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Jake Scott opened his eyes as the burst of light faded and caught his first glimpse of Dream Valley; green fields under a sapphire sky. The air smelt clean and crisp and he was struck by how quiet it was. He looked around at his new companions; Fizzy, Shady, Gusty, Whizzer, and Magicstar. And Baby Lofty and Baby Ribbon. He'd found himself very taken with them and he wasn't sure why. He didn't even know anything about them. It wasn't in his nature to trust strangers so readily.
Still, the beauty of there was impossible to ignore. He turned to find Magicstar standing next to him and gave her a faint smile.
"This is beautiful."
Magicstar smiled back;
"From what I saw of your world, it's pretty beautiful, too."
"Sure. But, we've done a lot of industrialisation. Built huge cities over what were open pastures and thriving forests. Even though we've preserved many places of natural beauty, I'm always aware that the big cities are just over the hill. "
Magicstar looked distressed;
"Why would you do that?"
"It's not something we're proud of, but it's the only choice we have with our population growing as fast as it is. We have written laws that protect the land and restrict where people can build and we're working to plant new forests. I just feel that it's too little, too late. "Jake finished with a sigh.
"Anyway, what's the plan, now?"
"We need to get back to the Mooches; hopefully he'll have something to tell us by now. "
They set off, with Gusty and Whizzer flying on ahead to scout.
"Who's the Moochick?" Jake asked as they walked.
"One of the wisest of Dream Valley. While he may seem a little odd, he's been a great help to us over the years. "
The fifteen minute walk was uneventful and they soon found themselves outside the Mushroom. And they weren't alone. Animals were everywhere; rabbits, dear, swan, badgers, even a couple of Bushwoolies. And, sitting amidst it all, were the Grundels.
King of Grundels looked up when he saw, his expression haunted.
"I am glad to see you, my friends. The Moochick needs to speak to you."
Inside, they found the Moochick sitting at his table, surrounded by books and papers. He looked up when they came in, his expression haunted and tired.
"Welcome back, my friends. I see that your trip was successful."
Turning to Jake, he said;
"Welcome to Dream Valley. I wish you had come at a better time. While you were away, things have got worse. Those who escaped the second wave are in refuge here or at Flutter Valley. So far, the Whirlwinds don't seem able to penetrate our magical defences. Anyway, I've been doing some research and I've found our enemy. These Whirlwinds are the hallmarks of Varlfang, The Dragon Emperor. According to our history, Varlfang brought a reign of terror to Dream Valley many centuries ago, until he was defeated by a powerful warrior. Most mysterious was the warriors' name; Conrad Scott. "
All eyes turned to Jake, who looked startled.
"In my family tree, there is a Conrad Scott, several hundred years ago. There's very little known about him, though. It's got to be a mistake."
The Moochick shook his head:
"I've seen pictures of him in the archives and there's no doubt in my mind that he was your ancestor. Legend says that he bore a magic sword, The Dream Valley Blade, and that it is waiting for his descendant to claim it."
"Where is it?" Jake asked.
"Nobody knows." The Moochick admitted.
"The legend simply says that it will be revealed to its rightful master."
Gusty gave an exasperated sigh;
"That's all very interesting, Mr Moochick, but can we stay focused. Do you know where Varlfang has taken our friends?"
"That much is easy, my friends. Varlfang is holding your friends in The Dread Plains, less than a day's travel from here."
"How can you be so sure, Mr Moochick?"
Whizzer asked, even more hurriedly than usual.
"Because that is where he made his stronghold before, and the foundations of his power still remain."
"Then, that's where we have to go!"
Buttons declared.
"Oh, no. No, no, no. You'll be walking into a trap."
"We've got no choice, Mr Moochick. "
Magicstar said.
"We won't abandon our friends!"
Fizzy added, stamping her hoof angrily.
"I should have expected as much from you and know that I cannot change your minds. If you go, I cannot help you."
Magicstar smiled, looking at Jake.
"You already have, Mr Moochick."
She turned to Shady;
"Shady, I think you should stay here, with the Babies."
In the cacophony that followed, it was difficult to tell who shouted the loudest.
Eventually, Shady was able to make herself heard.
"No way, Magicstar. We're coming with you. Will we really be any safer here?"
Magicstar couldn't argue with that, although she didn't like it. Turning back to the Moochick, she said;
"Mr Moochick, if we do this, you'd better make ready to clear out. I've got a feeling we're going to stir up the Hornet's Nest."
Shady peered out of the mouth of the cave at the outline of the imposing fortress against the twilight sky. Built of dark, jagged stone, it could almost have grown straight out of the ground. With Dragons regularly entering and leaving the Fortress, they had decided to wait until night, when they were less likely to be spotted. They waited until dark, catching up on some sleep. Shady was taking the last watch with Jake.
"Do you think you're friends are in there?"
Jake asked, quietly.
"Yes."
Shady replied.
"Jake, I know you didn't want to come but, I'm glad you're here."
"Guess I'm just a sucker for someone in trouble. Still, part of me would like to just leave hero work behind and live a peaceful life. Guess that's pretty selfish, huh?"
"No. It's not selfish. To live a peaceful life is what we want, too. Dream Valley is a place for finding peace. Maybe it can be for you, too."
"I'd like that. And, despite the rocky start that we had, I'm glad that I met you all."
Shady smiled, and then turned to look back out into the night.
"Are you scared, Jake?"
She asked, quietly.
"What, to face a several millennia old Dragon Emperor with an army at his call? Of course I'm scared. But, that's okay. Being scared will help keep you safe; it'll make you move faster and run harder. Fear can be useful, as long as it doesn't control you. Most people try to avoid being scared, or to deny it. Acceptance is the real key. Them, you'll realise that most of the fear was just in your mind."
Shady seemed somewhat comforted and rested her head on Jake's shoulder. From what he'd seen, it was a gesture of reassurance and comfort, like a hug.
Jake rubbed her mane in response;
C'mon. Let's get the other's up; it'll be dark soon."
Rousing the others, they slipped out of the cave, moving down the hill. It was slow going, as they hill was steep and uneven. However, they reached the bottom without incident, having seen no sign of any Dragons. They moved as quickly and as quietly as they could, staying as concealed as possible, dropping flat more than once when they heard a rush of wind. Half an hour later, tired, dirty and with frayed nerves, they were standing in the shadow of the fortress, looking up at the imposing edifice. Above them, reached by a series of crude steps, was a tunnel that seemed to run into the mountain.
"What do you think?"
Magicstar asked Jake.
"Too risky?"
"We don't know what's up there. On the other hand, we don't seem to have much choice. I'll go and have a look; if it's clear, we'll go in. If not, we stand our best chance of falling back.
Magicstar nodded;
"Alright. Be careful and don't take any chances. We don't need to be rescuing you, too."
Jake moved quietly up the steps, listening for any sound of movement. Reaching the top, he pressed himself against the wall, moving carefully to poke his head around the corner. Seeing it was clear, he waved the others forward, slipping into the tunnel. The walls were smooth, like they had been carved using intense heat, which they may well have been. Crystals set into the walls provided illumination and Jake saw other tunnels ahead. Turning, he saw the others had come up and were looking around warily.
"Come on, we can't stand out here forever. We need to go somewhere more defensible and get our bearings."
Jake led them down the tunnel, into a side chamber. Judging by the dust and poor state of the room, it wasn't used that often.
"Okay, we should be safe enough for the minute. Now, we need to do some thinking. This place is too large to realistically search in the time we have. We need to narrow the search or we'll never get anywhere. Anybody have any ideas.?"
Buttons turned to Baby Ribbon;
"Baby Ribbon, can you reach your Mother? Can you find her?"
"I'll try, Buttons. "
Baby Ribbon closed her eyes, her horn glowing faintly blue.
"She's here, Buttons. Somewhere, up there."
"Good work, Baby. If we get closer, can you tell?"
"I think so, Buttons."
"Okay. We need to try and find a way up. It's risky but we've got to keep moving. Maybe we can find a lift or something."
They set off, moving through the corridors, listening for any sounds of approach. Suddenly, Buttons stopped, looking up at the ceiling, at a circular hatch.
Sharing a glance with Magicstar and getting a nod in return, Whizzer flew up and grabbed the handle on the outside and pulled. The hatch dropped down, and Whizzer poked her head inside.
"It looks like some sort of access tunnels, smaller than the Dragons could use. It seems like a safe way to move around. "
"Alright, Babies, you go first."
Magicstar commanded.
Baby Ribbon climbed onto Baby Lofty's back and they sailed through the hatch. Buttons went next, winking out, followed by Whizzer carrying Shady. Jake watched Magicstar disappear through the hatch, then his head snapped around as he heard footsteps approaching. With a jolt of adrenaline, he turned and sprinted towards the hatch, leaping up to catch the edge, desperately pulling himself inside. He reached back to pull the hatch shut, closing it as quietly as possible. He froze, watching through the gap in the hatch as two Dragons walked beneath them, their prehensile necks swaying back and forth as they scanned the corridor.
Only when they'd rounded the corner did Jake breathe a sigh of relief.
"Okay, let's see where this goes. "
They set off again, with Jake taking the lead. The duct went straight with no turnings until they reached a junction that branched off in three other directions, as well up and down. A set of steps ran through a shaft drilled through the duct, allowing access to the other levels. Suddenly, Jake raised as hand to stop them, as he heard footsteps coming down the duct. Jake waved the others back down the duct and moved to stand against the wall; the footsteps drew closer until a head appeared through the gap. Jake drew his sword with rasp of steel and the figure turned to face them. He had a thin face with curiously luminous eyes; his limbs were spindly and elongated and he wore grimy coveralls and a bandana on his head. He took in Jake's sword and took a step backwards.
"Easy. Easy. I don't mean you any harm."
"That remains to be seen."
Jake said, levelly.
"Let's start with who you are."
The stranger smiled;
"My name is Tridas and I am a Vogure, though that will probably mean little to you. I think, the question you mean to ask is, am I going to give you away to Varlfang?"
Seeing Jake's bemused expression, he gave a chuckle.
"It doesn't take that much effort to work out that you're not here with the Dragon Emperor's permission. Well, you can relax; I have no loyalty to Varlfang."
"And, why is that?"
Jake asked.
"He's enslaved my people to serve as his manual labour."
"So, you'd know your way around this Fortress?"
Jake asked, and Tridas nodded.
"Could you show us where he keeps his prisoners?"
"Of course."
"You're very willing to help us. "
"Perhaps you missed the 'enslavement' part. We've no love for Varlfang. We try to oppose him where we can. I will lead you to the prisoners. "
Jake beckoned the others out of hiding and Tridas' eyes widened.
"I see. You've come to rescue your friends."
"Have you seen them? Are they okay?"
Fizzy asked.
"They are as 'okay' as anyone can be when locked in the Dragon Emperor's Dungeons."
Tridas answered over his shoulder.
"What does he want with them?"
Magicstar asked.
"Varlfang doesn't waste anything or anyone. Mainly, his captives end up as workforces on one of the world's he controls. However, he seems especially interested in your friends, so I think he has something particular in mind for them."
"You said 'other worlds'."
Buttons said.
"What did you mean?"
"Varlfang studied arcane sciences and learnt the secrets of travelling between worlds. Not worlds in the physical sense; worlds that are divided by choices, by the actions of free-thinkers."
The Ponies exchanged confused glances.
"Did anybody get that?"
Whizzer asked.
"I...think I did."
Jake said, slowly.
"I think you're talking about parallel dimensions. For every decision that gets made, reality splits like a fork in a river, with the other decisions being enacted somewhere else. Of course, not every decision is weighty enough to affect reality. Even so, imagine if that only happened once every month since the beginning of time. How many alternate realities must have been created, filled with bizarre possibilities. "
"I..think I understand. It's like, if we'd never met Megan, how different would our lives be now?"
Jake nodded;
"That's it. If Varlfang really can cross between realities, who knows how large his Empire really is. We may have bitten off more than we can chew."
"What do you suggest, then?"
Magicstar asked.
"Just leave our friends, turn tail and run?"
"No. Nothing's changed really; we're just drowning in fifty feet of water, instead of five."
"That's not the most encouraging thing you could have said. "
Buttons observed archly, giving him a scowl.
They ascended several levels and took so many twists and turns that Jake began to feel a twinge of anxiety. If their guide was deceiving them, they'd be lucky to find their way back out again.
Suddenly, Tridas stopped and Jake's hand went to his sword. However, Tridas merely dropped to his knees, beckoning Jake closer. Cautiously, he obeyed, looking out through another hatch in the tunnel wall, and had to suppress a whoop of triumph. Down below, he could saw a blond-haired young woman and several Ponies.
"We need to get down there."
He hissed to Tridas;
"Can this hatch be opened from here?"
Tridas shook his head, sadly
"It wouldn't be much of a prison, if you could get in so easily."
"It won't be a problem. Stand back. "
Magicstar said.
When they were clear, she gave the grate three powerful kicks with her hind legs, ripping it from the wall. Jake was again reminded that Pony Hooves were harder than diamond. Magicstar vaulted through the opening and the others started to follow, except that Jake threw out a hand to stop them.
"Wait. We need to be ready to leave, and quickly. It's no good if we get discovered now. Buttons, keep the others here and get out if anything goes wrong."
With that, Jake dropped through the hatch, landing on the floor in a crouch. Looking up, he found himself staring into the face of the blond-haired girl, who was giving him a stony look.
"A sword? Magicstar, who's this?"
"Megan, this is Jake. Without his help, we'd never have got here."
"What's another human doing here? It's not like they have the address of Dream Valley. "
"The Moochick found him; apparently, his ancestor defeat Varlfang the last time he attacked Dream Valley."
Megan said, dismissively, turning to address the others.
"Everyone, we're moving out. Lofty, Ribbon, Shady; keep the Babies together. Danny, Molly, bring up the rear and make sure nobody falls behind."
Jake felt strangely put out; even though he'd only been with them a while, he felt angry at Megan for riding roughshod over him. However, he tried to put it aside, focusing on their predicament.
They quickly piled into the tunnel and Jake and Tidas pulled the hatch back so that it looked normal to casual inspection.
"Which way?"
Megan asked Tridas, who indicated a tunnel running away to the right.
"This leads to the ground floor, where there are caverns that run all under the Fortress; if you plan to escape, then that's your best chance."
As they moved through the tunnels, Megan caught up with Jake.
"Listen, I appreciate what you've done so far but I'll take charge now."
"What? Hang on. I've risked my life; I'm not just going to be cast aside like baggage. Besides, you'll need me if you run into trouble."
"Oh, sure. A martial arts thug with a sword; that's just what we need. "
"I'm not a thug!"
Jake replied hotly.
"I do know how to fight, but that doesn't make me a thug. My master trained me to defend myself, as a last resort only."
Jake strode away, leaving Megan where she was standing.
Megan slipped out of the hatchway, gesturing the others towards the entrance to the tunnels, while she kept watch.
"Come on. Hurry, before we get caught."
"Too late, my foolish friends."
Rumbled a voice from the shadows and Varlfang stepped out from the darkness.
"Megan, get them out!"
Jake yelled, stepping into Varlfang's path with his sword drawn.
"Daring to challenge me, stripping? You amuse me."
"Hear me, Emperor of Dragons. I am Jake Scott, descendant of Conrad Scott, the last person to challenge you. How'd that work out for you?"
Varlfang let out a snarl of rage, swinging round to sweep his tail at Jake, who leapt up, the strike whistling under his legs. Dropping down, he slashed his sword across Varlfang's flank, drawing a roar of pain. Next second, Jake was forced to fling himself aside as a ball of fire melted the patch of stone where he'd been standing.
He rolled, coming effortlessly to his feet, to see Megan running back towards him, snatching something off a chain around her neck; a heart-shaped locket. Lifting the locket above her head, she flicked it open, revealing a dazzling burst of rainbow colour. Before Jake could even shout a warning, Varlfang released another jet of fire straight at Megan. Before it reached her, something that Jake could only describe as a 'solid rainbow' shot from the locket, deflecting the fireball, before speeding towards Varlfang. The rainbow grew longer, and began wrapping itself around Varlfang's limbs. Varlfang roared, in rage, but was unable to break free.
"Come on!"
Megan yelled, dragging Jake towards the tunnels and safety. Once inside, Megan turned back, lifted the locket again and the rainbow streamed down the tunnel, back into the locket. Behind them came a fierce roar and the sound of Varlfang's tail smashing into the tunnel mouth. Around them the cave began shaking and Megan and Jake shared a single thought.
"RUN!"
They sped down the corridor, yelling at the others to keep running. Ahead, they could see the tunnel split in two directions and Megan commanded;
"Split up"
The Ponies split up, Mother's pausing to drag their Babies with them. Megan broke left and Jake went right, flinging himself forward as the shaking rose a crescendo and rocks started falling from the roof. He rolled into a ball, unable to hear anything over the roar of the collapsing tunnel. When the noise died away, he looked up gingerly to see that the passage behind them was completely blocked.
"Everyone alright?"
He called, getting slowly to his feet.
"We have managed to avoid serious injury."
Replied a light blue Pony with a pink mane.
Jake turned towards the tunnel wall and yelled;
"Megan! Megan, are you okay?"
Silence followed, and Jake began to fear the worst. Suddenly, a chunk of rock dropped out of the wall, revealing Megan's face, dirty and with a scrape along her forehead.
"Is everyone alright?"
She asked and Jake nodded:
"We're fine. How about you?"
"A few scrapes, but nothing major. With any luck, Varlfang will think we're dead. We're never going to shift that rubble, even if we had time. We need to press on and try to find a way out."
"We should meet at the Moochick's. He's been rallying the survivors there."
"Alright. Jake, take care of them."
"I will. You have my word."
Megan's expression said that she wasn't sure how much that was worth, but she simply replied;
"Good luck."
Jake turned back to the others, giving them what he hoped was a confident smile.
"Come on. Let's get you all home."
End of Chapter 2
Hope you all enjoy it.
Comments and constructive criticism welcome.