//I wake up. The old mare across from me is pretending to be asleep.
//...Huh, my cape shifted off while I was sleeping. The old mare is staring at me through one slightly open eye.
//I stand up.
Old Mare: What are you doing?!
//...Standing up. What does it look like?
Spike: Here, hide yourself under this.
//I hand her the brown cloak. She lets it drop on the floor, eying me suspiciously.
Spike: Stay out of the way and you might not get hurt.
//First, I have to get the train to stop. Then... I'll figure something out.

The Drakeling puts on the displacement cape, blurring into a vague smudge of purple!

//I step out into the hallway, closing the door behind me. Here's to hoping I'll never meet that person again in my life.
//...Which way is it to the front of the train?
Porter: 'Scuse me, sir, but please don't loiter in the hallways. The track ahead is bumpy and we don't want to see anyone hurt.
Spike: Oh, sorry. I'm trying to see my sister. She said she was one car ahead of me, but I don't know which way that is.
//The porter looks at me oddly.
Porter: Um, sir, can't you tell which way the train is moving? Ahead would mean, to the front of the train.
//...Wow.
Spike: Swings, I'm sorry, it's late. I feel kind of dumb now.
Porter: Of course not, sir. 'Scuse me.
//He moves on by, down the train. I run towards the front once he's out of sight.
Spike: Jebed, can you hear me? I need your help.
Voice One: (Why is that guy running?)
Voice Two: (Hush, we're supposed to be asleep. Hehehehe!)
//After a pause, the ankh responds.
Ankh(Jebed): ...This is an odd time at night to have a request, Spike.
Spike: There's a train coming into Forlegsandria, but the tracks are blocked and buffalo are going to attack it. Can you get help?
Ankh(Jebed): Are you sure?
Spike: Yes! I'm on it!
Ankh(Jebed): I'll see who I can round up.
//I burst through the door to the engineer's room!
Lead Engineer: Hey, what's up?
//...The cape makes them think I'm someone who's supposed to be here. Can I use that?
Spike: Uh, hey, got a message from up ahead. Someone said the tracks are blocked.
//Both engineers whip their heads around to look at me.
Side Engineer: What?
Spike: The tracks are blocked. We have to stop.
Side Engineer: Listen, I haven't heard anything on the radio.
Lead Engineer: Blocked? What would they be blocked by?
Spike: There's a bunch of logs on the tracks. I swear, I'm telling the truth!
Lead Engineer: ...Just who the hell are you, anyway?
//It looks like the cape's powers are limited...
SE: Front to internal, could we get some security in here? Over.
Spike: Listen, I'm not trying to trick you. In the time we could spend arguing, you could be sending a pegasus out there to check.
Lead Engineer: Bub, whatever you're trying to pull, it's not gonna--
Spike: Are you going to risk everyone's lives on that?!
//The two engineers pause. I hear someone large coming up the train car.
Side Engineer: Front to internal, send out a flier to check the tracks, over.
LE: Serge! Cancel that.
SE: If he's lying, then, what? Nothing happens.
LE: Nothing's gonna happen, get your head on--
//The radio crackle interrupts their argument:
Radio: Nix that request, front; over a hundred buffalo in war colors running next to us, over.
SE: What?!
LE: The hell?!
Spike: They blocked the tracks!
SE: Front to internal, confirm war buffalo, over!
LE: If we stop, they'll overrun the cars! Get this idiot outta here!
Security Pony: Sir, get on the ground.
Spike: If you don't, people will die!
//A hundred? That's way too many!
LE: Get him outta here!
Radio: Front, brakes! Track is blocked! I repeat, track is blocked! BRAKES!
//The side engineer yanks the brake lever!

The Drakeling collides with the obstacle!
The Security Pony collides with the obstacle!
The Lead Engineer falls over!
//A horrid screech comes from beneath the cars, echoing through the entire train! It starts to slow down!

LE: Serge, warning next time!
The Drakeling stands up.

Spike: Keep the passengers in their rooms! I'll try to hold them off!
SE: What?!
LE: The hundred war buffalo, you idiot!
Spike: There's still a block on the tracks!

The Security Pony stands up.
//I leap out of the room, running backwards on the slowing train!
//Out of the window, lit by moonlight, I can see a horde of buffalo running next to the train. How they can keep up is beyond me...
Spike: I've got to get to the outside!
Voice One: (What? What's happening?)
Voice Two: Why are we slowing down?
Spike: Stay in your cabins!

The Drakeling breathes in and focuses, casting Terrae Corpus! The Drakeling's scales become as hard as rock!
The Drakeling takes off the displacement cape.

//I reach the end of the car and swing to the outside, holding on to the train's steel pole with my left hand!

[[SAVE LOCATION]]

The Buffalo attack!

The Buffalo leaps at The Drakeling!
The Buffalo headbutts The Drakeling in the upper body, cracking the scale and bruising the muscle!
The Buffalo collides with The Drakeling, but The Drakeling holds on!
//'Swings, they just immediately attacked me! I guess there's nothing to do but fight back!

Spike: Not today!
The Drakeling grabs The Buffalo by the head with his right hand! The Drakeling throws The Buffalo by the head with his right hand!
The Buffalo collides with The Buffalo! They tangle together and fall over!
//The buffalo try to move around their tripped comrades, but it doesn't look like they're having a successful job of it...

The train slows down!

//I'll try not to kill them, I should be able to restrain myself like that...
Spike: Get away!
The Drakeling breathes fire!
The Buffalo dodges away from the dragonfire! The Buffalo dodges away from the dragonfire!
The Buffalo collides with The Buffalo! They tangle together and fall over!

Buffalo: Make the dragon pay for our suffering!
Spike: Shove it up your--
The Buffalo leaps at The Drakeling!
The Buffalo gores The Drakeling in the left upper leg, but the attack is deflected by The Drakeling's scales!
The Drakeling counterattacks!
The Drakeling kicks The Buffalo in the upper body with his right foot, bruising the skin, bruising the muscle and bruising the left false rib!
The Buffalo bites the train in the steel! The Buffalo latches on firmly!

Spike: Hope you know a good dentist!
The Drakeling kicks The Buffalo in the left front leg, shattering the bone!
The Buffalo falls over!
The Buffalo releases the grip of The Buffalo's teeth on the train.

The train slows down!

The Buffalo leaps at The Drakeling!
The Buffalo kicks The Drakeling in the lower body, but The Drakeling dodges away!
Spike: Damn I'm good!
The Drakeling strikes The Buffalo in the upper body with his Dashing Rogue Punch, bruising the muscle, shattering the bone and tearing apart the middle spine's nervous tissue!
The Buffalo falls over!

The Drakeling breathes fire!
The Buffalo is caught in the dragonfire! The Buffalo is lit aflame!
Buffalo: Aaaaaaaagggghh!
//The aflame buffalo diverts to the outside of the pack, fading away from view as he slows down.
//I'm fighting, but I'm not doing much damage! There are too many of them!

The train slows down!
//It's almost walking speed now! They can jump right up!

The Buffalo leaps at The Drakeling!
Spike: You jerks like football?
The Drakeling kicks The Buffalo in the upper body with his right foot, bruising the muscle and shattering the right true ribs!
The Buffalo is propelled away by the force of the blow!
The Buffalo collides with The Buffalo! They tangle together and fall over!
The Buffalo collides with the ground! The Buffalo collides with the ground!

//You know, if I weren't doing that to them...

The Buffalo leaps at The Drakeling!
The Buffalo headbutts The Drakeling in the upper body, bruising the muscle!
The Buffalo collides with The Drakeling, but The Drakeling holds on!

The Buffalo leaps at The Drakeling!
The Buffalo headbutts The Drakeling in the right upper leg, denting the scale!
The Buffalo collides with The Drakeling! The Drakeling releases the grip of The Drakeling's left hand on the train!

//It's moving slow enough that I don't need to hold on, but that's not good!
\\Compared to what? Crashing and killing everyone?

Spike: Attacking a train full of innocent people... don't expect me to forgive you.

The Drakeling strikes The Buffalo in the right front leg with his Fist of Justice, shattering the right front leg's bone, driving the bone through the right knee, and shattering the right knee's bone!
The Buffalo gives into pain! The Buffalo collapses!

Buffalo: Innocent?! How are you anything but?!
Spike: As if that excuses your behavior!
Buffalo: Dragons slaughtered our people!
Spike: Then take issue with them, not us!

The Buffalo kicks the Drakeling in the left upper arm with her right front hoof, denting the scale!

The Drakeling grabs The Buffalo by the left horn with his right hand! The Drakeling throws The Buffalo by the left horn with his right hand!
The Buffalo collides with The Buffalo! They tangle together and fall over!

The train slows to a crawl!

//Well, here goes nobody.
Spike: Who wants bison burger?
//I leap off the train!
The Drakeling leaps at The Buffalo!
The Drakeling kicks The Buffalo in the head with his left foot, bruising the muscle, bruising the skull and bruising the brain!
The Drakeling collides with The Buffalo! They tangle together and fall over!
The Buffalo has been knocked unconscious!

The Buffalo kicks The Drakeling in the head with her left front hoof, denting the scale!
The Buffalo kicks The Drakeling in the left foot with his right rear hoof, shattering the scale and bruising the muscle!
The Buffalo gores The Drakeling in the right lower leg with her right horn, shattering the scale!

The Drakeling stands up.

The Drakeling breathes fire!
The Buffalo dodges away from the dragonfire! The Buffalo is caught in the dragonfire! The Buffalo's right front leg has been burnt to a crisp!

The Buffalo charges at The Drakeling, but The Drakeling dodges away!
The Drakeling strikes The Buffalo in the lower body with his Dashing Rogue Punch, bruising the muscle and bruising the guts!

Spike: It's because of thugs like you people have to live in fear!
Buffalo: No! It's because of dragons like you that _we_ suffer!
Spike: And you're taking it out on others?!

The Drakeling breathes fire! The Buffalo dodges away from the dragonfire!

Buffalo: Our young were taken from us just moons ago! Should we not take in turn the dragons' young?! The ponies' young?!
Spike: No!

The Buffalo charges at The Drakeling! The Buffalo gores The Drakeling in the lower body from behind with his right horn, shattering the scale and tearing apart the muscle!
The right horn has lodged firmly in the wound!

//Kooo, this is bad...
\\Not as bad as seeing innocents hurt. You still have strength!
//IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL IT?

The Drakeling elbows The Buffalo in the head with his left elbow, bruising the muscle, bruising the skull and tearing apart the upper spine's nervous tissue!
The Buffalo collapses! The Buffalo releases the grip of The Buffalo's right horn on The Drakeling's lower body.

//Celestia, this is bad; I'm bleeding and I'm surrounded and it's hard to stand on that foot...

Spike: You think I'm afraid of you?!
Buffalo: You're the monster here! We're just victims!
Spike: Says the trainrobber!

The Buffalo charges at The Drakeling!
The Buffalo headbutts The Drakeling in the right lower arm, denting the scale!
The Buffalo collides with The Drakeling! The Drakeling tumbles backwards!

Buffalo: Hold him down! He is a drakeling!
Spike: _That_ doesn't make you sound evil...

The Drakeling breathes fire!
The Buffalo is caught in the dragonfire! The Buffalo's upper body has been set aflame!
The Drakeling stands up.

//Again, that foot's not stable; we need to find something to do here...
\\What?! Tell me just what, exactly, I'm supposed to do surrounded by twenty buffalo who want to kill me!

The Buffalo kicks The Drakeling in the nose with her left front hoof, shattering the scale and bruising the bone!
The Drakeling falls over!
//'Swings, I wasn't expecting that!

The Buffalo gores at The Drakeling with her left horn, but The Drakeling rolls away!
The Buffalo grabs The Drakeling by the left lower leg with her right front hoof!
The Buffalo grabs The Drakeling by the head with his left front hoof!
The Buffalo grabs The Drakeling by the right upper leg with her upper body!

Buffalo: Calm the beast!

The Drakeling breathes fire!
The Buffalo dodges away from the dragonfire! The Buffalo releases the grip of The Buffalo's right front hoof on The Drakeling's left lower leg.
The Buffalo is caught in the dragonfire! The Buffalo's left front leg has been burnt to a crisp! The Buffalo gives into pain! The Buffalo releases the grip of The Buffalo's upper body on The Drakeling's right upper leg.

Buffalo: Cover his mouth!

The Buffalo grabs The Drakeling by the jaw with his right front hoof! The Buffalo forces The Drakeling's mouth closed!
//Well, there's a simple solution to this problem.
The Drakeling punches The Buffalo in the upper body with his Fist of Justice, bruising the muscle, shattering the right true ribs, driving the right true ribs through the right false ribs and shattering the right false ribs!
The Buffalo gives into pain! The Buffalo collapses!

The Drakeling stands up.

Spike: You want more?! I aim to please!
//THE FIRST STEP IS ADMITTING IT.
//I can't keep staying on this foot; maybe I need to use this new technique...

The Drakeling breathes in and focuses, casting Patatrin-Vikramana! The Drakeling's step becomes as light as a feather!

//Wow, everything feels so much better!

The Buffalo charges at The Drakeling!
The Buffalo gores at The Drakeling with his left horn, but The Drakeling dodges away!
The Buffalo rushes past The Drakeling!

//It's like I can almost feel my opponents, and how clumsily they move! Four legs aren't any sort of benefit in a fight...

The Buffalo kicks at The Drakeling with her right rear hoof, but The Drakeling dodges away!
//You know, we should probably start hitting back.
The Drakeling strikes The Buffalo in the teeth with his Dashing Rogue Punch, and the severed parts fly off in an arc!
//Who knows, maybe she has a career as a 'toothless old wisemare' in her future.

//Suddenly the air takes on a different tone. Something is coming, and I can't tell--
Buffalo: Uaaaaayayaaya!
The Buffalo collides with The Drakeling! They tangle together and fall over!
//Oof, she landed on top of my stomach--
Spike: Oouurrrelk--
The Drakeling vomits blood!
The spewing dragon vomit laced with dragon blood strikes The Drakeling in the right upper arm!

Buffalo: Wow, I can't believe that worked!
Spike: Shut up and get off-ooul--
The Drakeling vomits blood!
The spewing dragon vomit laced with dragon blood strikes the ground!

The Buffalo grabs The Drakeling by the left upper leg with her right rear leg! The Buffalo grabs The Drakeling by the right upper leg with her left rear leg! The Buffalo grabs the Drakeling by the jaw with her right front hoof!

//Two more buffalo dive on my arms! This isn't good!
The Buffalo grabs The Drakeling by the left upper arm with his lower body!
The Buffalo grabs The Drakeling by the right upper arm with his upper body!

Buffalo: I hope my ancestors will forgive me... doing a vile thing such as this to a vile thing such as you -- but for my people, I must.
//Fire spurts out from between my teeth. Screw her and screw this.
The Buffalo grabs The Drakeling by the waist with her waist!

//What happened to change in the air?! Something was about to happen, I know it!
//YOU MEAN BESIDES YOU BRINGING GREAT SHAME UPON OUR PEOPLE?
//Go to hell!

The Buffalo assaults The Drakeling with her waist! The Drakeling's resistance is lowered!

Buffalo: Stop struggling! I'm enjoying this as little as you are!
//That's a good reason to stop!
Spike: Mmmrh mrh rrhhhm!

//Wait... I think I hear something.
//THERE IS A CHANGE IN THE FUCKING WIND, YOU IDIOT. TURNS OUT I KNEW YOUR RANK ASS COULDN'T HELP WITH ABSOLUTELY SHIT SO I CALLED IN SOMEONE ELSE.
//Who?
//FUCKING ANYONE DOES IT MATTER

The Buffalo assaults The Drakeling with her waist! The Drakeling's resistance is lowered further!

//Out of the skies I see a massive beast drop like a stone!

The Bronze Dragon slams into the ground!
The Buffalo is caught underneath the falling Bronze Dragon! The Buffalo has been struck down!
The Buffalo is caught underneath the falling Bronze Dragon! The Buffalo has been struck down!

Buffalo: What the hell was that?!
//THE HAMMER OF JUSTICE YOU CRAZY HORNED BINT

The Bronze Dragon breathes fire!
The Buffalo is caught in the dragonfire! The Buffalo's entire body has been burnt to a crisp! The Buffalo has been struck down!
The Buffalo is caught in the dragonfire! The Buffalo's entire body has been burnt to a crisp! The Buffalo has been struck down!
The Buffalo is caught in the dragonfire! The Buffalo's entire body has been burnt to a crisp! The Buffalo has been struck down!

Buffalo: Dragon! Dragon on the right flank! Retreat!

The Buffalo releases the grip of The Buffalo's right front hoof on The Drakeling's jaw.
The Buffalo releases the grip of The Buffalo's lower body on The Drakeling's left upper arm.

The Drakeling breathes fire! The Buffalo dodges away from the dragonfire!
The Buffalo releases the grip of The Buffalo's upper body on The Drakeling's right upper arm.

Justice (Bronze Dragon): Hero! Is that you?
Spike: Jebed!
Jebed: Lie flat!

The Dragon breathes fire!
The Buffalo is caught in the dragonfire! The Buffalo's entire body has been burnt to a crisp! The Buffalo has been struck down!
The Buffalo is caught in the dragonfire! The Buffalo's entire body has been burnt to a crisp! The Buffalo has been struck down!
The Buffalo is caught in the dragonfire! The Buffalo's entire body has been burnt to a crisp! The Buffalo has been struck down!
The Drakeling's scales are unharmed!

//I stand up through the charred remains of the buffalo holding me down. Jebed's smaller than Osdar, and her flame was still like that...

Jebed: Are you hurt?
Spike: A little. Not badly.
Jebed: Good. We were in time, then.
Spike: 'We'?
//I look up. Parts of the starry sky are blotted out by the shapes of dragons, soaring overhead and diving down into the fray. The side of the train opposite us starts to light up with occasional dragonfire, and the screams of buffalo become more frequent.
//...It looks like the train is safe.

The Buffalo were defeated!
Spike earned 7500 experience points!
Spike is now level 23!

[[SAVE LOCATION]]

Spike: You got here pretty quickly.
Jebed: I knew you wouldn't use the ankh unless you had to, because anyone can hear it.
Spike: Better than... you know.
//What was happening there. I never hoped someone would see me like that...
Jebed: It's a dreadful world drakelings have to face, Spike, but thankfully no one has to face it alone.
Spike: I'm glad you didn't think I was joking, but... this many dragons? Was that really necessary?
Jebed: The dragon instinct wouldn't leave me alone. Which was annoying, because I would have come anyway.
//SO WOULD SHITHEAD IF HE HAD GOTTEN THE CHANCE
Jebed: Oh, right, hold on--
//Jebed leans back and extends her head up. She breathes purple flames into the night sky!
Spike: Woah!
JBD: It's the optional disengage signal. I don't want anyone feeling like they have to chase these bison to the ends of Equestria... but I wouldn't be opposed if they did.
//The sun starts to rise over Canterlot mountain. It shows just exactly how many dragons are in swarm over the train car... and that is a scary sight.
Spike: Wh-- they're running away! They've surrendered! There's no reason to keep fighting!
JBD: ...Do you understand what they were trying to do to you?
Spike: That? Everyone tries to do that, don't chase them down on my account!
JBD: ...That is not a healthy mentality, Spike.
Spike: I'm a Hero, I doubt that's a healthy mentality either. Tell them to stop killing! It's not necessary anymore!
JBD: I will leave it up to them to decide. These buffalo would have murdered and enslaved you, and others on the train if they had their way. Criminals need to be brought to justice to prevent crime from spreading.
Spike: They... they didn't do any of that yet. You can't blame someone for what they _would_ do. Call them off!
//Jebed takes a long pause, neck bowing to one side as she looks at me. She sniffs sharply once, and raises her head, breathing green flames into the night sky!
Spike: (How do you control your flame color like that?)
JBD: You're bleeding.
Spike: Hmm?
//I look around me. The blood all over the ground came from my vomit, not the hole in my side... though I should get the wound checked out.
JBD: Get on my back. I'll take you to Forlegsandria.
Spike: I have to make sure everyone on the train is alright.
JBD: We're clearing the blockage on the tracks, and there are enough bipedals to check on the passengers. They'll take care of it. You're hurt. Climb on, I'll fly you.
Spike: Well, if you're offering...
//I climb on Jebed's back, and she launches into the sky.

//Jebed hits a thermal about a mile from where dragons are lifting tree trunks off the tracks. We circle around for a bit, gaining height and watching them.
Spike: Do you think everything will be alright?
Jebed: That rarely happens. Very little turns out well on its own. That is why we must work to make it so.
Spike: ...Okay, what do you think will happen?
JBD: The block will be removed, and the trains will run late today. Besides that, nothing out of the ordinary. Only you were hurt, thanks to... well, you.
Spike: Several buffalo were killed.
JBD: Outside my sphere of consideration.
//Jebed reaches the top of the thermal, and stretches her wings wide, coasting Forlegsandria way. I grab two of her spines and draw myself into a ball; it's cold up here (and the wind on my wound hurts).
Spike: A few of the buffalo were yelling at me for being a dragon. Why is that?
JBD: The first, and obvious, response is that you were in a fight.
Spike: It didn't sound like that. They said 'dragons slaughtered our young'.
JBD: Oh. Well, they said that because dragons slaughtered their young.
Spike: What?!
//Jebed turns her head to the side, looking at me with a great eye.
JBD: Spike, let no one fool you. Some dragons, particularly from the Aquinatics, like to think of ourselves as a noble people, whose heritage awards us dominion and demands honor from all those of dragon blood.
//I guess I can play demon's advocate here.
Spike: What's wrong with being proud of who you are?
T: (The 'I'm better than others' part of it.)
Spike: (How did you get up--)
JBD: But dragons are savage killers by nature. In practice, we are the scourge of empires, destroyer of peoples, and bringers of war. Dragons are predators, and violence is bred into us.
Spike: ...I don't want to believe that.
JBD: Then look at yourself: how are you helping the world? Not through charity or grace, but via bloodshed. There is a place in the world for white blood cells, though, and it may be better suited to a dragon than a pony.
Spike: There are plenty of dragons who aren't bloodthirsty murderers!
JBD: All sapient creatures, from the smallest ant to the biggest of us, demonstrate behaviors which are a direct result of their biology. Patterns are encoded in our blood, species by species. The question is whether to glorify our natures, or to transcend them.
//The rising sun warms the air a little more. I stretch out my tail, and it cracks.
JBD: Dragons who choose to stay in the Aquinatics and fight, among whom Quine is included, generally believe our natures are either immutable or desirable. Dragons of old divided Equestria and further lands territorially among themselves, fighting recklessly for miniscule power gains, resulting in great and terrible consequences for all. Like animals, they embraced the chaos they made. Dragons themselves led to the extinction of true dragonkind, with only us phoenician drakes surviving.
Spike: So what happened?
JBD: The advent of Princess Celestia. She--
Spike: Wait, no, hold on. I thought Celestia was always here.
//Something like a laugh comes from ahead of me.
JBD: You've been listening to ponies, then. How long do ponies live, again? Fifty years, if they're lucky?
T: (She's off by a bit.)
JBD: I've spoken with dragons who called Celestia 'that young girl', when they were alive. Her origins might be lost in pony history, but I'm sure Quine would be able to tell you what ancient dragons thought of Celestia's emergence in Equestria.
Spike: ...Huh.
//Quine didn't have the highest opinion of her.
JBD: Informal groups were created, out of necessity, to make sure dragonkind survived against Princess Celestia's power. Their actions and ideas reflected their base instincts, and what they felt a dragon should be. Eventually, this resulted in a strict set of feudal rules and honor codes which governed dragon behavior.
Spike: What were they?
JBD: Best left in the past is what they were. 'Dragon' is not a behavior or a culture, and civilized peoples are meant to transcend their nature, not embrace it. I've worked forty years in Forlegsandria on that principle and the situation in the Aquinatics is a direct result of ignoring it.
Spike: ...Everyone has their own opinion on the conflict, I guess.
//Nothing like that is so simple.
JBD: After the disappearance, some dragons thought their restrictions were gone -- the onus of change in the past had now left, so what they thought of as 'glory' could return to dragonkind. And... they started marauding and burning and pillaging and killing whatever they felt like, if they thought there wouldn't be a dragon who challenged them for territory. They embraced our nature.
Spike: Wait, I thought you opposed Princess Hazel because she killed a bunch of dragons after the disappearance. You're saying they were destroyers?
JBD: Hazel killed those dragons, sure. But there were many of us who chose to take territory not out of greed and bloodlust, but to protect as much as we could from the dragons who... well, did. And Hazel, from what I saw, refused to discriminate between the two. To her, a dragon was a dragon was a tyrant, and needed to be eliminated. ...I lost many friends in those three months.
//The more and more I learn, the murkier the world becomes. Hazel killed dragons who were trying their best to help others, but also dragons who were savages... Celestia's existence threatened the entire race of dragonkind, but she calls them 'her treasured creation'... what the hell am I supposed to believe?
Spike: So what happened with the buffalo again?
JBD: Oh! Right. The buffalo were slaughtered, because this region was overseen by a particularly nasty dragon whose name I won't do the service of remembering. They claim Princess Hazel deliberately overlooked their plight after the disappearance, and demand reparations which are not going to happen. To that political end, some buffalo -- not all, which is important -- draw attention to their plight by hurting others.
Spike: Innocents.
//How terrible.
JBD: That usually gets the most eyeballs.
Spike: Wait. Why did Celestia leave again?
T: ('Swings, if Jebed can sum _that_ up in a three-hour flight, she can have my job.)
JBD: No one knows.
Spike: It seems like her absence caused so much chaos, and many people got hurt all over Equestria... didn't she know that would happen?
JBD: It's possible she did. Then again, if you're not one to believe in Princess Celestia's divinity, the events of the last few years of her rule show some significant cracks in her armor.
//Celestia appeared to me in a dream. I'm fairly certain she's at least a little divine.
Spike: She knew about all that would happen and decided to leave anyway...
//What in the world could possibly justify that?
JBD: Whether you blame her for it or not depends on how you view helping others. Is it a duty, or an option?
//For a ruler? Even if you can stop helping people once you've chosen that position, leaving without warning isn't something you can just... up and do one day.
Spike: Leaders don't abandon their people.
//Still, I'm sure Celestia must have had a reason for what she did...
JBD: We think alike, then. Though, to be completely honest, I am glad she left. Dragons under Celestian rule were not exactly equal.
//You know, I keep on hearing that, but I've never actually heard just exactly what was so bad...
\\What Jebed's saying about Celestia and dragonkind's history is the same as Quine told you when you were training with him. Did you forget that? Or not want to remember?
//Damnit this entire section is just exposition can we skip to the end of the chapter already my thumb is tired from holding spacebar.
Spike: ...What do you mean?
JBD: ...
T: (Dragon and pony inequality was coincidental, not a result of deliberate policies by the crown.)
Spike: (As opposed to now?)
T: (Hey, that's not--)
JBD: Maybe it is best if I use an example.
//Story-time!

\\Oh crap the background changed why are we in Canterlot again?
//Hush, you're not supposed to comment on the graphical limitations. It's assumed Jebed is describing the setting.
\\Well she could have described the clouds better, they look pixelated. And a sliding glass door? What a security hazard!
//Oh hush Mr. Foreshadowing, we're not supposed to think about that yet.
Accompanying Pony: Come on, come on, this way.
//A middle-aged stallion enters the wide room, accompanied by a shuffling figure with a coat over it, a little shorter than the pony.
Sniffling Figure: Snif, hhhk...
Accompanying Pony: Quiet.
//The stallion lifts his head up and looks around. He draws the crimson curtains shut across the door. The figure speaks out in a nervous voice:
SF: Where are we?
AP: I said quiet!

The Stallion kicks The Figure in the upper body with his left front hoof, bruising the muscle and bruising the bone!

//The figure collapses inwards, laying her head on the floor.
SF: I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, please...
AP: ...It's okay. I forgive you.
//The stallion turns away from the shaking figure, and looks to the side with a conspiratorial glance, speaking in loud whispers.
AP: You should try to appreciate what I'm doing here. Darling -- this is my home! This is my heart and center, right here. I want you to understand how much having you here means to me.
SF: This... is your heart and center?
//Slowly, so slowly, the stallion turns around. His brow lowers, and his face darkens.
AP: Are you... _questioning_ me?
SF: No, please, darling, I didn't mean it, I don't--
//With deliberate steps, echoing one by one through the lavish room, he advances towards the covered girl.
//He stops in front of her, and bends his head down.
AP: Darling, _you're_ my heart and center.
//The transition in his voice, from menacing to sweet, is immediate.
//He raises the figure's head with his hooves, and pushes the coat back over her head.
\\Holy crap it's Yiha!
//'Swings, you don't have to spell it out for us.
//Yiha is the figure under the coat. She's crawling on her knees and elbows, tail tucked between her legs and wrapped around her torso.
AP: ...Am I your heart and center?
//Yiha's lip quivers for half a moment. She stares into the stallion's eyes...
Yiha: Darling... yes. I love you.
//A long pause. The slight, almost mocking smile fades from his face as he stares into Yiha's eyes, and eventually looks away.
AP: Yiha... sometimes, I don't think that you do.
Yiha: Please, darling, don't say that--
//He spins around and faces the curtain, cutting her off:
AP: And why would I feel like that, Yiha?!
//She continues to beg and plead:
Yiha: No, darling, I love you, I really do --
AP: Enough.
//He drops his head and stares at the floor. Yiha closes her eyes, and visibly forces back tears. She tries to collect herself, and visibly fails.
Yiha: What... can I do, to p-prove that I love you?
//The stallion remains silent. He stares at the floor.
//Yiha pauses for a long time.
Yiha: ...Here? Do you want to take me... here?
//After a short moment, the stallion turns around, and mutters with a wry smile:
//The door bursts open and a mare jumps into the room!
Enraged Unicorn: Apparel, you... you _bastard_.
//Visibly shaking, she spits words at the stallion as if they could cause him physical harm.
//Nonplussed, he trots over to Yiha, and throws the coat back over her head.
Apparel: Hello, Europa.
Europa: And just what exactly would _this_ be?
//Her nostrils flare as she emphasizes words. It's actually kind of distracting.
\\Or it would be if the programmer did that effect!
//Quiet.
AP: This is a misunderstanding.
//Apparel puts his hoof on Yiha's back, pressing her to get closer to the ground. She curls up, slightly.
EU: No, I think I understand exactly what's going on here.
AP: I assure you that you don't.
//The silverware on display clatters for no reason.
EU: You're using... that _thing_, as a toy!
AP: What? Europa, I would never!
EU: You might be able to manipulate her, but I'm not a dumb animal!
AP: Shut up, you cow!
//The curtains jiggle slightly, as there's a slight tremor... what's going on?
EU: So now it comes out. I knew, I always knew, but I didn't want to tell myself it was true, and now, _this_...
//The stallion straightens himself up, becoming immediately more calm.
EU: In my own fucking home!
AP: So?
EU: What do you mean, '_so_'?!
AP: What is it you want? A divorce? Are you after my money? Are you going to ruin my reputation?
EU: That... you... you _evil_ fuck. This is all you can think after doing this to me?
//A large tremor shakes the building, bouncing a mirror off the wall somewhere in the house and shattering it.
AP: What the _hell_ was that?
EU: Apparel, you are a sick, twisted fuck and divorce would be too good for you.
//Apparel trots over to the sliding glass door, and opens the curtain.

The Bronze Dragon slams the sliding door in the glass with her head, and the severed parts fly off in arcs!
The Bronze Dragon slams the stallion in the upper body with her head, bruising the muscle and shattering the left true ribs!
The stallion is propelled away by the force of the blow!

The stallion slams into the obstacle!
The stallion's left rear leg takes the full force of the impact, shattering the left rear leg's bone, jamming the left rear leg's bone through the hip and shattering the hip!
An artery has been torn!

//Europa jumps back and looks at the glass scattered all over the floor of her room. Apparel, wide-eyed, screams:
AP: WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!
Justice (Bronze Dragon): The consequences to your actions.
//As the dragon speaks, Yiha takes the coat from over her head with a trembling hand.

EU: This isn't what we agreed on, Jebed!
//The bronze dragon, its head and neck sticking into the room from the balcony, holding onto the outside of the building, responds:
Jebed: I don't care.

The Bronze Dragon bites the stallion in the right rear leg, tearing apart the muscle!
An artery has been torn, a ligament has been torn, and a motor nerve has been severed!
The Bronze Dragon latches on firmly!

//Dragging the stallion out by his leg, Jebed flings Apparel bodily into the skies of Canterlot!
The Bronze Dragon throws the stallion by the right rear leg with her teeth!

The Drakeling stands up.

Yiha: No!
//Yiha runs over the shattered glass and out onto the balcony. She is only stopped by Jebed quickly bringing up a wing, blowing Yiha backwards.
//Yiha grabs onto the great bronze wing and tries to see over it.

//The stallion crashes through a window of a tall tower of Canterlot Castle, bouncing with a crunch.
Yiha: Mother, I loved him!
//Far below, a frightened street vendor laments the loss of his cart, destroyed by falling bricks. There are claw-holes up the side of the building.
JBD: _No you didn't_, Yiha. As soon as we get you to a drakeling, you'll realize that the chemicals in your system are confusing you.
Yiha: _How can you say that_!
//Because that's how being a drakeling works? It's permanent, brainwashed slavery for anyone who ends up in her situation, unless another dragon breaks it (although that's more like painting over the picture than erasing it).
\\Don't editorialize.

//Pegasus start rising from the Castle grounds and weave through the air, like a beehive. An alarm somewhere below is sounded.
//One pegasus, in a speed suit, hovers far behind Jebed and points at her with a hoof.
EU: Fucking _Celestia_! Do you know what they're going to do to me when they find out I've been consorting with dragons?! They'll execute me!
Jebed: I don't care.
//From the tower, a fell and terrible voice radiates, shaking the very stones of Canterlot, echoing:
Pretty Loud: WHO DARES INTERRUPT OUR BEAUTY SLEEP BY THE TOSS OF A CORPSE THROUGH OUR WINDOW?!
//Jebed's pupils become very, very small.
JBD: Honey, we have to go now, Princess Luna is going to kill us.
Yiha: ...And if I want to die? Now that taken from me is--
JBD: No time!
//Jebed picks Yiha up gently with her mouth, then launches off the building, scattering bricks everywhere!
Pretty Loud: WHAT DOST THOU MEAN'ST, A DRAGON? I WILL SHOW THAT HORRID BEAST WHO RULES IN THIS DOMAIN!
//Jebed dives instantly for the ground, ignoring all the pegasi swirling around her. Ponies scream and take cover.
Pretty Loud: AND IT IS US!

\\Oh, hey, the generic sky texture is back. I think they're re-using this picture.
//Hush.
Spike: ...
Jebed: Oh, sorry, where was I?
Spike: You kind of trailed off at the end there.
T: (Princess Luna wasn't the easiest to deal with even when she had a full day of sleep. I can't imagine what they had to do to escape.)
Jebed: I took us to the sewers, where we spent three weeks hiding from the Canterlot guard until they stopped looking for us. Then, we went home.
T: (...And now I don't want to.)
Spike: Did you... did you ever--
Jebed: Find that drakeling? Yes, someone was willing to do that. He wasn't my first choice, but they weren't exactly normal circumstances.
Spike: ...Does Yiha resent you for it?
JBD: Resent... no.
//Oh. That's good.
JBD: I suspect that she hates me with all her soul. And that she will hate me forever, as long as she lives. And... I'm okay with that.
//...Holy shit. I thought I was the most broken person on the face of the planet...
//YOU ARE
JBD: I can only hope that, one day, she understands me. And I hope, though I never would wish it upon her, that she understands what I have done.
Spike: She's your daughter, Jebed. It's only reasonable that you'd do that for her, like she would do for--
JBD: No. I would do this for any, if I could find them.
//...Was it really necessary to interrupt me?
JBD: The life of a drakeling is not merely harsh. Its very design is a cruel joke played on you. The most important treasure a person could find in the world, wrapped in a packet of wet tissue paper.
Spike: I think you're underestimating us, Jebed.
T: (You were nearly defeated by buffalo.)
JBD: Compared to the evil, all that is vile, present in the world? I don't think so. Even you are nothing to overcome, against all those who lust for immortality.
//It can't be bought or crafted or designed or machined or pleaded or begged or stolen or made with magic...
JBD: And if you are attacked -- excuse me, if you are raped -- the chemical configuration of your brain changes to reward the monsters who would do such a deed. The only recompense being, of course, that if you are raped again, you may hope your new master is a slight improvement. ...Why should a player even sit down at the table if these are the rules he must abide by?
Spike: It's not as bad as murder.
JBD: I consider it worse. The mind is the last, eternal sanctuary of any living being, and to invade another's is abominable. If any creature designed our universe, it is cruel and evil for allowing this, and deserves none of our worship.
//Well, hey, I think that's getting a little blasphemous...
//GOOD FUCKING KEEP AT IT
JBD: I would die for the safety of any drakeling in this world, even its most selfish or unworthy. That is my duty. As our little ones become the new prey, it falls to the older and more powerful to protect them. And you are no different, Spike. Which is why I am glad you called me.
//Jebed falls silent for a long while. I watch clouds float by, lit orange from below by the rising sun. I don't feel like being a drakeling is that hard, but I don't have the greatest perspective on these things... maybe over her long life, Jebed found some reason to dedicate herself to the protection of those who are not as strong. Does that make her a Hero?
//Oh, yeah, speaking of rescuing drakelings from the hands of terrible monsters (who happen to be ponies), I wonder how Celel and Kezno are doing?
Spike: Jebed, did you meet two drakelings sometime? A wife and a husband?
JBD: The rebirth-mates? Yes, Dracos and Telekom arrived a little over a month ago. They passed through the Valley right before the great fire, I hear.
//Damnit, why does everyone remind me about that?
Spike: How are they?
JBD: Ah, that's right. You sent them, didn't you?
Spike: We met on the road one day.
JBD: There was much more to the story according to Kezno.
//I shrug. Wait, she can't see me.
Spike: I dunno. It was just another quest to me.
JBD: Celel is doing well, she found her place as a doctor for a private hospital. Kezno was trying to join the Forlegsandria militia, archery division.
//Was?
Spike: Uh, and he's not now?
JBD: No. He has fallen ill.
//Uh-oh. That doesn't bode well for me... it's probably the dying curse.
Spike: How ill, exactly?
JBD: Kezno has been bedridden for the last week. Celel insists it is a common disease, but she does not leave his side.
Spike: That sounds bad.
JBD: Yes. It is strange, because his immune system does not smell weak.
//Is everyone in this entire world able to do olfactory magic?
JBD: When he lost the ability to talk, I began to worry.
T: ('Swings, I could never imagine what life would be like if you lost the ability to talk.)
Spike: (Har har.)
//Hold on, Quine told me to visit Fluttershy in order to break the dying curse... if Kezno has the same thing, it's likely that this is the only way to cure him, too.
Spike: Jebed, do you know a little town in the Forlegsandria area called... called, uh, Pony...
//What was it? Darn, is this how Na-Mira feels all the time?
//STUPID? PROBABLY.
Spike: It's got 'Pony' in it?
JBD: Ponyville?
//Yeah, that one.
JBD: What about it?
Spike: Quine told me to meet someone near there.
JBD: The Keeper of the Glade?
T: (Wow, she's good.)
JBD: That would mean, this sickness is shared between you and Kezno?
Spike: (Yeah, she's good.)
JBD: I know of her, and her powers. Quine speaks of her highly.
Spike: (Of course he would, she's the Avatar of Temptation and he's a lonely old dragon.)
T: (Don't remind me.)
JBD: But I would not dare to hope for her assistance. I have spoken with her twice about Kezno's condition, knowing she could easily heal him. The mare has decided not to.
T: (Wait, hold on...)
Spike: What?!
T: (That was Jebed!)
JBD: Other solutions are needed. Unless, of course, she somehow reconsiders.
Spike: (What?)
T: (Fluttershy kicked some angry dragon's tail the other day. I just realized it was Jebed.)
Spike: (Wow...)
//The Avatars are the knights of Princess Hazel for a reason, but a pony powerful enough to thrash Jebed in a fight... and I'm trying to challenge this person?
//Jebed continues flying. In silence, she swings her tail more vigorously, mood growing worse.
Spike: Uh, Jebed?
//Growling, she responds:
JBD: Yes?
Spike: Could you take me to the Keeper of the Glade?
//In silence Jebed flies through a cloud, drenching the both of us. She rolls over once to shake the water off her wings, and I hold on for dear life.
//Eventually, a sound like far-off thunder comes from beneath me.
JBD: Your wounds need tending.
//I twist my head, and breathe dragonfire on my back to seal the wound. Jebed doesn't even flinch.
Spike: Kezno and me--
T: (Kezno and I.)
//OH MY FUCK WHO CARES
Spike: --have a dying curse. So I'll worry about my wounds when I'm not close to dying. Can you take me to the Keeper?
//The sun rises fully over Canterlot mountain, bringing in the new day. Ever so slightly, Jebed's flight direction changes to the left.
JBD: Yes. But we are quite some time from there yet.
Spike: Good.
//I cover myself in the displacement cape as best I can. I kind of wish I still had the brown cloak...
Spike: Because I could really use some sleep.
T: (Flying, what an inefficient way to travel. It's a wonder that...)
//Twilight's voice fades as fast as interest for it, and soon, I am sound asleep.

[[SAVE LOCATION]]

//HEY YOU KNOW THOSE DREAMS WHERE YOU'RE FALLING

The Drakeling slams into the ground!
The Drakeling's tail takes the full force of the impact, bruising the scale and bruising the muscle!

Spike: Aaaah!
//On my back, I raise my fists, ready to fight!
Jebed: Sorry, are you hurt?
//Jebed's head and neck are above me, blocking out the midday sun. To my left and right, birds chirp and sing happily in bright green forest. A winding dirt path leads behind us (I think I fell on a pebble), and to Jebed's back a pretty bridge leads to a...
\\...Is that a house? Or a hole with a door and a chicken coop?
Spike: The hell happened to this place?
JBD: It's a visual metaphor for fertility. Considering the occupant, I call it fitting.
T: (Uh, no. Fluttershy's not an idiot.)
Spike: (So, you're saying many lambs _laid_ down their lives for--)
T: (Hero, not comedian.)
//Although that type of protection would probably include a hardhat.
JBD: This is as far as I will bring you, Hero. I am not welcome here.
Spike: (The conversation really went that bad, huh?)
T: (Are you kidding? It was hilarious!)
JBD: You should keep in mind that you will be welcomed here. Possibly... far, far too much.
//...Avatar of Temptation. I'm a drakeling. Right.
\\Wait, no; I met Fluttershy before I even started being a Hero and she seemed friendly enough. Besides, I knew her before I lost my memory.
//Yeah, and you also knew Rainbow Dash. She also seemed 'friendly enough' when she didn't have a reason to fight you, but now you're a Hero charging into a mare's lair to claim treasure.
\\Uh, what?
//Come on. Is the Avatar going to consider this anything other than a challenge for the Element of Kindness? Time to power up, Hero; anything goes beyond this point.
Spike: ...Jebed?
//As she is spreading her wings, Jebed looks down at me and raises an eyebrow.
Spike: Can you pick me up here tomorrow? Uh, if I succeed? If not, I...
//Slowly, Jebed nods her head. She leaps forward, kicking up dirt behind her, and rises into the sky.

//LET'S FUCKING DO THIS
The Drakeling breathes in and focuses, casting Patatrin-Vikramana! The Drakeling's step becomes as light as a feather!
The Drakeling breathes in and focuses, casting Terrae Corpus! The Drakeling's scales become as hard as rock!
//AND NO, NOT 'LET'S DO THIS FUCKING'. DON'T REARRANGE MY WORDS TO MEAN WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO MEAN.
//Shut up.

//I walk over the bridge and approach the door.
//Remember, Fluttershy was one of the ponies who knew you before you lost your memory. But she's also an Avatar, and needs to be convinced that you're worthy of saving by communing with the Glade. Go in, and go in hard.
//YOU'RE SERIOUSLY GOING TO PHRASE IT LIKE THAT WHAT THE SHIT MAN MAKE MY JOB EASIER
//...And try to tune him out if at all possible.