleeping pegasus.

Fluttershy’s eyes shot open, and after blinking repeatedly she raised her head up, looking at Twilight with a greeting smile. The moment she did that, however, the aching feeling that stretched across the scar on her back made its presence known. Fluttershy grimaced and began to rub her back with a hoof.

“Are you okay, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, her tone laced with concern.

Fluttershy nodded. “I think so, thank you. It’s just that sometimes an aching pain flares up in my back.” As soon as she stopped talking, the pain in her back faded away and she felt fine again. “It’s gone now, but it will keep coming back when I least expect it.”

Twilight cocked her head a bit, and then smiled. “I’m sure it will heal in time. Hay, you’ve got enough if it,” she said comfortingly.

Fluttershy smiled back, and then her eyes widened in shock. “Oh goodness, where are my manners? Have a seat, if you want to, of course.” She gestured with a waving hoof to sit at the table, and with the other pointed at the teapot resting on the side. “Tea?” she asked the unicorn. “It’s your favourite.”

Twilight beamed and immediately removed her saddlebags from her back. “Oh, I would love some, thank you. I’m parched after today,” she answered, taking an idle cup and pouring out some tea from the pot. Once she put it down, she lowered her rump onto the other cushion, and sighed pleasurably at the peace. Fluttershy smiled at her and raised her cup to drink some of the warm tea, while Twilight’s ears flicked at the sound of the birds singing their songs of departure.

“So, um,” Fluttershy said, putting down her cup, “if you don’t mind me asking, how’s the book coming along?”

“Oh, it’s coming along nicely, thank you. I would have shown you the cover and the first chapter, but other things popped up that I had to put it aside,” Twilight replied. “I had several errands come up at once, and that messed up my schedule, so I had to waste another hour re-working the schedule just so I could add these errands and do the other things I wanted to do.”

Fluttershy smiled and rolled her eyes. ‘Typical Twilight. Always the organised one.’

“Once I had re-scheduled my schedule to suit these last-minute errands, however, another errand for me to deal with popped out of Spike’s mouth. And since I was coming this way to Sweet Apple Acres, I thought I might drop it off to you first.”

Fluttershy flicked her eyes onto Twilight in an instant, clearly expressing her interest. “You mean, something came for me from the Princess?”

Twilight nodded, and with her magic lifted a letter – sealed in a red ribbon and endorsed with the cutie mark of Princess Celestia on the front – out of her saddlebag and levitated it over to Fluttershy. “A small note came with it saying it was for you alone to open.”

Fluttershy gaped in shock. A letter from the Princess addressed to her? Such a thing had never happened before. ‘She’s probably taken interest in me since the events in Horsca,’ she thought. ‘But why now?’ Excitedly, she took the letter out of Twilight’s magical grasp and ripped the seal off it, before unfurling the letter and reading through it really quickly. It felt nice to get a letter from the Princess; it was like receiving a letter from your favourite celebrity.

But the contents of the letter were not just surprising, but shocking.

“Well, what does it say?” Twilight asked, craning her neck up to see.

Fluttershy looked back at Twilight, realising she had been staring at it in stunned silence for a few moments. “Princess Celestia wants to see me in Canterlot for a casual get-together,” she answered, the surprise evident in her voice.

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Does it say when?”

Fluttershy nodded, briefly looking through the letter again. “Today. Specifically this afternoon.” She got off her cushion and went inside to see what the time was. Her eyes widened when she saw it had just gone twelve.

“Oh no!” she squeaked. “I should be in Canterlot by now!” She ran back outside and gave a quick hug to Twilight. “Sorry, Twilight, royalty calls. I wish I could stay a bit longer though– ”

She was cut off when Twilight placed a hoof in her mouth, smiling beneficially. “It’s okay, Fluttershy. Just do me a favour and tell the Princess that I said hi.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Okay. See you when I get back.” And with that she galloped hard towards the train station.

Twilight watched Fluttershy go with sad eyes as the pegasus galloped down the road with a slight limp in her stride. Ever since they had returned home, the girls and her had decided to keep a close eye on Fluttershy, in case she needed help with anything. They kept their distance to be sure they weren’t treating the Dragonlord like a baby, but close enough to know they could be on hoof to help her in case of an accident.

Luckily, nothing severe had happened, but sometimes Fluttershy’s hind legs would give way and she would collapse on her rump, grinding her teeth together in pain. Fortunately, Twilight, or one of the others, were soon by her side and helping her up, with the pegasus muttering apologies or sniffing back tears of shame.

Yet always, they would be there to wipe her eyes, smile comfortingly, and help her get through the day, as any friend should. ‘I just hope she heals soon,’ Twilight thought, watching as the yellow silhouette vanished into the distance. ‘She will be much happier when she does.’

But some injuries, such as watching your father die and learning of something you never wanted to be, would take even longer to heal.

“Has she gone?” a voice from above whispered.

Twilight looked up and saw Rainbow Dash’s face appear from one of the clouds drifting aimlessly above her. “She’s on her way to the station,” she replied with a nod. “Right, you go and get Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie here and start setting things up, while I go and finish off my chores and get some things for tonight.”

“You got it, Twi,” Rainbow said with a quick salute. She kicked upwards, dissipating the cloud she was resting on, and raced off in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

Twilight smiled and turned to Angel bunny, who appeared from the house with a watchful gaze. “Is everything ready, Angel?” The rabbit nodded and gave a salute of his own. “Good, then help the others when they get here. I’ll be back as quick as I can.” With that, she broke into a trot to Sweet Apple Acres.

Once she made it to the road, however, she squealed and jogged on the spot. “Oh, she’s gonna love this!”

It took half an hour for Fluttershy to get to the station, mostly due to the fact she gallop as well as she had used to. ‘Darn this limp,’ she thought as she slowed into a walk a few metres from the station, grimacing as she felt an aching feeling work its way from her leg and down her back. She knew she could have flown all the way to the station, but she was worried that she would fall and hurt a pony on the ground as well as herself.

When she arrived at the front of the station she walked up to the ticket counter, a bit out of breath and sweating heavily; for an autumn day, it was surprisingly warm. “Hello… could I have a return to Canterlot… please?” she rasped.

The earth pony behind the counter nodded and gave her two tickets. Fluttershy thanked her, gave her the bits, then walked through the gateway onto the platform. To her surprise, and glee, the platform was empty of other ponies, leaving a bench free for her to jump up and sit on. Once she was comfortable, she fanned herself with a wing to cool herself down, feeling a little dizzy from the running and the heat.

A few minutes later, her ears flicked at the sound of an engine whistle, and Fluttershy turned her head left to watch as the first signs of the train appeared on the horizon. “At least I didn’t have to wait long,” she whispered to herself, just as the train glided slowly into the platform, and stopped with a tiny screech emitting from the brakes.

Once the few ponies that wanted to get off jumped out of the their carriages and left the station, Fluttershy got up and hopped onto the train. She had a quick look down the carriage, and saw it completely empty of other ponies. The pegasus grinned. ‘Perfect.’ She randomly chose a seat on the right side of the carriage, and stared at Whitetail Woods in the far distance, as well as the silhouette of the first few mountains making up Unicorn Range beyond it, with a small smile.

Then, with a long blow of its whistle, the train suddenly jarred forward, then began to pick up the pace as it commenced its short journey to the capital city of Equestria.

As the train started to climb the mountain to Canterlot, she began to wonder deeply on what the Princess wanted with her. Twilight said that she sent a letter to the Princess not long after they had returned, saying that they were all alright, what had happened to them and what had happened to Fluttershy. If Celestia knew about the events in Horsca, then why did she want to see her?

She shook her head; the ruler of Equestria was more of a mystery than a Rubix’s Cube. It would be better for her mind – and her soul – if she didn’t think too hard about it, she realised. She lowered herself down on the chair, spreading herself along it, then tucked her legs under her stomach and closed her eyes, silently pleased to have a moment of peace without somepony watching over her with concern.

She hadn’t been blind to what had been going on around her the past two months. She had just been playing dumb. She knew her friends had been following her around as she worked on her chores and tended to her animal friends, staying sure that she was fine and able to work on her own without them to support her. And it wasn’t always just one of her friends. Sometimes she would spot with the corner of her eye or hear all of them whispering to one another as if she was an animal being studied for a book about nature.

Yet, for some reason, she didn’t feel annoyed by them always watching over her. If anything, she felt flattered that they cared about her enough to make sure she was all right twenty four seven. It made her feel happy, something she hadn’t really been in a long time.

The engine’s whistle booming across the landscape forced Fluttershy to open her eyes, and gasp in surprise. ‘Oh my. That was fast,’ she thought, as the spiralling towers of Canterlot dominating the skyline met her gaze, as well as the marble brick station building slowly getting closer and closer. As soon as her carriage was beside the platform, the train screeched to a halt, sending a terrible ringing through Fluttershy’s ears.

Once she had recovered from the terrible sound, she got off the chair and walked leisurely off the train. After thanking the ticket inspector and hoofing over her ticket, she trotted through the station and out into the main street. The streets were full of ponies in various dresses and suits, while a few walked around with their birth coats on. She broke into a cheerful, although slightly limped trot and made her way to the palace. Never once did she shy away from some of the few gazes coming her way, for nothing could break her good mood.

After a while she found herself at the front of the palace gates, where two unicorns armed with spears were standing guard. She puffed out her chest to keep up her courage and held her head high as she strolled up to them. “Good afternoon,” she said with a confidence unseen outside of her group of friends. “I’m here to see Princess Celestia. My name’s Fluttershy. Fluttershy Firewing.”

The guard on the right used his magic to open a pouch within his armour and brought out a scroll. Once he had opened it, he scanned the names on the list, his eyes widening when he found her name on there. “Ah, here you are, Miss Fluttershy. The Princess is in court at the moment so wait by the stairs and she’ll come to you.”

Fluttershy bowed her head, said, “Thank you, sirs,” and walked through the gates, feeling proud of herself for being so courageous. Two guards never scared her anymore. After all, why should they? She had fought the greatest threat to the world and came out victorious. She felt like she could take on anything.

‘No!’ she screamed at herself in thought. She didn’t want to go down the path of arrogance, the one the Dragonlords had all followed. It was a path that led them to their destruction and extinction.

Except for her.

She came out of her thoughts when she noticed that she was standing just inside the palace entrance, with the stairs leading up into the various rooms and chambers of the palace. Seeing the many servants and guards strolling around the palace and not wanting to be in their way, she walked up to the stairs and sat on her haunches to the side of them, waiting patiently as she watched the ponies of the palace continue with their work.

An hour later and she groaned with impatience. The servants and guards had gone by, and yet there was still no sign of Celestia. ‘Where is the Princess?’ she yelled in thought. ‘Did she forget about our meeting? Or did the guard get the time the court ended wrong?’ She noticed a guard passing by, and subsequently called to him. “Um, excuse me, sir, but when does court finish? I need to see the Princess.”

The guard looked at the clock just above the main gates. “It should’ve ended about half an hour ago, Miss,” he said before walking through the main doors and outside.

Fluttershy sighed, her shoulders slouching. “Should’ve ended half an hour ago,” she moaned. “What’s taking so long?” After a moment to think, she abruptly gasped, scaring a young servant mare working behind her. “Maybe she’s waiting for me there!” Without further thought, she galloped up the stairs and towards the throne room.

Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, a mare thousands of years old and had seen just about everything Terra could possibly throw at her country and her family, thought she was going to die of extreme boredom. And coming from a mare of her age that would be quite an achievement. Though she doubted the pony responsible would get an award for it.

She sat with as a polite smile as she could muster as she looked at the earth pony in front of her, who had been blabbering on about something vaguely memorable in a plain monotone voice, for a good half an hour.

Behind him, the many ponies that occupied the throne room had fallen asleep, while the few that were awake were trying hard to stay awake. The sleepers were the lucky ones, she thought, not being able to remember what was being said. She wished at this moment that she could join them, but knew that if she did, she would have the scrutiny of not just the Canterlot elite, but her sister as well.

She looked to her right at the smaller throne her sister would have resided on to help her rule the country, but today it was as empty as Discord’s heart. Earlier today, Luna had made up some excuse about not resting as well as she should be. So she excitedly announced over breakfast that she would be sleeping for the rest of the day. Celestia wished her sister was here. She could really use someone like her to shut this pony up, so she could listen to another pony in need of proper help.

‘Somepony, anypony, help me!’ she screeched in thought, while trying her very best at keeping the loving smile across her face.

Her prayers were answered, luckily, when the doors of the throne room threw themselves open, as though a great gust of wind had invaded the castle and was coming to take the Princess and bring about the destruction of Equestria. The ponies of the throne room – awake or barely awake – jumped out of their places and looked to the invader with horror.

Instead of a terrible invasion of an unknown element, however, it was a yellow pegasus with a long pink mane and tail, expressing a look of panic on her face.

“Oh my goodness, Princess, I’m so sorry, I only just got your letter and I came running all the way from Ponyville and I…” Fluttershy trailed off when she saw everypony in the room looking at her with either annoyance or gratitude. “Oh… Oh dear. I’m so sorry for interrupting, everypony.” She took a step back, shying away from the gazes. “I’ll just go outside and wai–”

Grinning, Celestia clapped her forehooves together and rose from her throne. “Well, my dear friend.” She had even forgotten the earth pony’s name. “We shall discuss the rest of this matter at a later date.” Before the pony could protest, she spoke up again. “I am sorry for all of those that haven’t had the chance to put forward their issues. I assure you that I will listen to them from tomorrow morning and into the evening to make up for it. For now, the court is dismissed.”

One by one, the ponies before the throne bowed before the Princess, and then slowly exited out the room, giving Fluttershy either looks of thanks or glares as they walked out. Once the last of them had gone, Celestia gestured for the guards to leave, which they did and walked out of the room as well, closing the doors behind them.

Fluttershy walked up to the throne and bowed, looking deeply apologetic. “I’m so sorry, Princess, for inter-”

“Fluttershy, I cannot thank you enough for that,” Celestia cut her off with a smile. “I thought I was going to die of boredom back there, so I owe you my life.”

“Oh... well, don’t worry about it, Princess,” Fluttershy said, waving a hoof.

Celestia chuckled. “Please, call me Celestia. It’ll be a nice change from hearing Princess constantly after today.”

“Okay… if you’re sure, um… Celestia?”

“Very sure.” Celestia walked down from the throne, her strides elegant and as graceful as expected of her. She stopped just before the pegasus, still wearing the same, motherly smile that put the Dragonlord in a sense of peace. “So, Fluttershy,” the Princess continued. “I’m sorry for bringing you here on such short notice, but I wanted to know about your adventures and what you had discovered about yourself.”

“But didn’t Twilight tell you what happened?”

“She did. But she only told me the parts where she was involved and, from what she has said to me, been through to try to find you. So I would like to know what happened from your point of view.”

Fluttershy’s ears flat as she remembered the reason as to why they weren’t with her for the first half of her journey. “Oh… okay. Well, um, where do you want me to begin?” she asked.

Celestia looked around the throne room, seeing that it wasn’t suitable for such a long talk to go ahead. “Let’s get comfortable first before we discuss the events in Horsca. I would have waited and had this talk in my chambers. But since court today took forever, and it’s such a nice day outside, how about we go outside first and have this conversation in the gardens?” the Princess suggested.

Fluttershy’s face lit up with joy, and hopped on the spot. “Oh, I would love that! Thank you, Celestia!”

Celestia smiled, then gestured with a hoof towards the doors to the throne room, and the only way out. Fluttershy stepped aside, allowing Celestia to go through first. Celestia smiled and thanked her, before walking past her. Once the Princess was ahead of her, Fluttershy broke into a trot just so that she could keep up; Celestia’s strides were long, looking more like she was jogging rather than walking.

She was about to leave the throne room, when one of the stained glass windows caught her eyes and forced to stop. The longer she stared, the lower her jaw went and the wider her eyes grew. “Oh… my,” she whispered, unable to say anything else. It was an image of herself rearing up and her swords positioned across her chest and formed into a cross at the centre of the window, with Heimdallr below her, lying on his back, vanquished for good.

Celestia glanced over her shoulder to see Fluttershy had stopped and was looking at the window with a shocked expression on her face. “Ah yes. That. I do hope you like it, Fluttershy. It took the window maker a long time to come up with that, but I think he got your likeness well. Don’t you think?” Celestia noticed something in Fluttershy’s eyes that seemed to show major disappointment in something. She frowned. “Is something wrong?”

Fluttershy looked from the window to her ruler. “Yes. Yes there is,” she answered rather bluntly. “Why aren’t my friends in this as well? They fought in the final battle and helped me out when I needed it.”

Celestia smiled at her, and set a comforting hoof on her shoulder. “Before I had the window commissioned, I asked Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity about the window, and how it should look and where they would like to be positioned. Do you know what they said in response?”

Fluttershy shook her head after a brief minute to think about it. “They said that they were pleased the window was being put up, but none of them wanted to have their likeness in the window itself. They refused to have themselves remembered for this moment.”

Fluttershy stared at Celestia in disbelief, then looked back at the window. “But they… they helped me. I would never have defeated him on my own.”

Celestia chuckled. “They know that, child, but I am sure they have their reasons, both simple and complicated, as to why they didn’t want to be hailed as you will be. I can think of one, though. They wanted this to be your victory, Fluttershy. Not you and your friends. Just you.”

Fluttershy sighed, nodding in understanding. “I hope they all get their own windows at some point, then.”

Celestia chuckled, removing her hoof from Fluttershy’s shoulders. “I’m sure they will someday.” She turned away and headed towards the doors once more. “Right, come on, let’s get outside while the sun’s still up.” Fluttershy gave one last look at the window, before following Celestia out.

The Princess led Fluttershy out of the throne room, down the corridor on the left, and out a small white door, which led right into the gardens. Fluttershy gasped with wonder at the sights of so many different birds, animals and plants scattered about. The sight brought back many memories of the times she had been here, especially the first time she was here, which ended with her going on a rampage. She cringed at the memory that still haunted her.

Celestia led her through the garden to a small table in a clearing hidden from view by tall hedges. “Please, take a seat,” Celestia offered. Fluttershy nodded in thanks and sat down to the chair opposite the monarch. “So, Fluttershy, tell me everything that happened after you left me in Canterlot.”

Fluttershy nodded and began telling Celestia the story, from meeting Vidarr on the railway bridge, to Strutford and her meetings with several ponies. Celestia let out a little giggle when the Dragonlord mentioned the mare that had flirted with her, but quickly apologized about it. “Oh, it’s all right, Celestia,” Fluttershy said, giggling along with her. “I still think about her sometimes and laugh about it.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow and turned her head slightly. “So would you…?” she asked.

Fluttershy blushed, looking aghast. “Oh, no, of course not!” she exclaimed, forcing a giggle out of Celestia. “I barely knew her for a start, and… well, I don’t think I want a relationship now, for many reasons.” She smiled wryly to herself. “I still don’t understand what she saw in me.”

“Well, if I may speak the truth, you are a very beautiful pegasus. Possibly one of the beautiful ponies I have ever seen,” Celestia remarked. Fluttershy squeaked in surprise and blushed so fiercely she thought she might faint. She quickly took a sip from her cup of tea to cool herself down.

Celestia giggled, and let a silence hang in the air afterwards before speaking once more. “Now, then, what happened after you left Strutford?” Celestia said, gesturing with a hoof for her to continue.

Fluttershy nodded, and told her about their night where they camped outside the forest surrounding Detrots, where she told them of her childhood as an orphan. She quickly moved on to when they made it into the city, and how she parted company from her friends. “I still feel terrible for leaving them like that,” she said, her eyes fixed on the table. “But now that it has passed, I feel that I made the right decision. I just couldn’t bear the thought of them all dying because of me.”

She looked up and saw Celestia with a loving smile on her face. “Twilight mentioned it in her letter. I don’t blame you, Fluttershy. Nopony does. You acted out of love and kindness for your friends, and maybe it might have worked out for the best after all.”

“Oh yes,” Fluttershy answered. “Well, at least I think it did.” She began recalling to Celestia of the events after leaving Detrots, from arriving in Horsca to being taken prisoner by the Andulusians. Celestia’s eyes widened in horror upon hearing of how close Fluttershy was to death.

“My head laid out on the block, I closed my eyes and breathed a final sigh of content as I waited to hear the blade come down. The next thing I knew, I felt the heat of fire on my coat. I looked around and saw fire everywhere, and a large dragon soaring over the city, burning and killing at will. I never felt so terrified in my life. Me and a horse named Thowra were lucky to escape.”

She told Celestia of the city of Castilian, the capital of Horsca, and of her meeting with Freya, the now true Queen of Horsca, with Celestia nodding through it all. ‘Now this is interesting,’ Celestia thought unashamedly.

She went on to how she left the city, made her way into the Ragged Mountains, and came across a giant spider and was nearly killed by it, to her first meeting with Firewing. “So, instead of you finding Firewing, Firewing found you,” Celestia said with a chuckle.

Fluttershy laughed as well. “You’re right, Princess. Funny that.” Once the pair had calmed down, Fluttershy went on to how she and Firewing made it out of the old fortress to a small place where new Dragonlords went to learn about what they were now. “It was there where I learnt about my heritage and what I had become,” Fluttershy finished, pausing to take a sip of her cup.

Celestia nodded and took a sip of her cup as well. “Have you ever heard of the Dragonlords, Princess?” Fluttershy asked.

After a while, Celestia nodded. “Only that they were warriors who protected those who couldn’t protect themselves. And that they were made up from ponies from the different pony kingdoms, as well as my subjects. But I didn’t know so much to recognise what you were instantly. So tell me, do the Dragonlords possess any… special abilities?”

Fluttershy nodded, and quickly told her about her many abilities. When she told the Princess of her new life range of a thousand years, Celestia’s eyes widened. “You can live longer?” Fluttershy nodded. Celestia slumped back in her chair. “I did not expect that one at all. The next thing you’re going to tell me is that Firewing’s your father.” She chuckled at the thought.

“Actually, he was,” Fluttershy said with a small but sad smile.

Celestia’s cup slipped out of her telekinesis, spilling her tea, making Fluttershy gasp in horror. “Oh, I’m sorry, Celestia! I… oh dear…” She squeaked and quickly hid behind her mane.

Celestia, after getting out of her shock, laughed and gently brushed Fluttershy’s mane out of her face with her magic. “It’s okay, Fluttershy. I have to admit I’m shocked. I’m quite sure a revelation like this would’ve been just the same for you.”

“At first I was angry more than shocked; actually, I was fuming. I didn’t want to believe that the pony I came looking for was in fact my father; I had always believed him to be dead. So I stormed out of the room and had a moment to myself, reeling over the news. Not long after a few words with a robin, who told me to talk to him about why he left me and maybe get to understand why, he came to me and showed me this.”

She took hold of the medallion that seemed to be glued to her chest, and whispered, “Åpne.” The medallion snapped in half at the command and presented to the winged unicorn the picture of her mother and father. “This was taken a month or so before I was born.”

Celestia leaned in to get a better look, and felt warmth flow through her at the sight of a smiling Rosemary and Firewing. “That is a beautiful picture, Fluttershy,” she commented. She looked back at the pegasus. “What was your mother’s name?”

“Rosemary,” Fluttershy replied with a small smile. “After I saw this picture, I could no longer deny that this pony was my father, and though I still felt confused as to why he left me, I offered to help him in the fight against Heimdallr.”

Fluttershy went on about how she met the fiery dragon for the first time. How she and Firewing worked their way through traps together, and how they both fought off a group of remans. “Celestia, have you… have you ever killed anyone?” she asked after telling Celestia how she killed a reman to save her father’s life.

A moment later, Celestia reluctantly nodded. “In the defence of my sister’s and mine subjects, it was necessary that I killed, or the enemies of Equestria would kill thousands. The early days of Equestria under our reign were the worst, Fluttershy. Violent rebellions occurred nearly everywhere, and invasions from outside countries that sensed the weakness this country oozed, including the changelings. Only Luna and I, with but a hoof full of soldiers brought together by our call, were able to fight them off. It was a long time before the Royal Guard was big enough to combat the many threats and restore and keep the peace.”

Fluttershy nodded in understanding. “But you must know, that every time I killed someone, I felt a part of me die. That’s why I was glad when the Guard was strong enough to fight in my sister and I’s stead, so we could both retire and work on proper matters.” Celestia chuckled at something. “Though nowadays, there is a part of me that wishes for those old days when I felt that I was actually doing something worthwhile.”

With that out of the way, Fluttershy went on to how she learnt of her origins, and why she was left at the orphanage she was raised at in the first place. Her tone saddened to the point that Celestia thought she was going to burst into tears as she told of her father’s death. “He was just standing there, with a blissful smile on his face, even as the dragon came up from behind him and grabbed him with its jaws. I… I just screamed. I did nothing to stop the dragon, I did nothing to save him. I just stood there and screamed my torn heart out.”

After a moment of silence between them, with only the singing birds to break it, Celestia got up and gripped the pegasus in a hug, rubbing her back with gentle movements, while Fluttershy shook in remembrance, never once spilling a tear. “I’m sorry, Princess,” Fluttershy whispered. “I shouldn’t be acting like this.”

Celestia smiled and rubbed a hoof through Fluttershy’s mane. “You have nothing to be sorry for, my dear. What happened and what you saw should not be something a pony like you should see.” She pulled away, and frowned confusedly when she saw there were no tears in the Dragonlord’s eyes. “Why are there no tears in your eyes?”

“Because I’ve cried about it for too long, Princess,” Fluttershy replied. “Besides, my father wouldn’t want me to cry for him, but just remember him, as I knew him by.”

After a moment to compose herself, Fluttershy proceeded to tell Celestia how, in a blind rage, she attacked and killed the dragon that killed her father, after it had threatened her friends with torture and death. She went on to how they located the resting place of the fifth key, only to discover to her horror and grief that it wasn’t there. Then how they had to fight off an army of draugen, which they managed to defeat but at the cost of losing Thowra.

“I should feel sad to know he is dead,” Fluttershy said, on the subject of the horse who saved her life. “Yet for some reason, I’m not. I guess I am just happy for him that he can see his family again – if such a place exists.” Celestia remained eerily silent.

Fluttershy then went on to tell her how she met Vidarr again, and when she revealed that she was barren to the others. “Have you had children, Celestia?” Fluttershy asked. Upon noticing the hesitation in the Princess’s eyes she added, “Oh, I am so sorry, Celestia, forget that I ever ask–”

“No, no, it’s okay. Yes, I have had children. It was during the dark times, when Equestria was rebuilding,” Celestia answered.

Fluttershy looked to the ground, thinking of how she was going to ask what she wanted to say. “Um… if you don’t mind me asking, that is. What was it like, giving birth I mean?”

“If I’m honest, it is probably the most painful experience of my life. But the rewards are the greatest.” Celestia smiled at a long, distant memory.

Fluttershy smiled along with her. “So, um, where are your children now?”

“Question is, what happened after when you told your friends this news?” Celestia asked.

Fluttershy realised she hit a sour point, so quickly decided to take the Princess’s silent advice and move on. She proceeded to tell how the six of them sneaked into Ironhoof Fortress, got hold of the key, and how Fluttershy nearly killed a horse begging for her life. “I was ashamed of myself that day, Princess. Still am, really. I thought that I had learnt my lesson after Iron Will and what I did to Pinkie and Rarity. But I learnt a tougher, and harsher lesson that echoed throughout my journey.”

Celestia looked on with interest. “I learnt that history repeats itself. No matter how different we do something to try and avert the past, we eventually go back and do the same thing,” Fluttershy explained, her tone indicating her sadness of knowing such a fact.

Celestia sadly nodded. “I wish I could say that isn’t true, Fluttershy. But I can’t. After a while we tend to make the same mistakes. I know I do, and will continue to do a hundred times over.”

Fluttershy smiled comfortingly. “We’re ponies, though. We always make mistakes.” She went onto how she acquired a boat to take her and her friends to the Horscan Sea and her final encounter with Heimdallr.

She told of the battle that followed, the wounds she received, how her friends helped, and finally how she managed to defeat him by collapsing the tomb and filling it with water, drowning him. She talked of her and her friend’s timely rescue by Vidarr before the water engulfed them. Then finally leaving Castilian and heading home.

“I came back from that adventure scarred permanently, fatherless once more, and with many regrets and worries hanging over my shoulders. But there’s only one thing I regret more than most, Celestia. That I never got to say goodbye to my father, and tell him that I loved him dearly,” Fluttershy finished, sighing sadly.

Celestia looked at Fluttershy for a moment, wondering whether to spill such a secret to the pegasus. It was clear to the Princess that Fluttershy wanted to desperately see her father again, even for four minutes. She deserved that much, surely.

“Fluttershy? What if I told you that there is a chance for you to see him again?” At that, Fluttershy’s head shot up instantly, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open in shock. “What would you say if you were given that chance to see your father again, for four minutes only? Would you take it?”

Fluttershy didn’t take long to think about it. “I would not hesitate,” she answered.

Celestia smiled and got up from her cushion. “Then follow me,” she ordered, and then began walking back towards the palace. Fluttershy sprang out of her cushion and trotted up alongside the Princess. She wasn’t a foot away from her when the Princess swung around and pointed a hoof at her. “But you must promise me this,” Celestia added sternly. “That you will never tell anyone outside of Twilight, Spike, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow and Applejack about this. This is something that must stay secret and hidden, above all else. It is too important and dangerous for everypony to know. Promise?”

Fluttershy nodded hastily, noticing the seriousness in Celestia’s voice. “I promise I won’t tell anyone except my friends, Celestia. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she said with all the right movements. Celestia looked at Fluttershy amusedly for a moment. “One of Pinkie’s things,” Fluttershy explained.

Celestia’s eyes widened in understanding. “Oh, okay. Does sound like something Pinkie Pie would do,” she said with a giggle. With that, Celestia led Fluttershy through the garden and into the palace once more.

Fluttershy felt a knot tighten in her stomach as they walked from corridor to corridor, passing ponies who bowed their heads in respect to the Princess. To know she was being given the chance to see her father for the last time was something that she couldn’t even describe. She knew she should feel delighted, but instead she felt terrified. ‘What should I say to him? Should I hug him first, or should I just ask him about how he is?’ she wondered. She absently rubbed her stomach with a hoof, wincing at the pain she could feel. ‘What would he say to me? Would he even want to speak to me after what happened?’

After a few minutes of walking down corridors, exchanging pleasant greetings to other ponies, the pair finally made their way down another corridor, this one with darkened windows that kept the sunlight out, turning the passageway into an eery place that kept Fluttershy on the tips of her hooves. “Whe-where are we?” she asked.

“A place that so few of the servants that work and live in this castle are allowed to go,” Celestia replied cryptically, glancing over her shoulder to her. She looked ahead once more, the sound of their hoofsteps and Fluttershy’s heavy breathing the only thing that could be heard.

Eventually, the end of the corridor was in sight, and Fluttershy squinted her eyes to have a better look. Her eyes widened when she could make out the small door at the far end, with black hexagonal shapes covering the bottom half of the door, and an image of a golden alicorn with stretched out wings, rearing defiantly against an imaginary foe.

The Princess flicked her head towards the door, her horn glowing with light for a brief moment. As on command, the door slowly swung open, creaking with age. Celestia and Fluttershy walked in one after the other, the former looking ahead of her while the latter was looking around for any sign of how to see her father.

She was disappointed, to say the least, when she saw that the only thing in the small, windowless hall was a large, oval shaped mirror. “So, how can I see my father?” Fluttershy asked, not bothering to hide the disappointment she could feel in her from her voice.

Celestia indicated the mirror with her head. “With that,” she answered.

“But it’s just a mirror?”

Celestia shook her head, chuckling. “No, Fluttershy. That is the Mirror of the Dead. It is an ancient and powerful magic piece that is as old as Equestria itself, formed from a great anomaly that to this day ponies cannot understand. It gives ponies the ability to see the ones that have left this world and moved on to the next one for four minutes only, and to see that they are doing all right in Paradise. To give them, and those left behind, a sense of peace.”

Fluttershy looked at Celestia for a moment in surprise, then back to the mirror with a growing amount of dread. To think that, all this time, the legends concerning the next realm were true, and that everypony’s spirits would make their way there when the bodies in Terra would wither and die. So what would her father look like on the other side? Would it be just a reflection of what he looked like when he died, or would he look younger, or older, or just as he did before he received the wounds that killed him?

Fluttershy took a step back, shaking her head. “I don’t think I can do this.”

Celestia looked at her with a comforting smile. “What makes you think that?”

“I just… I just don’t know what to expect if I go there. Is it… is it scary, on the other side?”

The Princess chuckled, shaking her head vigorously. “Oh no. Paradise is the most beautiful place to ever be created by magic. I would tell you, but I think it would be better if you see it for yourself.” Celestia gave her a little nudge forward. “Now all you do is walk up to it and tell it who you want to see, then let the ancient magic inside it to do the rest. It is perfectly safe, just don’t break the glass,” Celestia turned to leave. “I’ll just be outside this door. Call me when you’re done.”

Fluttershy nodded nervously, and let Celestia leave the hall, the Princess looking back at her with a smile telling her to be brave. Once the door had closed behind Celestia, Fluttershy took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in her throat, before trotting forward towards the mirror, her mind churning out a thousand thoughts at once.

As soon she was close enough to see her own reflection, she stared at herself for a moment. She tilted her head to the left a little to stare at the scar that now rested under her eye and down her nose. To her, the scar – as well as the one along her back – made her feel a lot older than she was, more like thirty than twenty, and a lot wiser about the world and less innocent.

“Um… hello,” she said to the mirror. The mirror didn’t reply. “If it’s okay with you, I would like to see my father, Firewing.” Her eyes widened in sudden realisation, and hastily added, “And my mother, Rosemary. If possible, please?” She looked back into the mirror, expecting to see her mother and father staring back at her with smiles, but saw nothing. After a moment of nothing happening, it became clear that it wasn’t working. ‘I guess they wouldn’t want to talk to me, after all.’ With a sad sigh, she began to turn around to leave.

She stopped suddenly when she heard something akin to soup getting too hot in the pan, and turned around to see the glass on the mirror form into a liquid that shot out of the mirror and straight towards her. Fluttershy didn’t have time to scream as the liquid encased her in a dome like shape, swirling like a tornado around her.

Fluttershy charged at the liquid, hoping she would break through. She squeaked in surprise as she felt herself pushed back into the centre, falling onto her rump. She stared in horror at the swirling mass, before prostrating herself onto the ground and covered her head with her hooves, shaking in fright.

She closed her eyes and prepared for whatever was about to happen to her.

Suddenly, silence fell. After a moment of nothing but tranquillity, Fluttershy lifted a hoof from her face and popped an eye open. Her mouth slowly fell open in shock, the air in her lungs leaving her at the sight before her. ‘This… this is Paradise,’ she thought incredulously.

It was the sea, a sky blue sea as calm as a windless day, with not even waves lapping against the shore, while she was standing on a beautiful sandy beach that stretched as far back as the eye can see. She slowly got up and looked around. The sky, rather than a natural blue, was a dazzling orange, like the colour of the sunset, and not a single cloud was in sight. The grass that ran along the edges of the beach was tall, easily able to run up to the top of her legs, and was a bright green.

Fluttershy’s head spun rapidly around, her mind unable to process what she was seeing. “This… this cannot be real,” she whispered, starting to spin in place with a fallen jaw and wide eyes. She quickly raised a leg and nipped at her coat, feeling a sharp sting form from the leg and make its way to her mind. “Okay, this is real. Totally real,” she stated. She looked around for any sign of her father – and her mother – but her ears flattened when she couldn’t see any of them. “I guess I better go looking for him.”

Fluttershy set off to get off this beach and find her father, but stopped when she felt her nose touch something like glass. She fell back onto her haunches and worked her way with her hooves around her, and discovered to her horror that she was trapped in a dome shaped glass casing. “Help!” she cried. “Somepony, help me I’m trapped!” Seeing nopony around to help her, she raised a hoof to smash the glass down.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Fluttershy froze in shock as her ears received that voice. Her mind tried to tell her that she had heard it in her head, yet her heart told her that she had really heard it. And she believed in her heart. She lowered her hoof and slowly turned around to find that, standing behind her with a bright smile, was her father.

“Dad!” she cried, a wide smile spreading across her face. She raised a hoof again to try to smash the glass. “Help me break out of this.”

Firewing shook his head, his eyes sad. “You shouldn’t, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened and her smile instantly disappeared, revealing her devastation. “What do you mean I shouldn’t? Can’t I give you a hug? I miss our hugs.”

Firewing began to walk closer, his ears flat against his head. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy. If you do, the barrier between this world and the living world will collapse, the tear will spread, and the dead will pour through to the other side,” he explained. He stopped but a few inches from the shield, and stared at her. “Believe me when I say that only bad things will follow if that ever happens.”

Fluttershy’s ears fell flat and she slumped. “So, I can only say goodbye?”

Firewing nodded, and smiled. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Fluttershy bowed her head, and after a moment to let her father’s words sink in, nodded. “Yes. But I would prefer a hug and a goodbye.” Fluttershy looked back up again, gave her father a small sad smile, and then looked around her. “Where are we?”

“On a beach,” Firewing replied cheekily.

Fluttershy looked at him as if he had told the worst joke in the world. “Okay, but where is this beach?”

Firewing gestured with a leg to the land around him. “This is the next realm, my dear,” Firewing replied. “Paradise, Elysium, Valhalla, The Endless Desert, take your pick, it is all the same place. The one every one and everything goes to after they die in the first world. A land that’s more beautiful and more peaceful than Terra.”

Fluttershy looked back at her father with wide, curious eyes. “So, Thowra would be here, and Heimdallr, too?”

Firewing nodded. “Yes, my child. Everyone and everything that has ever lived or will live will eventually come here and live in peace.” He smiled widely, giving Fluttershy a better chance to look at him. He looked slightly younger than when she had met him, and there were no signs of his wounds he had suffered at the claws of Heimdallr, which Fluttershy was thankful for.

Fluttershy smiled, and placed her forehooves against the dome. “I did it, dad. I defeated Heimdallr.”

“I know you did, my child. I always knew you would,” Firewing said, beaming at his daughter. “I always knew you would be the one that would save us all.”

Fluttershy shook her head in disagreement. “I didn’t save you, though. I could have saved you, and instead I let you die, and for that I’m sorry,” she said sadly, bowing her head in shame.

“Lift your head up for me, please? I can’t do it myself,” Firewing requested with a chuckle. Fluttershy lifted her head up and saw his bright smile. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Fluttershy.” This time, it was his turn to bow his head. “If anything, I should be sorry. You couldn’t have done anything to prevent my death in that world. Only I could have, but I failed to act when I should have, and for that I am sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”

The pegasus didn’t need time to think about it. “Of course I can,” Fluttershy replied. She was now on the verge of tears. She sobbed quietly and wiped her face with a hoof. “Goodness, I can’t think of what to say,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve been thinking about this ever since Celestia told me, and now it’s all gone.”

Firewing laughed too. The two fell silent for a moment, looking into each other’s eyes, longing to hold and comfort the other. “What will you do now?” Firewing asked.

Fluttershy shrugged. “Start again, I suppose. Try and continue doing what I did before my life turned upside down. It’ll be hard, but with my friends by my side I know I can do it. I think I can take a small comfort knowing that my adventure is over.”

Firewing cocked his head to the side. “Over?” He chuckled. “Oh, my dear Fluttershy, you adventure is not over. Far from it in fact.” Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion. “Our lives are one big adventure. The roads we take and the decisions we make affect us in our daily lives. We can go one way and something will happen, then the next day we can go the same way and something different will occur. The same principle applies for when we go on a journey.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she understood what her father said, and slowly nodded in agreement. “You’re right, dad. Our lives are one big adventure, and I’m going to live my life like one. In your memory, and my mother’s.”

Firewing’s eyes widened in remembrance. “Oh, that reminds me. I guess the Mirror heard your request and answered, for there’s somepony who wants to talk to you.” He indicated with his head to look behind her.

Fluttershy slowly turned around, and gasped when she saw a grey pegasus with a blue mane and tail similar in her own style, staring at her with wide eyes and an open mouth. “Mum?” she squeaked, the tears in her eyes now starting to run like waterfalls at the sight of her mother. “Mummy?”

Rosemary walked up to the glass until her nose pressed against it, her eyes never leaving Fluttershy’s. Fluttershy leaned closer and did the same, tears still streaming down her face. “My girl,” her mother whispered in awe. “My sweet little angel.” Rosemary slowly placed a hoof on the dome where Fluttershy’s cheek was resting. “Oh, haven’t you grown,” she said with a wide smile. She pulled her hoof away. “What a wonderful mare you have become.”

Fluttershy grinned, even as tears of joy cascaded down her face. “Hello,” she sobbed. “I’ve always wanted to say that.” She reached a hoof up to the glass where her mum’s cheek was, whimpering to herself about how close but how far she was from her mother. “I wish I could hug you, mum. I really do.”

“Oh you will, my dear. But not yet,” Rosemary replied. Fluttershy knew what she meant by that – one day it would be her turn to leave Terra behind and come to this realm.

Suddenly the dome started to fade out. Fluttershy looked down at her hooves, and saw to her alarm that she too was fading. “No, please! I don’t want to go yet!” she cried into the air, hoping greater powers could hear her and stop it.

“Fluttershy,” Firewing said. He walked up to his wife and placed a hoof across her shoulders. “Before you go, we just want you to know that what you have done, and whatever you are going to do, we are so proud of you.”

“And we will be watching you, my darling,” Rosemary added, tears brimming across her eyes. “Now and for always.”

Fluttershy relaxed and pressed her hooves back up against the dome, a wide smile across her face, even as tears continued to flow down her cheeks. “Goodbye, mum. Goodbye, dad. Love you both,” Fluttershy sobbed. “I love you both so much.”

The two smiled blissfully at their daughter. “Goodbye for now, my dear,” Firewing said, tears of pride forming in his eyes. “Now go and live your life. Go on your adventure.”

“Don’t forget!” Rosemary called as Fluttershy’s body started to fade. “We’ll be watching over you! And we love you!”

“I love you too!” Fluttershy waved a hoof at them as they disappeared. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes again, she found herself staring at the mirror once more, in the great hall in Canterlot. At that, the tears began to run freely once more, and she buried her face behind her hooves. “Princess!” Fluttershy called, before breaking down into sobs.

Celestia kicked the door open and raced to the pegasus’ side. Before she even made it half way, Fluttershy spun around, galloped over, then leapt onto her and wrapped her forelegs around the Princess’s neck in a tight hug. “Thank you, Princess. Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Fluttershy sobbed, tears of joy running down her face.

Once she got over the shock of being hugged, Celestia smiled and wrapped a hoof around the mare. “You are most welcome, Fluttershy. And please, from now on call me Celestia. This goes to Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Spike also. You seven deserve that much.”

Fluttershy kept hold of Celestia for a long time, yet the Princess said nothing to make her let go. Tears ran freely down her face, but a wide grin was across her lips as she remembered the last moment she saw her mother and father. Standing together, with loving smiles and in each other’s embrace.

Her parents were at peace. And now, so was she.

Fluttershy breathed a quiet sigh of relief as she jumped down the stairs of the station and started the short walk towards Twilight’s home, which she could just make out in the darkness. ‘Oh, I hope Twilight is awake tonight,’ she thought, hoping that tonight would be the unicorn’s night of studying until dawn. ‘I have to tell at least one of my friends what I have seen.’

The remaining time she had spent with the Princess was saying sorry about losing the bracelet, which Celestia was not bothered about, and generally just talking about anything, from the many creatures that make up the land, to their day to day lives. Even Philomena came for a visit, which lifted Fluttershy’s spirits greatly. As the sun started to set Fluttershy decided to head for home. She parted from Celestia as a good and welcome friend.

Fluttershy chuckled as she remembered Celestia’s final wave of goodbye from the station as the last train to Ponyville left, and breathed in the cold night air. She looked up and saw the sky was covered with bright stars, each one reminding her of her parent’s promise. ‘They are watching over me from the heavens,’ she thought, smiling widely at the sight. ‘May the Zodiacs watch over them, too.’

She was freed of her thoughts when she found herself at the front door of the library, and quickly glanced through the windows. Seeing no light coming from within, she prepared herself to turn around and head for home, but stopped when she noticed a small note just above the door knob.

Not in. Please come back tomorrow.

“Hmm. Well that’s odd,” Fluttershy tilted her head to the side. “I wonder where she is?” She pondered for a moment. “Ah ha! She’s probably at Sugarcube Corner for one of Pinkie’s parties.” The earth pony had been hosting more and more parties since returning, even for when there wasn’t any need for one.

She spun away and galloped over to Sugarcube Corner. She soon had to slow down when her leg started playing up once more, which she felt annoyed about, but she ignored it and carried on.

She soon made it to the bakery, only to find when she got there that it was locked and empty. “Okay, that is weird. Pinkie usually has a party going. Where is everypony?” She tapped her chin in thought. “I’ll try Rarity’s. She’s usually up this late.” She made her way to Rarity’s, and found that it was shut, too. She then went to Rainbow’s and again to her disappointment, nopony was home.

Then finally, when she had exhausted all other options, she went to Sweet Apple Acres, only to find Big Macintosh sitting outside the family house and listening to the evening birds singing their farewell songs. “Evening, Big Macintosh,” she greeted the large earth pony with a nod. Big Mac replied with a nod of his own. “Is Applejack in?”

“Nope,” Big Mac replied with a shake of his head.

“Oh.” Fluttershy’s ears fell flat. “Do you know where she is?”

Big Mac pondered for a moment, and then replied. “Nope. Sorry, Miss Fluttershy.”

“Oh that’s okay. Goodnight, Big Macintosh,” she said, and then trotted out of Sweet Apple Acres.

The butterflies in her stomach began to go wild once more as she started to worry about her friends. “Where are they all?” she wondered aloud. “Okay, if none of them appear tomorrow, I’ll go out and look for them.”

She crested the small hill and saw her cottage standing peacefully on the small hill. She was halfway across the bridge when she stopped and her ears picked up the sound of whispers, recognisable whispers of a certain pegasus, in her cottage.

“Do you know how long we have to wait now?”

“She shouldn’t be much longer,” another voice came in, again recognisable as Twilight’s.

“You said that about two hours ago,” another voice retorted, which was recognisable as Spike’s.

“Two hours isn’t that long ago, Spike,” Twilight countered. “You can’t get a lot done in two hours.”

“Only you can say that, Twi,” Rainbow Dash said flatly, earning a giggle from the Dragonlord.

“I hope she gets back from Canterlot soon. I’m getting tired and need my beauty sleep,” said another distinctive voice, making Fluttershy giggle.

A gasp suddenly followed. “What if she got lost!”

A great silence fell for a moment. “Pinkie, how on Terra can Fluttershy get lost? She probably knows Ponyville better than I do!” Twilight said.

“Well, Applejack got lost that one time,” Pinkie argued.

“I didn’t get lost, Pinkie. I intended to go to Dodge Junction.”

“You keep saying that, Applejack. You keep saying that.”

She walked over the bridge and made it for the door. “Oh here she comes, everypony be quiet,” Pinkie said.

“No pony’s talking, Pinkie,” Applejack whispered. “Just you.”

‘Okay, try to sound and look surprised,’ Fluttershy thought. She turned the knob on the door and opened it. She walked in and flicked on the light.

“Surprise!” Twilight, Spike, Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity exclaimed, throwing their hooves and claws into the air.

“Surprise!” Pinkie came in last, jumping out from behind the sofa. “Oh, shoot I did it again.”

Fluttershy let out a surprised squeak and jumped a few feet in the air when she saw Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie and Rainbow sitting around her living room floor, with sleeping bags all over the floor, each with the owner’s cutie mark across it, and decorations on the ceiling and a table full of treats by the stairs. “Oh my, you startled me, everypony,” she said, going a little bit dramatic. “What are you all doing here?”

“Well we wanted to thank ya for helping us out these past two months,” Applejack replied. “So we all decided we should have a little sleepover with ya for the night.”

“And we wanted to talk to you about something,” Rarity added. All eyes came on her. “Fluttershy, you know that you said you can’t have children?” Fluttershy, with her ears falling flat, nodded. “Well, we have all been talking…”

“Which, coming from Rarity, was very dangerous,” Rainbow said jokily.

Rarity glared at Rainbow, while the others were trying to control themselves from laughing. “Well anyway, we were talking, and we all decided that, in case anything happens to us, and we have had children…” Rarity paused. “Well, we would like you to be our godmother.”

“And our families’ guardian,” Twilight added, smiling.

Fluttershy’s jaw dropped. She stared at each of her friends, who all had small but fearful smiles on their faces. “You would want me… to look after your…”

The five ponies nodded nervously. “We know it’s a bit forward thinking. But we know if we have children, and something happens to one of us, we’ll feel better knowing our children would be in good hooves,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, the way you handle animals is brilliant, and the way you handle the Cutie Mark Crusaders is amazing. I know if I have any kids, they would grow up to be just as awesome as me with you cheering them on,” Rainbow said.

Fluttershy’s jaw was working, but she couldn’t say anything for a long time. Tears began to well up in her eyes, but not out of sorrow, as the ponies in the room began to suspect, but out of joy. Even though they don’t have lovers or children, they were making her part of their future families – they were becoming a family.

Before anyone knew what was happening, Fluttershy stretched out her forelegs and brought them all in a hug. “You girls are the best friends a mare could ask for,” she beamed. Behind them, Spike gagged and rolled his eyes.

The five ponies breathed a sigh of relief, glad that it worked. “It’s what friends are for,” Pinkie said. “To help make you smile.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh, but you’re not my friends. Not anymore.” She hugged them all tighter. “You are my family. You always have, and always will be.”

“Awwww,” the five ponies cooed, before returning the hug. Angel came out of his hutch, took one look at the six mares, and made a gagging motion with his mouth. He looked to Spike and gestured with his head to the back garden. Spike nodded, and together the pair quickly stormed out of the cottage and into the garden.

The six ponies took no notice of the pair leaving, but merely separated from each other and looked at one another for a moment, smiling beatifically. Fluttershy was right; they seemed less like friends now and more of a family since they started hanging out with each other.

A family that could never be split apart.

“Well, sappy moments over. Ain’t we here to have fun?” Rainbow asked. The others cheered and nodded, and so the slumber party began.

For the next two hours, they entertained themselves with stories, some about love, some about adventure and great dangers, but they were all about friendship and family. When it was Fluttershy’s turn, she told them about what happened with Princess Celestia and how she met her father and mother one last time. By the end, all of them – even Spike and Angel, who secretly sneaked in – were wiping their eyes from the tears that were falling. Once they had composed themselves, they played games, sang songs, told terrible jokes and puns, until it had gone past midnight.

Twilight let out a long yawn, then looked at the time. “Well, I’m pooped. I think it’s time we called it a night.” The others agreed reluctantly. “Oh, one last thing. Who wants to go to the beach tomorrow?”

They all nodded with beaming smiles. “Brilliant, see you all in the morning. Goodnight,” Twilight said. She tucked herself into her sleeping bag and after a minute, fell asleep.

“Thank you by the way, everypony,” Fluttershy said, watching as everyone settled into their sleeping bags. “For a great evening.”

“You are most welcome,” Applejack said. “Goodnight, sugarcube. Goodnight, everypony.” A chorus of goodnights played out from the group, followed swiftly by snores as Rainbow, Rarity, Spike, Pinkie and Applejack fell asleep one by one, leaving Fluttershy and Angel awake.

A godmother! She couldn’t believe it! She giggled and jogged on the spot in excitement, then picked up Angel and hugged him tight; the rabbit smiled and returned the hug. “Oh, I am so happy,” she whispered, nuzzling the little bunny. She let Angel go, watched him scurry off to his hutch, and then began wondering who would be the first to have a child that she could help raise. ‘Oh don’t worry about that yet,’ she thought. ‘First of all enjoy your life with them.’

She took to the air and floated silently to her couch, where she could sleep for the night, next to her family. She laid down onto her belly, tucked her legs under her stomach and looked at each of the sleeping ponies that made up her family. “Love you girls,” she whispered. “I love you all so much. Goodnight.” She rested her head on the couch, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

As her mind pulled her into the first peaceful dreams she had had in months, her father’s words played back to her, giving her a reason to smile.

Another adventure was over. Tomorrow, another will begin.

The End

After word: A few months back, I had an image that ran through my head. An image of Fluttershy being consumed by dragon fire, only to emerge unscathed, with a new language and a stronger backbone (she’s got a strong backbone already; it just needs to be a little stronger). That idea was eventually changed to the one that was written down and I never would have thought that it would evolve into this!

This was eventually written to see if I had what it takes to write a story. Whether or not I have succeeded is down to you, the reader, who I have to thank for coming this far.

I would also like to thank the following people for their editing, advice and translations. Without them, this story would be a lot worse.

Phatompony for editing chapter’s one, thirteen and fourteen.

Toolkit for chapter two.

Musicluvr1974 for chapter three.

The Danish Adonis for chapter four.

Bujin for looking through this entire story in its second and final version.

And Andmos for the translation through all the chapters with Norwegian in it, without whom this whole story would’ve been done in plain English.

I hope you all enjoyed it, and maybe this won’t be the last we hear of Fluttershy the Dragonlord…

Author's Note

And that's that; done and dusted... or is it...

If you want, you can say it's finished and leave it at that, or if curiosity gets the better of you, then go to the next page to see a small preview (which may vary in the final version) of the next story.

Thanks again for staying this far, and it's been a pleasure passing this on to an amazing group of people.

Fluttershy20

Edit: This is the second and final version of the epilogue, which has been looked through, re-written in places, then edited by my friend Bujin, who I have to thank for helping me with this. This is but the first chapter. The entire story will be revised and re-written in places to make it smoother to read for everyone. I hope you find this version of the chapter enjoyable.

Chapter 1

“What another beautiful summer afternoon,” Rarity sighed as she and Fluttershy left the spa. She turned around to face her timid companion, who seemed to have her head in the clouds. “Don’t you think, Fluttershy?”

The pegasus took her gaze off the sky and into Rarity’s eyes. “Oh yes… it is a beautiful day,” she said with a smile.

“Well, thank you so much again, Fluttershy, for paying. How could I have been so stupid as to forget my bits? I’ll make it up to you by paying for you for the next three weeks,” Rarity said.

Fluttershy shook her head. “It was nothing, Rarity. I was glad to be of help. Please don’t worry about it any more.”

Rarity smiled and shook her head. “I certainly won’t. Well, I’ll see you next week then, at our usual time?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Of course, but what are you up to this afternoon?”

“Well, I’m going to go home and get my purse, then I have to go into town and get some apples from Applejack,” Rarity answered. “Why?”

Fluttershy seemed to sink to the ground a bit and buried her face in her mane. “Well… would you mind if I… I could come with you? I just need to buy some apples for some of my animal friends.”

Rarity couldn’t help but chuckle. “Fluttershy,” she said. Fluttershy lifted her head out of her mane and looked the unicorn in the eyes. “I’d be delighted if you would join me, Fluttershy.” The pegasus smiled and gestured for the unicorn to go in front; with a short bow of the head, Rarity complied and led the pegasus to her boutique. ‘Never change, Fluttershy,’ Rarity thought to herself.

Ponyville on a market day was usually busy, but today Fluttershy had never seen it so full. Ponies of different sizes, colors and breeds crammed the streets as she and Rarity fought their way through the crowds. Her unicorn companion kept close to her, knowing that she was uncomfortable with this amount of ponies around her.

All around Fluttershy, stalls of various sizes were lined up in rows, each selling fruits and vegetables from across Equestria, and maybe even beyond. As well as fruits, freshly baked bread, pies and cakes was also on sale. The smell filled Fluttershy’s nostrils and she felt more at ease, glad as well to have a good friend beside her, since she hated doing this on her own.

“Apples! Get yer apples! Get them while they’re fresh!” a voice called out from among the crowd. Fluttershy and Rarity easily recognised Applejack’s voice, even among the noisy crowd around them.

Fluttershy fluttered slightly off the ground and looked around to see where her earth pony friend had her stall set up. Eventually she spotted it a few yards away in front of them, just in front of Carrot Top’s house.

“Applejack’s this way,” Fluttershy said as she touched back down on the ground. “Follow me… if you don’t mind, that is.” Rarity chuckled as she followed the pegasus through the crowd and before they knew it, they found themselves in front of Applejack’s stall.

“Well howdy, Rarity, Fluttershy,” she greeted them with a smile. “How are ya’ll?”

“Oh, I am feeling marvellous, thank you, Darling.”

“Um, I’m well, thank you, Applejack. How are you?”

“I’m fine thanking ya, Fluttershy. Business here is slow, though, but I’ll manage. So what can I do for ya’ll?” Applejack asked.

“We’re here for some apples, actually. You see, I want some for this recipe my mother has given me,” Rarity explained.

“And I want some for my animals,” Fluttershy said.

Applejack nodded briskly. “Alrighty then, how many?”

“Um…” Fluttershy started. “Could I have ten please?”

“And could I have five please?” Rarity asked.

Applejack nodded serenely, and then quickly helped the two mares fill up their saddlebags with apples. “Right then, I believe that’s ten bits from ya, Fluttershy, and five from ya, Rarity, please.”

Fluttershy and Rarity paid their bits and were about to set off when something caught Rarity’s eye, something moving towards them in the sky, from the north. “What is it, Rarity?” Fluttershy asked once she noticed her friend wasn’t following her, her tone full of concern.

Applejack noticed this and moved in front of the unicorn. “Rarity? Ya okay?” she asked. However, there was no reply.

At first Rarity thought it to be Rainbow Dash doing a few new tricks as usual, but as it came closer, it was apparent to the unicorn that it wasn’t the pegasus, or any pegasus for that matter. Its bulk seemed larger than a bear; its skin looked as rough as bark, and its wingspan was longer than the height of the tallest building in Ponyville. It became all too clear to the unicorn what it was, and she could have sworn her heart stopped beating for a few seconds.

She wrapped her hooves around the two mares and, before any protest could be made, pushed them to the ground. The seconds seemed to last hours and for a moment Rarity considered letting go of the two and hoped the creature did a flyby, but the sound of the creature jetting flames from its mouth, the smell of burning wood and grass soon changed her mind.

Upon hearing and feeling the creature soar past them, Rarity lifted herself off the now screaming and panicking pegasus and the confused earth pony. “What the hay just happened?!” Applejack demanded, looking back to find her stall a burning ruin. Another scream from Fluttershy made Applejack and Rarity turn around and found themselves staring at the creature that nearly killed them, and their eyes dilated into mere pinpricks at the sight of the dragon that now hovered over the town.

The dragon emitted a deafening roar that was as loud as thunder and commenced its attack on the town. Flames jetted from its mouth as it scorched a row of buildings, burning fiercely and crumbling as though they were paper. At once, ponies began to run away blindly, screaming and diving for whatever cover they could find.

“Come on!” Applejack screamed to the two frozen ponies. “We gotta move, now!” Rarity regained her thoughts and senses, nodded to the earth pony and nudged Fluttershy to follow her. The pegasus, with wide, panicked eyes, nodded and ran behind them, keeping a tight grip on Rarity’s tail so she couldn’t lose her. They fought their way through the panicking crowd, and instinctively flinched every time the dragon’s roar was heard.

A nudge from a pony running past them knocked Fluttershy’s hold of Rarity’s tail and she was swept away by the panicking crowd, trying to call to them but was too quiet for them to hear. Fluttershy tried to fight her way through but she lost sight of them as Applejack and Rarity went down a small path, herself being guided seemingly towards danger.

Applejack and Rarity broke through the panic stricken crowd and took a moment to breath. The smell of fire filled their nostrils as the first buildings began to burn and they watched with horror, as the whole of Mane Street was set alight. They watched as the dragon soared back up into the air and then nose-dived back out of sight to burn down more buildings.

Rarity looked around and noticed to her horror that they were missing one of their own. “Where’s Fluttershy?!” she cried. Instantly Applejack and Rarity began calling out her name, but the dragon drowned their voices down as it swooped low over them and incinerated the buildings behind the two, forcing them to retreat into an alley.

Rarity sniffed back tears at the realisation that she’d just lost her best friend. Applejack put a hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t ya worry none, Rarity,” she said comfortingly. “Fluttershy’s smart. She’ll either head back to her cottage or get over to Twilight’s. And I have a feeling that’s where we need to be.”

Rarity nodded and slowly she stood back up on all fours. “All right, let’s go and find Twilight. She’ll know what to do.” She began running down the street towards the library, Applejack following in her hoofsteps.

They found themselves pushing through a row of whimpering and screaming ponies in one of the narrow streets. They could see Sugarcube Corner on the other side and noticed Twilight outside, guiding others to safety. Pinkie Pie was next to her, her face serious and trying to show no sign of panic.

Applejack and Rarity fought their way through the crowd and galloped towards them “Twilight!” Applejack called out to the unicorn, who turned around and smiled at them as they approached.

That smile faded quickly and her expression turned to horror. “Applejack, Rarity, get down!” Twilight screeched. Applejack turned her head, saw the dragon swooping low towards them, and immediately dived to the ground, Rarity following close behind.

The dragon bathed the houses next to Sugarcube Corner in dragon fire. They lit up quicker than oil and were soon completely ablaze, the flames moving on from house to house, until the entire street was burning.

Applejack and Rarity got back on all fours, the latter wiping off the grass and dirt that became attached to her coat, and joined Twilight and Pinkie. “Oh thank goodness you two are safe,” Pinkie said, wrapping her legs around the two in a hug.

“When I saw the market get struck I feared the worst,” Twilight said, relief plain in her voice. “Are you two okay?”

“We could be better, but we’ve got bigger problems than that, we lost Fluttershy!” Rarity screamed. “She was with us when the dragon attacked, but we got separated when everypony tried to get out of the market area.”

Twilight and Pinkie gasped. Twilight looked quickly at the ground, thinking about what to do. Go and face this dragon, or find their friends? “I’m sure Fluttershy is fine,” she said finally. “We’ll head to the library, and if she’s not there we’ll head to her cottage. It’s out of the way from the rest of town, and it would probably be the best place to stay until the dragon goes. Okay?” The three ponies nodded. “Okay, let’s go, we’re sitting ducks out here!”

They passed more buildings that were alight, the smoke burning their lungs so they held their breath as they ran through the worst affected streets. They passed some buildings that had completely collapsed. The Ponies they galloped past were running, screaming, crying, calling out for loved ones, and sometimes they passed ponies lying on the ground motionless. Whether or not they were dead they could not tell, for they only ran by.

They eventually made it clear of the worst of the fires and found themselves outside the library, the air clear and fresh as they stopped to cough up the smoke. While behind them, the sky darkened with the smoke from the blazes that went so high they could probably be seen from Canterlot.

Rainbow Dash stepped out of the library and with a sigh of relief ran up to them. “Thank goodness you’re all safe!” she said as she hugged each of them. “I was beginning to worry about where you all were.”

“Gee, Rainbow, I thought ya would be up trying to bring down that dragon by yourself,” Applejack said with a small grin.

Rainbow snorted. “Yeah, and get my rump kicked again?! No way, that’s why I’m waiting for the rest of yo-” She stopped and her eyes widened when she noticed something. “Where’s Fluttershy?”

“She’s not inside?” Twilight asked. Rainbow shook her head. “Darn it. Alright, we’ll head to her place and wait there until the dragon goes.”

The four ponies nodded and began to gallop until Rarity thought of something. “What about Spike?”

“He’s in Canterlot at the moment,” Twilight answered. “But what about Sweetie Belle? And Applebloom? And Scootaloo?”

“Sweetie’s with our parents in Manehatten,” Rarity answered. “I’m glad they’re there and not… here.”

“And my sister and Scootaloo are in Appleloosa with Big Mac,” Applejack answered. “I just hope the farm hasn’t been affected,” she added nervously.

“I’m sure Granny Smith is fine, and the farm is well away from the dragon,” Twilight said assuredly.

The five mares were now out of the main streets and, after passing a few more scorched buildings, arrived at the town centre. The town hall had collapsed and the tents and small buildings around it were destroyed, some timbers still smouldering.

As they approached the bridge heading out of the town centre a tremendous thud and a gust of wind behind them sent them toppling to the ground, landing on their faces. Twilight was the first to get up and looked behind her to see what it was.

“Um… Twilight,” Applejack whimpered, noticing Twilight’s horrified eyes. “Please tell me that was just a tree.” Twilight looked at the earth pony and shook her head.

Applejack turned around to look behind her, as did the others, and began trembling in fear. The dragon was standing only a few feet behind, its wings outstretched and were blocking out the sun. Its mouth formed into a snarl as it bared its teeth, while drool escaped from its mouth and rolled down its lower jaw.

They scrambled to their hooves and began backing away from the beast slowly, but the dragon took a step forward each time they walked seven steps back. “What do we do now?” Rainbow whispered to Twilight, her voice failing to hide her fear.

“Scatter!” Twilight exclaimed, instantly lighting up her horn and disappearing in a flash. The others screamed and ran in different directions: Applejack headed towards the town hall, Rarity ran down an alley, Pinkie dived into the water and Rainbow dashed across the bridge.

The resulting separation of the ponies caused the dragon some confusion, unsure of whom to chase and eat. Eventually the dragon decided on Rarity and moved quickly after her. But Rarity was quick and managed to find herself in the narrowest part of the alleyway, the dragon found itself unable to reach her.

A sudden blast of magic on the back of the head sent it crashing down into one of the buildings, destroying the front of the building, leaving it stunned but otherwise unharmed.

It brought its head out of the ruins and turned around to face whatever attacked it, but by the time it did the attacker was gone in flash of magenta. It began looking around, looking for wherever this pony was and where it would strike again next.

The moment it turned its body, Twilight appeared behind and fired another shot from its horn, hitting the dragon on the back of the head. She didn’t plan to kill it, just annoy so much that it would leave them alone. The dragon turned around to face her but in a flash as bright as lightning, she was gone once again.

The dragon got her sussed out quickly. It was clear to the dragon that the Twilight was teleporting from the front straight to the back and when it was turning around to face her, teleport behind it and fire another bolt at the back of its head.

Another bolt was fired from the unicorn, but the dragon dodged the shot by dipping its head, so Twilight vanished once more to try hitting it again. The dragon, however, knew what to do, it turned around once again, moved its tail to one side, and with the corner of its eye watched as Twilight appeared again, ready to fire.

The dragon swung its tail straight at Twilight, and contacted with her side with a sound of breaking bones. Twilight was flung into the air by the impact and was rammed into the side of a building to the sound of more bones breaking. She fell to the ground unconscious.

“Twilight!” Rarity cried as ran to get to the other unicorn’s side, but with a roar the dragon sent Rarity flying into a large puddle of mud, leaving her dirty but otherwise unharmed.

Satisfied, the dragon turned its attention back to the lavender unicorn, who hadn’t moved. It licked its lips and moved closer to the unconscious pony, looking forward to its meal.

“GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU BIG DUMB MEANIE!” The yelling of a pony made the dragon turn around to find a yellow pegasus with a long pink mane and tail standing in front of it, with wide eyes locking onto its own, except the ones that Fluttershy had were as welcoming as Tartarus’ gates.

“HOW DARE YOU!” Fluttershy yelled, shaking with rage. “WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO COME HERE AND ATTACK MY HOME AND MY FRIENDS?”

Fluttershy stepped a bit closer, hoping to use her stare and somehow get it away from Twilight, but the dragon seemed unfazed by the yellow mare’s bravery; it just stood facing her. While behind her Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity and Pinkie watched in wonder as their quietest and kindest friend was unleashing a rage they had rarely seen in her.

“YOU MAY BE DRAGON, AND YOU MAY BE MY GREATEST FEAR! BUT NO ONE! I REPEAT! NO ONE! HURTS! MY! FRIE-”

Just as she was yelling, the dragon reared its head up, and then with a mighty roar engulfed the pegasus pony in flames.

Author's Note

This is the start of my first ever story.

Apologies if the vast grammar mistakes in the first few chapters are off-putting, but most of this story was done on my own with no help, no experience and only the foggiest idea of what I was doing. If I could go back and change things I would, but that would be unfair on those that read it if I changed it all the time.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it for what it is.

Chapter 4

“Fluttershy, Fluttershy,” a voice whispered in a singsong tune into the sleeping pegasus’ ear. Reluctantly, Fluttershy opened her eyes and looked for whatever woke her from such a good dream. She didn’t need to wait long to find out. Twilight was standing next to her bed, grinning like a little filly that was told they were going to Hearths Land for Hearths Warming Eve.

“Come on, Fluttershy. Get up and let’s go!” she whispered loudly and excitedly. Grumbling, the pegasus looked out the window and noticed the sun was barely starting to rise.

“We have to go now?” Fluttershy asked. She was a little bit annoyed to be awoken at such a time.

“Of course!” Twilight whispered in response. “It’s the best time to go. Everypony is still asleep and going in now would attract less attention.”

Fluttershy was still unconvinced. “Would it be open though? I don’t like standing outside the door waiting for them to open it. It’ll seem rude.”

Twilight nodded so fast Fluttershy was scared her head would fall off. “All right then. Let me clean myself up,” she sighed in defeat. She started getting out of bed but felt magic around her as she was picked up into the air.

“Let me help. We could get going sooner then,” Twilight said. Fluttershy’s protests were ignored as she was flown into the bathroom.

A little later, the sun began to rise as the two friends set off down the long stairway from their room to the library. “Twilight, um… I suppose… I should say thank you… for coming with me… and washing me… and drying me… and putting my bracelet on me,” Fluttershy said, a small blush forming on her cheeks.

“Oh, it was nothing, Fluttershy,” Twilight said cheerfully. “Helping you wash today was easier than when I had to do it when you were asleep.” Fluttershy looked at her wide-eyed, but decided not to ask what she’d meant.

“So… how far to the library?” Fluttershy asked, hoping to get to the matter at hoof.

“Oh, not too far,” Twilight responded. “About twenty minutes or so, I think.”

About fifteen minutes later, after a few shortcuts that Twilight unashamedly knew, they had made it to the front entrance of the royal library. The building was massive. It looked, from a bird’s eye view, rectangular in structure, with stain glass windows across the top half of the building, and grotesques positioned between them so it looked like they were guarding it. The windows themselves told the story of Starswirl the Bearded, the unicorn who founded the library in Canterlot. Twilight opened the front door with her magic.

“After you,” Twilight said to Fluttershy. The pegasus nodded in thanks and trotted in, Twilight close behind her.

Upon entering, they found themselves at the front desk of the library. The old unicorn mare behind it looked up from her scrolls, and gasped when she saw Twilight.

“Twilight Sparkle! My, how lovely it is to see you again,” she smiled warmly at the unicorn. “And haven’t you grown? I still remember you as that little filly that slept outside the library, waiting for me to open it.” She smiled and put down her quill. Fluttershy looked over her shoulder and gave her an odd look, to which Twilight blushed in embarrassment.

“So, ladies, is there anything I can help you with?” she asked, putting her glasses on to see them better.

Fluttershy stepped forward. “Um… we were sent by Princess Celestia to look into the archives for something.” She brought up her leg to show the bracelet she was given. The unicorn closed in to look at it for a moment and when satisfied it was genuine, pulled back.

“Here is the key to the archives. It’s by the Starswirl section in the library. I hope you find what you’re looking for,” she said with a smile.

“Thank you, miss,” Fluttershy said, and then walked off.

“Thank you, Miss Clover,” Twilight thanked her and followed. “I know where it is. The Starswirl the Bearded section is my favourite section in the whole library. Just follow me.”

Fluttershy nodded and walked behind her. Her eyes began darting to the large shelves of books and knowledge of the world. Each one was ten feet tall and ladders were on each side to help ponies and other races to find the books they wanted.

“We’re here,” Twilight brought her out of her sightseeing tour, and looked to see an iron archway with Starwirl’s name on top of it. To the right of it was a small iron gate that looked unimportant, but Twilight and Fluttershy knew this was the door to the archives. Twilight got the key with her magic and put it in the door, unlocking it. The two of them then came through, and then locked it again behind them so that they wouldn’t be followed.

“Oh my, it’s very… dark,” Fluttershy squeaked as they faced the long passageway that lay in front of them. Twilight closed her eyes and created a powerful light from her horn that illuminated the way.

“Stay close behind. We don’t want any accidents,” Twilight said, and broke into a trot.

“Okay,” Fluttershy responded, and walked behind her, peering over Twilight’s shoulder to see where they were going.

The path wasn’t a long one; soon they arrived at a spiralling staircase that went down further than Twilight’s light, even at full capacity.

“Why’d they build something so deep down?” Fluttershy asked, bewildered by the amount of steps they had to climb down.

“It’s so that…” Twilight tried to explain, but stopped to think about it, before saying, “I haven’t got a clue.” Fluttershy was taken aback; she hadn’t expected that at all from the intelligent unicorn. Twilight started walking down the stairs, so Fluttershy broke into a canter to keep up with her.

After going down, Fluttershy thought, about five hundred steps, they made it to a large iron gate. On the front was an artwork of two pegasi guards that were standing on their hind legs and thrashing their hooves out.

“May I have the key, Twilight? she said, and then adding, “Um… please? If you want to give it to me that is.”

Twilight smiled and gave her the key, which Fluttershy took in her mouth. She walked to the door and found the lock with the help of Twilight’s illuminating spell. She twisted the key and, with a crack, the door unlocked and opened inwards.

Inside were a great number of shelves, home to many books, scrolls and other confidential written materials. Fluttershy looked in Twilight’s direction and saw her eyes that her were wide and her pupils were even wider. Concerned, Fluttershy waved a hoof over Twilight’s face, and quickly realised her friend wasn’t breathing.

“Twilight? Equestria to Twilight,” she called in the unicorn’s ear. Twilight instantly shook her head and snapped out of it.

“You should see a doctor about your eyes, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, “Your pupils shouldn’t have gone as big as that.”

“Says the pony who can walk through fire,” remarked Twilight with a smirk.

“Ah touché,” Fluttershy replied with a grin, before setting off through one of the aisles. Twilight took another and began looking for…

‘Wait,’ Twilight thought, ‘What were we looking for again?’ She called out to Fluttershy, “What are we looking for again?!”

Hearing her question, Fluttershy quickly called back. “A bag containing documents from a pegasus named Firewing! He’s the only pony that might know of my… condition, and I have to know where he was heading!”

Twilight nodded and began looking at each row in turn slowly. She noticed that none of them were in alphabetical order, so that made it harder to find what they were looking for.

Fluttershy wasn’t having much luck, either. Holding a lit torch between her teeth, she looked down the first row, then the next, then the next one after that, and the next after that one. She rounded the bend to go to the next one, only to find Twilight waiting for her.

“Any luck?” she asked the purple unicorn through gritted teeth.

“Nothing yet, but it has to be along this row,” Twilight replied with confidence.

“All right, you check that side, I’ll check this side.” Fluttershy walked slowly, but suddenly stopped and gasped, dropping her torch to the ground. ‘Did I just boss Twilight around?’ Frightened at herself, she turned to face the unicorn, who looked back at her in a similar state of shock and surprise upon hearing the unaccustomed command from her usually quite friend.

“Oh my… I’m so sorry… you don’t have to… if you don’t want to that is… I could…”

Twilight chuckled. “Sure, Fluttershy, anything you say.” She started to scan the row next to her.

Fluttershy was still confused. “You’re not mad at me ordering you about?” she asked.

“Of course not,” Twilight replied. “In fact, it’s quite nice to be ordered about from you. It’s… nicer.” She said no more and began scanning the books. Fluttershy just shrugged, picked up her torch and looked at her side of the row.

When she saw the end coming up Fluttershy’s heart began to sink into her stomach. She knew if there wasn’t any diary from Firewing here, then she wouldn’t be able to discover what was wrong with her. She started to fear he might have returned and took it. Suddenly something caught her eye. It was a bag, like Celestia had said, coloured to look like fire.

“Twilight, I think I found it,” she said to Twilight, and beckoned her over with a hoof.

Twilight scanned it for a while, and then turned to Fluttershy. “You sure this is it?” she asked.

“No,” she told her truthfully, “but it’s better than anything else we’ve got.” Fluttershy reared up, dropping the torch, and got hold of the bag with her teeth and trotted to where she could read it. They found an old bench that was cobwebbed and dusty, but a cleanup with their hooves and a few extra torches made it a place where they could read.

Twilight brought out the books and scrolls from the bag with her magic. Fluttershy read the nametag of a red book with a flame on the front; her heart leapt for joy as she saw whose name was written on the front, Firewing.

“This is it, we did it, Twilight!” Fluttershy jumped for joy and hugged the surprised but delighted unicorn, spinning her around several times.

“Okay… Fluttershy… put me down, please,” she said, dizzy from her friend’s continual rotations.

“Oh… sorry, Twilight. I guess I don’t know my own strength,” Fluttershy said sheepishly as she dropped the dazed unicorn.

“That’s all right. Now, we’ve got a lot of reading to do,” she said with a grin that looked quite evil. Fluttershy nodded and started looking through the red book, a diary, while Twilight looked through the other reading materials.

Fifteen minutes later Twilight discovered the first clue. “Fluttershy, come and look at this,” she called over the pegasus.

“You found something?” Fluttershy asked Twilight.

“Maybe.” Twilight opened the scroll with her magic and showed Fluttershy.

It was map, a rather big one for that matter, which showed Equestria, and the bottom half of a country named Horsca. On it were drawn red lines representing the main roads, with red dots indicating the towns that, Fluttershy reckoned, Firewing must have past.

“Strutford and Detrots,” Fluttershy read aloud the names of the towns he might have gone passed, then there was no more; the red lines stopped at Detrots.

“So you think this may have been where he was heading?” Twilight asked.

“Possibly. The diary’s talking about his time here in Canterlot, and that he plans on heading north.”

She walked back over to the diary and read out a passage he’d written. “My time here in Canterlot will hopefully be a long one. It is such a beautiful city with a great history and a great landmark in pony design. I don’t enjoy the adventurous lifestyle like I did before, so hopefully becoming a teacher at the school will help me out a bit, and rest my memories,” she paused, looking at Twilight.

“So he didn’t leave on purpose, nor did it suggest he was pony-napped,” Fluttershy said. “So why change his mind in staying here?”

“Maybe there’s more. What does the last passage say?” Twilight asked. Fluttershy flicked the book until there wasn’t a page of writing; she turned back the pages until she found the last entry.

She started to read it aloud. “It seems I cannot escape from my past. It is now starting to haunt me in my dreams, and I have found something that has further piqued my interest. A map of the northern country of Horsca, which details the hidden places of five lost keys to an ancient tomb somewhere in the country. I fear these dreams and those keys are not a mere coincidence, so I fear I may have to put on ‘Drage Bane’ once again.” She paused. “And that was all he wrote.”

Twilight stood there, waiting for Fluttershy to decide what to do now. Would she set off after him? Or go back to Ponyville? Continuing a normal life, if they could call their lives normal? Twilight was unsure of what to do, but Fluttershy certainly seemed to have a plan. She smiled at Twilight. “Do you want to come with me north?” she asked.

“Are you sure about this, Fluttershy? We only have a hunch that’s where he’s heading; for all we know he might have changed his mind and went south.”

Fluttershy nodded “I know, Twilight. But these… things are changing me, and if he knows what it is then maybe, he can fix it.” She started rubbing her foreleg worriedly. “These changes frighten me, Twilight. I don’t know why I have them, but I don’t like them; what if somepony finds out and sees me as a freak! I have to try at least something to get my old life back.”

Twilight smiled assuredly. “I know these changes, Fluttershy, and I still don’t think you’re a freak. But, if you’re so sure on wanting to get rid of them, then let’s do this.” Fluttershy grinned and they took the diary and headed back upstairs, leaving the archives the way they left it. “So now what do we do?” Twilight asked the pegasus as they walked back up the stairs.

“We’ll tell the Princess what we learned first.” Fluttershy saw Twilight was looking at her and added, “She asked me to let her know so she could help.” They opened the front gate of the archives, closed it behind them, and after scouring the library for a bit, they hurriedly left the library.

“So you see, Princess. Twilight and I believe he headed north. And if he’s the only pony that can help me, I will head north and track him down,” Fluttershy finished. She and Twilight were in Princess Celestia’s private chambers. They had first found her in the throne room, but Celestia had moved them to her chambers so they could talk in private again.

“Well you certainly found some interesting facts, Fluttershy,” the Princess said. “But what I don’t understand is why would a pony pack up and leave if he enjoyed being here so much?”

“The book did say something about his past haunting him in his dreams,” Twilight came in. “But what on earth does that mean?”

Suddenly Celestia’s eyes widened. “I just remembered! There was something you and I were to discuss today, wasn’t there?” Celestia asked the pegasus.

“What was that?”

“Twilight mentioned in her letter that you have been having a nightmare, the same nightmare over and over again.” Fluttershy nodded. “I would like to take a look, if that’s all right,” Celestia said. Fluttershy and Twilight looked at each other warily.

“Um… okay… but how does that work?” Fluttershy asked, slightly nervous.

“It’s rather simple, I place a spell that makes you go to sleep, and another spell that makes me enter your dream,” Celestia explained. Fluttershy was nervous, but if the Princess could help her put a stop to them then maybe it would be for the best.

She dropped onto the pillow and relaxed, while Celestia loomed over her. “Will she be okay, Princess?” Twilight asked Celestia anxiously.

“She’ll be fine, Twilight,” Celestia promised her. She was about to perform the casting when Twilight interrupted her.

“May I have a look, too?” she asked. “I’m just curious about why this dream could be so terrifying.”

Celestia considered this for a second before nodding. “It might be better if you were beside her as well in this.” The Princess gestured for Twilight to lie down beside her friend, which the unicorn duly did so.

“Place your head so it’s touching Fluttershy’s.” Twilight shifted so her head was touching the pegasus’. Celestia loomed over them and placed her head so her horn was touching their heads. She closed her eyes and cast the spell.

Fluttershy instantly woke up, and sat upright to take a glimpse of her surroundings. The nightmare was the same; she could hear the screams of ponies burning, dying, frightened by the flames. And she could see buildings ablaze. But then she noticed something else, something very wrong.

The nightmare wasn’t in Ponyville; it was in Canterlot. She looked around, hoping to find Twilight and Celestia next to her, but to no avail. “Twilight! Princess!” she called out. No answer, so she ran through the burning streets and burning bodies. She called out her friend’s names once again, only to be answered by the sound of flames. Fear began to creep into her heart about what may have happened to them. She feared that every corner she turned she would find their bodies blazing.

She ran into the palace and found nopony on guard; the towers and main entrance started to collapse on top of her and she ran, calling out Twilight and Celestia’s names. She past more bodies, and a bird she recognised, but she didn’t dare stay to look. She eventually found herself in the palace gardens. And her ears picked up the sound of ponies breathing heavily. She raced towards the noise, finding Twilight and Celestia staring over a cliff face. The former was teary eyed while the latter had an expression that Fluttershy couldn’t explain. Was it anger? Or was it sadness?

“I… I don’t understand,” Fluttershy said. “The dream’s meant to be in Ponyville, not here!” Fluttershy and Twilight walked next to Celestia and looked over the kingdom of Equestria. It was a blackened ruin. In the west, they could see Ponyville burning. Thick, black smoke rose from its ruins that went so high it blocked out the sun. To the east, they could see forests and far away towns burning miles away. It sent shivers down the three ponies’ spines.

Suddenly, from below the cliff edge came the sound of great wings cutting through the air. Celestia looked down and her eyes widened.

“Get back, both of you!” Celestia shouted to them, as she got into a defensive position. Twilight and Fluttershy backed away; the latter hid behind Twilight and started shaking and whimpering in fear.

“It’s okay, Fluttershy, it’s just a dream,” Twilight said comfortingly. “Isn’t it, Princess?”

Celestia looked back at Twilight, and the grim look she was giving her said otherwise. “Isn’t it? Twilight said, slightly unnerved by Celestia’s lack of answer. Celestia backed away from the cliff face as the owner of the flapping appeared over the cliff edge. Fluttershy slunk back and whimpered louder when she saw it, her pupils shrinking to mere dots.

It was a dragon. And it was huge; the head alone was the size of a house. It was completely black like a shadow, with horns protruding from its nose to its head, then down across its back like the teeth from a saw. The wings were enormous and the flapping of them caused a gust of wind into their faces that nearly took them off their hooves. Its tail was long and wreathed with spikes and its claws were sharp as swords. Its jaws were covered in bloody, black teeth. But what scared them all the most were its eyes; they seemed to be wreathed in flame. Fluttershy’s eyes widened when she realised where she had seen those eyes before.

“That’s the thing that killed me in my dream!” she shrieked and ducked further behind Twilight, trembling. The dragon let out a great roar, so loud that behind the dragon the mountain, where Fluttershy had scared another dragon into going away, collapsed.

“Du kan ikke gjemme deg for meg, lille pony. Når jeg finner deg, vil du se dine venner og verden brenne til aske! Etter det vil jeg rive beinene fra kroppen din (You can't hide from me little pony, when I catch you, you will watch as your precious world burns! And your friends burn with it! Then I will tear your skin from your bones)!” The dragon bellowed to Fluttershy, who started to tear up.

Twilight had no idea what the dragon said, but realised from Fluttershy’s reaction it wasn’t pleasant. “Don’t you dare touch her!” she snarled at it.

“Enough!” Celestia roared. She reared up and her horn shun as bright as the sun. The world disappeared into a bright light. The last thing Fluttershy saw in this world was the sneer across the monster’s face.

Fluttershy opened her eyes and rose up, her head feeling like a brick had just fell on top of it. Twilight followed suite, groaning with a hoof clutching her head, probably feeling the same way. Celestia had moved away from them and was looking out the window; her face, again, was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

“It wasn’t a dream, was it Princess?” Fluttershy said. Celestia turned to face the pegasus and shook her head.

“No, Fluttershy, it wasn’t,” she said solemnly. “It was a prophetic vision.”

“A what?!” Fluttershy and Twilight exclaimed in unison.

“A prophetic vision is when somepony is shown a glimpse of the future,” she explained.

Fluttershy shuddered. “So… Equestria burning, everypony I know dying,” she sniffed back a tear. “That will happen?” Twilight nuzzled Fluttershy in an attempt to comfort her.

“It may not be that literal, Fluttershy dear. I have had visions myself that were just as bad, but the results were never what I saw them,” Celestia said comfortingly.

“But that dragon,” Twilight said, a leg around the shaking pegasus. “What did it want with Fluttershy? And how can it speak that language?”

Celestia frowned. “I’m not sure, but it may be a part of Fluttershy. Her hate and anger built up in a form of what Fluttershy fears the most.”

Fluttershy shuddered again. “How do I keep those dreams from coming every night, though? I don’t want to keep Twilight awake until I go to sleep; it’ll be wrong, otherwise.”

Celestia, without saying a word, walked up to her and placed the tip of her horn on the pegasus’ head. It lit up and covered the top of Fluttershy’s head with a golden glow, before fading away. When Fluttershy opened her eyes, she felt light-headed – more light-headed than she felt in a while, as if a great burden was lifted from her back.

“A spell I learnt to keep visions away till they came true.” She smiled. “The visions shouldn’t trouble you anymore, but that doesn’t mean to ignore them. Now, go and rest. I shall make arrangements for you, and the others if they want to, to travel north.”

The two ponies bowed. “Thank you, Princess,” they said together and walked out the room, leaving Celestia to make her plans, feeling slightly disturbed about what Fluttershy had seen, and why she hadn’t seen it yet.

“Are you all right, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked as they walked through the palace. Twilight seemed very quiet and it worried her slightly. Twilight raised her head and looked at Fluttershy with a comforting smile.

“I’m fine, Fluttershy. Just thinking that’s all,” she responded. Fluttershy stopped.

“Um… you’re not having second thoughts, are you? About coming with me? I don’t mind if you decide not to in the end,” she said. Twilight looked at her in shock.

“Why would I change my mind about going with you, Fluttershy?” she asked her. Fluttershy looked away bashfully. “Of course I’m still gonna come with you, silly filly. But to be honest I wasn’t expecting it.”

“You weren’t?”

“No, I wasn’t. I was expecting to be dragging you north, not on your own free will. So what happened?”

Fluttershy answered straight away, since she knew the answer in the first place. “I died, Twilight. I died but I lived. It made me think that I shouldn’t be hiding from life anymore but I should be embracing it. And I plan to do that when I’m finished up north, when I find what I’m looking for.” She put a leg on Twilight. “And with good friends next to me, nothing is going to change my mind.”

The two didn’t say much else until they reached the tower. Twilight walked up while Fluttershy flew, having wanted to stretch her wings for a long time. When they arrived, they found the room a mess, and empty. Not a pony was here and that confused them. They had said they would be back by noon, and it had gone past that. “We’ve been talking to the Princess all this time!” said Fluttershy, amazed at how long it has been.

“So now what do we do?” Twilight asked to nopony in particular. Fluttershy put a hoof on her chin in thought, then an idea sprung into her head.

“Why don’t we go out for a bit? It’s only midday and if they’re still in the city we might run into them.” Fluttershy’s belly grumbled and she went red. “And also get some food as well,” she added.

“Why not?” Twilight chuckled. “And I know where to go for a quick snack.” She led the way back down the stairs and into the city.

On the way, Twilight acted as a tour guide, telling Fluttershy all the great sights of the majestic city. They soon came across a café with some outside tables, one of which was free. “This is the place,” Twilight said cheerfully and sat down on one of the chairs. Fluttershy followed suite, sitting opposite of Twilight.

A waiter noticed their arrival and came up to them. “Good afternoon, ladies,” he spoke in a posh Canterlot accent. “May I take your orders?”

“Good afternoon, may I have a daffodil and lettuce sandwich please?” Twilight ordered first.

“Oh, may I have the same, and a hot chocolate, please? If it isn’t a problem,” Fluttershy ordered. The waiter nodded and walked away with his head high. “Did you come here often when you lived here?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight shook her head. “I really came here about half a dozen times. Most of the time, I brought books here so I could study and get a nice snack. And speaking of snack, that was fast,” she said as the waiter put down their orders.

“Enjoy your meals, ladies,” he smiled and then walked away. Fluttershy and Twilight ate their meals in quiet; it wasn’t awkward, they just didn’t need to say anything. They were just enjoying each other’s company. Fluttershy looked up from her sandwich and noticed a Stetson sticking up from a crowd of ponies in the marketplace. She knew instantly whom it belonged to.

“Applejack!” she called out, though not loud enough. Twilight turned around, saw the hat as well, and called out while waving a hoof. Soon Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity and Pinkie appeared out the crowd.

“Well if it isn’t the early birds themselves,” Applejack greeted the two with a smile. The others said their “hellos,” and joined them around the table.

“What brings you two out here? I thought you would have stayed back at the hotel,” Rainbow asked.

“We were bored so we went out looking for you all,” Twilight explained. “And we were hungry so we came here. You said you’d be back by midday, so what happened?”

At this Rainbow sheepishly grinned. “Heh… My fault. I kinda took them to see The Wonderbolts derby at the racecourse. I was pretty cool about the whole thing, of course.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Rainbow, when ya found out they were racing ya squealed like a little filly then ran off. We were lucky we knew where ya were heading.” The others sniggered at this, making Rainbow go red.

“So, uh… anyway.” Rainbow turned the attention to Fluttershy and Twilight. “What did you two find out about Firawing, or whatever his name is?”

For the next three minutes, Fluttershy proceeded to tell them about what they uncovered, and where he may have gone. The four ponies listened closely as Fluttershy told them on what she and Twilight was planning to do. “And so tomorrow me and Twilight are heading north to find Firewing.” She paused before adding, “Well, I was wondering… would you all like to come as well? I don’t mind if you don’t of course.”

Applejack chuckled. “Of course we’re coming with ya’ll, sugarcube.”

Rainbow nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we’re your friends, and I’m not going to let you two roam alone out there while I sit on my rump doing nothing. Plus I’d hate to miss out on an adventure.”

“Why, darling, of course I’m coming. It’ll be nice to get away from Ponyville for a bit,” Rarity said.

Pinkie was hopping up and down in excitement. “Ooo! We’re going on an adventure, me and my five best friends!” She silently counted them all and herself to be sure. “Yep, me and my five bestest friends in the whole wide world!”

Fluttershy smiled. “Thanks, girls.” She sipped a bit of her hot chocolate.

“So, Fluttershy,” Applejack said. “Who’s this Firewing and what does he look like?”

The question hit Fluttershy like a ton of bricks. She put down her cup and stared wide eyed in horror, and so did Twilight. They didn’t know; they were planning to go after a missing pony and they hadn’t a single idea on what he looked like.

“Ah.”

The six friends raced back to the tower, hoping to find a picture in the book they found in his possessions. Once they arrived, they sprawled out the scrolls and book that Fluttershy looked in across the room.

“Please look inside the scrolls. There’re some that we haven’t looked at yet,” she ordered. Everypony stood stunned in silence for a moment, unable to comprehend the fact that their shy friend just ordered them about.

Fluttershy noticed the silence, and turned around shyly to see what was the problem. “Um… is everything all right, girls?” she asked nervously.

Twilight gave them all a glare that told them to say what she wanted them to hear. “Everything’s fine!” they chimed happily, before beginning to search through everything Twilight and Fluttershy had taken.

After a few minutes of searching, Rainbow whistled, “Whoa, he’s quite a looker.” All the girls raced to where Rainbow was and looked at the photo, scrutinizing it for every detail. Fluttershy thought Rainbow was right.

He was a stock build, although he wasn’t as big as Big Macintosh, but had strong, thick legs. A dark orange coat with a black mane and tail, a long tail for that matter; he had rather menacing dark green eyes that made Fluttershy shiver just looking into them, and they seemed old, very old, like they had seen everything that this world can show. He looked tired as well – tired of adventuring, the writing he put in his diary had said. It was probably right as well, so what changed this pony’s mind? His wings were a mixture of his coat and his hair colour. And finally, his cutie mark – well, it was rather unorthodox; it was two swords behind a shield.

“Maybe his special talent is fighting and adventuring,” Pinkie suggested upon looking at it.

“Maybe, but that’s not the point,” Twilight said. “What matters is now we have a picture on what he looks like, and now we may be able to find him easier.” The others nodded in agreement. “Right, I’m going to head to the library. Just some things I want to look up.” Before anypony could protest, she was gone, disappearing in a flash of light.

“Now what do we do?” Rarity asked.

“I’ll tell ya what to do,” Applejack said. “Let’s get started on packing and writing out letters to our families about where we’re going.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon packing things they might need: bits, blankets, survival guides in case they got lost, and medical packs. Afterwards they began writing letters to those who might worry about them, saying they would be gone for a week or so on a trip and no need to worry.

Twilight, upon returning, wrote a letter to Spike asking to take care of the library, and to look after Fluttershy animal friends. When she told Fluttershy, the pegasus told her not to worry.

“I trained the animals to head to the vets in case I needed to go away. It was a long time but I got the word around, the vet doesn’t seem to mind as well. And Mr Greenhooves said he’ll look after them as well.” So Twilight scratched off the last part and wrote to take care of himself.

“Don’t worry, Twilight. He’s was fine when we’ve took on a dragon, and when we faced Discord,” Fluttershy said comfortingly upon seeing the worry in her friend’s eyes.

Twilight nodded. “But this is a bit different, we’ll be halfway across the country and he’ll be stuck in the library.”

“I’m sure he won’t mind. Besides, he’s got Owliwicious there with him,” Fluttershy said and finished her letter to Angel. “Could you ask Spike to give this to Angel, please?” Twilight agreed and placed the letter with hers. Once the others had finished their letters they placed them with Twilight’s letter. She told them to back away and cast a spell. As one the letters burned up into green flame, they flew out the window and were gone.

“Did it work?” Pinkie asked.

Twilight’s horn finished glowing and she turned her head and nodded. “They made it. I can feel it.”

Afterwards, they went out into the city to buy items for their journey, and put their bits together so they knew how many bits they had between them. “Right,” Twilight calculated on a scroll with some rather complicated math sums written all over. “That’s one thousand and ninety nine bits. That should be enough for an overnight stay in both cities, and enough to get us all home when we’re done.”

They agreed to share the money so they kept it as one pile, and made Applejack responsible for the bits. “I won’t let ya down,” she saluted.

Fluttershy noticed that the sun had gone and the stars were appearing. “Right, everypony,” Fluttershy said in a motherly tone. “I think it’s bedtime. We got a long day tomorrow.” After a few groans, they agreed and all went to bed. Their sleep wasn’t easy as they anticipated what the next few days could bring.

Fluttershy was the second to wake up; she had slept soundlessly throughout the night thanks to Celestia’s vision shield spell, and felt refreshed and relaxed. She looked over to the other pony that was awake. Pinkie Pie was hopping on her bed with a grin that helped to show how excited she was. “Morning, Pinkie,” Fluttershy greeted her, her eyes locked onto the bouncing pony. “How did you sleep?”

“Not… too… well… too… excited… about… this… trip… but… I’m… fit… as… a… fish,” she said, every word spoken when she was in mid-air. “Oh… by… the… way… a… letter… with… your… name… on… it… is… by… the… door.”

Fluttershy got out of bed and walked over. There was a letter wrapped in Princess Celestia’s royal seal, and her name on the front. She opened it and read it.

Dear Fluttershy, Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Rainbow and Rarity.

I’m glad to inform you that I have organised a train for you to take to Strutford. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Detrots, as there isn’t a railway line running between those cities yet. So I’m afraid you are going to have to walk there. I will be waiting on the platform for you. Please be there before midday, or I will have gathered that you will not go at all.

See you soon.

Your loving Princess,

Princess Celestia.

Fluttershy put the letter down and raced to Pinkie. “Pinkie, help me get everyone up, please?” she asked.

Pinkie stopped hopping. “Is it because the Princess wants to meet us before midday?”

Fluttershy nodded. “How did you know that?”

“The paper’s see through. I could see the words midday in reverse, so I knew what it was about,” she grinned.

Pinkie hopped off the bed and calmly walked up to where Rainbow Dash slept. She placed her hooves on the Rainbow’s shoulders, and before Fluttershy could stop her, started to violently shake the pegasus awake. “Come on, Dashie! Up you get! We need to get going by midday!”

She shook Rainbow until the pegasus’ eyes were spinning. Fluttershy screeched and pushed Pinkie away from her, giving the pink pony a scowl. “You know what, I think I should just wake them up. You should just stand in the corner, or get ready,” Fluttershy said.

Pinkie opened her mouth to protest but Fluttershy’s look made her change her mind. Pinkie skulked back to her bed. Fluttershy, after checking if Rainbow was okay, poked Twilight on her side until she got a response, which in this case was a moan. “Sorry, Twilight. But Princess Celestia wants us to be at the train station by midday,” she explained. Twilight instantly jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. Fluttershy prodded Rarity next and explained to her what was going on. She, too, jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom, only to find Twilight was in it so was left waiting impatiently outside.

“Applejack,” Fluttershy whispered softly, prodding the earth pony. Applejack opened her eyes and found Fluttershy’s staring into hers.

“What in tarnation!” she screeched, startled by Fluttershy looking at her in the morning.

“I’m sorry, Applejack, but the Princess wants us at Canterlot train station by midday. So we should get ready and stuff. I’m sorry I woke you like that.”

Applejack took a deep breath then smiled. “Don’t worry, sugarcube, there’ll be other times for a good sleep; heck, maybe on the train. I best get to the bathroom to clean myself up.”

Fluttershy put her down with a hoof. “You might want to wait a while,” she said, pointing to the three ponies waiting in line for Rarity to finish her hair. Twilight was busy making decisions on what books she had to take or leave behind. It pained Twilight to leave a book behind but she had no choice.

Fluttershy kept the diary and scrolls of Firewing in her bag and the original photo; Twilight had managed to get copies of five others so they could search around the cities for signs of him.

Soon they were all ready and with their bags on their backs, they set off down the staircase. As they headed down, Fluttershy stopped and looked out towards Ponyville. She regretted it the moment she set eyes on it, for she started having second thoughts. She was going to go further from her home than she had ever gone before. And looking at Ponyville gave her the feeling of flying there as fast as she can, get home and lock the door behind her. “Fluttershy?” Rarity called. Fluttershy looked away from Ponyville and at her friends, who looked at her with concern. “You okay?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Fluttershy, responded with an assuring smile. She was telling the truth. The moment she looked away that feeling to run had gone. She trotted down the stairs as fast as she could, so she could get out of sight from her home.

As they walked towards the station, Rainbow brought up conversation. “So what you all going to miss the most in Ponyville?” she asked.

“That’s easy for me,” Twilight answered first. “The library and Spike.”

“I’m goin to miss waking up in the morning and hearing the rooster, and my family.”

“I’m going to miss the spa, my parents and my sister.”

I’m going to miss making humongous parties for everypony, but I’m going to have the biggest party in history when we get back, I Pinkie Promise that right now.”

“I’m going to miss helping the animals, and Angel,” Fluttershy finished. “What about you, Rainbow?”

“That’s easy, nothing. ‘Cause I have you lot with me, so I can’t miss a thing if what I’d miss is with me,” Rainbow replied. Smiles came all around from the others and Applejack noogied Rainbow’s head, messing up her mane.

“Softie,” Applejack muttered and trotted ahead. Rainbow muttered something under her breath, sorted out her hair and walked after them.

When they came to the station, they found no Princess and no train waiting on the platform. They looked around in confusion. Fluttershy’s ears shot right up when she heard a whistle coming from the right towards Ponyville. She looked right, and from the tunnel, a giant behemoth of a steam locomotive appeared.

Fluttershy was not the best at math but she could guess the machine was around seventy feet in length, with a tender connected to the rest of the engine. Its front was curved rather than straight, and its wheels were bigger than her, maybe even bigger than Applejack’s brother.

Behind the machine were seven equally long carriages, the last being an observation carriage. Each was custard and dark brown in colour, and each had names written on the sides, below the central window. The six mares stared in awe at the train. Fluttershy looked at the name of the engine and looked at the golden coloured nameplate on its side. “The Golden Unicorn,” she read aloud.

Their attention was taken from the engine to the observation carriage when the Princess jumped off the train. The six mares bowed low to the monarch, who gestured for them to rise. “There’s no need for that here, my little ponies,” she said with a smile. “Do you like my train?”

Twilight gasped. “Yo… your train?”

Celestia nodded. “Well, mine and Luna’s. This is the royal train, recently built by Hoofington rail works and is used by me to tour the country. I wanted you six to be the first to truly experience it, however, as a gift for what you all have done for this country.”

“Thank you, Princess,” the six mares said.

“You’re very welcome. Now, Fluttershy, could I have a word with you for a moment please?”

“Me?” Fluttershy put a hoof on her chest. “Oh, yes, of course, Princess.” She walked over to where the Princess was standing, while her friends set about getting inside the train.

“I managed to contact the mayor of Strutford yesterday evening, and informed her of your coming. She has offered to help you in the search, so please, when you arrive, head straight to the mayor’s office,” she said.

“Thank you, your majesty, for everything,” Fluttershy said with a bow of the head.

Celestia smiled and brought out the bracelet she had given Fluttershy. “She will know who you are with this. With it, she might be able to help you find some answers,” she said as she strapped it on Fluttershy’s left foreleg.

“Thank you again, your highness.” Fluttershy bowed once more, then turned around and walked towards the train. She stopped when she saw Twilight walking sheepishly towards the Princess.

“Um, Princess?” Twilight poked the leg of Celestia, and looked at her with pleading eyes. “I was wondering if you have a spare one of those bracelets, could I have one please?”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes and giggled. “Come on, Twilight, let’s go. We don’t want to leave the others waiting for long.” She put Twilight’s tail in her mouth and pulled, dragging a miserable looking unicorn to the train.

“I’m sure Fluttershy and the mayor will allow you to borrow some books, Twilight,” the Princess chuckled with rolling eyes.

At this Twilight zoomed into the train and sat on a chair. “Fluttershy,” Celestia called. The pegasus turned her head around to face the winged unicorn. “Good luck,” she said. Fluttershy smiled in response, and hopped on.

“Right away, driver!” the Princess called to the driver, who looked back and waved. He disappeared into the cab and blew the whistle, which echoed across Canterlot. Before the ponies on board could get comfortable, the train started with slow, gentle movements.

Fluttershy, Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack waved goodbye to the Princess out the windows, who returned the gesture. They kept waving to each other until the train disappeared around the bend and was out of sight.

Two Years Later...

Traitors. Everywhere she seemed to look there were traitors. And the news she received from across Equestria only seemed to strengthen this thought. Hoofington, Trottingham, Baltimare, and Vanhoover were rioting violently. Las Pegasus was separating itself from the rest of the country, as was Appleloosa and Dodge Junction and the other towns that rested in the deserts, forming a new country, a republic they called themselves. They were traitors, traitors all. And now her beloved sister and niece were among them.

“Princess Celestia.” Celestia turned from the window to look at her captain of the royal guard. “The squad I sent to Ponyville to search for them have returned. Not a trace has been found. If they were ever there, they’ve long gone.”

Celestia walked to down the steps to tower over the smaller unicorn. “Have you searched the Everfree forest?” she asked.

“Um… n-no, your majesty,” he replied.

“And why not?”

The coldness in Celestia’s voice made the captain’s coat stand on end. “Because… because…”

“Because you are too scared to, that’s why!” Celestia snapped. She turned away. “It doesn’t matter. You and the royal guard would create a scene, and possibly destroy half of Equestria with your carelessness. You’ll be re-deployed to keep the peace in the loyal towns and cities of the country. I will send someone with better skills than you to hunt them down. Now get out.”

The captain bowed his head and walked quickly out of the throne room, shutting the door quietly behind him. With him gone, Celestia turned to look at her student and her friends. “And what of you, Twilight Sparkle? Are you and your friends with me?”

Twilight stepped forward, her head held high and proud. “You know I am always with you, Princess.”

“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash hovered up to fly beside her. “You know you can count on us for anything. Right girls?” She looked back at her friends.

“For Equestria!” they shouted in unison, stomping the ground with a hoof and their heads high and proud.

Celestia smiled. “Why did I even doubt you?” She walked up to the throne and sat on it. “Then I will give you and your freinds this task. Do you all think you can handle it?”

“We’ll get them back for you, Celestia,” Applejack said. “In stone or in body-bags.”

“Preferably in stone, Applejack. But thank you for your devotion.” Celestia powered up her horn to glow its bright golden colour, and soon the blue case containing the Elements of Harmony appeared in front of the ponies.

“With the Elements of Harmony,” Celestia commanded, “I task you to hunt down the traitors Princess Luna Nocturnus Solaris, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Spike the dragon, and Fluttershy Firewing, the Dragonlord.”

Next autumn…

A Good Mare Goes To War

Author's Note

This is just a rough version of the start of the story, but also one of the most important parts.

Why is Equestria splitting apart? Why is Cadence, Luna, Spike and Fluttershy now wanted? Why those Fluttershy loved most are now after her? What great evil is causing this nightmare? These and many more questions will be revealed and answered once the story has begun.

Stay tuned.