Celestia, Luna, a few guards, and myself and Scratch stood in a large clearing of the courtyard, awaiting the dragon emmisaries. I recognized Commander Steel, but didn't know the Unicorn stallion or Pegasus mare. I glanced at Scratch who had taken his preferred perch on my shoulder, thinking to him. Five bits says they assume I'm a shaved earth pony.

At this Scratch gave a mental chuckle, nodding. Ten says a balding minotaur. I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought before a third voice sounded off inside our heads.

We wager fifteen the emmisaries doth think thou art an ape born without hair. The voice of Princess Luna rang out softly in our minds. We both glanced over at her, the princess of the night having discovered me and scratch used the occasional telepathic conversation on our fourth day here. She took it quite well and now she can occasionally hear in on conversations. I looked at the exceed before we both nodded, telling her she had a deal.

After a few more moments of waiting, a large shadow cast itself over the courtyard, a loud roar echoing through the forest. I blinked and looked up, itching at my ear from the volume. My eyes widened and my jaws dropped as I looked up and saw quite possibly the biggest fucking dragon of all time being flanked by two slightly smaller dragons. I was half tempted to book it out of muscle memory from when I first was brought to Equestria, but stood firm. One of the first things I had been taught about dragons, royal ambassadors or not, was that they respected courage and not running in fear. Internally I was half screaming, half awed.

Within moments the dragons landed with a resounding thud, the wingbeats of the drakes kicking up a massive cloud of dust and debris. This would normally bother some but at the last moment, Celestia had summoned up a quick barrier around the group until the wind died down. Once the air had calmed and the dust settled, she lowered the barrier, Looking up at the largest of the trio. "King Edar Harroc, tis an honor. We were not expecting thyself to come to this meeting." I looked over at her then up at the large dragon, giving a mental whistle at how far back I had to crane my neck to get a good look at him.

The dragon gave a low chuckle, the very air and ground vibrating as he spoke, his voice like an avalanche. "Princesses Celestia and Luna. It is good to see you as well. " The giant forest green dragon said as he looked over the small squad of ponies, my body trembling slightly as I felt his gaze pass over me. I almost looked down if not for remembering the lessons that the two princesses had told me about meeting with dragons.

Celestia lightly thumped me on the head, which coming from the armored princess felt more like a quick smack with a frying pan that was still semi warm. "Wrong. Now try again. When meeting with a greater drake, should your eyes meet, you are to..." She said, waiting for me to respond.

I gave a grumble, rubbing the top of my head. "When meeting the eyes of a greater drake, you should hold gaze for no less than....thirty seconds? before bowing your head?" At this she gave a smile and nodded, moving onto the next lesson.

I made sure to mentally count the seconds, holding the dragon king's gaze. 28.....29....30 I thought out, lowering my head enough to take his head out of my field of vision. I then heard a rumbling chuckle from the dragon king, counting the extra 10 seconds I was to keep my head bowed. As I looked up however, I almost fell back, as the large eye of the ruler of dragons was now just a few feet from me. I managed to catch myself, merely stepping my foot back a bit in surprise. I blinked and looked at the large reptilian eye.

"Interesting unit you have with you Celestia. One of each race, but I do not recognize this one." He said, raising his head back up before looking down at the princesses. "Did one of your guards lose a bet and have to be shaved clean?" he said with a laugh, the other two dragons laughing as well. "And here I pegged you two as the utmost formal of delegates." He gave a toothy grin. "You ponies always seem to surprise us with every chance you get."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding as the dragon king seemed to be a more relaxed kind of royalty. I smirked softly, extending a hand up by Luna and Scratch. "Pay up you two." I said with a soft laugh, Scratch grumbling and Luna merely frowning slightly as both deposited a ten bit and a five bit coins in my open hand. I then put my hands back in my pocket, turning only to see the dragon king and his attendees looking at us in somewhat of a confused yet amused look.

"And what pray tell was the wager we have born witness to hairless one?" The sky blue dragon to the left of the king spoke, the softer tone denoting it was a female dragon.

I bowed my head once again, placing a fist against my chest before standing up straight. "An honor to speak King Harroc. My name is Connor Fortino, and I am no pony." I gave a chuckle. "I am what's known as a human. A species not originally from Terras" I smiled. "Pertaining to the bet, myself, Princess Luna, and my companion here Scratch made a wager about what your excellency would guess I was based upon sight. I guessed shaved pony, Scratch had guessed balding minotaur, and her highness assumed hairless monkey....which actually isn't that far off for what my species technically is, scientifically speaking anyways." I explained, garnering a few strange looks from the Silver dragon on the king's right, as well as Princess Celestia before the king started laughing loudly. With a flash of green, blue, and silver fire, the three dragons seemed to vanish, only to be replaced with what could only be described as anthro dragons.

"Well then, now that we have the ice breaker out of the way, shall we head inside to get to the true reason we are here?" The tallest of the group, who I assumed was King Harroc. In their new forms the king was roughly two heads taller than me, his face like a dragon's muzzle only somewhat shorter, his shoulders broad and his muscles easily those of a trained warrior. His armor consisted of light plate mail along the chest, stomach, and legs, with what looked like armor plating along his wings, covering the bone but leaving the webbing still exposed. the two others wore similar armor, though I made sure to avert my eyes when going over the dragoness' armor. The Princesses and King led the way, Luna nodding her head for me to follow alongside the king's escorts, while the three commanders took up the rear.

I followed alongside the two dragons, looking over at their humanoid forms. The silver dragon had taken on an appearance similar to a mage or scholar, wearing flowing robes of a midnight blue, almost black material. He stood a head taller than me, his ear fins a little less pronounced than they were in his, I'm gonna call it feral form until I find out exactly what they call it. One of the more prominent features of his change was the fact that he now carried several pouches and a satchel along his back. The dragoness of the group was equipped similar to the king, wearing armor that seemed to fit and protect more of the vital areas, though I tried to keep my eyes from lingering too long on the chestplate before looking at the silver dragon. "Since you two know my name thanks to the introduction, might I know yours as well?"

The two looked at each other before looking back at me, the silver dragon speaking first. "My name is Orn Svanti. Scribe and Chief Alchemist to the king." He said, nodding his head. "And this is Qumado Daron. Second in command of the king's aquatic armed forces." The dragoness nodded, gesturing to her left pauldron, a crest of a dragon merged with a design of ocean waves prominent. I look at the symbol and nod my head, turning my gaze forward again as we entered the castle.

As the entourage moved through the halls, I talked with Orn more, curious about the alchemy he used, as it was just a myth back home. The silver drake was more than happy, seeming to go into full lecture mode about various chemical mixtures, along with using special transmutation circles and the caster's will to change or mold objects. He also explained the rule of equivalent exchange, how certain materials seemed to hold an intrinsic value, some items being higher than others. Offhand I asked about iron into gold, and he told me it only took roughly twenty pounds of iron to make a solid 2 pound lump of gold. "Ten to one ratio huh? that doesn't seem that expensive really." I said, looking over at Qumado, the dragoness having been silent the whole walk. "So, does she just take her job seriously, or is she mute?" I asked Orn.

The drake smiled and chuckled. "One would think that upon meeting an aquatic dragon, but while she does take a measure of seriousness to her task of guarding the king, she is not mute. Aquatic dragons are more at home under lakebeds, rivers, and oceans. Thus their vocal systems developed differently than most naturally land or sky born dragons. In order to properly speak, they must have at least their head submerged under water, as their voices would simply come out as shrieks, squeaks, and clicks, similar to those of dolphins." To drive the point home, he nodded at the blue dragoness, who opened her mouth and proceeded to give off a quick whistle, squeak and several quick clicks before closing her mouth again. "However, it is possible to learn to translate their sounds to proper speech."

I blinked and looked over. "But she spoke before when we were all outside and you two and the king were in your larger forms." I said, thinking back to how she had asked about the bet.

Qumado gave a slow squeak and a couple whistles, Orn nodding and translating. "She said that while in their true form, aquatic dragons have a sort of pouch within their esophagus that can hold a good amount of water, allowing their voice to be translated, but that biological feature does not apply to their bipedal forms." I nodded, stopping as I realized the group had arrived at the room that normally served as a small dining hall, but was now arranged as a meeting room for the emissaries and the princesses to begin their discussions.

Several plates were set out for the princesses, the dragon king and his companions, along with two plates for the princesses. The plates for the dragons were stacked with various meats, along with a few gemstones and metals, whereas the princesses had plates of various roasted vegetables and what looked like flowers. The dragons took their seats on one side of the table, but soon gained a look of confusion as a plate identical to theirs, minus the gemstones, was brought out and placed on the princesses side. "Is there someone else joining us your majesties?" King Harroc asked.

Princess Celestia gave a smile. "No, my other guards need to return to their duties, but Connor here will be joining us as well. Seeing as how he and Scratch are neither dragon nor pony, we felt it would be good to have a neutral third party involved in the discussions." She said, gesturing to the chair that had been placed between the two parties as well as the plate. I walked over and bowed my head, sitting down as Scratch remained on my shoulder.

Orn looked at the plate then at me. "Fascinating, so the human diet consists of foods similar to that of dragons then?" Orn said, a scroll and quill in his hand as he took some notes.

I shook my head, handing scratch a piece of meat before eating some as well. "No, the normal human diet is an omnivorous one. We can eat meats, as well as various vegetables and some plants. However unlike ponies, our bodies can't digest certain grains or flowers. The metals is actually something that occurred when I recieved my magic." I said, watching the dragon take more notes. I then looked at the princesses, the two alicorns nodding at me to proceed. "Now before I say the name of my magic, I wish to let it be known I have no intention of using it for it's original purpose, that the name was merely given to this style because that was it's original intention where it came from." The dragons looked at me with curiosity as I gave a sigh. "The name of my magic," I said as I used Iron Dragon's Scales, shifting my face and upper body into it's scaled form. "is Iron Dragon Slayer magic."

At the mention of the name, Orn's quill snapped, Qumado reaching for the blades on her sides, and I was thankful that looks could not kill, or the glare from King Harroc would have turned me to ash on the spot. If it weren't for Celestia casting a quick flash of light and Luna a soft bang of sound, I felt the dragons would have torn into me. "Your highness, we ask that thou calm thy soldier." Luna spoke, giving a nod at me. I smiled and nodded back, looking at the dragons.

"I get that the name of my magic causes some distrust, but if I may your majesty." I closed my eyes and thought back to the lesson with Luna the previous day.

"Should the king become wary upon learning of they magic, there is a final measure to prove you mean no harm to him or his entourage." The princess of the night said. "However, this oath, should you use it, swears your loyalty to him and allows him to ask of thee any task to prove thy honor." She then spent the next hour and a half teaching me the proper oath.

I raised my left hand, claws extended and then brought the tips to my chest over my heart. "mrith sia zi sepa, si majak sia tiichi ekess wer daar di darastrixi. mrith sia vers, si vow ekess nurti raise vi gix seanf nomenes deemed sia latali. mrith sia tiichi sva stake, si oupil sio ghoros wux vur oupil sia sepa nif ihk dout ivah"* As I spoke I could see their eyes widen, clearly not having expected anyone to use, or even know the vow of loyalty to the king. I kept my hand over my heart as I looked at the king, waiting for his final word of judgement.

Harroc looked at me, his eyes scanning over my body to try and detect some form of deceit or falsehood in my statement. He closed his eyes for several moments before speaking. "Onelkator." Forgiven. At this I let out a sigh, the princesses as well. I nodded my head and smiled. "You will have to forgive us princesses. Unknown to much of the world, dragon slayer magic is an art taught to very few warriors among my court. It is taught as a final resort should there ever be rogue dragons that cannot be brought down by simpler means. Discovering there was an unknown being that wielded one of our most secret techniques was quite the shock."He said, looking at me for a few moments before turning back to the princesses. "Now then, with that out of the way, shall we get on to the matter we have all gathered for?" He said, resting his hands on the table before using his tail to pop a sapphire into his mouth. At this we all nodded, eating a bit before getting to the diplomatic discussion.

It was several moments before Harroc nodded at Orn. The silver dragon nodded back and pulled out a scroll. "The reason the dragon king has come today, is to proclaim a peace treaty with the Princesses of Equestria. It is his hope that our two races can work together to bring peace and understanding throughout the regions, and to aid one another in times of emergency." At this, the Princesses both stopped, slightly shocked. I could understand their surprise.

From what I had gathered during my week here, the dragons and Equestrians had always been at sort of a standstill, where the dragons could lay waste to much of Equestria within the span of a few days thanks to their numbers, flames, and alchemy, but the Equestrians could also cause equal damage with their magic, pegasi squads and earth pony brigades. Not to mention Celestia and Luna being able to bring the literal wrath of the heavens down on them. The princesses had assumed the meeting today was to either ask for a surrender, or at the very least, a mutual ceasefire where either kingdom avoids any interference in the other. To know that Thaczil Darastrixi sought peace was quite the surprise.

Celestia and Luna looked at each other for several moments, their minds connecting and going through a whirlwind of what if's, possibilities, and other political probabilities that could come from a peace treaty with the dragon empire. They then turned back to the group, their mental conversation over. "It is with honor that we accept Thaczil Darastrixi's proposal for peace and cooperation." Celestia said with a smile, Luna nodding her head as well. Me and Scratch smiled, looking at the two groups as we had just witnessed peace between two nations coming to fruition. Celestia then smiled and looked at me. "Connor, if thou could, please go out and ask the nearest servant to find Gilded Scroll. She is the royal scribe and quite frankly I think she would be thrilled to help draft the treaty." I smiled and nodded, heading out into the halls to find a servant, hoping this would all go well for the kingdoms.

Within just few hours, the dragon emissaries, the princesses, and myself and scratch, had drafted up a baseline treaty with Gilded Scrolls help. The grey coated beige maned unicorn mare being quite the asset when it came to all the proper legal terms for some parts. Originally I thought that me and Scratch would be nothing more than some intimidation/muscle, but we actually helped out a lot. There were a few times when the dragons suggested some parts regarding trade and possible migration, but me and Scratch had actually pointed out that the route would lead them over several settlements that could very well mistake the dragons as invaders, thus leading to misunderstandings.

The Princesses as well had suggested to send several Equestrian ambassadors and mages over to lesser principalities in the dragon kingdom in order to aid with weather and crop growth, but it was Orn who backed me up, stating that the dragons actually preferred to leave the weather in their country as is, as with several volcanoes, as well as thunder and sky dragons flying about, scheduled and precision weather patterns like in Equestria had a higher chance of being disrupted. The crop issue was pretty much nil, as almost all dragons fed on either their natural element, meat of the wild creatures roaming the air, land, or waters, or metals/gemstones the Earth dragons would dig up.

As we were all working and looking through another section of the treaty, it was Qumado who interrupted us, giving a quick shrill squeak and whistle. "Come again Qumado?" Orn said as he and Gilded looked at her, the aquatic dragon giving a few clicks and whistles before nodding her head at the window. The sun had gone quite low though not just yet over the horizon. This caused Celestia and Luna to perk up.

"Oh dear, it seems that we lost track of the time while working on the treaty." Celestia said with a soft laugh. "Come sister, we must raise the moon and lower the sun." She then turned to the rest of us. "Perhaps we should all get some rest. I'm sure the emissaries are tired from their flight and the work on the treaty. Connor, Scratch, could you two please show them where their rooms are should they choose to use them?"

I nodded. "Sure thing Princess." I stood up, wincing as I cracked my back, grabbing a spare piece of iron from one of the small pouches I kept on me, popping it and chewing it like a piece of candy. how funny would it be if I could blow bubbles from iron almost like gum. I thought to myself, giving a chuckle as I lead the group down one of the hallways and up the stairs. I led the trio to a set of three doors at the end of a hallway. "The king's room is the center, Orn's is the left, and for Qumado we had some men set up a tank in the room as well as a bed, in case she preferred to sleep in water."

At this the aquatic dragon practically rushed to the room, looking in and seeing a large tank almost as tall as the wall, and took up about a third of the room. She practically leapt into the water, almost seeming to breath it in like air. "Thank you Connor. This is a welcome treat rather than having to wait for Orn to translate all day." She said, her voice somewhat muffled by the glass.

I nodded and walked over to Orn's room. "The princesses had me tell some guards to set up a good size writing desk in here in case you decided to work on the treaty or your own notes." He nodded and went into the room, looking over the desk before smiling, unloading his writing supplies. I closed the door behind us and smiled. "And of course your highness, your room. We weren't exactly sure how to furnish it so the princesses gave it a royal feel." I said, opening the door, revealing a large four poster bed, a chest, a desk, a window, and a side room with private latrine. "My room is just down the hall before the stairs if there are any questions." I said, turning and just about to close the door before the king spoke up.

"I have a few questions, but they can wait until the morning before we resume work on the treaty. Thank you Connor, and I apologize for the way me and my subjects acted upon hearing about your magic." He said, bowing his head a bit, both in apology and to avoid scraping against the ceiling.

I shook my head. "It's fine King Harroc. I understand. Finding out some wild card apparently knows one of my race's secrets would put me on edge too." I said with a soft chuckle, bowing my head before closing the door.

Author's Notes:

*used the Twilightrealm draconic translator. Just basic jargon of honor, vowing not to harm them, etc etc. feel free to look it up yourself if you really want to know what it says.

First things first, thanks so much for all the likes, favorites, and comments. They show me that people are genuinely interested and enjoy what I write.

Second, There will be approximately two more chapters after this in the past(look forward to the final past chapter as I plan for it to be a doozy). After that we will be returning to the present and really getting this story on the road.

And thirdly, thank you so much to the wonderful people from the Displaced group for accepting my story and for all the advice they've given so far. I hope to do this group proud.

Update: some of you might be wondering why I re-uploaded this chapter. Basically I started chapter five, but felt the bit I started would go better at the end of this chapter. Apologies for any issues or getting anyone's hopes up for a new chapter