Fancy Pants sighed and levitated the smallsword he had requisitioned from the castle's stores at his side, examining the blade as it glinted in the warm torch light. The sounds of war rang throughout the throne room, even through the thick, obsidian walls. Screams, terrible and agonizing, echoed in the halls, amplified by the expansive emptiness and joined by the battles raging inside them, but the stallion remained unmoved. Even after his time serving under the queen, they were still equally terrifying and stomach-churning, but that was not what bothered him the most. Not anymore.

It was the whimpers behind him, the sound of metal clinking, just barely audible over the surrounding cacophony, and the tremble in his own magical grasp that truly scared him now. The feeling of dread that threatened to overwhelm him did not stem from the thought that the griffons might be coming, because he knew that they would come. He knew that the soldiers would be overwhelmed despite the explosive blast that could have only come from the detonation of a magical barrier, because he had seen the paltry defenses left to keep the castle secure, but he did not fault Nightmare Moon for the choice; he would have done the same thing. What he did fear, however, was the ponies he was set to guard.

They’re no warriors.... He sighed, hiding the shakiness in the action to the best of his ability. All it would take is for one of them to panic. Then we'd all be dead.

His nose twitched, an old tick from his school years that always cropped back up whenever his nerves were strained, as the sound of fighting grew louder. It was a sign that the guards stationed to defend the bastion's interior were calling their retreat and he knew that it would be the only real warning that they would have. He sniffled, calming the twitch in his muzzle, and turned to the amassed servants. "Right. It would seem that our soldiers guarding the halls may not make it in time to urge on our departure, so I believe we would be best off making a preemptive move.

"Now, I know you're all scared and I'm sure you want nothing more than to stay here and barricade the door, but I must insist that you follow me to safety." Murmurs rose from the crowd with quiet snippets of both approval and denial reaching out from the masses, but the middle-aged unicorn ignored them and brought back their attention with a quick cough. "I promise that I'll do everything I can to keep you safe, but we must leave now before it's too late. Those of you that can fight or have chosen to, please watch for danger. The castle is large and has quite a few connecting halls."

Fancy Pants turned back towards the double doors, lifting his sword, and took a deep breath as he listened to a few other ponies do the same. I should have never volunteered for this position. I would have been better off staying happy and safe in my Canterlot estate. He gave a soft chuckle and shook his head as he stepped up to the door. “And I know that's not true. All right, fillies and gentlecolts. Be on your guard and, whatever you do, stay calm."

The white stallion's heart thundered in his chest as the metal portals began to swing inwards, powered by the glow of his horn. He wasn't certain how far the griffons had gotten or if they even had a chance if making it to the end of the hall, but none of that truly mattered; he had been assigned the task and he would see it out until his final breath.

After several agonizing moments, the path was finally open and, to his surprise, nothing was there to greet them on the other side. He loosed a relieved sigh as he motioned for the staff to follow. "We'll move together. Don't separate from the group."

His first step was hesitant, his entire foreleg trembled as he willed it forward, but that one step was all he needed to push himself further. Each clop of his hooves spurred him on faster until he, and the entire group, was moving at a steady trot. He kept his head forward, his neck almost rigid, as he moved, but his eyes shot back and forth at every intersection, a creeping paranoia forcing the action lest it gnaw at his mind.

Despite the heightened caution, however, nothing moved out of the ordinary. The occasional chill wind blowing in from an open window startled some of the entourage whenever it fluttered one of the building's many tapestries, but there was nothing to cause true worry. Where are all of the soldiers?

As if to spite the posh unicorn for his inquiry, a lone griffon winged his way into the group's path, flying frantically right towards them. Fancy Pants cursed under his breath and readied his sword, still shaking despite all of his attempts at staying his grip, but it was all for nothing. Behind him, ponies screamed and shouted, their hooves thundering on the floor as they surged forward, driven by panic. He braced himself for the inevitable trampling, tensing his muscles, but the crowd just surged past him and converged upon the stray soldier.

The griffon had no time to react before the ponies had pulled him from the air and began their assault. Fancy could barely hear the poor creature's screams over the outraged cries of the mares and stallions stomping him into the stone and it wasn't long before those were silenced by the flurry of hooves. He stepped back, horrified, as the near-dozen ponies moved away and sneered at the brutalized corpse before returning to the rest of the stunned group. Please let that be the last one. I... don't think I could handle that again.

"A-alright. It looks like the way is..." He paused and shuddered at the sight of the mauled body. "Clear.... Let us move before more-"

He started back at their trot, carefully skirting the splattered blood and hoofprints, only to freeze in place when the sound of beating wings and scraping claws sounded from around the next corner. Already, he could sense the ponies begin their preparations to charge when the clop of heavy hooves joined the scratching followed by a thud and a scream. Almost immediately, the lifeless body of a griffoness tumbled out from the hall ahead, cut in twain through her stomach, until it impacted the opposite wall, splattering blood across the floor as it bounced.

Two more warriors scampered out after her, sliding on the slick floor as their claws tried to find purchase in the glass-like stone, only to be smashed into the wall by the golden-brown shoulder of a hulking minotaur cow. The woman straightened her body, shaking off the dust and debris from the wall that wasn't plastered on by the fresh layer of blood, and brushed away a lock of hair that had gotten tangled around one of the horns on her forehead. She smirked and shook some of the tension out of her thick muscles as an entourage of a half-dozen smaller minotaurs caught up to her. "You should be disappointed in yourselves. Letting your lord do all the fighting.... Check for more griffons then report back to the entrance." She ignored the bumbling excuses of her subordinates as they stumbled over themselves to follow her command and turned to the speechless stallion dressed in blue. "You must know what's going on here. Where is your queen?" Her smile inched wider when he tried uselessly to speak. "We have business we need to conduct."

A massive shadow passed over the moonlit walls of an expansive redstone palace, writhing across the rooftop and partially eclipsing the pearly sphere in the sky. The shadow loosed a terrible roar followed by a blinding burst of light as electricity spewed from its open maw, each consecutive bolt searing the through the black of night and imprinting streaks of white into the vision of the few that witnessed it. Another deep cry echoed through the dark valley as the creature practically crashed onto a landing jutting from the side of the structure. The black mass kept up its momentum, lumbering through hallways barely large enough for it to squeeze in to, and snarled at anything that dared to come into contact with it.

Slowly, the beast began to shrink, growing smaller and smaller, bit by bit. The first features to dissipate in the smoke surrounding it were it's wings; the thick, leathery appendages, much resembling those of the dragons that cowered under the monster's terrible visage, vanished into nothingness. Soon, the feathered, reptilian tail joined it, trimming down to an almost imperceptible nub on the shadow's backside, followed by its neck shortening down into something that would have been comical if not for the grotesque sneer across the creature's muzzle and the fearful aura radiating from its body. Down and down it shrank, its legs slimming and shortening faster than its body could follow to create a mass of flesh scurrying on pads and claws. Claws changed to hooves, shifting the scraping screech of sharp nails across stone and heavy, dull padding into a series of clip-clops and finalizing the transformation.

The black shroud partially dissipated, receding into a mass of roiling smoke trailing from the head and tail of a navy foal whose breaths came in short bursts as she continued her gallop through halls much too large for a pony. Orange light from the passage's numerous torches twinkled off the moisture streaking the filly's face and highlighted the exhaustion and worry etched into her childish features. She rounded a corner, nearly running face-first into a lone dragon meandering through the palace halls, her lungs burning for a reprieve from the torturous strain of her sprinting, but she knew that she didn't have far to go as her destination, an open doorway spilling bright light into the otherwise casually lit expanse, loomed closer by the second.

She raced towards the yawning portal, partially sliding on the polished stone in her haste, and burst through a set of thick curtains blocking off the only section of the room not occupied by the curled form of a bright-white wyrm. "M-mommy Twilight!?" Moon Beam jumped onto the makeshift medical bed, a mattress made of nothing more than thick, folded linens, and stared into the byzantium unicorn's face.

She did not move. She barely even breathed.

Before the filly could work up the energy to try and shake the mare awake, she was firmly lifted from the bed by a pair of strong, feminine hands and squeezed tightly against a mound of soft flesh. She tried to squirm and resist, but the embrace was too firm and the one holding her did not relent. "Moon Beam! You're back! Thank the Lord! I thought I was going to be alone here forever!"

"M-mommy!? Is Mommy okay!?" The foal writhed in Tyra 's grasp, finally worming her way out of her arms and back onto the bed, the moisture from before now running freely down her face as she cried into Twilight's scarred chest. The minotaur did not answer and instead turned her focus to the intricate gilded designs marking the floor, a look a fear flashing across her features. "Miss Lady! Is Mommy okay? I heard Mommy talk!" The foal's words rang in the open room, the chamber's acoustics amplifying her high-pitched shouts twofold.

Moon Beam readied herself to try and shake a response from her adoptive mother, but a low, deep grumble snapped her attention up to the hulking mass taking up the majority of the room as the dragon opened its eyes to stare down at her. "So, this is the beast that has been terrorizing the skies these past nights, is it? You aren't nearly as terrifying now, are you?" Her surprisingly feminine voice rumbled in the still chamber, vibrating the makeshift curtains and bed, its tone much softer than her great size would lead one to believe.

The navy-coated filly glared at the dragoness, her plump face twisting into a snarl. "It's not nice to call names! I'm not a monster! I just wanna know if Mommy Twilight is alive! I wanna know if she's gonna be okay!" She stamped her little hooves, barely making any impact on the multi-layered bedding, and maintained her burning stare.

"Hmm.... I might have been too soon to judge. That is quite the scathing glare." The green wyrm chuckled and delicately smoothed a patch of bristling fur on Moon's back with a massive claw. "To answer your question, though.... I can't be certain. She is most definitely alive, but whether she'll survive is another matter completely. Dragons and our brethren are not known for our medicines and the trauma she received was quite... substantial. Severe head trauma, broken ribs, barely treated lacerations.... Not to mention the wyvern venom that still courses through her veins.

"Add on top of that her other... scar... She should be dead and buried by now. I cannot understand how she still has any will to live...." The dragon heaved a heavy sigh as Moon Beam broke down into heavier sobbing, barely even capable of choking out the comatose mare's name. "Don't cry, child. She's a strong mare, much stronger than any wyrm-lord I've known. If you think she'll pull through, then I'm certain she will...." If your reaction was so fierce, I fear that she may need to before we see what your mistress is truly capable of. With that, the dragon lifted herself from the corners of the room and lumbered off into the hallway, leaving Moon Beam and Tyra alone with Twilight's near motionless form.

The minotaur girl sighed and lifted the sobbing filly from the bed, cautiously cradling her in the crook of her arm. "Let's go, Moonie. We have to make sure and finish what we came here for, or else this whole bit would be pointless. Maybe the dragons will listen to our secret weapon, hmm?"

Moon Beam sniffled and scowled at Tyra, smacking her with blows too weak to leave more than a light scuff. "I'm not a weapon! Why are you being mean?"

"Oh, but you are!" She chuckled as another swat narrowly missed her chin and continued her wide gait into the palace's extensive hallways. "With how cute you are, you should be banned in all countries. Like a ticking doomsday device just waiting to explode." Tyra smiled as a glimpse of cheer slipped through Moon Beam's sour frown. "You are an amazing pony, though. Twilight and Queen Moon are lucky to have you for a daughter and I hope you'll bring me some luck in this conference. I'll definitely need it."

The unicorn yawned, snuggling into Tyra's warm bosom, and closed her eyes. "Hey lady? Do you think Mommy will be okay?"

The minotaur tensed and cast a sidelong glance over her shoulder, but maintained her soft grin. "I- I'm not sure, Moonie, but, if I know Twilight, I think she'll pull through. It's like Karrun said. She's a lot stronger than she looks. If anybody can recover from this ordeal it'll be Twilight."

"That lizard lady... wasn't very nice...."

Tyra chuckled and ran a dainty hand through the undulating smoke of Moon Beam's mane. "Well, I just think she was scared. You're very powerful, so it's not surprising that she'd hide her fear through harsh words."

"Yeah.... I am pretty awesome, huh?"

The filly giggled softly and soon went limp as she finally passed out from exhaustion, leaving Tyra with nothing but her thoughts and the various dragonkin roaming the palace halls. She was ignored overall, typically left to her own devices due to her constant presence in the stone temple over the past weeks, but the addition of the foal in her arms drew a few curious, and occasionally terror-filled, glances her way.

She was glad for the filly's impromptu slumber, especially after having witnessed the destruction she could bring first hand and how quick she was to anger recently; it saved her from having to hide her from the hateful stares. Raised voices soon reached the half-bovine maiden's ears, the booming roars of dragons arguing resounding through the open halls as they echoed off the thick rock. It was normally difficult for her to discern between the great lizards temperaments through their tone as most of their words were as sharp as their talons and rumbled any room they were in, but the ferocity in these dragons’ words was practically palpable. She still could not understand what they were saying, their speech too noisome and intermingled, but she did not need telepathy to know what their argument was over.

This was the meeting that Twilight's mission depended on, the meeting that she now had to attend in the incapacitated unicorn's place.

She swallowed, fighting off the innate fear that a dragon's anger instilled in lesser beings, and pressed against the closed metal portal, clenching her teeth as it ground against the floor. Immediately, the earth-shaking shouts came to a halt and, even though she couldn't yet see them, she knew that every slitted eye was focused on her entrance. As she stepped through the door, struggling to close it behind her with just one arm, Tyra noticed several odd glances from some of the room's occupants and even one visible shudder. She eyed the dragons curiously before taking a few cautious steps towards her own designated seating, a large, plush pillow hefty enough to smother several of the ponies she had come to represent.

She chuckled, her nervousness showing through her facade of tranquility. "So.... I guess you all know why I'm here?"

The smallest of the group of eight, a young green drake just over twice Tyra's height, scoffed as he stretched his wings. "Of course we're aware of your purpose here. Do you take us for fools?" He turned to the elderly black on his left and pointed an accusing claw towards the newcomers. "Do you really fear this cow, the child, and the half-dead horned one? I see nothing but wasted meat!"

"Hold your tongue, whelp! You should know better than to speak harshly towards your elders!" The blue that had spoken crossed her forelegs over her breast as she leaned back to stare the much smaller dragon into submission, but stopped as the obsidian wyrm she was defending chuckled and stroked a shaking claw through his white whiskers.

"No need to be so harsh, Andoril. All of the young ones are quite fiery, just as you were at their age." He leaned over the granite table dividing the group in half and and smiled down at Tyra as his serpentine body followed. "Hello there, young minotaur and Moon Spawn. It is a pleasure to meet you, although we have yet to be properly introduced. You may call me Tinder, for I fear my real name has been lost to the years. And who might you be?"

Tyra grinned nervously, casting her eyes across the draconic assembly. "I'm, uhm.... My name is Tyra of Valtaura. I hail from... Valtaura and-"

Tinder laughed, retreating back across the table and coiling himself slowly around his own cushion. "Do not fear, we won't harm a guest of our nation. We know better than to invoke the wrath of Luna."

The minotaur's grin widened and she stroked a hand through Moon Beam's mane. "S-sorry. I- I should be used to dealing with dragons by now, but...." She sighed and rubbed her face, attempting to massage away her anxiety. "My name's Tyra of Valtaura, personal guardian of the queen's consort-ambassador Twilight Sparkle and n-now her temporary stand-in while she is unable to attend herself."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Tyra. I am Sindra of the Flametongues, and also Tinder's great-granddaughter and current matriarch." The onyx-scaled dragon at the head of the council table, bowed her head, the spines along her jaw brushing against the stone, and Tyra followed suit, being careful not to rouse her current ward. The matriarch lifted herself back up to her full stature, her thick, serpentine body towering far above the rest of the room's occupants.

Tyra stared in wonder at the wingless wyrm, her eyes beginning to water as she strained against the light reflecting off her sleek scales. S-She could easily scale the queen's tower twice over....

"You have already been acquainted with Roma of the Stonebacks." The green drake huffed, but kept silent as Sindra turned to motion towards the pair of elder dragons flanking him. "These two are Kilter the golden and Andoril of Frost Ridge." The yellow and blue nodded, but kept their eyes focused on the sleeping foal. "To your right is Tiatat, Wyvernkin, and left would be Jasspin of the softskins." Tiatat, a large brown whose wings doubled as his forelegs, bowed and motioned for his leathery, peach-colored counterpart to do the same. "Finally, I believe you have already met Karrun of the southern Drakenrange. Now that you know who we are, I feel it is time to inform you of what we are.

"We each represent dragonkind as members possessing vast knowledge and skill, although some of us are loathe to use it." She glanced sidelong at Roma, who ignored the remark, before returning to Tyra. "Together we make up the Drakonian Council. As you have requested, we are gathered here to discuss the motion you have put forth to request the aid of our kind in the battle against Griffonia." The wyrm shifted, coiling herself much like her grandfather, and nodded to each of the others in the room. "Rather, we have gathered here to inform you that your request has been denied."

"What!?" Tyra slammed her fist on the stone table, cracking a small portion and startling Moon Beam awake. "Why won't you help!? Your whelps saw that we were attacked on your borders! You know what the griffons are doing!"

Tiatat growled, but kept his calm, maintaining his gaze upon the awakening foal. "We do, but this is not the dragons' war. We have a treaty with both nations, one we intend to maintain, and we will not break it because your ponies cannot defend themselves."

"But what about the ambush! It happened right at your borders! And what about Twilight!? She's poisoned from a wyvern's venom coated on a Griffonian scimitar! Karrun can vouch for that!" The minotaur girl looked to the snow-white dragon pleadingly, but the dragoness shook her head.

"While the poison in the young mare's blood is definitely from a wyvern, I cannot know the origin of it. All I have is an account from a minotaur that was not even there for the incident where she was poisoned and an unconscious mare."

"Let us also mention the death-child you have brought with you. She has plagued our skies since you arrived, killing our whelps and any that dared venture near the Drakenrange." Kilter's voice rumbled with anger, shaking the table as he leaned upon it. "That foul creature has brought nothing but death since it was made a millennium ago."

"I'm not a monster! You're the monster! You won't help Mommy!" Moon Beam growled, her voice deepening as the Nightmare began to take over, but Tyra shushed her with a finger and rubbed her back.

"Stop it, Moon Beam. We don't want them to have any reason to send us away." The minotaur stood, balancing precariously on the oversized cushion below her, and stared down the dragon matriarch. "You know that this isn't fair. What would you do if you needed their aid?"

"You do not understand how politics work. There has been no evidence provided to support the griffons' breaking of our treaty. They have not outright attacked us." Sindra sighed, the hot air making Tyra cringe as it blasted her face. "We will allow you and the few remaining ponies with you to stay until the unicorn has recovered or passed, but that is all."

"But they attacked us right at your borders! How can you ignore that?"

"We are not disregarding the attack, but you have to realize that it was not an assault made against us. You are lucky that the general was kind enough to ignore the treaty and help you. It will not happen again."

Tiatat grunted in affirmation as Jasspin settled back into his seat. "The boy speaks the truth. We understand that assistance is needed, but we have already done more than we should have. Some of our hot-blooded hatchlings were slaughtered by your queen during her initial return to power and we overlooked it. They went on their own free will. We saved you from certain death against the peace agreement with Griffonia due to a lapse in judgment from our acting General." The wyvern pointed an accusatory claw at the minotaur. "You are staying here under the grace of our matriarch only to continue the standing agreement with Equestria and nothing more. We will care for the horned one and provide for your soldiers, but that is all."

"We have denied your request for aid, Tyra. You may return to your chamber and we still send a hatchling with food come noon. We are sorry, but the decision is made." Sindra bowed her head to each of the council and Tyra before rising from her perch and taking off through one of the room's many glassless windows, her entire body spiralling like a corkscrew as she flew.

The other dragons followed suit, each one departing through a separate archway, until it was just Tyra, Roma, and Tinder left. The ancient serpent smiled sadly, his yellowing teeth showing through the slight gap created. "If it is any consolation, children, both of us were vying to support you. Most of them think me senile and Roma here much too young, but I like think we have much more insight than they expect."

A frown momentarily crossed Tyra's face as she turned to the arrogant drake who turned his snout up at the glance. "You voted to help?"

"Of course! I know how weak your ponies are, my clutch mother always told stories of how they used to prey upon them, and the griffons have always been a plague, skirting the boundaries of the treaty and slowly encroaching upon wyvern territory up north. You think that my disbelief at the others’ fears is cause to ignore your needs?" Roma growled, drawing unintelligible markings on the tabletop with a claw. "I've been yearning for the chance to set the griffons back into their place, but the others won't listen to a whelp." He slammed a clenched claw into the table, startling Tyra and jolting Moon Beam wide awake just as she had started to drift back into slumber.

"Now, now, Roma. Getting upset won't help us. This is why they rarely listen to your opinions." The ancient serpent shook his head and turned his attention back to the minotaur and grumpy filly. "He is right, though. We don't have the influence to sway the council and nothing short of an act of war by the griffons will be likely to change it." He smiled down at his miniscule guests, his toothy grin interspersed with dark gaps from missing teeth. "For now, find some rest, the moon child certainly needs it, and we will continue trying to persuade them while you wait for your friend to recover."

Moon Beam yawned, her eyes watery, and curled up closer to the minotaur's bosom to escape the noise. "We're gonna go see Mommy now?"

Tyra looked up to the dragon councillors, giving them a thankful smile as they nodded and made their departure. "Yeah, we're going to see Twilight. I bet she misses you already."

The filly jerked her head weakly, her eyelids slowly drooping lower and lower. "I miss... Mommy, too...."

She gave one last yawn before succumbing to her exhaustion and once again leaving Tyra with nothing but her thoughts and the few wandering dragons for company. I just hope Twilight gets better.... For everybody’s sake.

Author's Notes:

Author’s Notes: Took forever to get this out. Was planning on only having it only be the bit in the dragon capital (still trying to think of a name), but then I remembered the Fancy Pants thing and didn’t wanna leave that as a pointless conversation. As it turns out, Twilight isn’t dead yet! Just mostly dead. That’s better. Kinda? Anywhore hope you enjoyed it and it’s about time Borea finally joined the fray, amirite? Got a few things planned, some of it you may see soonish(? not likely), so keep your eyes peeled (or don’t, because I hear peeling your eyes can be painful). Peppy out~!

As the blog post said, the part in question is Borea’s appearance and Fancy’s (attempted)flight. It’s supposed to go somewhere in the middle of the battle bit with Nightmare as far as time goes, but I kinda think it works just where it is. What do you guys think?