To MiErcIApple: yes, there will be a sequel to Living Darkness, but it won't come out any time soon as I have another fanfiction I want to finish first.
I am glad you like my decision in including Gabby with the CMC, it does enable me to write chapters about those children as there now will changes worth writing about.
I have long been looking forward to this certain story plot, mainly because I once tried it in a different scenario, but it utterly flopped.
This time I succedded, much to my joy.
The chapter happens three weeks after the last one and based on the episode "Over a Barrel"
The Summer Sun Celebration is fast approaching and that sure could be felt on Twilight Sparkle, she tried not to let it show but both friends and mercs could sense she was more in a tizzy than usual.
They went to help their friend each their way, Applejack's way was inviting, Twilight Sparkle and everyone to her cousin place, a relatively new town built at the edges of the Badlands. That area is said to hold no fertile earth, yet those town ponies made it work.
Applejack explained all that she wanted to give her cousin; Braeburn, the best apple tree she got on the apple farm as a sort of good luck gift.
Everyone agreed on tagging along, and so, they took the train to the barely one-year-old town of Appleloosa. They rented two cars for them, one for the males and another for females and… Applejack rented a luxurious car for her apple tree… at least she did allow Pyro to use it as well.
Rarity was not happy and voiced it to everyone, especially Applejack, more so when she found out that Applejack was reading a bedtime story to said tree. "No fair, Applejack! You've got a luxurious, private sleeper car for a tree," She starts complaining to both the earth pony and the drake surrounded by a mountain of pillows. "while I am crowded and cramped in the same car with all the other mares." Rarity steps over to Applejack, demanding like this is the end of the world— which it is, for her. "How am I supposed to get my beauty sleep?!"
"But Bloomberg's the whole reason we're making this trip." Applejack argues to the whining of Rarity, and points out, "my favorite apple tree needs the most comfortable ride before getting delivered to cousin Braeburn!"
Rarity snorts, she is not one bit impressed that this earth pony went this far… and for a tree no less. "Hmph! You talk about it as if it's your baby or something."
Applejack is quick to defend her apple tree— by comforting the tree as if it was a baby, not the most dignifying way. Still, Applejack didn't seem to notice; she's way more preoccupied by praising Bloomberg for being a big and strong apple tree. In disbelief but fully aware that the off her rocker earth pony friend won't change her mind, "It's widdle Rarity who's all "saddy-waddy"!" Rarity huffs loudly and walks back to the cart where the others are.
Applejack didn't notice, only Pyro, who found the two's babytalk very interesting and funny.
Rarity didn't get much sleep that night, not only did their other world companions think it would be fun to roughhouse, but the others were chatting loudly from their excitement of coming to a new place.
Spike shared the white unicorn's thoughts, for he too wanted some sleep, but couldn't with all the racket going around. "Do you guys mind?" He groans loudly to the noise-makers, "I was up early fire-roasting those snacks you're all eating, and I'm pooped!" they had at first asked Pyro, but she got so excited that his partner burned down almost the whole area, so it fell to him doing to popcorn making.
That does remind her, "Uh, speaking of, some of these popcorn kernels didn't get popped." Rainbow Dash points out as she nudges her box of popcorn. Besides her, Miss Pauling restrain herself from rolling her eyes. Not for long though, for after Spike agreed on handing the rest, he burned down the whole box, but hey, he got the single popcorn that hadn't popped. There the current soul split turned human has to bury her head into a pillow so as not to reveal her laugher.
With that done, "Good night!" Spike says hard and disappears back under his duvet.
Seeing this and also noticing that it is dark outside, "Uhh... maybe it's time we all got a little shut-eye." Twilight suggests to everyone. "We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow." Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Scout, Soldier and Demo complained a bit, but everyone do head to bed.
Didn't take long before Rainbow Dash and Pinkie started to whisper in the dark, though. "When we get to Appleloosa, you think we'll have to carry that heavy tree all the way from the train to the orchard?" The rainbow-haired pony asks Pinkie Pie, who replies, in a slightly louder whispering: "What tree? You mean Bloomberg?"
"...No, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash replies sarcastically,
"Fluttershy's not a tree, silly!" Pinkie giggles, she didn't notice that their zebra companion is awake and watching them with a somewhat annoyed frown, yet does not speak due to where this conversation went.
"What's going on?" Twilight Sparkle asks from her spot.
And Pinkie Pie replies, no longer in a whispering. "Rainbow Dash thinks Fluttershy's a tree."
"I do not think she's a tree! I was just–" Rainbow Dash tries to whisper, but kinda failed at it.
"Did you say Fluttershy was a tree?" Derpy voice cuts into the conversation, Rainbow Dash tries to explain, yet again, interrupted by the cross-eyed and now a bit confused grey mare. "You know she's not a tree, don't you?"
"She's not a tree, Dashie." Pinkie Pie giggles.
Right there, the pegasus they talked about speaks up with a cheerful: "I'd like to be a tree."
"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Spike exclaims annoyed that they keep talking! He grabs his stuff and grumpily heads into the luxurious car, where he makes a nice bed from Pyro's many pillows.
The mares watched him march off and Twilight Sparkle remarks with a raised brow, "Well that was kind of huffy."
"Huffy the magic dragon." Fluttershy says, making everyone giggle.
"You know, I am now glad I am used to work at these late hours." Miss Pauling speaks up, not really bothered by the others constant chatting; she's used to not getting much sleep. "Otherwise I might have gotten quite huffy too."
"Sorry Miss Pauling." Twilight apologizes but does voices her small observant with this unicorn. "You really like to work, don't you?"
"That I do, but considering how my former boss was, it isn't—"
"Would you all be quiet..." everyone turns to where Rarity is, right as the moon shines through the window, revealing a scary picture of Rarity having a mud mask and eyes covered by slices of cucumber. "now?!"
They all quickly quiets down after that scare. From her, spot Zecora smiles very amused of that whole scene, not regretting her choice of being a simple passive watcher. Not long after, the zebra too goes back to sleep.
**Next day**
The train drove in full speed towards Appleloosa, the conductor did blink a bit confused when the train passed three rocks he was certain shouldn't be there but quickly shrugged it off. Right as the train passed, those three rocks change color and three large beasts are glaring after the leaving train. The middle of these three beasts lifts a broad three forked tail and slams it hard into the ground.
The shockwave made by that hit was brought to a large herd of buffalo, all standing behind a rock formation and when the sign reached them, the leader roars and charges forward. The others are quick to follow, creating a stamped.
Everyone on the train woke by the earth-trembling the stampeding buffalo caused, the mares didn't think much of it other than it was quite a sight to see.
They did when Soldier suddenly burst through the door, shouting; "Arm up ladies! We're getting invaded by the Indians!"
They didn't move, none sure what the heck this pegasus spoke about.
The train suddenly shook hard, enough to throw everyone off their hooves and even make some of the lighter creatures get hurled to the other side by the hit the cart took from the buffalo.
Inside their cart, Engineer looks out of the window, right as a reddish-brown, slender, multi-spiked tail disappears onto the roof. He gasps and turns to the others, "We got company!" right as whatever got onto the train, rapidly moving backward. Before any of them can think of pursuing the unwanted store away, the buffalos slam into the train again, shaking it so bad that everyone got thrown around inside.
Soldier is quick on his hooves, "No savages will take this train!" he shouts and flies outside the nearest window. Rainbow Dash is quick to follow, just as another intruder gets onto the roof of the train.
That second intruder is a young buffalo.
Rainbow Dash is the first over to this young buffalo, who is busy reaching the end wagon. "Hey there," The young
buffalo gasps but does not stop, "Where ya headed in such a hurry?" the buffalo ignores her, and if Rainbow Dash hadn't moved, she would've gotten headbutted. Soldier goes for the buffalo, but that one dodges rather flawlessly, and Rainbow Dash must admit to that one. "Wow, you're pretty quick for someone so... bulky. No offense." She tells the still running young buffalo. Rainbow Dash lands on the luxuries cart, calling to the buffalo, "I just wanna know–" her sentence is harshly interrupted when a long spiked tail suddenly grabs her around the back and before she can react, gets flung off.
Rainbow Dash lands hard onto the ground, and getting back up; she realizes that flying is impossible as the owner of that tail took about half of her feathers.
The owner of the tail turns away from the pony and to the young buffalo, they nod to each other and goes to complete their task. However, Soldier is not letting them get away that easily. He slams into the spike-tailed and pins that one down. "Surrender now and you won't be—" the owner of the tail turns around and a burst of blues flames hits him straight in the face. Soldier screams in pain, backing off, to then get slapped away by the tail.
The young buffalo removes the safety lock from the train and as the luxurious cart backs away from the others, she whistles and her companion jumps over. Right there, the herd of buffalos leaves the rest of the train, to rapidly leave with the stolen cart. The mercs and ponies all appear at the door, seeing the buffalo leave with the carriage holding the apple tree and their two dragons.
"Spike!" Twilight calls, then gasp when a creature stops among the buffalo herd, reddish-brown with a slender built, longer legs for speed, and countless yellow spikes going down the back and tail. It looks at them, and head distinguishably dragon but with a significant difference from those ponies think about when talking about dragons: This one does not have any wings. Twilight Sparkle gasps in shock, "A drake?!"
This drake gives them a hard look, before running after the buffalo herd, revealing that this and another of these drakes are on the buffalo's side.
The train arrives at the station and righ as the doors open. Everyone runs out with the intention getting out there to find the buffalo and drakes, but are literally stopped by a very excited stallion: Applejack's cousin Braeburn. Applejack tries to explain what happened, but Braeburn is too happy to show them around that he does not hear the urgency in their voices.
He only stops when Demo grabs this stallion with his magic, shake him a bit and confuse Braeburn long enough for Applejack to say: "You have a very nice town and all, but we have a hu-uge problem! Some of our friends are missing!"
"It was a whole herd of buffalos!" Derpy says, with Twilight adding still quite startled by this find: "and they have dragons on their side!"
"They took the wagon, along with our own two dragons" Zecora adds.
"Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Soldier went after them, and ." Rarity says, with Applejack adding: "and we mighty want to follow to save our friends but also give you the apple tree we brought for your orchard!"
That was a bit much info all at once, but one thing Braeburn did hear, "Did you say buffalo?" he sighs at this constant issue they have been dealing with. He walks over to where their great apple orchard is located "Them buffalo, they want us settler ponies to take every single tree you see here off this land. They sure as hay don't want any new ones added in." He glances back to the group, "We put a lot of hard work into this land, so we can feed our town, our families, our foals! And now they somehow gotten themselves allied with the Badlands dragons…" he sighs again. "Only bad times are coming, I tell you."
"Wait, you were aware of the dragons in the Badlands?" Applejack asks her cousin.
Braeburn nods, but back when they started building their little town. "They were never a problem before them buffalo dragged them into the conflict. These wing-less dragons never cared for us settler ponies as long we stayed away from their gorge of statues."
Gorge of statues… just like the drakes in the Crystal Empire. It makes Twilight wonder, "What made this pack escape from been turned into obsidian statues?" guess she can only figure out if they manage to find the herd of buffalo and thus their drake allies.
**The Buffalo camp**
The buffalos stare at the stolen train cart for a moment, then steps aside when a large, white drake approach and with its huge claws, breaks open the cart, only to be greeted by yellow flames. The white drake back off, surprised, to then look down at a glaring female drake, having a younger one right beside her. This white male drake stares in surprise, only snapping out from it when the female lunges at him, toppling him over and again gets a face full of fire. The buffalos quickly run to a safer place as none of them are fireproof. The white male throws the female off and enraged spews out his own fire; she ignores it and goes at him again. She slams him to the ground, pinning the equal-sized drake with both teeth and claws.
The speedy and the more bulky kind of drakes all stares in shock at watching their leader get pinned down by this other drake, none of them sure what to do.
Spike too is in a shocked stupor, not at the whole Pyro mauling on an enemy, but that she is mauling on another drake! This male white drake's pained roar snaps Spike out from his shock and he quickly runs over before Pyro put their fire immunity to the test. "Stop!" His partner eyes him, but is not letting go of the male drake, who is also looking at him. "Let him go." he begs her.
Pyro does not move for a painful moment. Then she lets go and casually walks over to the destroyed cart so she can retrieve her favorite pillow. The male drake touches the huge bruises she left on his neck before turning to Spike that asks him: "I'm not dreaming, right? You're drakes, aren't you?"
"We are," The male replies, voice very much like Heavy's with that deep rumbling, he lowers himself so not to tower too much over this hatchling. "but we thought we were the last remaining. To know there are more of us."
"Not out of stone that is…" One of the slender drakes remarks, the very same who threw Rainbow Dash off the train. She walks over to this hatchling, now curious. "Why were you in the cart?" She looks at the red adult, hugging a pillow.
"Did the ponies make you two protect the tree?" Another slender drake asks this orange and a male, his eyes narrow in anger, "Sounds like something they would do." He points out with a growl in his voice.
"No, no," Spike quickly shakes his head and explains the whole deal with the apple tree in the wagon and that he and Pyro are both friends with a group of ponies. The other drakes look quite confused by this, as if that is unfamiliar territory for them. They do turn when one of the buffalos approaches and tells him and Pyro: "We never meant to harm a fellow drake, please accept our apology." The other buffalos bow their head in sign of their apology. Spike is quick to voice his acceptance of their apology, but turning to the large white drake, asking him. "What's the whole deal with the apple trees?"
The white drake sighs and does admit, "Usually we do not bother with ponies, but when they began to meddle with the buffalos affairs– our lifelong friends– we couldn't turn a blind eye anymore." He turns around and begins to walks off. "Let me take you to Chief Thunderhooves. He can explain the situation better." The other drakes follow, and Spike and Pyro accompany them over to the buffalos' camp.
The chief of the buffalo at first makes a long speech about the long line of generations, the young buffalo Little Strongheart stops him, and the chief explains their side of this conflict. "It is a sacred tradition to run the path every year. But this year, these... settler ponies, these..." Appleloosans!" He snorts in anger and seems ready to attack, but Little Strongheart stops him with a hoof to his muzzle and she explains the two drakes: "They planted apple trees all over it without asking our permission. And now we're stuck here, it's not fair!" The young buffalo exclaims while stamping her hoof for emphasis.
"And when they didn't run through our lands," One of the bulkier drakes speaks up, walking up beside a buffalo who seems to dwarf compared to him. "We came to see what was going on as it is in our tradition to aid those that have kept the last drakes alive since the great betrayal."
"The great betrayal?" Spike asks a bit confused.
"The ponies betrayed our kind." The white drake sneers, his claws crossed and eyes filled with hatred. "Every single drake got turned into stone, and now the ponies have claimed our lands as their own. Only we" he gestures to the five other drakes, "the Last remains."
"We were only spared the great betrayal because we all were still eggs." One of the speedy drakes explains these two new of their kind. The youngest gets a look in his eyes that he just realized something. She nods that he probably was spared the same way. "You were spared too because of that, yes?"
"I was, but… how come you…" Spike is not sure how to ask this question; these drakes are much older than him. They are all adults, not to mention, he was hatched by Twilight— a unicorn's magic. "When did you hatch?"
It's not the drakes that answer, but the chief. "Our forefathers hatched them many generations ago. It was part of the tradition to carry eggs of the drakes in our traditional run. The tremble of the ground would crack the eggshell."
Sounds like these drakes are a few hundred years, showing that dragons have a long lifespan like ponies. "Makes sense, my mom always says that drakes are in tune with the earth itself." Spike shrugs and figures that how drakes usually would be hatched. He jerks back when one of the bulkier drakes suddenly is very close to his face.
"How many more are there of your clan?" this female asks, looking quite excited. "Where are they located?"
"Um, well there's my mother, me and my older brother— but he's not in Equestria at the moment." Spike replies a bit startled, instantly the drake's face drops in disappointment. Not sure why though, he is about to ask, but a sudden tremble in the ground gave him other ideas.
Feeling that too, Pyro looks up from her pillow. "What was that?" she asks.
The other drakes all turn to where it came from, a sneer on their face "Intruders." the white male replies. Another tremble, different from the other but all the drakes and even the older buffalo's understand this form of communication. "Ponies have come." The same herd that brought the train cart begins to move. The two slender drakes are quick to follow.
It must be their friends trying to reach him and Pyro. "Let me come with you!" Spike calls, running over to the female drake. She nods and Spike climbs onto the nearest buffalo. The ride is very bumpy but it does give him a good view of how this leaner form of drake is moving. Like he sometimes does, these three drakes run on all four, only walking on two. Does gives them unique anatomy.
Spike notices a much bigger drake, bulky in built and standing on a cliff, watching them. The buffalos seem to know where the invading ponies are and right he is, for it didn't take long before the herd has Rainbow Dash, Soldier and Pinkie Pie surrounded. Before the buffalo can hurt them: "Stop!" Spike shouts, and they do. He jumps off the buffalo and explains both buffalo and drake. "They are my friends."
"Why would you be friends with ponies?" One of the drakes asks, again seems unable to wrap her head around that idea, but does agree on bringing the three ponies back to the camp so they too can hear the buffalo's side of the story.
The white drake wasn't happy but fortunately respected the buffalo chief's wish in speaking with the settler ponies and Chief Thunderhooves gives Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Soldier their reason to why they have become hostile to the settler ponies. Pinkie Pie is very understanding, Rainbow Dash did eventually join their side as well, but Soldier… well he was a bit harder as he kept calling the buffalos savages, which chief Thunderhooves found very offending, but fortunately, Pyro was there to make the pegasus stay quiet in whatever he got against none pony species.
They eventually came to the agreement that the young buffalo; Little Strongheart, along with the white drake; Snow Stalker, would ancompany them back to Appleloosa and convince the settler ponies to remove the appletrees from the buffalo's stamped ground.
**Appleloosa**
The others were just about to venture out and save their friends from the buffalo, but before they could get far, the other group came walking in. Here, Rainbow Dash explains, "We brought Little Strongheart and Snow Stalker here to explain to the Appleloosans why they should move the apple trees off buffalo land."
Braeburn steps forward, smiling. "That information would be quite helpful." He does stop and stares nervously up to the disapproving white dragon, and taking a wide circle around that one, turns to the young buffalo. "Now, why do you keep attacking our apple orchard?"
Little Strongheart explains the buffalo's tradition and, when done, "So you have to move the trees, I know it does not sound important to you ponies, but it is for us."
Applejack steps in before her cousin can speak, "Hold up a minute," she is in disbelief of these other creatures reason. "You want the Appleloosan's to remove their source of food just because some buffalo won't stampede someplace else?"
"This is their lands pony." Snow Stalker growls, looming over her and the others by his sheer size. "You ponies are the intruders! So move those trees before we will burn them down."
"Step one foot near the ponies and I'm going to tear every spike off your back!" Soldier retorts back several of the other mercs stand ready to fight as well.
"I've fought a much bigger dragon than you." Demo points out.
Snow Stalker sneers down to them, only backs off by Little Strongheart's lifted hoof. The young buffalo turns back to the ponies, "I am sure we can figure something out." She tells the Appleloosa stallion, for honestly, the buffalos do not mind the ponies living here. "All we're asking you'll move the trees from our sacred stampede grounds."
"I would like to, but…" Braeburn drops his ears by the biggest issue of living so close the barren Badlands. "Only that area is fertile enough for the trees. Everything else is barren for an apple tree."
Little Strongheart stomps her hoof in annoyance, "Then pick some other food source! We buffalo have lived by the lands for generations; you can do the same!"
"We're not as hardy as you!" Braeburn argues back, desperate trying to figure out a way to compromise this dilemma. An idea strikes him, "Let me speak with the other settler ponies. Maybe we can figure something out."
The young buffalo narrow her eyes, however, it's not her talking, but the large dragon behind her. "And why should we trust a pony's words?" Braeburn blinks, the large dragon goes down on all four, even though it gets the dragon closer to the ground, it still makes it look twice as threatening. "I may not fully know the story, but it's clear that when my kind trusted a pony's words, all drakes got turned into stones!" Braeburn's eyes wide in shock hearing that those statues in the dragon's territory were once living, breathing dragons.
"Hey, the ponies had nothing to do with that!" Scout shouts back, does let out a small girly scream when this drake snaps out after him, almost roaring back: "Tell that to our ancestors who allowed the ponies to enter our lands and in return, we are all that remains! We are a dying species! While the ponies flourish!"
Little Strongheart sighs and tells the settler pony. "Removes the trees or face the consequences." She then looks up to Snow Stakler, "We're done here." with those words, she starts walking back to the camp.
Snow Stalker moves to follow; he does stop to look at the two other drakes. "Are you two coming?" None of them moves and the look in their eyes says why. He sneers, "If you're not with us, then you're our enemy." he begins to walk away. "Just like the ponies."
"Wait!" Spike trots after this adult drake. "It does not have to be this way!" The adult drake spins around and throws Spike to the ground, sneering down to him: "Clearly you have forgotten your heritage. Just look at you." Spike is trembling underneath this towering drake, "You stench of pony magic." Snow Stalker spins around and stalks away. "You're not a dragon, not a drake, why should I listen to the likes of one who can't hear the earth?"
Twilight runs over to the baby drake, helping him back up. "Are you alright?"
Spike does not answer, the words of Snow Stalker really stung and it does make him wonder… is he acting more like a pony than his own kind? Even Gable mocked him for being more pony-like but drakes are not like their winged cousin. They have a strong pack loyalty and… his is aimed at the ponies. 'maybe he's right…' Spike thinks gloomy, for no matter what, he does not understand all this earth talk the other drakes keep talking about. He does not see anything special about the ground, only that gems can be found there. 'I'm not like other drakes…' and that thought hurts him a lot more than when the winged dragons mocked him for being weak.
