PLEASE CRITIQUE MY EFFORTS OF PLAYING THE ROLES OF THE PONY CHARACTERS. I WOULD LIKE TO GET THEM RIGHT IF I MISSED SOMETHING IN THEIR CHARACTER ROLES. AND FOR THOSE THAT ASSUME I AM JUST MAKING SOME OF THESE CHAPTERS INTO FILLERS, THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT CLUES THAT WOULD EXPLAIN IMPORTANT PARTS LATER IN THE STORY. NO SPOILERS. :3

i do not own mlp

The Dragon Pony

Chapter 9 (part 1)

Morning broke with another golden sky lighting up the land. A brisk autumn zephyr would blow over the ground and through the trees. Fallen leaves caught in the mild current of the gentle wind. They rode the path of the wind leading them to their destination that was still unknown to them. The leaves found their way heading into a cave on the side of a mountain. Inside was the home of Scalefang and his son Dragonbond. With the wind dying down inside the cave, the leaves slowly descended to the ground. One, in particular, landed gently on Dragonbond's nose. It tickled his muzzle and sent the sensation through his nose and making it wrinkle as he felt an itch while he slept. The tickling continued until it made him sneeze before waking up. Startled from the rude awakening, he snorted before opening his eyes. He raised his head to look around and realized the leaves were responsible for waking him from his slumber. He just took it as a sign that it was time to start his day. After a loud and mouth stretching yawn, he arose from his pile of draconian gold to stretch out his limbs. His yawn was as loud as growling lion with the same level of tremors that came from it that shook the air inside the cave. Since the cave entrance was always open, Dragonbond would find himself covered in morning dew when he awoke each sunrise. He would never freeze from the frigid morning air due to the inner heat of his body. It kept his body temperature balanced to make it not to hot and not too cold in low temperate moments of the day or night. He got up and shook his entire body to rid himself of the dew on his mane and pelt. His mane ran from his head down to his tail, making him have the appearance of a dragon's back, running with spikes along its backbone. His underside, from under his chin running to the underside of his belly, was covered in a longer darker color shade of fur. The fur on his hooves was a bit shaggy on the bottom. His wings still had scales that resembled feathers. The wings also had fingers much like a normal dragon and each had a sharpened spike on each tip. The wing knuckles had the blunt bone instead of the thumb and claw like the normal dragon. He was content with it as it gave him more of a unique feature to him.

The cave was empty as his dragon father had already left. Dragonbond assumed it was to hunt for his meal. He decided to have his morning bath. Although it wasn't just a regular morning bath to just dip into a pond or lake. Dragonbond began to stretch all his limbs. Legs, wings, and tail to get them nimble and awake for his activity. Dragonbond then dashed off into a sprinting run out of his home cave. Dragonbond had also developed a new style of running for himself. He no longer ran like a normal equine.

He ran low and quick over the ground to become a green blur. Racing over the meadow of long grass making a line through the meadow and leaping over boulders of all sizes. Some dragons lying in the grass would raise their heads to watch Dragonbond run by them. Birds flew out of his way as they sensed him coming in their direction. Dragonbond would use his wings to give him an extra boost to leap over the largest boulders and over the wild rivers. It was known among the dragons that Dragonbond loved to fly, but he equally loved to run on the ground. The rush of his heart and veins pumping as he sprinted as fast as he could. Flying had its perks, but he found the most thrills on the ground when there were constant obstacles in his path from large trees to hidden holes that he needed to react quickly to. Dragonbond had been running on his own for miles as it was a long distance from his cave to the Great Lake. Names on the Island were kept simple to remember for such things as lakes, rivers, or even forests. The Fog Gate was one example already.

Soon, other dragons would catch sight of Dragonbond and join him in the run and making it into a competition. They would then race into the woodland area where it was the densest. They would flip and leap past and over objects performing stunts and wall kick off tree trunks. There was no reward other than gloating for these small competitions. That was what they most enjoyed about these dragon games they played. Just in every other thing, they would make it into a competition. This was also training for them to move as a pack. Knowing and figuring the next move of the other dragon to narrowly pass or perform a stunt together to improve their cooperation as a team. Something very vital in a battle if they found themselves in one.

They soon came running along a ravine with a running white water rapid far below. Running for a bit longer along the edge before the lead dragon jumped over the edge and started to dive down into the river. The rest of them followed right after him and dove over the side heading straight into the deepest part of the rapids. Once emerging from the surface, they started to swim against the current. Like trout, they would dive and leap out of the water to swim upstream. It was a game as well as taking a bath to have the water beat against them and rinse themselves clean. After a while, they turned to head downstream of the rapids. Far ahead was a large waterfall crashing down into a wide-open lake that stretched for miles. Wingless dragons would dive off the falls into the lake below with some performing stunts on the way down. Winged dragons would sometimes fly off into the air after diving off the falls. Dragonbond would always dive with the wingless dragons as it was always a thrill ride for him. That would be the end of their game as they either looked for fish, relaxed in the lake, or prepared for their full bath.

The lake was massive as it was surrounded by colossal trees stretching high above. Some trees had even sprouted from deep under the water and out of the surface. They grew vines that hung and dipped back into the water. These trees became resting spots for some dragons to take a break from swimming or practice their diving techniques from the branches. They also practiced the dives by flying over the lake before folding their wings in for a dive into the water. A very helpful technique for fishing over the sea. The lake was able to hold a great number of dragons to swim in. Even the bigger dragons could swim without taking much space. Some dragons chose to bathe near the bigger dragons since they would only need to raise their body heat to boil the water. Then smaller dragons would swim near the bigger dragons to use the boiling water to break off the dirt and filth from their scales.

The lake had its own cleansing system. The water was filled with countless bottom feeding aquatic life. Everything that was washed off the dragons would fall to the bottom of the lake where these bottom feeders fed. Everything that floated when dragons washed themselves were burned away by the boiling water. This natural cleansing system kept the lake ever clear and clean to see right to the bottom of the lake. From a bird's eye view, one could see every dragon and fish swimming under the water. Also, deep below were the more aquatic dragons. These dragons lived in underwater caves or tunnels. Sometimes they would swim down the rivers that connected the lake to the sea to hunt for their meal. They could eat to satisfy themselves for a few weeks before having to go out again into the sea to feed. Most times they swam across the lake or out at sea for their own amusement.

After swimming back to the surface, Dragonbond then swam out into an open area of water to have his own small spot to bathe. This was a special way these dragons used to clean off their scales. They chose a deep spot in the water and use their fire breath to heat their area of the water. Dragonbond's skin had become very heat resistant and was able to stand high temperatures without overheating or burning. The heated water would weaken and cleanse his skin from dirt, sweat, and stains from certain activities. This would always refresh him from his antics during the time he was having his own fun. He always enjoyed baths for some reason. He didn't know himself, but it comforted him in some way he couldn't explain. He mostly took a bath every day because of his unknown love for it.

A lot of things in his body had altered in his life while living with dragons. Fire resistance, controlled temperature, fire breathing, wing span, fur and hair, and skin durability. Over the years, he took the running form of a cheetah. He had traveled outside his lands with his dragon father and explored all kinds of places. One place was in the wildlands where creatures were more feral and wilder than sentient animal beings. Dragonbond caught sight of a group of cheetahs and observed them to see how they ran at such fast speeds. He studied their forms and tried to mimic it. He trained day and night to get the form. Forcing his body to move as they did, his bone structure started to change. He was now able to run faster when his back would arch and bend to mimic that of a cheetah. His equine stance would return after he was done running. His body was very nimble to switch forms of movements. What mostly helped was when he traveled to other dragon clans to learn their techniques.

After bathing in the heated water, he would just float on his back as the water cooled back to a normal temperature. This sometimes placed him in a light sleep as he floated. But not today.

He was suddenly attacked by another dragon diving right into him and pulling them both underwater. They started to fight and wrestle with kicking and biting. Dragonbond flapped his wings to try and weaken the dragon's grip and wait for a chance to escape. Each of them inflicted cuts and bruises to the other as they clashed. Blood spread in the water where they fought as they continued to bite and claw each other. Finally, his tail helped as it caught the dragon off guard and whipped the dragon's face. Dragonbond was able to push off from the dragon and swim away back to the surface.

He swam to one of the vines that hung from a tree in the middle of the lake and climbed up to the high branch. He then heard the offender splash out of the water and heading up straight towards him. Reacting fast, Dragonbond swung off to another vine with the attacker barely missing him. Dragonbond used mostly his tale to cling onto the vine to help him get a better grip with his other limbs. The dragon was making another round to swoop down on Dragonbond again. Using monkey like techniques, Dragonbond would let go of the vines with his limbs but still held on with his tail to give him a boost in his swing his vine and head into another one across from him. He would then grab on with his mouth and swing one vine to another. Dragonbond repeated this technique by switching his grips from his tail to his mouth to catch the next vine.

The dragon was becoming very irritated with Dragonbond's elusive swinging. He would repeat nearly flying into him only to miss him again. He then made another swoop down towards Dragonbond. Dragonbond planned to end this before he exhausted himself or the other dragon would begin to predict his next move. Dragonbond waited for the dragon to get very close as he swung forward away from the dragon. When the dragon made to catch him, Dragonbond let go of the vine with his mouth to nearly escape the dragon. But his tail whipped up and grabbed onto the dragon's tail. With the sudden added weight and Dragonbond's force to jerk his body down, the dragon was then pulled with Dragonbond to fall towards the water. Dragonbond opened his wings just before he hit the water and flew up as he let go of the dragon. The dragon splashed down into the water as Dragonbond glided up to a nearby branch. He couldn't flap with all the injuries he had in the fight. So, he climbed the rest of the way up to the branch.

When he made it up onto the branch, he bled a bit from the scratches and bites, but he was okay. Soon the other dragon climbed up a vine a bit further away from Dragonbond. Dragonbond recognized the other dragon as a golden colored dragon a little over his own size.

"Damn it, brother. I always forget about your tail. I always think it is as flimsy as a pony's tail." Claw said as he licked his own share of cuts given by Dragonbond.

Dragonbond had been doing the same until he spoke. "That is why I love this thing. It's why I win a lot of fights. Everyone thinks I am helpless until I beat the crap out of them." Dragonbond said smirking at his deceptive tactics. "Maybe someday we can finish one of these games before it reaches into another draw."

After a while, their small wounds slowly healed. Dragons are known to have a superior healing factor for non-lethal wounds. Dragonbond had long received this gift sometime after becoming officially a part of the clan. This was why Dragonbond's skin hardly had any scars on him. Dragons only showed scars that would show on scales until they shed to gain new ones.

"So, what are you doing here? I feel you have another reason instead of trying to drown me." Dragonbond joked.

Claw shook himself from the water that still was trickling off him. "I came to tell you that your father is waiting for you in the Elder Dragon's cave. Must be something important." Claw said intrigued about Dragonbond being summoned to see the Elder Dragon.

Dragonbond dove down for a quick dip and flew back to the branch. He shook himself from the water that soaked him. "Alright, let's go head to the Elder Dragon." Dragonbond said.

Both opened their wings and flew off the tree and into the sky. They flew just above the trees of the forest. Dragonbond would reach a hoof out to swat the tops of trees. It was a fun thing for him to do. Claw always thought it was a childish thing for Dragonbond to do what he did as a habit. But he just shook his head to disregard it. "Come on, brother. First one to fly into a tree, gives half his hunt to the winner." Dragonbond challenged his brother Claw.

"You're on, shrimp." Claw said accepting the challenge.

They began to fly below the tree line. The object of the challenge was to not even fly into a branch. It was a game, but also a way to test their agility and focus to navigate in tight spaces. They swerved and twirled to avoid hitting trees. Dragonbond started flying near the trees to kick off the ones he came close to. Claw laughed in victory.

"Ha! You hit a tree. I win!" Claw said feeling he won.

"I said first one to fly INTO a tree, not NEAR a tree." Dragonbond said grinning exposing the loophole in the challenge.

Claw growled frustrated feeling his victory was stolen from him. "I hate your damn loopholes." Claw growled.

They continued to fly through the trees and sometimes coming close to hitting some of them. It was only through nimble maneuvers that they dodged hitting right into a tree. They had done this for years that they became professionals in their little games. This also ended their games in many draws in every challenge they made. Flying into a clearing, they found themselves in yet another draw.

"I think we need to find new challenges." Dragonbond said frustrated in these constant conclusions to their games.

"Maybe tie stones to ourselves to add weight." Claw suggested to make it more challenging.

"Or use stones to throw at each other to cause the other to fly into trees." Dragonbond said with a mischievous grin.

Claw laughed amused at the idea. "You are one crazy dragon, brother."

"Next time, it's on." Dragonbond said excited for their next challenge for when it would come.

They continued to fly over the wide-open prairie fields. Below was a stampede of wild buffalo. The animals here were feral and wild as any normal animal living only based on their instincts. Flocks of birds flew in the sky passing by them. The animals here had grown used to the dragons. Since dragons only would rarely hunt them, they found them to be less of a threat than other predators. The only time land animals would be hunted was if the population needed to be controlled. Everything was kept in balance since the dragon's main source of food came from the ocean and its sea life.

They continued onward until they were coming up on the cave of the Elder Dragon. They came for a landing near the entrance. Claw sat outside next to it since only Dragonbond was summoned by the Elder Dragon. "Hurry up in there. I want to start that new challenge." Claw said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I am looking forward to my bigger meal when I win again." Dragonbond responded with a smug grin as he entered the cave.

Claw shook his head. "He'll be the death of me someday." Claw said to himself.

Now the cave of the Elder Dragon was a mystical place. Clear transparent crystals grew out of the floor, walls, and ceiling. Orbs of light floated around the cave. They entered in and out only through the crystals. They said they were the spirits of creatures long passed. Only the Elder Dragon could see and speak to them. He knew what they looked like and where they were from. It was his way to observe the events of the outside world. He used those events as tools to teach dragons lessons like giving small stories the help them all learn something whether it was about ways to survive, life lessons, or new creatures. Dragonbond had always wondered what he saw in these orbs of light. For instance, there was one spirit that had always been following him whenever he came inside this cave. It always seemed to know when Dragonbond would enter inside the cave as it had never failed to float straight over to him. Dragonbond never knew who or what it even was. It wasn't for the Elder Dragon to tell who or what the spirits were. Even so, Dragonbond had always felt comforted around it and feeling some strange connection to it. The Elder Dragon allowed Dragonbond to come in the cave whenever he wanted only to spend time with the spirit. Even though it would be a one-sided conversation, Dragonbond always spoke to the spirit. The light always floated next to him when he talked to it about his life and what he had been doing with it. Dragonbond always felt that the spirit was hanging onto every word Dragonbond spoke. It was a nice feeling for Dragonbond to feel. But he still wished he knew what creature this spirit belonged to and wished he could somehow communicate with it. But he was satisfied with just having it for company when he entered the cave. He was always a bit disappointed when he needed to leave the cave. The spirit was only able to move about only inside the cave. The crystals were the only things able to let the spirits roam about in the cave to communicate to the Elder Dragon.

Dragonbond headed deeper into the cave as the spirit followed him as usual. Dragonbond came to a room that was mostly covered in crystals where many of the spirits gathered. It was like entering a spiritual plane among the stars in the heavens. Dragonbond saw his dragon father was there as well. Dragons have always displayed courtesy and respect in the presence of the Elder Dragon. Dragonbond made it a natural habit to always act as such in front of the Elder Dragon. "Greetings father, I have come as instructed." He then turned to face the Elder Dragon to give a bow of respect. Not just to the Elder Dragon for his title, but because he was Dragonbond's elder as well and he always respected his elders. "Greeting Elder Dragon, I have come to answer my father's summon."

The Elder Dragon grunted. "Greetings to you as well, young Dragonbond. We have much to speak of concerning you on your journey through life." He said to Dragonbond before raising an open paw to direct Dragonbond's attention to his dragon father. "Your father shall speak to you of what we had been discussing."

Scalefang sat up straight to prepare speaking to his son. "Dragonbond, the time has come for you to start your own treasure hoard." He said straight and to the point.

Dragonbond's eyes widened in surprise. For the longest time, he shared his treasure with his father from the treasure raids and hunts they have been on together. When a dragon reached a certain age depending on his size and experience, they would start on their own journey to hoard their own treasure. Dragonbond was a special case because of his age and him being the first of his kind of new specie.

Dragonbond tried to keep is composure, but his tail was wagging wildly behind him excited for the news. "I am… honored. I felt I was ready, for some time, to travel on my own having finished my tasks and gained enough knowledge of the world." Dragonbond said humbly.

"Indeed, son. That is why we are going to send you to a place to start gathering for your hoard. A place you have yet to travel and explore." Scalefang said giving Dragonbond a hint to what he was talking about. "The land of your birth called Equestia."

Dragonbond wanted to protest this with every fiber of his body. He never wanted to mingle with these magical ponies. All he knew about them were that they were always reliant on magic and had a weak defense against invaders. The only thing that had saved their land was magic. Nothing that was from their own raw strength. Dragons of this land had no desire to travel to that land unless it was for small practice for the younger dragons going on a raid. But even that was a rare occurrence.

Sighing greatly, Dragonbond nodded. "As you wish father." He said despite wishing for any other place than there. Although, that land was rich in gold and gems. Gathering treasure would be swift for him. The only threat in that land were the Equestrian Dragons. They may not be as magical as the ponies of that land, but they did have a small bit of it to make them molt, grow wings, and even have a curse if they grew too greedy. Dragonbond knew them to be dishonorable, weak minded, thick skulled, and lazy. Dragonbond held no respect for their kind and would not hesitate to bring one down without mercy. "Will I be going alone?" He asked his dragon father.

"I cannot go with you this time. I will gain too much attention from these ponies that will affect your efforts to gain your own treasure hoard. But I will not allow you to fend for yourself alone. Claw will accompany you, but he will not help obtain any treasure since that is your task alone." Scalefang said. "He will only aid you if you are being overwhelmed by either ponies or dragons of that land." Dragonbond was grateful for this news. He would miss his father's guidance, but having Claw accompany him was just as good. "Don't mingle with those ponies. But if you need to, make it simple to gain information. If they find out what you truly are, they will attempt to hunt you for the dragon traits you have." Scalefang said. He knew not all ponies were peaceful and loving, they also have a dark side to them. He growled a little at the mention of that. His slit eyes became thinner to further show his displeasure in them.

Dragonbond nodded in acknowledging his dragon father's warnings. "I will, father. My journey will not be long." Dragonbond said. He hoped it would not take long at all. The land was rich with gems everywhere. What would make this quest of his faster was if he could find some high valued treasure. One that would be worth tons of gems and gold. Dragonbond then gave a bow of respect to his elders and then turned about to walk out of the cave with his new task. As he made his way to the cave exit, the same spirit followed next to him. "Looks like I finally have my quest to build my own hoard." He said speaking to the spirit that he would never know of. "I am somewhat nervous, but mostly anxious and excited. Eager most of all, eager to put all my training and years of experience to the test of my land of birth. It is nothing more than that to me. It may have been the place of my birth, but this is the land of my life. I may have been born a pegasus, but my allegiance is to the Draco and his dragons. My loyalty is to the land that raised and created me, and it always will be." He said in a serious and hard tone. The spirit started waving itself across Dragonbond's face. It was as if it was reacting with a bit of aggression. "Whoa, what are you getting all worked up for? If you were from that land, I'm sorry if I offended you." Dragonbond said shielding his face with his wing from the spirit. Soon the ball of light calmed. "Never knew spirits could still get angry." Dragonbond said before seeing the cave exit. "Well my eternal friend, it looks like this will be the last we meet for a while. I hope you don't get too lonely during my absence." Dragonbond said as he left the cave. The spirit remained inside not moving as if it was watching Dragonbond leave until he was gone from sight.

Claw then saw his brother exit from the cave and stood up interested in what he was told. "So, what are you doing? Are they sending you to a new land, if there are any left?"

Dragonbond nodded as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight again. "Apparently so. I am returning to the land of my birth to build my treasure hoard." Dragonbond said passing by Claw giving him a bump to the shoulder with his wing. "You are coming too." Dragonbond said with a smirk.

Claw's eyes widened in shock. He had no respect for that land as much as Dragonbond and was distraught to hear that he had to go as well. "Come again?" he said with surprise clear in his tone.

Dragonbond turned to face him. "I am to be leaving to the land of ponies. Equestria. You are going to come with me as ordered by my father." Dragonbond said. "You can't deny that you wished to cause a bit of ruckus in that place." He said knowing Claw would want to do something like that.

Claw sighed as he rolled his eyes. "I think it is what most young dragons think of to play pranks in that land and every grown dragon to head into battle against those dragons." Claw said rubbing his paw over his head. "I don't feel we should have our presence in that place." He said in a harsh tone as he walked closer in a serious manner. "That land is filled with magic. It might help them survive and to keep things running, but it also corrupts and infects. We all know this, and it happens over and over again. Not just in that land, but creatures of other lands. Magic gives them power and with power comes greed that blackens the purest of hearts." Claw then walks away for a moment frustrated.

"Do you say I should refuse my task?" Dragonbond said making his point.

Claw growled even more frustrated. "The Elder Dragon and your father gave you this task. I may be against it, but you are far ready for this." Claw said with confidence in his brother. "I am your brother. I will have your back until my end."

"What if I should fall first?" Dragonbond said hypothetically.

"As long as I draw breath, you, my brother, shall return home among your family as all dragons before has after their deaths." Claw said with pride for calling Dragonbond his brother.

Dragonbond rolled his eyes with a smirk. "Don't get sentimental. I'm not dying for another thousand years." Dragonbond would jest. He was never one for staying too serious for too long.

Claw chuckled at his brother's sense of humor. "Could never stay too serious for too long, can you?"

Dragonbond then gave a fake stern face and spoke in a low tone. "You would rather that I talk like this all the time?" Dragonbond laughed as he gave Claw a swat to his face using the knuckle of his hoof. To them, it was a brotherly bond that was the same as a playful hit to the shoulder. They had always been rough even when playing around. A competition of their masculinity to prove who was tougher than the other like a game.

Claw laughed at his brother. "Well, being serious always takes the fun out of everything anyways."

"Well I'm going to get a few things from my cave before I head out." Dragonbond said.

"Fine, I'll meet you at the bay entrance." Claw said before flying off. Dragonbond flew home in the other direction.

In the home of the Elder Dragon, there was a calm argument between Scalefang and the Elder Dragon. Scalefang had been holding in his restlessness while Dragonbond had been present. Now he was venting his uneasy nerves about this. "This is a bad idea. I don't know why I went along with sending my son back to that accursed land." He growled.

The Elder Dragon kept his calm composure. "You have such small faith in your son. Dragonbond is strong and too stubborn to listen to them if they do try to influence him." He said with confidence in Dragonbond. "But he still believes one day our kind can return to the role we once had as guardians and protectors to the creatures of this world. I believe he has become a bridge for our kind and the rest of the world."

"Why do we need to reach out to those creatures? They live by the rule of magic. Without it, they are nothing but dying beasts. Their land can't even work without their magic." Scalefang said making his point to leave that land alone.

The Elder Dragon rubbed his chin as if figuring how to explain what he would say next. "There is something there that he needs to face. I cannot say what it is, only that it ties to Dragonbond's past and who he is." A spirit hovered over to the Elder Dragon. The Elder looked to it as if it was speaking to him. Scalefang hated when this happened as it was only for the Elder Dragon's knowledge to know what the spirits were and what they were saying to him. "Does Dragonbond still have that fused gem he found as an infant?" The Elder Dragon asked Scalefang.

Scalefang nodded. "It is back in our cave." He said.

The Elder Dragon looked to the spirit and nodded his head towards the glowing crystal. The spirit then floated over and into the crystal to head back to the spiritual plane of existence. He then turned to Scalefang. "Have Dragonbond take it with him and to keep it on him at all time." He said.

Scalefang didn't have much time to stall with the questions he had. If he knew the Elder Dragon commanded it, it needed to be done. Holding back his frustration, Scalefang bowed in acknowledgement and exited the cave to give him the gem.

The Elder Dragon turned back to watch the spirits and their activities. "I hope you were right about that boy, Draco." He said speaking out loud.

Dragonbond had a pack that strapped around his chest and under his armpits. The pack rested on his back between his wings. Saddle bags were of no use with the way he flew. They would only flap around and throw off his balance if both sides didn't have equal weight. Having only one weight on his back made it a lot more comfortable to fly with. Inside was only one thing that he really needed. It only came in handy if he found himself in a fierce battle. Being a land of harmless natives, he believed it would be a rare chance he would have to use it. But he always believed in bringing it and not needing it than need it and not have it. Finding he was ready to leave, Dragonbond gave one last look around the home he grew up in as it would be the last time for a long while that he would see it again. He savored every memory that returned to him. Ghostly images played around the cave from his memories. The moment his dragon father first brought him into this cave. The times he was lulled to sleep by his dragon father's stories near an open fire. Times Dragonbond would play with his dragon father and giving him every moment of his attention to raising him from an infant to the time of the Dragon Trials. Even the time Dragonbond had been trapped in the wall and almost died from the lava from inside. The time Dragonbond grew sick after the magic in him left. His dragon father never left his side during that time. The time he first began to fly. Then the time Dragonbond first brought in his first kill of a turtle. Every memory it was with Scalefang and himself. Every moment Scalefang helped him grow into the dragon pony he was now. From a lesser creature consumed in magic to a new specie immune to magic and a part of a clan or as he preferred to thin of them as a family that were second to none. Dragonbond knew no other life that he could have had, and he was content with it. This life was one he would not trade for any other. Even for being the first and last of his kind, he held no regret or sadness for that. He was honored to be what he was. If fate willed him to die as the last, then so be it.

He hardly saw himself with any creature. Dragons were far too scaly for him and even then, most were way to big or small. All other creatures didn't have any physical appeal to him either. Bi-ped creatures such as mammals, fish, reptiles, birds, amphibians, and worst of all, bugs. The thought of ponies insulted him. They would only mix their magic with the offspring. He only knew that any creature he would breed with would only turn into a hybrid rather than another one of his kind. That would defeat the whole purpose of trying to not become the last of his kind. Coming to this conclusion from a long time back, Dragonbond accepted his fate as the last. He found the need to find a mate useless. His time was only to his family and his training to become stronger and better.

His ghostly memories vanished as he prepared himself to leave. Just as he was heading out the cave, he saw Scalefang flying down towards the cave. Dragonbond leaped up a bit into the air to make a glide over to where his dragon father would land. "Is something wrong, father?" Dragonbond asked curious of his father's arrival.

"I need to give you one thing to take with you." He said as he entered inside the cave. Dragonbond waited outside until he came back. When he did, Scalefang held something clutched in his palm. Dragonbond tilted his head in curiosity. "You found it not by luck or accident. You were meant to keep it with you." Scalefang said lowering his paw down and opened it to reveal the fused gem of an ancient dragon legend. The gem of diamond and ruby rolled down from his palm to the tip of his closed claws. Dragonbond reached out for it to take. It was now the size of his eye and fitted in a metal harness to wear it on his chest.

Dragonbond remembered the Elder Dragon informing him once that the dragon legend of this gem was one that fought against an army of magic infused dragons on his own to give the rest of his kind a chance to escape with the young of the next generation. He took them all on and brought down over a thousand magical dragons on his own. Nearing his end, he used whatever life source he had in his body to make himself explode in a great blast of light. This wiped out everything in a three-mile radius. What was left of the dragon was the gem as it shot up and out into the sky. It soared over the earth for a while until it plunged into the mountain side of the land where Dragonbond had found it. The name of the dragon was Kronos. His deed and sacrifice ensured the next generation of dragon to live and multiply.

These dragons of legends were made up to be myths as a different variety of titans that roamed the globe. Made up by creatures that had long forgotten about their past. But their names had still survived through the passing of time. Although, creatures would always believe these titans to be in the colossal form of their own species. You would always hear the stories change as you visited different creatures with their own versions of the titan myths.

Dragonbond now saw this gem of Kronos as a story to always remember and learn from. Dragonbond didn't question why his dragon father wished for him to take it. He trusted his father's judgement as it never failed him before. "I will make certain that none ever touch it." He said.

Scalefang wasn't one for long heartfelt goodbyes. He sighed and nodded to Dragonbond. "Safe travels, my son."

Dragonbond nodded and bowed. Breaking all forms of pride, he flew up to his once favored spot between Scalefang's brow and rested his own head against it as an alternative to a hug. Dragonbond gave this as a way to express his whole gratitude for his life of raising him. "I shall return and make you proud, father." Dragonbond promised.

"You already have my son." Scalefang said. They closed their eyes to savor this moment when they would separate for who knows how long. Dragonbond was going to miss his dragon father's guidance and presence.

Then it was time for Dragonbond to leave. Dragonbond gave his dragon father one last bow of respect and honor. This bow was one to give high honor and respect to the one they bowed to. Dragonbond had his chest raise out. Both forelegs were standing together at attention. One hindleg was placed back further than the other. His head he tucked down his chin almost touching his chest. Wings stretched up and out over his back and his tail bent in a crescent shape as it lowered to touch the ground and bring the tip of the tail up.

With that, Dragonbond turned to fly out from the cave and made a flight path to the Great Bay where his brother was waiting for him.

Claw was at the opening of the bay waiting on the shore. He was very uneasy about heading to their destination. Any other land he would be find with. Even one that was infested with goblins and trolls. He had no worries about having to burn down ponies if the situation called for it. It was just something he didn't want to waste his efforts or time on to deal with these lesser creatures. Although, he never saw Dragonbond close to being like them. He knew that part of him died with the magic that no longer controlled him. He couldn't imagine how these creatures could be satisfied to have something that can easily be taken away and leave them completely weak and defenseless like a fish on land. He just hoped to the stars that their journey would be quick and without trouble. Soon Claw saw Dragonbond flying over towards him. "It's about time." He said to himself. He then flew up into the air to meet with Dragonbond.

Dragonbond saw Claw fly up next to him as they flew out over the open sea. "Well I wouldn't say this will be an adventure of a lifetime. But it will be the strangest one we ever had." Dragonbond said. He wished this journey would have more of a challenge than to just stealthily find treasure and avoid contact with ponies. But there was no challenge or honor fighting such weak and timid creatures.

"I know the Elder Dragon had his reasons to send you there, but I just can't figure it out for the life of me. There is nothing for you in that land but a close call memory of you being spared from that magic. Who knows what you would have ended up like living in a place like that?" Claw said as they drew near to the Fog Gates that was seen on the horizon. There was still a bit of distance to close before they reached it.

"Whatever the reason, I just pray to the stars that it doesn't send me back into that life. All the stories I had heard was about them hugging and talking about feelings." Dragonbond said disgusted at the thought.

"What is worse is I heard that a full-grown dragon was made to cry like a baby by one small mare." Claw laughed remembering this story.

Dragonbond laughed with him. "And here I was thinking we would have to worry about running into an Equestrian dragon. Guess we don't have to worry about anything at all then if these dragons cry over being bullied by a small mare."

Now they entered the Fog Gates. Their senses had grown sharp enough to navigate through the fog and avoid the creatures of the deep so they wouldn't have to deal the creatures of the air. They flew up, over, and sideways to avoid being caught by the sea serpents. It was an easy pass to get through the fog until they got out on the other side. Normally, it would take half an hour for them to fly through this fog, but they decided to make a dash for it to make it to the other side. This would make it at least five minutes to get through to the other side. Thanks to the screeches made from creatures above the fog, their strong hearing was able to make out the objects through the fog to avoid flying into them like a bat sonar. Another trait Dragonbond picked up from other dragons of the clan that liked to dwell in caverns. With is improved eyesight, it was as if he could see clearly through the fog. All dragons had a natural improved sense of sight to see what other creatures couldn't.

Finally, they reached the other side of the Fog Gates. It was clear open skies for miles to see. With no threats to limit their air space, Dragonbond and Claw started to fly as they wished. Speed was always fine but the real fun was just going all out on aerial maneuvers. They could never have too much practice with aerial stunts. But sometimes Dragonbond just liked to fool around. He flew just over the water and flapped his wings just enough to keep him up as he started running on water. Or at least making it feel as if he was running on water. It was his wings that kept him above the water. His hooves just slightly dipped into the water. It was very tricky to keep one's balance and flight while flying and moving your legs over nothing but water. One wrong move and you would find yourself crashing into the water. One would know about that after having making that mistake before. After many mishaps, Dragonbond got the hang of the trick so it was a second nature to him.

Claw scoffed at him. "Show off."

"Wish you were born a pegasus?" Dragonbond teased with a smug grin.

"I'll stick with having a tougher hide than a soft fluffy coat." Claw said chuckling when Dragonbond growled.

"At least I don't molt like a dried-up leaf." Dragonbond said sticking his nose up at his brother.

"You take that back, you plush toy!" Claw growled.

"You started it, bone head." Dragonbond said sticking his tongue out at him.

"That does it!" Claw shouted having enough of this.

"Oh crap!" Dragonbond said before flying out of the way of a fireball.

They continued these shenanigans for a long while. Dragonbond flew wildly in every direction to avoid giving Claw a clear shot at him. Even though this was considered fighting, partially in their view, this was all a game. As they had always played rough with each other. Thanks to their tough hides and quick healing factor, injuries they sustained were only for a short while before they cleared up. Claw would only have to shed his scales to gain new ones as a replacement. Dragonbond would only have to wait for his skin to heal up any marks of scars. So, both could be as rough as they could with each other without a worry to cuts and bruises as long as they didn't sever a limb.

Soon they came to a lone island. It was getting dark and it was unwise to travel the open seas in this area at night. They stopped their little fight so they could fly in for a landing. They set up their little spot further inland to keep away from the shores as it was known to them that sea creatures would sometimes come near the shore to try and find anything that ventured near the water for them to have a quick meal out of.

They were able to find a small cave. They made sure to check if it was cleared out of any other creatures that would cause them trouble. Claw then dug a small hole and began to spill flammable saliva from his glands to fill the hole. Then he lit it on fire with a spark from his dragon breath. Soon they had a small fire to keep them company.

"It's a bit of a relief that we had to make this stop. I am in no hurry to get to that land of ponies." Dragonbond said as he was grinding his back against a stalagmite to scratch his back with.

Claw played with the fire using his claws. "Maybe we should fight more often to delay our time of arriving in that land." He suggested with a grin. He partly wanted to get revenge on his brother.

Dragonbond then came over to the fire to lie on his side near the flames. "If we do, we have to try and change the direction of the fight in a different direction." Dragonbond said with a chuckle. But he fully knew that his dragon father was expecting him to head towards the land of his destination. He couldn't disobey his dragon father. "But in seriousness, we do have to get there as soon as we can. The earlier we start the earlier we finish."

Claw sighed knowing that was true. "I know. But it was a nice idea to think about while it lasted."

Dragonbond stretched out for a moment before curling up. "Well, let us get some sleep. It will make the night pass faster so we can wake up at sunlight to head the rest of the way." Dragonbond said.

"Rest well brother." Claw said before curling up to sleep.

"I will see you in the morning." Dragonbond said before he closed his eyes to try and sleep.

Celestia was now at her wit's end. The dream that had become nightmares grew stronger. It felt like the reason for these dreams was that the cause of them were drawing nearer. Twilight and the others were coming back from the crisis of the recently reclaimed Crystal Empire. King Sombra had been defeated and the Empire had been restored with its new alicorn ruler, Princess Cadence. But such victory was hardly a comfort to the princess of the sun.

Luna had done her best to aid her sister with her dream, but it was also now starting to take a mental toll on her as well. The last dream they had was of the same one from before, but this time they could feel the heat of the flames, they could smell the scorched land, they could taste the ash in the air. They tried to figure out what this creature or pony was, but the image of it was still unclear. Were they supposed to befriend it or fight it? They couldn't just ignore it if the dream was this severe. But this last dream had something new. In the end, it showed them the fog Twilight had told her about. Celestia and Luna made a personal trip to this great fog that looked like a gate that stretched for endless miles. In the dream, they saw two figures made of black smoke fly out of the fog and were heading straight to Equestria. They now feared that this cause of their nightmares was already on its way. How could they prepare for something they had no idea what it looked like?

Celestia needed to alert Twilight about this. With a quill and paper, she hastily wrote down a message as fast as she could. They had no time to waste if that creature was on its way to their land.

"Sister, would it not be wise for us to handle this creature ourselves? We might banish it somewhere far where it can never return to our land." Luna said feeling force should be taken into action.

Celestia shook her head. "You saw what happened in that dream. If we do attack it, that might cause something horrible that we won't be able to stop. We will try peaceful communications first. If that fails, we will try to use force as a last resort." If the dream was true about aggravating it with an attack, that might doom their land to be raised in flames.

Luna sighed in concern. "If thou wishes. We hope this is the right course to choose." Luna said knowing they needed to tread carefully with what was to come. They had no information on what level of a threat it could hold. If they provoked it, innocent ponies might be harmed in the crossfire.

Celestia soon finished with the message and sent it out hoping Spike received it with Twilight nearby.

It was during the middle of their ride back on the train. They decided to take a nap to relax after the exhausting trip. Spike was sleeping on the other end of Twilight's bed in the train. They were all asleep at that moment, until Spike was suddenly awakened by the sensation of the message coming. He tried to cover his mouth to keep from waking everyone, but it was to no use. He burped out the green flame that transformed into the rolled parchment from Celestia.

This startled Twilight from her sleep with a yelp. "Eep! Wha-what happened? Where are we?" She asked confused after the sudden awakening.

Spike was still exhausted as he was still lying on his back and holding up the rolled piece of paper in his hand. "Message for you." He said annoyed from being woken up when he was trying to sleep. "She really couldn't have waited until she knew we were home?" He grumbled grumpily as he turned over to try to sleep again. "Message her back to save the messages until we get back home."

Twilight rolled her eyes as she shook her head. She just thought that Spike should learn that every message should be treated as if it was an emergency. She opened the message to start reading it. She was also making a mental note to teach Spike that a message that might come might one day be important if something were to… Her eyes widened as she continued to read the message. She read it over again and again to make sure there was no mistake.

"Girls!" Twilight shouted in urgency.

Rainbow Dash jumped from her bed and falling out of her bed in a tangle of sheets. "It wasn't me! It was the one fore legged pony!" she shouted out of reaction to something she had been dreaming. Spike woke up in a similar way without making some random outburst. He was just grumpy that he had to wake up again.

The others sat up from their beds sleepy eyed, but alert. "Darling…" Rarity yawned. "Whatever is the matter?" she lifted the cover from her eyes to rub them.

"You finally wanted to have a train slumber party?" Pinkie Pie asked already holding board games, pillows, and treats.

Twilight shook her head forgetting the sudden random suggestion. "Princess Celestia needs us to meet her as soon as we get back."

"Really darlin'?" Applejack said exasperated. All she wanted to do was get home to her farm to get back to her usual farm life. "Can't ya just go on yer own and tell us later what she needs?"

Rainbow Dash finally freed herself from the tangle of sheets kicking off the last part wrapped around her hindleg. "Seriously, we just come back from saving the Crystal Empire. What could be so important that all of us should go?"

"Is it Filomena again? Is she sick or hurt? That might be why she wants us all there, right?" Fluttershy asked assuming it had to do with an animal that was suffering.

Twilight shook her head. "No, she really needs all of us. To sum up what she said, she has been having reoccurring dreams or nightmares of the land's destruction being scorched to ashes. She said that now the dream felt more real than ever before and whatever is the cause of it is heading to Equestria right now."

The other girls looked at each other worried that some foreign creature or monster was heading for their land. Rainbow Dash only groaned pulling the bottom lids of her eyes in frustration. "Really? Can't these things give us a chance between crises to get a break?"

"How long had she been having these nightmares?" Spike asked concerned for the princess.

"She said she has had them for a long time. Many years or so. She has lost count as these dreams became more frequent." Twilight explained. "I'll send her a message back to meet us at the library so we won't have to wait for a train to head back to Canterlot. Spike, take down this message." She said as Spike did as she said.

Twilight started speaking for Spike to write the message while the others sat on their beds unable to go back to bed after what they were hearing from the message. If this was a frequently reoccurring dream that has been haunting the princess, it must be serious. The part in the message about the land being rendered to ashes struck fear in their hearts. They had no idea if it was just caused by one monster or many. They suspected it was some type of dragon that perhaps came to wage war against them. It might also be some evil sorcerous with unbelievably superior destructive power. Would the forces of Equestria be enough to fight this threat? If this dream of the princess was true, their forces might not be enough to fight this thing.

Twilight had Spike send the message after she finished. He then sent the scroll away in a small breath of fire. "Well that should do it for now. We should head to the library when we get back to Ponyville. We should all try to get some sleep before we get home." She suggested.

"I don't think I can sleep now." Fluttershy said shaking in fear of the coming doom.

"There, there now sugar cube. Everythang will be just fine. Ya'll see." Applejack promised rubbing Fluttershy's back. Fluttershy just buried her face in a pillow.

"Yeah, I'm not too sure about that." Rainbow Dash said feeling the fear herself if this thing could burn the land to ash.

"Maybe we can throw it a "Welcome and Be Our Friend" party." Pinkie Pie suggested hopefully.

"Let us hope this thing could listen to reason." Rarity said hoping they could strike a civil conversation. "It is not like we can't all sit down and talk like civilized creatures."

"Well let's get some shut eye." Applejack said before getting in her bed as the rest of them did.

Spike had no problem going straight back to sleep. Twilight was the one who had trouble sleeping knowing the princess was in trouble with these dreams or whatever they were. Also, that their land was in danger of being wiped out. The danger her friends, family, and other innocents were all that made it all the harder for her to sleep. It may have taken a while but sleep finally found her as she drifted into her slumber.

TO BE CONTINUED