STILL TRYING ON THE CHARACTERS

i do not own mlp

The Dragon Pony

After arriving in Ponyville late in the morning, the six mares and Spike made their way to the library from the train station. They saw ponies talking to each other. No doubt about the arrival of the princesses. By the looks of concern on their faces instead of excitement, Twilight could only guess that the ponies of this town saw the state Princess Celestia was in. This put a cold feeling in her heart. Ponies would start to panic if things were not fixed as quickly as possible. They saw the mayor of the town come out of the library where two guards stood post in front of the door. The girls could only assume Mayor Mare spoke to the princess to discuss about how to calm the ponies of Ponyville so not to cause any rumors that would start a massive panic.

Twilight stopped at the door to take a deep breath. "It will be fine sugar cube. We'll fix this quicker than uh broken wheel on uh wagon." Applejack said trying to calm her friend.

Twilight looked back to see her friends nod and smile to let her know they were right behind her all the way. "Thanks. Well… here goes nothing." Twilight said pushing the door open for them to walk inside.

When they went in, they saw another guard in the room near the stair that led to Twilight's room. "The Princess is in your room. She needed to rest in your bed for a while." The guard said before moving aside to allow them to pass. Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat feeling more uneasy hearing the princess' condition.

"Oh, poor Princess Celestia. She must really be troubled about this problem." Fluttershy said in concern.

They walked up to the bedroom to find a few more guards around the room as added protection. Up on the second floor of the of the room, they saw Celestia lying on her side in the bed with Luna sitting in a chair next to her sister. Even from where they stood, they could see dark circles around Celestia's eyes. Proof she hasn't been getting her much-needed rest to calm her nerves and mind.

Princess Luna waved a hoof for them to approach. "Come forward, our little ponies." She commanded. Not wanting to waste time, they all came in a hurry to sit around the bed. Luna helped assist her sister to sit up. "They are here sister." Luna said in a soft voice. She didn't want to cause any stress to Celestia in any way possible. "Speak thy tone calmly to our sister. She hath been uneased by her dreams of late." Luna warned.

Celestia sat up against the headboard of the bed. She smiled weakly at the six mares and Spike. Spike sat on the bed near her worried about her condition. "I am grateful you have come. I am fine, just a bit drained from certain circumstances." She said trying to ease their worries.

Twilight wished to know what to do as fast as possible. "What is it? What do we need to do to help?" Twilight asked.

Wanting to be more informed about what they were dealing with, Applejack asked her question. "What is this all about yer highness?" The others wished to know that as well.

Celestia gave a deep breath to relax herself. "As you heard, something is coming to our land from far across the western sea. I believe it has come from the direction of where the fog lies. I don't have an idea of what exactly, but it looked like to be a pegasus among dragons."

Right at the mention of the word, Fluttershy began to shake in fear. "D-d-d-dragons?" she asked terrified.

"Oh, come on. You spoke down to a dragon before. You have no reason to be afraid of another." Rainbow Dash said frustrated with Fluttershy's timid nature.

"That dragon didn't come from t-that fog." Fluttershy pointed out remembering the story of Big Boss.

"Shh, let her finish." Twilight said wanting to hear more about the dream.

"Yes, it is a pegasus but there seems to more to it. As if it could breathe fire like any dragon and could destroy much with its own strength alone. I hope the dream only exaggerates. I do not know what brings this creature to our land, But I fear if the dream is correct, any aggression towards this creature would surely spell doom for our land." Celestia explained before taking a glass of water to drink to calm herself from remembering the dream.

Luna took over since she was there in the dream with her sister to witness what she saw. She wanted to give her sister time to relax her mind from the stress. "We believe thou must find this creature and attempt a friendship with it. Verily, we cannot foresee how thy should approach this matter. Our sister's dream lacked the knowledge to give us any clue to how this creature reacts. Thou ponies must be wary of thy actions when thou discover this creature."

"How in tarnation are we suppose ta find this critter? It is comin' from the western sea, but we have no idea what part of that sea it will come through." Applejack voiced her concern about how to track down something they have no idea where it will enter their land from.

"We shall send messages to the settlements on the western coast to be wary of any creature that looks suspicious." Luna said.

"So, if anything comes from the sea, we can spring into action and…" Rainbow Dash began before being cut off by Twilight.

"And carefully approach him with no signs of hostility." Twilight interjected. She knew Rainbow Dash would have said something along the lines of getting into a fight with the creature.

"Ah, if this ruffian is as vile as the dream says, how are we ever going to convince it's savage mind to act in a civil manner?" Rarity said shuttering at the thought of the creature.

Pinkie Pie grabbed Rarity by her shoulders from behind and shook her with excitement. "Ooh, I have an idea!" Pinkie said before she stopped shaking Rarity. Rarity's eyes spun for a moment before she shook her head and fixed her frazzled mane. "We'll surprise him with a "Welcome to Equestria" welcome party! I'll just get my cannon and set it to Welcome party and POOF! Instant welcome party and instant friendship."

"I do wish you would calm down with your ideas. It's not healthy for my mane." Rarity said as she combed it a bit more.

"Well let's keep that as a second option." Twilight said feeling it would take a lot more than a welcome party to settle this situation. "In the meantime, we should keep our ears open for any rumors wherever we go. In case this creature somehow manages to slip through, we'll need any information we can get to locate where it is."

"D-do we have to meet with it?" Fluttershy asked as she hid behind the feathers of her wings. "I-it might not want to talk. Can't we just make every pony leave it alone?" Fluttershy asked in desperation from having to interact with it.

"We have to meet with it Fluttershy. We don't know what it might if some pony gets to him first." Twilight said. Fluttershy just made a small squeak from the thought of meeting with it as she shuttered.

"Whatever you choose as the best course of action, I wish you all the luck you will need." Celestia said sitting up a bit straighter. "We will do our part to keep you informed as well." She then nodded to her sister.

"Guards, it is time to take our leave." Luna commanded.

"Yes, Princess." They responded as they came to assist Celestia from the bed and out of the library. Once outside, they helped her onto the chariot. Luna sat next to her sister to keep her steady for the ride back to the castle.

Twilight sighed as she was worried for both the princess and the land. They could only plan for what was to come. As for trying to find it when it comes, that would be an entirely different problem to face.

The time came when Claw and Dragonbond finally saw the coastline of the land of Equestria. Not wanting to drew any attention to any native that could have been occupying the shores, they flew up high into the clouds for cover. With their long-ranged vision, they looked down to see that there seemed to be some small outposts. They seemed to be watching for something as if they anticipated their arrival. It was unclear to how they would know that they were coming. If they could figure-out they were coming, that meant either someone was following them or it was a type of magical warning they somehow set off. Heaven forbid that they used dark magic to speak to spirits. But as they had learned about these ponies was didn't believe in the supernatural. The two brothers felt pity that they were so small and closed minded to know the truth of this world.

That aside, they flew far from the shores inland so they could fly back to the ground. They kept to the wild where hardly any ponies would settle or travel. Right now, they had to find a shelter for them both. "Alright Dragonbond, I will find a cave for us to stay in for the time being. You should go look for your treasure so we can be that much closer to leaving this accursed land." Claw said with a scowl as he looked around feeling disgusted.

"Sounds like a sound plan. I hope you don't run into a cave with an Equestrian dragon inside." Dragonbond said.

"Aw, I didn't know you cared." Claw teased his brother as if to say Dragonbond was going soft.

Dragonbond rolled his eyes in a smirking scoff. "I don't, I just don't want to miss out on the action of taking one of them on." Dragonbond said before flying off.

Claw chuckled at his brother's attitude. "Well better find a place to hide in. Maybe somewhere high on the side of a cliff. A good way to keep unwanted creatures from trying to get in." Claw said as he started his search for their new home.

Dragonbond had to find some things to hide certain features about him. Something to cover his wings that would make any pony very suspicious of him. The spikes on the tip of his wing fingers and the bone on his wing knuckles would raise a lot of eye brows. Not to mention the size his wings would get him a lot of questions. The real thing he needed to hide was the scales of his wings. Sure, they looked like feathers but if any creature got a closer look, that would cause them to be alerted to what he was. He hoped to avoid any interaction with ponies. The fur that ran from under his chin to his underbelly couldn't be hidden. He would only be able to hide part of it if he could find the right clothing. His marks on his shoulders would need to be hidden. Ponies only got their marks on their flanks and not their shoulders. Dragonbond hated wearing normal clothes but it needed to be done for him to walk among them without drawing attention. When he got to a nearby town out near a dessert, he raided some laundry from a clothesline. He made sure not to take from ponies with children. Despite looking down on ponies, Dragonbond respected ponies with children to not make their lives any harder. Instead he would find the laundry of some pony that lived on their own. Pony trousers and a shirt would do. But Dragonbond took a small cape as an extra measure to cover his wings. He also wrapped a cloth over his harness that held the gem on his chest so not to draw too much attention as well. He wouldn't know if these ponies would be overcome by greed to attack him for hi gem or not. With that, he was ready to walk among the ponies.

During their travel to Equestria, Dragonbond had picked up some gems and gold ore they happened to find. He needed some type of valuable thing to use to trade for things he needed. He left some gems for the clothes he took from the pony and went on his way. He remembered they used gold coins for currency and some gems as higher valued currency from. Dragonbond guessed those lessons about this place wasn't a total waste of his time. He didn't know how much these gems he collect were worth compared to their coins, so he left one gem for each thing he took. Even though he disapproved of giving things to these ponies, his honor demanded him not to steal unless he could trade something of equal or greater worth. He didn't have the time to find out the worth of these gems compared to the coins, so he left it at what he gave the pony.

He walked listening in on any information about treasures. Mostly large amounts of treasure kept somewhere. Hoping there was a corrupt pony with a large amount of money. Nothing would satisfy him more to steal from that kind of pony and ruin their life. Maybe terrorize them for a bit to teach them a lesson. Dragonbond really held grudges against the corrupt. As he walked, he noticed something that confused him. He was in a well-made disguise, but he was still getting stares. Not from every pony, but just from some of the mares. He didn't look too ridiculous in the disguise he wore. He just had a white loose shirt, some relaxed comforting brown trousers that were common to wear, at least for ponies that did wear pants, and his normal dark green cape that hardly would draw attention. He wondered if they saw through his disguise, but they only smiled at him as they passed by or giggled. Dragonbond was confused by this to why they acted this way. Just when he thought he had them figured-out, they began acting strangely. He wondered if they acted like this towards every new face they saw. Some would try to speak to him with a greeting, but he kept his eyes down on his path. He then figured that if it was mares that acted this strange to him, he should probably speak to a stallion instead for rumors that were going around. The best place he would try would be a tavern.

He approached a passing stallion to direct him to the nearest tavern. "Excuse me, sir. Where can I find the tavern? I'm new to this town." Dragonbond asked casually.

The stallion looked and pointed to a direction further down from where they stood. "Down this street and to the left." The stallion said.

Dragonbond nodded to him. "You have me thanks." Dragonbond said before walking off towards the tavern. The stallion was a bit puzzled by Dragonbond's show of gratitude. It looked like something a noble pony would do, but he didn't look to have anything that would hint to him having any nobility. His clothes were common, but the way he spoke and his posture were something that looked to be something of him being raised into nobility. Shrugging it off, the stallion walked on to his daily routine.

Dragonbond walked to the tavern to hear piano music playing and some songs to hint that some ponies were drunk. He walked to the door to start hearing more of laughter and talking. Dragonbond gently pushed through the door to avoid attention. He sat at a table in the middle of the busiest part of the tavern. He would sure to hear some pony speak of treasure in a place like this.

A waitress pony came to his table. "What can I get for you handsome?" She asked with a coy smile.

Dragonbond mentally rolled his eyes as he knew this was something all waitress did to get good business to the weaker minded stallions. "Just some water will do." He requested.

"Sure, thing hun. Now don't you go away." She said playfully. Dragonbond missed the sway of her flank as she walked away as he started to concentrate on his hearing to listen to all the ponies around him. If this proved to be a fruitless effort, he would have to try to ask the bartender for any juicy stories of treasure.

He listened around the room. He just heard the talk of ponies and their normal lives. Working at a job, losing a job, the woes of their love life, finding old relics to a pyramid that was near the town. Talk of some pony from the past. Nothing that was truly worth Dragonbond's interest. Nothing truly worth noting. One thing he did find a bit unsettled was how some of the stallions on how they spoke about feelings and being a bit too soft for Dragonbond's taste. The males in his clan would talk of their feelings, but would do so in a strong manner. They wouldn't speak to have others pity them like these stallions seem to do, but to ask for guidance to help them deal with it on their own. His clan believed that a dragon can only become stronger emotionally and mentally when they deal with their problems on their own. Hearing these ponies talk of their feelings for the comfort of others made Dragonbond roll his eyes as he tried to drown out their conversations. These ponies were proving way too soft and emotionally fragile to him.

Soon the waitress came back with his cup of water. "Here you go cutie. Haven't seen you around these parts." She said leaning on the table next to him.

"I'm just drifting through. I'm not planning to stay long." Dragonbond said hoping that would be the end of it.

"Where are you from?" She persisted to ask more about him.

Dragonbond was getting a bit annoyed at the consistence of her questions. "Nowhere at the moment. I'm traveling around to find something. I plan to set up home when I find a suitable place to my interest. So far I haven't found it." Dragonbond said in another attempt to kill the mood of a conversation.

"Well I'm sure you can find "something" of interest here in Saddle Arabia." She said with half lidded eyes.

Dragonbond was too irritated to notice her flirty attempts. His patience was wearing thin and he wanted to keep his dragon nature concealed. "Milady, I don't mean to sound rude or offensive, but you have other patrons that are waiting for you to take their order. Don't make me a reason to neglect your duties." Dragonbond said ending their conversation.

The waitress was not too discouraged as he showed great respect and manners in calling her by "Milady" and showing concern for her job. She knew she would get in trouble if she delayed any more. "Oh, sorry my dear kind stallion. I do hope I see you again real soon." She said winking at him.

Dragonbond only nodded to her. Saying anything might lead to something he didn't intend. He continued to listen around as he drank from his cup of water. He did hear some things about treasures in ancient temples and magical artifacts. But these were only told as myths with no real leads to if they were real. Thinking listening into conversations was a waste of time, Dragonbond finished his drink he then made his way to the bar counter with is empty glass. He placed it on the counter for a refill.

The bar keeper came with a questionable look. "You want something hard?" He assumed.

Dragonbond shook his head. "Just water." He said simply.

"Guess it is hot out there for you then, huh?" the bar keeper asked guessing the reason for a simple glass of water. Most patrons would have something either sweet or alcoholic. Workers from the pyramid would hardly ask for water after working out in the sun the whole day.

Dragonbond shrugged. "I just feel like water." He said leaving it at that. He changed the subject to something else more important. "Have you heard any rumors or stories of valuable treasure?" He asked.

The bar keeper nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see. You're a treasure hunter." He assumed as he refilled the cup with water.

"More or less." Dragonbond said nonchalantly.

The bar keeper thought to different stories he had heard. "Well there are stories of ancient temples holding ancient relics guarded by traps and puzzles. Interested?" He asked.

Dragonbond thought for a moment and then shook his head. "I'm looking for more than just one small relic. Are there any known locations of creatures that hoard great treasures?" Dragonbond asked him.

The bar keeper thought for a moment. "Well the only stories I have heard were dragons and cyclopes that are known to hoard treasure. Dragons are hard to find since they could be anywhere in a hidden cave. But the cyclopes, they are known to dwell further south of here. It is in the center of a forest. It is only known as Arimaspi Territory. But going there is suicide. No pony knows how many of those cyclopes there are. There could be hundreds of them and they are just as tall as a full-grown dragon. You might as well take your chances of finding a dragon in its cave than finding a cyclops. But if you want to try something a bit more possible, Diamond dogs are known to live in caverns filled with mined treasures." The bar keeper said.

Dragonbond smirked. "I thank you for the talk." He took one swig to down the whole cup of water. He then dropped a gem on the counter and turned to leave.

The stallion was shocked to see such a high payment for a cup of water. "Sir, this is too…" He began but was silent when Dragonbond raised a hoof up.

"Call it a generous tip." He said before continuing his way.

"Th-thank you, sir." The bar keeper said at a loss for words.

Dragonbond was making his way through the crowds on his way to the door. His generous tip didn't go unnoticed. A mare then blocked his way with a face of makeup and revealing clothing. Although, Dragonbond didn't know the point of it since mostly every pony had no clothes.

"Such a heavy tipper. Can't you spare a few more on a little pretty mare?" She said batting her eyes at him.

Dragonbond was not affected by her seductive tricks. "I only give them to those who do me a good service." He said as he tried to walk around her. She only moved in the same direction to cut him off.

She placed a gentle hoof on his chest and brought her face closer to his. "I can give you some service that you would love." She said in a low seductive tone.

Dragonbond was becoming irritated and insulted. To think she assumed he was weak willed and weak minded to fall for this kind of trick and give himself away so easily to any mare. He held his anger back for as much as he could, but a threatening growl escaped him as he starred her down. "Let. Me. Pass." He emphasized each word to let her know he was not in the mood for her games. Her pupils shrunk in size along with her posture with her ears folded back in fear. She backed away from his path. Dragonbond was about to reach the door until a group of large bulk stallions blocked his way. Dragonbond sighed annoyed of this new turn of events. He then stared up at the large bulky pony with a stare of annoyance.

"You yellin' at my mare punk?" The bulky stallion demanded to know staring down Dragonbond with his yellow eyes. He was a dark gray color with a blue flat top mane and short tail. His mark was the image of an angry face with a missing tooth. One could tell he was a fighter with a bully personality. "Well, squirt? Are ya gonna talk or am I gonna have to make ya squeal?" He threatened.

Dragonbond sighed to keep his temper down. If he could, he would have torn the throat out of this dishonorable annoyance of a lesser creature with his bare teeth. It wasn't rare he had done this before and he was close to adding another torn throat to his count. "Listen, she tried to charm me to get my wealth. I tried to ignore her but she wouldn't listen. Let us just forget this happened so we don't cause trouble in this place." Dragonbond said trying to avoid a fight in a public place.

The stallion laughed along with his cronies. "You don't seem to understand your situation. There are five big studs of us and one puny one of you. Give us your bits and maybe we'll let you go." The stallion threatened.

Dragonbond knew this pony was not a creature of his word. He was at the edge of his patience and would give him one last chance. "You don't want me as a problem. Just let it be." Dragonbond said in a low serious tone and a stone-cold expression.

"You asked for it punk." The stallion said as he raised a hoof to swing it straight into Dragonbond's face.

Dragonbond merely raised his own hoof to catch and hold the strike to a sudden halt. The stallion was in shock and confusion of what was happening as he looked from his hoof to the pegasus in front of him. "I gave you your last chance." Dragonbond said as his pupils turned to slits and the color of his eyes began to glow like fire.

In a panic, the stallion tried to raise his other hoof to strike with. Before he had a chance to swing it into Dragonbond, there was a sudden loud cracking sound that would make any creature cringe just from the sound of it. Dragonbond gave a simple twist of his hoof to twist and bend the stallion's hoof in an abnormal way. This made the stallion scream in pain as he fell into a fetal position on the floor crying in agony while staring at his mangled hoof. The other stallions stood frozen in horror at the sight of their leader. When they snapped out of it, two of his cronies rushed at Dragonbond with only one goal to tackle Dragonbond to the ground. Dragonbond leaped forward at a sudden burst of speed to catch the two stallions off guard. He then slid under the one on the right. He slid on his back to reel his hindlegs in before kicking them out and breaking both the hindlegs of the stallion. Dragonbond struck right in the middle of the shins to break them backwards in half. The stallion collapsed on to the floor in sheer pain. Dragonbond rose up to grab just above the stallion's broken leg with his mouth as he pulled him back and around to swing him up and over right back at the other stallion that tried to turn and attack Dragonbond. The two stallions smashed into chairs and tables across the room before breaking out through the wall and into the street. Dragonbond looked back at the two remaining stallions that started to shake in fear. Seeing their leader quivering on the floor crying and the other two sprawled out on the street. They saw that the pegasus was not even sweating or breathing hard from what he did. They wobbled back from Dragonbond as they saw the intensity of the glowing rage in his eyes and the slit pupils that almost resembled a bat pony. They now believed the superstition that he was a day-walking vampire with super equine strength. It puzzled them when they noticed there were many features about him that didn't resemble a bat pony in any way.

Dragonbond saw them steady themselves for a while to try to regain their courage to fight again. Seeing this, Dragonbond became even more irritated by their ignorance. He then let out a loud hissing growl at them. Now the stallions saw his set of extended fangs on the top and on the bottom of his mouth. They lost all their will to fight and face this monster they saw before them. They turned to make a dash for the door to escape. The tripped and stumbled over themselves and some of the tavern furniture. Dragonbond moved to cut off their escape. He flew out the hole that was recently made in the wall and turned about to slide into a halt right in front of the door. The stallions fell backwards in frightful shock. Dragonbond then started stomping towards them making low growling sounds. He bared his fangs and now revealed his massive wings span and the unnatural features of them. The two stallions scurried backwards until they hit a tipped over table and finding themselves trapped to face the menacing glare of their monstrous nightmare.

"P-p-p-please… spare us. W-we're s-so sorry." One of them whimpered and pleaded for his life. He showed no shame of crying as he trembled and unable to move or look away.

"We-we'll never come here again to bother anyone. We… we won't follow that guy anymore, honest. J-just please show us mercy." The other begged making any kind of bargain to save his own life.

Dragonbond gritted his teeth even more before starting to take a deep breath. The stallions closed their eyes not knowing what was going to happen and curled up for what fate they would soon meet. How Dragonbond wanted to turn these two ash, but instead he let out a loud deafening roar at them both. They both urinated themselves without noticing. They opened their eyes to look at Dragonbond with ears ringing. It was hard to hear, but they were able to hear what he said to them. "Get out." He commanded them. Not making a second of hesitation, they ran around Dragonbond and out the doors screaming and crying until they were out of sight.

Ponies inside the tavern were hiding either behind counters, chairs, inside the piano, on the rafters, or under tables. Dragonbond walked to the shaking bar keeper as he peeked out from behind the bar counter. Dragonbond then dropped several gems on the top counter. "Sorry about the mess." Was all he said before leaving the tavern with the information he had received.

Dragonbond made sure to walk at a quick pace to avoid any other ponies. When he was far enough from any pony to have a good look at him, he opened his wings and flew off. Being at a distance from ponies, they would not be able to notice his features that would cause them to question what exactly he was. He didn't want to draw this kind of attention, but his anger had gotten the better of him when they showed the disrespect and dishonor, he had first thought about ponies. To see it in front of him, he lost his temper and the dragon side in him came out.

As he flew in the air, he had to ponder what his next course of action was. Finding a dragon's lair was easy for his clan and himself. There was the scent of either the dragon or the strong smell of gold that came from their cave. But Dragonbond had never faced a full-grown dragon on his own. That would be the big risk he would take since Claw was not allowed to interfere with Dragonbond's effort to gain the treasure from the dragon. Same thing with the cyclopes. Fighting one would be risky, but taking on multiple cyclopes would be a death wish. They may be clumsy and slow, but one wrong move could be the end of Dragonbond if he wasn't aware and fast enough to catch every move they made if they ganged up on him. Now Diamond Dogs were easy prey to hunt for their treasure. They were not very bright or strong. They were weak against fire like any other dog. They would have piles of gems for Dragonbond to take for himself through combat, but it would be too easy. Dragonbond would have wanted it to at least be a fair challenge to gain treasure with honor. To do that, he would have to give them a handicap. Perhaps, he would have to restrict himself from using fire on them. Dragonbond decided to consult this with his brother.

Later that day, Dragonbond searched for his brother. He started to where he last saw him and began to track his scent trail. It was faint, but still enough to know which direction Claw had flown off to. He flew in the same direction the scent was leading him. It was leading him passed the desert, near by a city of some kind near the sea, He crossed a great river, and over some small mountains. Soon, he was passing over some woodlands of oak and birch trees. A small stream and several ponds were spotted through some of the open areas of the trees. He noticed there were train tracks and knew his brother would avoid any place that ponies would cross by. Looking arounds his surroundings and with his long-range vision, he saw the tracks headed north towards some mountains and a couple of hills that he could barely make out the settlements that rested on top of each one. Towards the west was clear of any pony civilization. He knew that would be his best bet on finding his brother. He changed his course to the west and made the far-off mountains his next destination.

Knowing it was clear from any spying eyes, Dragonbond shot out a fire ball ahead of him. The fire ball flew out before combusting in the air. He hoped his brother could see his signal. He looked and listened for anything for a while before shooting out another. After it burst once more, Dragonbond watched and listen for any response. He then heard a distant roar. He recognized it as his brother somewhere in the mountains. Dragonbond headed towards the mountain side where he was sure he heard the source of his brother's roar. Dragonbond roared out and waited for another response. He heard it somewhere closer. Dragonbond followed it as it led him closer to a steep slope of the mountain. He saw a small cave opening and assumed that was where Claw was. Sure enough, he saw claw at the cave entrance.

"Where's your loot?" Claw asked disappointed.

"Yeah, I was worried about you too." Dragonbond said sarcastically. "I had to get some intel on this land. I found there was three places to find treasure. Either a dragon's cave, the land of the cyclopes, or a cavern full of diamond dogs." Dragonbond told claw of the three places to find treasure.

Claw thought about it. "Well Equestrian dragons would carry basic treasure of gold and gems. Diamond dogs would only mine for gems only. They won't have anything else other than that. But a cyclops would be your best bet for rare treasure. They tend to head for treasure that is of the greatest worth from any creature." Claw told Dragonbond his options. He didn't need to tell the levels danger he would have from each one.

Dragonbond thought about it. He really wanted to get home but getting something so soon before gathering a great size of gems and gold would look like he rushed his task. Gems would be easy to get from diamond dogs after he can track them down. Gold would be a bit trickier. He would have to battle an Equestrian dragon in his cave to claim it's gold. Finally, he had to decide to take some valued treasure from the cyclopes either now or later after he claimed the gold and gems. Dragonbond chose the first option so it would feel like he was building up to a great and final battle. "I think I'll go from weak to strongest creatures to claim their riches." Dragonbond planned out.

"So, we are going to have to find out where the diamond dogs are hiding. We can find a dragon's lair by sniffing out their treasure's scent. I assume you know where the cyclopes are." Claw said hoping his brother did get that information.

Dragonbond nodded. "There is a place south of the desert. It has a group of spires that are in the center of a forest. Perhaps I should have asked about the location of the diamond dogs." Dragonbond said in hindsight.

"Well I'll go with you as a spectator." Claw said agreeing to go.

"Are you going to write songs and poems about my battles?" Dragonbond teased his brother.

Claw was slightly offended at the thought of being some musical dragon. "Ha, ha." Claw said giving a fake sarcastic laugh. "Shut it fur bag." He growled.

"Well I should start this as soon as I can. I should find some pony that may know of the location of these diamond dogs." Dragonbond said as he headed to the cave entrance. Claw followed him until they both flew out the cave.

They flew off eastward. Remembering the train tracks, they had passed before, they thought to follow it more inland hoping to find some settlement. Most towns or cities with the most intel were in the center of the land. They made sure to fly high above to avoid being found out of what they are. They were still able to see and follow the tracks and even saw some trains pass by. Soon they saw a distant town that was barely noticeable from the distance they were at. The most noticeable landmarks were a windmill and a farm outside of the town. Dragonbond would have to go in alone as Claw would wait outside of the town. They landed far outside from the town in a dark and condensed forest. It looked too hostile to enter for other ponies. This would be the best cover they would get from anyone walking in on them.

"Alright, I'll go inside to find any information on the locations of these diamond dogs. Perhaps I can purchase a map as well." Dragonbond said telling his brother his quick plan to get what he needed. He hoped he could avoid another incident like in the last town. Despite being a town, it was a lot bigger than the last one. He now hoped that it didn't bring more trouble.

"Why do I have to stick behind? They said I can't help you claim treasure, but they didn't say anything about tagging along." Claw said hating to feel useless.

"What are you going to disguise yourself as? A tree, a rock, a bush walking into town?" Dragonbond said pointing out that they had no disguises for him.

Claw looked around to see what was available. "These ponies are simple minded. They would only stare in confusion if I came in wearing leaves and vines as clothing. Whether you say so or not, I'm going to go in after you. So, you can either wait or have me catch up to you." Claw said stubbornly.

Dragonbond pulled on his own face in frustration. "Fine, but you better make your disguise look not too suspicious of what you really are. I'll come up with something for an excuse for your disguise." Dragonbond said.

He waited as Claw gathered things from the forest. Twine from plants to make them into a rope and to tie branches of leaves together to cover as much of his body as he could. He made a mask and hood for his head out of large leaves and he tied his wings to his body with the twine. He made sure the twine would hold his disguise together by shaking his body a bit a few times. He then checked it again to see that it was holding together. He came out to look like a lion made of leaves for hair.

"Alright, let us get our stories straight. You are coming back from a personal costume contest and got an embarrassing stain on your coat from spilled drink and you can't get out of your suit because of that." Dragonbond said suggesting his plan of a story.

Claw scoffed. "As if I would be so shallow to hide myself because of a spilled drink." He said offended by the thought.

Dragonbond smacked the back of his mask to make it slip over his eyes and blocked his sight. He made the attempt to fix his mask with a grumble. "Oh, shut it, you overly sensitive salamander."

"Boy, if my disguise wasn't on, I'd give you four claws to the face." Claw said since he only had four appendages on his hand.

"Well lucky me and stop your bickering. If you are done playing dress up, let us go." Dragonbond said leading the way

"One of these days, brother. One of these days." Claw warned.

It was close to dusk and the two dragon brothers entered the town. Just as predicted, ponies looked at Claw's disguise with awkward stares. As planned, when they saw Claw walking casually with Dragonbond, he gave the story he prepared to satisfy the ponies' curiosity. Some even complimented his costume and gave their opinions on what it looked like. Dragonbond would have to cover his mouth to hide his lips breaking into a big smile of amusement from the opinions. Claw was able to glare daggers at Dragonbond without being noticed through his mask.

When they continued to walk on, Claw spoke in a hushed tone for Dragonbond to hear. "When we get out of this stupid town and out of my disguise, it is completely on." Claw threatened.

Dragonbond snorted a chuckle. "Whatever you say Mr. Abominable Leaf Pony." Dragonbond said using one of the names a foal called Claw in his opinion of his costume.

Getting back to the matter at present, Claw asked, "Where are we going to find a map or a pony to know where these dogs are?" As he looked around for someplace.

A distance over, Dragonbond saw a tree that had a sign of a book. It seemed to be a library. He couldn't tell from the odd design of it being an actual tree. But in a rural town, he should not be too surprised. He assumed it was going to have limited information, but as long as it had maps and a location to point them in the right direction of the diamond dogs, then that was all they needed. They headed for the tree house in hopes it had what they needed.

Twilight was in her study room trying to go through all kinds of news articles she had ordered to see if there was anything suspicious. Spike was just clearing up the room a bit to keep the place neat and tidy. He was concerned for Twilight as she had been preoccupied in all kinds of information when she had some free time to herself. "Come on Twilight, I know this is important to you and everypony else, but you have to relax just a little." Spike tried to reason with her.

"And what if I stop before I find something about the creature? What if it comes when I could have prepared us all for it. I can't just stop knowing this thing cause Princes Celestia to be in the state she is in now." Twilight said giving her excuse to continue.

"Oh, come on Twilight. It's not like he already crossed into our lands undetected and happened to walk right into Ponyville to knock on our front door." Spike said just before they heard a knock on the door.

Twilight groaned in irritation. "Can you get it Spike? I'm too busy right now." She said.

Spike was a bit too nervous now if what he said was true. "B-but what if it is the monster? What if it found out we were tracking it down and came to silence us?" He asked clutching onto his broom tightly.

"Spike, it isn't possible as you said so yourself that it managed to get here undetected. It's just probably some pony that came to borrow a book. Just go see who it is and help them out." Twilight reassured him. Spike swallowed hard and held the broom in his grip tightly in case if it was the creature.

The knock came again as Spike took careful steps towards the door. Owlowiscious flew over curiously with a hoot of curiosity. "Shh, it might be the monster." Spike whispered to his feathered friend. With a raised hand gripping the broom and the other on the door handle, Spike took one last breath to slowly open the door. "H-hello?" He greeted nervously. When he opened the door completely, he saw the figure of a bizarre looking creature. In Spike's running imagination, it looked like a menacing swamp monster from a comic he had read about. Jumping four feet into the air, Spike screamed in fright before fainting.

Dragonbond walked in laughing. "I told you it would have worked. You could hear him say something about a monster." He said looking down at the fainted dragon.

Claw walked in following Dragonbond. "This thing is a dragon? Hatchlings younger than him have more of a backbone." Claw said with much disappointment of the so-called dragon passed out on the floor.

Dragonbond then shook Spike from the ground. "Hey kid, wake up. I have come to try to purchase a map and a location information." He said.

Claw made a light stomp on Spike's tail. Spike jolted a bit before his eyes growing wide awake in fright but then in confusion when he saw the leaf creature with a clothed stallion looking down at him. "Wait, wha… What is that thing?" Spike said pointing to Claw.

"Is that how you talk to any creature?" Claw said offended how Spike referred to him as a thing.

"Cool it, kid. We just want to take a map and ask about the location of the diamond dogs." Dragonbond explained their visit to the library. "Also, he is just a… pony," Dragonbond said with a bit of a snicker, "that just came from a costume contest." He explained.

Spike got up a bit relieved that it was just a costume and not the real monster. "Sorry about that, sir." He apologized to Claw. Claw just turned away not in the mood for talking. "Well I can get you a map. What kind?" He asked.

"Just the usual Equestrian map and can you point out where the diamond dogs are?" Dragonbond said as he pulled out some gems. "I'll give you some of these if that is okay." He offered.

Spike eyes lit up with surprise and hunger as he ogled the gems. Without a second thought, he accepted. "Deal!" He said excitedly and hurried to find a map they could lend. He finally found one and opened it up. "This is where they are the last time we knew. But why do you want to know that? Most ponies would want to stay away from there." Spike asked curiously.

Dragonbond pulled out a bigger gem seeing Spike's reaction to the other gems. "How about this one to forget why we asked about the diamond dogs." Dragonbond offered another deal to him.

Spike had no trouble agreeing to that. He motioned his claws across his lips like a zipper to his mouth. "My lips are sealed, and I have no idea any diamond dogs." He said agreeing to the deal. Dragonbond dropped the gems into Spike's arms. "Come again anytime if you want me to give you anything or keep a secret." He said hoping they would come back for something else. Dragonbond and Claw just nodded and left out the door. Spike wasted no time heading to the kitchen to prepare a special treat using the gems.

Dragonbond and Claw left the library. They both began a power walk to not look like they are trying to leave too fast and to try and avoid anything that might delay them further. "Hey! I've never seen you here before!" A high-pitched squealy voice spoke out.

"Crap. What do we have now?" Dragonbond thought as he turned to the source of the cheery voice. The pony of the voice was right in front of his too close for his comfort. It was some pink mare staring at him with bright sky-blue eyes and the biggest smile he had ever seen on a creature. Dragonbond backed away startled from the close-up view of the strange pony. "Gah! Haven't you any concept of personal space?" Dragonbond said in a raised and angered tone.

The pink pony was starting to hop with a smile still on her face. "You must be new! I've never seen a pony as green and clothed as you. Plus, I would have recognized the dark fur running from your chin to your chest. How did you grow fur like that? Are you naturally furry but shaved the rest of you fur down to leave that part left? My name is Pinkie Pie and I welcome every pony to our town. What are your names and why is he in a costume? Will you be living here? Why did you come to live here? Did your friend come from a costume party? Why haven't I heard of it? Is it still…" Dragonbond placed a hoof on her mouth as his eye twitched from the stress of listening to her multiple questions.

"I'm just going to answer one question. We are not staying at all because we were just leaving. We are most likely going to never come back since our business is complete. Good day to you miss." Dragonbond said as he and his brother walked away.

Dragonbond sighed in relief that they could get away from her. "Well where are you going?" or perhaps not. "Can I at least sing you a welcome song to Ponyville?" Pinkie Pie asked hopping along-side them.

"We are going somewhere that won't be fun and it would be redundant to have one when we are leaving." Dragonbond said frustrated that she was following them.

"But it would make up for not having one when you first got here. Come on, it will be super-duper fun." Pinkie said excitedly. She zipped away only to return a second later to haul over a wagon of some kind that transformed into some musical wagon.

Dragonbond sighed impatiently. "If we listen to your song, will you leave us alone to get on with our task?" Claw said impatient as well.

"Okie dokie lokie! I Pinkie promise. Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye." She said her strange promise which held no meaning to the brothers, but as long as she kept her word in her own way, they were satisfied. Her wagon started to play music a cheery tune before Pinkie Pie began to sing.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome,

A fine welcome to you.

Welcome, welcome, welcome,

I say how do you do?

Welcome, welcome, welcome,

I say hip, hip, hurray.

Welcome, welcome, welcome,

To Ponyville today.

Wait for it" She paused before the wagon shot out confetti everywhere. "tada!" she finished with her fore hooves raised in the air.

Dragonbond raised a brow. "If you're done, we really have to go now before night comes." He said emphasizing the importance of their leave.

A bit disappointed she didn't get a smile out of them. Although, she couldn't tell through the mask Claw wore, she didn't want them to get caught in the dark wherever they needed to go. "Oh okay." She said a bit sad.

"Chin up kid. You can still have many others to welcome when they come to visit this town." Dragonbond said trying to lift her spirits a bit. "Just keep that cheerful look for the sake of others." They both started to walk off.

From behind they heard her call out. "Thanks for coming! Hope to see you again soon! Maybe then I can make you smile!" Pinkie Pie shouted in her cheerful personality.

Dragonbond just rolled his eyes. "There are all kinds." He said.

"Should have made an attempt for her." Claw teased grinning.

Dragonbond glared at him from the corner of his eyes. "Ha, ha. Very amusing at the least." He said sarcastically. "No way I am interested in magical creatures."

Claw laughed knowing he was getting under his brother's skin. "That's what you get for before." Claw said victorious.

Dragonbond growled a bit. "Just wait until next time. This war isn't over yet." He said as they walked off. "But first, we got some dogs to tame."

Later as the sun had already set, they arrived at the lair of the diamond dogs. They saw the cave entrance to their cavernous tunnels. "There they are." Claw said spotting the sentries at the entrance. They were armed only with rusted spears and wearing old armor. There was about two of them standing guard. Not much to protect their territory. They were either very ignorant and overconfident of their own strength or they were crafty to make it seem like there were only two of them standing guard.

Dragonbond didn't want to take the chance. "Let's test out their security." Dragonbond said as he picked up a heavy stick. He launched it over high on the wall of the cliff. It hit some rocks making a small avalanche of small stones as they fell to the ground with the stick and next to the guards. The diamond dogs barked and pointed at the fallen stones startled by their sudden crash to the ground. They looked up the cliff to see what caused it. They growled when they didn't see anything. They decided to stand in their spots again to continue to keep watch. All the while, Dragonbond looked all over to watch for anything causing a disturbance to reveal any hidden guards. Claw hadn't seen anything and they both found that there was no other guards. It appeared that these diamond dogs were as dull witted as the rock they lived under. "Good, they are as dumb as I expected them to be." Dragonbond said. Dragonbond crawled off to avoid being seen. "Watch the show." He told Claw as he left.

Claw snorted. "All I'll be able to see is him infiltrating the entrance." He said as he took a seat. To wait for his brother to finish. Seeing how these dogs were very low in intelligence that relied on their brute strength, he knew Dragonbond would not need his presence for aid.

Dragonbond managed to sneak around and make his way to the top of the cliff over the cave entrance. Looking down, he gauged the distance of one of the diamond dogs as he lifted a large boulder. Preparing himself, just as he made the toss of the boulder, he leaped off the cliff to head straight for the other diamond dog. He matched the falling speed of the falling boulder and with precision, he landed right on the diamond dog just as the boulder crashed on the armored head of the other diamond dog. Both of them were subdued from the blunt traumatic force of the dragon pony and the boulder. Dragonbond searched them to take any gems they had on them into his pack. Then he entered the mines of the diamond dogs.

Dragonbond had been running down endless tunnels of many mine shafts in this underground labyrinth. He admitted they were quite clever to make all these tunnels to make any intruder lost without any hope of escape. But Dragonbond was different. He could smell the rail of fresh air came from and where the foulest air would lead him to where the diamond dogs gathered. Following that foul stench, he raced onward deeper into the caverns. He could smell the scent getting stronger meaning he was getting closer. He was getting his blood pumped as he could feel that he was closer to a battle. He would hold back some of his abilities to make it fair and more interesting to limit his combat.

Soon Dragonbond saw a locked door and lowered his head as head sped up at ramming speed. Using his head to ram into the metal door, Dragonbond crashed through and made the door fly off from the hinges and across the room. A large group of diamond dogs jumped yipping in surprise from the sudden burst. Then they were confused to see that it was some pegasus. As to how it found them or even got in boggled them. More confusing was how it was only one. Then they all relaxed knowing it was just one pegasus.

"It's only a stupid pony. We catch it and eat it!" The diamond dog called out as they all grabbed their spears and charged at Dragonbond.

Dragonbond cracked his neck with a quick jerk of his head to the side. "Let it begin." He said before charging in, himself.

The first wave of diamond dogs came in to tackle him down. As is their brute nature to dog pile creatures they assumed to be weak by judging the size of their foe instead of estimating the strength they possibly might possess. They jumped to pile themselves on Dragonbond in order to pin him to the ground. Their assumption was their mistake as Dragonbond rammed through them making them fly and scatter in the air. Dragonbond still charged for the next group that were armed with primitive spears and clubs. Aiming for the first one in front with a club, Dragonbond jumped landing hind hooves first onto his chest plate. He used him as a battering ram into the wave of diamond dogs crashing into the bunch. Soon Dragonbond slid on a pile of diamond dogs to a halt. Wrapping a spear in his tail and a club in his mouth, Dragonbond looked back to face the pack of dogs coming back for him.

He charged once again into the charging pack. Dragonbond leaped up with a 360 spin and whipped his tail out to launch his spear at the first diamond dog. The momentum of the force put into the thrown spear sent the diamond dog back against the ones behind him. The spear had been able to penetrate through the first diamond dog and into the one behind him. This created a hesitation in the center ranks for Dragonbond to now become surrounded by the pack. Dragonbond waited as he stretched out his senses around him. The diamond dogs were now acting cautious with Dragonbond after he took a lot of them out without receiving a single scratch. Then two to three diamond dogs rushed in with their spears and clubs. This is where Dragonbond's dragon combat training paid off.

Standing up on his hind legs, he prepared his fighting stance. This confused the diamond dogs on how to fight him in this form of his. They started to just swing and thrust their weapons at him. Bending and twisting with great agility to avoid the weapon strikes, Dragonbond would then counter by either wrapping his tail around one of their limbs to yank and throw them off balance or use his fore hooves to grapple with them to place a well placed strike with brutal force before yanking on them to use as a shield from a diamond dog trying to move in for a chance to strike him. Dragonbond had the diamond dog get stabbed and forced him into the spear so the spearhead would come out through the back and he could then break it off with his mouth and move in to stab the other diamond dog through his face in the gap of its helmet where the eyes peered through. Dragonbond would continue to use their weapons against them by that same tactic or grappling to break their arms to catch their weapons for his use. Dragonbond would also move in or passed a diamond dog. He would get close to one from behind or from the front to snap or twist their necks. Sometimes he passed by to have his tail wrap around their neck to snap their necks as he whipped them out with his tail still wrapped around their necks.

Even when they tried charging in at once, Dragonbond would slip through them either under by slithering through or up over them by leaping to use their heads like stepping stones and make sudden change of directions with the flap of his wings. He would continue to fight three to two at a time. He fell each one either by knock out, disabling them, or through death. Their numbers were falling fast as incapacitated or dead bodies were lying across the cavern. The diamond dogs found themselves in a group of ten. In that group, Dragonbond found three that seemed to look different than the rest. They only wore leather vests and no armor.

Dragonbond then pointed to the three and spoke in a loud commanding voice that echoed through the cavern and tunnels. "Leave those three and flee!" He demanded.

The smaller diamond dog looked back to the others. "Don't you dare! It's only a little pony." He said ignorantly and fearfully. But the clear view of reality was in front of them. Many of their kind lie dead or critically injured. They looked from their leaders to the pegasus. It wasn't until gave out a loud hiss sounding like a crocodile. That was all they needed before running away yipping with their tails between their legs. "No! Come back!" the small diamond dog called at the shocked that they left.

"Don't leave us!" The big diamond dog called out fearfully. They tried to run for the exit only to get blocked off by a stream of fire engulfing the exit in intense flames. They yipped as they scurried away from the flames. They all backed up into a wall trapping themselves. Dragonbond then stomped a hoof down to gain their attention. They saw smoke come from his mouth hinting that he was the cause of the fire. They had no idea what he was now as he stretched out his wingspan to its full length. He had his eyes glow red and made a deep growling as he walked closer and baring his teeth to intimidate them even more. The three diamond dogs quivered in fear holding onto each other.

"Demon! It's a fire demon!" The middle-sized diamond dog said pointing a finger at Dragonbond. "He is no pony! He is from Tartarus!" He accused more about what Dragonbond was.

"Shut it!" Dragonbond growled. The diamond dogs shrunk more as they all started to make a yellow puddle around them. They were too afraid to notice.

"Please Mr. Demon sir, spare us." The big diamond dog whimpered.

"Yes, we give you anything you want. Anything." the mid-sized diamond dog said trying to bargain.

"Just please don't eat us! We beg of you!" The small diamond dog cried.

Dragonbond groaned wishing they had at least a bit more pride than this. "Look, I have beaten your pack of dogs in a fair fight. I fought to prove I am more worthy to claim the riches you have. Either you offer it to me without trouble or I burn this whole place down with you inside." Dragonbond demanded.

The three of them quickly agreed nodding their heads. "Yes, yes, of course! Take all you want." The mid-sized diamond dog said with a nervous grin.

They called the remaining diamond dogs back to gather as much gems as they could outside the cave entrance. Claw saw Dragonbond come out with mine carts of gems. "Well shed my scales. He actually did it." He said before coming out. When the diamond dogs saw a dragon coming out, they all leaped around to hide behind the mine carts.

"Calm yourselves. That is just my brother." Dragonbond said to them.

"B-b-brother?" A diamond dog asked in confusion.

"Well looks like you didn't need my help after all.

Dragonbond scoffed. He then spoke in a language that was completely alien to these diamond dogs. "It was hardly a worthy battle after who they begged and pleaded for their lives." Dragonbond said. It was a dragon tongue that the dragons of Draco spoke since no other creature understood it.

"I wonder how these things even lasted this long in the game of survival." Claw said speaking in dragon tongue as well.

"They hide and live underground. They can't possibly survive out in the open where they are truly exposed." Dragonbond said as he turned to speak normally to the diamond dogs. "Get me some chains on these carts. Tie them so they can be lifted." Dragonbond commanded. The diamond dogs did as he demanded.

"Why don't they just run away?" Claw said thinking they would try to escape.

"They know I could find them again." Dragonbond simply said.

The diamond dogs returned with chains. They chained up each of the carts as they were told. "We did as you have commanded. Can we leave now?" the small diamond dog asked nervously. Dragonbond nodded his head towards the cave. "Quick flee underground!" the small diamond dog shouted fearing Dragonbond would change his mind.

The brothers watched the diamond dogs run back into their cave. "You're going to let them go?" Claw asked a bit surprised.

"I gave them my word to let them go. I never go back on my word." Dragonbond said as he started to take the chains to wrap around his hooves. He then started to fly and lift the carts up. His wings were strong enough to handle them. The flap of his wings was powerful as they flapped hard and fast blowing dust all around him as he lifted the carts up. From here, he started to fly back in the direction of their cave far to the west. Although, he would have to take an alternate route to avoid being seen by nearby settlements. He didn't want unnecessary attention of ponies or an Equestrian dragon. He flew low enough for the carts to hidden from view.

It was dark enough, but the moon controlled by accused magic made him slightly stand out as the moon light exposed him. This moon seemed different. It didn't seem natural. Before he came to this land, the moon was not supposed to be in the sky for a couple more nights and it was supposed to be in a crescent form. The moon was completely full. Perhaps this moon was made of magic. That would explain why it acted so differently. It would also explain why ponies never went blind when he heard that the rules of this land caused a solar eclipse. The sun and moon that appeared only in this land were fake. Magically made to only effect the lands of Equestria. Never was the rest of the world affected by the odd usage of the sun and moon from this land. A reason why this land was so worthless for his clan to wish to stay here. Dragonbond was glad he would not keep his stay here permanent.

Soon Dragonbond reached their cave. Dragonbond would have to swing the carts full of gems into the cave entrance. They would make a mess inside, but that was just fine for him. This day was successful. Two more tasks awaited him. His hunt for gold and finally, his hunt for a highly valued treasure. There was nothing he heard of that the ponies that would gain his interest. He needed something ancient and valued by all. Even if it was magic, he would fight to gain ownership of it. Perhaps he would travel to another town to find something more information for any certain treasure like the one he was looking for. But for tonight, he would fix up his collection of gems somewhere in his new hoard and use the map they got to plan their next target to search.