Prologue
Filters of light shimmered in through the blinds over the window. They streamed down into little arcs of light that were splayed across the dark orange fabric of his sheets. In the still of the room his topaz orange and jet black scales shimmered along the walls like a disco ball, fabricating violent hues of black and orange, which were plastered against the golden oak wooden walls. Scents swarmed his nose, shifting strengths of oak, plaster, cinnamon, honey, and strangely, wet dog. It brought a comforting grin to his lips as he unlatched his black plastic case, the sweet stench of aged oak and copper adding to the already swarming mixture of smells.
There was a light tap from where his chin touched the plastic piece at the butt end of the instrument. His fingers delicately plucked one, two, three strings before he reached for his bow. There was a shroud of silence that pervaded the air, the entire house growing eagerly quiet as it awaited the mystical sound that the drake often made from the strings of his instrument. In a shuddering breath, the house lurched and groaned as he played the first note, the echoing sound serving to remind him how alone he was. Another note reverberated off of the walls, the house seeming to dance along with it.
All at once the drake began to slide the bow to and fro across the strings, creating notes so pure, so rich, so himself, that anypony who was listening would have thought he was a musical angel cast down from heaven. His clawed feet bounced off the ground as he continued to play, his music filling the once silent home, and he played with a great, broad smile stretched across his facial features. From downstairs he could hear the door swing open, creaking on its rusty hinges, but he was so lost in his musical world that he didn't pay it any mind.
The floorboards creaked beneath the weight of another presence as they ascended the stairs, seemingly hesitant. A head of cream color yellow peeked into the room, her soft teal colored eyes watched the tiger striped drake as he continued on with his music unhindered. It died down to a soft whimper as she poked more of her body into the room. It eventually faded into nothingness as he glanced up towards her. There was a slight tremor that rocked his body, but other than that he was content to wait until she had dismissed before he continued.
“Why d-did y-you stop K-Kalin? That s-sounded b-beautiful.” Her voice was kinder than most, soft, delicate, like an elegant rose in a field of daisies, but yet at the same time, very weak, like a dying animal breathing its last breath.
The dragon said nothing, instead he only whimpered slightly, trying to further himself from the mare by scooting closer to the head of his bed. The cream colored mare sat at the foot, an uncomfortable silence lingered between them. She hated to see him like this, but she should have expected him to react in such a way, especially considering she walked in on him while he was doing the only thing that reminded him of his mother, by playing her song. “I w-wanted to b-bring this to y-you.” The mare slid a hand into her pocket, from which she withdrew a small vanilla colored envelope, which smelled of a mixture of strawberries and cherries mashed with peaches.
Hesitantly, the drake grasped the envelope. His eyes never left the mare as he used his sharp talons to make a slit in the envelope, where he could easily slip out the letter inside. He was scared as he pulled out the letter. Sweat clung to his palms, if only a little, while his heart began to beat slightly faster, his breathing coming in small pants. The hand-written letter read:
Dear Student,
It is with a great honor that I welcome you, Kalin Rose, to the Academy of Musical Arts, located right here in Canterlot. Your musical prowess has been heard by some of our previous scholars and you have been recommended for a full scholarship to this school. It has been put under authorization, and I, Princess Celestia, do hereby approve both your enrollment, and scholarship to the Academy.
Due to a kind word submitted by the Element of Kindness if your favor, a private meeting is requested of you in Canterlot tomorrow. She has been supplied with the funds for you to purchase a ticket. You needn’t worry about a place to stay, the castle has many rooms free to those whom I deem worthy to honor their presence in them.
Stars shine brightly in your favor young dragon. I look forward to our meeting tomorrow morning bright and early, if you chose to accept such an honor. If not, then I understand, especially if your friends word is true. Know this, your music has touched the hearts of those around you, to not share this talent is to turn away a gift from a loved one.
May the sun glimmer off your scales and the wind rise beneath your wings...
Princess Celestia Guâlhoran
Flecks of topaz light shimmered across the cream mare's face as the dragon shifted slightly closer to her. Her heart jumped into her throat while her breath ceased to embrace any more air. She could feel her spinal chord tingle as she awaited what the drake was going to do. Softly, he grasped her furred hand, warming it with his own scaled ones. “Take it.” He whispered, his voice betraying his shyness towards her.
Fluttershy brought the letter up to her eyes, scanning it over quickly. A beam spread across her face, her wings fluttering as she bounced around the room on her feet. “Oh my Celestia. You made it, you actually made it in!” Her yelled whispers did nothing but make the drake slink further away from her again, almost until there was nothing left of his sparkling scales, being fully enveloped by the darkness. “Oh, whats wrong Kalin?”
The tiger striped drake just looked out through the window, seeing the open, cloudless blue sky. Two birds flapped by, chasing each other around like little colts and fillies. It brought a smile to his face, but quickly faded when they fluttered away. “You know I can't Fluttershy.” His voice was barely a whisper as his heart threatened to pound straight through his chest. “I'm too shy. Too scared to really do anything.”
“That's not true Kalin. You played for Twilight before. During her first time coming to us from Canterlot you played at her birthday. At Applejack's family reunions you have always played music for them.”
“But I was always in the background, hidden away from the ponies, either behind of a shed, barn, or a bookcase. I'm a monster, there is nothing worth acknowledging about me.”
“That's not true Kalin. You are a kind drake. You never have any problems with any of my animals. They all adore you and the music that you play for them. Twilight and Applejack have already asked me if you were available to have pet play-dates with the rest of us.”
“Why would they want me there? Everypony would just run away from me, like they always do.” Fluttershy knew there was no getting through to the drake. He had been hurt by too many ponies over the years, his heart couldn't bare any more pain, for fear of it shattering apart. He needed time, and company. The sort of which she could never give him. He needed a true friend, which she always was to him, and he knew it, but there was another, more deeper connection that he needed, and that was a bond with a pet, who would be his best friend.
“I brought you a gift.” Kalin's eyes shot over to her hands, which were cupped behind her back. There was a short, little bark from whatever it was she held within her grasp. The tiger striped drake watched with worry as she placed a small dog on his bed. It had black fur along its back, with brown along the edge of the face, tail, and paws. Along the underside was a slender white coat that shone brightly in the sun. It's dark amber eyes gazed upon the drake with wonder. Kalin reached toward the dog. It whimpered and cowered away from the drake, its tail between its legs and ears pressed flat against its head.
“See.” Kalin could feel tears coming to his eyes, the thought of even a dog being scared of him made him want to just rush off a cliff and never spread his wings, letting the sudden impact at the bottom be his escape from this hell that he called life. Fluttershy softly cooed to the dog, whispering something that made it bark. The puppy rose its head up, its ears falling flat behind its head as it hesitantly pawed over towards the drake. It sniffed the air, still whimpering as it grew closer to the drake. He said nothing, just watched as it sniffed first his leg, then his hand. It was small, so small in fact that it climbed into his hand and curled in in a ball, rolling onto its back to look up at him.
A ghost of a smile appeared on the drake's face as he pulled the dog closer, placing it against his rapidly beating heart. It licked his thump, wagging its tail before it began to lick his face. It made the drake chuckle, the tiny tongue tickling his scales. “He likes you. His name is Dusk.”
“Thank you Fluttershy.” He placed his unoccupied hand atop her own, letting her know just how thankful he was to her. For Fluttershy, it made her heart begin to beat a mile a minute. He was actually touching her hand! She wanted to scream in joy, sing to the heavens, kiss him even! The contact, though light, left a spark on her hand that made her feel jittery. It was as if there had been a fire inside of her, being stoked until the flames erupted into a roaring blaze.
“Y-Your w-w-w-welcome.” Fluttershy made a beeline for the door, quickly escaping the house before anything more awkward could happen. Kalin just sighed, watching the dog rest on his palm, a glint in its eyes displaying its happiness. Only mere moments ago the dog was terrified of him, but when it saw how hurt he was, it gave him a chance. He was glad that the dog did. It barked, jumping from his hand and running around on the bed.
One by one the stars of Luna's night began to twinkle to life. Each one awoke with a great yawn, followed by a simple stretch before lighting up the night beside of their gallantly shining moon. Clouds whisked away when they beheld the beauty of the night. Far below the lunar sky was the town of Ponyville. Lamp posts began to light up one at a time, almost like a flicker of flames all sparking to life in synchronized union.
A bitter cold wound its way through the town, making the ground carry frost while the stones of the building were like ice. Leaves bristled as they were blown across the open streets, having been emptied hours ago when the ponies heard of the impending cold snap that was coming. For one such drake, who did not hear the news, he wasn't phased in the slightest.
Walking down the cold trodden town's main road, he was perfectly content in his jeans and leather jacket, instrument slung over his shoulder. Beside of him strode his new puppy, walking happily along. It stopped from time to time, either to mark its territory or to sniff something that caught its interest. It always came along however when the drake would whistle to it.
Beyond the veil of buildings he could see the town square, the building of Town Hall looming over the rest like a tower among trees. A single light was on. Below the building was the town's magnificently carved stone fountain. Carved into the sides were the names and faces of the mayors from the dawn of Ponyville to the dusk. Further away the Castle of Friendship cast off its own radiant glow from the multitude of night lights that were scattered around the outside like a host of tiny fireflies, each one a hue of the rainbow.
Kalin sat on the lip of the fountain, breathing in the scents of the night life, letting Luna's moon bathe him it its glorious white light. He felt like a knight within the confines of a small town, just etching for battle. He slipped his instrument out of its case; a violin carved out of pure oak, cedar for the neck with a mixture of the oak, and all colored a deep shade of orange, with a few black stripes to match his scales. It smelled of pine needles and hickory smoked ham that the Apple's made for him from time to time.
He could feel his fingers sliding along the fine net of strings. His heart pounded in his chest, almost as if begging for escape. The tiger striped dragon took a steadying breath. Beside of him the puppy jumped up to curl against his leg for warmth, its tiny body shivering in the cold. Kalin lifted the dog into his lap, allowing better access to his infinite warmth. Breathing in deeply, he pulled the bow across the strings, muttering a curse when his nervousness caused him to create a shrill shriek instead of a gentle, soothing note of pure music.
The puppy seemed to cringe, burying its head in his leg. “I know, that was terrible.” He chuckled while his fingers brushed the fur of the puppy. “Let's try that again.” Again the drake placed the bow against the string, only, this time he hesitated. With a final calming breath of cold night air, he began his song.
It started out with a soft tone akin to that of a wedding sonnet. But as he continued to play, it sounded more akin to a love sonnet written by Shakespony. “Ease of donning life we sing. A tale of woe and of earthly tole...” Kalin began to sing the song that he had written about his mother before she had passed away into the void where he could not follow. Each note that he made, each lyric that he sang, was like the richest of magics to the ears of the town. Little by little, one by one, the ponies came out of their homes dressed in true winter fashion, each one coming to gather around the fountain.
Kalin paid no mind to the crowd, instead continuing to gaze into the night as his song was pulled from the heart. “I wish I could follow you mother, into the dark abyss of the void. I carry on though because I love you...” A few of the mares, stallions even, began to shed tears at the heartfelt sorrow that the drake must have went through. Even Princess Twilight could not keep a few tears from coming to her eyes.
“Ah never woulda' guessed that Kalin was this good.” Applejack murmerd silently, begining to quietly cheer for the dragon. She wiped away the salty moisture from her eyes before she grasped hold of Twilight's hand, raising their combined fist into the air for the drake.
The tiger striped drake was in his own world. Nothing but happiness, love, care, and friendship existed to him. There were no bullies, no darkness aside from the night, and nothing to harm the world in which he had created. Blistering heat cascaded down his face as he opened his eyes, seeing the massive crowd of ponies around him, their tear-stained faces smiling at him. With a renewed sense of courage deep inside of his heart, the dragon ended the song. Cheers rang from the crowd, numerous pairs of hands clapping in unison, some whistling at him.
Kalin readjusted his hold on the violin, letting it rest more comfortably against his shoulder as he strung another note. In a quick fashion he was playing a tune from one of Applejack's family reunions. “Yeehaw!” Applejack moved to the front of the crowd, dancing like a true country farm pony in the small alcove that the crowd had naturally formed around the drake. Kalin could not keep a smile from crossing his lips as he continued to play, the puppy in his lap wagging its tail as its amber eyes watched the country mare.
From somewhere in the crowd he could hear murmurs of approval, soon more ponies joined Applejack. Long into the night the drake played, all the while a smile was plastered across his face. The ponies never ceased their dancing, not even when he changed tunes to a more somber, romantic type of music. Everypony loved his music, and they showed it by remaining with him till the early rays of dawn began to shimmer across the distant horizon in translucent hues of golden, crimson, and cherry red...