Ash

Waking up to the sound of the flying things chirp bothered me every day. I couldn't understand how they could just rudely wake up someone without a second thought. Then again, I don't think I will ever get over it. I slumped over to the side of the cave that I made my new home and scratched a mark into the wall, tallying up the fourteenth day that I have been here.

During those fourteen days, I spent all of them in my cave, only leaving for water and ... food. Hunting was a new concept for me not that I need food in the first place. I'm a dragon, I can last months without food, but not having a means to regain my strength was daunting. The first day was horrible.

I stumbled through the bright, alien landscape searching for food similar to what that golden ponies would give me every day. I quickly realized that there were no silver platters of glazing carrots or steaming greens, only wild, untamed plants that the wildlife eats without hesitation. At first I tried to eat the plants around me thinking that it would provide me with nourishment, but I nearly vomited from the revolting taste and decided that wild plants were out of the question. Unhappy and disheartened, I trotted my way back to my cave to make a new plan.

From the stories that Princess Luna told me, I was a dragon and dragons mostly ate gems or meat. At first when I realized that the food that the ponies gave me was neither of the two. I made the assumption that they didn't have what the princess said and tried to make up for it with what they had. Though, I think now that they only ate vegetables and coveted their gems. "Selfish bastards."

I don't blame the golden ponies for fearing me. In the princess' stories, dragons are some of the most feared creatures to pony kind. Dragons, once they were big enough, could take whatever they wanted when they wanted.

"If only I could be that big and strong," I sighed. With only stories to go on of my past, I gathered dead wood to make a fire for the night and hopefully cook me up a meal if I caught something, but I never did. Each day was the same thing; I would get so close to catching a meal out of one of those small white things with bushy tails, but they would always jump out of my claws or ran away faster than I could ever imagine. And after each failed attempt at food, I slumped my way back to my cave defeated.

I sat in a patch of grass on the edge of a stream and watched the legless things that flew through the water with ease. I was mentally tired, my body sore from falling out of one of the tall things in an attempt to catch one of those flying things as part of my failure of hunting, and didn't want to do anything today.

I found it strangely amusing when one of the little water-flyers was eaten by a bigger water-flyers whole. I wondered if it could still move inside its hunter in attempt break free from its hunters grasp, but something inside me said otherwise and my mind wandered back to my gray box I used to call home.

I was born in that gray box and I thought I would stay there forever. In a sense, I could relate to the little water-flyer. That box was my hunter that swallowed me whole. I didn't dare to fight for freedom and accepted my fate, but somewhere inside me I wanted to be free but know that I am. I want to go back. I don't want to fight for survival anymore, I miss free food, I miss the stories that Princess Luna would tell me, but I have to accept that will never happen.

I closed my eyes and rested my head on the soft grass and listened to the sound of the stream. I quickly found myself dozing off into sleep and began to dream of emptiness then in an instant I woke up to something staring at me by the stream. It was a pony but not dressed in the gold I was used to. It was butter-yellow with a long pink mane that covered one of her eyes. Beside her was one of those white things that I tried to catch during my failed hunting spree. We both stared at each other with the same surprised expression. The white thing beside her didn't have the same look about him. Though, if he was a companion to the butter-yellow mare with wings, I think he is off of the menu.... for now. I lifted a claw and waved to the mare. She, however, blushed and sheepishly trotted over to me with her glaring white thing beside her.

"Uh.... h-h-hello there little dragon I-I'm Fluttershy. I was wondering if you are u-um. Nice?" she whispered so softly that I could just barely hear her clearly.
Yes?" I replied slightly confused to her question.

"O-oh, um, that's great to hear," Fluttershy smiled, "can I ask you something?"

"Sure?"

"You wouldn't happen to see a BIG scary monster by any ch-ch-chance?"

"Um," I thought for a moment thinking if I would have spotted something that would make such a mare tremble with ease, but nothing came to mind. Though, for a first encounter with something that I could talk to without running in fear, I wonder if she has any food? If I help her find the BIG scary monster, maybe she could help me with where I am.

"No, sorry, but I could help you if you want?" I smiled bag careful not to show my teeth.

Fluttershy and her so called, "Angel," and I walked around the forest in search for this so called, "Monster" that has been terrorizing her animal friends for the past couple of week's. I quickly realized that there was something off with the description that the mare gave me of the creature. As we stopped for lunch at my cave, I tried to recall what she told me. The monster was; Black with teeth for daggers, two horns that could pierce the trees in a single thrust and a tail with a blade in the shape of a short sword with a crescent moon hilt.... "wait a minute," I thought. I looked at my tail then felt my horns and both matched to what the monster should look like.

"No, that can't be right," I thought. I looked over to see Fluttershy pull out a couple of sandwiches and the "Angel," glaring at me. "It must be a coincidence," I whispered.

"Is something that matter?" Fluttershy asked while giving me a sandwich. I looked up at her and smiled realizing that I was the monster that we were looking for.

"Nothing," I replied.