The Fire and Embers

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Death of a Life
Chapter 2: And the Start of Another
Chapter 3: Questions and Answers
Chapter 4: The World Around Me
Chapter 5: Pain and Comfort
Chapter 6: A Heart of Coal
Chapter 7: Allons-y
Chapter 8: A Hard Days Night
Chapter 9: A Trip to the Fair
Chapter 10: Good Morning Ma'am!

Chapter 1: The Death of a Life

Chapter 1
The Death of a Life

Letters across a screen. Just another strand of words, yet it felt like so much more. Each one was a little lock, a tiny prison I had built for myself, created out of my goddamn need to please them. Why did I even forge them if I knew all they would do is cause me misery?

‘Why do you always ask this question if you already know the answer?’

I felt a pang of anger at those words, my eyes looking down at my keyboard as I struggled to accept such a bitter pill, but my conscious was always right. I knew the answer but didn’t want to admit it. I wanted that simple question to be wrong, that I had no clue why, yet denying the truth always hurt more than simply accepting it. I wanted praise, recognition for what I did and what I always gave up, but it never came.

As I looked back up at the screen I wanted to scream at it, to hurl insults at something that I knew had no hand in my misery. It still hurt to look at it, those words, what they implied, what they would do. I had made a coffin for myself, and, the mouse scrolling over the send button, I closed the lid with a simple click. It was sent, gone, out of my control and now yet another thing I would be chained to. With a small sob I shut off my monitor, my hands cupping my face.

‘Why do you keep doing this?’ asked my conscious. It had always talked to me, a voice that wasn’t my own, yet was an inexplicable part of me, and yet again it asked what I didn’t want to answer. I knew it, I kept admitting it, but I never faced it.
I had already written my college resume, and I had just sent it off to Harvard. I didn’t want to go to college, I never had, but I could tell from fathers gleaming eyes that this was his dream, his hope for…maybe not me, but at least for us. All I wanted was a bachelor’s degree from a small college and a job I didn’t feel I would regret, but that couldn’t be if I wished to be in father’s good graces. He wanted a Harvard graduate, and I was to be his golden girl.

Now, later, always.

I climbed out of my seat and fell onto my bed, not bothering to undress, simply giving myself this rare blessing to wallow in self-pity. I don’t remember when I fell asleep, but sleep came for me all the same.

My name is Ember, Ember Thompson. I have almost jet black hair and auburn eyes with slightly tan skin. I wasn’t that tall but was insanely skinny, my chest flatter than a board and my ribs showing at all times. I loved to read fantasy novels and to explore the great outdoors, worlds that I could lose myself in, even if just for a moment. It didn’t really matter though, mainly because I never did what I wanted to. I’m seventeen, still just a junior in highs school, but my parents have forced me to be thinking about college since my freshman year, and that’s why people remember me. They remembered the child ‘prodigy’, the smart kid in class who would always put out grade A work and would do whatever the teachers asked me too. Nobody cared about what I thought or looked like.

Nobody really cared about me for that matter.

I was born to my mother Katrina Thompson and my father Wu Jiang Ning. My father was pureblood Chinese, a fact that he seemed exceedingly proud of, but for some reason he had decided to marry my American-British mother instead of some other Chinese girl. It was something that they never seemed to talk about, but they always seemed happy together.
My family was a mixture of the two cultures, and dad was without a doubt the leader of the house, but mother had come up with my name. I don’t know why she got to decide that one time, but dad would complain about it whenever he could, always saying I should have had a good Chinese name. I’m not too sure he hates it though. The way his eyes twinkle when he complains about my name makes me think that he was rather happy with it, even if it wasn’t what he wanted.

One thing that always went his way was my schooling. Dad always held me to a high standard, whether it be spelling or maths, geography or science, he pushed me for the best I could give, and almost always for even more after that. I was his golden girl, his child prodigy that was closer to a finely forged tool than a smart daughter. Mother told me that he was just raised to think like that, but I never understood it. If he wanted a tool for a kid, why did he have a real one?
I had listened to him ever since I was a baby, and I used to agree with him, thinking that I should be the best at everything, that he was just helping me do the best I could. I would work harder than anyone in class, force myself to learn things that I knew nothing about just so I could keep a perfect grade, and I knew that I was smart because I studied, not because I was gifted. I thought dad knew that too, and he had always been pleased with my results, but I was disillusioned the day I had come home with my ninth grade report card.

Chemistry had never been my strong point, and I had been struggling to make the grade all year long, working late into the night so that I could pass the tests and make the grade, driven by the need to do the best I could. I wasn’t even supposed to be in the class, something that they usually reserved for sophomores and higher, but dad had written it on my class schedule all the same, and I had told myself that I needed to succeed like always.

When I saw my report card, a glowing B+, I felt like I had just won a marathon, like I’d just landed on the moon. I was so excited that I had gotten a grade that was in the top five percent of the class that I ran all the way home, glowing with joy. When I reached the house I had ran inside and started bouncing up and down in front of dad, my sheet flapping in front of his face. He took it from me and began reading it, but he froze halfway through. He had asked me what my science grade was, and I chirped out the answer, still grinning like a fool.

That all changed the moment his hand hit my cheek, so hard that I felt my knees buckle as I hit the floor. My cheek felt like it was on fire and I looked up at my dad, hoping it was all a sick prank or a bad joke but what I saw made me want to curl into a ball and cry. He was still standing above me but he didn’t have a shred of remorse or anger or even disappointment. Instead he looked disgusted, as if I was some kind of maggot that had wormed its way into the house.

I didn’t get dinner that night, and I heard my dad screaming long into the night, a few words clear enough for me to hear. Words like failure, worthless, ungrateful, and even wench. I learned an important lesson that night.

I wasn’t his favourite daughter because he loved me. He didn’t push me to my limits. All he wanted was complete and utter perfection. Nothing more, and definitely nothing less.
And I hated him for it.

The first rays of sunshine hit my face, and I tried to swat them away like flies, even though I knew it was futile. I was awake and it was time to face a new day, whether I liked it or not, and I slowly sat up, feeling my cheeks, still damp with tears. A quick glance at my clock told me it was eight in the morning. My legs slid over the side of the bed and I stood up, my whole body feeling shaky, my eyes stinging and my brain throbbing in pain. I slowly made my way to my personal bathroom, washing my face in the sink before undressing and slipping into the shower. I was quick and efficient, in and out within five minutes. After quickly drying myself off I headed back into my room, grabbing my school uniform by instinct before, almost reluctantly, putting it back into my closet, instead grabbing out my favourite dress shirt and skirt to wear instead, both of them almost identical to my schools red and white.

Two minutes later I was walking downstairs into the kitchen, my father sitting at his end of the table, reading his newspaper like usual, a small, “Hello Ember.” Being his only acknowledgment of my presence. My mother was bustling about the kitchen, the sounds of sizzling and the smell of meat bringing an answer to my unasked question as to what was for breakfast. As I looked at my seat I felt my whole body jitter a bit, the query I had for my father on my lips, yet I was almost too excited to sit down and too afraid of his answer. It took me at least three tries before I finally said anything, and even then it was just a whisper.
My dad didn’t even look up from his paper, instead turning a page and simply reading on. “What did you say?”

“I…um…could I join the track team next year? They’ve already been offered a spot in a competition over there and the coach asked me if I’d like to come along, if not as a member than as a senior student, and he even told me that he would cover most of the costs and I’ve saved up the last bit myself so it won’t cost you anything and…and…I’d just really like to go.” I was rambling and I knew it, but I was so afraid of him saying no and it felt like I couldn’t just ask, but that I had to convince him that everything would already be taken care of and he wouldn’t have to lift a single finger.

I had loved track ever since elementary, and back then it was one of the few things that let me get out and socialize with my fri…with other kids. My mom was the one who had vouched for it, but when my dad realized how good I was he supported me completely. Neither of them had any problem with it until my freshman year. That was when dad decided that I had paid too much attention on track and not enough on my studies and had told the coach that I was to quit. I’d asked once if I could re-join the team if my grades went back up but he didn’t even bother to answer me. I had even gone to my coach and asked if he could slip me in, but the sad glint in his eyes had been answer enough. Evidently my dad wanted an academic girl more than he wanted a happy daughter…

“No.”

It took me a moment to process what he had said. My stomach, filled to the brim with butterflies only moments ago had turned to lead, my throat closing up and rendering me speechless. He had taken less than a second to reply and had never even bothered to look up from his newspaper. It was like he didn’t even care that I had asked him a question, too focused on his goddamn paper to actually pay me any attention.

“Can…can I ask why?” I croaked out, fighting back tears at what felt like the greatest injustice of my life. I knew I was being childish, but once, just once, I wanted to act like a little kid and scream that I wanted to go, that I would go, but I knew that those words would get me nowhere.

“If you couldn’t pay attention to your studies and do track when you were fourteen and your classes were easier then you can’t do it now.” he said, still reading his paper.

The injustice of his comment stung me. I couldn’t do it? How could he say that? I had been doing random classes for him since I was five, I had been learning Spanish for years, had been taught basic Mandarin Chinese, and had even been taking remedial chemistry since my freshman year. This was the first time that I had even asked for something this big, and I had already gotten everything prepared for it. The coach had talked me through all of our plans, from plane tickets to bus routes, had shown me the money he had set aside for me out of his own salary and making sure that I could make up difference. We had done so much to make sure that I could go, and my dad just crushed all of his hard work and my hopes by being such a bloody self-centred prick!
I felt my feet move, unbidden, dragging me away him and into the kitchen. All that I could think of was keeping myself from breaking down like I had last night. I didn’t want to let him know how much this hurt, because I knew he would just dangle it in front of me as an unattainable prize. I was in such a daze that I wasn’t looking forward and I didn’t even notice anyone was in the room until I felt arms surround me, two wet hands on my sides. As I looked up I noticed that it was my mom, and I forced a grin onto my face, praying she didn’t notice how I felt. She obviously didn’t as she was also smiling, giving me a quick kiss on the forehead.

“Ember, I wanted to give you a treat today. Go ahead and buy yourself a breakfast out with that, okay?” she whispered to me, and I felt something pressed into my palm before she broke the hug, a massive smile on her face.

I looked absently at my hand, a folded Benjamin in my palm. It was the most money that I had ever been given at one time, but I didn’t understand why she had given me it. But now was not the time to look a gift horse in the mouth. I quickly ran upstairs and grabbed my wallet and watch then came back down, quiet as I could, slipping my shoes on and rushing out the door before anyone could stop me. It was a Saturday, and I was going to take full advantage of that fact, even if there was going to be hell to pay having some fun.

The next hour was a blur. All that I can properly remember was that I had gone to a café and ordered breakfast. I can’t even remember what I had actually decided to eat, but the next thing I knew I was on the high street. Cars were flying across the asphalt roads, people rushing in and out of shops, the sounds of rampant consumerism filling the air. I preferred quiet forests and lakes to the hustle and bustle of cities, but I had always enjoyed seeing everything in the stores and shops, even if I couldn’t buy much. This time was different though, and I was determined to get myself something.

Up and down the high street, shops selling books, kitchenware, vacuums, beds, everything. Nothing was that interesting though, not until I saw a shop that was so different from the other. Unlike the other stores who had their front windows clean as a whistle so that people could see into them, this one was full to the brim with books. From hardbound to soft, epics to noir, it seemed to have a bit of everything and wanted everyone to see that. I wasn’t sure if there was anything in there that I would want, but it was worth a shot.

I slid into the store and heard a bell tinkle overhead. The store was just like the front window, over-packed and crowded to the brim with merchandise, but I was smiling as I looked across the shelves, reading title after title. This wasn’t heaven, but for me it was a small patch of paradise. I walked right up to the shelves and started grabbed the first book I saw, gently un-wedging a book called ‘Brimstone Angels’ from the shelf and plopped myself down. The next few hours flew by, book after book coming into my hands as I finished a couple of chapters until I realized with a sinking feeling that I had collected over two hundred dollars’ worth of books.

I slowly stood up and walked to the counter, putting them all down and resting my face in my face in my palms, muttering softly to myself, mentally ticking up the price of the cheapest of the books, unable to get more than five of them that I could purchase with my remaining money.

“Do you need some help?”

The voice startled me so much that the book I was holding was flung out of my grasp, only to have a small shout accompany it. I spun about and saw a rather dumpy looking man rubbing his head as he bent over to grab the book from the floor. He seemed like a stereotypical shut in nerd, but he had a rather large grin as he walked behind the counter.

“So do you like your books or hate them?” he asked, still rubbing his forehead.

“Umm, why would I hate them?” I asked, feeling a mixture of embarrassment at hitting him and nervousness at talking with someone new.

“People usually don’t throw things if they like them.” he chuckled, giving me a small wink.

“I’m so very sorry for that, I didn’t mean to!” I spluttered, my cheeks going red at his joke.

“Not a problem, not a problem. Well then, if you like reading why haven’t I seen you around more often?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at the stack of ten or so books that were still piled on the counter.

“I don’t have that much money…” I mumbled, my cheeks growing even darker.

“Never heard of a bargain bin have you?” he asked, smiling widely as he bent over, pulling a massive bucket out from behind the counter. Inside it were dozens of books, most of them fairly beaten or obviously well read, but a note on the front made me feel a flood of joy.

‘All books are only $1’

“Is…is this for real?” I asked, pulling out copies of at least five of my books, each of them in fairly decent condition. “You’re not just pulling a prank on me?”

“Hell no! Used to keep these out in the store but had too many people just grabbing them and running off. I keep them behind the counter now just because I don’t want people to say they got away with theft, bad for business.”

I went through the box and pulled out at least another dozen books until I came across what looked like a little girl’s book. It had a pony on it, one that I recognized despite its cartoony appearance. I mean, not only was it drawn like a manga character, but it had pink fur and an even darker mane and tail. What was the weirdest thing was how she had a trio of balloons painted onto her flank, like some kind of tramp stamp.

“Oh, are you a brony?”

“A what?” I asked, squinting at him in confusion.

“Sorry, do you prefer pega-sister?”

“No, I meant do you mean by that?”

“Oh, well, that books based off of the new ‘My Little Pony’ show. I watched it a few times and it’s not that bad. The book isn’t that bad either, why not give it a shot? I’ll throw it in for free!”

“You’ll give me a one dollar book for free?” I groaned, changing from confused to sceptical in a snap.

“Why not, it’s not like I’m losing anything for doing so!” he laughed, his whole body shaking in mirth.

I looked at the book and snapped it up along with my other books and within a few minutes I was outside again, two huge bags filled to the brim with books. I was on cloud nine, so happy that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, not even noticing that I had turned into some strange side alley. It was old, broken discarded paint staining the ground all around me, a couple of bins littering the already cramped space. My eyes glanced around my surroundings, seeking for a clue as to why I was here, what had drawn me into such a gloomy place, but nothing caught my eye. I was about to turn around and leave when I noticed one of the bins shaking.

I slowly crept forward, nearly rounding the bins, but I retched as I finally could smell…something. It was dank and smelled like metal and rotting meat, as if someone had left raw chicken out here for weeks. I took a massive gulp of air and took the last few steps. I dimly felt my bags drop, their contents spilling all over the ground, but what I saw was nauseous. My hands tried to cover my mouth in time, but I was too slow and my I felt my breakfast push up and out of me, vomit splattering all over my hands and against the rough pavement, covering my legs and the mess before me.

It was a bloody heap of mangled limbs, torn flesh, and shredded cloth, the remains of what once was a living human. The head still covered in matted hair, dark as the midnight sky, the pile was mere inches from my feet. For some reason the face was still intact, and what once was pale skin had changed colour, looking like little more than soured milk, the nose having become little more than a tiny bump. However, despite everything else, the most apparent cruelty was how both of the things eyes were missing, only two black holes remaining. I wanted to run, to hide, to scream or shout and panic, but I was frozen, my eyes unable to break away from those soulless pits.

As something snatched at my ankle I was finally able to break from its gaze, looking down to see one of the hands latched onto me, the arm broken at least thrice, some of the bone sticking through the sickly skin. I tried to shake my foot, but I was still immobile, my limbs stone for all the good they were. My heart was in my throat, my mind screaming at me to run, but I couldn’t move a muscle, the only sensation left to me the tears streaming down my cheeks. I looked once again at the things face, and to my eternal terror the mouth creaked open, giving an eerie chuckle, part spluttering hack and part wheezy laughter.

“Who’d have ever thought that the one I was looking for would stumble upon me?” it said in its sickening voice. “But it’s not time to speak, it’s time to sleep, for both you…and for I…”

The next thing I knew my mind was drowned in a miasma, my eyes unable to see and my lungs burning with a cold flame. I couldn’t even scream as I felt life leave my limbs and soon the world was dead to me.

Author's Note

This is a reboot of Dancing Flames, Cooling Embers. I am redoing a lot of things, so I am sorry if it doesn't please everyone, but I do hope that it lives up to most peoples expectations. Again I am sorry for simply vanishing and thank you all for believing in me after all this time.

A quick message to anyone who wants to downvote. I don't mind you doing so and I thank you for your opinion, but would you mind sharing a comment so that I could improve my story for the better? The people who hate my story may give me the best advice for improving it and any help you could give me would be nice! Thank you!

Chapter 2: And the Start of Another

Chapter 2
And the Start of Another

Darkness. That was all I knew. Neither pain or pleasure, cold or heat, but unassailable darkness. It was all consuming, a sea that I couldn’t swim in and a void I could not influence. If this was purgatory, then hell would have been better, for I had nothing but my mind left to me, and even that felt sluggish, tied to feelings and emotions I could no longer experience. I couldn’t even repeat the last few moments of my…life? I couldn’t recall the feeling of being grabbed, the terror I had felt at a corpse suddenly talking to me, all of it had been replaced with simple fact, knowledge that it had happened, and it felt both alien and ordinary at the same time. A stray thought passed through my mind; I think, therefore I am. But who am I? I am…Ember, but why can I know I experienced things yet be unable to relive them? Did that count as existence, and if it didn’t, then did I ever truly exist before?

‘We existed, but long ere we met.’

The voice startled me, but it seemed…right. Natural. My conscious, so long a nagging reminder, had become something much more. It was something that was supposed to be, and I was glad for it. The voice, so similar to my own…when or if I had my own…was the only other thing I could sense, but, try as I might to send something back, some scrap of fact, something, anything, it didn’t respond in turn.

I don’t know how long I simply existed and I doubt I ever will, but the first sense that came back to me was that of touch, and with it I felt that I was alive. I felt both extreme warmth radiating from all around me and a severe cold seeking to consume me, but I knew that I was, despite my inability to move my body, or even truly feel it. I couldn’t feel wind or air, but I could feel and yet again I let myself simply float the new feeling, relishing in the sudden rebirth of my sense. Ecstasy was doping my mind as what had been facts for so long became memories, memories that were flooding into me. Memories of pain, of pleasure, of sorrow, of joy. They were merely fragments, and I knew it, but they brought me a feeling of euphoria. Yet with the euphoria of regaining my sense came the agony and terror of being unable to feel my body and realization that I had been robbed of all movement. These sensations warred within me, without me, overwhelm all that I am and was I began to boil in the freezing heat, my mind reeling in the pleasurable pain. Again I couldn’t keep track of the time, as abstract as it would be, my mind too focused on the memories I had regained to do much more than sort through itself.

The second sense that came back to me was taste, but I can’t properly describe the flavours my mouth was attacked by. It was like water and air put together, yet it tasted nothing like them, something that I had never had before. Yet I couldn’t feel my mouth or my tongue. It was like leaving my mouth open during a winter’s day, but with the entirety of my being instead. Once again I felt joy at regaining another sense, another building block of my mind having found its home. My memories once again began to rebuild themselves, now including the taste of a burger off of the grill, the feeling of and taste of a glass of water running down my throat, of simply breathing in the midnight air, but another sword pierced me at the realization that I still had no clue about what had happened to me.

When I regained the sense of smell I barely noticed it, unable to truly smell anything until it began to encompass me entirely. It was only then that I realized that I had regained such an important sense, and that for the first time in my life I could smell myself. My own scent, something I had never noticed over all the other smells in the world, was now rushing over me in simultaneously sickening and gratifying waves. It was sweet, yet hearty, similar to the smell that came when you first bit into a spiced summer apple. The scent was enough to set off my memories yet again, scents of things that I could only remember by the feelings they had given me and the world that we had once shared. By now I had finally calmed down, accepting that I couldn’t feel my body as fact and growing used to the sensation. What had felt like months of deprivation of...of the rest of me, with only my memories for company had made me strong. This time I was simply glad to be able to piece together more of my past, of who I had been. Of what I had been.

Hearing was the fourth sense, and what I heard still haunts me to this day. A deep, rumbling boom that seemed to encompass everything in its deafening sound. It sounded like everything being ground together into nothing was all that I heard, and my mind shivered with primal fear. Fear of vanishing entirely or, worse, going back to my old state of simply existing. I felt fear, heard terror, tasted death, and smelled the void. My very existence had become one of terror, and I could do nothing to change it, from moving to simply making a sound, all I could do was remain, a spectre in a void of terror, and yet again time crawled on. For the first time I truly remembered words, and I began to count, to time how long I was there. I gave up once I had counted to a hundred and fifty nine thousand, losing track of the numbers.

Finally, after so much time that I had almost forgotten it existed, I regained sight. I could see, images of people and places finally connecting all of my forgotten memories, my mind feeling complete for the first time in what could only be months, and with it came a brief moment of bliss. But even that vanished as I saw what had plagued my very soul for so long. It was an eye, so big that I could see only a fraction of it, and it’s snake like pupil had focused upon me, seeing my existence and gauging whether I deserved such a blessing or not. I wanted to run, to flee as the nightmare judged me, but I was its prey, and I knew that there was nowhere I could flee from it. It was to be my final memory.

And then I woke up.

I was lying on my side, my eyes clouded and blurry, practically sightless. I was cold, freezing cold, and my stomach was like a miniature volcano, bubbling and brewing, ready to erupt. At this point I didn’t even try to keep it in, I simply rolled onto my chest and pushed against the ground, propping myself up as I vomited again, my hands now warm with the heat from my own bile. The smell was nauseous, and before I could stop myself another wave of vomit pushed itself out of my mouth, my eyes watering at the sensation.

After I finally stopped retching I pushed myself onto my feet, unable to stand straight, my legs feeling like two pillars of jelly. It hurt to stand, but I didn’t want to sit, not now, not here. I blinked again and again, trying to clear my eyes, but I couldn’t see anything, only the same darkness as before. For a second I thought I had reverted back, that I truly was in purgatory, and I began to breathe faster and faster, so fast that I felt light headed.

‘Calm yourself. If purgatory gave you a body, then purgatory gave you eyes.’

My breathing stopped for a single heartbeat, but it was enough to slow me down. Again I was saved by my conscious, and I began to stagger about, searching for something to anchor myself on. After a few seconds of searching I found it in a bumpy wall, hard to the touch and cold as stone. With nowhere else to go I started pushing left, hoping to find something to clean my hands in or else to reach somewhere where I could see.

I kept walking for what felt like miles before my eyes picked up upon the faintest glimmers of light. Another minute and I could finally see what I was walking on. It was a cave floor, bumpy and broken, but it was something that I could see, something so simple yet so wonderful. As I kept pushing forward I could see more and more, the walls starting to turn almost purple in the light of what could only be the moon. Finally the endless stone gave way to a hole, and with a quick jog I reached it. The sight before me was breath-taking, and I felt myself drop to my knees, laughing in unrestrained joy.

I couldn’t tell what had happened, I didn’t understand anything that was going on, but I was in a cave entrance high up in the air, easily a few hundred feet above the ground, the entrance overlooking a massive valley, trees glinting silver in the moonlight, the water glowing in the it’s reflection. It was something that looked familiar, and that simple fact made me feel light headed. I didn’t know where I was or why this was, but it was something, anything that fit what I would call normal.

‘Normal is gone Ember, and you would fare far better to forget such a thing.’

My laughter stopped as I began to process the sombre truth of my situation. I was somewhere I hadn’t seen in at least years, in a place with no smog in the sky, no lights in the horizon. I was in the wilderness, on my own, and I had no way of contacting anyone even if they were nearby. I felt like screaming again, in shouting at the sky, and I nearly grabbed my head with my hands to try and stop myself from doing so. I never did so. Instead I stopped, looking at them. I nearly choked as I looked at what were undoubtedly claws.

My palms had transformed, no longer two smooth skinned hands but instead a pair of scaled monstrosities, each sporting a set of four clawed fingers. They didn’t seem any larger in proportion to my arm before, but they still looked absolutely massive. I flexed my right index finger, and the corresponding claw bent in turn. With a cry of shock I tried to pull the offending claw off of me with my other hand, but pain coursed through my body as I yanked at the digit. This wasn’t some cheap gimmick, a simple parlour trick. My hands had changed, and I felt fear latch onto my heart as I realized that my arms too were scaled in the same pitch black scales. Looking at the rest of me, I realized that it wasn’t just my arms, but also my legs, chest, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a tail gently swishing about.

I had changed. That answer was so simple yet so impossibly complicated. How had I changed? Why was I suddenly garbed in scales? What was that body that I had stumbled upon? How much time had truly passed between that moment and now? It was something that I couldn’t answer, and I could feel my chest rising and lowering rapidly, my breath sounding erratic to my own ears. I was fighting for control of my own body, to keep myself from running like a doddering fool. I gripped my head, my eyes closing as I muttered to myself over and over.

“This isn’t real! This isn’t real! This isn’t real!”

‘Reality is cruel, but fate is far fouler.’

The ground suddenly shuddered, sending me sprawling on the stone, my head slamming into the rocks. I quickly sat up, only to see the same image as before. A massive eye, pupil slit like a snake, a rumbling roar making my very essence cower before it. My mind, so fragile from all that I was going through, couldn’t handle it any more. My brain shut down, and I fell onto my side, my last thought before slipping into unconsciousness so simple that it shouldn’t have had to be a question.

‘Why?’

Chapter 3: Questions and Answers

Chapter 3
Questions and Answers

My first breath was pain, my lungs, hungry for air, trying to fill themselves gasped for air. What they found instead was water, my own actions causing excruciating agony. I gagged and instinctively pushed upwards, towards what I hoped was air. My wish had not fallen on deaf ears, for it was granted in full as my head broke the surface, still gasping for air even as I hacked up the liquid already in me. I couldn’t see thanks to the water in my eyes, yet it wasn’t painful in the slightest, merely blocking my visions behind swimming goggles.

I wasn’t in the water long enough to ponder this though. Instead I was picked up by something very large, a quartet of digits wrapped around my waist which lifted me high into the air. Yet again I was staring at the sight that had haunted me since this entire mess had begun, but for some reason I didn’t feel the same fear as before, only the burning in my lungs as I spat out the rest of the water.

“Prithee thou doesn’t drown, tis most ill a fate for one of the sky.” Came a deep, rumbling voice, the eye focused upon me as the claw around my waist gently laid me upon the ground. “Or is thou through playing coy with their elder?”

I shook my head slightly, wiping the water from my eyes as I looked up at the eye…no…the dragon before me. It was massive, at least a hundred feet in height, it’s neck a massive pillar of scales black as midnight. It had two wings, both of them unfurled and each larger than a city block. Four legs supported a building of a torso, all four limbs tipped with a quartet of sword length claws. The head was enormous, the creatures mouth alone larger than my entire body. Despite the darkness of the dragon’s body its eyes were bright. They seemed to glow like a pair of fierce bonfires, its pupils a darkness that blotched the light.

It was obviously impatient and had begun to tap its clawed foot against a fallen tree, each tap creating a huge gouge in the wood. I looked away from it for a moment, trying to get my bearings. The pair of us were in what looked to be a forest, specifically in a rather massive clearing. To my left was the pond that I had just gotten out of and to my right was a path larger than the dragon in front of me, most likely how we had gotten here. My inquisitiveness wasn’t without punishment though, for it had finally run out of patience and with a roar that cleared the trees of birds it bellowed at me. “Who art thou and why hast thy forest become an unwitting bearer of a child so ungrateful it cannot speak a word of thanks?”

I squeaked, my legs turning to jelly as I looked at the being who I knew could eat me in a single gulp. My mind was still trying to process the fact that I was staring at a dragon that I couldn’t think of any reply to its question. I felt my mouth open and close time and again, each second that ticked by only adding to the fury on its face.

‘If you cannot answer a simple question, then maybe you should let another do it for you.’

What?

“I’m sorry sir, I wasn’t seeking to intrude upon your forest, but I’ve gotten lost, and I needed to find shelter. I ask for your forgiveness, I didn’t meant to intrude.”

I had just spoken. My mouth had moved, words had come out of my throat, but I hadn’t said it. Something had opened my mouth for me, had supplied me with the words I needed to say but couldn’t. What had just happened? Had I been possessed?

“Forgiveness is much to give, but allowance is far less of a burden. Thou art given permission to reside here, but I wish to talk and here is not the place.” it said, turning around and walking off through the trees.

Without even thinking about it I clambered to my feet and began following him, trying to keep up with its massive strides and finding that, surprisingly, it was an easy thing to do. My mind was racing as we walked. How in hell did this thing exist, why was I here, and, most of all, what had I become? I knew that I had changed, it kept walking forward upon what was clearly a well-trodden path until the two of us reached another cave, the entrance right upon the ground. It walked inside, giving a quick puff of fire that lit what looked to be a dead tree in the middle of the stony floor, and turned to me.

“Sit, and tell thy story.”

I looked up at the dragon’s eyes and saw the last thing I expected in them; worry. It was rather amazing that this beast, something which I had just met and only recently learned to exist, could possible care about me. Out of everything that it could have done that was the one thing that could truly calm my nerves. I sat down and took a minute to sort out my thoughts, deciding that everything that wasn’t to do with it would go to the back-burner for now. This simple decision filled me with what felt like strength and I began to speak, feeling my tongue move while not hearing my own words. I didn’t understand it but all the fear that had wormed its way in had vanished as I talked to him. I suddenly realized that I had somehow finished talking, despite never actually focusing on the tale that I had told him.

“So then, thy is a simple maiden who was traveling in the woods for some reason, unable to remember who you truly are and what you were doing before now?” it asked, what seemed like scepticism written all over his face. I felt my tongue tie in my mouth and nodded, trying to smile as widely as I could even as my heart began to race. I might not fear it at the moment but it would be better for both of us if it didn’t start bellowing again.

“…So thy is a lost wanderer then, one who couldn’t keep their way to the path even though they remembered naught? Tis a fate so often met with death. Your tale is one of great luck.” it said. “But names are of a fairer breed than past alone. In this I would beseech you to at least give me the name that you are using, be it one you remember or one you have chosen.”
I thought about lying for only a second, but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Besides, who would believe a massive dragon if it said that it had met me anyways? “My name is Ember.”

I didn’t expect my simple response to elicit much from the dragon, but it simply stared at me, dumb-founded. After a few moments had passed with neither of us speaking its mouth clamped together, cheeks bulging wide before it began to laugh. It was deep and booming, even worse than its roar, and I shook with each chuckle that escaped from its mighty lungs. “Thy name is Ember? Either you are a jester of fine calibre or thy mother had no sense of decency. Ah, but a name given is a name received. I am Coalheart hatchling Ember, ancient wyrm and sovereign-lord of this dominion.”

His jab at my mother stung, but my head cocked slightly at his comment. ‘Hatchling’?

“Sir, why would you call me a hatchling?” I asked, avoiding his real name in case it annoyed him to have a 'hatchling' use it.

“What else would thou call you? You are without a doubt young, and to my eyes naught more than a child.” he chuckled. “But I must also offer my condolences, for to be born wingless is a shame and a curse, one that none should bear.”
Things were finally clicking into place, even if only slightly. I gripped my head again, my cheeks, then pressed my hands to my mouth only to feel something akin to a small snout, about as long as my palm and scaley. The answer was so simple!
I had become a dragon.

That was why I had scales all over my body, why I had a tail, why he had cared about me in the first place! I was starting to feel a wave of joy at finally solving some of this insane puzzle, but only then did his words sink in. I looked over my shoulder and saw what looked like to small stubs poking out of my back, neither one larger than a curled fist. My back was also covered in scales, but these weren’t. They looked like a stumpy wrist, the hand having been lopped off and the wound healed over. They were ugly blotches upon an unfamiliar body, but I didn’t feel sadness or anger. I had never had wings before, so the supposed loss of them didn’t sting that much.

I turned back to Coalheart, giving a small bow of my head to acknowledge his comment and he returned the small bow. “Sir, may I ask a question of you?”

“Knowledge is power hatchling, but you may still ask.”

“Where on Earth are we?”

He looked at me in shock as I said that, eyes going wide. I gasped at his sudden reaction, praying he wouldn’t get angry, but it had to be a trick of the light as his face was pitying the next second, not a sign of shock or anger.

“Thou has truly lost thy memory to forget thy world’s name and replace it with a trite fancy. We are in Gaia, on the border of Equestria in what are commonly called the Forgotten Mountains. Truly, it is those without imagination that discover what requires such a gift.”

I felt my feet slide out from beneath me yet again as I heard that. I was talking to a dragon. Hell, I WAS a dragon, and I wasn’t even on Earth. I wanted to cry, to simply curl up into a ball and hide, but I couldn’t. My eyes began to burn, but no tears fell from them.

Coalheart looked at me, my shaking shoulders and shivering body, and the next thing I knew he had draped a wing over my body. “Hatchling, you speak of homelessness and loss, and though thy cannot offer much, I do offer home and food.” Coalheart said, giving me what looked like a small smile. He gave a small toss of his head, gesturing to the back of the cave where there seemed to be piles of old vegetation, all tossed together to make a make-shift bed.

I couldn’t speak anything in response, instead simply blubbering into his wing. I had solved one small fraction of a puzzle only to find out just how large it truly was, and I didn’t care anymore. I simple sobbed into his wing as he drew me against his scaled body, and I didn’t stop until the flames had died and darkness helped me drift off into fitful sleep.

Chapter 4: The World Around Me

Chapter 4
The World Around Me

I could feel the sun hitting my eyelids and I groaned. I didn’t want to wake up. I’d be forced to face the day, and that would mean talking to dad about the track trip. He had no reason to say no, but I couldn’t help but feel this sinking feeling whenever I thought about it. Dad wouldn’t like it, and I after sending that college resume I didn’t know if I could take anymore. I rolled over and pressed my face harder into my leaves…leaves?

With a splutter I sat up and looked around, my sight blurry from sleep but I could see that I was in a cave resting on top of a nest of vegetation large enough to fit my entire room into. I looked around, trying to figure out why I was here and what was going on. This didn’t make sense, where was my room and bed? Why was I in a cave in the middle of a forest?

‘While the morning is the time for beginnings, forgetting your past makes one an idiot.’

Everything clicked back into place and I gasped, realizing where I was and what had happened. I quickly stood up and got off of the nest, looking at the massive pile of ashes that lay in the cave, remembering the events of last night. But if everything that happened last night was true, then where was Coalheart? I walked towards the cave entrance but stopped as I felt my stomach give a roar that would rival his.

How long had it been since I had food? I tried to remember, but I had no firm time-frame to make a sound judgment upon. Evidently far too long as I felt all the strength leave my limbs, the need to find food dominating my mind. I immediately looked for something, anything to eat. After fifteen minutes I gave up, dropping myself onto the floor and crossing my arms in frustration.

All that I had found was a pile of gems by the entrance and the vegetation that I had slept upon. The gems would have made any jeweller have a heart attack. It was at least fifteen feet tall and twice that in width, filled to the brim with gems so clear that I could see the sun shining through them all. The gems were also varied, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, jets, and more in the pile. But gems weren’t edible, so I plucked up the courage and tried to eat the leaves. The next few minutes were spent in the corner of the cave gagging and hacking up whatever had gone down my throat. If it wasn’t poisonous in its own right, the taste was bad enough it could kill anything.

“Pray tell thee, why is thou devouring ones bed?” came a deep rumble from the door.

I turned to see Coalheart and gave him a small glare which he returned with simple bemusement. “I was looking for food and I couldn’t find anything else!” I grumbled, blushing slightly.

“Art thou blind? Can you not see the nourishment before you?” he asked, his clawed hand tapping the pile of gems.

“Wait…those are food?” I asked, eyes boggling at his comment. “Gems? Seriously?”

“Hast thou forgotten even ones food?” he asked, starting to laugh at the idea, even though it was apparent to both of us by this point that I didn’t even know what I was supposed to eat. “Truly, to eat one’s own bed in favour of gems of these calibre one must have forgotten!”

By this point I would swear that my face was bright red despite the black scales. I didn’t bother responding to his jokes, instead walking to the pile and grabbing what looked like a sapphire as big as my head, giving him a muttered, “Thanks…”

“What a delightful person you are!” he chuckled, curling around himself as he began to eat as well. He didn’t differentiate between gems as he ate, simply taking small mouthfuls of mixed colours, his eyes never leaving me. It was slightly freaky, but I didn’t begrudge it. He had listened to me last night, had given me shelter, and had comforted me when I was sad. In all fairness, he was being closer to a father than dad ever was, and I had just met him. Pathetic really.

When I took a bite of the Sapphire I tasted water. Not the tap stuff that always seems to taste like bile, but clean mountain water straight from the source. It was somewhat weird to taste such a thing in solid form, but it was still delicious and I relished the food.

After a few minutes of silent eating he spoke up, posing a question I never thought that someone who was practically a stranger would ever ask. “You seem embarrassed. Is your lack of knowledge irking you?”

I choked on the gem, coughing harshly as I tried to rid myself of the stinging sensation in my throat. “Why would something like that irk me!?” I asked, annoyed anger underlining every word.

“Because you seem like one who seeks such things, and I can always help.” he said, a small smile playing across his lips. “If it really does annoy you so much, would you like me to teach you?”

I opened my mouth, ready to argue with him, but stopped as I registered what he had said. “You’d be willing to do that? For someone you don’t even know?” I asked.

“You are a hatchling, and I a wyrm. It does not matter who you truly are, I impart my knowledge and you receive it. That is how it has always been, and if you need help, then I am not one to treat you as scum for simply not knowing who you are.” He rumbled, and I could hear the sincerity of his words, his smile warm and caring.

I didn’t know what to say. I had always been told to do everything on my own, had never been given help and most definitely never been offered it by someone. I looked up at him again, then gave a small nod before turning back to my gem, hiding my smile in my food. Things were looking brighter now, even if I didn’t understand over half of what was going on.

“So then, if you truly can’t remember anything about our world then it would behove us both if I taught you basic geography first.” Coalheart murmured, his finger cutting into the stone like a hot knife through butter.

“Sir, can I ask a question?”

“As I said before, knowledge is power, and if I’m giving it away for free, then ask away.”

“Where did your accent go?” I asked, something I had been wondering since earlier this morning.

He simply looked at me in dumb shock, eyes blinking and mouth opened in a comical ‘o’. “Has it really changed already?” he asked, a smile coming to his features. “That is a relief.”

Now it was my turn to look like a stand-up comedian, my head resting in my hands as I tried to piece together just what he meant. “What do you mean it’s already changed?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, you wouldn’t remember would you. Many truly ancient dragons can change how they sound in order to accommodate their guests. Few do so, as it’s seen as an act of weakness to care more for a guest than yourself. I just never truly cared about which accent I had, and I never saw the reason to change it afterwards.”

“So how long has it been since you last had a guest?” I asked, wondering just who would come a calling for Coalheart.

“Around five hundred years, and they were rather abrupt I can tell you!” came his deep laugh. “But all the same she was a nice guest. Now then, onto the lesson. Do you remember the shape of this world?”

I didn’t want to sound stupid, but not answering was impossible for me, so I simply said what came to mind and hoped that I wouldn’t buck it up. “It’s a sphere, right?”

“Correct, the entire world is a globe of land that is surrounded by water. As for the shape of the landmasses, irregular is the only word for them.” he chuckled. “We are on the border of two different dominions right now, can you remember which?”

“…no?” I whispered, feeling something well up in me. Was it resentment at being unable to answer such a simple question? Why would I even feel that?

‘It’s easy to hate oneself for being unable to something, and even simpler to do so if you could do it before.’

‘Shut up for a moment, will you?’

‘No.’

I blinked as my conscious actually spoke back against me. I didn’t know how or why, but either I was starting to go insane after all of these different incidents kept piling on top of one another or my brain was actively rebelling against me. Neither of them were situations I wanted to be in.

“Well then, we are right now in between the Griffin Dominion and Equestria, a border that is heavily contested at the best of times. It has known little peace in nearly a millennia of struggles, but neither side has never succeeded in penetrating the others defences. Now then, which groups live in the two lands?”

“I can’t remember.” I sighed, realizing that now wasn’t the time to get petulant over not understanding the geography of a world that didn’t even resemble my own.

“Well then, Equestria is named after its occupants, and is almost singularly inhabited by equines. The resident monarchs are Celestia of the Sun and her sister, Luna of the Moon.”

“Wait a moment, you’re joking right? Equestria is full of ponies and is ruled over by them as well?”

“Yes, but they do prefer to be called ponies. Why do you ask?”

“Well, how do ponies hold office if they can’t talk? How can creatures that can’t speak even build a government?”

“…Now it is my turn to ask if you’re pulling my leg. Have you really forgotten about everything in the world?” Coalheart asked, looking at me in slight worry.

“I…but…it’s complicated. I remember a lot of things, but none of it seems to apply to anything here!” I groaned, flopping onto my back, eyes closed as I just tried to stop the throbbing in my head.

“Well then, simple lessons. All creatures have at least the knowledge of language, whether they can speak it or not. A few of the races are blessed with proper speech. Among them are ponies, zebras, diamond dogs, griffons, and dragons of course.” He said, smiling slightly as he began to explain the about the different species.

The ponies favoured a loose matriarchal system of government, based upon their higher ratio of females to males. Men still held office yet many more were happy to work in manual labour while their wives took the more thought consuming tasks. They made their home in Equestria, a gem in the middle of the world, a land mostly free of the problems that other species faced, protected by their two seemingly immortal princesses.

The griffins were almost the exact opposite, their government focused solely upon their patriarchy. They also had a greater number of female children to male children, so they instituted a system of polygamy where a male could wed as many females as he could provide for, yet all females must be willing to wed the suitor. To be a single female meant one of two things in their society; either you were so weak or unattractive that no man would take you, or that you were so powerful that you would accept no males advances. Women could hold office, but unlike the ponies it was based upon ones strength and the grandeur of their deeds in battle. As such few girls held office as men were the most common warriors of their race. Their home was the Griffin Dominion, a mountain region with especially tall cliffs that had long intertwining cave systems in their peaks. At the moment there was no king in the mountains, but tales of warring families had been circulating for decades according to Coalheart.

Diamond Dogs, named for their love of said gems, were a mere step away from anarchy, their government simply glorified gangs. Their society was one based upon raw might alone, and if a dog was capable of killing their ruler, then he became the new one. Most of them lived in small self-sustaining groups, usually nomadic and practically always bandits. They did have a few holdings of great size in the region of Gem Fido, but they were simply the combination of multiple leaders putting their groups together for mutual protection. Many of those alliances had broken down in a sea of blood when one leader decided to take more than their ‘friends’ would allow.

Then came the dragons. They were the oldest race, the original race, but they were also the most pathetic out of them all. Long ago they were considered the rulers, not just of themselves but of everything. They had been the titans of the planet yet squandered their gifts on small vanities and trite treasures. Now they were simply sleepy beasts of legend, residing in the Badlands and sleeping upon their centuries old hordes. Few of them bothered to do anything more than press the diamond dogs for gems, and I could hear the distaste that Coalheart held for them.

Though each species had its own central language, all of them were based at least partially off of ancient draconic. It was a tongue that most people had forgotten about, even dragons, yet supposedly a deep understanding of it made all the other languages simple to learn. I guess Coalheart spoke from experience, but I didn’t know if he was stating a fact or just being vain. From what he said it seemed that most people spoke at least a smattering of the Equine tongue, like English back on Earth. As for other races, many speculate that there are dozens to hundreds of others who were blessed with speech, but few have propagated themselves far enough to be considered a central species of Gaia. A few of those were the zebras, minotaurs, and even buffalo.

After geography and politics came biology, and for the first time I wasn’t interested in this so that I could do my best on a test, but purely for a want of knowledge. I was absorbing everything he said, and every new shred of information made me feel even more interest at the world I was in.

‘Curiosity killed the cat.’

‘But what will this knowledge do that could hurt me?’

‘I don’t have all the answers you know.’

First was the ponies again, and with it came four pictures, one of a unicorn, one of a simple horse, a third depicting a Pegasus, and the final being a creature that seemed to be some strange pega-corn. All of them had manes, tails, and hooves, and from the colours that Coalheart described seeing on them, they were able to have coats and hair of any possible combination of colours. The only restriction was that their coat had to be a single block colour and the manes had to have stripes of colour. They also had something they called cutie-marks, each one supposedly a gateway into the ponies special talent or calling in life. As for the obvious physical differences between the races, each one supposedly controlled a different aspect of the world and their bodies helped them in that regard. The Earth Ponies being farmers of great skill, the Pegasi were able to control the very weather, and Unicorns could channel magic.

“Wait what!?” I spluttered, looking at Coalheart in shock. “Magic!?”

“Yes, and I will explain more about that when we reach dragons.” He rumbled, a small grin on his face at my sudden shock and my obvious interest. If his previous comment about guests wasn’t enough of a hint, his joy at teaching me made it certain that he didn’t get many visitors out here in the boondocks.

Evidently each creature was connected to magic, something that actually existed in this world in a seemingly endless supply that coursed through every being and the very land itself. Pegasi used it to control the weather in active spurts that pulsed whenever they tried to control the weather while Earth Ponies had a continuous automatic blessing that helped plants in their care to grow. Unicorns had something which neither Earth Ponies nor Pegasi had. In their case they had manual control of their magic, from levitation to teleportation, almost anything that could be thought of was possible if one had great enough supply of magika and enough control over it.

The final pony was called an Alicorn and they were exclusive to the royal family. Only two were known to exist, one called Luna and another named Celestia. Coalheart drew their pictures into the stone for me, and I drank them in. Celestia was outlined with his claws, her body filled in with the light stone, a long mane with a multitude of lines to differentiate between the colours covering half of her face. Her sister was literally the opposite, her body carved out of the stone, her coat made out of the dark indented space, her mane full of little dots. Luna was supposedly the princess of the moon and Celestia that of the sun, raising and setting them each day.

“Wait, the heavens rotate the Earth?”

“Yes, Gaia is the centre of our heavens, and all including the stars rotate around us.”

There goes years of astronomy lessons. Other than that though, they were supposed to be able to do anything that the three races could do, only better, their supply of magic far larger. If one was to compare it, the normal pony would have a pool of magic in them, the princesses had a sea.

After that came the Griffins. There weren’t that many special species of griffins, nor were they divided into a multitude of sub-species like the ponies were. They all shared a few key traits, plumed bodies, massive wings, clawed fingers that had just as much dexterity as a human hand and lion paws, all of them sporting beaks of varying size. Other than that they were simply a mixture of bird and lion, their rear sometimes being slim and lithe or else being massive and muscle bound. The front half of them was something of a regional difference, from hawk to crow, but the royal family had been led by an eagle fronted griffin since time immemorial.

They were strong and aggressive, being carnivorous to the bone, and they were excellent aerial predators. Despite the logical fallacy of their wings, the magic that coursed through their body kept their bodies aloft and allowed them to move clouds, though admittedly not as finely as pegasi. As for their eyes, they were able to see like birds, spotting prey and catching them in a snap. The only reason that they had yet to beat the ponies in open battle was sheer numbers, for griffins had far fewer children and citizens in general than the ponies, nature building in a natural quality versus quantity balance.

The Diamond Dogs were the lowest on the central races, considered little more than a pest by the ponies who knew and cared about their existence and a growing calamity by the griffins. Just like the Griffins they were usually the same as one another, but they also had sub-species depending on what dog they resembled, from pug to poodle. They were big, strong, dumb, and had a voracious appetite for gems, their jaws built with enough strength to break through the precious minerals. They even had the ability to dig through the ground with massive spade-like paws, able to practically swim through the water when compared to practically every other species. However they were also lazy, exceedingly so, and would rather enslave others to dig for their food than do it themselves. So came to be a species of slavers and torturers, snatching members of all races and forcing them to work in their mines.

They also had two strains running through them, that of the Alpha dog and that of the Beta. Beta’s created the majority of their population, and while they were large and strong, they were all fairly dumb and cowardly, using only their brute strength and rarely relying on their brains to survive. The Alpha’s were exceedingly different, many times slimmer than their Beta cousins, but they were built compact and intelligent. Few had the size of their dumber kin, but they had strength that no true Beta could compare with. Coupled with an intellect and cunning for creating and enslaving, they ruled over their societies as living gods, everyone to afraid to do anything to them.

Then came the dragons. They too had a variety of different sizes and strengths, but they were very similar on a component level. Dragons had the strongest source of magic out of all the races, their very blood supposedly coursing with it, and most of our attributes were attributed to our insane pool of magika. Every dragon had claws and scales, wings and fangs, and each dragon could use their renowned breath. There were tales of dragons who were able to bend the very elements to their whim, but Coalheart regarded these as nothing more than simple fancy. They

‘We’

…we started off bipedal and as we grew larger and larger we started to use our forelegs to support our massive weight. Dragons also ate gems, but we had gained a taste for meat, if only because meat had many other flavours that gems seemed unable to retain. Gems were much better in the long run though, the main supply of nutrients, minerals, and vitamins for our bodies. We could also eat vegetables and fruits, but for some reason they garnered no nutritional value, only pleasing our taste buds and becoming a source of indigestible fibre.

Dragons were also different from one another, but the differentiation seemed to be based upon colour rather than sub-species. Each picture that he drew looked different from the other, horns of differing lengths, wings shaped differently from one another, some dragons with shorter necks and other with longer necks. There were dozens upon dozens of colours, but seven stood out over the rest. These seven Coalheart had dubbed as the ‘Seven Lords’ of dragons, beings so powerful that none but other lords could ordinarily stand up to them.

The weakest of them were the Green dragons, creatures who were jealous to the point of being nigh upon insane. They would give anything to have what they wanted from others, and many families of green dragons had been killed thanks to one of them pushing their luck too often.

Next came the Yellow dragons, creatures who, like the green dragons, were envious of others things, but only because they felt enormously self-entitled. A normal yellow dragon would do anything to climb up the social or monetary ladder, and whole towns would be ransacked by one who simply wanted something they had decided they liked.

Then came the Pink dragons. They too wanted more than they deserved, but they were rarely without it, for they desired that of carnal satisfaction. They would woo and bed anything that would even attempt to try it. For many of them their hordes contained little gems and jewels, instead housing multitudes of other creatures whom were both lovers and suitors.

In the middle was the Blue dragon, a creature who was lazy yet intelligent. They only truly held two things dear, research for the sake of knowledge or sleeping, and most focused more upon sleeping than anything else. A few of them did nothing more than sleep, and many were known to go hundreds of years without eating, killing themselves in the process. They were few in number now, but when they woke up they would either be the best of conversationalists or the most destructive of all creatures.

Next was the Purple dragon, and they were perhaps the most idiotic of all dragons. They were prideful to a point of challenging foes that were obviously more powerful than them. Sneak attacks were considered dishonest, and most tales of the brave knight slaying the dragon evidently came from them, their pride tying them to fight until they either won or died.

The penultimate dragon was the Red. Stories of rampaging monsters were brought about when one of them, a being called Vesuvius, had decided that a pony who had insulted him was enough of a reason to commit genocide. Though it happened easily over five millennia ago, it still brought back fear and hatred of dragons when it was retold.

Finally there where the Black dragon, a creature who was the strongest of not only the dragons, but of all recorded beings. They were strong enough to kill their weaker kin with a simple swipe of their claws, wise enough that the dimmest of them could outsmart even learned scholars in a match of wits, and fast enough that they’ve destroyed entire forests with the backlash of their flying. It was simply fact that they were powerful, but they had never learned when to stop. They would eat whatever they wanted, try to experience anything and everything they could, and once they had been hooked they never let go. It had led to their own destruction, and now Coalheart couldn’t recall any others living besides the two of us. When I looked at my scales I felt a new appreciation for what I had become, even if it still surprised and frightened me.

‘Seven dragons of seven paths, all part of the same deadly circle.’

‘Wait, what?’

‘Seven dragons, seven sins.’

Coalheart was obviously done with the lesson and as I finally stood up and stretched my tired bones I realized that the sun had begun to set long ago, the last few rays of light turning the cave a glowing red. “I didn’t realize that we were talking for so long!” I chuckled, looking over at Coalheart with a small smile. “I hope you didn’t mind.”

“It was a pleasure! It’s rather rare that I get a guest, and even more so that they actually wish to talk. I do hope I wasn’t boring you with all of those details.” He rumbled, giving me a small wink.

“It was informative and interesting, why would I complain about something like that?” I asked, sticking my tongue out at him.

“Well then, you are free to do as you want, but I want to stretch these tired wings of mine and you have a lot to think about. Go ahead and eat what you want from the pile while I go out for a while. I promise to be back before darkness truly falls.” He said, turning around and flinging himself into the air.

I waved at his retreating form before walking back into the cave and making myself comfortable on his nest. I wasn’t hungry for some reason, probably because I had such a large gem, but I was tired. Thinking back on the day, I was surprised how much fun I had, despite the location, despite practically everything. Maybe it was Coalheart in general? He made everything feel so sane, so secure even though I knew it wasn’t. I don’t know why but the assurance of his return made me feel safe and happy. Then again, when you have a multi-ton dragon telling you he’ll be back before anything strange comes out of the woods does dispel some of the fear one might have about going to bed in a strange place. I slowly drifted off to sleep, a small smile crossing my face.

Chapter 5: Pain and Comfort

Chapter 5
Pain and Comfort

I was cloaked in darkness again, unable to see a thing, my feet flat against what would best be described as solidified air. It had no texture to feel and neither heat nor cold seeping through the ground. I kept turning around and around, searching for a way out, but nothing broke through the void that surrounded me. I started walking, my hands extended before me, blindly searching for an anything, but all that I felt was the continued oblivion. When I had come to the darkness the first time I had lost all of my senses, the second time I could always feel…something, but now I had nothing that I could sense. I was in purgatory yet again. I could hear my breathing, the rapid and erratic gulps of air, and the sound was the only thing that reminded me I was truly there.

‘I need more than that, I need a way out of here! If only there was a door…’ I thought, panic beginning to set in. But even as I began to imagine everything that could be happening to me I was met with the unexpected. My hands pressed against something hard and smooth. ‘Is it a door?’

My hands began to scrabble all over the thing, and after a few moments of scrabbling I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t a door since it didn’t have a handle. That and it was wooden, as the rough grain of the wood feelt bumpy under my hands. ‘Even if it was a door, it couldn’t help me if I can’t open it. It needs a handle!’ I thought as I punched it hard. The next moment was filled with screams and expletives as I felt my hand collide with solid metal instead of wood, my action suddenly becoming a lesson in self-inflicted pain. I took a deep breath and grabbed the thing, tears in my eyes as I realized it was a handle. An old sphere handle, but a handle all the same.

“Where were you when I didn’t have an aching hand?” I asked the door, which expectedly didn’t answer me. I sighed and slowly turned the knob. A simple push saw the door swing wide, and before me I saw a glowing desert, clean sandy dunes as far as the eye could see. Wait, how had I opened a door in a perfectly pitch black room that led to something like a barren desert? There had to be a gap between the bottom of the door and the ground or I would have struggled to push it open. Since there would have to be a gap then some of the light would have shone through it and illuminated the room.

I turned around to see what the room looked like now that it was illuminated and if it held any answer to my question, but it wasn’t there anymore, just more sun covered dunes. My throat started to grow tight as I started wondering if I had gone insane, and again I spun around, this time to look at the door that I’d yet to walk through, but even that had vanished, frame and all. I was left in a desert somewhere, and I had no recollection of ever seeing it before.

I started to walk forwards, looking around at massive hills and valleys of sand, a gentle wind sending massive plumes of it swirling into the air. There didn’t seem to be anything here, living or dead, just myself and the sun beating down. At least, it seemed that way until I heard a voice from behind me. It was a voice that had haunted my nightmares for years now, one that held no real power over me yet guided my every move. “Why are you playing when you still have classes to study for?”

It was my father’s voice.

I spun about to see where he was, but nobody else was on the hill. How had I heard his voice if he wasn’t there? For that matter, where was here? Nothing was making sense and I was growing sick of this. I started walking again, muttering beneath my breath as I forged onwards, my eyes searching for something other than the endless dunes.

“You need to finish what you start Ember. Why don’t you ever listen to me?” came my father’s voice, once again coming from right behind me. I turned again, my head flicking from right to left, searching for a parent who had again vanished the second I looked. Where was he, and what was he playing at?

“If you can’t listen to your father, then what kind of daughter are you?” whispered a voice in my ear, dark and serious. I felt my feet leave the dirt, my hands swinging wildly at thin air as I shrieked in fear and alarm. A second later I slipped in the dirt, my face crashing into the sand, my mouth still open as I hit the ground. I immediately sat up and began to spit, but I could still feel hundreds of small grains in my mouth, my hands scrubbing my eyelids clean so that I could crack them open without blinding myself. My eyes scanned the desert for some sign, any sign that my dad had been there, but again he had vanished right after speaking, leaving not even a footprint behind. I was starting to hyperventilate again, not able to understand just what was going on.

“Are you taking a break already? Why can’t you do it all in one go like a good girl?”

I snapped. My hands slapped over my ears and I started to shout at the top of my lungs at him, tears streaming down my face as I tried to block him out, to block everything out. “SHUT UP! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!” I shrieked, barely able to breath as I heard him continuing to order me around in that goddamn passive aggressive way, never telling me outright to do what he wanted yet never leaving me any room to make my own choices. I couldn’t hear the words anymore, but his tone was still that same condescending voice, the inane jumble of words that made me hate him. “JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, I DON’T NEED YOU!” I cried.

And silence fell.

I sat there for what felt like a good minute, waiting for him to tell me how bad I was being, how I had insulted him and our family for merely speaking like that. It never came. I slowly opened my eyes, expecting him to be glaring at me like he had all those years ago, yet he wasn’t. I was sitting on a chair in a room with two doors, one of them a massive metal juggernaut and the other a simple escape door. Both of them had the exact same kind of handle, metal levers, but the metal door also had a sliding peephole. The sand that had been in my eyes, my mouth, all over me had vanished, my body clean as a whistle.

I didn’t know what was happening anymore, but I slowly stood up, looking around at everything like the world had gone mad. I didn’t know what I was doing in this room, but frankly I no longer cared. I was stuck in some demented fun house, and it wasn’t playing by any rulebook I knew of. My eyes slowly travelled from door to door, and for some strange reason I felt drawn to the metal one. It took me only two quick steps to reach it, and with trembling fingers I slowly pushed aside the bolt hole and looked in. I wish I hadn’t the second I saw its contents.

Inside was what looked like the human me, but this one was obviously dead. My eyes were two balls of vein lined white, my skin sunken and tight against my bones, all colour having long since drained from my body as a small pool of foamy spittle drained out of my mouth. All around me were books. Books about chemistry, books about mathematics, books about geography, books about everything. They were piled up to the ceiling, a single solitary book lying open in my now lifeless hands, the page title reading ‘Chemistry 101’ in big bold letters. The me in there had worked herself to death, and I instantly knew why.

I didn’t know if or what I had eaten, but my stomach vacated itself right then, my eyes wide and body burning at the sight, tears dripping down my cheeks and onto the floor, falling into the dark green soup that was pooling at my feet. Why had I seen that, and what was going on here?

‘Ask yourself what you want before you ask why things happen, or this fate is far better than your own.’

It was my conscious again, but it had sounded different this time, almost annoyed. I knew better than to turn around and hope that I could see someone, but I wanted to take its words to heart. I clenched my mouth shut and, with all of my courage, lifted my head back up so I could see through the peephole.

My gaze met another one, a face with two white eyes, blood dripping down its cheeks and a small smile on its face. The room behind it was burning, towers upon towers of tomes falling like small flaming meteors to the floor below, the smell of burning page and flesh reaching me even through the massive steel door. I was looking at the dead me and the next second its hands pushed through the slit into my eyes, her fingernails gouging deep into my head, robbing me instantly of vision. I could feel myself blacking out as pain overwhelmed me, my body falling as her fingers left my bloody sockets, a cruel laugh reverberating in my ears. It was my own laugh. As it slowly faded away I heard someone whisper three simple words before I returned to oblivion.

‘We’ll meet again.’

I awoke with a gasp, eyes scanning everything around me, claws thrashing out at anything I could reach. When I felt my hand collide with something I gave a scream of terror and tried to move, to flee, but only succeeded in rolling off of the nest onto my the hard stone a few feet below, landing with an pained grunt.

“It is a good thing that I myself have plated skin, or that would likely have caused me some harm.” came a booming voice, one that made me feel both relief and embarrassment. The two emotions provided enough conflict with my blind fear that I could force myself to stop for a moment, to actually register what was going on before I simply acted.

Coalheart had just woken up at my outburst, more startled by me hitting him than the sudden rousing. I had been on the nest till just a moment ago, and, judging by the fact that there was sunshine in the cave, it was at least midday by now. I couldn’t feel any unexpected pain except the ache in my jaw from my fall, and I could still see.

“I’m…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you.” I groaned as I slowly sat up, rubbing my jaw and looking around the cave, still feeling slightly jumpy from the sensation of seeing myself poke my eyes out. I was taking deeper breaths than usual, and I knew Coalheart had noticed, but he simply draped a wing over my shoulders, his eyes full of sympathy.

“Trust me, we all have those dreams.” he rumbled, sighing softly. “Once you are calm we can start the day. You do not need to tell me anything if you do not want to, but remember that I will listen if you need someone to talk to. I am here for you Ember.”

I felt my throat closing up as I began to sob gently into his wing. I didn’t know what to say to him. To be honest, I don’t think I ever will.

Chapter 6: A Heart of Coal

Chapter Six
A Heart of Coal

As the sun slowly poured into the cave I blinked my eyes open, chuckling slightly at the weary dragon sleeping beside me. It had been two weeks since I had arrived here, a scared girl at the mouth of a cave, and I’d learned a few things about Coalheart and, surprisingly, myself during that time.

Two days after I had first come to Gaia I felt the grime starting to build up. I didn’t like the sensation, and retraced our rather massive tracks back to the pond. It was large, big enough for even Coalheart to splash about it, a clean and clear body of water, unpolluted or contaminated. Without thinking about my actions I felt myself leave the earth as I jumped in, whooping at the top of my lungs. The pond didn’t bottom out even as I sank further and further into it, a small trail of bubbles tracking my progress through the water. My scales seemed to keep the water out but I could feel the muck from my body start to ooze into the water. I quickly dragged myself out, laughing at my own rashness as I began to use the water already over me to soak the dirt down and away into the grass at my feet.

For the first time since I came here I saw myself in the rippling water. I was still built like the human I had been, lanky and thin as a whip, almost starved in appearance. I didn’t know exactly how tall I was, but I could guess somewhere above six feet. My arms and legs were both long, but my groin seemed to have fused with some of the upper section of my thighs, slowly bending backwards into a single large tail. I had snout now. It looked like a slight protuberance from my chin to my upper mouth, much smaller than a dog or horses but large enough to give me an inhuman look. I had lost all of my hair and even my lips, both of them replaced by pronounced ridges of scale. Even my eyes had changed, both of them the colour of crimson. It almost looked demonic in the morning light.

As for my body it was entirely covered in scales from the crown of my head to the tip of my toes. I was the same colour as Coalheart, my scales black as a moonless midnight aside from a patch on my stomach and my face as well. My stomach was instead covered in white plates which interlocked seamlessly with my other scales. As for my face, it looked like somebody had coated it in ash and the ashes had fused with my scales. It was an amazing sight, the beast within the water moving at my whim, but when I thought about who it truly was it hurt slightly. Everything I knew had changed, and not even my body was as I remembered it.

It was at this point that Coalheart came into sight, looking somewhat shocked at seeing a teenage girl washing herself in the middle of the woods, and my reaction was to shriek in surprise and alarm. I immediately dove into the water, my head gently arching back to the top of the pond, my eyes glaring at him. “Have you been letting me stay just so you could get a look?” I shouted at him, feeling embarrassed and suspicious.

He seemed too shocked to reply, and he didn’t regain his senses until he looked from the pond to the wet patch of grass that I had been standing on. When he finally realized what I was implying he began to laugh uproariously, his head turning from my submerged form. “Oh heavens no, I was simply wondering why you were making such a racket. No, I don’t think of you like that. Truth be told, you are so young that you are likely less than a hundredth of my age. Your closer to the daughter I’ve never had than anything else. Besides, what would I see that you don’t show all the time anyways?” he asked, and I could tell he was winking at me through his turned head.

Now it was my turn to laugh, though mine was far more self-derogatory than his. Chastisement never sat well with me, and self-chastisement was even worse. I should have remembered that I hadn’t worn proper clothes since I had come here, and I really should have remembered that he was at least over a millennia. That and if he was this big as a person, then I doubt anything would be possible. Okay, that was a bit nasty of a thought…

‘Why is it that despite being so intelligent you always think of things so base?’

‘……’

‘No news isn’t good news you know.’

‘Oh go stuff a sock in it!’ I grumbled, tired of how my conscious had decided to be so snarky lately.

‘That would be painful and in no way helpful.’

‘That is not what I meant!’

‘Be clear about what you mean then idiot!’

“What’s wrong Ember?”

I wanted to throttle myself by now, but Coalhearts voice was enough to remind me that I wasn’t speaking a word, simply arguing with my own mind, something I seemed to have gotten into the habit of lately. I really was going crazy, wasn’t I?

“Nothing’s wrong, I was just finishing up.” I replied, sighing as I drug myself out of the pond. I wasn’t as clean as I wanted to be, but I had washed off most of the dirt and I felt very happy for it. “You can turn around now.”

He didn’t do so though, simply plodding back down the path. “Well then, I would recommend heading back to the cave, it’s about to get dark. Oh, and would you mind hunting for some meat in a couple of days?” he asked even as he walked away.

A quick look to the sky proved him to be right, and I followed him closely as we walked forward, giving him a shouted “Sure thing!” in reply to his question.

It had been half a week later when I went on my first hunt. I found the beast without a problem, my eyes seeing him through all the trees. I wasn’t sure why I could see it so well, but there seemed to be this sort of aura around the creature, something which differentiated him from the shrubbery he was eating. As I charged at it the thing began to run, yet I was able to follow it without a problem, my new body tirelessly chasing what seemed to be a stag and far outstripping it in speed. When I caught up to it I tackled the stag, pinning him beneath me despite the stag being far larger than me. To my surprise I couldn’t kill it no matter how many times I told myself that it was food. The stag was staring at me, eyes wide in terror, assured that, in a few moments, I was going to end its existence. The sight made me feel sick.

In biology class I had dissected dozens of things, frogs and cats and rats and more, but they had always been dead. They had looked sickly and wet, like they had been drowned in juices, and I knew that I was simply working with something already dead. This was so different, a creature that could still feel, still sense the world around it, and I was supposed to end all of that. I just couldn’t bring myself to do so, and in the end I simple rolled off of the creature.

At first the stag had played dead, both of us simply sitting there for what felt like eternity, neither of us taking our eyes off of the other. Finally, when it realized that I wasn’t playing with it, he stood up and started to run off. After a few bounds he stopped, turning around and giving me a small bow before running off into the woods. I continued to sit there until I could no longer hear it crashing through the trees, then stood up and started walking back to the cave, wondering what I was going to say to Coalheart.

Coalheart had been more than understanding about my situation, and had given me a gem and a smile just like mom had when I was a little girl. When I took a bite out of the gem it had tasted like a chocolate chip cookie, and the familiar taste had been a blessing in the midst of the stress. When I finished the gem and thanked him, he simply smiled at me.

After that day I wasn’t asked to gather any meat for us and he never gave me any meat that wasn’t cut off of the animal. He even went so far as to cook it all so that nothing but what we would be eating came back to the cave. I never knew why he went out of his way to do so much for me, but it was obvious that he was enjoying my presence. In all honesty I couldn’t deny that he had made this cave feel more like home than mine ever had.

Another two days had passed when Coalheart had asked to have a conversation. His tone didn’t brook for any argument, and his downtrodden attitude didn’t make me feel like this was a happy chat. The sun had already begun to set and so I followed him into the back of the cave. He gestured for me to sit in the nest and I did so.

“Ember, I want you to be truthful, do you truly have amnesia?” he asked, his voice stern as he glared at me.

I immediately opened my mouth, ready to innocently claim yes, but I thought about the last week, what he had done for me and shut it again. I didn’t want to lie to him, if only because I knew he would be disappointed if he found out, and losing his trust was something that would hurt a lot more than honesty.

‘Sometimes it’s better to lie than to face the consequences.’

“No…” I whispered, my eyes focused at the ground, ignoring myself.

“Why did you lie and pretend you had lost your memories?” He asked, and I could hear the hurt in there. Of course he was hurt, why wouldn’t he be? I had pretended to lose my memories and even after he did so much to help me I didn’t come clean until the issue was forced. What kind of person does that?

‘A scared one.’

“I…I didn’t know anything. Everything that you told me was something new, something interesting, and I didn’t know any of it. I’ve had family before, but I always had to do everything on my own, so when I came here it was easier to pretend that I just couldn’t remember anything than to face the fact that I wasn’t strong enough or good enough to learn what I needed to survive…” I whispered, my fangs piercing into the ridges of my mouth. I still couldn’t look at him, too afraid of what I’d see.

He was silent for what felt like an age, but when he spoke again his voice was cracking gently, like he himself wanted to cry. “I said it when I first met you, forgiveness is hard to give and simple allowance is much easier, but this isn’t the time for allowance. Ember, I forgive you for lying to me. You were scared and unsure, and when one is in pain themselves than they can easily harm others. But I want you to promise me something.”

I gulped, a knot swelling in my throat as I struggled not to simply break down right here. “What is it?”

“I want you to promise to never use your pain as an excuse to hurt those you love.” he whispered.

I nodded, finally looking up at Coalheart. He looking at me in a way I couldn’t ever remember my parents doing. It was smile of sorrowful pride, the one where you feel proud of the other persons choices, not proud for them. A single tear was rolling down his cheek, and he caught it on his claw tip, holding it out till it was close enough for me to bite.

“Ember, each dragon can shed only one true tear their entire lives. By giving their tear to another they give them a piece of themselves, some of their strength and knowledge. I have no children of my own and my line shall die with me, but I would like you to be my successor. Please accept my blessing, for there is little more that I can give you. At the very least I can share comfort and love.” He rumbled, his voice strained as he too tried not to break down.

I didn’t know how it would grant me strength, but I took his claw-tip in my mouth and licked his blood off, and for the first time since I came here I felt tears flowing down my cheeks that weren’t borne from sorrow. When I pulled back I looked back up to him and gave him a hug, crying for the simple joys I had experienced since I had come here.

I yawned gently as I continued digging my newest hole in the rock walls outside of our cave. Coalheart had set me on gem hunting duty since I couldn’t hunt, and after a few quick demonstrations of how to do it I had gotten a rough idea and a fair amount of proficiency at digging for my own food. Neither of us had spoken about the night when he confronted me, but we were talking like old friends now, neither one of us feeling any discomfort with the other.

Learning about gem digging was a lot harder than talking to Coalheart though. There were small signs when gems were present, a discolouration of the stone from its natural tone or a different texture of the rocks as well, and wherever the build-up was the strongest was the direction to dig. A few times I could actually smell the stones, something that I had no words that would really describe it. I just knew they were there. By now I had found nearly forty gems, but when I had a whole week to find them all it wasn’t that much to boast about, especially with how I ate them.

Today was the same, digging for stones beneath the heat of the dropping sun, working hard and enjoying it. I knew that I had to get home, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that really. I’d yet to come up with a halfway decent plan, and I couldn’t talk to Coalheart about since I was trying to stay as incognito as possible. As for why I hadn’t left already, well, I was loathe to admit it, but I didn’t want to leave him. He was like the father I’d always wanted and I didn’t want to crush that happy smile he had whenever he saw me.

Looking out over the forest I saw him flying about, looking for something to eat. I really wasn’t that worried, he had always found something to eat and we had enough gems to subsist for at least a week if we wanted to! As the sun dropped lower I stopped digging through the wall and sat down, taking a well-deserved break after I had just pulled out another three fist sized amethysts. I didn’t know how those gems got so big, but I wasn’t complaining about such a fortunate fact. After a few minutes I began to wonder just where Coalheart was. He still wasn’t back and clouds had begun to cover the sky, their dark colour threatening rain. Maybe he just hadn’t noticed and was still hunting something?

‘As I said, no news isn’t good news.’

‘But there hasn’t been any sign that something’s happened, and who could harm someone like him?’

‘You really didn’t like the story of David and Goliath did you.’

“What does that have to do with anything?” I growled, standing up and patting my legs clean of any pulverized rock that had stuck onto my scales. I didn’t want to think about it, but just because he was large and strong didn’t mean he was impossible to hurt, and a hurt wing could keep him from returning on time. I started to walk into the forest, treading gently as I strained to hear Coalheart. I could hear him roaring in the distance like he usually did when he hunted, but it seemed different this time. He seemed angry for some reason, almost as if he was annoyed at whatever he was hunting. What had worked him up so much?

The next thing I heard made my gut twist in nervous apprehension. It someone, a girl probably, shrieking at the top of her lungs while something or someone made some kind of battle cry. I felt my legs pounding against the ground as I began to run towards the sound without a second thought, trees whipping past me as the girls shriek grew even louder. The boy had gone silent by now, his voice dying as quickly as it came. Was Coalheart hunting them? Who were they, and what was going on? I ran faster and faster until I reached the edge of the trees.

What I saw will never leave me, I’m sure of that.

Coalheart was falling out of the sky, his wings no longer supporting his weight as he barrelled into the ground, eyes wide in shock. As he collided a sound similar to gunshots went off, and by the sudden caving of his chest he had probably just shattered most of his bones. His body had cut a massive gouge into the earth, his mouth open wide as he simply lied on his side, blood pouring out of his open mouth like a river. A dozen or so feet in front of him was a female griffin lying on the ground, her fur on her hind legs slightly charred. She was staring at him in pure terror, just like the stag had been looking at me. Coalheart hacked a few times, a massive bulge stuck in his throat, but the bulge itself was squirming, slowly pushing upwards and outwards. He was thrashing about by now, his tail smashing down huge swaths of trees and his claws cutting deep into the ground, but it all ended as he finally stopped moving, a small hiss escaping from him as his eyes glazed over.

“No…” I heard myself whisper. It was like the very ground beneath my feet had been removed, had vanished and left me falling in space. Was he dead? How could he have died? He was over a millennia old, was strong enough to destroy a forest by himself! I felt myself collapse as I stared at the bulge in his neck as it finally pushed its way out of his mouth. The sound was similar to a plunger unclogging a pipe, and as the thing removed itself a flood of blood poured out of Coalhearts mouth, the liquid staining the ground crimson.

The thing was a griffin, one with an eagle front half, and he was laughing like a maniac. His feathers and coat were coated in blood, and he seemed to be having the time of his life as he turned around to look at Coalheart like he would suddenly sit back up and swallow them both, his laughter momentarily dying. After a few terse moments he began to laugh again, this time like a maniac, his voice shrill in either terror or pure surprise at still being alive, and he pulled himself up onto Coalhearts head and screamed a warcry over his dead form.

“WRRRRRRYYYYYYYY!” he bellowed, balancing on his hind paws as he beat on his chest like a gorilla and neither me or the other griffin could believe what he was doing. It didn’t last for too long though and once he had finished celebrating he jumped off and walked over to her.

“What’s the matter? Never seen someone kill a dragon?” he asked, a broad smirk on his face. When he spoke it was nonchalant, as if he had meant for everything to happen like this, like what had just happened wasn’t insane and terrifying for everyone involved. She herself seemed shocked at his attitude and even more surprised that he was alive. Her clawed hand slowly reached out to him, and when it finally touched she pulled him into a hug, nearly crying into his shoulder.

“You magnificent, stupid, beautiful dumbass!” she sobbed, pushing him back as her expression changed from relief to teary anger. “I thought you were dead! What the hell where you thinking!?” she shrieked, her plumes slightly standing on end as she glared at the offending man.

“I guess when I saw you get hurt I just went a little crazy.” he said, as if it was the simplest answer in the world. “Why does dragon blood taste like lemon juice?” he asked, but it wasn’t directed at the other griffin, simply said for asking’s sake. Both of us stared at him in shock. How could he be acting like this when he had just done a feat few had ever accomplished. As he finally seemed to realize that the girl was hurt he walked to her side and looked down at her wound.

“Can you move?”

“Yeah, I think I caAAAAAAH!” she shrieked, her hind legs unable to support her weight.

“No, you can’t. Let me help you.” he said.

“I SAID I’M FINE!”

He stood there for a moment, then simply shrugged uncaringly. “Well, I suppose I can just leave you here then.” he stated matter of factly, turning to leave.

The girl watched him take a few steps before giving another small shriek and relenting. “Okay fine! But you never ever tell anyone about this!”

He gave a small chuckle as he returned to her, sliding her onto his back as he pushed off of the ground, both of them flapping their wings gently as they rose into the air, neither of them looking back at Coalhearts body. Once they had left it still took me another few minutes to gather the courage to crawl out to Coalhearts body, my steps unsteady and my feet barely able to keep me standing.

“Hey, Coalheart, get up already, it’s nearly time for dinner!” I chuckled, waiting for him to open his eyes, to laugh at what a weird griffin that was, but he didn’t. “What, do I have to lug you all the way back home?” I asked him, trying to smile, but it simply wouldn’t come. I had reached his body by now and I felt the strength leave my legs as I flopped down in front of his face, not caring about the pool of blood coating my scales. “Wake up already!” I shouted at him, my whole body shivering as I strove not to cry, but he didn’t answer me. He was still playing around, cruelly teasing me by being so silent.

‘Silent as the grave.’

“Don’t say that!” I screamed, shaking my head back and forth. I pressed my face against his, staring into his lifeless eyes. “You’re the closes thing I’ve ever had to a father, you can’t just die like this!” I sobbed. But it wasn’t going to change anything. I had been unable to do anything for him, only able to watch him die, and I had even failed at that, too focused on hiding to respect his last moments.

“Please, you’re the only family I have left, don’t go!” My only response was another gout of blood pouring out of his slack mouth, the wave coating me completely.

I felt myself break down. I was unable to even sit up anymore and I curled in upon myself, sobbing gently into my own scales as the clouds above finally opened, rain falling from the sky in massive sheets, the water washing the blood away.

Once again I was alone.

All alone.

Chapter 7: Allons-y

Author's Note

Whenever you see writing in red that means it is a thought that Ember specifically voiced in her head rather than just stray thoughts and ideas that she had.

Chapter 7: Allons-y

Chapter 7
Allons-y

‘What are you going to do now?’

‘Shut up.’

‘This isn’t the time to be wallowing in self-pity and you know it. You can’t stay here! What if that griffin comes back and kills you in revenge for his friend’s wounds?’

‘Fine, who cares anymore?’

‘EMBER!’

I didn’t bother responding again, I simply curled myself even tighter. I didn’t know how long it had been, and I didn’t care. What was the point? I didn’t have any plans to get out of here, I didn’t have any friends who would help me, and I had just lost the only person who had given me a damn. If everything was going to end for me anyways, why run?

Coalhearts head was resting against me and I hugged it, eyes screwed tight as I tried to block out the world around me. The falling rain, the horrid smell of iron and something sour, the sound of rustling plants as creatures ran for cover, all of it was pointless.

‘You can’t just die! What would you say to Coalheart?’

‘I don’t know and it doesn’t matter.’

As time slowly crept on I felt the ground turn to mud beneath me, the slick muck covering me, my body blending into the ground. It was perfect, I would die looking like the ground I would be absorbed by. After all, I would be far better as fertilizer than the fuck up that I was.

‘For once in your life, listen!’

I wanted to yell at myself, to shout at my brain to shut up for once, but the shriek died in my throat as I heard the flapping of wings. It was the same sound that had been here only a short while ago. My body froze, limbs locked in terror as I heard death winging in from above, and with a giant splat it landed in front of me, only a dozen feet away. It was the griffin, a look of incredulity on his face as he stared at Coalheart’s body. He began to laugh, slowly rising from a disbelieving chuckle to a maniacal shriek of mirth, his fore-claw slapped against his head. He whooped again and again, looking like a little kid on the last day of school. I was staring at him and I could see death in every one of his claws. It didn’t matter if he was insane or not, he could kill me and I knew it, and I waited for him to come for me.

‘I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!’ I thought, no more tears to shed. But something had happened, something that it didn’t like. The griffin had a look of alarm on his face, eyes wide in surprise, and with a lurch I realized that he must have seen me. But he didn’t turn to look at me. Instead he spun around to look at the foliage, his whole face twisted in rage.

“Who’s there!” he shouted but he didn’t wait for a reply. With a quick skip he had shifted to the left and the second he moved a giant net flew from the undergrowth, inches away from catching him. That set him off and he ran towards where I lay, veering off at the last moment in order to reach Coalhearts arm, his claws scrabbling over his scales. After a few seconds of fruitless scratching he plucked a scale free from his arm and I felt something that I hadn’t expected; rage. He wasn’t satisfied with killing him, he had to defile his body as well!?

“Show yourselves!” he shouted, holding the scale like a shield as he turned back to the forest. “Come out you mutts! You’ll make a fine rug for my cave!” the forest began to shake like mad at his taunt, and a second net came flying at him but he cut it with the stolen scale. Whatever was shaking the trees finally came out, what looked like four giant dogs screaming battle cries as they charged from their cover.

They all looked like overgrown pugs who were standing on their hind legs, two of them wielding massive chunks of rock that had been cut into the rough shape of a sword while the others wielded spears of the same style, and they all advanced upon the griffin, one of the sword dogs having made it to the front first. I only just caught the sword stroke that decapitated him, his body flopping onto the ground with a sickening thud, blood spilling out from his detached head as it flew through the air. The other dogs immediately stopped advancing, looking completely amazed at the sight, but a quick bark from the trees caused them to close together, the two spear users standing behind the remaining sword hound.

With a cry of his own the griffin charged them, the scale pointed like a lance as he ran, and the dogs split apart, one of them diving to the left, split off from his allies. It was the opening the griffin had been looking for and his claws found purchase in the hound’s eyes, ripping through the soft jelly. The dog screamed in agony, and I saw horrid visions of my own eyes being plucked out of my head by the apparition of death that was the griffin. Another slash left another dead, a second head rolling along the ground, the body suddenly unable to keep itself standing as it crumpled like a marionette whose stings had been cut. The two remaining dogs looked petrified by now, unable to move as they stared at the bodies of their fallen comrades.

"What are you waiting for? Go get him! He is a male, and he is strong! He will haul many gems, and we can breed more slaves!" came a whiny, high pitched voice from the trees. I couldn’t see the source, but it was probably another Diamond Dog, one who was able to make orders and send subordinates to die for him. Why didn’t he just order for them to retreat already before any more died?

A rattle of popped joints resounded along the clearing as the griffin cracked his bones. It was a sickening sound and I could see the dogs flinch in surprise, but they looked at each other, obvious fear in their eyes. They knew what would likely happen if they attacked the griffin, but still they nodded at one another before charging at him, crying out desperate war-cries as they rushed him. They both thrust their spears at the griffin’s sides in unison, but the griffin simply stepped forward, dodging both of their blows as he shoved his claws into their shoulders. The dogs began to howl, but they were quickly cut off as he drew his claws across their throats. They both fell to the ground, gasping for air before going still, eyes glazing over in death. I wanted to puke by now, to scream in shock and horror at this massacre, but my sense of self-perseverance was to strong and my mouth stayed shut. The griffin turned to the forest, dropping the scale and rushing whoever was hiding there.

"It was supposed to be easy! It's just a griffin! We've caught plenty of them! How did this happen?" came the voice again, but it quickly turned to screams of terror, the griffin flying out of the trees. What happened next was a small explosion, the forest suddenly illuminated as something spontaneously combusted. It was most likely the dog, his voice now silent under the quiet gaze of the moon.

The griffin was laughing as he began to walk towards Coalhearts body yet again. I felt my heart seize up as I tried to stay perfectly still, but it didn’t matter as he never saw me. The corpse shook for a while as I heard nauseous sounds of ripping and tearing, a sickening pop echoing throughout the clearing. It felt like an eternity before the monster finally left. Tens of minutes crept by before I had enough courage to stand up and look at Coalhearts body.

It wasn’t pretty.

The griffin had pulled out a few of his scales, but he had done much more beneath it. Muscles and sinew had been hacked at and pulled free, a fair chunk of meat simply missing, and beneath that was what should have been his wrist. Chunks of it were missing and multiple bones had been pulled free. What they had been taken for I didn’t know and I didn’t want to know, all I knew was that I was going to vomit again. With an almighty heave I puked on the grass, my hand covering my eyes as I stumbled to the side, only removing my hand when I was sure I couldn’t see the sight.

‘Ember, you know what you need to do.’

I took a deep breath, then nodded, still shivering at what I’d seen.

‘I need to get ready to go don’t I.’

It was a statement rather than a question, and I didn’t want to hear a reply, instead setting off for the lake and the cave. I didn’t know how I was going to prepare, but I was. I didn’t want to die yet and there was nothing more tying me here. Before I left I stopped one last time and looked back at Coalhearts body, memorizing every inch of him. Once I had finished I turned, tears flowing down my cheeks as I walked away.

I was dead tired when I arrived at the cave, my feet barely even supporting me, but it wasn’t time to rest just yet. I stumbled in and looked around for what I needed. I needed food and I wanted something to hold them in, but I’d never seen any non-expendable items in the cave before. Where would he keep that stuff even if he did have it?

‘Dragons are notorious for sleeping upon their hordes.’

A weak smile crossed my lips at the stray thought. The nest that we had slept on for the last two weeks, it was larger than either of us and could hide an unbelievable amount of stuff. It was probably my only chance, and if that didn’t work then I guess I was dragging everything. I struggled to the leaves and began to wade through the massive pile, slowly inching my way to Coalhearts spot. I wouldn’t be able to move it all so I had to rely on my feet to find everything.

Thousands of leaves pressed against my legs as I slowly and methodically pushed through the pile, pulling anything out that didn’t feel like greenery. I found dozens of items, but most of them were just bones and litter from previous meals that had yet to decompose. What was more than just forgotten trash was a shoulder bag, a massive book, and something that he would have never needed; a rapier.

The bag was built similarly to a horse’s saddle-bag except it also had a strap for bipedal creatures. It had probably been made for a travelling pony, yet it was the material it was composed of that confused me. When I rubbed it between my fingers it felt hard and scaly, and it didn’t stretch what-so-ever and even my claws didn’t tear the bag when I poked it. I didn’t know if I was right or just insane, but it seemed to be a bag made out of blue dragon hide. At this point I didn’t care, I just knew I could use it to carry everything I needed.

The book was half as thick as my head and was nearly as tall as the inside of the bag, but one look at its cover told me that I should take it. It was written in some language I didn’t understand, but the cover was again made out of something resembling dragon hide and was embossed with a face that looked strikingly like Coalhearts. I didn’t know what it contained and what I would learn from it when I finally figured out how to read it, but if it was about Coalheart then I would drag it to the ends of the earth.

The penultimate item was a majestic blade, the hand guard swirling around the handle like some kind of snake. It was built in a way that obviously hindered use, and every part of the fine leather scabbard was emblazoned with gold and silver, as was the hilt. It was beautiful and most likely ceremonial in origin, but when I pulled the blade free from the scabbard a huge amount of rust fell out. With I sigh I put it back into the nest. I didn’t truly need it and if I could leave something behind then I would.

Finally there was the coin. If I could calculate the odds of me finding that proverbial needle in a haystack then I had probably beat the one in a million chance. It was beautiful, the entire thing made from some sort of gold alloy. The only reason I could tell was that it didn’t bend under the pressure of my fingers. The head sign of the coin held a visage of a pony, what looked like a unicorn with a coat nearly as dark as my scales. The back side held the visage of another equine, this time a unicorn with a white coat. They both seemed suspiciously familiar, as if I’d seen them before somehow. I couldn’t tell if this was important or not, and I decided to take it with me, slipping it into the bag.

I looked at the nest and sighed, knowing that this could very easily be the last time I was ever here. It felt like home now, a home that I actually enjoyed being in. But now it hurt to look at, its walls simply holding a trove of painful memories and all the blissful could-have-beens. I fought against the urge to cry as I scooped up the gems that I had dug out myself, slipping them into my bag as I forced myself to keep walking and not look back.

My head hung low as I kept walking, my mind full of images of me and Coalheart, of him dying, the vision of death that was the griffin, of everything that had happened as I lay beside him. I wasn’t sure if all that had truly happened, but the images seemed too vivid for me to simply write it off as a hallucination. What I was sure of was that I couldn’t meet him again, not as I was now. Black dragon scales or not, he would kill me, and he would probably laugh as he did so. I sighed gently, shivering softly as I looked up only to realize that I had subconsciously walked near the clearing where Coalheart had…perished.

I felt like hurling when I realized that his body was so nearby, and despite telling myself not to look my eyes found his corpse just beyond the line of trees. Yet the sight I saw was a far cry from the sight I remembered and even further from what I had expected.

His body was covered in vegetation. Blankets of moss, strands of ivy, carpets of leaves, and much more were draped over his body like he was a giant flower pot. Animals were scurrying up and down his body dropping off small bits of plants, some of them simply sleeping or resting on him as if he were yet another tree in the forest.

It was beautiful, like an ancient ruin that was built into the forest itself, and I felt tears dripping down my cheek yet again. Despite its beauty I couldn’t tell who or what had gone out of its way to organize such a thing. I wasn’t even sure if anything in the forest could possibly be smart enough to do it if they wanted to until I saw something step from behind a tree, its ears flicking up as it turned to me, its gaze meeting mine.

It was the stag, the same one that I had spared days ago. Just like last time it gave me a small bow before returning to what seemed like a patrol. I cupped my mouth as I realized that it was guarding his body, protecting it for me, repaying my mercy with this un-repayable act of kindness. I wanted to hug him, to thank him for what he had done, but the second I stepped close he glared at me. I slowly pulled my foot back and nodded, walking away from the clearing with more hope than I’d had that entire night.

I was standing at the crest of a hill, finally clearing the mountain and now able to see the world beyond. Trees, rivers, and even town were before me. There wasn’t anything else to do but to explore them, to try and find out more about this world I was in and hopefully discover a way to return back home.

A section of my life had just ended, and it felt like I was suddenly stuck on a path that I wasn’t prepared for. I gave a small chuckle as I looked at sun rising in the distant horizon, spreading its soft glow upon the world. Nothing had been simple since I had gone here, and I didn’t really expect that anything was going to be easy from here on out. All the same I had to be ready to face it.

‘You have a long journey ahead of you.’

“I guess so.” I whispered, taking the first step on my journey. “But you know what they say. Allons-y!”

Chapter 8: A Hard Days Night

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Chapter 9: A Trip to the Fair

Chapter 9
A Trip to the Fair

I woke up to my ears pounding like a drum, my head splitting with a horrible migraine. My face was pressed into the ground and everything hurt like Hades, from my brain to my bones. Whatever I was lying on was smooth and hard, but at this point I wanted to do nothing more than continue to lie here and try to slip back into dreamland. What did it matter if I was asleep?

‘Because you keep waking up in weird places.’

I didn’t like logic when I felt so horrible, but I picked myself up anyways. As I stood up, I yawned widely and began to rub my eyes, trying to scrub the lethargy from them. When I finally stopped, I felt at best an iota better. I still had my migraine and my body still screamed in pain, but at least I was awake now, and I immediately tried to get my bearings.

For some ungodly reason, I was in what could only be called a tiny room. The walls and floor were made out of cobbled together scales, a patchwork of various plated colours, each one reflecting tiny faceted versions of myself everywhere. Despite being able to see, I couldn’t find any source of light. It seemed as if the very air was glowing.

As for space, there was just enough room for me to lie down. I couldn’t see any doors or windows, and my roaming fingers were unable to find a crack or line that could reveal a hidden passage. I felt as if the earth itself had swallowed me whole, and I was quickly growing claustrophobic. I wanted to cry at my predicament, but I knew that would get me nowhere so I instead forced myself to sit down, my hands wrapping around my legs. I had no way out and, in a room like this, it meant that there was only one option; to wait.

Hours ticked by as I sat there, muttering under my breath the entire time. Things like “What’s going on?”, “Why am I in here?”, “Is this a prison?”, and, of course, my favourite; “What in Hades name did I do to deserve this?”

‘Does the world need a reason to be cruel?’

“No, I guess it doesn’t…” I sobbed as my stomach began to grumble. My stomach was empty, a withered balloon feeding upon itself, and it was the breaking point. I began to gently rocking back and forth, my breath erratic and wavering, almost panicked. I was just a teenage girl. Why did this have to happen to me?

‘Because the world has a horrible sense of humour.’

“Are you sure you aren’t talking about yourself?” I asked with a chuckle, happy to at least have something to talk to, even if it was just my mind. “If not, then something’s wrong.”

‘Hey, I got you to laugh at least, that’s worth something isn’t it?’

“I guess so...” I whispered, my closed eyes pressing into my legs. The second that they met, I felt the wall I was leaning on vanish. With a yelp I fell backwards through the sudden hole behind me, tumbling head over heels before slamming yet again onto the ground. All the pain that had started to recede came back again with a vengeance, and I whimpered at the agonizing sensation.

‘Case in point.’

‘If you’re just going to be an ass, do me a favour and shut up!’ I thought, slowly standing to my feet again, wondering where I had wound up. I felt my mouth go slack as I realized just what I had literally stumbled upon.

It was a carnival.

I blinked and rubbed my eyes, squinting at the flashing multitude of lights in front of me. They didn’t melt away when I looked again, and there seemed to be a lively hubbub surrounding it. The sky was cloaked in a wave of black, no stars or moon penetrating through what had to be the largest cloud ever. After a few moments of looking, I felt my feet moving of their own accord, dragging me towards the tents and games.

‘This doesn’t feel right.’

‘Says the voice in my head which talks back to me.’

‘…touché.’

The inside of the carnival was very different from what I was expecting. Stereotypical carnivals are places of happiness and merriment, where everything is specifically built to be insanely fun. However, despite the bright and cheerful colours, the entire place seemed dark and dreary. I was the only one here, and the games were oddly grim for a place of joy. The rifle booth was filled with actual rifles and, seemingly randomly, the targets would literally explode as a shot went off. The ring-the-bell game had a spiked mace larger than a baseball bat for the hammer, and the water gun game was actually burning. On and on the games changed from frivolous pastimes to legitimate dangers, but nobody was running the stalls, the lights in the booth flickering every now and again.

As for the prizes that could be won, every booth that I passed was filled with first aid kits or pre-packaged food or other necessities rather than the usual cheap plastic toys. The only things that came close to normal prizes were massive stuffed animals, the ones that were just as big as the one who got it, and they were always the most expensive prizes.

I couldn’t understand the logic of this place, and the fact that nobody but me was even here gave me a sense of growing dread. As I continued to look around, I kept hearing some faint noise creeping around, and every time I recognized its presence my hair stood on end and my body became highly responsive, as if it was the hunting cry of a creature that had decided I was on the menu.

The tents were just as weird. ‘Majestic Accidents!’ ‘Brutal Injuries!’ and even one called ‘Death and Dismemberment’ were just a few of the signs that covered the entrances. The tent doors were flapping open time and again in a non-existent breeze, and inside I saw nauseating scenes. Mannequins, or what I prayed were mannequins, were showing off broken bones, ripped skin, and flooding blood to a non-existent audience. It was sickening, and I put my head down so I could avoid seeing anything more.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Getting out of this insane place!’

Of course, since I stopped looking at where I was going I ran into something, a cloth door flapping over me as I barreled through it. I instinctively raised my head to fight off whatever had touched me, but as I realized just what had happened, I shut my eyes tight. Yet I had seen the room, and I hadn’t seen any gore so, with a healthy dose of apprehension, I opened my eyes.

It was a simple pavilion, two wooden poles keeping the top up, the crimson canvas walls billowing out thanks to the stakes shoved in the ground. In the middle of the tent were a couple of small pedestals topped with glass cases. There weren’t any signs on any of the pedestals and, like before, nobody else was here.

I slowly walked toward them, curiosity drowning out my nausea and unease. They were all topped with seemingly meaningless items: a cast, a picture frame,and a few other items which I couldn’t make out. The weird thing was, all of those items reminded me of something, even though I had never owned them.

The cast reminded me vividly of my freshman year. I had been slotted to be in almost all of the junior team inter-school competitions, and my coach had been helping me day and night, giving me tips and tricks to help me practice for the big day. I ran whenever I could get the time, slowly increasing my speed till I felt like I was flying through the air every single time. My team-mates had been jealous of the coach’s attention, but they always cheered me on when they saw how fast I ran for us. I was the best in the school, and everyone had wanted us to bring back the inter-school trophy.

But things weren’t that simple. A week before we went I fell, and my speed became my enemy as I hit the dirt, tumbling head over heels. My whole body had ached, but my shin had felt like it was on fire, the agony unbearable. When the coach had seen this, he had immediately rushed me to the nurse, a couple of kids lifting me there on the school’s stretcher. I was only allowed a shining second when the nurse came back in, a smile on her face before she said that my tibia was broken. I was lucky at how small it was though, and I should be back on my feet in three weeks.

Our school lost that year, and all of the people who I had thought were my friends turned on me. Either I had wasted too much of the coaches time, I had staged the fall or I had just wimped out, but nobody who I knew would take my side. I had failed everyone, and they had failed me.

I sighed as I looked at the cast, turning to the frame, one with a picture of a boy in it. The boy was in his mid-teens. He was lean yet not puny, and he had a mop of brown hair and a gentle smile on his face. I knew the boy, and it hurt just to look at it.

His name was Zach. He had been a kind kid, always standing up for me during sophomore year, but he wasn’t the most popular in school. He was smart and funny, but the jocks had always targeted him. They had probably labelled him as a threat and had taken it upon themselves to make sure he never actually became one, but it never seemed to faze him. He continued to be his kind self, and I never understood what he had seen in me, but he confessed to me right after home-coming. He was my first boyfriend, and my last.

We were happy together. I had finally met someone who would listen to me and liked me for who I was, and he found something in me. We would work on homework together and hang out during school, but his parents were also fairly strict with him. We could only hang out on the weekends, and Sunday after church was where we spent most of our time together. We went to zoos and parks and even the odd movie or two, but it had only lasted for four shining months.

Dad had found out that we were dating. At first it seemed that everything was still perfectly fine, but he began to grow distant from me, nervous and jumpy whenever we were alone together, as if he was afraid. It didn’t take me long to put the pieces together, and I confronted my father about it during dinner one night. I hadn’t ever done it before, and he was outraged at my attitude, but when he saw the look on my face he had finally told me about how he was pressuring Zach to drop me. He wasn’t good enough for me was dad’s excuse.

I couldn’t sleep that night, and when I saw Zach at school the next time I tried to come up with a way to tell him we should break up, but instead he kissed me. It wasn’t a quick peck, it was a real kiss, his tongue slipping into my mouth, gently yet insistent as he played with mine. The sensation was like fire spreading through my body, and I couldn’t move as he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to him, our hearts beating together. When we broke apart he gave me a small smile, his cheeks bright red. The hall was silent, probably had been since the geeky me had gotten kissed by the cute and funny Zach.

I wanted to kiss him back, I wanted to say everything would work out, but I noticed the bags under his eyes, the way he looked thinner than usual, and I realized that I was hurting him. Every happy thought became a burden as I looked at the poor kid in front of me, at the boy I loved so much.

I slapped him. The sound was loud enough to echo even through the crowded school. “I hate you!” was all that I could manage to say before I turned around and ran away. Nobody got in my way as I barrelled down the stair and flung myself into the girl’s lavatory. I hid in the bathroom all day, tears streaming down my face as I curled into a ball. Before I had run off I saw his face, and there was only disbelieving pain. I had done it to try and protect him from me, but seeing him look so lost and hurt was like driving a wedge into my own heart.

My dad was proud of me, said that he always knew that I would make the right choice and dump him, and it had taken all of my willpower to resist hitting him. The next time I saw Zach he was followed by a gaggle of girls, all of them talking about how they’d like to comfort him. He looked much healthier than before, the bags having vanished and his body no longer so skeleton-like, but he wouldn’t look at me. I had burned what felt like my only bridge thanks to my father, and I couldn’t forgive him.

I slowly pulled myself back from my memories, a sad smile on my face at the horrible bitter-sweet taste of them. My dad had hurt me so much, but I knew he was just trying to help me in his own way. It hurt, and I would never feel perfectly happy with him, but he had always tried to make me perfect so that I never had to worry about anything later. I knew it, but that didn’t mean I would accept it.

‘Yet you still blame yourself for so much.’

‘Do you blame me?’ I asked. ‘I never stood up to dad when I should have. I never fought for what I really wanted. I always caved in to his demands. If I have to put the blame on one of us two, how can I in good conscious say it was all him?’

There wasn’t an answer for this, and no other word was said as I turned and walked from the tent, sparing a quick glance at its entrance to discover its name. It was the only one that didn’t have a title over it, but it didn’t really matter. It was a hall of memories, and it was painful to be in it.

As I walked outside, I noticed something from the corner of my eyes, something wispy and almost ethereal. When I turned to look at it, I noticed a haze over the entrance as the flap opened, only for it to vanish. A quick look to my right saw that there were more of them at other tents, and that’s when my sight shifted.

They were everywhere. In the booths, by the tents, walking around. They were smoke given form, living shadows that had pulled themselves free from the ground and decided to visit the carnival. The small chattering that I had heard since I first entered the ground became much louder, and I could now understand why it had made my hair stand on end. It sounded like the chattering of bats or the hisses of cats, a combination of every little sound that animals made, almost monstrous in the deformity of sound it made.

“Hey, wanna talk for a bit?”

I spun about as I heard the voice. It was the same as my conscious, only I hadn’t heard it in my head, I had heard it with my ears. Standing a few paces away was a girl waving at me, the swarms of shadows crowding around her, a rueful smile on her face. She had silky brown hair in a pixie cut and startling dark blue eyes, nearly indigo in colour. She was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt which showed off her belly as well as tight denim jeans and black army boots. Her existence seemed almost fantastical, if only because she was the only living person I had seen in forever.

“W-who are you?” I asked, stuttering a bit as I tried to process what I was seeing.

“Well, I usually don’t get the pleasure of talking to you in person, but you should know me by my voice, right?” she asked, sounding genuinely hurt. Her lip stuck out a bit and she crossed her arms. “Am I really that generic?”

“But…but…but you’re supposed to be in my head!” I blubbered, my right hand clutching my crown as I walked towards her. “How is my own conscious talking to me?”

“Search me, I’ve always been in this dump!” She was laughing at my question, a smile plastered across her face at my sudden recognition of who she was. “Still, it does hurt a bit for you to call me your conscious. Should I call you my conscious?” she asked, her smile morphing into a frown. “That would make us even then, right?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me, this is bullshit!” I groaned, starting to pace up and down, not caring if I ran into the shadows or not. “I can’t meet something from my own head, it wouldn’t make any sense!”

“Then how am I meeting something from my head?” she asked, a knowing grin spreading wider and wider. “Hey, if you’re going to do your usual worrying mind if we at least find a place to sit down?”

“Where would we do that?” I snapped.

“There.” she said simply, pointing behind me.

When I turned, I saw a ferris wheel flashing brightly, the cars slowly revolving around and around. “When did that get here?”

“Been here for a while, might as well make use of it, right?”

I didn’t like how familiar she was with me, how she talked as if we had always known each other, but I also felt like I somehow knew her, and good advice was still good advice. With a sigh of defeat I nodded, turning and walking towards the massive construct while she bobbed happily behind me. When we reached the base, a car seemed to open itself, beckoning us both in.

“Allons-y!” she chuckled, giving me a knowing wink as she pulled me in with her, both of us thudding into the seats as the ride began to move again. I was staring at her like she was some kind of freak, and at the moment I couldn’t think of any other way to describe her. She appeared out of thin air, acted like she knew everything about me, talked to me in an eerily familiar way, and then started to treat me like a friend I never had. I was done with this charade and I wanted her to just give up the chase.

“Okay, you need to slow down and tell me straight up, why do you act like you know me?”

“Wow Ember, this is a whole new level of suspicious, even for you!” she giggled, giving me a broad smile.

“How do you know my name, why are you the only other person in this entire place that isn’t some kind of ghost, and where in hell’s name am I?” I asked, my fingers pressing together to make a steeple as I stared at this weird girl.

“Okay, three questions deserve three answers. Firstly, I know your name because we’ve talked together for years, though you’ve gotten a lot more talkative in the last few weeks. Second, I have no clue. I just thought that everyone looked like that to be honest. As for the third question, I’m still trying to figure that out. All I know is that I used to eat with those shadows, or, at least, they would always give me food until I started to win my own at the games.”

“Wait…is this purgatory?” It seemed like it. Everyone was in a giant carnival that would last forever, unable to talk to anyone else, forced to play the games if they didn’t want to die. Maybe it was a test, a way to filter out those who would resort to theft to survive from those who would just work harder.

“Can’t be. I never died, and unless you really did overwork yourself, you haven’t either.” she sniggered, rolling her eyes at my hypothesis. Her words seemed…fairly realistic actually. But this place still felt like some kind of survival zone, a place where nobody could escape from.

“Would be helpful if I could, dontcha think?” she asked, shocking me out of my thoughts.

“What are you talking about?”

“It would be really helpful if I could get out of this place, but I never really cared that much. I never go hungry and I don’t know anything else, so why would I force myself to change?” It wasn’t a question, it was simple truth and I felt a chill run through my spine as I processed what she was saying. It was something that I had told myself time and time again about my own life. It was nothing more than an excuse for staying the same.

“Okay, so if you’re really my conscious, how do you know what I’m doing?” I asked, trying to bring the conversation back on track.

‘How the hell should I know, I just get glimpses of what you’re doing while I’m asleep and I talk to you just by thinking of it. Do you have any answer for something like that?’

The voice was back in my head, and the girl was staring at me the entire time, her eyebrows raised slightly, as if daring me to answer the question. “How the hell di-“

‘Yes or no?’

“…no, I don’t.” I muttered, grinding my teeth together at the smug smirk that she had. “But if you aren’t just my conscious, then you must have a name.”

“Sure do, but why should I share it?”

‘Because otherwise you’re just a voice.’

She started to laugh at my comment, a booming, echoing sound that hurt my ears in the small car. “You really are funny! Okay, fair enough, the name’s Gemina.” she chuckled, wiping tears from her eye. “But you might want to look out the window. The view is always beautiful from up here.”

I hadn’t even realized that we had reached the peak of the ride, but I went ahead and followed Gemina’s instructions, looking out at the carnival below. It was a sea of lights, the tents making a quilted patchwork that seemed to stretch on for eternity, giant hazy trails of what looked like liquid smoke rolling in the gaps between. It was just like the carnival itself, dark and ominous yet tranquil and majestic in its own way.

“Thanks for the tip Gemina.” I said, turning my head back to the girl, but she was gone. The walls of the ride were gone. Everything had changed.

“Thanks for joining the land of the living.”

Chapter 10: Good Morning Ma'am!

Chapter 10
Yes Ma’am!

“Thanks for joining the land of the living.”

Nothing was making sense. One moment I was sitting in a carousel with Gemina, now I wasn’t even sure if I was awake or not. My vision was gently obscured, the world looking like a black void with multitudes of little lights destroying the purity of colour. All I was sure of was the words that had just been said, and that something had said them. The voice itself was feminine, in a loose definition of the word, and I immediately responded groggily with the first thing that my addled brain could come up with.

“Sorry mom, I’ll do my chores in a minute.”

“Who are you talking to?”

It was the same voice that had just spoken moments ago, and it was making no sense. Of course I was talking to her, who else would come into my room so early in the morning in order to wake me up? Was she annoyed that I wasn’t truly awake yet? I blinked my eyes a few times and felt my stomach lurch at what was waiting for me.

The voice I had responded to had to come from the only person in the room, a yellow pegasus with a coat reminiscent of the dirty blond hair I had seen back home. Her mane, however, looked completely different. It broke most conventions that I had known by being chestnut in colour near the roots while the rest was practically neon pink. Both her mane and her coat were short, almost as if they had been intentionally cut to their length. After I had gotten over the clash of colours on her, I saw that she was wearing a uniform over her front, metallic chest plates covering her breast and back. Upon her breastplate was what looked like a kite shield with a sword's hilt sprouting from the top of the shield. It was obviously well taken care of, and was so fancy that it seemed like a badge of office or something similar. As for her wings, the armour stopped just short of their bases, leaving them free to flap. Her wings looked very ragged, many of the feathers slightly out of alignment and a few even looking torn.

Her face told a tale. It wasn’t wrinkled, but there were multiple scars that crisscrossed over it, most of them so faint that I couldn’t notice them without squinting. In complete contrast to the harshness of her face, her irises were a sparkling emerald that seemed to dance with a lust for life. I felt a question rise to my lips as I looked at her, feeling curious over just who she was, and I would have asked it if she hadn’t been glaring at me as if I were the devil incarnate.

When I saw her staring at me like that I tried to back up, to move away, but all that I was met with was an immovable barrier to my back and a clanking tug against my wrists. A few seconds of struggling later I gave up, instead focusing on just where I truly was.

Looking back at the pony I finally noticed that there were bars between us, all of them made out of some weird glittering metal, brighter than steel yet not quite the same tinge as titanium. I could see that she was sitting with her back to a stone wall, a door next to her made out of the same strange material. There were no windows in the room, only a few brightly glowing crystals embedded in the ceiling outside of what had to be my cell. The crystals made it look like it was daylight, but I wasn’t able to move around enough to see the wall behind me. All I could assume was that, like the floor beneath me and the pony, it was made out of hard stone as well. Once again I shook my hands, and from the clanking sound that followed, not only had they been chained together but had also most likely been attached to the wall somehow. I heard my breath starting to quicken, a loud panting in the otherwise silent room.

The pony had begun to stand by now, still glaring at me as she slowly clopped closer and closer, each footstep ringing in the small, empty room. I wanted to back away from her, to retreat as far as possible, but there wasn’t anywhere for me to go. She stopped a few paces before my cage, and spoke again, her tone practically robotic in its monotony.

“I’m going to ask you a few questions. Answer them quickly and simply.” she said, her tone still devoid of all emotion. “Question one, why did you arrive at our gates at nearly one in the morning looking like you were running from the gates of Tartarus?”

I was trying to come up with a statement that would please her, placate her, but my brain had shut off by now. I was in prison, chained to a wall, probably underground, and was in a room with someone who seemed inhuman.

“Refusal to answer will result in permanent incarceration, so answers would be appreciated.”

“Iwasrunningformylife!” I yipped, my voice coming out at least an octave higher than usual, my heart hammering in my chest at the mention of incarceration. ‘Am I in jail? What did I do!?’

At the very least she seemed to find the answer acceptable, but the glare didn’t vanish. Instead it seemed to grow even more distrusting, as if wondering what would cause a dragon to run away. “Question two, why were you in possession of Equestrian goods?”

“What?” I gasped, feeling confusion mix in with the emotional brew of panic, anxiety, and fear. What had I been holding that had been from Equestria?

“The coin is an ancient product of Equestria, not quite a medal but at the very least worth a fortune to collectors and historians. How did you get your claws on it?” she asked again.

“I got it from my father’s hoard!” I replied, and the simple words seemed to pierce my heart with a lance. I was using Coalheart for stupid reasons, and even lying about who he was. What kind of person am I to do such a thing?

‘One who wanted to live?’

“Final question, why did you come here to Manehattan out of all places?”

“Mane what?” I asked, feeling genuinely surprised for the first time. Did she mispronounce Manhattan?

“Do you know what Manehattan is?” she asked, looking surprised herself at my obvious obliviousness.

“No. Is that the city I reached last night?” I asked, feeling both a sense of hope and dread. That and a bizarre interest in how she kept mispronouncing such a well-known city.

“Yes.”

It was a one word reply, something that usually marked anger or other unwelcome emotions, but instead of apprehension I felt a flood of relief. Her glare had been replaced by a look of resignation as a ring of keys appeared from nowhere. She pushed it into one of the bars and twisted the key, pulling open the cage, many of the bars sliding on a hidden hinge. A couple clops of her hooves later and she was right in front of me, staring into my eyes for only a second before sliding another key to the forefront and shoving it into something behind me. With a clatter the shackles on my wrists fell off, dropping to the ground. She gave me a look and a quick flick of her head as she clopped out of the cell.

‘Should I?’ I asked mentally, partially to myself and partially to my con…Gemina. However, after a few seconds without any reply, I instead sighed in resignation and followed the mare out of the room. The room outside looked like some kind of military barracks, a couple of ponies inside the room, all of them wearing the same uniform as the pony beside me and all of them staring at us.

“Ritz, what did you learn?” said a black coated earth pony, his crimson eyes glaring at me just like she had been just a few minutes ago.

“She’s young, like I told you earlier. She got her stuff from her father’s hoard. She came here by accident and apparently while running from something she considered frightening.” said, presumably, Ritz, giving him an almost mocking salute as she summarized what I had told her, obviously enraging the pony.

“Is she dangerous?” asked a bright blue unicorn, looking at me with interest.

“If a dragon who’s afraid of a pony is dangerous, then yes, she’s insanely dangerous.” Ritz snorted.

The whole room went silent, everyone looking completely and utterly speechless at this nugget of information. It lasted a whole ten seconds before everyone began to laugh, some of them even rolling on the floor in mirth. I could feel my face start to burn with a blush, and my hands began to fidget in my lap, my eyes cast towards the ground.

“You’re kidding, right?” asked the same earth pony as before, tears in his eyes.

“Nope, didn’t even threaten her either. I just used my usual interrogation voice and she cracked.”

The laughter was growing louder and louder. Why did it feel like it was always me who was at the butt of a joke? It took a couple of minutes for everyone to calm down, but once they did I could see that the previous glares and disapproving glances had given away to small smiles and rippling chuckles.

“So then, does she speak or is she a silent tom?” asked the unicorn again, the only one who still had a massive grin on his face.

“I do speak, it’s just…embarrassing…” I muttered, feeling my blush growing even darker at his renewed laughter.

“That’s who we were afraid of?”

“Yes. Do you see why I called all of you silly old mares last night?” Ritz chuckled. “Now then, interrogation is over, introductions are done, let’s give her all of her supplies back and then forget this ever happened, okay?” Everyone nodded and, as if we had never walked in, they went back to their tasks. It was almost eerie in how sudden the change was.

“So then, I never got your name. Do you even have one, or shall I just keep calling you a lizard?” she asked me, a small smirk crossing her face.

“Ember.”

“Ember? Like the ones in a fire? Seems that your mother must have had a sense of amusement for a dragon. Wish they were all like that.” She groaned, walking out of another door and into a sloping hallway. It took very little time before we reached yet another door, but the room beyond was far different from the other two I had been in. Lockers lined the walls to our left and right, a single large table in front of us with an earth pony sitting at it while two pegasi stood by the table’s side, all of them wearing the same uniform the others below. They were facing away from us, looking towards the open door in the other wall. There were multiple windows lining the walls, sunlight pouring through not only them but the door as well. It was a welcome sight, and despite the silence it was far better than the guard room below where I had turned into a laughingstock.

Ritz opened the locker directly to our right and pulled out my bag, giving it a quick look through before handing it to me, a pained grimace on her face. “Sorry about the misunderstanding. Please forgive us for taking your time and welcome to Manehatten.”

I nodded simply as I took my bag, looking at the three ponies at the desk. They were nearly frozen in place, but at the same time they seemed ready for anything, to move at a seconds notice. “Just where am I?” I asked Ritz, turning back to her.

“The guardhouse of Manehatten, otherwise known as the police station.” she answered automatically. “Why, is it important to you?”

“I…well…is there any chance that you could teach me to defend myself?” I asked, feeling like an idiot for asking the question. She was going to refuse me with an excuse or simple toss away problem. Maybe she’d tell me that nobody needed a dragon who knew how to fight, or she could even mock me by asking why they would accept someone who is afraid of ponies.

“So, you think that you could handle what I’d be throwing at you then?” she asked, an almost malicious grin on her face and a sadistic twinkle in her eye. “Truly?”

It wasn’t the answer I had been expecting at all, but the glee she was showing at the idea of training me seemed not only surprising, but frightening as well. Still, if I could learn to defend myself I would be far better off than if I didn’t, and what place would be better than a guardhouse that trains ponies to fight all the time?

“Y..yes?” I stammered, the response turning into a question at the fear I was feeling. Her smile grew even wider at my words, her grin so wide that she could have given the Cheshire cat a run for his money.

‘What in the world did I sign up for?’

“Actually, stand right there at attention.” she said offhandedly, still grinning at me. I followed her order, drawing my feet together and slapping my arms to my side, jutting my face out slightly. I could feel a series of slaps across my face, shins, and hands as she shouted loudly into my ear, her words indecipherable. My ears were ringing as she continued to slap at my shins, and I looked down to see what she was doing, only to receive a hoof to my face.

“You do not look at the ground. Listen only to what I tell you to do, don’t fix it yourself, and don’t assume you can!” Ritz shouted. “Feet cocked! Heels together! Arms at your side! Curl the fingers! Eyes forward! Back straight!”

She was barraging me with commands, but I tried to align my body as she told me to, but my head always tried to move downwards to check how I looked, and each time I received another face-full of hoof. It didn’t really hurt, but it was mostly annoying. I stopped looking down after the third smack, and instead forced myself to change my stance without looking at it, to simply feel how I was standing. It took a minute, but Ritz finally stopped hitting me, her hooves clopping softly against the ground. A grunt and a few heavy hoof-falls later and I felt a massive mat thrown over each of my shoulders, heavy enough that I could feel my knees trying to bend.

“Okay then, you want me to accept you, then you better be able to stand like that until I think you’ve stood there long enough.”

“Wait, all I’m do…” was all I got out before I felt yet another smack to my face. ‘What the hell?’

“No talking. Just stand there until I tell you otherwise.” Ritz chuckled, giving me a wide grin before trotting off to sit next to the other pony, quickly chatting with him before sitting down and apparently ignoring my existence.

‘Now that’s cold.’

‘Where the hell have you been?’

‘Stuck on a ferris wheel, you?’

‘You don’t want to know.’

‘Well then, hope you like standing.’

‘I can do it, it’s just standing!’

My body felt horrible. Each of my arms felt like they had become sandbags hanging at my side. My legs were wooden, unbendable, and no matter how many times I tried to bend my knees, someone saw the movement and yelled at me. I was panting gently, trying to keep a façade of calm, but every part of me ached.

Ponies had been filtering in and out of the police station while I stood here, and most of them seemed intimidated at my presence, asking their questions or else reporting their problems before quickly scurrying out. Sadly, not everyone left me alone. A few ponies came right up to me and looked at my body like I was some sort of mannequin. The one time I had attempted to shoo the offending pony off, I had gotten a glare from one of the guards before I had even moved my claw. This was just another part of my test, and nobody cared if it annoyed me or not.

As for Ritz, she just gave me a few glances from time to time, a wicked smile always plastered across her face as she would turn away with a knowing wink to the other guards. It was infuriating, especially since I knew she could stop this all with a word.

‘Damn it all, why the hell am I standing here!?’

‘Damn yourself for agreeing to it in the first place.’

I took another deep breath and ground my teeth together, forcing myself to ignore the tingling and aches. I was going to do this no matter what!

Nothing would move. I couldn’t feel my arms anymore, just a numbing buzz in my shoulders while my chest seemed to burn with the need for more air. Every breath had become a gasp, a desperate struggle to get enough air within me. My legs were rooted to the ground, each muscle feeling like molten lead, my mind struggling to deal with simply staying conscious. I could barely see anymore, but I could tell that the sun had gone down a while ago. Heaven knew how long I had been standing here, but the guards had changed at least twice during that time.

Despite it all, Ritz sat in a corner, staring straight at me, her gaze boring holes in the side of my head. I wanted to scream at her, to rage and bellow at her for what a stupid thing it was for me to just stand here with whatever the hell she threw around my shoulders, but she still hadn’t told me I could move. It had become more than just a test; it was personal now. I would prove to her that a little standing wasn’t going to beat me, no matter how horrible it felt!

‘Ember, this has already gone far enough!’

‘I. Can. Win. This!’

Finally, after everyone had already retreated to the barracks below and the moon had blessed us with her presence, Ritz came clopping up to me. Her eyes looked at mine, and I could see her still wearing the same. Goddamn! SMIRK!

“You can stop now you overgrown lizard.” She chuckled, walking past me and through the door.

I couldn’t even believe what I had heard. I struggled to make a noise, to say something in return, but my voice was less than a hoarse croak. My leg slowly slid across the floor and slipped, my whole body crashing into the ground as I was finally released to sweet, blissful sleep.

Author's Note

I've been thinking about changing the rating of this story to mature thanks to some plot points that will be coming up. I wanted to at least ask if people would be okay with me adding in such a change despite there already being ten chapters. I may end up changing the rating despite the responses but I wanted to at least ask before I did so.

P.S. Thank you for reading the story in the first place!