Chapter Three: Get Out While You Can
On a long dirt road heading south, rolled a carriage, large and elegantly decorated, carrying some high profile passengers. There was Shining Armor, who was asleep, his head pressed against the window, snoring loudly. Beside him was Twilight Sparkle, gazing through her window at the distant mountains, which seemed not to move as the carriage continued along the road. Cadance was there as well, struggling to stay awake after hours of traveling.
Pulling the carriage was Applejack, Rainbow, and the six soldier ponies Shining Armor had brought with them. On the roof of the carriage was a second open seating area, where Fluttershy, Pinkie, Spike, and Rarity were sitting.
Twilight felt slightly embarrassed about having Applejack and Rainbow pull her carriage, though they insisted she accept the luxurious treatment.
They were heading after Starlight Glimmer, or rather, as Twilight had correctly presumed, Chrysalis in a disguise. She simply refused to believe any other possibility. Their only lead to the whereabouts of this pony was the testimony of a colt survivor, who had run several miles from his destroyed village all the way to Canterlot. Twilight had been given full control over the hunt for the ‘Scourge of the South,’ as Chrysalis had been dubbed by the local population. Twilight accepted the mission eagerly, desperately wanting closure for the past months of psychological distress. Whether that closure meant reuniting with Starlight or killing Chrysalis, she needed something.
Twilight concluded that the Scourge was drifting about in the southwest area, based on the patterns of the most recent attacks. She was shocked at how many ponies’ lives were lost. Twilight relaxed on the carriage bench, outfitted with soft purple fabrics and golden railings, watching the grey sky outside mesh with the dreary tan-colored grasslands, that sat beneath the far-away mountains. The scene resembled a painting, and the neutral colors helped put Twilight at ease. The magnificent carriage itself was a gift from Celestia, given in an attempt to brighten her spirits.
As Twilight admired the view, she felt the carriage come to a sudden halt. Shining Armor nearly fell forward on his face, Cadance catching him with her magic, snickering. Twilight, confused as to why they had stopped, stuck her head out the window. She saw Applejack in the front undo her ropes, and trot over to the window, excitedly.
“Twilight, there’s a town up ahead on this road. Not the one that colt was from. I think I’ve got a cousin, second or third, who lives up there. Now I know we’re not due to stop until nightfall, but I thought we might want to ask around up there, see if anypony knows anything about what’s been going on,” Applejack said, while Twilight processed it all. She simply nodded, and then stuck her head back into the carriage.
Applejack stuck around a few more moments, hoping Twilight might open up a little bit more. Though, as usual, Twilight was in no mood for conversation.
Applejack nodded to herself to try harder next time, trotting back up to the front and telling the pull horses the change of plans.
The town Applejack had spoken of was built at the foot of a mountain range, its buildings a collection of crude browns and greys. The arrival of such an extravagant carriage, as a result, was treated as a major event. Nearly every pony in town stepped into the street to see what all of the commotion was about. When they saw not one, but two princesses step out of the carriage, a few nearly fainted. They called out their names and cheered, though Twilight wasn’t interested in getting to know anypony. She was on a mission, after all, and wanted to be out of here as fast as possible.
“Applejack!”
Applejack turned behind her to see a mare, with light yellow fur and a tan mane with red ribbons in her hair, push past the crowd to the front, a wide smile on her face.
“Hi there Jonagold! How are you?” Applejack said, approaching her cousin with equal excitement.
“I’m swell! What’s all this about cousin?” Jonagold asked, still in awe at the splendor of the carriage and the majesty of the princesses.
Applejack glanced around at the crowd of excited ponies, her smile fading.
“Is there any place we can talk...uh...privately?”
Jonagold was confused, but nodded, curious what the meaning of this visit was about.
“Well uh...sure, come on,” she said, leading her back through the crowd. Applejack motioned to Twilight and the others to follow her. Shining Armor and his soldiers had to act as bodyguards, stopping the crowd from getting too close to the princesses, as they all followed Jonagold.
Jonagold brought them to her house, cluttered and homey. Twilight, Cadance, and Applejack entered first, Spike and the others all coming in afterwards. Jonagold noticed Spike immediately, and approached him.
“My my! A baby dragon! Ain’t that a sight,” she exclaimed, shaking an embarrassed Spike’s hand. Jonagold backed away so she could get a good look at everypony’s face.
“Welcome to my humble home, y’all!” she said. Outside, Shining Armor and the soldiers stood outside the door, preventing the crowd from bursting through and entering the house. Jonagold seemed a bit nervous about having two princesses in her tiny home, though tried her best to act like a good host.
“Can I get y’all anything to drink?”
“Just cider if ya have it, thanks. We’ve been traveling all day,” Applejack requested. Jonagold nodded and rushed to her kitchen.
Twilight glanced at Applejack, who seemed perfectly fine with doing most of the talking.
“When’d y’all leave?” Jonagold asked, as she poured out a few glasses of cider.
“Just this morning,” Applejack answered.
Twilight began to get impatient. Outside, the crowd raged against the line of soldiers to get inside the house. Jonagold placed a tray of glasses on the coffee table in the living room, and waited for Applejack and the princess to sit down. Applejack subtly motioned over to the kitchen, and Jonagold understood. The four of them left the living room, leaving Spike and the other four ponies, who each grabbed a glass and drank, all exhausted from a long day of journeying.
In the kitchen, Jonagold sat down across from Applejack and the princesses, as if she was being interrogated. Cadance and Twilight hadn’t said a word yet, adding to Jonagold’s anxiety.
“Now uh...y’all excuse me if I get a bit nervous here...We don’t get visitors often...hardly any famous ones neither…” Jonagold said, noticing Twilight’s serious demeanor. Applejack had to act twice as friendly to make up for Twilight’s strict business-only attitude.
“I’m glad to see you, Jonagold...We were just passing through, see, heading further south, actually,” Applejack said.
“There’s not much worth going to once you’re past here. Where y’all headed?” Jonagold asked, taking a large sip of her glass of cider.
Applejack paused, not sure if Jonagold was aware of the recent disasters plaguing the region.
“...A small little town, called Balknap.”
Jonagold stopped sipping on her cider and stared at Applejack, blankly. Her jovial expression disappeared, and she set her drink down, taking a deep inhale for what would be a difficult conversation.
“Applejack um….I wouldn’t advise you head south, least of all to...Balknap,” she said.
“And why is that?” Applejack asked, trying to see what Jonagold knew. Twilight and Cadance both glanced at each other, deciding to let Applejack handle this for now.
“Why?” Jonagold smiled in disbelief, and then resumed her grave expression. “Well it’s why I assumed y’all were down here in the first place...There’s a new story every day. Balknap was just a few days ago. They said….they said nopony made it out. Burned down to the ground. But, you don’t need me to tell you this, you must already know. Right? Ain’t that why you’re here?” Jonagold asked, as if she was asking for help.
“That’s right,” said Twilight dryly. Jonagold nodded grimly.
“Okay...well, what do you need my help with?” she asked.
“We need to know if you, or anypony around here, has seen a unicorn, with a pink coat, purple mane with teal streaks, and blue eyes. Ring any bells?” Twilight inquired.
“Pink unicorn….” Jonagold tapped the wooden kitchen table with her hoof, trying to recall.
“You know...there was something strange the other day.”
“You saw her?” Twilight asked, sitting up a little.
“No, no, not the unicorn...but there was something…” Jonagold said, wondering if what she was thinking bore any relevance.
“What was it?” asked Cadance.
“This ought to sound more odd to you folks than it does for me. We get unsavory characters passing through this town every now and then, you know. Mostly I think nothing of it. But the other day, this one fella, a dragon, he came through town, and not a friendly little dragon like that one you got back over there. This one was big, bright red, and mean looking, and out for trouble too. He got the town a little shook up. None of us is any stranger to violence, but we’re peaceful folk. And he comes in here, stirring up a ruckus, asking whether we’ve seen a pink unicorn, just like you said,” Jonagold said.
“Why did he want her?” Cadance asked.
“He wanted to meet with her, I presume. I think she was supposed to show up here, but she didn’t. And if you’re saying she’s the one who’s been behind all this trouble, then I guess we’re all lucky she didn’t.”
“So this dragon...he knows her?” Cadance asked, looking for confirmation.
“I believe so,” Jonagold answered right away.
“And what happened to him?” Twilight asked.
“He left the same day he came. Into the desert, the San Palomino desert that is. South, just like where y’all were headed. But again, I wouldn’t advise going that way.”
“What’s in that desert? Any kind of settlement he might stop by at?” Applejack asked.
Jonagold thought about it, shaking her head.
“Nothing close to any real town...well, actually, there is this one place, right in the center. A traders’ stop it is. Called the Den of Thieves. If he was headed anywhere in San Palomino, it’d be there. And considering his sort, that wouldn’t be very strange.”
Applejack glanced at Twilight, both concluding they had what they needed. Jonagold stared at them, realizing they intended on heading there.
“Whoa whoa! Um, your highnesses, you can’t really be thinking about going down there! It’s packed to the brim with the worst creatures you could find around these parts! It ain’t safe for you!” Jonagold exclaimed.
Twilight appreciated Jonagold’s concern, but shook her head.
“We’ll be quite alright. We can’t allow this to continue,” she said.
Jonagold nodded, though still thought it was a bad idea.
They all stood up, Jonagold hugging Applejack tightly, possibly for the last time.
“Good luck cousin, I’d love to join you, but...well if this pink unicorn shows up here, I don’t plan on leaving all my friends to die,” Jonagold said, fear audible in her voice.
“That won’t happen. We’ll be putting an end to this, I promise,” said Applejack.
With that, the ponies exited Jonagold’s house, pushed through the crowd once more, and set off back on the road.
Chrysalis had been walking for hours. The sun beat down on her without mercy. She had decided to trek through the San Palomino Desert on hoof, as using her wings would compromise her Starlight Glimmer disguise. She thought about teleporting, but she feared she’d overstep and miss her mysterious destination. She wasn’t quite sure what she was even looking for. A tomb, in the middle of this hellscape desert. Every step she took burned, the hot sand cooking her skin like an egg on a stove. She ignored the pain, focusing on why she was doing this in the first place: an ancient treasure, buried away in a secret place, hidden from the rest of the modern world. With it, she would achieve the means to at last take over Equestria.
Chrysalis’ heart burned as hot as the sun above her, desperate for her revenge, on everypony that had wronged her. She said the names in her head every now and then, to invigorate herself to persevere.
Starlight Glimmer.
Twilight Sparkle.
Their very names made her seethe with anger. The humiliation and failure they cast upon her were enough to drive her into this very desert, searching for a lost power that may or may not even exist. The only thing that was for certain, is that Chrysalis would never give up.
Hundreds of miles north, Starlight Glimmer was trotting along a concrete bayside walkway, her two friends Dust Bunny and Jackpot close in front of her. The crashing of small waves against the seaside concrete added an ominous ambience as the trio walked at a casual pace, attempting to escape the city. Starlight was trailing behind the other two, constantly checking over her shoulder to make sure they weren’t being followed.
There was a knot in Starlight’s stomach, and her mind was dizzy, anxious over having to deal with the problems she had thought she’d outran. Using her magic on another pony, which she had swore she’d never do again, brought her back into the mindset she was stuck in when she was under Chrysalis’ control. She was scared, both of what she was capable of, and whether she’d ever hurt anypony again.
“So...how come I’ve never heard of this pony?” Dust asked Jackpot, Starlight snapping out of her negative thoughts to join the other two’s conversation. She stayed on high alert, though tried her best to calm down and enjoy the time with her friends. Jackpot, who was in the front, glanced back at Dust to answer her question.
“Who? Windward?”
“Yes, Windward. You’ve like...never mentioned this name before, and it’s a little weird,” Dust said, suspicious, “Is he your friend?.
Jackpot didn’t answer right away. Dust frowned.
“Is he?”
“He’s...well no. But he owes me a favor,” Jackpot said, defensively.
Dust laughed, her doubts being confirmed.
“I knew it! Well that’s great. Our only shot out of here is somepony who-who probably won’t even help us!” Dust exclaimed.
“Oh calm down...just wait, and let me talk to him. I’ll persuade him.”
“You couldn’t persuade a fish to swim!” Dust yelled, getting emotional over their desperate situation. There was an awkward pause, broken by Jackpot’s jolly laugh.
“Usually I’m the one throwing the fit. You’re supposed to be the level headed one, princess,” Jackpot teased. Dust sighed and regained her senses.
“Sorry,” she muttered, turning her head to gaze off into the open sea, covered in drifting sheets of ice. Dust glanced back at Starlight, who seemed even more stressed out.
“Starlight, you okay?”
Starlight snapped out of another fit of worrying about the past, and nodded.
“Yeah...Just...I haven’t used my magic like that...in a long time,” she said, her voice quivering.
“Turning ponies to ice. You shoulda told me you could do that, then my cider would always be cold,” Jackpot said.
Starlight tried to hold back a smile.
“So...you knew Twilight Sparkle? What’s she like?” Dust asked, unaware of Starlight’s complex feelings towards her former friend.
“She’s...she’s nice. She’d like you.”
“So Starlight, you’re like...a celebrity,” Dust said, containing her excitement, “Hey Jackpot, we’re friends with a celebrity.”
“Fantastic. Can I get an autograph then?”
“Sure thing, get in line,” said Starlight.
They all laughed, trying to ignore their nerves over their situation.
“Well, I guess I’m quitting my job,” said Dust, feeling a strange sense of relief.
“Then one good thing’s come out of this,” said Jackpot.
“You know, I always wanted to make a big show of it. Like...tell them how I really feel.”
“That you hate their guts?” Starlight asked.
“Yeah, that,” Dust replied.
“Alright, both of you shut up, Windward’s old ship is coming up,” said Jackpot.
The trio continued a few more meters, until Jackpot stopped at the bow of one of only a few ships left at the dock. The boat was tied down to a small beam sticking out of the wooden dock floor. Jackpot peaked into the boat’s interior, searching for signs of movement.
“Hey! Windward!” he yelled.
He was met by silence, and then, a few moments later, the rustling of bags of equipment out from a hatch that led to the inside part of the boat. Out from the dark hole popped the head of an earth pony, blue in color, a tad portly, a blue coat and a dark, bouncy blue mane. Windward squinted a few times in the sunlight, until he could make out just who had interrupted his cleaning of the brig.
“Oh for...Of all the ugly faces, in this ugly town, in this ugly sea, in this ugly world, it’s you.”
Jackpot maintained his blank smile, while Dust and Starlight looked over at him, waiting for a response.
“Hello to you too, Windward.”
“Just what makes you think you’re welcome over here anymore? Aren’t you with the Danecolts now? On the West Side?” Windward spat, exaggeratedly disgusted.
“I’m not here for business, Windward.”
“Then I care even less.”
“My friends and I need help, Windward. There’s barely any boats left, and-” Jackpot tried to say, but was cut off by Windward, who wasn’t biting.
“Save it! I don’t want to hear it! You think you can just march up here and take advantage of me!? Like you always do! You’re a two-faced con!”
“Windward, I didn’t want it to come to this, but you’ve forced my hoof! Now you know you owe me!”
“Owe you!?”
Windward was so shocked that he had to jump out from the brig and stand up at the back floor of the boat, stepping towards Jackpot, unafraid and unimpressed.
“I don’t owe you shit!”
“Eight months ago! That storm?! You almost died! You would’ve too, if I didn’t save your dumbass!”
“I didn’t need your help! And you only did that so you could hassle our captain for a share in the load!”
“You ungrateful, lying son of a bitch!”
Starlight stuck her head between the two, trying to ease the tension.
“Um, Mr. Windward, hi, I’m Starlight...We really need your help. Just to get out of town for a little while!” Starlight pleaded, unsuccessfully.
“I don’t do pleasure rides. Especially for backstabbing mercenaries,” Windward said, glaring at a fed-up Jackpot.
“Please, we’ll pay you! You can’t just strand us here!”
Windward noticed Starlight’s anxiousness, and began to feel sympathy. He glanced at Jackpot, then back at Starlight, trying to stay strong on his word.
“Look, I don’t know what this is about,” he said, calmer, “But you’re all going to have to find a different boat. Maybe somepony with less brain cells, who would trust this maniac.”
Starlight exhaled out her nose, defeated and frustrated. She turned with Dust to leave, while Jackpot stayed where he was, glaring at Windward, motionless, but clearly enraged. Windward stood his ground, glaring right back at Jackpot. Until, his eyes widened in shock, while Jackpot remained completely oblivious.
“Holy sh-!!”
Suddenly, a blast of fiery-hot energy hit the ground right behind Jackpot, throwing him into the boat. Windward watched as the smoke cleared, an entourage of ponies approaching the boat from several yards away. Starlight and Dust immediately rushed back to the boat, frantically.
“Jackpot!” Dust yelled, leaping into the boat beside him. He was groaning in pain, his fur blackened and burned. Starlight stayed where she was on the dock, while Windward stayed frozen, glancing rapidly back and forth between the wounded Jackpot and the approaching group of ponies.
There were six ponies walking towards them, five male, and one female. The female was the only unicorn, and the one responsible for the blast. She had bright red fur and a dark red mane, that spiked up at the top and fell back behind her head. Her eyes were a serpentine green, and she was brandishing a sinister smile.
“Starlight Glimmer,” she said, her voice smooth and unnerving.
Starlight backed up slowly to the edge of the dock, while the six attackers approached her ever so slowly. She didn’t recognize any of them, but knew they weren’t here to make friends.
In the boat, Dust tried her best to resuscitate Jackpot, who was struggling to breathe. She pressed down on his chest, though Jackpot still found no breath. Starting to panic, she glanced up at a frozen Windward.
“Windward! Please! Help us!”
Windward made no movement, watching as the entourage of ponies kept coming closer. He was in a state of shock, and wasn’t sure if he wanted to involve himself in whatever was going on.
Starlight mustered up some courage and readied her horn. The ponies behind the unicorn were a mix of earth ponies and pegasi, wielding a variety of weapons, all looking rather hostile.
“You’re not hurting any of my friends,” Starlight said, commandingly. She was scared to death, but tried her best not to show it. Now more than ever, she had to be brave. The red unicorn simply smirked, seemingly unimpressed.
“And we won’t...Just... calm down, and come with us. We just want to talk to you, Starlight.”
Dust continued trying to give Jackpot CPR, still to no avail. She sat up, took a breath to put aside the embarrassment, and bent down, pressing her mouth against his and breathing in air. She did it three more times, until Jackpot eventually took a large gasp, panting heavily, his vision blurry and his whole body stinging. Dust smiled in relief, and looked back at Windward again, her eyes desperate and pleading. Still regaining his strength, Jackpot looked up to see Starlight standing off against their attackers. He turned to Windward, gritting his teeth in pain.
“Windward…” Jackpot said through rasped breaths.
Windward cursed under his breath, looked around, arguing with himself in his head, until he finally turned around and jumped up onto the second-floor deck, manning the wheel, turning the keys and flipping a few switches. The boat’s engine came to life, startling Starlight.
“Starlight! Come on!”
Starlight glanced back, giving the red unicorn enough time to fire another beam of magic towards her. Starlight turned around just in time, deflecting it to the ground and shooting a beam of fire at the floor, creating a flaming barrier between her and the ponies, who backed away before the fire could consume them.
Starlight jumped into the boat beside Dust and Jackpot, who was still gasping for breath. Windward looked back to see Starlight had made it, and began steering the boat forward. It took off at a rising speed, escaping the red unicorn and her band of thugs.
The red unicorn stepped past the dying flames and watched the boat escape. Despite her targets escaping, she considered this a victory. After months of searching, they had finally found Starlight Glimmer.
As the boat cruised along the icy water, the trio remained together in the back, while Windward was in the second-floor deck, steering the boat into the open sea.
The cool wind blasted against their faces as the boat sped through the dark blue waters. Jackpot eventually sat up, finally feeling alive again. He groaned, cracked his jaw, and smiled.
“Dust, you saved me…”
Dust said nothing, simply nodding as if it was nothing. She was partially traumatized from nearly losing one of her closest friends, and needed some time to relax.
Jackpot’s smile only grew in response to her silence.
“You know, Dust...the second time you did that mouth to mouth thing...I was already awake. The third was just for fun,” he said, grinning like a schoolboy.
Dust glared at him with distaste, but eventually smiled too, glad they were all alive and safe. Starlight, meanwhile, was even more shook up than before.
“Jackpot, are you okay?” Starlight asked, feeling especially guilty for nearly getting one of her friends killed. .
“Got toasted a little, but that’s nothing too bad...I think they missed me,” he said, smiling, trying his best to lighten the mood.
“I can’t believe I brought you into this,” said Starlight, regretfully.
“Starlight, look...the way I see it, whoever those bastards are, they were gonna find you here, even if me and...my angelic savior over there didn’t know you. We just happened to be your friends is all...shitty things happen to good ponies. And right now is a shitty thing, ain’t it. But the thing is, you’re not alone. Friends are most useful in the shitty times, right? We’re with you, and see, even if they kill us, at least they’ll kill us together.”
Starlight and Dust stared at him.
“That was...strangely comforting.”
Jackpot smiled, and then glanced over at Windward from the upper deck.
“Windward!”
At first, Jackpot believed he hadn’t been heard, as Windward neglected to answer him for a few moments.
“What?!” he yelled, over the raging blast of the boat’s engine and the crashing of waves underneath the boat’s hull.
“Thank you!” Jackpot yelled back, relieved that they had made it out.
“Yeah yeah….” Windward muttered.
Starlight leaned back against a leather chair dumped in the back of the boat, looking at her exhausted friends. In the middle of this chaos, she found the briefest of comforts in the very presence of her friends.
Twilight and her group of ponies had set off from Jonagold’s town in the afternoon, braving the blazing desert. It had only been a few hours, but it felt like days. The sun began to set, walking across the sky until it touched the edge of the horizon. Nopony knew exactly where they were headed. This place, the Den of Thieves, was a mystery to all of them, and certainly seemed to have an inhospitable reputation.
At last, Applejack spotted some sort of civilization, miles away in the middle of the desert. She cheered out in relief, the other carriage pullers all weakly joining in. During the journey, Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy felt obligated to switch off to give some of the others a break, as the trek was perilous and exhaustive.
Twilight ordered Applejack to stop the carriage where it was, miles away from the outpost. She exited the carriage, and called everypony together.
“Alright, I’m going to need three ponies to come with me. We’ll walk there on hoof. Everypony else, stay here with the carriage. You’ll all be safe from this distance,” Twilight said.
“Twilight, didn’t you hear my cousin? Those creatures in there aren’t friends of ours. They see you, and we’re bound to get into trouble,” Applejack said.
“We’re bound to get into trouble with or without me. I want to handle this myself,” Twilight said.
“Yeah, and who’s gonna mess with an alicorn princess?” Pinkie asked rhetorically. Applejack tilted her head to the side, hesitant to risk Twilight’s safety.
“Fine. I’ll come with you,” she said.
“And me! I love meeting new ponies!” Pinkie said, excitedly.
“You won’t like these ponies, I think,” Applejack muttered, heeding her cousin’s warning.
“Anypony else?” Twilight asked.
“Hardball, go with them,” Shining Armor commanded, glancing at one of the soldier ponies. Hardball, a grey stallion with curly black hair and brown eyes, simply nodded, standing alongside Applejack and Pinkie.
“Great. The sun’s setting, we should go...if we’re not back in...let’s say thirty minutes...something’s gone wrong,” Twilight said.
The others all nodded, understanding the danger. Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, and Hardball all gathered what belongings they needed and set off again into the desert, heading towards the distant outpost.
Entering the dusty road that separated the hovels, small shacks and stores, the foursome immediately drew attention to themselves. Ponies, dragons, Diamond Dogs, and all sorts of rough looking creatures eyed them up and down. While the other three began to grow wary of all the beady eyes glaring at them as they trotted down the road, Twilight remained undeterred. She recalled Jonagold’s description, focusing only on that.
Red dragon.
Most of the creatures here were dull in color, which gave Twilight hope that this dragon would stand out more.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” said a grimy voice, belonging to a pony, who was stomping out of a poorly-constructed wooden house. The pony’s face was warped with anger, and then dropped in fear.
“An alicorn?!” he said, jumping back, putting himself in a defensive position. The other townsfolk were drawing in around them, surrounding the ponies. They snarled and grimaced at the ponies, trying to frighten them. Twilight, still, was completely unphased.
“An alicorn princess on our doorstep...you can’t count on taking any one of us in without a fight,” the stallion bellowed, clearly frightened by Twilight’s presence.
“We’re here for one. A red dragon.”
The horse glanced around at the townsfolk. Twilight reasoned he was the closest thing to the leader in this outpost town. He was a large stallion, with thick mutton chops and a creased face. He was sweating with nervousness, glaring at Twilight, unsure what exactly she wanted.
“A red dragon? By what name?”
“I’ve told you all I know. Is he here?” Twilight asked, emotionlessly.
The stallion fidgeted, again glancing at the crowd for support.
“Why is it you want him?” the stallion asked.
“That’s not your concern, is it?” Twilight asked, narrowing her eyes. If it meant getting to find and kill Chrysalis, Twilight would mow down every one of these low-lives with little hesitation. The stallion seemed to understand that, as his breath grew tighter and faster. He nodded, understanding there was little any of them could do to stop her.
“You aren’t to make a mess here,” the stallion warned.
“Where is he?” Twilight asked again, becoming impatient.
“Last time I’ve seen a red dragon was in that tavern, right over there,” the stallion answered with a shaky voice, pointing over to the other side of town. Twilight turned around to see where he was pointing, turned back, and nodded. Wordlessly, she turned and led the other three through the nervous crowd of crooks and hoodlums, who made way. They clumped back together, finding safety in numbers.
Approaching the tavern, Twilight stopped, and turned to the others. She looked back at the crowd, which was still right where they had left them, standing around, hoping that the ponies would leave as soon possible.
“Hardball, stay outside and don’t let any creature enter. Applejack, Pinkie, stay close to me, and let me do the talking,” Twilight told the others, who all nodded. Pinkie was regretting coming along on this one.
Twilight pushed the doors open, entering the dusty old tavern. She was taken aback, as seemingly no creature was left inside.
“Your highness,” said a dark voice from a shadowy corner in the far right, “You’ve found me.”
Twilight stepped in front of the others protectively, and approached the dragon. He leaned in from the shadows, revealing his leathery snout and furious red eyes. He was Sawtooth the dragon, who had stayed behind in the tavern when every other creature fled outside.
Twilight had a menacing look on her face, looking forward to getting a bit closer to Chrysalis.
“You know why we’re here then,”
“Hardly,” the dragon said, coyly.
Twilight stared at the dragon, who was smugly playing dumb.
“Why make this difficult on yourself?” Twilight asked, “We don’t care about you, you know who we want.”
“Who? Oh, that’s right. Your failed student. Running amuck and causing trouble. How many ponies dead now? Over eight hundred?” the dragon said, flashing a pointy-toothed grin.
Twilight exhaled deeply, angrily and unwilling to put up with games.
“Do you think I’m stupid? I know Chrysalis is behind this, and I know you’re helping her!” Twilight said, marching a few steps closer to the dragon, who sat up, caught off guard by Twilight’s intense demeanor.
“Your highness, you mistake me for some sort of fool. You have absolutely no proof of anything. More than likely, I simply fit a description. Which really isn’t enough to incriminate me. Am I right?”
Applejack glanced at Pinkie, both beginning to waver on Sawtooth’s guiltiness.
Twilight never broke her intensity, even for a second. Her horn glowed a bright purple, and Sawtooth stood at his feet.
“Don’t you dare, your highness! I’ve done no wrong!”
“Twilight!” Pinkie yelled in surprise, as Twilight inched closer to the dragon, who was backing up into his corner.
“Here’s my first and final offer...you’re going to tell me where Chrysalis is heading, and I’ll leave you here, free and unharmed.”
Sawtooth scoffed, preparing himself for a fight.
“And if I refuse?”
“You even think about trying to attack me, it’ll all be over for you. Who do you think Celestia is going to side with, you or me? There’s no point in trying to hide, or fight. I’ve got you, right here. Right now. So if you value your quality of life, tell me the truth. Where is she going?” Twilight said, her words smooth and venomous.
Sawtooth relaxed his posture, and lowered his head.
“I’ve got nothing to say to you,” he said, refusing to even make eye contact. The other two ponies both glanced at Twilight, worried about her temper increasing. Surprisingly, Twilight seemed more relaxed, content even. A small smile forced its way onto her face.
“Have it your way.”
Without warning, Twilight’s horn ignited a bright purple, and a blast of magic sprang out in the form of a beam, slicing directly through Sawtooth’s left arm. The arm fell right off from the stump, landing on the ground with a loud thump. Sawtooth howled in pain, grabbing at his burning, bleeding wound and collapsing to the ground. Applejack and Pinkie stared, shocked and horrified at Twilight’s actions.
Twilight said nothing while Sawtooth carried on, howling and crying his heart out.
“You psychotic bitch!”
Twilight raised an eyebrow, as her horn glowed bright purple once again. The dragon cowered in fear, shielding his other arm with his body.
“Wait! For the love of-Wait!!! She went into the desert! Chrysalis! She went east! Looking for a….for a tomb! An old tomb!” he wailed, begging for his life.
Twilight’s horn dulled, and she glanced back at the other two, tilting her head, as if to say ‘I told you so’ for being correct about Chrysalis’ identity.
“Why is she heading there?” Twilight asked.
“An...an ancient power….she’s after it...you weren’t supposed to find me….she’s...she’s gonna kill you, I swear…” Sawtooth groaned and then passed out from a combination of blood loss and shock. In a matter of minutes, Twilight had got what she came for. She turned and walked back to the others, who were slightly disgusted, yet impressed with Twilight’s efficiency. None of them said anything to each other.
“What the hell happened in there? I heard screaming,” Hardball said, immediately after the ponies exited the tavern
“We’re finished. Let’s go,” Twilight muttered, eyeing down the disgruntled crowd of creatures.
As the foursome walked back to the carriage, Twilight smiled to herself. At last, Chrysalis would finally get what was coming to her.
Stats
Page generated in 0.014 seconds
Total duration
743 users online
1,388,593 hits today, 2,917,851 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Does that mean aj might die?
Are we ever gonna get a flashback about that?
We could talk right now from a distance.
I don’t know much about CPR, so I can’t confirm if that works or not.
It technically is, because your in his town.
At that moment I wouldn’t have told her sh*t.
Please more! I love this story and the direction its headed!
Dayum, Chrysalis really broke Twilight.
Thanks for another great chapter i wonder who is after Stralight and I wonder what will be found in the tomb I'm very intrigued I hope you will be able to update again soon keep up the great work.
It might sound rather paradoxical/odd considering what I've said before (regarding "Twilight would be willing to use lethal force to begin with," isn't "'weak'" [as I... perhaps questionably put it], among other stuff, with the previous story), but dang, Twilight is uh... not doing too well.
Chrysalis really, really got to her. She really needs to find some peace of sorts in the future, because this road is not one she'd ideally stay on, for everyone's sake, including her own, to be that casual about doing something like that.
There is a bit of a mystery going, with what that red unicorn and her cronies/lackeys (and if she's working for someone by extension) want in regards to Starlight, and of course, Chrysalis is being Chrysalis, a particularly driven villain, against her two hated dusk synonyms.
(I think this story might feel more... refined in a way, than the previous one was, perhaps in terms of pacing, or something else, thus far, not entirely sure how to explain it [unfortunately]. Practice/experience makes better, in any case)