The Little Blue Pony Book Series. Book Title: Anna and the Dragon

The snow storm may have arrived in a subtle manner but once it had set in, turning the world into a depressing grey, the quiet, easy part was over. Buzzy had been correct. It was turning into quite a night. Snowfall accompanied the arrival of darkness along with a drop further in temperature. That was what caused Buzzy and Dan to end up doing a very foolish thing. Drinking effects the person’s judgement. That means while normal, if asked to jump over a mud pit, they would say no. Why? Because if they fell in they would get all muddy. When judgement is effected, it prevents the effected person from making the right decision. So in this case they would have said yes to jumping over the mud pit. It doesn’t matter if they fell in or not. What matters is that they were not capable of having the judgement to make the decision to not try. When normal, Dan and Buzzy would never had chosen to make the decision they made. If they were thinking with good judgement, they would have just went to their homes in Castle Candi and stayed there until the snow storm passed. However since they were drinking, this is what happened inside the cantina. Both have had much to drink and are talking without using good judgement. Buzzy leaned on the shoulder of a condor who was sitting down. When he did the condor stood up and towered over the much shorter Buzzy. “I’m telling you that right now less than a few kilometers from here is a place where the temperature is a boggy seventy-eight degrees, at this time of night. It’s summer there. I’m not kidding you cousin.” The condor sat back down. “I had half a mind to have you show me this wonderful warm place but then I reminded myself you are a local hero and it would be wrong for me to make a fool out of you when you’re doing such a fine job all on your own. So I’ll pretend to believe you.” Buzzy was clearly offended. “I can take you there right now!” He said and pounded a fist on the table in front of him. “I am not lying. Just ask Dan!” He said with a slur. “He’ll tell you! And you know what else? Aww, you wouldn’t believe me anyway. But its there. A dragon.” He pounded on the table again. “A dragon I tell you! A warm summer atmosphere and a dragon!” The condor laughed heartily and poked his companion, a big horned owl who when feeling the nudge, turned his head around one hundred and eighty degrees to see what his friend wanted. Then he stopped his head turn when his eyes landed on Buzzy, where they proceeded to look him up and down. Harry, the horned owl, let go a loud belch in Buzzy’s face and said, “You’re drunk buzzard, and a liar. Your breath makes me think you must have just eaten. Roadkill? Perhaps it was sick with some sort of serious disease that has effected your mind.” Then after a pause he added, “Perhaps you should check your shorts to see if you had a little accident? Nothing to be ashamed about. I imagine its actually a common thing for birds that have your diet.” Dan stepped up seeing that trouble had stopped trying to creep up on them and now was in a full on sprint while screaming a warrior’s charge. “Hold on there a minute everybody. Lets not ruin a perfectly friendly night in the cantina by throwing around insults and insinuations. FYI mr owl, what he claims is not a lie. I have seen it all myself. Far-fetched, yes. Impossible to believe even. Never the less I have seen it.” “Allegedly it is just a few kilometers from here. Show us?” Harry countered. “I think it is all hot air. I’m calling you on it. Put up or shut up.” “We can’t guarantee you would see the dragon. That said, from what I have witnessed, I can guarantee you may wish you didn’t see it. We witnessed burned bodies of a flock of snow geese. It wasn’t pretty. What we can also guarantee is that you can visit the summer time place. It requires flying into a pond, so if you don’t trust us enough to do that then there is no reason to go out to the location.” Dan said. He was beginning to sober up. When it looked like there might be trouble, Dan quit drinking. Now he was feeling a headache coming on. Buzzy on the other hand was still feeling very, very good. His mouth had got him into a hot seat. Lucky his friend Dan had arrived to take the reigns. All he had to do was to back up his friend. “Yeah! If you don’t want to trust us then you can’t go to the sum place.” He slurred the last few words and then having realized it, said them again. “Summer place.” “I’m sure not about to dive into a pond.” The big condor said. Harry thought that if he called their bluff, they would admit it. “I will.” Then he smiled and finished his commitment by saying, “Right after they do.” This caused the condor and several others who were listening to laugh. Buzzy could have let it go at that. He’d been the butt of jokes many times in the past, he would be many to come in the future. He had learned to let it go. It doesn’t matter what others think of you. What matters is what you know and think about yourself. Dan was another matter. He was a proud duck with good reason. He always told the truth or as close to it as possible. He made the hard decisions when they were necessary. He wasn’t going to be laughed at by these two. “Laugh all you want. But if you have the courage to follow us into the pond, you will quickly find out there is nothing funny about our claims.” Dan then leaned in close to the condor. “Well laughing boy?” The condor was also drunk. Harry answered for him before Buzzy’s tall cousin by species, could reply. “We accept your challenge Donald!” “Its Dan.” “I thought all you ducks were named Donald.” Harry said smartly. “And that you came from Disneyland.” He laughed. Buzzy chimed in sounding more sober. Perhaps due to the subject he voiced to the owl. “Don’t get him started on what kind of duck he is! That sir, would be a great mistake indeed.” Dan started to say something but Buzzy saw and cut him off by jumping up and saying, “Okay then. Lets get this over with. If you really must go off on a tangent about being a dam duck at least do it while we are on our way to the portal-pond. That way with any luck I can either get far enough ahead or far enough behind to not have to listen to it. Again.” “We’re gonna need night vision if we go now.” Dan said. “Not a problem.” Harry said. “That’s just what I do.” He helped the condor up and the four of them left the cantina and flew to the portal-pond. Several others followed, wanting to see what would come of the matter. The group gathered at the edge of the portal-pond. “Let’s not waste any time on this side of the portal. It’s cold on this side.” Buzzy said. “Just follow us into the water. When you hit the water you will almost instantly pop out on the other side. One caveat. The last time, which was the only time we have been over there,” Dan hesitated and then finished his sentence, “there was a guard. He was sleeping when we came and went. So what I am saying is that we are not certain what will be waiting over there so be prepared to turn around and go right back through.” Harry said, “This safe? I don’t believe you but if you know something we do not that can save our lives then speak up now. Don’t play games.” “No games.” Dan replied. “Ready?” Buzzy and Harry shook their heads yes. Apparently the condor was not going to go with them. Dan took off first, followed by Buzzy then came Harry. One after the other they flew over the water and then dived down into it.
Plop! Plop! Plop! The three adventurers came shooting out of the water into a summer time atmosphere. It was dark so as soon as they came out of the water it was on Harry to be their eyes. He led them around the immediate area and then was leading them back up over the water for a return trip back to their world when suddenly the darkness was lit up by a flash of fire which was perhaps a couple of kilometers away. “Quickly! Get us back across to the other side Harry!” Dan exclaimed. There was only one possible thing that could have created the fire flash. The dragon! It wasn’t terribly far off and could be coming their way. “Rats! Splash and Anna are back at Castle Candi. We do not want to be taking on a fire-breathing dragon without them. Take us home Harry!” There was another flash of fire and this time it was closer to them. Harry wasted no further time and led the threesome back into the portal-pond water. Plop! Plop! Plop! The three came back out of the water. The condor and others who came out to watch were still standing along side the shore of the pond. As soon as they were out of the water Dan began barking orders. “Harry, you will lead. If there is another owl here he can also lead. We need to move now!” Dan said, giving Buzzy a push at the same time. “You too! Get going!” Suddenly the water began to become unsettled. Then it began to boil. “The dragon!” Buzzy hollered. “He must be warming the water before coming through. We’ve got only seconds to get out of here!” “Go Harry go!” Dan ordered. All of those gathered at the location felt a surge of adrenaline course through their bodies as they began to fly away while at the same time the water began to shoot up into the sky and then the dragon came jutting out of the pond. It landed on the shore next to the water and looked around in all directions. She sniffed the air and could smell the other world creatures had been there not long ago. The dragon sniffed the air again in every direction. When she was satisfied with which direction the creatures had run; she began to take to the air.
Chapter ————————————————
“Fly faster!” Dan barked to Harry. “Its going to be on top of us in a short time. We need to find Splash and the princess!” Onward they raced through the cold winter climate. Behind them were the condor and his friends that had followed him out to watch. There was no way of knowing how far behind some of them had fallen but the sound of the dragon’s fire and the flash it created on the dark sky followed by the screams of the ones burned; were enough notice that the dragon was coming. And it wasn’t taking any prisoners. “We can’t let that thing follow us back to Castle Candi. It would be a blood bath baptized in fire.” Buzzy said, sounding out of breath. “Agreed.” Dan hollered back. He thought and quickly concluded the only way to alert Castle Candi, and find Splash, was to lead the dragon away from said location, while Harry and Buzzy flew on to the castle. He explained his plan to the other two. Buzzy did not like the idea but Dan insisted. He wanted somebody that was assigned to keep the princess safe, with her, and they would need Harry to be able to see at night. That left him to be the decoy. “I’m not thrilled about this but there is no time to come up with another plan. When we reach the fork that splits to go to town, I will take it and head for the cantina. You two go onward to Castle Candi and find Splash and Anna. Alert Ozzy so the castle will have the guard up and bring Splash to me! I’ll be somewhere between here and the cantina.” “Copy that!” Buzzy hollered back. “Buzzy, I don’t have to explain about keeping the princess safe. Right?” Dan said . “Of course not!” Buzzy replied. “Safe travels friend!” “You too.” Dan replied, and then he flew away from the other two, making enough noise so the dragon would have no trouble figuring out which way the prey had flown. “Oh, I’m a dam duck and with any luck, … I will be a dam duck tomorrow too.” Then he would sing the words again. A song he made up on the spot. It wasn’t very catchy but it made up for it by being loud enough to be heard even at a distance. Seconds later Dan felt the wind of something flying past him. It must have been the dragon. Perhaps it couldn’t see him. That thought made Dan smile. He couldn’t see anything. Why should he think the other thing out flying around could see? He had about long enough to think that before he flew smack dab into something very solid. Since he was a distance up in the air it was obvious what he had hit was the dragon. Dan fell to the ground and everything went blank. While Dan was flying blindly into a dragon his friends were about to reach Castle Candi. Harry led the way until they arrived at the Castle, where Anna had to show him where they landed and took off. “This is my first time in the Castle.” Harry said, while looking around and taking it all in. “Make yourself at home.” Buzzy offered. “There is food and drink in the commons area. If you want a bed to get some rest any of these rooms with the doors open are available.” Harry said, “What are you going to do now?” “Myself or Anna will report to the king and the other will report to Ozzy who is the chief security officer for the castle. Most likely there will be some guard patrols around the castle. I will join them if Dan gets back but if he has not arrived within the hour; I will go in search of him.” “Want some help. It won’t quite be first light. You will need some night vision.” Harry said. “Kind of you to offer Harry. I may take you up on that. So what’d you think of the adventure? I know I was surprised when I first became aware that there was actually a fire-breathing dragon flying around out there.” “Surprised is a weak description. I was surprised when we were shot out of the water to the other side. Shocked is what I was when I concluded you were not kidding about a dragon. By the way, I strongly suspect the beast can see at night.” Harry noted while checking his feathers for any damage. Owls more than most any other bird need to keep their feathers in a specific condition or they lose their stealth ability. “Why do you say it sees in the dark?” Buzzy asked. “Simple. He or she would not have been flying blind. Such creatures would be even more careful about injury than a feathered bird because their wings could not take the slightest damage without incurring severe damage to their flight ability. Any animal which would weigh as much as a dragon would require perfect flight equipment in order to ever get off the ground. Also based on the way the thing flew in my presence: I would guess it is not only in perfect working order but that it is also an expert at its business.” “Seems to be our luck. We seldom find an enemy which is weak or easy to defeat.” Buzzy said with a bit of pride slipping into the tone. “It has been long enough for all the others that were with us to have made their way back. I hope they all went to the cantina or else it means none of them made it anywhere. I say that based on the fact none have arrived here. I worry for my cousin.” Harry said with a worried look on his face. “I’m worried about my friend as well.” Buzzy said. “Splash and the princess should be in the castle. I am going to find them and request they go with me, or us, to find the others. By the time I have talked with them and returned here, it should be far enough into morning that the sun will be coming up. Listen Harry, I know you’re usually a night stalker. You may be called into service tonight. If you desire or perhaps better said, that you should stay at the castle and get some rest. I will find your cousin as well as Dan. I suggest this not only for your own sake but for the best interests of whatever team or squadron you are assigned to lead tonight. You owe it to them to be at your best.” Harry sighed. “Buzzy you are a good man. A wise man. So I will heed your words and stay and get some rest. Be careful out there friend. I have serious concerns about what has happened to my cousin and the others. If they have encountered trouble then the only way we can help them is if we are first helping ourselves. So don’t be a hero.” “Buzzy is a lot of things. One thing I am not, is a hero. That’s just a lot of talk thrown around by the king and queen, and of course their daughter. Any time I have done anything hero-like, it was done because I had no choice and if I did not do it then things were going to get even worse. The act requiring lesser courage than what is certain to come next, would be a better description of me.” Harry smiled. “Sounds like something I would have accused you of; before tonight and seeing for myself your bravery. You changed my mind out there.” He stuck out his hand and Buzzy shook it. “Take care of yourself. I look forward to the next time you need night vision.” “Thanks Harry. Sleep well. Buzzy is on the job. I will find your cousin as well as my friend.” Then he gave a glance in the direction of the sun coming up. Once he could see it was starting to provide enough illumination to fly, he began running until he was able to get off the ground. “See you soon!” He hollered down to Harry. His friend gave a last wave and then turned and walked into Castle Candi.
It was as bad as Harry had thought. Worse even. Buzzy had chosen to fly past the spot where Dan had left them the night before. A short ways later he began seeing the burned bodies of the condor and the others that had come out the night before to the portal-pond. Then he saw it. The dragon. It was on the ground eating the bodies of the birds it had killed. Buzzy quickly turned around and flew the opposite direction. Back he went toward the spot where Dan had left the others so he could fly into town to the cantina. Buzzy looked behind him and saw the dragon had not followed. He then took the turn toward town that Dan had taken the night before. He went a few kilometers and then saw his friend on the ground. Buzzy immediately flew down to where his friend was laying motionless on the ground. “Dan! Wake up Dan! Are you okay?” Buzzy asked while shaking his friend. Slowly, Dan began to wake up. “What, .. what happened? Where am I?” Dan asked, while waiting for his vision to straighten out. “Is that you Buzzy?” “Yes. Can you tell me what happened? How did you end up here?” Buzzy asked, while he began to see Dan coming into view. A few seconds later he was seeing correctly. Buzzy looked visibly shaken. “Do I look as bad as you?” Dan asked. “Worse. No wonder either. You’ve obviously spent the night out here on the ground.” Buzzy said concerned. “You don’t know the half of it. I didn’t fly down here. I fell. Something last night in the dark. I flew right into it. I know I was high enough so not to hit any trees. It had to be the dragon. Anyways, I dropped like I had a boulder strapped to me. Next thing I know, I’m being awakened by you.” A shadow replaced the sunlight which was resting on their shoulders, but only for a split-second. Next came a wind gust upon the two friends causing feathers to fly from them both. They looked up and that is when they saw the dragon flying by them. Apparently it did not see them or it thought they were too insignificant to bother setting on fire. They watched as it raced past headed toward the town. “The cantina!” Dan hollered. “I don’t think we can fly fast enough to get there in time to warn them.” Buzzy said. Dan began running in the direction the dragon had flown. A few steps and he was taking off, up into the blue sky above. Buzzy followed just afterwards. When they reached a height which offered a push from the upper winds they were disdained to see smoke coming from the direction of the town. They arrived to see the dragon breathing fire down on the cantina. Though not friends, they recognized faces encountered in the pub in the past only this time they were on fire, fleeing, or dead. The dragon flew off after having set fire to the cantina and several of the surrounding buildings and homes. Dan and Buzzy watched the beast until it was lost in the distance. “We’ve got to find Splash and the princess.” Dan said. “Before the dragon does.” Buzzy added. “We should return to Castle Candi and insist the level of defense go to high. They should move operations to the underground parts of the castle.” “Agreed.” Dan replied. “Lets get going.” The two friends launched themselves into the blue sky above and made a bee-line for Castle Candi. They arrived to find two squadrons of the royal air force in flight over the castle. They were met and then allowed to go about their business after the guard was able to determine who they were. As they walked into Castle Candi, the two friends exchanged concerns. Dan said, “I don’t know what good they think those squadrons are going to be against a fire-breathing dragon. The effort and energy would be better spent preparing for its attack.” “Just what can be done?” Buzzy asked. “I haven’t thought much about it but obviously those flying squadrons of eagles and ospreys are not going to be any sort of help against the dragon. At best they will draw its fire long enough to burn them out of the sky. Seems to me a huge waste. Surely there is a better way.” Dan replied. When they got inside the word was spread reaching both the king as well as Ozzy, his security general. An emergency meeting was called for all the leaders of the various agencies in charge of running the kingdom. Anna and Splash were also asked to attend. Ozzy stood at the head of the table and he began the meeting. “First thank you to all for dropping whatever you were doing and coming to attend this emergency meeting. Perhaps you may have heard rumors that there is a dragon, a fire-breathing dragon, on the loose in Magicland. I am here to confirm this rumor and address what we intend to do about this threat. Before I go any further, is there any contribution to this subject which anyone believes needs to be known before I continue?” “Please continue.” The king ordered. “Okay. What little we know about this threat is that it likely is arriving here through a portal-pond which leads to another world, perhaps another dimension. We have a couple who have been to the other world but I can pass on to you the information they brought back. The other world is basically like our own world with the exception it seems to have the opposite of our seasons. When it is winter here, it is summer there. The same members of our military that crossed over, also met a creature from the other world who passed on information which we believe to be accurate. The most important of which to know is that there are forces in the other world which are of a dark nature. There exists a Dark Queen just like we once had. There is also a Geese Police over there but they are a scarier version of snow geese than we have here. Not a big concern at the moment but I thought it was worth noting. Getting back to the dragon. We were told the portal-pond only works a few weeks during the heart of the summer time and during the heart of the winter time. Since it is getting closer to spring than it is to fall, we can only assume the doorway will be closing in another week or two at the most. If we cannot kill the dragon the very least we need to accomplish is to send it back to the world from where it came.” Dan spoke up. “I think it is worth noting that the flying squads are not going to be any help against a fire-breathing dragon. I do not have an answer to our problems but I can spot when energy and effort are being wasted. Perhaps time would be better spent on being ready to put out any fires the dragon may start.” Buzzy added, “It would be wise to move as many of those staying in the castle to a lower level or underground level as possible. I mean it seems like the dragon would most likely set fire to the upper parts of the castle first. Plus as you know the only parts of the castle which are immune to a fire would be the underground rooms. Also we should consider creating some big bow and arrow combinations that we can mount on a swivel and use it to shoot at the dragon.” “Good ideas, all of them.” Ozzy said. “We’re going to need all the good ideas we can get. This could be a long battle. Naturally I hope it is short and to the point. The point of one of our arrows.” Ozzy paused expecting a laugh but none came. “Tough crowd. Okay moving on. We have a report from a member of the military who says the cantina and other buildings and homes in the town have been set on fire. We expect that Castle Candi will be the next to be attacked. Please take whatever precautions you feel are necessary.” “Wait you’ve said nothing about our best defense against the dragon.” Dan said. “I’m talking about Splash.” “He will be here along with the princess. You don’t think the little blue pony can take on a dragon by himself do you?” Ozzy asked. “I think you may not be fully aware of just what that little blue pony is capable of doing.” Buzzy chimed in. “For instance, he’s only little when he chooses to be.” “I’m sure the pony can do magical things.” Ozzy replied, getting a little annoyed because he had things to do to prepare for the attack from the dragon. “Just don’t forget to make Splash aware if the dragon shows up. I am not an expert on any of this but I think it is better to not be caught in the castle when the dragon attacks. Better to be in the air where it is easier to avoid the fire when it is shot. Plus Splash may have a few tricks up his sleeve which can’t be done if he is inside a burning castle.” Splash whinnied in agreement. “I guess I can’t argue with the horse’s mouth.” Ozzy said, then he let go a generous laugh. “Aw come on guys. That was a good one.” Splash let go a breath which caused his lips to sputter. “Me thinks the pony disagrees.” Buzzy said laughing. The next few days the castle was very busy with being made ready to fight a dragon if one came along. Of course Splash and Anna spent part of each day finding a good deed to do. One of those times was when they were desperate to find something to do. They ended up agreeing to baby sit for a woman who had five kids. They did well until it came time for baths. By the time they were finished it was Splash and Anna who had more suds and water on them than the kids. It all worked out though because the momma came home so they were able to leave and flying through the air helped them to dry off. They were almost home when they saw the dragon in the distance. It was almost dark out. The only reason they were able to see the dragon was because it had shot some fire at what turned out to be a squad of the Geese Police. Anna and Splash wanted to go after the dragon when they saw the flash of fire but they thought it might be better to go back to the castle and warn them the dragon may attack. After making Ozzy aware the dragon was out causing mayhem the two friends retired to their sleeping quarters to get some rest in case they ended up being up all night fighting the dragon. Splash slept like a baby, even snoring a little bit. He would wrinkle that soft little nose and when he exhaled it would cause his lips to sputter. Next to the special stall they had created just for Splash, was Anna’s room. She did not fall asleep because she was too nervous. First she listened to Splash snore and when she got tired of that she turned away from the noise and tried to concentrate on going to sleep. When Anna woke up the first thing she thought was that it must have worked. She had fell asleep. Now however there was some sort of ruckus going on among the castle because there was much more movement than was usual, at any time of day or night. She stopped an osprey that was going past her room and asked what was going on? That was when a messenger arrived announcing that both she and Splash were to report to the meeting room. “Come on Splash! It’s probably the dragon. I just hope it hasn’t found Castle Candi.” Anna said in a hurried tone. The little blue pony followed her until they came to the meeting room. There were team leaders there from many different agencies. Because Anna was the princess, everyone moved aside to allow her to get into the room so she could better hear what was being said. Ozzy was already speaking. “The dragon was spotted not far from the turn toward town. As you know that is not far from here. It is unknown if the dragon can see at night or if it just is flying at night because it knows there is nothing up there to run into. If the thing sees … well it could attack any time through the night.” Anna spoke up. “I believe it does see at night. Perhaps not as well as the owls but I do believe it can see.” Dan backed her up. “I also believe it can see at night. I have ran into it when flying blindly at night. It knocked me out of the sky. Buzzy found me on the ground the next day.” Buzzy wanted to show support for Dan but didn’t want it to look like he was kissing any feathery butts. So he said, “Yeah I found him. I’m not sure if he landed on his face or if he always looked that bad.” Those listening had a chance to allow a nervous laugh. Ozzy greatly appreciated both Buzzy’s ability to loosen up the room and Dan’s ability to not get mad at his friend for making a joke at his expense. Not to be completely shut up, Dan thought about what to say in return. “Well … imagine my fear when the first thing I woke up to was a buzzard standing over me. And to make matters worse, it was my friend, Buzzy. I didn’t know if he was there to help or have lunch.” “Dan you should know even buzzards have standards. I would never stoop to eating …. duck.” When the meeting adjourned everyone went to their assigned jobs. Anna and Splash joined the owls who were being sent out to patrol until first light. They were fine through the night. When the sun started to come up the owls, Splash and Anna were replaced by a squad of eagles. The first cries of fire came when Anna was just starting to drift off to sleep. First it sounded like a distant voice hollering across a meadow but the voice became voices and they all were crying the same thing. Fire! Anna rolled out of bed and immediately thought of Splash. She ran to his stable and together they left the indoors of the castle. When they got outside Splash immediately made himself large enough to fly with Anna. She climbed on and they took off up into the sky. The dragon was hovering over the castle shooting fire down upon it. Anna said to Splash, “Use your magic to create an ice ray. Shoot it down!” Splash did as she said and a ray of ice began to shoot from Splash’s eyes. The ray froze the fire and then Splash aimed it directly at the dragon covering it in ice. Immediately the dragon fell to the ground unable to flap its wings. When it hit the ground the force of the fall caused all the ice on the dragon to break off. It rose up and shot fire up at Splash who was knocked backwards. Anna was almost knocked off but she held on tight . Back and forth they fought shooting rays of ice and fire at each other. Splash was becoming tired. The two mighty titans circled each other above Castle Candi. Then a squadron of eagles and another of ospreys came down attacking from above. They did not do much more than annoy the dragon but after having fought Splash for such a long period of time the dragon was also exhausted. It shot fire at the attacking ospreys and eagles taking down a few of them and then it flew off. Splash did not follow as he was also exhausted. The fires were put out that had been started all around the castle. Anna and Splash both were lucky as their rooms were not damaged so they retired to their beds to get some much needed sleep.
Chapter —————————————————
The dragon was exhausted but it no longer felt safe to sleep in the world it was in. She decided to not rest until she had crossed back over through the portal-pond. She flew on. The crossing was uneventful. When she got back to her world she snacked on a snow goose that was there at the crossing. Though not a full stomach she was satisfied enough to head straight for her nest. ———– Chapter ————————- “My days and nights are getting all mixed up.” Anna said to her friends Buzzy and Dan. All were gathered in the dining room of the castle. “I don’t know if to ask for breakfast or supper. What time of day is it anyway?” “Getting near dark so you should be closer to bed time than waking up.” Dan said. “Yet I am just the opposite.” she replied. “I wonder if the dragon will be sleeping or stalking tonight?” Buzzy said. “I hope it takes the night off. I fear it is going to come straight back here and continue where it left off.” Dan said, looking a little haggard. “Did you get any sleep at all?” Anna asked. Dan attempted to straighten his feathers while answering with a question. “Do I look that bad?” Anna laughed. “No, I suppose you don’t look any worse than usual.” Dan smiled and said, “I don’t know whether to take that as a compliment or insult.” Now Buzzy was laughing. “If you looked way good she might have asked if you were getting proper or more than proper sleep, but she asked if you got any sleep at all? Pretty sure that infers you do not look your freshest.” “I wish you were as smart as you are observant.” Anna said. “It would save so many awkward moments.” Splash whinnied. Buzzy stopped laughing and looked at Splash and said, “Do you ever stop talking?” Splash whinnied again and shook his head. “I won’t dignify that remark with a response sir.” Buzzy replied. Splash whinnied yet again. When the group had finished eating they followed Splash (who had eaten in his stall), out to the court yard. It was a favorite spot to launch. Anna told the others, “Only about two hours until it gets dark. Lets not have any flying into dragons tonight. So make sure you get back before it is completely dark.” “We’ll be fine.” Dan said. “You two be careful.” Buzzy laughed. “They’ve got the magic with them. They’ll be fine. I’m the one you gotta worry about.” “That’s true.” Dan said. “Because if the dragon come after us, I don’t have to fly faster than the dragon,” “You just have to fly faster than Buzzy.” Anna said. “I think we’ve heard that one before.” “It is a favorite.” Dan said with a smile on his beak. “You see folks, Its all about knowing who to pick as your friend. A duck is never dumb enough to choose to fly with someone who can fly faster. Simple matter of self-preservation.” None of them had to fly anywhere because just at that moment the dragon made herself known because she began shooting fire down upon the castle. Splash immediately made himself bigger than he usually made himself. He had to squat down so that Anna could climb on. Then he made himself even bigger. Splash was now as big as the dragon. He rose up into the air. Anna cried, “Use your magic to make an ice ray.” Splash did as she asked and a ray shot from his eyes which began covering the dragon in ice. It turned its fire toward them and the fire and the ice met neither winning the battle but causing a stalemate. Both mighty animals kept up their onslaught toward the other until finally the dragon had to break it off. The dragon again took off heading toward the portal-pond but again Splash was too exhausted to give chase. Fires caused by the dragon were put out around the castle and all the chaos simmered down until everyone in the castle had finally went to bed. Splash and Anna were of course two of the last still awake. They were trying to shake off the excitement caused by the adrenaline coursing through their bodies from the fight. Buzzy and Dan joined them in the courtyard. “We’ve got to do something about this dragon.” Buzzy noted. “We are, aren’t we?” Dan said. “Not if it keeps up like this.” Anna said . Splash whinnied. “What other ideas can we try?” Buzzy asked. “I’ve only got one other idea and its a doozy.” “At this point I’m willing to listen to anything.” Anna said. “We could build a cover over the whole pond. Get some of that chain-link fence and stretch it over the entire pond. I don’t think the dragon would be able to burn the way through because of the water.” Buzzy rubbed his chin in thought. “The biggest problem I see with that is even if the dragon is not able to use its fire to burn the way through the fence, it is still a big, powerful creature. Couldn’t it just push its way through?” Dan said. “Sounds like quite a project but if it comes to that, well we should call that plan B.” Anna said. “Lets get some sleep and tackle the problem from a fresh perspective when we wake up.” Splash whinnied and returned to his stall. The others followed suit and there was no more trouble the rest of the night. The next day Anna went to the king with an idea. It was based on Buzzy’s idea but was a little more practical. “Father I have an idea to keep the dragon out of our world. What if we were to fill the portal-pond with enough dead tree trunks that the dragon could no longer swim through them?” “That would be a task but not impossible.” The king replied. “There would be risk involved. For instance, we won’t be able to fill the portal-pond all at once. It will take weeks. What happens if the dragon gets caught on this side of the portal when we close it? Another thought is that currently it only opens a few weeks in the summer and a few in the winter. What happens if the debris we throw in the pond, keeps the portal from closing? See daughter, there is a lot of angles to consider when you are a leader of your country. Even if I make the right decision now, it might be the wrong one in the long run. I just have to do the best I can with what I know at the time the decision needs to be made.” “So what will you do about the dragon?” Anna asked. “What would be best is if we could go back to when nobody knew about the portal but that is not an option. Someone once wrote that you can’t go home again. What they meant by that is you can’t go back. Can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. Well it is true. So we have to choose another option. I am not certain of the details yet, but I am certain the dragon needs to remain on the side it started.” The king appeared stressed. “We will find a way father.” Anna said. “Well I guess Splash and I will go on patrol.” “Be safe daughter.” The king said, and then he left her to address other matters. “Lets go Splash.” Anna said leading Splash to a spot where they could take off in flight. I wonder, … they say the dragon is smart. Do you think we could use your magic to be able to communicate with it?” Splash whinnied.
Chapter ——————————————————-
The two friends arrived at the portal-pond with half a days worth of daylight remaining. Splash wasted no time diving into the water and out they came on the other side. It was very warm. A nice change from the brisk winter air on their side of the portal. There was a snow goose there guarding the crossing but they flew past him so fast he didn’t have time to react and what if he did? It was just one snow goose. Splash climbed high into the sky so they could get a look in all directions. They saw the dragon. It was in the air a ways from their location. It saw them also and started flying toward them as they flew to it . The two parties met in mid-air and Anna told Splash to use his magic to make her words understandable to the dragon. She said, “I know you can understand what I am saying. I am here on a mission of peace. We do not desire to be at war with you but you must not cross the portal into the other world. We are here to settle this one way or the other if you do not heed this warning.” Then Anna said quietly so only Splash could hear. “Make yourself twice as big as the dragon.” Splash did as was asked and made himself twice the size of the dragon. The dragon hissed but did nothing else. What Anna was failing to understand was the dragon as smart as it was, had a nature of never having been defeated. So it could not understand the meaning of what she was saying even if it could understand the words. However the fact that something was talking to it was cause to hesitate before taking any action. The dragon just hovered. “If you do not heed my warning it will result in a battle between us. We have the power of magic behind us. You would not win.” Anna said. The dragon did not understand the meaning of not winning. It shot fire at Splash causing him to jut backwards while at the same time he created a force field that shielded them from the fire. When the dragon was finished shooting fire at them it was Splash’s turn. He shot a ray from his eyes that began covering the dragon with ice. Soon it was unable to stay flying because of all the extra weight the ice added. The dragon dropped out of the sky. Splash followed the dragon down and kept up the ray of ice. It continued to cover the dragon. Then Splash landed next to the dragon and he shrunk back down to the size he usually flew with Anna. She climbed off the pony and walked up to the dragon’s eye. “If you cross the portal we will continue this fight only if it happens again the next chance you will have to thaw out will be in little tiny parts placed in the frying pans of the locals.” Anna finished her thoughts by giving the dragon her meanest look. “Sit here and thaw out. While you are doing that keep in mind what I have said. You now know what it is like to be defeated. What separates those with intelligence from those without; is the ability to assess a situation and choose to avoid those which are not going to end well for us. A pack of wolves might continue to cross over and they would end up being exterminated. Be smarter than the wolf. I hope you understand because we will not give you another chance after this one.” Anna and Splash having defeated the dragon left the other world. They crossed the portal and flew home happy that they would be able to report the results of their day. What they did not know was that the guard snow goose had reported to his superiors, and they had in turn sent out a spy to follow the blue pony to find out where it lived. A squadron of those scary snow geese that had sharp teeth and claws, stood ready to launch for an all out attack on Castle Candi. ———– Chapter —————– The king announced a day of festivities to celebrate the end of the dragon days. The entire kingdom had reason to enjoy the celebrations including Buzzy and Dan. There was dancing and fancy eats and drinks. Everyone thought their troubles were behind them. They would have been. The dragon did not try to cross the portal again. The troubles for Castle Candi and Magicland were not over however. The snow geese spies went back to their leaders in the other world and reported they now knew the location of Castle Candi. As the kingdom celebrated there were squadrons of geese police from the other world flying to attack. Real all about it in the next adventure of Splash and Anna. Buzzy and Dan will be there too!-