Dragon of the Past

Chapter 2: I Want Out, So I Left

“Damn this place is big! How the hell does anyone get around?” I hissed as I walked yet another level of Canterlot. Hey firebending takes energy and currently I don’t have enough energy to blast all the way out of the city, besides I needed to cauterize my wound. It wasn’t the deepest of wounds I’ve gotten but it was still bleeding and open to infection, cauterizing it was better than waltzing into a hospital. I highly doubt that any of the Docs here know what to do with a human, let alone an injured one. But anyways, pain and burnt flesh aside, The palace may sit on a mountain but the city itself WAS the damn mountain! While the Palace clung to the middle of the mountain the rest of Canterlot was stacked like stairs down into the Valley. And you know what? The buildings got uglier the farther down you got. The Palace looked bad enough! All that white stone and golden roofs! Seriously. The walls must be a bitch to clean! Hell the palace was more a series of Badly designed towers than a palace!  Not to mention all the flags everywhere!

That was just the palace! The sect below the palace had the same color scheme, but then add bright glittery Awnings everywhere. Up until now, nearly six sects down from the Palace, I hadn’t paid too much attention to my surroundings. Looking back up at the upper tiers I could easily see the architect of this city getting lazy or possibly loony. Same goes for those who chose the color schemes.

Every building was made of the same white stone and the same gold roofs, all with different colored flags. Then came the Gilding. Now Gilding can be nice, if it isn’t sloppy or used for EVERYTHING!  I mean dear god! There is an entire building only one tier above me that’s entirely covered in Rainbow colored gilding! What is the point of that? Not to mention that the buildings don’t stand straight! They stick out at odd angles and twist and lean in such a way that I wonder if the owners don’t have a herd of Unicorns hidden in their basements who keep the building standing with magic!

I really should stop staring at the buildings and focus on the road ahead of me. I don’t want to get lost in this colorful throw up city.

I walked through the main street, watching as ponies scattered like leaves on the wind before me. Shops line the streets many of which sell clothing or some stupid fancy snack that will never hold you over for more than three minutes. Pink cobblestone lines the path before me, making me wish I had some spray paint. Or some roller skates, or both! Now THAT could make travel through this city fun! I couldn’t help but smile at the idea as I continued onward. though I quickly found myself scowling at the road before me. I could plainly see the front Gates of the city and the train station below. Shame that I couldn’t make my stay more memorable for the ponies around me. If I had a bit more time, maybe I’d have left behind a nice mess of paint, or even scare some of the locals a bit more than necessary. But that would mean staying in this city longer than needed.

“Damned place.” You know why I hate this place? Other than the design? I have the weirdest memories of the area around here. Doubt their mine, but even so they’re there. Every time I look down into the valley I expect there to be smoke and burnt fields. For there to be small mobs writhing on the ground. Dark skies… Iron tangy smells….

Wait. What was I thinking? Had I been thinking? And how the hell did I get here? I found myself no longer looking out on the valley below Canterlot, instead I was walking along an abandoned path within a gloomy forest... WONDERFUL!

“Great! Wake up after a god awful nap that lasted who knows how long, get in a fight, bleed, get ribs broken by Rainbow Dash, Bleed, get lost in a city that looks like a paint shop threw up on it, and now I’m in the middle of Nowhere! What a wonderful way to start a day!” I spat. I continued my walk trying to figure out where I was exactly and how to get back to the road towards Hockta.

Funny story with that name. A Hock is a Horse’s knee like joint, so the town was called Knee-ta. The reason? The town was founded by an Earth Pony Blacksmith and his adopted son a deer with a talent for mining. When they reached the place that would one day be Hockta, the son had wandered off and found a cave filled with Metal ores and gems, the likes of which had never been seen. Entranced by the prospect of being the first to mine these resources the son stayed in the cave for two days. His father grew worried and went to find him. When the son was found there was a cave in that trapped the Father’s back legs under rubble. The son went to find someone to help and came across a Dragon and a group of Diamond Dogs. He asked for them to get his father free and in return he’d give the dragon every precious metal he mined. In the end he promised to serve the Diamond Dogs for as long as he lived. The pack and the dragon went and freed his father only to find that both his back knees had been destroyed by the cave in. Saddened by his Father’s injury the son begged anyone who would hear him to help his father. No one the son spoke to could help, so he turned back to serving the Pack and the dragon. His father always told him that though he could not move, he would not stop his trade. Until the day he died the Earth Pony worked the forge, refusing to let his disability stop him. Later after a series of events that led to the young Deer opening a mining company and being dismissed from serving the Pack and the Dragon, the Young Deer found a town. In honor of his Father’s lost mobility he named the town Hockta. It grew into a booming Smithy Mining town, and eventually gained independence from Equestria.

But that’s a tangent whose only purpose is to distract me from the situation before me. I need to find out where I wandered off to.

“Hmm. Let’s see…” I look around and take a deep whiff of air. A wise man once said, “Always follow your nose.” Gandalf was indeed a wise man. Or Maia as it were, wisest of them all. Any who, my deep and supposedly helpful sniff led me to believe that, i had no clue where to go, so I decided I might as well keep going forward and hope for the best.

“Not like this could get any worse. Ah shit, probably jinxed it.” I hissed as I walked on hoping to find someone who could give me directions. And maybe a paddleball, walking’s boring without something to do.

With Twilight Midnightt

Twilight poured over the texts before her, eyes darting across the pages in a flurry of purple. The candlelight flickered leaving the Castle of the Royal Pony Sister’s Library feeling extra creepy. Twilight paid no mind to her surroundings though. she was solely focused on the pages before her. The occasional annoyed grunt came from her as her frown deepened and she read on.

“Twilight? Com on, it’s too late to keep reading, that stupid thing!” Spike complained from beside her. Twilight whirled around and stared down Spike.

“We need to know what we’re up against Spike! This “Azula” attack and hurt many of Celestia’s elite! Not to Mention Rainbow Dash!”

“And reading a history book will tell you all you need to know? Twilight you know that History books aren’t the most reliable source of information! Especially for creatures that no one knew existed!” Spike exclaimed throwing his hands into the air.

“That’s why I’m reading Celestia’s revised Psychological profile of Azula, and Luna’s original observations.” Twilight responded matter of factly.

“Oh. Well what did you learn?”

“Well it seems that Azula is an emotional being, and does not handle stress very well. Luna’s observations recount a time that Azula entered a small town and was flocked by a group of young mages, all hoping to learn about her fire. Their questions freaked her out so much that she accidentally set their manes a blaze. Her Pyrokenisis must be linked to her emotions. In Celestia’s revised profile it states that Azula always believed herself to be unstable, when in actuality she is simply over emotional and reactive. Both accounts state that Azula tends to treat life like a game, and is always looking for a way to alleviate boredom. But…”

“Oh great, there’s a but.” Spike deadpanned as Twilight shot him a glare.

“But, Luna and Celestia’s profile is incomplete. Luna’s Accounts are missing nearly a decades worth of observations. Luna even says that Azula went missing for a decade, and when she came back, she changed. She wasn’t joking around, trying to keep herself entertained.she was described by Luna only as “Manic in her silence, Manipulative in her dealings, and cruel in her speech.” Luna’s accounts does not say what happened next only that, “She betrayed our trust, and has been punished.” Celestia’s Profile is no better! Neither mention what happened to Azula and why she was imprisoned! UGH!” Twilight groaned slamming her head onto the table which creaked under the sudden pressure. If there was one thing Twilight hated, it was when facts, and important ones at that, were omitted.

“Well why don’t you just ask Princess Celestia what happened? Or Princess Luna?” Spike offered.

“That’s just it Spike. Even if I ask, they probably won’t tell me what happened.” Twilight groaned. Spike simply sighed and turned back to face the wall. If Twilight was going to turn down his help then he would just let her wallow. Twilight however wasn't wallowing as much as Spike thought. In the recesses of Twilight's sleep deprived mind, a crazy idea was forming. even as Twilight found herself drifting into sleep the idea grew stronger, and firmly rooted itself in her mind. She would get the answers she sought from the subject herself.

Elsewhere current time

“Has She moved Brother?” A nasally voice hisses to the pony beside him. The one who spoke, appears thinner beneath his robes and a clean well kept horn protrudes out from his crimson hood. The other appears thicker and muscular, his own horn is cracked and sputters as he casts his scrying spell.

“Yes. She moves towards the South.” The other pony responds his voice deeper, yet it falters slightly as he speaks.

“Is something wrong Brother? Are things moving too slowly?”

“No. But they might. She remembers nothing.”

“Nothing at all Brother? Not even a hint?”

“Not exactly. She appears to have remembered something upon reaching the Entrance to Canterlot. However she claimed them to be false. I’m not even sure she was aware she was narrating her thoughts.” The larger Unicorn ended his scrying spell and turned towards the other. “This will make the Coming Events difficult.”

“No matter Brother. It will be easy to show Her what is truth, once all is ready.” The Thinner unicorn said, walking towards the back of the dark room. Light suddenly poured in as the door, once hidden, opened. A glimpse of a crowd all covered in the same crimson robes and hoods meets the Larger Unicorn’s eyes, before the thinner one speaks once more. “Do keep an eye on her, wouldn’t want Her to get lost now do we Brother? Now if you’ll excuse me. I have a Night Job to attend to. Adieu Brother.”

With that the thinner Unicorn left the room and slammed the door shut, leaving the other to scry away.