Chapter 6:
The Dragon Graveyard
After getting away from Cadance and Shining Armor, Twilight and Flash ran off with joy and are on their way to the Dragon Graveyard. They laughed until Twilight said with joy, "Haha. It worked, Flash!".
"Yeah, we lost them," Flash said.
"I am a genius," Twilight said with a prideful grin on her face.
"Hey, for the record, genius, I'm the one who did the leg work," Flash said, glaring at her.
"Yeah, but I came up with the idea," Twilight bragged, placing her hoof on her chest looking proud.
"And pulled it off thanks to me! The future King!" Flash argued with a smirk, reminding Twilight of their engagement.
"Oh, yeah, sire'?" Twilight asked with a smirk.
She then leaped at the young colt and lets out a playful whinny as they both tussled around on the ground. But it ended quickly when Flash managed to flip the young princess over and pin her to the ground with a thump.
"Ha! Pinned ya, princess. You owe me an apology," Flash boasted with a giggle.
"Never. Now let me up!" Twilight groaned in annoyance as she got Flash off of her lightly.
Flash walks away with a prideful smile on his face until Twilight smirked and jumped at him again as the two foals rolled down a hill laughing until Flash flips Twilight over again and pins her down on her back once more with another thump.
"Pinned ya, again!" Flash teased with a grin as Twilight pouted.
Suddenly, the two foals gasped in shock and looked to see a geyser shooting out some smoke. As the smoke cleared up, Twilight and Flash have realized they'd entered a place they've never been to before and never should. Twilight and Flash walked up a small hill that held a massive dragon skull with massive tusk-like horns.
"Flash, this is it. We made it," Twilight said, realizing they were in the Dragon Graveyard.
Then she and Flash got onto one of the Dragons' horn-tusks.
"Whoa!" They exclaimed in unison and amazement as they saw in front of them, a land littered with dragon skeletons and bones as far as they can see.
"It's really creepy," Flash whispered in awe.
"Yeah, but isn't it great?" Twilight asked with a smile.
"We could get into big trouble," Flash noted with a grin, relishing his naughtiness.
"I know," Twilight replied with a chuckle.
"You know, I wonder if its brains are still in there," Flash said as he and Twilight walked near the skull and looked at the mouth entrance.
"Well, Flash, there's only one way to know. Come on, let's go check it out," Twilight said with a determined grin as she started heading for the skull.
But before she could even go in, Cadance appeared in front of her, "Wrong! The only checking out you two foals will be doing is to check out of here," She retorted, pushing Twilight away from the skull.
"Aw, man!" Twilight complained as she thought for sure they'd lost her and Shining Armor.
"We are way beyond the boundary of the City Of Harmony," Cadance said with worry.
"Awww, look the Princess Of Love is scared," Twilight said with a mocking chuckle only for the said princess to poke her on her nose.
"Twilight, I'm being serious, young lady! This place is off-limits for a reason and right now we are all in very real danger!" Cadance advised as Twilight walked around her to the skull.
"Danger, Cadance? Ha! I walk on the Alicorn side. So I laugh in the face of danger. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!" She claimed, with a smirk, laughing loudly to prove a point.
But her boastful face turned frightful as just as she finished laughing, another, more cackling laughter was heard from inside the skull, causing Twilight to gasp and run back as she and Flash hid behind Cadance, who stood in front of them in protection from any supposed threat.
Appearing from inside the skull are three Diamond Dogs, two appeared from inside the eyes, and one, likely the leader, appeared from inside the mouth.
The lead Diamond Dog was medium-sized and has medium-gray fur and he has grayish spring bud eyes.
The largest Diamond Dog had cornflower bluish-gray fur and his eyes are very light yellow.
And The final Diamond Dog the smallest of the trio and his fur was a grayish gamboge while his eyes are light yellow.
The trio knew these were some of the Diamond Dogs, aka Diamond Hunters. These creatures were unwilling to follow the king and queen's law due to their savagery, diamond stealing nature, and hunting for sport. So they were banished to the outskirts of the City Of Harmony, to this wasteland.
The lead Diamond Dog walked up to Cadance and the foals. "Well, well, well, Fido. What do we have here?" he asked with a smirk to the large blue Dog.
"Hmmm, I don't know, Rover, uh, What do you think, Spot?" Fido asked the smallest Diamond Dog behind him while rubbing his chin.
Spot the smaller Diamond Dog only replied with a weird laugh and his tongue sticking out.
"Yeah, just what I was thinking. A trio of Trespassers!" Fido sneered as the three Diamond Dogs came close to Cadance, Twilight, and Flash.
"And quite by accident, let me assure you three. A simple navigational error," Cadance said with a nervous laugh as she and the young foals tried to walk away.
However, Cadance was stopped when Rover stepped on her tail and said while recognizing her, "Whoa, wait, wait, wait, wait, I know you. You're Celestia's and Luna's little niece aren't ya?".
"I, good sir, prefer to be called a member of the Royal Family," Cadance said correcting him, while gently getting his paws off her tail, giving him a snooty look.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah, so that would make you…," Fido asked as he and Spot circle Twilight and Flash.
"The Future Queen!" Twilight replied, bravely as Rover forced Cadance over to them while he began circling them too.
"Well princess, do you know what we Diamond Dogs do to Kings and Queens who step out of their kingdoms?" he inquired with a raised brow and toothy grin.
Twilight scoffed and said, "You can't do anything to me,".
"Uuh…well technically, Twilight they can. We are on their land," Cadance corrected her with a nervous grin.
"But, Cadance. Aunt Luna said they're nothing but slobbery, mangy, stupid, diamond-poachers," Twilight argued as Cadance waved her hooves to tell her to stay quiet.
"Ix-nay On The Oopid-Stay, Twily," Cadance said through her clenched teeth and nervous grin to Twilight.
"Who are you calling 'Oopid-Stay'?" Fido asked with a glare, having overheard the comment.
"My, my, my. Oh, look at the sun, you two! It's time for us to go!" Cadance stated as she, Twilight, and Flash tried to make a run for it.
But Rover got in their way, stopping them, "But what's the hurry? We'd love for you to stick around for dinner," He promised slyly, stalking closely to them with a toothy grin as Cadance shielded the foals before they turned to Fido who spoke next.
"Yeah, we can have some Alicorn on a Cob!" he joked, laughing at his own bad puns.
"Oh, wait! Wait! Wait! I got one, I got one," Rover said, waving his paw before saying his pun, "make mine a double 'foal' sandwich. Whatcha think?" They all laughed hysterically at the bad jokes.
Spot then appears jumping up and down and starts gesticulating and jabbering while pointing in one direction.
"What, Spot?! What is it?!" Rover asked, getting annoyed by Spot's rambling.
Fido then looked to where he was pointing before turning to Rover "Hey, boss. Did we order this dinner to go?" Fido asked his leader.
"No, why?" Rover asked with an oblivious smile.
"Because…THERE IT GOES!" Fido shouted as Rover looked to see Cadence, Twilight, and Flash running away.
The trio ran as fast as they could, passing some skeletons to get away from the Diamond Dogs. During midflight, Cadance gasped in alarm as her tail was caught by one of the Diamond Dogs. After running for a while, Twilight and Flash stopped in an open space to catch their breath.
"Did we lose them?" Flash asked, panting.
"I think so. Hey, where's Cadance?" Twilight asked, noticing Cadance's absence.
Meanwhile, The Diamond Dogs were tormenting the pink mare by one of the Geysers.
"Then the member of the Royal Family hippity-hopped all the way to the Pony Boiler," Fido mocked, grabbing Cadance by the wings and taunting her as she "walked" over to the geyser and shoved her into it, plugging it up.
"Oh, no! Not the Pony Boiler!" Cadance cried in distress before the boiler erupted, causing the Princess of Love to scream as she was shot from it like a firework, sending her far away from the Dragon Graveyard.
The Diamond Dogs laughed hysterically at the pony-rocket until they looked up as they heard, "Hey! Why don't you three pick on somepony your own size?". Twilight challenged, standing above them alongside Flash.
Rover just gave the filly a bored look, "Oh…You mean…Like…You?!" Rover asked with an evil grin.
"Oops," Twilight muttered, realizing she just turned herself and Flash into dog food.
Rover proceeded to leap at the duo, causing the two to scream and the duo to start running as the Diamond Dogs began to chase the foals. However, Twilight and Flash were stopped when the three Diamond Dogs poked their head right in front of them through another boiler shouting in unison, "BOO!".
The two foals gasped in alarm as the Diamond Dogs laughed at them and chomped at them again, but failed as the two continued to run away from the mangy trio. They ran up and climbed over another dragon skull with Twilight barely escaping a bite from Fido as they proceeded in sliding down the spine of a dragon ribcage. Towards the end, they both screamed as they were sent flying into a hillside of bones.
Twilight and Flash hastily began running and climbing up the hill as the Diamond Dogs began gaining on them.
As Twilight managed to reach the top, she heard Flash calling out to her.
"Twilight!" he yelled.
Twilight looked back and gasped in horror as she saw her best friend screaming and sliding back down the pile and towards the Diamond Dogs. Twilight with a charged horn ran back down bravely, as Rover attempted to take a bite out of Flash, but the princess quickly slashes him on the cheek with her horn, causing the Diamond Dog to wince and allow the two foals to escape again before he holds a paw to his scarred cheek and growled angrily.
After they climbed back up to the top, Twilight and Flash ran into what appears to be a dark cave. Trying to find a way out, they climbed up another dragon skeleton that still had some decomposing scales on it and attempted to fly away. But as they were about to take flight, the skin below them broke apart, causing them to fall to the ground.
Looking up, Twilight and Flash gasped in alarm as they saw the Diamond Dogs walking towards them.
"Here, little pony, pony, pony," Fido taunted growling, with a sinister grin as he, Rover, and Spot got closer.
Standing bravely, Twilight attempted to fire a beam of magic at them, but what came out of her horn was nothing but a few sparks.
The dogs saw her cute attempt and just laughed. "Haha! Did ya see that?! The Future Queen of Equestria!" Fido taunted, as Twilight looked embarrassed.
"Oh don't hurt me!" Rover mocked, pretending to be scared before he turned back to the princess, "Ha! Come on, Do it again…Come on," He dared as he and the other two Diamond Dogs got closer with their hungry smirks.
Charging her horn again, Twilight tries to blast them away until suddenly, a blue and magenta beam of magic appeared out of nowhere and hits the ground near the Diamond Dogs making them jump back in shock, and Twilight and Flash gape in surprise.
"Huh?" the Diamond Dogs said in unison confusion and fear.
Then suddenly, another two beams appeared from their side, knocking the Diamond Dogs aside to the ground. It was revealed to be Cobalt and Aurora as the two Alicorns begin to battle with the Diamond Dogs. Cobalt took some good horn swing at Rover and Fido, while Aurora bucked Spot with her back legs, who tried to get away while his two friends tried to take a bite out of the King.
Cadance then appeared from the cave entrance, along with Shining Armor, Marina, Cliffbore, Gaia, Storm Heart, and another alicorn Blaze-Horn.
Blaze-Horn was another stallion but he is a bit smaller than Cobalt or Cliffbore, his coat was pale red, his eyes were bright green, his mane was striped red, orange, and yellow. He wore a dark red jacket with orange coattails, a brown shirt, and yellow shoulder pads, and a pair of brown framed goggles with blue lens and wrapped around his forelegs were black bandages and around his neck was a collar with a gold medallion with a firebrand on it. Underneath his coat was his roaring fire cutie mark.
He, the other guardians, Shining Armor and Cadance flew over and landed next to Twilight and Flash as they watched the battle take place. But the battle ended quickly with Cobalt and Aurora standing over them and charging their horns.
"Oh, please, please…," Rover pleaded.
"Ow. Ow. Uncle, Uncle…," Fido begged, all his smug bravado gone.
"SILENCE!" Cobalt and Aurora yelled in unison in their Alicorn Voice, causing the Diamond Dogs to cringe and cower in fear.
"Ok, we're gonna be quiet right now!" Fido relented in fear.
"Calm down, we're really sorry," Rover said as Spot tried to hide behind his paws, whimpering in fear.
"If you ever come near our daughter again…," Aurora said angrily.
"Oh…this is…this is your daughter?" Rover asked, feigning ignorance.
"Oh, yours?" Fido said, playing along as he and Rover laughed nervously.
"Did you know that?" Rover asked, turning to Fido.
"No…me? I didn't know that. No, did you?" Fido asked, turning back to Rover.
"No! Of course not," Rover said.
"No," Fido said.
"Spot?" Rover and Fido asked nervously smiling at the smallest dog, turning to Spot, who stupidly nodded yes in response.
Cobalt and Aurora charge their magic even more causing Rover and Spot to hold each other closely as Fido chuckled nervously and said "Don't worry! Won't ever happen again, so uh, Toodles!".
And the three Diamond Dogs ran away quickly as they could, whimpering and yipping fearfully in the process. "Consider you and your dogs warned, Rover!" Cobalt called out the leader.
Once they were gone, Cadance flew over to Cobalt and Aurora as Shining Armor trotted over as well. Both gave them a ' That'll Show Em' nod…but then withers under the King and Queen's angry glare. Cadance and Shining Armor knew that it was their fault for not taking care of Twilight and Flash.
Twilight approached her parents, cautiously as Flash follows, "Mom, Dad, I…," she tried to explain but her parents just whipped their head to her, making the princess stop.
"You'd deliberately disobeyed us, young lady," Cobalt said as he and Aurora looked at her with a glare and Twilight frowned sadly as her ears drooped.
"But Daddy…I'm…I'm sorry…," Twilight said, trying to apologize.
"Let's go home!" Aurora angrily ordered as she and Cobalt were the first to leave with Cadance and Shining Armor following behind them.
Twilight and Flash were following right behind them with the Guardians following them last to keep a watchful and stern eye on them.
"I thought you were very brave, Twilight," Flash muttered to Twilight who looked down sadly.
But as they left the cave, they are unaware that Chrysalis was watching them from above and out of sight, standing on a ledge where she has witnessed the whole thing with a silent glare, knowing that her plan to be rid of the foals has failed before her eyes.