The Epic Quest of Ford Mustang

Chapter 19 - Wagner the Inferno Dragon King

Chapter 19 – Wagner the Inferno Dragon King

"So... let me get this straight..." Gilda questions Ford Mustang with perplexity as they fly off towards their next destination.  "You spent the last two weeks in the forest with a dragon that taught you not only on how to breathe fire, but he also taught you on how to roar like one too?!"
"Mmm... yeah, pretty much!" he answers casually.
"Heh, I'll believe it when I see it!" she scoffs with a smirk.
The blue Pegasus is quite grateful to run into someone he knew (well, at least from a television show originally).  It's nice for him to have some company along his journey to the Talos Mountain, where he hopes to find Wagner and compromise an alliance with the dragon and his clan.
"Still, I'm sorry to hear on what happened to him though." Gilda offers her sympathy to Ford after hearing his tale of Hindel's heroic sacrifice.  "He must have been a really cool guy to hang out with."
"Yes... he was." he responds quietly with a chuckling smile.
The griffon eyes the nearly detached Pegasus as she detects a hint of sadness behind that ambiguous smile of his.  She wishes that there is something she can do to help cheer him up, but unfortunately she is not the best kind of griffon for this kind of sentimentality.  As she ponders on this, something catches her eagle eye in the far distance.
"Oh hey, look over there, Mustang!" she points it out gleefully.  "We've made it!"
Following her pointed claw, Ford smiles in joy at what he sees before him.  Dozens of mountains clustered together with their peaks curved into the unusual likenesses of ferocious claws. Surely, these must be the fabled Talos Mountains that Hindel and Gilda told him about!  But something else catches his eye as he continues to awe at these bizarrely shaped mountains.  In the center of that landmark, there is a colossal mountain that's at least five times bigger than the region's second-largest mountain.  But its extraordinary size isn't the only thing that's strange.  The enormous mountain is also hollow as it emanates a red-hot glow from within.  Yet strangely enough, there is no smoke rising from that hollow mountain, so it's certainly not a volcano.  So what could be causing such an immense, fiery glow from this ominous mountain?
While Ford continues to gaze at the renowned home of the Wagner's clan, Gilda spots a tiny red glow on the side of the central mountain.  She speculates that it must be a hidden entrance that could lead them into the dragons' dwelling.  Suddenly, she grins deviously as she comes up with an idea on how to help lighten the mood up between them.
"Say Ford..." she smirks at him.  "How about we have ourselves a little race on who ever can reach to that cliff-side entrance over there first?"
The stallion eyes at the entrance that the griffon was pointing at.  Then, he breaks into a small grin as he proclaims in a slightly boastful manner, "As fun as it sounds, I'm afraid that would be overkill on my part."
Gilda puts on the air brakes before Ford does the same as she responds with a chuckle, "What, you think you and your so-called dragon powers can beat me in a landslide?  I think you're overestimating yourself there, Ford!"
"Oh really?" he broadens his mischievous smile even more.  "I'll tell you what, Gilda... I bet that if I give you a ten-second head-start, I can still beat you to that cliff over there!"
She quickly ponders on the possibility if Ford is bluffing or not, but in either case, she is certain in her abilities as a flyer and seals the deal with a confident smile, "Alright then... challenge accepted!  But remember, Ford, it's your loss!"
"We'll see!" he shrugs before they land on a cloud nearby.  Once there, he raises his fore hoof up in the air as he asks his competitor, "Ready?"
After stretching out her body in a suitable starting position, Gilda confirms her answer with a sharp nod before Ford starts the countdown.
"On your mark... get set... GO!"
With a wave of Ford's hoof, Gilda launches from the cloud as she darts straight to the imaginary finish line!
1... 2... 3... 4...
With her sharp eyes, Gilda makes an approximation on how far away she is from the cliff-side entrance.  The Talos Mountains is only a couple of miles away, but with her top speed, she can reach there is less than a minute.  Plus, she was one of the best flyers alongside Rainbow Dash.  So she is sure to win against an average flyer like Ford Mustang.  Even with the handicap she was given, she feels some pity on taking advantage of it since it will take all the fun away for her to gain such a huge lead ahead of the newly acquainted Pegasus.
5... 6... 7...
Already it's been seven seconds, and she is just reached a quarter of the race!  With a winning smile spreading across her beak, she is absolutely convinced that she already got this in the bag!
8... 9... 10!
When ten seconds are finally up, the overconfident griffon is almost at the halfway point!  Assuredly of her victory in her grasp, she turns her head as she wants to see the look of regret on Ford's face as she is about a mile away from the cliff-side entrance.  But after catching a brief glimpse of her challenger, Gilda's victorious smile immediately hang out openly as she heavily gapes at what's coming at her from behind.  Speeding up in a blaze of golden light is the deviously smiling Ford Mustang, who is immediately catching up to the gawking griffon at an incredible velocity!
Snapping out of her shock, Gilda frantically reassumes her pace as she tries to push herself beyond limits.  Unfortunately, she is clearly out of her league as Ford immediately passes by her in a blurring flash of blue and gold!  Within ten seconds flat after he left the improvised starting line, the extraordinary Pegasus makes a touchdown at the cliff's landing point, while Gilda has only completed three-quarters of the face!  With a gawking expression frozen on her face, the astonished griffon gradually makes her way to the cliff in a slower, defeated pace.
Once she makes her landing, Gilda continues to flabbergast over the unbelievable power Ford possesses as he faces her with wide, prideful smirk across his muzzle.  Annoyed by the pony's smug grin, she stammers in an abrupt grump, "Sh-shut up!"
"I didn't say anything." he says with a witty smile.
"Yeah well... I was just going easy on you because I thought you were bluffing on your powers, that's all!  I'll be sure to not make the same mistake again!"
"Well... thanks for leading me here, Gilda.  I'll take it from here."  When he turns around to make his way into the narrow cliff-side entrance, the blue Pegasus is quickly pulled in by a feathery foreleg wrapped tightly around his neck.
"And who said you could ditch me like that?!" the grinning griffon demands.
"I'm not trying to ditch you, Gilda!" Ford replies sharply as he breaks away from the hug before he explains himself in a gentler tone.  "I just... don't want you to get hurt from these dragons because of me."
"Hey, come on, Ford!" Gilda winks at him as she playfully punches him on the foreleg.  "I'm a big girl!  I can take care of myself!  Besides, we're friends, aren't we?  So, someone has to watch your back from these pesky dragons!"
Smiling for her bragging devotion, Ford says to Gilda, "Alright, you can come along.  But stay close to me, okay?"
From entering the narrow passage, Ford steadily leads the way while Gilda follows him from behind.  Once they squeeze out of that hidden entrance, they each make a mighty gasp  as they gaze at the wondrous sight before their eyes.  Within the hollow mountain, they are hundreds of dragons residing in there!
The concave walls of their dwelling are littered with hundreds of caverns, which serve as the dragon's private residences.  In the center of their collective home is a colossal crystal cluster that is glowing bright red.  The strange, red glow within that crystal is flickering like a flame as a few, watchful dragons breathe fire into the gigantic quartz while it absorbs their fiery breaths.  This explains why the mysterious crystal is glowing immensely and why it offers the comforting warmth of a fireplace.
Many dragons engage in their leisurely activities.  Most of them are resting, basking, or eating their gems.  Some of the more aggressive, greedy dragons will engage in fights either for good sport or for gambling on their delectable treasures.  For the hatchlings, they eagerly practice their fire breathing or flying with their parents and instructors.  And a more pleasant experience for them is their multitude of hot springs as their own steaming breaths allow them to heat the water to its perfect temperature.
"Whoa-ho!" Gilda exclaims astonishingly.  "Look at all these dragons!  There must be hundreds of them!"
Ford is also impressed by the vast number of these legendary creatures.  He is certain that with this many dragons, Arrogon won't stand a chance against them.
"So... any idea which one is Wagner?" he asks Gilda as he looks around the hollow mountain.
"I'm not sure.  I've never met him before.  All I remember from the stories is that Wagner is a big, red, and scary dragon."
Quickly glancing around his surroundings, Ford can see dragons of all shapes and sizes.  Afterwards, he says to Gilda, "Well, there are a lot of dragons here that fit those descriptions.  Maybe we should ask one of them."
Nearby, there is large, rounded dragon with his back facing the two visitors as he heavily snoozes on the rocky floor.  The heavy sleeper has earthly brown colors, small wings, stocky limbs, spiky, plated armor on his back, and a tail club with several spikes extruding from it.  To Ford, the dragon reminds him of the armor-plated dinosaur, the Ankylosaurus.