CHAPTER 1! Seriously this has taken over my life… I am a ship-a-holic…
Kija, Shin-ah, Jea-ha, and Zeno's eyes snapped open at the roar in their blood suddenly so late at night. The four dragon warriors looked at one another in concern.
"What was that?" Yona's voice alerted the four dragons to her own awakeness. Shin-ah looked in the direction of the disturbance. Whatever had caused it was now gone but he saw a young blue clad maiden lying unconscious.
"What is it, Sinha?" Kija asked.
"A girl," he said simply as always. The others looked at one another trying to deduce more from the Blue Dragon's simplicity in his words. Instead of saying anything further Shin-ah stood and headed in the direction of the girl. She had appeared unconscious and in need of help.
At the mention of a girl Jea-ha was immediately intrigued and followed after Sinha, a new cute girl always a draw for the Green Dragon.
"We'll be right back," Jea-ha said, by way of explanation, "You stay here with the Princess."
"As if we were going to run off, idiot," Yun muttered, he and Hak drug awake by the others.
"Be careful she's not dangerous," Hak muttered knowing neither dragon warrior would endanger Yona like that anyway, but it was worth it to see Jea-ha's face twist up at the implication.
The Green Dragon started to protest loudly until he realized Sinha had already started down the path without him. Jea-ha was quick to catch up, not one to be left out of meeting a girl. They were silent though Jea-ha didn't expect silent Sinha to talk.
Suddenly the Blue Dragon came to a stop and pointed. Jea-ha followed Shin-ah's direction and saw a blue heap in the middle of a clearing bathed in pale moonlight. There was a magic about this heap of a girl as ancient as the blood of the dragons; a magic that sang to that blood although it wasn't as fervent nor demanding as a tune as when they met Yona.
Instead of a driving demanding drive to protect and fight for this person and fight for this person it was as if the dragon magic merely wished to greet it as if it were an old friend in passing. The image of a winged horse, a single horn jutting from her head filled their minds.
"Ungh," the girl groaned shifting on the ground, slowly pushing herself up and raising a hand to her forehead. Shin-ah caught a glimpse of something blue on her back, before a curtain of blue hair fell over her back covering it.
The girl's face suddenly twisted into sick confusion as she ripped her hand away and stared at it as if the appendage was a completely new development. Her eyes darted over her body, face growing more frantic by the movement. One hand flew to her back and her face calmed a bit. Her hand drifted to her forehead and tears sprang in her eyes.
"My horn," she whimpered. Jea-ha, moved by the woman's tears, shifted and stepped on a twig. The woman's head shot up and her eyes snapped their direction her grief stamped down in favor of self-defense.
"Who goes there?" her voice echoed strong and noble through the forest. Shin-ah tilted his head at the immediate change in the woman's demeanor.
She stood on shaking legs, hands balled into fists at her sides. A spark of light gleamed to life on her forehead covered by her hair but not to Shin-ah's sharp eyes.
Her hand shot out, and a blue sparkling glow appeared at Jea-ha's collar. It bunched like a fist had grabbed it and the Green Dragon was yanked forward.
"Shin-ah!" Jea-ha yelped. The masked dragon however, wasn't as quick as the magic Jea-ha was suddenly before her.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
"Sweet lady we mean you no harm," Jea-ha said trying to charm her, as he always did with a pretty girl.
"Spare me the flattery, dragon. Where is your brother? Has his appearance altered as mine own has?" she growled "I can only assume such as your countenance is not draconian." Jea-ha blinked once his face changing to confusion.
"Speak! Where is the Evil Dragon of Darkness that has so trapped me in this strange land?!" she commanded. Her tone reminded Shin-ah and Jea-ha of Yona when entirely different otherwise. Her eyes were cold as ice her demeanor was self-assured and was a pair of someone accustomed to being feared and evident to Shin-ah alone, recognized as a desire to be accepted rather than feared. He had been that way in his village until Yona had come.
Shin-ah didn't know exactly what he was going to do to save his "dragon brother" as Kija often called them, but he knew he had to try something. So the timid Blue Dragon took a breath and stepped from his hiding spot, hand on his sword wary of the woman's movements.
Her eyes shot to him, brows knit in an angry glare. "What are you?" she demanded. A magic fist didn't yank him threateningly toward her as it had Jea-ha.
"Shin-ah," she spoke in his soft voice. She still didn't attack but her posture spoke of caution against them.
"Where is your evil brother?" she demanded voice softer but still clearly in command. Shin-ah shook his head and shrugged.
"We don't know any Evil Dragon of Darkness," Jea-ha declared drawing the woman's gaze to himself once more. Shin-ah sensed that the woman was afraid as he had once been and removed his hand from the hilt of his sword.
"But you are dragons. I sense the magic within you," she snarled.
"Yes, but we are two of the Four Dragon Warriors of Kohka," Jea-ha said with a flourish that he shouldn't have had hanging by the collar of his cheongsam.
This seemed to confuse the girl as well. Her eyes betrayed her confusion at Jea-ha's upbeat demeanor despite his position.
"You are a strange one, dragon," she said.
"My name is Jea-ha, sweet lady, might we inquire yours?" he asked.
"You push your luck," she bit harshly. "As dragon's you can sense those of the same blood. Send me in the direction of the Evil Dragon of Darkness and I shall defeat this enemy lest he destroy the world. Mine own and yours."
Shin-ah and Jea-ha exchanged looks of confusion. Shin-ah shrugged.
"Oooh! An alicorn!" came a familiar voice from behind them. They turned and saw Zeno and Kija stepping from the treeline. Zeno had been the one to call out.
The woman's eyes narrowed, calculating, Shin-ah saw. Suddenly she dropped Jea-ha and bolted. Only she didn't get far, stumbling and falling over thin air.
"Curse this form," she hissed pushing herself to her hands and knees. "Be warned! I am not defenseless," she declared. Shin-ah saw the spot on her forehead start glowing under her sideswept bangs again.
Shin-ah knelt to calm her. Ao scampered down his arm and up to the girl. She glanced down at the squirrel.
"Pi-kyu," the little squirrel chirped. The girl glanced back up at Shin-ah. The Blue Dragon gave a single nod. She reached out and Ao jumped on her hand. Shin-ah felt a new friendship growing. She didn't fear him as she was wary of the others. He understood where her fear came from.
Taking a chance he extended his hand to her, palm up. The other dragon's waited with baited breath. They didn't know why but they knew that she was important. The glowing on her forehead winked out and she eased her hand to his.
He helped her up and kept her steady as her knees shook like she was still new to this. When she started to fall again, Shin-ah grabbed her around her waist to steady her, a blush burning both of their cheeks at the sudden closeness.
Jea-ha gave a leering smirk. He opened his mouth to say something when Zeno, in a moment of seriousness, shook his head negatively. It stopped the retort but not the leering. Kija was still concerned about this strange woman getting near his princess.
"Are we sure we should bring her to our camp?" he demanded of Shin-ah.
"Hm," Shin-ah nodded firmly.
"I stand here, dragon. I hear you speaking," she said.
"Yet you've still not told us your name," he said.
"I only know Jea-ha and Shin-ah because of Jea-ha's flirtatiousness," she shot back.
"Oh! I'm Zeno!" the blond chirped, "And this is Kija!"
"Zeno!" Kija yelped.
The girl's face softened at the Yellow Dragon's show of trust. "Princess Luna," she said simply.
"A princess?" Jae-ha asked.
The girl, Luna, nodded, "Princess of the Moon." She shared her title but nothing more. The dragons looked skeptically at one another as they re-entered the encampment.
Hak stood, hand on his glaive as they eased into camp. He was as weary as Kija about Yona's safety. Yona wasn't as concerned, however.
"Is she hurt?" she asked Shin-ah. The Blue Dragon shook his head to indicate the negative. Yona looked a little confused as Shin-ah helped the girl.
"I am unaccustomed to this form," she said by way of explanation. This earned strange looks from the others. Shin-ah helped her down and sat near her. Luna didn't seem to mind. "You are their princess then?" she asked.
Yona looked a touch surprised and Hak and Yun shot a glare at Kija who had the decency to look apologetic. Yona nodded and knelt beside her on the other side.
"I'm Yona, this is Hak and Yun," she said introducing them. She assumed correctly, that the girl had been introduced to the dragons.
"Princess Luna," the girl replied.
"You're a princess, too?" Yona asked.
"She is an alicorn, Yona-chan!" Zeno crowed enthusiastically. This earned a strange look from everyone.
"What is an alicorn?" Yun asked, not sure if he believed such a creature existed, even in myth.
"I am a combination of Earth pony, Pegasus, and Unicorn. Though in this form, I am as misshapen as the dragons that surround me," she responded. "I was drug here from my home in Equestria by an Evil Dragon of Darkness. I must find him so I might return home."
Kija glared at Hak and muttered, under his breath, "I knew it." Luna raised a brow in confusion. "This is your Evil Dragon of Darkness!" he declared pointing at his rival. Luna glanced at Hak and shook her head.
"This one has no dragon's blood in him," she argued.
"Right, I don't have snake's blood in me," he said staring at Kija the entire time. Of course the White Dragon charged and the two began a light brawl. Yona sighed.
"Are they always thus?" Luna asked. Everyone nodded their confirmation. Just then a stone came flying at the seated girls. Yona let out a gasp, only, the stone never struck. Yona peeked her eye open to see the stone floating in a cloud of blue sparkles.
Yona's eyes, grew wide, as were Yun's, Hak's, and Kija's who hadn't seen Jea-ha's incident when he first encountered the blue haired woman. Zeno hadn't seen it either but the Yellow Dragon seemed to know.
"Excellent catch, Luna-chan!" he crowed smiling.
They looked from the glowing stone, hovering in mid-air to the grinning Zeno, to the calm Luna who nodded.
"Tis a simple spell. One of the first unicorn fillies learn," she explained. The glow dissipated from the stone and it fell. "A mere stone is a trifle in comparison to the duties I perform at home."
"Oh? What are your duties, Luna-chan?" Zeno asked.
"Her name is "Luna," guess," Yun muttered, still upset about being woken up.
"Indeed. Tis my responsibility to raise and lower the moon with my magic and defend the drams and slumber of my subjects.
"You raise and lower the moon?" Yona gasped.
"In my home yes. Here I am uncertain how such a thing works. It is a strange world and I am unaccustomed to any realm but mine own."
Shin-ah reached out and touched her shoulder. Luna looked into his masked face. His fingers were gentle on her sleeve of her dress in a comforting gesture.
Ao scampered up her arm and nuzzled her cheek in comfort. The girl gave a gentle smile to the squirrel who returned then to Shin-ah's shoulder.
"Would you join us?" Yona asked. Yun, Kija, and Hak looked slightly surprised but only slightly as it was Yona, kind and curious about this new princess.
"I should search for the Dark Dragon and my path home," she said. She struggled to her shaky legs, leaning against a tree for balance. She growled softly in frustration. "I haven't been this unsure of step since I was a filly."
Shin-ah tilted his head to Yun as if asking if the boy could make her stay and help her unsure legs.
"You should stay." Yun said, running his hand over his face. "You won't get far with how your stumbling and won't be any good to your mission if you fall and break your leg."
Luna looked at him questioning his motives. "Just rest tonight," he said.
"Yeah, let us help you," Yona said.
"Do you and your party not have your own quest to fulfill?" Luna asked. "It's kind to offer your aid but you have your own challenge to overcome." Hak watched the unfolding scenario silently until now.
"Princess Luna, there is strength in numbers and maybe we can help each other. It makes sense, battle wise, and I feel you know this. You have that look in your eyes. You know battle and you know I am speaking the truth. Besides, Princess Yona, I doubt, would just let us let you wonder off now," the Thunder Beast chuckled.
Luna was silent and let her starry blue eyes trail across each face receiving mixed emotions from Kija's untrusting look, to Shin-ah's unreadable gaze, to Yona's hopeful violet eyes. Her eyes darted to her feet so different from her hooves.
They had a point. She knew this. These legs were very different from her pony legs and so difficult to maneuver after thousands of years on four hooves.
"As you say, she said. "I have my magic and... for now that is all. It would be good, I suppose to have allies."
"Right, now that that's settled let's get some shut eye," Yun stated, making his way back to his bedroll. Luna looked up at the moon tracking through the trees. This wasn't her moon. This wasn't her world. It seemed that Twilight Sparkle's influence was strong, however, for it seemed she already had allies… maybe even friends.
Boom! Slowly the ship begins!
Sgt Sniper Man 101: This has become like my life. This is my babies!