Chapter 8

Strong Shield occasionally poked Nox to receive a fit of giggles from the baby alicorn. The black unicorn finished his breakfast before continuing his simple activity of entertaining Nox

“So what do you think of him?” Strong Shield asked to the room, Nox tilted his head in confusion as he couldn’t see anypony else in the room

“Well he certainly is energetic” Flux smiled as she stepped out from behind the princess’ chair and sat next to Strong Shield “so I take it you want to know how Battering Ram and I survived?”

Strong Shield nodded “I left you both in a burning building, I left you under rubble and broke Battering Ram’s spine” His eye rolled over to the Pegasus “How come you both show up perfectly well?”

“Ram still had use of his front hooves, he pushed the rubble off me and dragged my unconscious body outside” Flux leaned back and pulled back a section of fur “And neither of us got away lightly” She sighed as she revealed the large burn marks across her body and at the base of her wings

Strong Shield shuddered as he looked away, his normally emotionless expression was briefly replaced with sadness and regret before returning to his natural seriousness “So where is Battering Ram?”

“He is not in the castle if that is what you mean” Flux used a wing to tickle Nox into a fit of laughter “I came back to talk with you alone”

Strong Shield used his magic to pull Nox out of Flux’s reach “I don’t want to talk, if you could show yourself out I would appreciate it” He avoided looking at the Pegasus as she sighed

“If we don’t get this out the way now then the later encounters are going to be more awkward” She moved her head close to Strong Shield but he moved his head away

“I would have preferred to think I killed you than see you again” Strong Shield glared across at Flux “If you or Battering Ram try to do any harm, I will come for you and I will make sure you stay dead”

Flux gently shook her head “Well I extend an offer to you” She sat back in her chair “Battering Ram and I have found the vault that Puppetmaster talked about, we need the key”

“You aren’t getting it” Strong Shield spat “I will die protecting it and I will make sure it never opens that cursed box”

Flux opened her mouth to respond but a sly grin spread across her face “You know what the vault is too” her smile grew as her voice lowered to a whisper “You looked inside”

Strong Shield stood, his face tightened in anger as he turned to the Pegasus “Leave… now” his eye focused in on the Pegasus as she stood up

“See you around” She winked as her wing tickled under Nox’s chin “If you decide to find out where the vault is now then go ahead, we will get the key from you before you get near” The Pegasus walked past the unicorn and disappeared again

Strong Shield angrily slammed his hoof into the table as he dropped his head. Nox nervously walked over and rubbed his head against the unicorn. Strong Shield looked up and smiled at the alicorn

“I wish she wasn’t so sneaky” Strong Shield chuckled as he rubbed Nox’s mane “But unfortunately your dad is going to have a rough time… after what he is going through right now”

Meanwhile…

Celestia climbed out of bed as she hurried to answer the door, Dave’s begging for her to ignore it fell of deaf ears as Celestia neared the door. The white alicorn quickly made herself presentable before opening the golden door to reveal a Pegasus guard

The guard saluted and quickly noticed Dave sitting up in the bed before moving his eyes away “S-sorry for interrupting your majesty” The guard nervously stammered “But the dragon ambassador has arrived and is waiting on the runway”

Celestia nodded “Thank you for bringing this to our attention” The princess waited for the guard to leave before closing the door. She walked back over to the bed and nuzzled Dave “I’m afraid we have to cut this short”

“Why?” Dave groaned as he reluctantly climbed out of bed and grabbed his dragonscale trench coat. Dave followed Celestia as she put on her regalia and stepped out of the bedroom and began descending the steps into the main castle

“We should get Nox and Strong Shield” Celestia waited for Dave to finish buttoning up his coat before continuing towards the dining hall. As the princess rounded the corner, she ducked as a grey blur raced over her and collided with Dave’s face

Dave pulled the grey ball off his head and spat a few hairs out of his mouth before looking at the moving object in his hands. The grey blur turned out to be Nox, he was flapping his wings as he reached his hooves out to grab Dave

Strong Shield rushed around the corner before breathing a sigh of relief “Nox is certainly a good flyer for his age” he followed Celestia and Dave as they made their way to the runway “So I heard a certain ambassador arrived”

Celestia moved her head near to Nox so he could clamber into her mane “Yes we are going to see him now, Dave has the duty of showing him around Ponyville”

“WHOA!” Dave held his hands up “I never agreed to show an ambassador around a town full of ponies that think I am dead” he rolled his eyes as Celestia nuzzled him

“You can get some clothes while you are out” Celestia smiled “besides I am sure everypony would love to see Nox”

Dave chuckled as Nox leapt out of Celestia’s mane and relaxed in Dave’s arms “Yeah I’m sure it will be a quiet visit” He looked over at the unicorn that hummed in thought “Are you coming dad?”

“Huh? Oh… no I am not coming, I have some business to attend to and not to mention I have to start getting in shape again… four months sleeping has made me slightly sluggish” The black unicorn returned to his thoughts as the group reached the runway

Dave rolled his eyes as he looked around the courtyard “Where is this ambassador?” he cradled Nox as he continued walking to the centre of the runway “So what is this ambassador like? One of those types that would rather see profit than peace? I bet that OW!”

Dave came to a sudden stop as his face bashed against something hard. Nox flew back to Celestia as Dave rubbed his nose before looking at what he collided into. He looked at a reflection of himself, the surface of the mirror seemed to be made of pieces that were joined perfectly together

“What the hell?” Dave gawped as his eyes travelled up, only to show that the mirror towered above him and it had arms, legs, wings, claws and a large mouth full of very sharp teeth

“I don’t recall thinking about profit” The dragon smiled as Dave gawped again

“Adamas?” Dave chuckled and gasped at the same time “When did you go from green scales to diamond?” He tapped the diamond scales again to make sure

“When you took Odio into the sky and exploded…” Adamas looked up at the sky before looking back at Dave, his emerald eyes still clearly visible against his reflective scales “I threw myself in front of the resulting shockwave to protect the princesses and Strong Shield”

Dave smiled as he admired the new scales that adorned Adamas’ body “Well I am sure the elder is proud of you” his smile faded as Adamas sighed and his head dipped

“The elder… passed away soon after I returned to him” Adamas smiled again “I was given his previous task of guiding the enlightened” the diamond dragon looked back at Dave

“Oh…” Dave scratched the back of his head “I’m sorry about the elder” Dave felt a sudden chill come from the trench coat he was wearing. After all, it was made from the elder’s scales “So why are we going to Ponyville?”

“Well as you have probably heard, I am an ambassador and I try my hardest to make sure that peace prevails” He chuckled slightly at the slightly rehearsed line “But I have a few days until the peace talks begin, you are back so I thought I would take a break by watching you deal with coming back from the dead”

“Thanks” Dave said sarcastically as a smile crept across his face “so who are these peace talks between?”

“The changelings and the gryphons” Adamas rolled his eyes “The changelings want to be able to cross the border without getting eaten”

“Ah… the changeling maggots” Dave shuddered at the memory of the three-foot maggots attempting to eat him alive “So basically the changelings want reduced border control?”

“Yes, the gryphon union responsible for border patrol just happens to provide a lot of jobs for the gryphon population in general” Adamas took a few paces back so he could lay down and rest his head near Dave “So naturally the gryphons have said no”

“I could see why tensions are high” Dave sat down as well as Nox nervously hid behind Celestia’s flowing mane “The gryphons must think of the changelings as another source of food though, I have seen three eat one of the maggots before”

“Yes and the changelings aren’t particularly happy that their future workers are turned into snacks by any hungry birds” Adamas moved his eye to look at Nox “So I see that the young prince has been born… he reminds me of you”

Dave chuckled “Thanks” He leaned over and looked at Nox “Come on Nox, it is alright, it is just another of daddy’s weird friends”

Adamas used his tail to poke Dave for that last comment “It is mildly true little one, I am a friend of your father” he looked back at Dave before looking at Nox “I burnt him alive once but that is in the past”

“You made me look ridiculous in front of my friends” Dave growled, “I still haven’t forgotten about my nude experience surrounded by ponies that were hypnotized into loving me”

“I gave you chests that were full of bits and gems” The dragon snorted “Besides… you made yourself look silly by yourself”

Dave opened his mouth to respond but was stopped as Nox hid behind him, eyes full of fear and body trembling. Dave gave him a reassuring smile before lifting him and showing him to Adamas “Adamas meet Noxporta… or Nox for short”

The diamond dragon extended a sharp claw “Nice to meet you” Adamas smiled warmly

Nox stared at the huge beast before squirming back into Dave’s chest, his face pressed into his stomach to hide from the large monster

Dave laughed as Adamas retracted his claw and shuffled awkwardly on the spot “I think it is a little early for him to fully comprehend what you are” Dave smirked as Nox peeked back at Adamas before hiding again

“Well he better get adjusted soon because we are leaving” Adamas sighed as he stood up and stretched his wings “I need a good fly after that business between the diamond dogs and the buffalo” he rolled his tongue as if it contained a horrid taste before looking back at Dave

“No time like the present I guess” Dave walked back to Celestia “When will I see you again?”

“Soon, tonight maybe” Celestia hummed “The house you had just outside Ponyville should still be there” she planted a kiss on Nox’s head “Now you be a good boy and stay with your father” she looked back at Dave and gave him a kiss that made Strong Shield look away “And I will see you tonight”

Dave smiled “I’ll hold you to that” He teased as he walked back over to Adamas “So when are we leaving?” his answer came in the form of two large claws plucking him from the ground and the dragon taking to the air

Nox gasped and held his father close as they reached a dizzying height. Dave looked around, enjoying the view of the entire city of Canterlot and the surrounding area that was not concealed by clouds. Adamas chuckled before setting his sights on the far away town of Ponyville