Caves. Why does it always have to be caves? Twilight's expression was one of seriousness as she took step after step within the dark and dank entrance at the top of the mountain. She and her brother moved cautiously, looking around at the claw marks on the cave walls, not to mention keeping their nostrils closed, lest they inhale the foul smell of the dragon within, which frankly was something of a bother even before they entered. Looking over her shoulder, Twilight looked upon the unicorn guards, all of whom still had their horns trained on the entrance, just in case the dragon emerged during their expedition within. Letting out a sigh, Twilight's nerves were clear and it did not escape her brother's notice. He turned to her, offering a reassuring smile, which the younger unicorn promptly returned. If nothing else, at least this gave me the chance to spend more time with my brother, she mused. But, her expression hardened once more, as she began to hear the distinct sound of snoring up ahead. Not long now. I wonder if he really was as big as my memories led me to believe?

She soon got her answer, for after a few more steps forward, the two unicorn siblings stopped, looking on in awe at what lay before them. Yep...definitely as big. The dragon before them was enormous, no question, easily the size of at least half of Ponyville, of not more so. His red scales, the colour of blood, were visible even in the gloom of the cave, and the smoke billowing out of his nose as he snored was becoming more and more frequent. However, Twilight's eyes darted downwards, as she looked upon a perhaps greater sight. A vast pile of treasure, with every kind of gold, silver and jewel a pony could imagine. A sly smile crept onto Twilight's face as she considered that. Oh, what Rarity wouldn’t give to be here for a chance at one of those diamonds. However, she frowned yet again as she looked up at the dragon, who was thankfully still oblivious to his two guests. Turning, she gave her brother a pat on his shoulder gaining his attention. Affording him a small smile, Twilight began to approach the slumbering beast, all while Shining looked on with appropriate concern.

Once Twilight was within just a few metres of the creature, she cleared her throat in an attempt to gain it's attention. However, it was clear that did little to wake it, and so she did so again, only louder this time. When that too failed to work, she narrowed her yes. Well, might as well be more direct about this.

"Excuse me, Sir?!"

Her voice was loud and firm, yet not aggressive. However, it was also enough to do what it needed to, as, for the first time, the dragon began to rouse, it's eyes twitching somewhat before the lids finally lifted. As expected of one who had just woken, the eye moved around, trying to take in it’s surroundings. In time, however, it lowered, looking straight at Twilight, who remained there with a serious look on her face. At seeing the intruder, the dragon widened both eyes, glaring at the young unicorn before it. There was a low rumbling from the beast, at which point Shining lowered his horn in a battle-ready stance. However, Twilight, upon seeing this reaction from her brother, raised a hoof to silently stop him. Although hesitant, the older stallion reluctantly nodded back, assuming his previous stance. Now, with her quarry awake and alert, Twilight cleared her throat yet again, ready to get down to business.

"I apologise for waking you, Sir. But we have important matters to discuss."

The dragon raised an eyebrow, prompting Twilight to continue.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I have been charged with asking you to leave this cave. Your snoring is producing a vast quantity of smoke, and if it does not stop, then a good deal of Equestria could be threatened by it."

Having heard her words, the massive beast merely let out a deep and dry laugh, after which it deliberately let out a puff of smoke, right at Twilight's face. After coughing a little and brushing aside the stray bits of soot on her face, Twilight frowned at the dragon, speaking up in a clearer and louder tone.

"Sir! I understand this may be inconvenient to you, but you have to understand that it's dangerous for my people for you to remain here. Surely you realise that?"

Glaring down at her, the enormous drake finally spoke.

"Oh, I understand...I merely don't care! You say your people are in danger? What else is new? I'm a dragon, in case you hadn't noticed. And your people's concerns are not my own."

Twilight frowned at that, the disinterest very clear in the dragon's voice. Seeing this expression on her, he let out another laugh before continuing.

"Leave, pony. I have no time for you. Now go, lest I change my mind about being such a gracious host."

Turning, Twilight looked upon her brother, who was looking just as concerned about all this as she was. Negotiation isn't working. Sometimes, I wonder why I bother. Steeling herself, Twilight turned to the dragon once more.

"I'm afraid I'm not leaving...not until you do!"

The anger in her voice was evident, much as it was in her expression, and the dragon knew this well. He frowned at the small pony standing in front of him, seeing the way she stood her ground, and had to fight the urge to laugh once more.

"And if I don't, what then? Will you force me out, little pony?"

Twilight narrowed her eyes.

"If I have to."

If there is one thing a dragon does not appreciate, it's a challenge. The young unicorn's words struck a chord in the beast, and not a good one. Slowly, a low rumbling could be heard yet again, and he lifted his head above his treasure horde, his eyes never straying from Twilight. Shining assumed his battle-stance yet again, but Twilight raised a hoof to stop him yet again. Showing clear confusion at this, Shining watched as his little sister took a step forward, her own horn glowing in preparation for a spell. The dragon laughed at this as he began to spread his wings, the mere motion of which sent a gust forward, threatening to knock the two unicorns back. But, always, Twilight stood her ground, watching intently as the dragon reared to it's full height, all the way to the top of the cave. Her horn continued to glow, and she stood motionless as the beast took in a massive breath, it's chest starting to glow from within. Twilight knew what this meant, and so narrowed her eyes at it. Shining, meanwhile, could no longer restrain himself, and leapt forward, ready to defend his sister.

As expected, the dragon opened his mouth wide, unleashing a torrent of flame towards the two. Shining's horn began to glow, ready to protect his family, but, to his shock, it appeared as if he did not need to. For, without noticing, the stallion finally realised that there was already a protective shield spell around both of them, shining brightly and fending off any and all fire that was aimed at them. He turned to his sister, the caster of the spell, and saw, to even further amazement, that she wasn't even breaking a sweat at this. The spell was not tiring her out in the least. In fact, she simply looked frustrated during all this, glaring angrily at the dragon as it continued throwing this inferno at them. In time, however, the dragon ceased it's fire-breathing, and instead resorted to more direct means of attack, raising a single claw and bringing it down with tremendous force. However, much like the fire, this didn't even dent the shield, and instead seemed to even slightly singe the claw that struck it, causing a brief yelp of pain from the massive reptile.

Now furious at what was going on, the dragon opened it's mouth wide again, bearing it's teeth and ready to lunge forward and bite. However, before it even got near to them, Twilight, in a move that shocked her brother, dissipated her shield, instead focusing on a new spell. Seeing the shield gone, the dragon lunged, ready to snuff out the defiant ponies before it. However, yet again, it was stopped. But this time, instead of a shield, Twilight sent a massive burst of magic straight for the creature's head, striking it and forcing it back, right into the wall of the cave. The impact was huge, and stones began to fall from the ceiling all over. Although it took a few moments, the dragon soon recovered from this attack, nursing the sore spot on it's head where it had met the rock. He looked upon Twilight with utter fury, releasing a near ear-piercing roar before lunging forward a second time. But, as always, Twilight was ready for it, sending forth another magic blast. But this one did not simply knock it back, but rather formed into a massive clawed hand, not unlike a dragons, that gripped the creature's neck mid-lunge.

The beast tried to pry itself free form the magical hold, but to no avail, and Twilight, seeing her grip secure, focused on her magic, using that ethereal hand to force the dragon back into the stone wall, causing yet another rumble throughout the cave. As always, the creature struggled, but could not break free of his bindings. He opened his mouth to roar, but Twilight merely narrowed her eyes, using her magic to tighten the grip around his neck, silencing him. Again and again she did this, forcing it back into the rock, smashing his head against cold stone repeatedly, all while Shining watched with equal parts awe and disbelief. Twilight, without even showing much effort, was single-hoofedly taking down one of the most fearsome beasts known to ponykind. And this went on for some time, with the dragon taking these attacks with a feared look upon his face. Eventually, Twilight grew tired of this, and used her magic to make the grip force the dragon's face into the dirt of the cave floor, forcing him down so it could not stand himself up again.

So, Twilight stood there, a look of disdain upon her face, as she kept watching the struggling beast. Now you see, don't you? It's not nice when others make you feel weak, is it? But, rather than speak those words, the young unicorn merely watched as, through his struggling, the dragon finally managed to get some words out.

"I...I...I yield."

Twilight narrowed her eyes at that, taking a step forward.

"You agree to our terms?"

Another nod from the dragon.

"Yes...by dragon law, you have proved your strength."

Shining turned, looking upon his sister, and finding her expression utterly impossible to read. In time, Twilight's became one of seriousness as she took another step forward, looking right into the dragon's eyes.

"Say it...loudly and clearly."

The dragon, clearly not used to being spoken in this, way, was nevertheless in an impossible position with Twilight's magic still overpowering him. After a few false starts, he gave Twilight the words she wanted to hear.

"I...I acknowledge your power. You are the greater...and I am the lesser. All that I am is vanquished. All that I have is yours...including my life, if you so choose."

Twilight rolled her eyes at that.

"I have no need of your life. But you will heed my command. You are to leave this cave and never return. You will fly as far as your wings will carry you. You will never again venture near pony lands. And if you encounter any others of your kind, tell them this..."

The dragon watched as his captor gave him a look that sent a shiver down his spine, listening as she spoke her words carefully.

"...I will not tolerate any threat by a dragon towards ponykind. If your people ever think of harming us...I will be there."

Her words cut deep, and for the first time in his life, Shining Armour looked upon a dragon that was utterly terrified. Twilight watched as her captive nodded, acknowledging her command and agreeing to it. She watched him carefully, trying to see any hint of deception or trickery in him. When she was satisfied that there was none, she gave a single nod, finally releasing her magical hold. As the ethereal claw vanished, the massive beast reared it's head up at long last. For a brief moment, Shining worried that he may take this chance to go back on his word. Instead, he watched with disbelief as the dragon spread his wings, giving an almighty flap before launching forward, straight out of the cave and into the bright blue skies beyond. The unicorns and pegasi stationed at the cave entrance only just managed to move aside in time, and they were soon joined by their Captain, who watched the flying drake for ages, until finally, he could no longer be seen. In time, the stallion turned, looking upon his little sister with his mouth agape. Smiling nervously, Twilight blushed a little before her brother began to speak up.

"Twilight. That...that was incredible!"

The young mare looked to her brother, still smiling.

"Thanks, BBBFF."

Her expression then became a serious one as she looked to the sky.

"Think he'll come back?"

Shining frowned a little before joining her in looking upwards.

"Not a chance. After what you did to him, he'll probably be having nightmares about you for years."

Turning back to his sister, the Captain smiled.

"Ponyville owes you a debt of gratitude, sister. And so do my troops. I shudder to think how bad this would have gone if we'd actually had to fight that thing."

Twilight nodded, looking over to the other stallions, who, understandably, were looking quite relieved at all this. However, her attention was then drawn to her brother once more, as he began to speak up yet again.

"You know...as Captain...it'll be my duty to report all this to Celestia."

Twilight's face took on a note of seriousness at that, thinking the matter over. Eventually, she let out a sigh, putting on a small smile for her brother's benefit.

"It's fine. Besides, it'd be pretty hard to hide this kind of thing from her."

Shining nodded at that, turning to join the rest of his guards. However, he was stopped by a hoof from Twilight. Turning back, Shining noted that she was looking more than a little nervous about something. In time, she managed to get her words together.

"Actually...when you go back to Canterlot, could you do me a favour? I need you to deliver something."

Shining raised an eyebrow at that, and watched as Twilight looked back to her saddle-bags. Using her magic, she opened one of them up and began to levitate something out of it. Shining looked on with curiosity to see that it was, in fact, a rolled up parchment. Twilight took it into one of her hooves, looking from it to her brother and then back again, all while keeping that same nervous expression. Eventually, she offered it to her brother, who hesitantly accepted it. Slowly, he began to unroll the parchment and began to read. Twilight watched as his eyes darted from left to right as he took in every word on that paper. Eventually, and as she expected, her brother's eyes widened with utter shock, and he looked back to his sister, his voice filled with disbelief.

"Twily? Are...are you serious?"

Twilight nodded at that.

"I am. I've been thinking about this a lot, and...I've decided to go ahead with it."

Shining looked back to the parchment, still taken aback by what he'd just read.

"It's...well...it's a big change. I mean...I'm happy for you...if this is what you want, that is."

Twilight smiled warmly, giving her brother a single nod.

"I am...more than I've wanted anything else."

It took a while, but Shining eventually broke out into a similar smile. He rolled up the parchment and carefully placed it into his own saddle-bag, before turning to his sister and embracing her in a warm hug. It was a pleasant moment between the two siblings, and when they parted, they kept that same warm smile throughout. Trust me, brother...I know I can handle this. Eventually though, Shining simply gave his sister a nod before turning to his troops and walking off to join them, ready to give their next commands. Twilight remained where she was, thinking over everything that had happened. So...that proves it. I really can take down a dragon. Nopony other than the alicorns themselves have ever done so alone, and here I am, doing it without exhausting myself at all. Even I didn't think my magical training had advanced that much. Looking back to the sky, her eyes narrowed. With any luck, my message will spread. Hopefully, the dragons will heed it so I don't have to resort to that kind of thing too often. However, her attention was then drawn to a very familiar voice from behind.

"That...was...AWESOME!!!"

Spinning around, Twilight saw that, as she feared, it was Rainbow Dash, staring at her friend with the biggest grin she'd ever seen. Twilight, as one might expect, was shocked to see her friend here. However, in time, that expression morphed into one of anger, as she stomped towards her friend with intent.

"Rainbow?! What are you doing here?! I told you and the others to stay in Ponyville!"

Rainbow let out a snort at that.

"Yeah, right! As if you could keep me away from something like this! I saw what you did to that dragon. You were amazing! You were like, whoosh! And he was like, wham! And...and...it was so cool!"

Putting a hoof to her forehead, Twilight let out a groan at that.

"Rainbow! I didn't do this to impress anypony! The dragon was a menace and needed to be dealt with!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, maybe. But face it, Twi, you'll be a national hero after this!"

A dark pit opened in Twilight's stomach as she considered that. No thanks. I've had enough hero-worship to last me a lifetime. As she looked to her friend, her expression eventually softened. Well...she is the bearer of the Element of loyalty. I guess it was too much to think she'd stay away. Eventually, Twilight let out a sigh, turning away from her pegasi friend.

"Well...thank you for coming anyway. In truth, I actually could use some help at this point."

Rainbow raised her eyebrow at that.

"Help? With what?"

As Twilight walked forward, she took position in front of the cave, looking to the vast pile of treasure within.

"Well...let's just say I may need help moving some things."