Draconian Prince

Spike couldn't move. He knew he had to run, but also knew that he would die if he tried. Somepony was yelling at him to run, but he couldn't hear them. The only sounds he could hear were the dragon's breathing, and his own heartbeat.

The dragon was enormous, about the same size as the dragon that was taking a nap in the mountain 10 years ago. But this dragon wasn't interested in napping. He wanted to slaughter them all. His dark-red scales and yellow spikes were battered and torn, his teeth and claws were long and razor sharp, and his eyes were the color of blood.

"I am Vargach Ezouke of the Aryte tribe. Although in your language, my name would be Battle Scar. I have been ordered to kill anything that trespasses on Draconian soil. For your actions against my prince, I shall burn you all to ash."

"Oh, I wonder if Spike is ok. Maybe I should send him a letter." Twilight said aloud as she paced back and forth.

"Twilight, you must have faith in Spike. As you have said, the only things chasing Spike will be Draconian girls," Celestia said calmly.

"I know, but it's been nearly 12 hours! He must be at the borders by now. I just can't help but be worried about him. Maybe just one quick letter..."

"Spike is no longer a baby dragon and can handle himself just fine. From what I'm told, he had enough parchments to last him months. He will write back, Twilight."

Twilight sighed in relief. "Thank you Princess. That makes me feel much better." But what is this tight feeling in my chest? Please, Spike, write to me soon. Let me know you're ok.

Spike could barely form words. "T-t-this isn't D-Draconian land. T-the border is over 10 m-m-miles from-"

Vargach roared in his face. His tremendous roar made Spike's seem like only a whimper. "This land is no longer Equestrian property. The prince has sent me to claim this land for Draconia. If you want to take this land back," Vargach leaned in closer to Spike's face, "you'll have to fight me."

Spike was frozen solid. He could smell the blood of all the creatures Vargach had killed. Every dent, tear, and cut on his body was obviously the result of countless battles. To him, Spike wasn’t even a threat.

Vargach waited for a reply. "... I shall take your silence as a gesture of defeat. Do not worry young dragon and ponies, I'll shall kill you all as painlessly as possible." Vargach smiled. "At least, as painless as burning alive can be. Hahahaha!" Vargach took in a deep breath, ready to roast Spike alive, when Swift Wing tackled Spike out of the way.

Vargash let loose his torrent of flames, the grass and trees instantly burst into fire. All of the plants and rocks that weren't directly hit by the flames, melted into the ground.

Spike looked back to see where Swift Wing was until Blue Angel picked him up and flew away from the dragon 's flames as quickly as she could.

"Hey, put me down! Swift Wing is still back there!"

Blue Angel didn't turn to look at him but kept her attention on dodging the trees. "He's fine. He's distracting the dragon while we escape."

"His left wing was burnt!" Spike yelled.

"But not his legs," Blue Angel responded. "He can handle himself.  We need to make use of the time that he’s giving us. When I get you to the border, he will regroup with me and we'll escape together."

“He can’t distract him alone, it’s too dangerous! We NEED to go back!”

Blue Angel ignored him. She knew that it was probably too late for Swift Wing, but the sooner she finishes her job, the sooner she can go back to help him. Spike continued to twist and turn until finally, she let go and Spike tumbled onto the ground. Blue Angel held him down with her hoof and looked him in the eyes.

“Listen, Spike. Guards like us were prepared for this sort of thing since we signed up. We knew the dangers and we value our missions over our lives. If you really want to help, then let me get you to the border so that I can come back as quickly as possible to help Swift Wing. Please, Spike, let us do our jobs.”

Spike shrugged her off of him and spread out his wings. "At least let me fly on my own. I have wings too you know."

Blue Angel nodded. They flew towards the border in silence.

"Hmph," Vargach grunted. "They got away. It makes sense, sacrificing the weakest member to save themselves." Vargach looked over to the burnt, black pegasi that was permanently melted into the earth. "But I have a feeling that the mare will come back," Vargach chuckled. "I just have to wait."

Spike and Blue Angel flew out of the forest. They landed a few feet from the entrance and looked out at the vast land in front of them. Looking down, they could see the individual forests, mountains, and wastelands of Draconia. Altogether, the land was more than half the size of Equestria and the view was just as breathtaking. Blue Angel turned to face Spike one last time.

"This is where I take my leave," Blue Angel said to Spike. "It's been fun talking to you, Spike."

Spike looked at her worriedly. "Don’t talk like that! You're making it sound like I won’t see you again. Promise me that you’ll stay alive."

"Don’t you worry about me. I’ll need to stay alive if I’m ever going to go on that date." Blue Angel unstrapped a small bag on the side of her armor and pulled out a parchment and a quill. “Write to Celestia and tell her what happened. That’s the best way you can help us right now."

Spike took the parchment and the quill. "Ok. Thank you, Blue Angel. I'll see you when I get back."

"Take care, Spike." Blue Angel gave him a quick hug and flew back into the forest.  Blue Angel had to hurry. Swift Wing was definitely not in any condition to be running around. She knew her chances of saving him were slim, but there was always hope. When Blue Angel was able to see the crash site, she landed.

Blue Angel gasped. She was too late, for right in the middle of the clearing was Swift Wing's corpse. She flew over to him and wept. “You big idiot… you dunce… I love you.” She wanted to cry a little longer, but she had some business to take care of. She wiped her tears, stood up, and started yelling. "VARGACH! I'M RIGHT HERE! COME GET ME!” She looked around but didn’t see him. "VARGACH! ARE YOU AFRAID TO FACE ME?!"

"Yes, yes. I heard you the first time.” Vargach flew in from the sky and landed right in front of her, the earth shaking from the impact. "I knew you would come back," he said with an evil grin.

"And I knew you would be waiting," she snapped.

"Oh? And what were you planning on doing when I showed up?"

Blue Angel smiled. "I'm going to fight you."

Spike started writing as soon as Blue Angel left.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Blue Angel needs your help! We were attacked by a huge dragon named Vargach Ezouke. The chariot blew up, Swift Wing’s left wing was burnt badly, and the dragon said that the Prince sent him! He claimed that Equestria’s land belonged to the Prince and that trespassers were to be killed. Blue Angel and I escaped when Swift Wing distracted him. I’m at the border now and I’m sending you this letter as she is flying back to help. Send some back-up immediately! Please, respond back to me as soon as you can!

• Spike

Spike took a deep breath, and set the letter on fire, sending it to Celestia. Don’t worry Blue Angel, help is on the way.

“Aagh!” Blue Angel shouted. She was able to dodge another stream of flames but the tips of her wings were singed. Despite the pain, she flew around the large dragon to buck and bite him with every chance she had but didn’t seem to be doing any damage to his tough exterior. She was so focused on dodging his claws and fireballs that she didn’t see his tail coming down upon her until she slammed into the ground.

“Did you really think you could stand a chance against me?” Vargach laughed. “I’ve led entire armies to battle, with me on the front lines. What could you possibly do?”

Blue Angel spit blood out of her mouth before she responded. “I can distract you… long enough for Spike… to get further away,” she said between breaths. “He’s probably sent the letter by now. You should start praying to Faust that Princess Twilight and Princess Celestia don’t rip you apart limb from limb.”

“The little dragon sent a letter did he?” As soon as he said that, Vargach’s stomach began rumbling loudly. The sound got louder and louder until finally he belched deeply and a small letter materialized from the smoke.

Blue Angel’s eyes widened. The letter had the seal of the royal guards! It was the same parchment that she had given Spike to write on.

Vargach opened the letter and held it up for Blue Angel to read. “Oh I’m sorry, is this the letter you were talking about?” He gave one last, twisted laugh before he burned Blue Angel alive.

Spike looked back at the forest entrance. He was really worried about the two guards but knew that he couldn’t waste the time they gave him. The only thing Spike could do now was move forward. *Ruuumble* Spike placed his hand on his stomach. Spike had been so scared that he didn’t realize that he was starving! Spike looked around and saw a trail that led into a smaller, thinner forest than the one he just came out of. He was getting a little sick of seeing forests, but forests meant berries, and berries meant a happy stomach.

Spike walked along the trail and entered the forest cautiously, his eyes ever vigilant. He needed to remain sharp so that he could spot both potential dangers, and food. *Rustle* “What was that?” Spike whipped around to find the source of the sound, but didn’t see anything but an empty trail. “Heh, probably just a squirrel or something,” Spike chuckled nervously. He continued walking for another 5 minutes or so before he heard another rustling sound. *Rustle* “Who’s there?” Spike yelled as he whipped around for the second time. Again, he saw nothing but a clear path. “I gotta calm down. I’m starting to imagine things,” Spike grumbled. When he turned around to continue walking, he became face to face with a pink dragon hanging upside down from a tree branch.

“Hi there!” the dragon said cheerfully.

“AAAAHHHHHH” Spike sprinted for his life. He ran right past the dragon, and never stopped screaming. When he turned his head to see if he was being followed, he hit an obstructing tree, and blacked out.