Komodo shrieked and flapped his wings furiously. He began to rise into the air, beating his wings and trying to get away from the monster. The demented horse's jaws closed right where he had been a moment before, and it immediately struck again. The creature sprang up at him, trying to snatch him out of the air as he beat his small wings even harder, out of its reach.

   The obsidian-black dragon glared at Komodo out of the corner of his intimidating lavender eyes, like Komodo was a rather unpleasant bug. He didn't seem to be interested in the tiny dragon, but was glancing around, maybe hoping someone worth fighting would appear.

   Komodo shivered in fear and rose, wobbling, into the air. He began to fly backwards, right into a thorn bush. The midnight dragon looked disappointed, staring at the bush. "Well, I refuse to believe this weakling is in the prophecy, but just to be sure, I suppose you can kill him." The dragon looked away from Komodo, like he couldn't stand to even look at him for a moment longer.

   "It would be an honor, Master Nightfall..." the sea creature hissed in their horrible, grating voice. Komodo struggled in the entangling thorns, attempting to escape as they stabbed into his scales. The monstrous horse approached him with wild, angry eyes, a large grin on its face. "He thinks he can escape! I am a mighty Kelpie, you weakling!" it roared, eyes flashing with madness. 

   Komodo flapped his wings, attempting to escape the entangling branches, but only found himself stuck deeper in its grasp as the seaweed-swathed horse watched with a wide grin, apparently intent on savoring his demise.

   The Kelpie reared back, baring its jagged teeth as Komodo clenched his eyes shut. 'This is the end. This is it. I'm going to become seahorse food... not the death I imagined...' he thought hopelessly, grimacing as he accepted his doom. 

   Capella was shivering violently, a giant fish flung over her shoulders as she stared at the ground. Ace was flapping noisily above her with a giant fish clutched in his talons, and one carried in his jaws. A drop of fish saliva plopped onto her head. 

   "Can you quit that?!" she snapped, angry that she had nearly become fish food. "Ife mot thryin to dfo thraf!" Ace complained pathetically. "I'd appreciate it if you at least payed for my therapy," Capella remarked, trudging onwards.

   Ace rolled his eyes, flapping his wings lazily. "Har har, funny jfoke," he responded, readjusting his grip on the fish. Capella opened her mouth to quip back about how traumatized she was before two giant fish thumped down beside her. 

   Capella yelped, glancing up to see Ace's expression turn serious before he shot out in front of them. The palomino whipped her head around to see a horrifying scene playing out in front of her- a strange pale green horse, an enormous obsidian-black dragon- Komodo and certain death.

   The alicorn felt adrenaline coursing through her veins and before she could even realize what she was doing, she had shrugged the fish off of her shoulders, sprung out of the trees, grabbed the sea creature by the throat, and lifted it into the air with powerful wingbeats. 

   Capella imagined the flapping of a bird's wings, replicating their elegant movements with a flame of fury burning in her swirling hazel eyes that the creature had tried to hurt Komodo- the best friend she'd ever had. This monster would certainly pay for it.

   Komodo awaited the jaws, but they never came. He risked cracking his eyes open a tiny bit, just in time to see the screeching Kelpie being lifted off of the ground by none other than Capella, who looked like she was going to faint from the exertion. Komodo opened his eyes fully and stared at her in awe, temporarily forgetting he had almost died as he watched her rise through the air. 

   Behind the scene occurring in front of him, Ace and Nightfall were clashing talon to talon- but it wasn't a very fair fight considering the obsidian dragon towered above Ace. The enormous dragon dove at his opponent, slicing at Ace with his claws, who blocked it with his spiked tail, attempting to shove the Nightfall away. 

   Ace opened his mouth and showered the larger dragon in tangerine flames. Nightfall roared in fury, flinging his arms over his face in an attempt to shield himself, before darting backwards, anger burning in his eyes, and then he charged again, flapping his giant wings and gaining speed. Ace darted underneath, slicing at his underbelly and opening a wound, and the obsidian dragon roared in fury, gripping Ace's forearm in his talons and digging his claws into the crimson scales.

   Capella continued lifting the Kelpie with powerful wingbeats, and then dropped the seaweed covered horse, letting gravity do the work. It fell about eight times its body height, the ground rushing towards it, and a sickening crack sounded as it hit the ground skull-first, dying instantly as blood pooled around it. 

   Capella crash-landed onto the grass, instantly leaping upwards, a terrified expression on her face. She frantically tore apart the sharp branches clutching Komodo, which seemed to have wrapped themselves around the lizard-turned-dragon. The Kelpie's neck was twisted in an impossible position, which made Komodo want to puke. "We need to help Ace!" Capella cried, her chest heaving as her eyes gleamed with hope. 

   Ace roared in fury, slashing at one of the Nightfall's glowing lavender eyes. The dragon reared back, giving Ace enough time to pry his arm out of his grip, snarling angrily. He rose into the air, followed by the black dragon, who glared at him, flexing his claws.

   The two clashed in the skies, Ace blocking attacks and darting around the obsidian dragon. Nightfall was over-powering Ace with pure strength, and the smaller dragon was forced to go on the defensive. The obsidian dragon pinned one of Ace's wing backwards, and shredded it with his claws as the crimson dragon roared in pain, blood dripping down his side.

   Capella flapped her wings, attempting to replicate her flying display from earlier, but gasped when nothing happened- how did she do it before? She saw the obsidian dragon grab Ace's neck in his jaws, about to deliver a death blow, and her eyes went wide, her mind racing as she made a split-second decision. 

   The palomino scooped Komodo onto her head and he clutched her horn, instantly realizing what she was doing and holding on tight. She flung her head towards the skies, giving him a boost as he leaped, flapping his wings as he flew towards the skies. Komodo hooked his claw into the dragon's face, clawing violently at his left eye. 

   "AGH!" the midnight dragon roared in pain, releasing Ace from his grasp and holding his talons against his eye where Komodo had slashed him. Blood poured from his eye as he clutched his face, his other glowing lavender eye locking onto Komodo with a withering, loathing glare. 

   Ace plummeted to the ground, his stomach flipping and eyes wide as he stretched his talons towards his sky, trying desperately to save himself. The panicked dragon's undamaged wing flapped desperately as he began to free fall through the sky, wind rushing past his scales as the ground rushed towards him. 

   Capella sprinted as fast as she could as Ace plummeted to certain death, her heart pumping madly. She flung herself onto the ground under Ace at the last second, stretching her wings out and cushioning his fall. The rolled to the ground with a groan, clutching the grass, his chest heaving as blood pooled around him. 

   Nightfall swung his massive claws at Komodo with careless accuracy, and one swing caught Komodo in the stomach, sending him flying, out of breath, towards the ground. He flung his wings out at the last second, lightening his fall as he crash-landed onto the ground, clutching his stomach and gasping air back into his lungs.

   Nightfall whirled around, lunging down with fury and rage burning in his visible eye towards the first enemy he saw- Capella.

   The dragon spiraled down with gaining speed, pressing his wings to his sides like a torpedo, looking more like a jet-black blur than a dragon. He soared towards her with terrifying speed, reaching his claws forwards, which now seemed to be swirling with a black dust. 

   Capella stood her ground as the dragon slammed into her, and deflected his talons with her horn. She was drove into the ground by the force, gritting her teeth as she blocked the attack, attempting to shove the claws away. Capella suddenly screamed in pain, the spots where the black dust was touching feeling like fire burning through her skin. The palomino leaped away, breathing harshly as blood dripped down the sides of her head.

   Capella charged, adrenaline pumping through her veins, stabbing her horn into the dragon's stomach before he could strike again. Nightfall gasped in pain, and Capella felt a strange energy rush through her body and flinched. It seemed to gather at her horn, and... 

   The dragon went flying backwards into the sturdy trunk of a large oak, his wings flung to his sides as he shrieked in pain, clutching his stomach. A glowing white light spider-webbed across his front from the wound, like a broken vase, a shattered pitch black sky.

   Casting one last horrifying glare, he turned, blinking back the pain, and flung himself into the air. "You have made a strong enemy, Capella!" he roared threateningly, in a booming voice. "Don't be surprised when you find your heart pierced by my claws!" 

   Nightfall turned, fleeing with powerful wing beats, and the alicorn couldn't be bothered to chase him. Capella could only sigh in relief as the adrenaline left her body and she went limp, shuddering in pain.

   The injured palomino collapsed to the ground, drained of any and all energy, her wings softening her fall as she slid onto the grass. She breathed harshly, the wound on her head gushing blood. 

   "Why did they attack us?... How did he know my name?..." Capella managed to gasp out, clenching her teeth from the pain of her wound. Ace sat bleeding against a rock that he had dragged himself over to and was now leaning against.

   Capella shoved herself up, holding back a cry of pain from her protesting body. She felt horribly drained, and had to pause for a moment, blinking rapidly, to stop herself from passing out. She limped over to Ace, clenching her jaw. Her foot must've been broken when she was shoved into the ground, and when she was too filled with adrenaline to feel it.

   "Komodo, can you go gather tree bark?" she asked. Komodo nodded, understanding what she wanted him to do. Whenever either of them got injured on earth, they would shred tree bark and make something to hold the blood inside the wound.

   Capella approached Ace, who had passed out. He seemed to have lost a lot of blood, and she wasn't sure if they could repair his shredded wing.

   Capella shook his shoulder, and the dragon's eyelids fluttered slightly. He blinked rapidly and groggily opened his eyes, groaning as he shuddered in pain.

   Ace moved his head slightly, focusing his gaze on Capella. "What happened?" he coughed out, noticing the absence of the Nightfall and Komodo. The Kelpie lay crumpled in a heap near a tree not very far away, and Capella was shocked about how she had caused that. She wasn't normally a very good fighter, but she seemed to have gained some strange abilities.

   "Komodo's okay, and I fought off Nightfall..." Capella reassured Ace. She paused for a moment, gremacing. "The Kelpie is dead."

   Ace seemed to deflate with relief. "Good..." he sighed, wincing at the small movement of his body. "Don't move," Capella advised, and Ace nodded his head slightly, watching her curiously.

   Komodo soon returned with the bark, him and Capella getting to work shredding it into a sort of bandage. Capella, with her horn, and Komodo, with his claws, which were now sharper than before thanks to his transformation.

   Capella pressed the shredded bark together with her hooves, before covering Ace's wounded wing with the bark bandage. Ace winced, clenching his jaws and holding back a roar of pain.

   Capella let Komodo put the bark on her head, because she couldn't reach her head with her hooves. The lizard had a disturbed expression on his face as he looked over the wound and shuddered.

   "What is it?" Capella asked, wincing as he spread the make-shift bandage over her wound. Komodo paused, frowning. "It-It's just your skin, and your fur, it looks like it's just... gone...." he murmured cautiously.

   "What do you mean?" Capella questioned, shuddering and pressing her hooves into the ground as Komodo perched on her horn and continued to apply the bark. "It just looks disintegrated or something..." he said, shrugging. Capella decided not to question the small dragon further, deciding that ignorance was bliss in this situation.

   When Komodo was done applying the bandage he examined his stomach, which had a large purplish bruise stretched across it, and winced. 

   "Good thing I don't need any bandages..." the lizard muttered, wincing. Him and Capella turned their attention to Ace, who had been watching the two and occasionally trying to move his wounded wing, then wincing and growling in pain.

   Later, when Komodo had wrapped their wounds in the tree bark bandages, he approached Capella, frowning. He didn't seem terribly hurt, and looked guilty about his lack of injuries, his shoulders slumped in shame. He had barely done anything in the fight, and blamed himself for that- Capella could tell. 

   "I'm sorry, Capella..." he murmured, staring at his talons. "I couldn't help you fight... I'm too small to even protect you!" the tiny dragon cried out, clenching his eyes shut as he clutched his face. 

   Capella cut him off before he could continue with his self-hatred. "It's not your fault, Komodo! You were the only one healthy enough to wrap our wounds, and that's enough. Besides, no one knew those monsters would attack us!" she comforted, a pitying expression on her face.

   Before Komodo could respond, Ace, who had been listening to their conversation, sighed heavily, looking away guiltily. "That's not exactly true," he murmured, flicking an ear and curling his uninjured wing around himself, avoiding eye contact with the two.

   Capella blinked in confusion, stumbling to her hooves. "What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head questioningly as she waited for an answer.

   Ace paused, his tail-tip flicking against the grass, before taking a deep breath to calm himself, his face turning serious. He knew he couldn't keep the secret any longer, and frowned, wondering if the two would still come with him to the light palace if they knew what danger they'd be in.

   "Camaria has been in a state of warfare for almost a hundred years, and around that time, the light kingdom received a prophecy about the arrival of two heroes from the planet known as Earth, come to stop the war between dark and light," Ace began, unconsciously dragging a claw through the dirt.

   Capella and Komodo exchanged glances, before looking back towards Ace with worried expressions.

   "I'm sorry that I didn't explain earlier, but this prophecy will be putting you on a dangerous path. We need this war to end, and soon," Ace murmured, his gaze flicking from Capella to the ground to Capella again.

   "Does that mean... that I'm in a prophecy? That me and Capella are destined to be heroes?" Komodo questioned, eyes flicking from Ace to Capella nervously. He didn't know how he should feel about this... excited, nervous, or scared? Ace nodded, confirming his momentous words with a single movement. 

   Capella met Ace's eyes, nodding as the pressure fell on her shoulders. She would have to do this, for Camaria's sake. She glanced towards Komodo, who had a determined but nervous expression on his face. 

   "We accept," Capella murmured, and Komodo nodded, flicking his tail before speaking. 

   "This sounds really dangerous, but it's our fate, and we can't just leave Camaria in this war," he agreed, digging his claws into the grass as his stomach churned with the weight of his future.

   Ace wondered how the queen would react to one of her warriors suddenly coming home with the heroes of the prophecy. Maybe people would start to trust him more? He doubted it... the citizens never seemed to trust him, mostly because he was a dragon. 

   He had been born on the side of darkness, like most other dragons, but abandoned the dark kingdom and fled to the light, hoping for a better future. It was unfair and cruel how dragons on the side of light were ostracized just because of what side of the war they had been born in. Shouldn't what side they're on now be how he's judged? 

   Dragons also didn't possess the power of light magic- according to an ancient myth they were the ancestors of greedy pixie dragons who stole the power of fire from the gods. Ace had sworn to never use dark magic- shouldn't that be enough?

   "We have to get going, to the Palace of Light, before Nightfall reports your location to the King of Darkness and then we have a whole other problem on our hands." Ace warned, his voice filled with caution, so they started on their way.

    The trio journeyed in silence. Capella badgered Ace about the prophecy, but the dragon said he couldn't tell them anything else before glancing around nervously and changing the subject. Eventually Capella gave up on learning anything new about the prophecy, and put her energy into making her way to the Palace of Light. 

   After a few hours, Ace suddenly stopped walking, and Capella nearly ran straight into him, glancing up and squinting at the dragon. 

   "We're here," Ace finally announced, seeming nervous but relieved. His stomach roiled like it disagreed with his actions as he took another step forwards, taking a deep breath.

   The dragon turned his head and smiled at Komodo and Capella before pulling aside a veil of vines, revealing a beautiful palace. It shone like a crystal in the sunlight, and seemed almost like the embodiment of beauty and purity. Its majestic spires stretched high into the sky and pierced the clouds with their long, sharp tips.

   Capella let out an audible gasp at the sight of the quartz arched gates and the crystal clear windows. The enormous double doors were encrusted with many different shades of stunning blue gems that were shining as if they'd just been polished.

   Intricately sown curtains were draped over the crystal windows, concealing the mysteries that lay unseen inside of the palace. A skillfully carved marble statue of an Alicorn with shining, deep blue sapphire eyes was rearing up with its hooves in the air, staring majestically into the cloud-ridden sky. 

   Ace finally spoke once more, jolting Capella out of her trance.

   "Welcome to the Palace of Light."