Reversing Hearts

by FlimFlamBros.

Chapters

• No Fury like a Dragon's Rage
• Dragon at Heart
• In the Heart of the Flames
• The Young Wizard
• Plans
• Pee Wee
• Conflict (for real this time)

No Fury like a Dragon's Rage

Reversing Hearts

By TheMyth and FlimFlamBros.

The morning light shone dimly over the horizon of the Dragon Badlands and through the cracks of the dragon’s cave. There, lying in the receding shadows was a large, dark, and intimidating being. The dragon mother, Cyndra, the High Dragoness of her kind, let out a mighty yawn as she slowly adjusted herself away from the oncoming sunlight, her darkish-red scales illuminating from the glare.

Again she rolled over, it was a losing battle against the light and one she could never win. However, the rumbling in her stomach was the calling bell for her to get up. And not just her, but someone else as well.

“Wake up, my little angel,” she whispered, unwrapping her tail to reveal a small purple creature. “The sun has risen and the day’s begun.”

The purple being, her one and only hatchling, twitched as the cool morning air assaulted him. The stinging air forced him to curl up into a ball, doing his best to stave off the cold and keep the heat in.

Cyndra smiled, it was always adorable to see her son waking up. She did eventually nudge him a little, trying to prompt him up and onto his feet and claws. He was incredibly small, but then again, he was only a baby dragon.

He opened his eyes slowly and gave a long yawn as he was waking up. He slowly looked up to the caring eyes of his mother, and slowly got up to his feet. “Good morning, Mommy,” he greeted her as he became fully awake and ready for the new day.

Cyndra smiled tenderly and looked at her son with demure, craning her neck downwards to give a gentle nuzzle to the baby dragon, “And a good morning to you too my baby,” she greeted him back as she lifted her head and made her way outside of the cave. She looked out to the risen sun and to the valley below her, seeing all the wonders of nature at work. From the mountains being bathed in sunlight, to the creeks joining in unison with the rivers as the waters were thriving with life, to the activities of the wildlife in the forest. All was well in the valley that served as her home.

Her son soon joined her and stood by her side, seeing nature at its best. “So, what do we do today mother?” He asked her curiously, hoping to see more of the world aside from the cave that they slept in.

Cyndra simply nuzzled her son again, “For now, I must go hunt for our food. You be a good child and stay here where it is safe. When I return, I will give you flying lessons,” she told her son as she looked into his small pupils for an answer.

He immediately smiled and made his way to the cave’s entrance, putting his rump firmly to the ground where he stood. “Okay! I’ll stay right here for you!” He answered her in merriment, looking forward to the food she was going to bring back and to the lesson he would receive afterwards.

The little dragon watched as his mother spread her wings and took flight. The way that she moved with the wind as she descended down the mountainside filled him with excitement and awe. He envied her, but was excited that soon he’d be able to fly like his mother.

Within moments his mother disappeared into the shadows of the rocks and trees below, off to prey on some unlucky deer or goat or other form of food. He hummed to himself, trying to find something to do with his time. It could be a good hour or two before mother came back from hunting. ‘Hunting is skill, patience, and just the tiniest bit of luck', his mother once told him. He sometimes thought that luck had more influence than his mom let on.

Suddenly, there was a little flicker in the corner of his eye. Resting on a nearby rock was a small white butterfly, barely any bigger than a pebble.  The little dragon cocked his head a smidge, studying the insect with great curiosity. But just as he started to inspect the tiny creature, the winged bug took off in a flutter.

Another flying thing, the butterfly weaved oddly in the air. It seemed unsure of which direction it wanted to fly as it would constantly shift directions in a heartbeat and fly around in a circle. It certainly wasn’t as good as his mother, she always knew what direction she wanted to fly in, always in control. Still, it was funny to watch.

“Hey there,” the hatchling said to the butterfly. “You’re not very good at flying...”

The butterfly continued to fly around in an incoherent circle, taking no notice to the dragon’s banter.

“Someday, I’m going to be a great flier. Just like my mom!” He said happily. “Then when I can fly, she can teach me how to hunt! And then she will-- Hey!”

As the little dragon was talking, the butterfly had accidentally flown straight into his face, bumping into his nose. It quickly recovered though and continued to fly away towards the cave.

“H-hey!” frowned the dragon. “That wasn’t nice! Get back here!”

And so the dragon took haste against the butterfly, but it was rocky chase. Every time he thought he had the insect where he wanted him, it would just flutter away at the last second. Again and again it went on, each pouncing attempt ending with failure as they made their way to the back of the cave.

“I got you now...” grinned the purple drake as he finally managed to corner the butterfly. “Hunting is skill, patience, and the tiniest bit of luck...”

His ears perked upwards as he heard movement from behind him, he turned around slowly to be faced with a towering figure before him. This figure was not his mother, nor any dragon for that matter. It was a tall, somewhat muscular stallion with long messy electric-blue hair. He looked down on him with malicious eyes, as he was coming closer to the baby dragon before him. “C-can I help you?” The dragon asked the stallion, afraid of what might happen to him.

The stallion drew its sword from its side, and with a mighty thrust, he struck down on the helpless dragon. The dragon however dodged his attack, leaving the sword to clang uselessly against the rock wall of the cave.

The baby dragon gave out a shriek that echoed throughout the cave and to the outside, “Help me,” he pleaded, hoping his mother would hear him in time before this stallion had his way with him.

The stallion readied for another attack, trying to slaughter the dragon before him. He nearly had him, but missed again when the dragon sprinted down the cave’s passage. The stallion followed suit, holding his sword ready to deliver what would be a fatal blow.

The poor baby dragon was cornered in the back of the cave, looking frantically for anyway out. He turned around in haste to see his attacker coming from behind and raising his sword. His eyes widened as the sword came down upon him in a swift slash. All he could feel was an everlasting coldness covering his body, as he released a call that would fit well for a requiem. The baby dragon fell to the ground in a pool of his own blood, with his vision becoming darker and the last image he imaged was that of his mother’s caring face.

“Mother...”

The stallion sheathed his sword, and approached the baby dragon with a stagger. He reached out, looking to tear the dragon’s heart from its body. He began to rip open the rib cage and grabbed the dragon’s heart from within. The heart however was not beating like any other heart would. It was glowing. As the stallion ripped the heat out completely, the glow dimmed until it went out completely. He held the heart up, which resembled a rounded crystal, triumphantly in the air as he smiled wickedly at his prize. He let out a gruesome laugh as he tucked it into his pocket, looking out of the cave with a sly smile.

“Success...”

_____________________________________________________________________________

Hunting is skill, patience, and the tiniest bit of luck.

She had smelled the scent of the white-tailed deer and trailed it to the creek. It had been smart, hiding in the trees and bushes where it would be difficult for her to get at, but that’s where the second part came in. Cyndra knew the deer would have to go to the stream to drink water and would be exposed as it drank. Staying out of its sight, she flew from rock to rock, watching silently as the deer made it’s way to the creek.

The deer’s ears twitched and its head shot up. Cyndra held her breath as the prey curiously  checked the surroundings. It must have seemed safe, seemed being the key word. The hunger in her belly increased as the deer took it’s first step into the open. She could already taste the blood dripping down her teeth as she contemplated how to take down the mammal.

“Mother...”

A strange sensation chilled her spine. Her heart stopped for a moment as the voice of her son whispered in the wind. She took to the air, startling the deer and sending it rushing into the forest again. It didn’t matter anymore, all that mattered was the safety of her child.

Past the mountains and through the trees she flew at blinding speeds, her wings could cause hurricanes. No force in this world could stop her now as she approached her cave, landing close to the edge of the entrance.

“Baby?” The mother called out, looking around the cave entrance. “Honey, where are you?” There was a strange scent of blood to the cave. Not a good sign. “Baby... where are you my son?” Cyndra’s heart was laced with lead she descended into the cave. And then she saw him... dead in a puddle of his own crimson blood.

“N-no...” she cried, nudging her son’s limp body with her snout. His body was cold, mushy, and wet where she noticed the gaping hole in his chest. It couldn’t be true but it was.

Something or someone had slayed her son. And she had an idea who did it. For with one deep inhale she could smell the lingering odors of the foul murderer. Mixed in the blood of her slain son was the scent of soap and flowers, a scent uncommon for any mountain dragon or savage beast. This was the doing of a different kind of evil, a monster to shadow the devil himself.

A pony.

Cyndra walked away from her child. She walked out of the cave and stared past the horizon. Beyond the valley of the badlands laid another land that dragons tended not to frequent. The land of Equestria, the land of ponies.

“You took my child from me!” She roared. “If you can hear this pony, then heed my warning! Hell know’s no fury like a mother’s rage! I will find you, and as you took my son from me, I’ll take worse from you!”

Dragon at Heart

Princess Cadance looked out of the window of her palace which overlooked the land that her people have governed over for so long. The ponies were all in jubilation as they went on with their daily lives, living it to the fullest. She sighed as she cast her gaze downward out of the window, as this morning she could have only felt a great sense of dread. She could not help but hope that the pony she loved would return to her safely.

The pony she loved said he had to leave for a fortnight, telling her that he had to perform a great act of honour and courage. Something she found skeptical until she heard him speak it was for her, yet it did not cease her from worrying.

As she walked back to her throne, she sat down upon it and awaited the commoners to appear before her so that she would hold court for them. The first one to appear pleaded for her to send guards to protect their village. She gladly complied to the request, feeling it was her duty to safeguard her people. The others were met with some disdain as they requested trivial matters that would do nothing but feed their growing avarice.

When the last appointment was made, she was about to stand up from her throne until the doors were thrown opened again. A knight walked proudly up to her and bowed humbly, before taking off his helmet and revealing his face to her.

She let out a gasp that soon turned into a cry of joy, “Shining Armour!” she shouted out as she ran towards and embraced him.

“My love,” he spoke softly into her ear, then moved his head back so that he could look into her eyes. At that moment, they shared a passionate kiss that lasted for what seemed like an eternity to them but, in actuality, only lasted for a few seconds. “I must ask you a question,” he told her once their kiss had discontinued.

She looked at him inquisitively, seeing his eyes shift with nervously in them. “What is it that you wish to ask me?” she asked him cautiously, seeing him smile proudly and reaching into his pocket.

He drew out a necklace, showing a bright blue crystal in its centre, “Princess Cadance, will you marry me and be my wife?” he asked her as he saw the build up of tears in her eyes.

She was shocked, but happy to hear him ask her that. She thought if this was a proposal price, he did not have to bother with something so beautiful. She would have said yes anyways.

“Yes!” she cried as the tears of joy finally released themselves from her eyes. “Yes, yes, a million times yes!”

Shining smiled warmly, dangling the blue and gold necklace in his fingers. “May I?” he asked.

“Of course,” Cadance said, turning around and lifting up her candy-coloured hair, exposing her deep pink neck. “It would be my honour, my love.”

“Trust me, the honour’s all mine,” her knight responded as he carefully wrapped the necklace around her neck and clipped it on.

“How does it look?” the princess asked, giving Shining a few playful twirls as she modeled the jewelry for him. “Does it look nice?”

“It look beautiful,” Shining smiled, taking Cadance’s hand again. “But only half as beautiful as you.”

“Oh, Shining,” sighed Cadance, giving her lover another quick kiss. “Where did you find such a radiant looking crystal? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this. It’s like a sapphire and a diamond but... more... how can I put this? Alive?”

“It’s a dragon’s heart,” answered Shining. “Very rare and difficult to get.”

“Dragon’s heart? I’ve never heard of such a gem.”

“Like I said, very rare and difficult to get,” said Shining, allowing Cadance to stay oblivious to the grim truth behind the stone. “But I would travel to the ends of the earth, face any danger, and slay any beast if it would make you happy.”

“You know you don’t have to do that,” she said. “I’m already the happiest girl in the world because you’re going to be my husband.”

“And I am the luckiest man to be able to wed a mare like you,” Shining smiled as he embraced his soon to be wife. “Hey, are your aunts here?”

“Oh my gosh!” shrieked Cadance. “I have to tell Aunt Celestia and Aunt Luna that you proposed!” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll see you later tonight okay? Then you can tell me all about your little adventure you went off on.”

“I’ll be counting the minutes,” Shining said.

“Good,” she said, breaking the embrace and skipping away from her fiance. “I’ll see you later!”

She parted from her lover and made her way to another wing of the castle. She noticed some of the servants looking at her new necklace with awe and some were looking at it with envious eyes. Once she made it to a large door, the guards opened it for her and she entered it with as much mirth as she had when she first saw Shining.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna looked on to their niece with joy as she came towards them. Both princesses stood up and walked towards their niece and greeted her with all of the kindness in their hearts. “Our darling niece! How are you today?” Luna asked her, seeing her niece becoming all giddily.

“Well...” she started as she blushed rapidly, putting both her arms behind her back and looking down shyly. “You both remember Shining Armour?”

Both princesses nodded, and looked blankly at her until Celestia looked down on her niece and saw the necklace, “My dearest Cadance, where did you get that?” she asked her as she pointed to the gem.

Cadance smiled happily and held the gem in her soft hands, “Shining gave it to me, he proposed a few minutes ago,” she said excitedly and smiled broadly at her aunts’ stunned faces.

Luna was the first to smile softly before embracing her niece again, “I’m so happy for you!” she told Cadance as they both hugged in pure happiness.

Celestia took a bit longer before she also smiled and embraced Cadance in a tender hug of her own, “So tell me, when will the marriage be if I may ask?” she asked her curiously, seeing her niece’s cheek glow red again.

“Well... that’s still to be decided...”

Both princesses looked at each other, as they both gave a knowing nod to each other. “We will help organize this for you my dear,” Luna told Cadance as she held onto her hand, “For now, you must rest. The day will soon be at its end,” she said as she saw Cadance gave a slight yawn.

“I believe so too, goodnight Auntie Lulu,” she said as she gave Luna a quick peck on her cheek followed by a hug. “Goodnight Auntie Tia.” she told Celestia as she also kissed her aunt’s cheek and gave a quick hug, before she left the throne room.

*****

Candace hummed gently as she opened the door to her room. It had been a wonderful day. Her coltfriend had proposed to her, she had her aunt’s blessings and she was given the most remarkable necklace she had ever seen. Nothing could ruin this day as she got prepared for the perfect evening.

Locking the door behind her, she started to disrobe. Giving a few spins of happiness she carefully let her hair down and fall straight over her shoulders, afterwhich she peeled off her purple shaded dress. She decided to keep the necklace on as she stepped into the private bathroom and started to run a shower. The water felt nice against her fur as the princess began massaging her scalp, washing her hair into a nice silky smooth state. She let the warm water drench her body for a little longer before she finally turned the water off. A quick dry later she covered herself with a towel and walked out, still slightly damp from the shower.

Kicking the bathroom door closed, Cadance walked over to her dresser, searching for her favorite nightgown. She wanted to give Shining a special gift as well tonight. When she finally found her cute little pajamas, she slipped them on. The princess threw her discarded towel in the nearby laundry hamper and settled at her makeup desk and mirror.

Shining would be here any moment, so she picked up her brush and started stroking her hair, getting out all the mats and pressing down any frayed hairs. This was it. She was actually going to be getting married. So many questions rumbled through her head. When would they set a date? What did her aunts have planned for the wedding? Would Shining and her have kids? What if something went wrong?

Cadance shook her head at that last part. Nothing was going to go wrong. Everything was going to be perfect.

How she would regret those words.

“Pain, pain, the mother’s pain...” a whispery voice seemed to speak.

Cadance stopped brushing.

“Hell hath no fury like dragon’s rage...”

“S-shining?” she called out, looking around her empty room. “Are you there?”

“Revenge is a journey you must embark...”

“Shining, this isn’t funny!” Cadance trembled, “Shining Armour?”

“Until he has a Reversal of Heart!”

Cadance suddenly felt a piercing pain in her chest, where the gem was located. She gasped as she fell to the floor and twitched in agony. No voice escaped from her lips, as though she became mute to the world. She looked to her hands, which were changing in shape. She felt hot tears streaming from her eyes as the pain was becoming unbearable.

Her clothing she had on was now being ripped as she felt herself become larger by the second. She looked to her hands again and saw in their place claws. She gasped as she felt her body, which was burning in a blue flame all over. She closed her eyes and wished for it to stop.

She felt cold, as though someone or something was glaring at her with despising eyes. She felt the flames stop and her body stopped changing. She didn’t dare to open her eyes at first, but eventually did so.

She looked into the cracked mirror and backed away as she stood up with haste. In horror, she observed her entire body thoroughly and looked at the mirror again. Where once was a princess, now was a dragon.

She tried to speak, but her soft gentle voice was no more. Instead a rough feminine voice was all that could be heard. She panicked even more as she felt extra appendages on her back. She reached her claws to her back and felt wings protruding from her now rough scales.

“Cadance? Sweetheart?”

Her head turned sharply towards the door and she backed away again, knocking over a candle from the table’s top. It fell on the fabric of her bedsheet covers and immediately set it on fire. She looked around her and saw her room slowly becoming a flaming prison.

“Cadance!?”

Shining Armour entered the room and was shocked at what he saw. Cadance was nowhere to be found, the room was on fire and a dragon was present in the center of the room.

“You!” he growled, pointing at the the princess. “What have you done to Cadance?!”

“Shining I-” she tried to say, tears running down her scaly face. “Shining, I’m scared, what’s happening?”

“Are you mocking me?!” the pony roared as he grabbed the hilt of his sword. “I’ll only ask you one more time, what did you do with Cadance?!”

“Honey, I-I am Cadance!”

“What?” wondered the knight, thinking a little before shaking his head. “Lies! You could never pass for my beloved Cadance!” He withdrew his sword, the blade shining in the reflection of the fire. “What did you do with her? Answer me!”

“Shining, please stop yelling and listen,” cried the dragon princess, doing her best to calm her fiance. “I don’t know how this happened, but I was suddenly transformed into this beast! Please, you have to believe me!”

“Impossible,” muttered Shining. “There is no such spell in existence. No mere mage is powerful enough to cast a transformation spell that powerful! I am not a fool, dragon!”

“Shining I-”

“What’s that around your neck?” he demanded.

Cadance looked down her long pink neck. The necklace that Shining had given her that day was still fastened tightly around it. “This is the necklace you gave me,” she said. “When you proposed to me.”

“I never gave that to you, dragon!” the pony sneered. “You took that from—You ate her, didn’t you?”

“No!”

"You ate my wife!” screamed Shining. “I’ll have your head for that you monster!”

Shining unsheathed his sword and swung at her relentlessly, with his eyes showing nothing but absolute wrath and hatred. He nearly had her, but he missed as she dodged narrowly, backing further away and into the flames.

Cadance was mortified by what she was seeing, this was not the Shining Armour she fell in love with. This was a monster. She could see him come closer to her, and she felt an urge to end him right there. But her feelings intervened and she rushed towards the window and jumped out of it, falling quite a distance before she unfolded her wings and flew off into the distance. She looked back with tears of sorrow falling from her eyes only to be met by the despising glare of the one she loved.

“Coward!” Shining shouted, “Go ahead and run! But know this, I will hunt you down, I will find you, and I will make you suffer for what you did to me!”

In the Heart of the Flames

A few hours prior

Dragon’s Peak, the tallest mountain in the Dragon’s Badlands. Once a fierce and fiery volcano, it was now a hollow shell of its former self and drained of all its magma. The dragon’s had adopted it as a meeting ground for only the most dire of situation or as a base in wars. Today, it would be used as the house of revenge.

Cyndra had roared into the very winds as her message of vendetta traveled with the breeze, finding the ear of every other dragon in every rocky cave, every swampy marsh, and even the occasional hollowed tree. No dragon would ignore the call of the high dragoness. Soon, the land was blotted with the shadows of a thousand dragons, all taking flight towards the same destination.

The interior of Dragon’s Peak was like a long cylinder cave, its stony passages going down into the deepest and darkest parts of the earth, so deep that not even a dragon would dare venture for fear of what could be hidden in its shadows.

“Why are we here?” one dragon asked another. “What urgency does the dragoness imply that we must travel to Peak so late in the morning?”

“Perhaps it is war?” another replied. “Maybe the Manticores or the Hydras are planning an invasion.”

“It could be a drought, the lakes have been looking thin recently near my hunting grounds and the food might have to migrate.”

The dragons continued to talk among themselves, giving their own feelings on what the dragoness could want.

Finally though, Cyndra herself arrived. As she glided into the heart of the dead volcano, every dragon grew silent. The High Dragoness perched herself on a stone landing, clearing her throat before she began to speak.

“Dragons...” she said, her voice echoing through the cave-like mountain. “I have called upon you, my fellow brood, to say that I have suffered a greatest and most unforgivable tragedy.”

Murmurs and banter quickly questioned the dragoness, but soon died down so Cyndra could resume.

“This day... I have lost the life of my one and only child... murdered in my very cave while on a morning hunt.”

“What monster attacks a child!?” screamed a dragon.

“Who was it?”

“Burn them!”

“Who be the wicked?!” one dragon asked with steam coming out of his nostrils, as rage overcame him.

The dragoness closed her eyes, “Of all the creatures to do this... a pony unicorn did this to my child...”

Silence spread across the volcano, until an eruption of outrage filled it. “This is an outrage! Those accursed equines mock us for being savages, yet they now hunt our whelps for sport?!”

“Death to the equines!” a chorus of voices echoed over, with it becoming louder as dragons agreed to this suggestion.

“Enough!”

The dragons turned to their leader, who was shedding a tear and fury etched onto her face. “We will not commence an action that will lead us to war!” she proclaimed as the dragons sat in silence. “We will, however, deal with this culprit in the most suiting manner.”

“And what do you propose we do?”

The dragoness gave a sly smile at this question, “We rip his pride, and lead him here... to face our wrath.”

All the dragons began to whisper at this suggestion, “How do you know what his pride is?” one dragon boldly asked his leader.

“Let me show you,” she told him, as her eyes began to glow white. The lava pool in the centre of the gathering glowed the same colour as the dragoness. A moving image began to display, showing the pony rushing to his homeland.

The images skipped until the pony gave the dragoness’ child’s heart to an innocent as a gift, “So this is why you slayed my child you foul vermin!” she shouted to the pool with the dragons shouting in return.

“I suppose taking away your ‘pride’ will suffice.” she said to herself as her gaze focused on the crystal, and her eyes began to shimmer in a blueish colour. “Poor little pony princess, you have no idea that you’re in love with a monster.”

“What will you do?” roared a dragon. “Kill her?”

“Roast her?”

“Tear off her skin?”

“No!” sneered Cyndra. “This pony has done nothing to me... but she can still be useful to me. Those foolish unicorns think they know magic, that they are masters of the arcane arts. They know but a mere fraction of the mystical powers of the universe. They carry ignorance in their  hearts, but this one seems pure. This... princess is so innocent, like my child was.”

“So what does the princess have to do with this?”

“She wears the heart of my child,” she said. “A maturing source of unbalanced magical energy, capable of things even the Earth Mother would fear. It has everything to do with the princess and it will be how I get my revenge.”

Some of the dragons seemed a little confused and unsure of what their Dragoness was saying. They were still titillating the at the idea of full on warfare but they knew that Cyndra would never allow it, so they resumed their idle silence.

“What is to become of her then?”

“A dragon,” Cyndra said. “A fire-breathing, winged, fully grown dragon. With my powers unlocking the untapped magic of the heart, I can weave a spell to transform that innocent little girl into one of us.”

“Are you mad?!” one dragon cried. “Why would you give her such power?”

“A mere side-effect of the true purpose,” she said. “She’ll become what he hates, what he hunts for sport, and in the end, he’ll either realize what he’s done... or kill his beloved princess.”

“Cruel, cruel, irony,” smiled a drake. “I like it!”

“I approve!”

“So do I!”

“Then it is settled,” the dragoness said. “Do we all agree on this plan?”

The dragons roared in unison as their eyes began to glow bright red and focused on the pony princess, who was in her room admiring the crystal she wore around her neck.

“Then my fellow dragons, lend me your power... so that I may bring about justice to our kind.” Cyndra called out as she focused her magic on the pony, with the dragon’s feeding their own magic to her.

“Pain, pain, a mother’s pain,” she began to chant, the reflection of the pony looking curious as she heard her voice. “Hell hath no fury like dragon’s rage,” the pony began to look nervous as the dragoness smiled. “Revenge is a journey you must embark,” the princess looked absolutely terrified. “Until he has a Reversal of Heart!”

And with that, the pony in the pool began to turn into a dragon herself, and once it was done, the pool’s image disappeared to reveal nothing but lava.

“So it begins...”

The Young Wizard

“This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening, this isn’t happening!” panicked Cadance as she flapped through the air. She was still terrified at what just happened, constantly shutting her eyes and praying that she would wake up from this nightmare. But every time she did, she was faced with the same dragon-like claw, long scaly snout, and her hideous reptilian complexion.  

The formerly beautiful princess looked back at her castle and the enraged stallion glaring at her. What had happened to him? More importantly, what happened to her? It was all too strange for the princess to think about. Right now, she just wanted to get away from his toxic anger.

Cadance flapped higher and higher into the sky. Being an alicorn meant that she had flown before, but the dragon’s body was much different than her old one, much heavier and bulkier. The princess strained against the weight of her own body as she tried to break through the clouds. Alas, it was too much for her to handle. Cadance eventually fell from the sky, her body too exhausted to flap anymore and she landed in an old meadow.

It felt good for her feet to land against the soft grass of the valley, giving her wings a much needed rest from flying. The dragon princess took a look around the field, nothing more than endless grass fields and a few grazing goats. The wildlife didn’t seem fazed much by the presence of a terrifying dragon. Perhaps they knew she wasn’t a real dragon, perhaps they knew she had no intention of hurting them. Or perhaps they were just dumb and oblivious. She didn’t know nor did she care.

It wasn’t long before the night sky was shrouded with the dark clouds of a rainstorm. The rain fell fast and hard, a near typhoon in almost an instant. Cadance was soon soaked to the bone and drenched in rain water. She needed to find shelter and fast.

Looking around, she found sanctuary in what looked like to be an old abandoned farmhouse. Not exactly a royal palace, but she was not in the position to be picky.

The leaky farmhouse proved to be a relief for the distressed princess. It was thankfully abandoned like she had thought, not even a mouse would call this rickety old shack home, but she would, at least for the night.

The dragoness climbed onto one of the large piles of hay, burying herself in an attempt to get comfortable and warm. This wasn’t easy considering she had to call the itchy straw a blanket and the smelly barn shelter.

It was too much for her. The dragon started to break into tears, crying herself to sleep.

“What have I become?” she wondered. “What have I done to deserve this... this curse?”

She was met with silence, only the sound of her sobbing could be heard. As more tears cascaded from her eyes, she thought back to her fiance. How could he try and kill her so easily? Were her people not taught to tolerate and love all beings no matter how small or big they were? The hatred in his eyes terrified her, and she could sense a form of malice within them. How could she have loved such a pony and be blind to that side of him?

Her eyelids were becoming heavier, she was close to succumbing to a brief moment of bliss. Her stomach growled like it had a mind of its own, demanding to be satisfied as soon as possible. Cadance moaned as she held onto it, feeling it eating herself inside out. Luckily for her, her fatigue overruled the stomach’s will and she was soon cast into sleep.

The morning sun’s rays pierced through the cracks of the farmhouse, shining upon the face of the cursed princess. She groaned as she was willed into awareness, and she slowly opened her eyes to her environment.

Though it wasn’t as abandoned as she thought. She heard the clucking of hens, scurrying about the surroundings of the building whilst pecking the floor endlessly for any scrap of food. When she looked at a hen with her chicks, she felt a slight pang of envy enter her. Such a beautiful sight it was, a mother with her children. How she wished for it, having a few of her own. Though it felt that dream was ripped from her now, with this cursed body she was forced to reside in. Before she could even show frustration to the situation she was in right now, the door of the farmhouse opened slowly. Cadance panicked, looking around quickly before diving into a bundle of hay, hoping to not be seen by whoever or whatever.

“Feeding time, my little hens!” a male voice called out to the hens, as the owner of the voice entered the farmhouse. Cadance gasped, seeing as it was a pony. A stallion, wearing a green patched-up robe with an old looking wizard’s hat. He had lavender fur, with a purple mane and sky-blue highlights running through it. It seemed the mane was too long, as he keep brushing the mane out of one of his eyes. What intrigued her the most were his eyes. Purple like his mane, and showing not only a deep sense of curiosity, but care too. Others may dismiss him as being the oddball type, or as the youth of today would say, nerdish type. But to her, he was rather attracting.

“Hey, hey! Take it easy will you ladies!” he called out to the hens, as they bombarded him when he threw the seeds on the ground. He chuckled softly as they dispersed, and let out a sigh with a smile. “Now then, where did I put that book? Ah yes!” he said to himself, walking towards the bundle of hay Cadance was hiding in.

She reacted quickly, backing away from the bundle without being seen. Cadance saw him reach into the bundle, pulling out an old looking book from it.

“Alright... now where did I last leave off?” he wondered to himself, flipping through the pages of the worned out book. “Basic enchantments... charms and jinks... transfiguration... Ah! here it is!” He stopped flipping through the book. “Beginner Spells and mana generation!”

He took a seat on the hay, his rump just inches away from the dragon princess’s terrified face.

“Alright, let’s see,” the pony said as he studied the page and began to read.

“As you probably now know, all spells are composed of the five elements that make up pony magic: Loyalty, Laughter, Honesty, Kindness, and Generosity. When combined, they can unlock true magical potential of any pony young or old. Spells covered in this section will fall under the three trees of Kindness, Generosity, and Loyalty.”

“Alright, seems easy enough.” He flipped the page over, and continued to read.

"First thing that any aspiring wizard should get is a wand. This is an important tool to allow you to channel the magic within your body into a more primal and physical form. It is recommended to use a professionally crafted wand, but a sharpened stick can be used as well and allows for some magical channeling. As a beginner, you can make due with a stick for now, as it will be an inexpensive way to replace broken wands from misfired spells.

“Alright... stick... stick...” wondered the young wizard. “You’d think that one could find a stick in a barn.” He got up from the hay pile and took a look around. Finally, he was able to spot a stick sticking out of the hay behind him. “Perfect!” He smiled, reaching for his soon to be wand. However, it was just out of reach of his fingers so he climbed onto the hay, swimming through the straw to reach the long twig.

Unknown to the wizard, he was standing on top of the dragon Cadance, accidentally kicking her in the gut as he finally grabbed a hold of the stick.

“OOPF!” groaned the dragon, doing her best to stifle the croak of her voice but couldn’t help but let out the tiniest moan.

“Hmm? What was that?” wondered the magician, turning his head around the corner of the barn. There was no one there besides him and the flock of chickens. But he was sure that he had heard something... right?

He just shrugged it off.

“I must be hearing things,” he muttered, sitting down and looked back down to his page.

“One of the most easily casted spells is the simple ‘Fizzle Spell,’ a trivial and very helpful spell. The ‘Fizzle Spell’ is a level one magical projectile spell that can be used to illuminate rooms, push small objects, and even stun smaller creatures. To cast, you must have mana of the ‘Loyalty’ tree. This can be strengthened with every bond you make. For a point of reference, see page 98.”

He turned the pages over, but then he felt himself moving up and down slightly. Raising one eyebrow in confusion, he bounced slightly on the bundle of hay. He heard groaning, and the sound of hay falling apart. He looked down to what he was sitting on, which was the stomach of a dragon. His eyes widened as he blinked twice, with his stare fixated on the dragon.

“Could you please get off of me?”

He then screamed, jumping off of the dragon. He rolled off to the dragon’s side, hitting his head on the ground. As he groaned and clutched his head, he noticed the dragon coming closer to him. He ran for the door, making it outside and getting away from the beast.

“Please don’t go!”

He stopped abruptly, and turned back slowly to the voice that called to him. It belonged to the dragon, yet it didn’t sound like a dragon’s voice at all. With sweat pouring out of his pores as fast as hail, he faced the dragon’s direction. He let out a slight gasp at seeing the dragon cry. None of the books he read about dragons had he ever heard of them being able to cry, let alone show emotions.

“W-why are you crying?” he asked her hesitantly, staying right where he was in case the dragon had other ideas.

Cadance wiped the tears from her eyes, sniffing slightly to ease the tension building inside her. “It’s just.. I’m not what you think I am,” she responded to him, though she feared he might call her pleading a bluff.

“What do you mean?”

She was surprised by his straight forwardness, and his curiosity that held no snide in it. “I’m a pony just like you,” she said softly, looking away from him.

“... Come again?”

“Look, I don’t understand it either but last night something happened to me... and I ended up like this,” she said in a clearer tone, looking at the pony before him. She expected him to laugh at her, or give a foul rebuttal. She was, however, met with even more curious eyes and he actually came towards her.

“Incredible!” he whispered as he took a closer look at her, “I’ve heard of curses before, but never anything like this! Actual transformation is imperfect, but this... this is beyond any book I have ever read,” he spoke to himself, inspecting the dragon with a keen eye from every angle. He noticed her shy away slightly and he panicked a little, thinking he may have gone too far. “I’m sorry! I-I just—”

“So... you believe me?” she asked him, turning towards him.

“Of course! I don’t see a reason for you to lie to me,” he said. “Why do you ask?”

“It’s... it’s just a relief,” the dragon sighed. “So, do you think you could break the curse on me?”

“Huh?”

“You’re a wizard right?” Cadance asked, starting to get excited. “You must be able to perform a counterspell or a ritual or something to help me get back to normal.”

“Umm...” the pony gulped, chuckling nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. “I’m sort of... well I’m not... very... good at this magic stuff yet.”

“What about your mentor? Could he help me?”

“Mentor?” asked the magician. “I don’t have a mentor. I just bought this book from a traveling sales pony a while back and read it whenever I can. I don’t know any spells besides one or two of the simple ones. Nothing that could do something like... well, this.”

The smile vanished from Cadance’s face as her hopes were extinguished. “I understand,” she sighed, collapsing onto the hay pile. “I guess I’ll be stuck like this forever.”

“Sorry...” apologized the pony.

“I’m going to be stuck like this forever!” she cried, sobbing into her claws. “I don’t even know what I did wrong to deserve this!”

“Hey...” said the pony, patting the dragon on the back and trying to do his best to comfort her. “I’m sorry. I’m sure that whoever did this to you was probably just some big jerk.”

“That’s not making me feel better,” wailed the dragon as her crying intensified.

“Sorry! I’m not very good at this,” he said. “Look, I’m sure things won’t be that bad. These things have a way of working themselves out. You’ll see, and if you need any sort of help you know that I’ll be here to help you through it... Umm, what was your name again?”

“C-Cadance...” the dragon whimpered. “P-Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of Canterlot.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” gasped the pony. “You’re a princess? And not just any princess, but the Princess Mi Amore Cadenza!? Holy sh—how did—what are—This is incredible!”

Cadance just looked down somberly, “There’s nothing incredible about this...” she said as she turned away from the pony.

“O-oi! Please don’t cry!” the pony pleaded to her, “Maybe this is a sign or something,”

She turned to the pony, curiosity edged onto her face. “A sign of what?”

The pony just shrugged, “I don’t know, but maybe there is a way to get you back to your body,” he noted to her, and then he tapped his finger to his chin. “But how exactly?” he asked himself as he went into deep thought. A few moments passed, not noticing Cadance looking slightly confused.

“Hey... are you o—”

“I got it!”

She jumped back slightly at his sudden proclamation, and she saw him grab a book from his bag.

He turned the pages, looking over each one he turned to. “Aha!” he exclaimed as his finger stopped on one page he skipped to. “This is it!” he then showed her the book’s page, which was displaying a mountain formed in a cone-like shape.

“What is it?” she asked as she had no idea what it meant.

“This is the Dragon’s Call. It’s said that this is the place where all dragons come from. I bet you anything, one of the dragons knows why you became cursed.”

Cadance’s face brightened in joy, with a smile beaming on her face. She proceeded by hugging the pony before him, holding onto him for a few moments. She then blinked and let go of him quickly. “Sorry.”

The pony just shrugged, “It happens.”

Cadance turned to him, “What are we waiting for!? Lets go!” she told him, lifting him onto her back and spreading her wings.

“Sounds like a great idea, but just one problem.” he said to her.

“What’s that?” she asked him. The sound of thunder roared in the air, and heavy rain fell down upon them. “Oh, joy.” she grumbled to herself as she was becoming soaked.

“It looks like it won’t let up for a while,” said the pony. “I guess we’ll have to wait it out until the storm passes.”

“Great,” Cadance mumbled as she headed back into the barn. “Just my luck. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? Do you want me to leave?”

“No... but don’t you have a nice warm house? Maybe a family that’s waiting for you? I’d imagine you have better things to do than sit in a smelly and small barn with a dragon.”

“Not really,” said the pony. “My mother died a few years ago and I never even knew my father.”

“What about a marefriend? A wife perhaps?”

“Nope,” he said, shaking his head. “I’d just be going to an empty house. Not a lot of ponies this far up the valley.”

“Oh... well I’d appreciate the company,” she said as the two entered the barn. The dragon laid down upon the bed of hay, leaving a small space for the pony to sit down. “Comfortable?”

“Yeah...” he said, shivering a little. “Although it’s a little colder than my house.”

“Here,” she said, extending one of her wings out so the pony could grab ahold of it and use it as a blanket.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” Cadance said. She took a look out the door of the barn and watched the pouring rain. “Hey, I never asked you for your name.”

“Oh?” chuckled the pony. “I guess it sort of slipped my mind.”

“So...”

“Oh, right! It’s Dusk Shine,” he sighed. “Named after the father I never knew.”

“Well, Dusk Shine,” the princess dragon smiled at Dusk demurely. “I’d like to thank you for agreeing to helping me.”

“Don’t mention it, Princess," Dusk Shine smiled. "Happy to help.”

Plans

The intense glow of the light peered through the cracks of the leaky shack as the rain finally stopped. Dusk Shine’s eyes opened slightly, still weary from the sudden intrusion of of the sun. It wasn’t the first time he had fallen asleep in the barn and it probably wouldn’t be the last time either. The young wizard yawned as he tried to get up, but couldn’t because there was something heavy hindering him.

A large pink dragon’s tail.

His eyes widened and he almost screamed but stopped just short of the first cry. The events of yesterday began flowing into his mind as he remembered the promise that he made her, a promise to help her break whatever curse was laid upon her, and even though he wasn’t the best wizard in the world, he would certainly try his best to help in anyway he could, even if it was minimal.

Patting the tail of the sleeping dragon, he did his best to try and push it off of him. However, it proved more difficult than he had thought, for the more he tried to move the tail off, the tighter the vice grip it had on him got.

“Gek! C-Cadance?” Dusk Shine choked, tapping the dragon to wake her up. “Do you think you could loosen your grip on me? You’re crushing my ribs...”

Cadance shuffled in her slumber, curling her tail up as the pony screamed. She brought him towards her and started nuzzling him like he was one of her stuffed animals.

Eventually, her eyes started to peel open as she gave a mighty yawn, showing off the extent of her large, sharp, dragon teeth. She smacked her lips a few times and finally grew aware that Dusk Shine was coiled up in her tail and was turning a deep shade of blue.

“Oh my!” Cadance gasped, quickly letting him go and allowing him to breathe once again. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that. I’m still getting used to this new body.”

“Th-that’s okay,” coughed Dusk Shine, his face reverting back to it’s normal shade of purple. “Nothing’s too broken...”

“Did I hurt you?”

“No... you frightened me a little though,” said the wizard. “You know you can be really clingy, right?”

“Again... sorry,” the dragoness apologized. “Is there anyway I can make it up to you?”

Dusk rubbed the back of his head as he chuckled softly, “Nah, it’s alright. Hey, I actually do have a question...”

“Yes?”

Dusk gulped slightly, looking away from her eyes. “Can I ride you when we go to the Dragon’s Call?”

Cadance’s cheeks became blood red as the question sinked in. “Well, I suppose so, but we—” a loud rumble emitted from her stomach, which she immediately covered with her claws and giggled softly. “That.”

Dusk blinked twice then stared at her belly, “I guess we ought to have breakfast?” he asked, and saw Cadance nod her head. He then took a sniff and smelled his clothing, pulling away sharply. “And I seriously need to take a shower!”

Cadance raised an eyebrow, “When was the last time you bathed yourself?”

Dusk looked away again, “Um... last month...” he said softly.

Cadance gasped sharply, “Well you must shower first! I’m not having you ride me all dirty now! I saw a waterfall close to here, go there and get yourself clean!”

Dusk stood up sharply, saluting the dragoness. “Yes, ma’am!” he answered back, then he dashed off.

Cadance sighed and looked down on the ground, furrowing her eyebrows slightly. “I’m not old enough to be called a ‘ma’am,’” she said to herself before standing up and shaking all the hay out of her scales. “Now what do dragons eat exactly?”

___________________________________________________________________

“What do you mean she was killed!?”

“What has happened to our niece, Shining!?”

Shining Armor just looked down on the floor of the Throne Room of the two princesses as they demanded answers from him. He dared not look up to face the eyes of grieving aunts, not that he had the constitution of being blunt in his answers.

“Tis like I have said before, she has perished in the fire... by a dragon.”

“But how did we not notice a fully grown dragon sneak into the castle?” wondered Celestia. “They’re not the most stealthy of creatures...”

“I don’t know how it did it,” said Shining Armour. “I only know what I saw.”

“This seems very suspicious,” Luna said. “We have several protection spells as well as armed guards on every post. A dragon shouldn’t have been able to get into the castle, much less our niece's bedroom.”

“Tell us, Shining, did you see Cadence's body?” asked Celestia. “Maybe she was just kidnapped...”

“As I’ve already said... there was no body, and the dragon took no prisoners,” said Shining. “The foul beast killed her and flew out of the window.”

“I see...”

“Your highnesses, with your permission, I would ask that we retaliate against the dragons for what they’ve done,” the knight said. “They need to know that this act of murder will not go unnoticed and unpunished.”

“An attack on the dragons?” baffled Celestia. “Are you mad!? I want to see justice for what happened to Cadance just as much as you do but my sister and I have an entire kingdom to think about as well. We simply cannot wage war on the dragons until we have more proof that this was an intentional act of war. I will not risk the populace life for a personal vendetta.”

“But she was your niece! And my fiance!” roared Shining. “And you’re going to just roll over and pretend nothing happened?”

“Silence!” commanded Celestia, her intimidating voice echoing through the halls of the castle throne room. “We will not forget nor forgive what has happened this day. If our niece is dead and this was an act of war we will not stand idly by. However, many things are still unclear for me and my sister, we will not be rash and jump to conclusions. For all we know, this dragon was acting on it’s own terms or Cadance is still alive... there are just too many variables at the moment.”

Shining Armour was furious. “So that’s it then!? You’re not going to do anything!?”

“We did not say that,” said Luna. “We are just trying to not cause any more bloodshed. Cadance wouldn’t want that. Now, unless there is anything else you could tell us that could be helpful I think this audience is adjourned.”

“Y-no your highnesses, thank you for your time,” he said, turning around to leave the throne room, all the time thinking about how if the princesses weren't going to do anything, then it would be up to him to avenge the death of his beloved Cadance. “I will have your head for what you did to me,” he said in a whisper. “Even if I have to do it myself.”

_________________________________________________________________

“Dusk! Dusk, where are you!”

Cadance walked to the waterfall just by the cottage, calling out her new friend. Though she had a little trouble with her walking.

“Omph!” she groaned slightly as she nearly tripped again, “I hate these claws!” she muttered to herself once she got her footing again. “Dusk!”

The cascading waters of the fall created loud bashing sounds against the rocks, which most likely interfered her callings. Cadance rolled her eyes and went further into the waterfall. “Dusk, where are you—”

She stopped and she could only stare as her eyes widened. Before her was Dusk Shine, washing away all the dirt that was nested onto him. He did not notice her presence and continued to enjoy the waters as though it was ridding all worries from him. Cadance noticed his toned body, which was odd for a wizard. She also saw how long his hair really was, reaching down to his shoulder blades. Cadance could not help but find him attracting, as her cheeks were burning brightly from the thought. They burned even hotter when she accidently looked down.

Dusk opened his eyes as he stepped away from the fall and turned around. “That was ni- argh!” he stood stock still as Cadance was staring at him. A few moments later though, he reached for his wet clothes and covered himself hastily. “C-Cadance!”

Cadance turned away sharply and rushed off, “I’m so sorry! I just wanted to check if you were fine.”

Dusk came out of the fall, with wet clothing covering his body. “I’m fine, thanks,” he said with a cheerful smile.

Cadance didn’t look at him immediately, but she slowly turned her head and gave the best smile she could muster at that point. “That’s good to hear,” she chuckled softly, though her cheeks were still burning.

“So...” pondered Dusk Shine, trying to fill the awkward silence. “How long were you staring at me?”

“Huh?”

“Why were you staring at me?

“I told you... I was just looking for you,” she quickly said. “I didn’t know if you were lost or hurt or something equally terrible.”

“Well... thanks for the concern,” smiled the wizard. “Anyways, I think that we should get going soon, and now that I’m all cleaned up, we can get flying.”

“Yeah...” blushed Cadance, lowering herself a little to allow Dusk Shine to mount her. It felt weird having a pony riding on her back. He was so small compared to her, and the fur of his legs kind of tickled her sides. When he was finally in the right position, she extended both of her wings. “You ready?”

“Yeah...” gulped Dusk Shine. “Ready as I’ll ever be...”

“Okay then, hold on!”

“Hold on to wha-AAAAAAHHH!”

Cadance took off at a blinding speed into the sky. The screaming wizard clung onto her neck for dear life as the two soared off into the distance towards the Dragon Homelands.

Pee Wee

“Cadance, this is amazing!”

“Really?!”

“Really!” Dusk Shine shouted out loud as they were soaring above the skies towards the Dragon’s Keep. Dusk looked down on every corner, feeling the sense of adrenaline coursing through him. He saw how small the trees were and how the animals were even smaller.

Cadance turned to him for a brief moment, letting loose a small smile. “Dusk, I’m going to land now, okay? I’m feeling a bit tired...”

Dusk turned to her and smirked, “No problem, let’s take a break.”

With those words, Cadance descended to the ground. However, there was an issue with landing for her. She was good at taking off from the ground, but landing was another story altogether.

“Hold on, Dusk!”

She collided with the ground, rolling until she hit a tree. Once she regained her senses, she stood up and looked around her. “Dusk?” she called out to him, only to hear a muffled voice behind her. She turned and saw Dusk’s body submerged in the ground with his legs flailing non stop.

“Oh my!”

Cadance reached out and pulled him out of the ground. Dusk was gasping for air and coughing uncontrollably. “I’m so sorry!” Cadance told him apologetically as she patted him on the back, trying and succeeding to stop his coughing.

Dusk shook off all the dirt from his robes, “Haha, well... let’s not try that again.” Dusk said. He waited for a reply, but only silence came. “Cadance?” he turned to her and gasped slightly.

Cadance’s eyes became moist, as she looked down to her body and to her claws. Her lips started to quiver and she began to sob in her claws.

“Cadance, what’s wrong?”

“It’s... it’s nothing,” she finally said. “I just thought I had hurt you.”

“Trust me, Cadance, I’m fine,” said Dusk Shine reassuringly as he wiped some dirt off his shirt. “It’s nothing.”

“But it could have been something.”

“Do you always worry this much?” Dusk chuckled.

The dragon’s cheeks blushed red. “N-no, I just... umm, I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Thanks?” Dusk Shine wondered, oblivious to the concern that the dragon clearly had for him. He looked around the spot where they landed, a small opening in the forest. The two were surrounded by a wall of thick trees and bushes with a small pond in the center. Dusk Shine quickly hopped down onto a nearby log and took a seat. “How long do you think you’ll need to rest up?”

“I don’t know,” admitted Cadance. “I’ve never flown that much before in one go. Even as a princess.”

“Tell me about that,” asked Dusk Shine. “What’s castle life like?”

“Castle life?” The dragon wondered. “It’s nice. Sometimes it gets a bit boring, what with the royal duties and having to attend countless ceremonies yearly. It can get a bit heartbreaking at times when you have to deny a pony’s request, but we can’t solve everypony’s problem.”

“Sounds better than being a farmer,” smiled Dusk Shine. “Living in a big castle, all those servants waiting on you hand and hoof. Must me a paradise.”

“It wasn’t awful, I’ll admit that,” she said. “Just a bit exhausting at times.”

“Can’t be any worse than the farm life,” Dusk said. “Wake up at dawn every morning, feed the chickens, mend the barn, stack the hay... I could go on, but I’m afraid I’ll bore you.”

“Impossible,” Cadance said. “It’s sounds like a nice simple life.”

“Maybe, but it can get really boring,” he said. “That’s why I took up magic.”

“You know, I could help you with that if you want,” offered Cadance. “I was really good back when I was a pony.”

This peaked Dusk Shine’s interest. “You really think you could help me?” Dusk asked. “I’m really not that good.”

Cadance beamed, “Well, you will be good now that I am here!”

“Great! Lets get started!”

Cadance just shook her head, smiling softly. “You’re always so optimistic, aren’t you?”

Dusk just shrugged, “Life’s too short to be sad,” he told her plainly.

Cadance stared at him with focused eyes. She then smiled softly, “You’re right,” she said and then walked past him. “Okay, what magic do you know exactly?”

Dusk tapped his finger to his chin in thought, “Well I do know how to do fire magic.”

“Excellent, could you show me an example?”

Dusk pulled out a branch from his robe, “Okay, lets see,” he said, and he looked around him before stopping in front of a tree stump. “Watch this!”

When he spoke these words, the branch in his hand began to glow with a bright red aura and as he focused on the stump, the branch grew brighter. He let out a shout as he pointed the branch to his target. Instead of fire shooting from his branch, a loud explosion erupted from the branch. He was sent flying at top speeds, falling into the stream behind him.

“Dusk!” Cadance shouted as she ran to where he fell. Once she reached the stream, she saw him lying there dazed and his robes slightly burned from the magic. “Oh my—Are you alright?”

“I feel like I fought a bar keeper,” he told her as his eyes rolled in place. “I did once you know, it was not a fair match.”

Cadance just placed a claw to her face, “Nevermind that. First thing’s first, we need to work on your channelling.” Cadance told him as she saw him stand up from the stream.

“Channeling, got it!” Dusk told her as he stepped out of the water, but failed to notice his robe falling off of him from the burns. He heard Cadance give a yelp and saw her putting her claws to her face.

“What?” He asked, unaware that his robe had been burned off his body.

“Y-y-your clothes...”

“What about—Oh, mother!” He shrieked, quickly covering himself. “Look away!”

“Sorry!” The dragon cried, quickly turning around. “I didn’t mean too.”

“So, now what?” Dusk asked. “I can’t just be naked for the rest of the trip!”

“I wouldn’t mind...” thought Cadance, quickly shaking her head. “Focus Cadance... you have a fiance... kind of... you’ll have him again once you’re back to normal.”

“Hey Cadance, do yo know any spells for repairing clothing? Or how to summon new ones?”

“Only dresses...”

“Dresses?!” groaned Dusk Shine. “I’m not going to... fine. How do I cast the spell?”

“Just focus your magic into creating something flat, then weave your wand as if you were drawing on a piece of paper. But don’t focus too hard or you’ll have another magical backfire, and I’d hate to see what comes off after that.”

“Same here,” he murmured. “Alright, let’s see here. Create somthing flat, create something flat...”

Dusk Shine flicked his wand out and started to focus. He tried to imagine a flat plank of magical energy in front of him. When he had that thought in mind, he started tracing the design of what he wanted. He tried his best not to make it look like a dress, just a simple robe like the one he had.

When he was done, he opened his eyes. Floating in front of him was an identical robe to the one that he had lost.

“Hey, I did it!” The pony cheered as he quickly slipped the newly made robe on. “I actually did it!”

“Wonderful,” smiled Cadance, turning around. “I knew you could do it. It’s a fairly simple spell.”

“You don’t understand, that was the first time I’ve ever cast a spell that didn’t end with me getting blown up!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!” Dusk Shine grinned. “I think I’m ready to try that fireball spell again!”

Cadance eyes grew slightly larger, “Um, are you sure about that?”

“Yes. why?”

Cadance just looked to the ground, playing around with her claws. “No reason, just be careful, okay?”

Dusk looked to the stump, “I will.”

He channeled his magic again, this time less brighter than last time. When he was ready to fire it however, a small bird came flying over and landed on the stump just as he the magic came out. The fire flew towards the bird, engulfing it in a endless inferno.

“Oh no...”

Cadance looked in horror at the sight, but soon it turned to confusion as the fire stopped. The bird looked alright, but its colour changed to red with gold feathers mixed in. They both walked closer to the bird to inspect it.

“Did you just—”

“I think I did,” Dusk noted.

“The bird changed to a phoenix?”

Dusk nodded his head, not looking away from the phoenix.

Cadance looked from Dusk to the new phoenix, “I never knew you could perform such magic, Dusk.”

“Neither did I...”

The phoenix chirped and then looked up to the dragon before it. It flew up to the dragon’s head and rested upon it, falling asleep.

“I think it likes you,” said Dusk Shine.

“What is it doing on my head?!” Cadance panicked, “Oh goddess, it’s not messing up my hair, is it?”

“No,” shook Dusk Shine. “He’s just sleeping.”

“Well, get it off!” she said, bending her neck down to grab the phoenix off of her head.

The second her claw touched the fire bird, it immediately woke up. It quickly burst into flames and took off again, only to land on the floppy end of Dusk Shine’s hat.

“Hey there little guy,” said Dusk Shine. “You wanna come with us?”

    The little bird nestled into hat, answering the wizard’s question.

    “Well, there we go,” he said. “You ready to go, Cadance?”

    “I guess,” Cadance said. “I’m feeling a bit more rested.”

    “Alright, let’s do this!” Dusk Shine said, jumping onto Cadance’s back. “We should be getting close to Dragon’s Reach soon, right?”

    “I think so,” the dragon said as she started to flap her wings. “If we’re lucky we can get there by nightfall!”

    “Then what are we waiting for?”

    With that, the dragon took off from the forest floor and back into the air, flying towards the entrance of the Dragon Badlands.

Conflict (for real this time)

“You know, I wonder if the dragons will be willing to help us out?”

    Cadance arched her eyebrow slightly, turning to Dusk as she flew high with him on her back. “Why wouldn’t they be?”

    Dusk pursed his lips. “And you claim to be royalty and you don’t know much about Dragon/Pony relations?”

    “Well I haven’t been a royal for long to be honest, so no I don’t know...”

    Dusk placed his hand on his forehead, massaging the temple as he let out a sigh. “Basically, dragons and ponies do not get along at all...”

    Cadance blinked. “Why though? Why can’t dragons and ponies get along?”

    “Well for one thing, dragons were known to eat ponies. The other is that ponies often slay dragon whelps for the gems and-”

    Cadance eyes widened to the size of saucers. “Kill an innocent baby dragon for its gem?! That’s so disgusting!”

    Dusk nodded and closed his eyes as the wind was picking up. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

    Cadance squinted her eyes as a tall rock formation was coming before them from the distance. “I think we’re nearly there Dusk!”

    “Nice! Now we can-”

    An arrow came flying past them, and both Cadance and Dusk looked at each other in shock. They both looked down on the ground below them and saw a stallion in armor with bow and arrow ready, aiming his next shot at them.

    “Uh Cadance... I think we’re in trouble...”

    Cadance gulped. “I know,” she said, as her eyes narrowed. “Dusk, hold on tight will you?”

    “Huh?”

    Cadance flapped her wings faster, building up speed. “We’re gonna make a break for it!” she yelled as she flew faster than ever before, with her neck squeezed as Dusk held onto her.

    The armour-clad pony readied his bow, pulling back on the draw string as he took aim. He steadied his shot, taking in the wind and distance into the equation, as well as the movement patterns of the dragon. When he finally took his shot, the arrow soared through the air and glided it into the dragon’s wing.

    Cadence roared with pain as the sharp end of the arrow pierced the film of her wings. She could feel the blood gushing out and the air passing through the hole as she started to spiral towards the ground.

    “Cadence! Are you alright?!” Gasped Dusk Shine as he did his best to keep Cadence steady.

    “Hold on!”

    The two crashed into the rocky grounds below. Dusk Shine was flung off the dragon’s back and landed into some nearby brushel. The little phoenix managed to flutter off the falling dragoness before she crashed and gently descended next to the pony.

Dusk Shine slowly pulled himself back up. His ribs were a little sore but he was thankful that nothing seemed to be broken. He grabbed his stick of a wand and rushed over to Cadence.

“Cadence!” He cried. “Cadence, are you alright?”

The large pink drake groaned as she rolled over onto her back. “I think I’m alright... but my wing is killing me.”

“Yikes...” gulped Dusk Shine, looking at the large bloody hole in her wing. “That’s a big one... do you think you can fly?”

“I’ll... I’ll try...” she said, rolling back onto her feet. Extending her wings, the dragon did her best to flap them, but soon stopped as the searing pain shocked through her wounded wing.

“No good?”

“No...” shook Cadence. “I think we’re walking the rest of the way.”

“Crap... we were so close too,” mumbled the young wizard. “And who was that guy? Friend of yours?”

“Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing,” said Cadence.

“Haha,” Dusked mock laughed as he stood up and observed the mountain before them. “Well if we’re going by foot, I suggest we get going now before he catches up on us.”

“Agreed.” Cadance said as she and Dusk began walking, but she winced with each step her wing was folded against her.

Dusk grimaced as he saw Cadance in pain. “Hold on, let me try something.”

Cadance stepped back slightly. “Please don’t do that fire spell on me!”

“Relax, its a healing spell.” Dusk told her as he took out his stick and touched Cadance’s wing with it.

Cadance felt her wing sting slightly, but then she felt an odd sensation as the pain subsided. She looked at her wing and it was no longer bloody or had a hole in it.

“Now I suggest you don’t move it around as it still needs to settle in and-”

Dusk’s eyes widened as he felt scaly lips touch his cheek. He turned to Cadance who was smiling and he couldn’t help but let loose a blush of his own.

“Um...”

Cadance giggled. “Let’s go.”

Dusk nodded as a smile was plastered on him, though he looked back to the distance in hopes of not seeing the stallion that was after them.

____________________________________________________________________________

    “Rats!”

    Shining Armor threw his bow on the ground, nearly breaking it from the force it. He stomped his foot in frustration as he saw the dragon and the unfamiliar pony walking to the mountain.

    “I don’t know who that pony is, but anypony that sides with my fiance’s killer will be punished too.”

    He ran up to the mountain, not caring if his armor was slowing him down or even if he left his bow behind him, all that mattered was that he killed the dragon, and if that pony was accompanying it, then he would die as well.

    It didn’t take long for him to catch up to the dragon, her wound had slowed them down a lot. He saw them as they just about to ascend the mountain.

    “You!” He cursed, drawing his sword and pointing it towards the dragon. “I’ll have your head!”

    “Uh-oh,” gasped Dusk Shine, pulling out his wand. “Look, buddy, we don’t know what your problem is, but it’s not what you think! She’s a pony, not a dragon.”

    “It feeds you lies!” Growled the knight. “It’ll say anything to save itself, it’s nothing but a manipulative coward!”

    “She’s not a coward! She’s my friend!” Dusk Shine screamed. “And she’s a she! Not an it!”

    “You’re such a naive fool,” the knight sighed. “Stand down and let me finish my business with the dragon and I will spare you.”

    “I’m not going to just stand down and let you kill her!”

    “You’re too noble,” Shining said. “You would die defending this monster?!”

    “No...” frowned Dusk Shine, aiming his wand at the knight. “But I’ll die defending a friend!”

    A ball of flames erupted from the tip of the wizard’s wand and hurtled towards the knight. Shining Armour, however, easily side stepped the fireball, chuckling a bit as to how easily he dodged it.

    “You’re magic is clumsy and pitiful,” he said. “It will be almost too easy to kill you.”

    “Yeah... well... I’m just... umm,” Dusk Shine searched for something to say. “I’ve got nothing.”

    Shining rushed towards the wizard with terrible fury, he swung at the wizard, hitting him with the broad side of his sword and knocking him to the ground.

    “Leave him alone!” Roared Cadence, swiping at the pony knight. “I don’t know who you are, but you will not hurt him!”

    “Now you have some fight in you?” snarked Shining. “It’s about time!”