I get such painful looks now. Oh, how I miss the days of old, where she would glance up at me with big, trusting eyes, as if to say that she knew everything would be okay in the end. Like she was ready to do whatever I thought best, because she thought I knew best. But alas, the days go on, the years catch up, and all children must grow up.
I don’t love her any less, though. She is still my daughter, even if she’s not my race. It’s just that adolescense is the worst enemy of a dragon in my position. I knew it would come soon, the day she asked that fated question---
“Dad, what’s beyond the mountain?” My golden eyes flick down to look hard at the teen.
“Why do you ask?”
“Well, it’s just…” Her hoof strikes the ground, a sign I learned long ago that means she was embarrassed. Settling down on the ledge we sat on, we turn our eyes to the mountain she spoke of.
“Just look at me. I’m not exactly like you. I was wondering where I came from, you know?” She sits down beside me, laying in the crook of my massive arm. I stroke her blonde mane with a claw, knowing the questions to come.
“What am I?”
I rumble, the fire in my chest flaring ever so slightly. This was the duty of a parent: to answer the questions of the child. However, something made this harder than it should be. I didn’t know quite what, but it was there. Clearing my throat, I speak softly.
“Long ago, there were three races. There were the dragons, the mighty beasts of the air. There were the serpents of the sea, those who swam as fast as daggers and as smoothly as silk. And then there was the ponies.” Her eyes glanced up at me as I spoke, curiosity burning like a ferocious fire.
“Ponies?”
“Ponies.” I rumble. “They were greedy, and treacherous. Some say dragons are greedy, but ponies are ten times that.” Smoke curls from my nostrils as I continue.
“Of course, the dragons, who were the rulers of the world, decided to negotiate a peace with the leaders of the ponies. Or, the representative of the race, a sorcerer known Dark Dusk. He was kind, and fair with the negotiations.”
“Then why do you sound angry?” My daughter asks innocently. She knows me too well for me to disguise my emotions. I look out over the land again, glaring.
“He did not come alone, as was agreed upon.”
“What do you mean?”
“There was another pony. A stallion with a greedy soul and a blackened heart. He came to the meeting and found out about the treasures of the dragons, and that day marked the beginning and the end of the Pony-Dragon Alliance.
“The greedy pony went back to his group, and told them of the dragon gold. They all became just as jealous and wicked-hearted as he did, and set out to take this gold. Dark Dusk tried to stop them, but they were too much for him. They pushed past him and left him, alone in the town.”
“Oh.” The pony next to me looks down. “I see now.”
“Star Flame, listen to me.” I say gently, picking her up in my massive palm and bringing her up to my eyes. “You are not like them. You are a kind-hearted individual, and I love you dearly. They were greedy, and mean-spirited, all things you are not, and will never be.”
“Thank you.” She says with a quiet smile, hugging one of my claws. After a little bit, she speaks up.
“What happened to the ponies that tried to get the gold?”
“I’d rather not say… but I can tell you that they regretted it.” I growl deeply, putting the mare down again. She nods, and nuzzles into my scale-plated leg. I close my eyes and smile, hoping that this feeling will never end, and that I successfully answered her questions. I told myself that, but this tiny voice in the back of my head said otherwise. It said that this problem was far from over.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
I awoke the next night to a strange sound. Pebbles skittering down the mountainside? That could only mean---
“Intruders.” I hiss softly. Star Flame woke up as soon as the words leave my mouth, wide-eyed.
“Who would try to intrude on this mountain? Everyone knows that you live here.”
“Apparently not. Stay here, daughter.” I caution. Spreading my wings, I carefully tread to the opening before whipping out, looking down to see my attackers. Flames lick the scales around my mouth as I prepare to burn them to a crisp… and then I stop.
“P-Please don’t kill us…” A voice whimpers. Looking down more carefully, I see a strange sight. Three figures, all huddled behind a rock. True, they weren’t doing the best job, since I could clearly see them, and yet the simple fact that this was their voluntary action surprised me. Few creatures were this intelligent, especially out here.
They all walked on four legs. Hair sprouted from their heads and rear-ends, and they each had a symbol on their flanks. I knew exactly what they were, but it perplexed me. Since when did these creatures roam this far from their territory?
“Get up. I promise I won’t harm you.” I reassure. Slowly, the quit cowering and come out from behind the rocks. In the clear light of the moon, I now know I made no mistake. There were ponies here on our mountain.
“Dad? What’s out there?” Star Flare pokes her head around the corner, and squeaks at the sight of the newcomers. I watch after her as she flees back into the cave before turning to the ponies on the ground. Oddly enough, they had been respectfully silent. I growl at them quietly, but fiercely.
“Who are you, and what are you doing here?” I asked. The lead pony stood up. His mane was jet black, and silky, and his eyes were a deep shade of green. Stubble lined his jaw, and his cutie mark was of a locked cage. He bowed humbly, but the stench of dishonesty rolled off him like the smell of dead flesh on a corpse. I didn’t trust him, and warily watched him, ready to move.
“Our humblest apologies,” He says. His voice is smooth like silk, but sounds like claws sharpening on a rock. “We were on a great journey, and got lost until we found this cave. We attempted to take shelter here, only to find you lived here. Please forgive us.”
The other two ponies bow down like their leader, and I scoff. These ponies haven’t gotten any backbone since the days of old.
“Get up. Don’t bow to me, for I am no ruler.” The travellers look up at me as I turn back into my cave.
“Leave. Go find your shelter, and leave the mountain by morning.” I begin to walk into the cave, but am stopped by a hoof on my claws. Looking down, I see Star, with an urgent look in her eyes.
“Please let them stay, dad! They’re lost, and need somewhere to stay the night. And…” She looked down before saying quietly, “they’re like me. They’re the first of my species that I’ve ever met.”
My eyes narrow, but I can’t deny her this. With luck, she will find out why I dislike the pony race.
“Fine. They will stay for the night, and then they have to leave.” I turn around and lumber back into the cave, smoke spilling out of my nostrils. As I settle in, I crack an eye open at the others. Star Flame is showing the ponies around the cave, and they are listening intently. Something about them rubs my scales the wrong way.
I must keep an eye on these ones. I think to myself as I slowly drift off to slumber.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
“Star Flame! Where are you?” I call out to the darkness. Murky shadows surround me, and not even my strongest flame can defeat the darkness. I stumble around aimlessly as I attempt to find my daughter, hoping to myself that she isn’t lost out there in the murky darkness. All of a sudden, the ground gives way from underneath me, and I’m tumbling down, down, down. Into the depths I plunge, unable to do anything but fall.
I gasp as I awaken, looking around the cave wildly.
“Dad? Is something wrong?” A voice says quietly. Looking down, I see my daughter holding onto my hand. The three travellers from the previous night are off to the side of the cave, watching in interest.
“Yes, I’m alright.” I say reassuringly before turning to the newcomers.
“Now, as for you. Why are you here?”
“Yes. You see, we were travelling past our borders as part of a new mission to explore the outside lands.” The leader speaks again. I look past him to the other two, who simply nod in agreeance. Rolling my eyes, I look at the leader again.
“Your species, did they know about me? Or the other dragons?”
“No, no they did not. And we’re truly sorry for that. However, now we are here, and we seek your approval for us to venture into the mountains further.”
“No.” I immediately say. “There are other dragons out in those peaks that touch the sky that would kill you on sight. If you wish to live, than I urge you to turn back.”
“Thank you for the kind advice.” His mane fell into his face, and he tucks it back into place. “But, if we are to turn back, we may need another day to repack our things and gather supplies for the journey back. May we stay with you and your… daughter one more night?”
I look down at my daughter, who looks back with pleading eyes. Sighing, I nod in acceptance.
“One more night, but that’s it.” I growl. The lead pony nods and gets up.
“Well, I suppose we should introduce ourselves. My name is Cage, as you might have guessed from my cutie mark.” He gestures to the mare to his left. She has a scarlet mane, and vibrant blue eyes. Her cutie mark is that of a map, and a horn sticks out of her forehead.
“This is Pathfinder. She’s our navigator, translator, and all around brains of the group.” The mare nods, pushing her glasses back into place with her magic. Cage turns around to point to the other stallion in their group. This stallion is larger than the others, covered with a black hood and cloak, and carries a large scythe on his back.
“This is Boulder. We call him such because, well, he’s built like a boulder. He’s our bodyguard and muscle.” The stallion in question merely nods his head.
Something about this group is off. They’re story is sound enough, but they’re personalities seem to be hiding a much darker side to them. In the midst of my thoughts, I realize that Star Flame is nudging me. I clear my throat and speak.
“My name is Flamescar. This is my daughter, Star Flame.” The pony beside me waves with a smile.
“We thank you again for letting us stay with you two for the night. If you’ll excuse us, we must go out and resupply. Expect us to return by dusk.” With that, the three turn and trot out of the cave. Star looks up at me, and I know exactly what she’s asking.
“Alright, fine. You can go with them, but do not stray far from them. And if they try to leave the mountain, do NOT go with them. I must go see the Elder, and ask him a few things.” My daughter smiles happily and scampers off after them. Sighing, I watch her tail flick around the corner and disappear from sight.
Hopefully the Elder will know what to do about these travellers. I say silently to myself before running out of the cave and off the ledge, spreading my wings and soaring into the distance to the tallest peak in the lands.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
“Flamescar, I’m surprised to see you again. It has been many seasons since you last came for my guidance.”
“Elder, I am in need of help. Advice.”
“Answers?” He guesses. The whole time, the oldest dragon in the history of our kind has not turned to face me. I nod, and he turns around, whiskers swirling off the side of his muzzle.
“Settle in, Flamescar. Tell me everything about these last moons, and I shall do what I can to help you.” I lie down in the most comfortable position that I can get into without seeming disrespectful and begin talking.
“Elder, you know that I adopted the young pony we found abandoned on our borders long ago. Raising her is a challenge enough as it is.”
“Oh yes. Star Flame. Such a free spirit among her kind, how is she doing as of late?” He asks with a faint smile on his scaled face.
“She’s well, but has hit adolescence. She’s beginning to question why I took care of her, and is asking things about her species and where she came from.”
“As is expected, Flamescar my friend. You knew this would happen when you first took her in.”
“Yes, but things have become riskier than before.” I look around the cave, anxious. “Three ponies were found on my mountain last night. Travellers, explorers---”
“Conquerors and thieves.” The Elder chimes in. “I know the type, for I was there at the negotiation. What did you do with them?”
“They are still on my mountain, out collecting supplies for the return trip. Star Flame is with them.”
The old eyes of the dragon in front of me widen as I explain my current predicament. He points a crooked claw at the opening to his cave.
“Go, Flamescar. Make sure your daughter is still there, for if I know ponies, there is a greed to them that is not remotely attracted to treasure.” Suddenly, I realize the grave mistake I have made.
“Oh, stars!” I whip around and scurry out the cave, soaring into the sky as quickly as my leathery wings will take me. I don’t see it, but I can feel the Elder’s eyes on my back. And I know they are filled with sorrow.
The entire way home, I curse myself. How could I have been foolish enough to trust those strangers with my one and only daughter? Deceived by my own mind, now my heart was shattered into millions of pieces, to be melted down by the fire inside me.
Finally, I reach home. Dropping down onto the ledge jutting out from the mountain, I tread into the cave.
“Star Flame? Are you in here?” Looking around, worriedly, I find nothing to calm my restless soul. Deep down, I know what’s happened. They’ve taken the only one I love. My daughter. Star Flame.
At that moment, a weaker being would have been curled on the ground, wallowing in mourning and despair. However, I am not weak. When I look up from the ground I had been searching, they aren’t the same that I had a moment before. Now they were full of the most potent rage, and the most uncontrollable hatred. All of this was directed towards one thing and one thing only.
Pony civilization.
I take off again, my wings which were sore a moment ago from my flight back from the Elder now full of energy again. I fly with such speed that the trees whip around in my wake. Flame pours from my mouth, and I let out a earth-shaking roar that causes the very mountains to move.
Every creature in the range of that roar, big and small, knows what I’m doing. I’m going to war, and nothing is going to stop me.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~
I land in the middle of the town their scents had led to. The town is deserted, or it seems to be, but I know that these ponies are smart. They very well could be setting an ambush at this very moment for all I know. Rage seemed to pour out of my body as I walked through the town, looking around for any sign of movement or resistance. I find none, even when I track down which building Star Flame is in.
I burn the doors to a crisp, along with most of the wall. The mare I came for whips around, her eyes shimmering in the dim lighting of the room.
“Dad! You shouldn’t be here! Those ponies---”
“Thank you for acting as bait, miss Star Flame.” A familiar voice chuckles from behind me. Turning, I find the leader of the trio from earlier in front of me… with at least a small army of ponies behind him. All had a look of greed and fear and cruelty mixed together in their eyes.
“My dragon friend! It is good to see you again!” Cage grins. “Your daughter was quite the challenge to get here without her raising an alarm. She takes after you, apart from the whole ‘species difference.’”
“Let us go, Cage.” I growl, my chest glowing in contained anger. “We’ll leave you alone if you do the same for us.”
“I think not.” His green eyes fill with malice as his grin disappears. “Don’t you know why we were out there? We’re Dragon Slayers. A group of ponies who realize the value in dragon scales and talons. We were looking for new stock, and we found you and your group of lizards.”
Voices call out in the background, mockingly congratulating me. My teeth clench as I glare at them.
“Star Flame and I are leaving, whether you like it or not.”
“You can’t!” Cage laughs, gesturing to his group. “You’re utterly surrounded!”
“You forgot one thing!” I growl. I open my maw, letting fire launch out among the crowd and causing a panic. In the confusion, I grab Star Flame in my claws and soar into the sky, the sound of Cage ordering others after me fading into the background.
“Dad! This is crazy!” She shouts as we sail towards the mountainside. I stay silent, setting her down on the snow after a certain amount of time.
“No, this is what is required of us.” I finally reply once on the ground. “I couldn’t have left you to those ponies. The stars know what they might have done to you.”
“But now they're coming to the mountains, and they will find every last dragon that there is!” She shouts back. Looking behind us, I see a cloud of dust in the distance. It grows larger by the second, a sign of the doom that is approaching as we speak.
“Don’t you see? We’ve ruined everything.” Star Flame says in defeat, her mane falling in front of her face. My fiery eyes dim at the sight, and I reach down to pick her up like I did the night those star-forsaken ponies had shown up at our cave.
“Star Flame. I need you to run. Up the mountain, warn every dragon in the range. Tell them that ponies are spreading out, and will soon be hunting them. Get to the Elder, and save our kind.”
“W-What?” She asked, wiping a tear from her cheek. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to slow them down, if not stop them completely.” I growl, looking back to a pass that serves as an entrance into our mountain range. “Please, go warn the other dragons. For me.”
“Are you going to be alright?”
“...”
“Dad.” She says in a harder tone. “You’ll be alright, won’t you?”
“I can’t guarantee that.”
She looks at me with bewildered eyes, her mouth open in utter horror. She leaps off my palm, hitting the ground and looking back up at me.
“How can you say that? Why would you do that?”
“Because it’s my duty!” I bellow. I soften my tone and look down at her with my tired, old eyes.
“My path has led me here, to this moment, in this situation. I can possibly save everything we know, and though it may cost me my own existence, it’s for the greater good. You know that, right?” She nods slowly, tears falling down her cheeks. I use my claw to make her look at my eyes.
“Promise me you’ll warn the other dragons?”
“...I promise.” She says quietly. I nod at her and pick her up again, hugging her tightly. She hugs back, wrapping her hooves around what she can reach of my neck. After a moment of embracing, I set her on the ground and spread my wings to take off. Looking back and seeing her tear-filled eyes, I take off into the sky again.
I reach the mountain pass mere minutes before the ponies do. Cage steps forward again like the ignorant, over-confident leader he is. He and I stand across from each other, sizing each other up before the fight.
“That was a clever move back in my camp. You had us in quite a disarray back there.”
“That was the goal.” I growl deep in my throat.
“And where’s your daughter? Have you sent her to warn the others?” He mocks. “Once we get through you, we’ll be hunting them down shortly.”
“Then come on. Get through me, then!” I challenge. He narrows his eyes and speaks slowly and surely.
“Do not toy with us, dragon.”
“I’m not. Come on! Make a move!” I stomp on the ground in anger, causing the rocks around us to rattle and making a few ponies shake in fear. Cage doesn’t move, and dips his head in a sign of mock respect.
“Very well.” Then he raises a hoof towards his army, pointing it at me. With a mighty cry, the swarm of slayers rushes up at me. Taking a final breath, I smash my tail against the side of the pass. Cage realizes my goal, and screams at the others.
“Quickly! Get him! NOW!”
Another smash. Rocks begin sliding down the sides of the mountains, but I can feel ropes being tightened around my limbs. Desperate, I smash my tail once more, knocking a ledge off and smashing it to dust. That does it, and boulders begin showering down in an avalnche of stone.
The ponies around me scream in terror, but I make my move and hold them with me, directly under the rockfall. Even Cage is pinned against the ground under one of my claws, unable to escape his impending demise.
There are certain things that you think of when you are about to die. Some dragons think of their hordes at home. Others think of their adventures in their seemingly immortal lives. And a few might even think of nothing at all. I, however, think of one thing. One face in the darkness.
Star Flame. Her mane falling around her face, her burning star emblem permanently added onto her flank. Her eyes as they used to be, looking up at me as if to ask if I knew everything would be okay. Yet today, on this minute of this hour, I could successfully answer her as the rocks and boulders of the past centuries fell around and on top of me and my captives.
Yes. Yes, everything would be just fine.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ FIN ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Author's Note
There you are! It took me a whopping eight days to write this, but now I'm back to regular updates!
