Fire Dancer

Chapters

Chapter 1: Jardin de la Fuego
Chapter 2: Fiery Family Feud
Chapter 3: Half Home
Extra Chapter
Chapter 4: Dragon Lust (Chivalry)

Chapter 1: Jardin de la Fuego

MLP FiM Fanfic: Fire Dancer
By: Lucario247
Edited by: Ice-tea

Chapter 1: Jardin de la Fuego

I always love going to the garden. It's probably my most favorite spot in all of Fillydelphia. I somehow find a strange calm here, observing the flowers that I could easily ignite, if I wanted to. But I knew that I would never, ever, burn this place. It's maybe the only place in Fillydelphia that is free from the horrible noises of the streets. Free from the clopping of hooves on pavement. Free from the shouting of bratty foals, or the occasional clatter of gunfire from a low life thug that prowls the alleyways.

That's why I come here every time before I preform. Whether it is a street performance or an actual paid job, I always arrive in the garden. This oh so flammable garden. I come here to clear my head of any distractions that might hinder my performance.

Today I was trying to forget the fact that my parents were arguing again about my career choice. My father was siding with me about how I should be able to express my talents without consequence. However, my mother was objecting and saying that my "fire antics" would be a bad influence on my sister, Pepper. I didn't really care who won the argument, I would still be doing my thing no matter what.

I looked over at the coy pond. Orange fish that had black or white spots on them, swam around lazily. I always had a soft spot for fish. They have a means of escape from the destruction that I can cause. Their liquid habitat protects them from my "ability".

My eyes unfocused from the fish, to the surface of the water itself. I stared at the reflection of myself that was cast upon the rippling pond. Golden eyes mirrored the melancholy that I was feeling. Insomnia from the past few nights caused my orange face to have dark lines, and my crimson hair to be unkept and scraggly. The feathers of my wings were ruffled in angst. I can't remember why I had that anxiety inside me. Maybe it was because I was going to try my new trick, or because of how my family will react if I get caught. Either way, I was anxious.

I turned from the pond and stared up at the large Maple tree that stood next to it. The afternoon sun streamed in between curved leaves and dappled my face and the ground with warm sunlight. I stared at Celestia's burning sphere and inhaled oxygen and confidence. As to not let the confidence escape with the exhale, I let out a breath of fire instead. I watched as the wisps of flame danced before my eyes, and then dissipate in a puff of smoke.

Feeling content and relaxed again, thanks to the garden, I trotted over and grabbed my supplies and slipped them onto my back. Then I turned and left the garden.

As soon as I passed the threshold of the park, the sounds of the city re-entered my ears. The chatter of ponies and the mechanical sounds of carts reverberated through the park. Very few ponies ever came to the park, yet it was still very well preserved, and very green. But as I trotted along the path, the green came to an end, and was replaced by the dull gray of sidewalk.

I looked around at the bustling crowd of ponies. Large stallions carried heavily loaded carts to and fro along the streets. Colts and mares rushed along the pavement to get to wherever they're going. I look up and stare in boredom at the towering office buildings and apartment complexes. Pegasi zoom by, taking the Fly Way rather than walking through the streets. I personally didn't like the Fly Way. If I somehow crashed into another pony, we would both crash to the ground and cause a bad accident in the streets. I've heard in the news about ponies that have died from these accidents.

I returned my gaze to the streets and began trotting along the pavement. I headed toward the small plaza area that was two blocks away. I ambivalently watched as ponies of all different shapes and sizes rushed by me. I wasn't in any real hurry, so I simply meandered to the plaza. Although, I didn't want to be so slow that I would be shortening my performance time.

The volume of ponies thinned as I passed a street that was really popular with the locals. I crossed over to the plaza and set my bag down on the ground, near a small wall. Tourists stood around in groups and gawked at the sights. I silently laughed to myself. They should know that tourists are prime targets for pickpockets. The most important rule of the city, is don't act like a tourist.

I turned to my pack and pulled out the small jar filled with oil and unscrewed the lid. I then pulled out one of my favorite batons, and a lighter. I tied my mane back so that it wouldn't catch fire. Actually, it was impossible for my mane to catch fire, I mainly did that as to not arouse suspicion that I was some sort of "super pony". I grasped the baton in my mouth and dipped the charred ends of it into the oil jar. I set the lighter on the ground and used one of my forehooves to light it. I bent my head down and held each end of the baton over the steady flame. Several ponies turned their heads when they heard the "fwoosh" sound that an igniting fire makes. I tossed the baton up into the air and smiled to my self.

"Here we go." I said under my breath as gravity began to pull the flaming baton back towards me.

As the baton zoomed towards me, I angled my face upward towards it. The baton landed on my nose and began spinning. I felt the heat rush past my face, but I was unfazed. I opened my eyes a bit and saw a small crowd of ponies watching my fiery display.

I flipped the baton into the air again. This time i stuck my rump out and caught the baton. I spun my hips around so that the baton would continue spinning. Several young colts gawked at the picture. I rolled my eyes and pulled out another baton and dipped it into the oil, while still spinning the flaming baton.

I lit the second baton up and held it in my mouth. I suddenly pushed my pelvis into the air, sending baton 1 flying. I straightened up and threw baton 2 into the air as well. Then, using the practice that I conducted, I stood on my hind legs and caught the two batons in my outstretched forehooves.

The batons continued to spin on the flat surface of my hooves while the continually growing crowd clapped. I inhaled, trying to calm myself. The next trick I was going to do was pretty hard, and I had only gotten it twice. I exhaled, making sure to not let any flame escape my lips.

I took baton 1, in my right hoof, and threw it into the air. Then I passed baton 2 from my left hoof to my right hoof. I hit baton 2 into the air as baton 1 landed in my left hoof. I continued to juggle the batons for a good thirty seconds, my record. Suddenly, on of the batons slid from my hooves and spun towards the ground. I stuck one of my hindhooves out and kicked the baton back into the air. But the flaming end of the baton was the part that I kicked.

As to not blow my cover, I began hopping on my one "unburned" hoof as I continued juggling. Once I was satisfied about the amount of juggles that I did, I caught both batons and twirled them in my hooves. I took the bottom ends of the batons and blew the flames out. Then I twirled the batons to their burning ends. To give the audience one last burst of excitement, I tilt my head back and let the flame burst from my throat, holding the burning ends up to my mouth.

To anypony else, it would look like I was simply blowing the flames from the batons into the air with a simple party trick. But in reality, the flames that we're spiraling upwards were coming from a gland sac inside my throat. This gland allows me to breathe fire.

After shooting flames into the air, I spin the batons around and then blow the flames out. The batons clatter to the ground as I stomp my tired forehooves onto the ground. I looked up at the completely giant crowd of ponies, who were staring, slack jawed, at my brilliant performance. Then all of a sudden the audience burst into cheering applause. A small filly at the front of the crowd began jumping around, mimicking my movements. This made me smile. I went over and picked up a small basket from my saddle bag. I grabbed in my mouth and turned back towards the crowd.

They began throwing money into the basket before I'd even sat it down. I stood there and smiled, saying thanks to the ponies who congratulated me on my performance. I picked up the money basket and dumped the cash into a small pocket. As I stood up to grab my batons, I noticed a pony standing a few yards away. He was a police officer. When I made eye contact with him, he began walking towards me.

"Horseapples..." I said under my breath as I rushed to grab my batons.

I threw them into my bags and then slid the barding onto my back. The police officer noticed my rush and began cantering towards me. I strapped the bag to my back and then took off. I jumped over a bench and then slid under a guardrail that was surrounding a planted area. In front of me, across a large gap, the highway of ponies pulling carts sat, tempting me to jump. I crouched to the ground and then leapt across the gap, much to the astonishment of onlookers. I spread my wings and sailed over the gap. I turned around to look for the pursuing police officer. My heart almost stopped when I saw the police officer soaring over the gap using his Pegasus wings.

"Damn..."

I took off towards the oncoming traffic. Colts reared up and whinnied in protest when I cut them off. My evasiveness allowed me to dodge any carriages that sped towards me. As soon as I cleared the traffic, I turned to look at the pursuer. He was flying over the jammed traffic.

I panicked and jumped to the train tracks below. All the trains down there were no longer in service and were covered in graffiti. I continued to run away from the police officer who was defending to the train yard. I ran around an old engine and slid underneath it. Thinking that I'd lost the officer I continued running.

That's when I tripped and fell down a muddy slope.

I rolled down the slope, feeling my appendages take hit after hit from the wet and dirty ground. When I reached the bottom I laid there for a moment trying to recover from the fall. When I tried to get to my hooves, my joints collapsed from under my weight. In desperation, I called out for help.

"Help! Please, I think I'm hurt!"

I heard the beat of wings above me and I turned to look. To my dismay, my rescuer was somepony I had hoped wouldn't be around.

"Next time you should stick to the alleys." said the police officer with much sarcasm.

"Now, what's your name?"

"...Wisp Celsius" I said reluctantly

"Alright, Miss Celsius. So why were you performing out in the streets?" asked the police officer

"Um, to make money." I said with as much sass as I could.

"What? Your parents got finance issues or something? Or are you just to lazy to get a real job?"

I had half a mind to spew a giant fireball in his face. I caught the tone in his voice that meant the question to be rhetorical. He tapped away at a computer on the counter while I sat on a plastic stool. He'd taken me down to the Fillydelphia PS. I guess he was profiling me or something. After clicking a few times he turned to me.

"It says here that your family suffered from a house fire several years ago."

How could I forget?

It happened atleast five years ago. Back when Pepper was still a baby. I remember, the whole catastrophe began with a dream. In the dream, I was flying around with Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts. We began to dive towards the ground. In the dream, I was so happy, I bet I was grinning in my sleep. Then suddenly, Spitfire is struck by lightning, and the ground suddenly turns into a giant monster. The monster opened its jaws and swallowed me whole. I woke up screaming, only to find my room completely engulfed in an inferno. Somehow, the flames weren't hurting me. I jumped out of my flaming bed and ran into the smoking hallway. I was going to jump down the stairs, when I heard the cries of my baby sister. I ran to her room and saw that the wall adjacent to my room was completely scorched. It was about to fall over into Pepper's crib. I scooped her up and then bolted from the room as the wall crashed to the ground. I got outside and reunited with my parents. And from there we watched our house burn.

I was shaken from my daydream when the police officer called to me.

"Miss Celsius!"

"Yes?!" I said jumping in surprise

He groaned and then said, "Alright, the cost for performing in the streets would normally be 250 bits, but seeing how you "resisted law enforcement", the fine is being bumped up to 750."

My eyes bulged, "750!!!"

He nodded his head. "It seems you collected about 250 from that dazzling show you put on. That just leaves you with 500 left." he said smugly

If I hadn't seen a picture with him, a mare, and two foals on his counter, I would've set the entire building ablaze right then.

"Well, we're all done with you here. We'll have someone escort you home."

"Huh?" I did a double take, "Um, that's okay actually! I don't require any assistance at all! Heheh!"

"Yeeeah... No. You're being escorted."

My heart almost stopped. If my parents found out that I'd resisted arrest, they'd skin me alive. I barely even noticed the police pony herding me into the cop carriage. I shuddered in fear about what my consequences would be. To try to calm myself I looked out at the streets of Fillydelphia. I couldn't help but have my thoughts drift back to the night of the fire.

When the firefighter ponies arrived, I noticed something that appeared on my flanks. It was the flame that is still plastered to my hips to this day. The strange blaze that sears my Mind with the memories of the fire. You see, this fire cutie mark that I received that day, symbolized not only my special talent of dancing with fire, but also my immunity to it and my ability to breathe it from my mouth.

A few months after the fire, when we moved to Fillydelphia, my parents had a talk with me.

"Wisp. It's time we talked about your father." my mother, Blaiz, had said.

"What do you mean? Dad's right here." I gestured to my father, Scolville, who was sitting next o my mother on a couch.

"No, Wisp. Your real father."

My look of confusion on my face told her to continue.

"Have you ever wondered why you're the only Pegasus in a family full of unicorns?" she said out of the blue

"What does that have to do with dad? Can you just get to the point already."

She sighed, a look of regret flashed across her face.

"Wisp. I don't want to blame you, but you caused that fire in our house."

The shock was immense. I nearly fell over.

"How could I have caused that?" I asked after I'd recovered.

My mother and father exchanged worried looks.

She sighed and said, "Wisp, I don't want to alarm you, but your real father is... Is not a pony."

She looked at me with tears in her eyes, "Your father is a dragon."

The slamming of the carriage door shook me from my daydream. I looked out the window and saw my house. It was almost night now, and the light in the kitchen was on along with the light in Pepper's room. Butterflies swished in my stomach as the police pony opened the door for me to leave the carriage. As we walked up to the door, I thought of how many ways my mom could possibly kill me. Figuratively of course.

The police colt rang the doorbell. We then waited for someone to answer. To try to eliminate my angst, I decided to prank the police pony.

"Nice socks."

He looked down at his bare hooves. Realizing that he'd been suckered into a foal's trick he looked at me irritably. I gave him my best "I'm just a young silly mare" look as the door opened. A small unicorn filly peeked out from the other side of the door.

"Wisp!" she cried as she jumped towards me.

"Hey there Pepper!" I said as I rubbed her grassy green mane.

She then broke away from our hug and said, "Mommy and Daddy are supper worried about you! I should go get them and tell them you're okay!" Her red cheeks puffed up in exaggeration.

"Um, that's okay there Miss Hothead! I don't want you bothering them on...this, uh, quiet evening. Heh." I said as my parents walked to the door, "Uh, hi...Mom and Dad."

"Wisp, are you okay?!" said my mother as she hugged me.

"Yeah, Mom. I'm fine."

The police colt cleared his throat to gain my parents' attention, "I presume you're Mr. and Mrs. Celsius? I'm Lt. Ward from the 17th precinct. We had a little, "disturbance" with Miss Wisp this afternoon. Details will be explained in the fine that you'll be receiving in the mail, about sometime this week."

I winced when he said this. My parents stared at him blankly. Pepper was looking between me and the police pony with a confused look on her face. He turned to face me.

"Next time you go throwin' fire around, I suggest you get a permit." he turned to my parents, "Have a good rest of your evening."

He turned and trotted out of the door. My dad shut the door behind him and turned to look at my mom. She had her hoof against her forehead and was rubbing her face.

"Pepper? Can you please go to your room for a second? Me and Daddy need to have a talk with Wisp."

She pouted for a second before turning and slowly hopping towards her room. When she was out of sight, my mom turned to look at me.

"What did you do this time?"

"I just did my normal show." to try to lighten the mood, I tried to tell her about the succes with my new trick, "And I managed to get the-"

"What the hay are you thinking?!" she yelled at me.

I didn't know how to respond.

"Everytime you step outside, you use your fire for some flashy purpose! You're supposed to be keeping a low profile! And yet you go around and try to impress colts with these weird "fire dancing" tricks!"

That pissed me off, "Hey! I don't do it for the colts! I'm only in it for the bits!"

"Either way, it's a scandalous thing!"

"No it's not! It's a pretty decent living!"

My father just stood by, looking at whoever was speaking.

"It's probably only better than being a pole dancer!" she spewed

That made me snap, "I'm just trying to get as many blessings as I can from this curse!!!" and with that I charged up to my room.

I slammed the door shut and locked it. My chest heaving in exhaustion and anger, I trot over to my trophy cabinet and shove all of it on the ground. As I begin to stomp on the trophies, the tears began to roll down my cheeks. When the trophies became nothing more than a pile of golden plastic dust, I jumped onto my bed and cried.

"Barely better than a pole dancer!" I thought to myself, "How dare she?! She's the one who did it with the damn dragon anyways! It's not my fault I have to live through this hell!"

Eventually the tears came to an end. I just lay there, staring at the ceiling. Not much went through my head. Just thoughts of pointless junk. I was broken from my thoughts when I heard my sisters voice outside my door.

"Wisp...? Can I come in?"

I got off my bed and went to the door. When I opened the door, Pepper was standing there, holding her stuffed polar bear, "Bear Bear". She had some tear lines along her dark red cheeks.

"Hey. What's wrong? You have another nightmare?"

She nodded and sniffed.

"Which one?"

"The one with the fire." she sniffled

I hugged her and carried her over to my bed and sat her down.

"I can sleep with you?"

"Of course you can, Miss Hothead!"

I crawled onto the bed and she snuggled up next to me. I pulled the covers over us and rolled over so I could face her.

"Wisp?"

"Yeah?"

"I can't get the dream out of my head."

I felt really guilty. Because the dream she was talking about was the memory of the fire five years ago. The fire that I started. I leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"Why don't you think about you being a fire dancer, like me?"

"No way! If I'm going to be something, I'm going to be the best spicy chef ever!" she said with a glint in her eye

She had the strangest obsession with spicy foods. The Celsius family has had a history of spicy loving ponies. My dad says she's a true Celsius.

"Oh really?! What if I wanna be a chef?"

"No! you can't be a chef! I'm the chef! You've gotta be the fire dancer." she let out a big yawn, "That way...you can perform at...my restaurant..."

And with that she shut her eyes. Smiling to myself, I laid my head down on my pillow and began stroking Pepper's green mane. Slowly, my eyes began to droop and I let out a yawn myself.

And with high hopes for the next day, I fell asleep.

Chapter 2: Fiery Family Feud

I was unfortunately grounded for ten days. I couldn't leave the house or practice my fire dancing. But I waited it out. It actually wasn't that much of a bad thing. I was able to play with Pepper and spend a lot of time with her. The fine came in and I worked honestly to pay it off. I'm not exactly sure why I was acting the way I was. Maybe to show my parents how responsible I really am. Or just to prove that my career is in fact very decent and not the least bit scandalous.

On the last day of my punishment, I managed to finish working for the fine. I was lying in my room, exhausted from working in the backyard.

"Wisp!? Can you come down here for a second?!" I heard my mother shout from downstairs.

I groaned but still sat up and trotted downstairs. My parents were standing really close to each other. They were obviously hiding something that was sitting on the table.

"What are you hiding?" I asked suspiciously.

"Well, your father and I have noticed that you have been working really hard to pay off the fine. So we decided to give you a small reward!" my mother said cheerily.

She and my dad moved and revealed a box. I looked at it and gasped.

"This... This is the dress that I wanted..." I was dumbfounded about how my parents had rewarded me.

It wasn't necessarily a party dress. It was more for my performances. The material was completely non-flammable, yet soft and light. The dress would stretch across my back and cover my flanks, while still allowing my tail to hang freely. It was in the pattern of a flame with the cliched colors of red, yellow, and orange. The dress came with a pair of stockings that were embroided with the same flame pattern. A choker would be around my neck, sporting a small metal emblem of a flame. While it would seem more like some sort of elaborate party dress, this would be the perfect outfit for a staged show.

"Mom... Dad, thank you so much!" I jumped up and hugged my parents.

Before they could respond, I grabbed the box and charged up to my room.

"I've gotta try this on!" I thought to myself, "I'll also need to practice in it."

I sat the box onto my bed and practically shredded it open. I pulled the dress out and began putting the clothing on. After I finished dressing I glanced at myself in the mirror. The dresses colors matched my color palette almost perfectly. Also the flame matched my personality and cutie mark.

"If I just put on some eyeliner and maybe some earrings, this outfit would be worthy of Photo Finish!" I thought to myself.

"Wow! You look so pretty!"

I nearly coughed up a fireball from the shock. Pepper had this strange habit of sneaking up on somepony without being noticed.

"Sweet Celestia, Pepper! You nearly scared the cutie mark off of me!"

"Sorry..." she looked genuinely ashamed.

"Hey, it's fine. Wanna watch me practice?"

She nearly went through the roof with excitement, "Would I?!"

A few days later, I was walking through the streets of Fillydelphia. I had run out of oil, so I was going to get some more. I weaved my way through the thick mass of ponies. I stopped trotting and leaned against a wall for a moment. I tugged at the choker that was around my neck. I decided that I wanted to wear that on the way to the hardware store. It was a bit tight, but I managed. I continued to trot to the hardware store.

When I reached the building I walked in and was greeted by an enthusiastic Zeta. She bounced around happily, causing her golden hair to fall into her black face and red eyes.

"Hi Wisp!!! Welcome back!!"

"Hi Zeta..." I said while rubbing my ear

"Oh! You're here for a new jar of oil, aren't you?!"

"Yup." I tried to not come here as often, because Zeta kind of weirds me out.

"I actually ordered a special type of oil, just for you! Why don't you come on back and I'll show you!"

"Gee, Zeta... That's awful nice of you!"

"Anything for our best customer!"

The energetic clerk walked behind the counter and motioned for me to follow her. I reluctantly followed. She brought me to a sort of staff room. She pulled out a jar of a saucy brown liquid.

"This new oil is designed to stay aflame longer, and it also releases fumes that are healthy to the environment!"

"Hm... Sounds interesting. I think I'll give it a shot. How much does...this cost... Uh, what are you doing, Zeta?"

She was holding the string to her clerk apron in her mouth. Her upper eyelids were lowered and she was staring at me strangely, almost like she was drunk. She was blushing slightly and she had a sly grin. She yanked the string and the apron fell to the floor, revealing black and gray striped socks on her four hooves. I watched in horror as she turned and looked at me over her shoulder, in way that might've been a seductive look for a colt.

"Why don't we use this oil for something else?" she cooed, "I was thinking, maybe...lubrication?"

I grabbed the jar and bolted from behind the counter. I didn't even bother going around the counter, I just went over. I literally flew out the door. After I sprinted a good block away, I exhaled in relief. I fortunately knew what days Zeta was off work.

I walked along, trying to forget what had just happened. I knew that Zeta was kinda obsessed with me, but I didn't think she'd go lesbo! It's actually not that I have a problem against lesbians, it's just I have a problem when they hit on me.

"Excuse me, aren't you that fire dancer that preformed at Harmony Plaza?"

I looked up and saw a pretty average colt standing in front of me. He had a mahogany coat with a chocolate mane. He had a suit on.

"Um, yes...?"

"I'm Mr. Daniels, but everypony calls me Jack!"

"Well its nice to meet you, Jack. I guess... Can I ask what you want?"

His polite smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of remembrance, "Oh right." he cleared his throat before continuing.

"I own a bar just a few blocks away from here, and we usually have a band play some songs on Wednesday nights. But when I saw your show a few weeks ago, I was stunned. I'm getting a bit off point so, I was wondering if you would be interested in performing at my bar!"

I was somewhat shocked. I rarely get "invited" to perform at places. Most of the time I just apply for jobs. Although, performing at bars is kinda risky. If I messed up and maybe dropped something, well, let's just say alcohol and fire don't equal happiness and joy. I remember, I performed at a bar once. I think they're still cleaning up the ashes. But that's another story.

"Um, I don't usually get hit with this kind of offer," he gave me a questioning look, "But I'd be glad to! Wait, as long as I can stay fully clothed."

He waved at me reassuringly, "Don't worry, it's not that kind of a place."

I sighed in relief. Jack gave me the time I should arrive to get hair and makeup done. He also told me the pay. 2500 bits! The most I've ever made. That meant I had to take the job.

I waved good bye to Jack and then continued back towards my house. I was happy. But I realized that I was going to have to do some hardcore planning and practicing.

And so I trotted home, thinking of my new job, and the pay.

My parents were reluctant to allow me to take the job. But they still agreed. They thought it would benefit my career planning or something. I quickly got dressed in my new dress and rushed outside. I signaled a taxi to take me to the bar. I didn't want to waste my time walking, so I could have more time to practice. About halfway to the place I realized that I hadn't visited the garden.

"Taxi! Take me to Serenity Park instead."

"We passed that a while ago. It'll cost ya extra. Ya sure?"

"Yes."

He turned the carriage around and headed to the park. I payed him and then quickly dashed into the garden. I sat on a nearby bench and tried to calm myself. I was getting pretty nervous. But I still knew I could do this.

I got up to leave the garden and grabbed my bag of things. The bar was. Lose enough that I could walk the rest of the way. As I cantered to the place, ponies stared at me in my dress. I didn't have time to acknowledge them.

When I arrived at the bar I headed backstage to unpack my things. The bar wasn't what I had expected. It was more of a techno dance club rather than a regular sports bar. I pulled out my special ribbon and the jar of new oil. I was still backstage when Jack came onto the stage.

"Ladies and gentlecolts, I'd like to introduce Wisp, the Fire Dancer."

A short but sweet introduction. And then I walked out from behind the curtain. I was greeted by polite applause and some cat calls from a few of the male audience members. I blushed a little bit.

I took the jar and unscrewed the lid. I dipped the entire length of the ribbon into the oil, save for the handle. After a moment of soaking it, I pulled the ribbon out and let the extra oil drip off. I smiled as I said something I had always wanted to say.

"Um, Please don't try any of this at home, or anywhere else for that matter. I am a professional and have had days of practice."

I got a few smiles and snickers from the crowd.

"Oh, and can somepony bring me a small tub full of water?"

A waiter near the bar hurried into the kitchen and then returned with a plastic bucket with some soap water in it. He smiled at me as he placed the bucket on the stage. I thought I caught sight of a small blush, but he walked away before I could get a good enough look.

I pulled the ribbon away and shook any extra oil off do it. I glanced at the audience for a moment. The group of ponies were watching me expectantly. Some colts were swooning over me in my dress. Some of their dates looked at them disapprovingly.

I took a deep breath as I prepared to begin the show. I took the ribbon and twirled it in the air as I pulled out my lighter. I flicked it on and brought the steady flame towards the oiled fabric. The ribbon instantly caught fire as I continued twirling it. Everypony in the place looked at me in shock and awe. I guess the DJ thought it would be interesting to put on a song while I performed. A poppy techno house song came on.

"Meh." I thought

I didn't necessarily enjoy house, but, it was very easy to dance to. I swayed my flank to the beat of the song as I spun the flaming ribbon in front of me, making an infinity symbol. I then pulled away from the pattern and spun the ribbon above me, encasing me in a spiraling bubble of fire. I stood there for a few seconds, continuing to move my hips to the song. Then I tossed the ribbon into the air. I caught it and made a giant loop in the air. I jumped through the loop. Like a lasso. I continued doing this several times until I tossed the ribbon into the air again. I caught it and quickly dumped the flaming liquid into the tub of water. As the ribbon extinguished with a hiss I turned to the audience, who stared, dumbfounded, at my performance.

Then they all burst out in jubilant applause.

I bowed to them and then continued with the show. It was much like the performance at Harmony Plaza, only the flaming ribbon thing was new. After the show I stood by the bar and received many congratulations and compliments. I was standing there, talking to a beige colt, when somepony else approached me. I finished my conversation with the colt and turned my attention to the newcomer. It was the waiter that brought up the bucket of water. He smiled at me as he opened his mouth to talk

"Hey. You did a pretty good job up there." he gestured towards the stage

"Thanks."

"I'm Bud by the way."

"Wisp. Nice to meet you." We shook hooves.

"You must like water a lot." he said

"Huh? I don't understand."

"Well considering you do this for a living, you must find some sort of safe haven in water."

I was surprised. His inference was spot on.

"Um, yeah actually."

"That's perfect. Because, um, well... You seem like the type of mare who likes to swim, and there's a giant pool nearby that just recently opened and-"

"Bud, are you asking me on a date?" I said with a smile

"Um, yeah..."

I looked at him as he said this. He was blushing profusely and staring at the ground nervously. He did look rather handsome. And this was actually the first time a colt has asked me out himself. Usually whenever I had a crush on a colt, I was the braver one and asked him out. But that's a different matter.

"Sure. When can I meet you?"

He looked up, relief in his eyes. We set up a date to meet and then he trotted away to continue doing his job.

Later that night I was at home. I had just gotten back from the club. I placed my costume, supplies, and paycheck in my room as I headed to take a shower. I entered the bathroom and closed the door. I turned the handle for the water just enough so that water could come out the nozzle. I preferred my showers to be lukewarm. I stepped into the cool drizzle allowed the liquid to run down my muzzle.

I couldn't help but fantasize about the date I was going to have. I couldn't wait to get to know Bud and just go swimming in general. My family has had a bad history with water so my parents rarely let me swim. I wondered what this pool would be like. I wondered what I should wear or if I should wear anything. Probably something, like a-

I was torn from my thoughts when the lights in the bathroom suddenly turned off. I stood there, somewhat frightened, as the water continued to pour down on me. I was about to breath some flame to illuminate the room when I noticed a orange glow coming from the skylight. It gave me enough light to see my surroundings. I simply thought that it was a simple blackout. I went back to my shower. My thoughts soon returned to the date as I reached over to grab the mane conditioner.

"I'll probably just wear a short skirt that I won't mind getting-EEEK!"

The water from the shower head suddenly turned ice cold. I almost jumped out of the shower because of the sudden change in temperature. But soon the water returned to normal and I stepped back into the stream of water. I turned and pulled the shower curtain close. But I stopped when I noticed something. The water was still growing in temperature. The shower was becoming really steamy. Soon the water turned to steam before it even hit the bottom of the bathtub. Normally this would scald any other ponies body beyond recognition, however I was immune to the heat. I could still feel the heat of it on my body, but it was rather uncomfortable then painful.

I looked up and noticed that the shower head was glowing red from the heat. I could see cracks forming on the casing. I quickly jumped out of the shower and ducked as the shower head exploded. Shards of metal and plastic imbedded themselves into the walls. I slowly got up and opened the door to the hallway. I heard shouts coming from outside and I quickly ran to the back door. I entered the kitchen as my father came rushing in, carrying my screaming sister. She saw me and rushed to me.

"Wisp! It's Mommy!" she pointed outside. She had tears in her eyes

I nodded and jumped outside. The scene outside shocked me. The city of Fillydelphia was completely trashed. Buildings were on fire. Others were crushed. But the weirdest thing was the closest to me. My mother was standing in the middle of the yard, stating up at a gigantic beast.

"Mom!" I called

She and the creature both turned their heads to me.

"Be careful Wisp!" I heard Pepper yell from the kitchen.

I ran to my mother and stood between her and the beast in a defensive stance. I got a good look at the creature from this angle. I gasped when I realized what the creature was.

The dragon had orange scales that covered all of its body except its stomach. It's stomach and spines were yellow. It's head was more rectangular than the slender heads of dragons I've seen in books. It's claw looked to be about three feet long, and could easily carry me in its palm. It leaned over and came very close to my mother and me.

"Is this the one?" it asked in a deep rumbling voice

"Yes she is..." replied my mother sadly.

I turned to her. I was about to ask her what they both were talking about when the dragon cut me off.

"I must make sure that you're correct."

He took in a massive amount of air. I saw into his mouth. Deep in his throat a yellow glow began to emanate. I turned to my mother, but noticed she was standing several feet away from me. I turned back to the dragon and then realized what he was going to do. I stood, wide eyed as the dragon continued to draw in breath. Before the dragon released, I heard my sister cry out.

"WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And then the dragon breathed fire on me.

The sensation was unbearable. It felt like somepony was dumping hot sand all over my body. All the moisture on my body left from the shower, instantly evaporated. I felt the ground beneath my hooves turn to ash. But then, like it had started, the flames ceased.

I crawled up out of the ashy pit that was left. My entire body was smeared with ash. I saw the dragon shake his head in acceptance.

"This-She is the one."

"What the hell are you talking about!?!" I screamed at the dragon and my mother.

She trotted up, "Wisp, this is Ragnarok, King of the Western Dragons."

I looked up at the giant monster and I anticipated what was coming next.

"And he's your real father."

The shock sent the air right out of my chest. This creature, which just nearly burned me to cinders, is my father. I knew my father was a dragon, but not some humongous giant that destroys things.

"How did you even have...intercourse with him in the first place?" I blurted suddenly

"Well, you should have seen him thirty years ago. That was when, well you know..." she replied

"Thirty years ago? Mom, I'm nineteen."

"Let's just say that it takes a while for dragon eggs to hatch."

"What?!? I came from an egg?!!?"

"Yes. And let me just say it was a very painful experience during the delivery. It was even harder how to explain to the doctor how an egg the size of a filly came out of my-"

"Okay. I don't want to hear this." I said, repulsed at the image.

Ragnarok continued on.

"Because of her dragon heritage, she is to return to Vulcan with me and commit to her duties as dragon princess."

"What?!" I shrieked

"You can't take her away." my mother growled.

"Actually, I can. Because if I don't, this city is as good as ashes."

My mother and I gasped at his threat. We had no choice but to accept his demand.

"Fine." I grumbled

He smirked and laid a giant hand onto the ground. I stepped onto it and looked towards the ground sadly. My life was about to change forever. I didn't even know if I would see Fillydelphia again. I felt tears in my eyes but I stopped them from flowing. Yet, i still felt sad. I would never be able to spend my earned money. I would never go on that date with Bud. I probably would never see my family ever again. The thought of this causes a single tear to fall down my cheek.

"I must be strong. If I falter now, I will be judged as a coward. And I know that I'm not a coward." I thought.

"Wisp?! Were are you taking her?! Wisp!!" called Pepper from the ground, which was now a good fifteen feet below me.

I couldn't talk to her now. If I did I would cry until there was nothing left. But still, she called to me.

"Wisp! Please, don't take her!"

"Pepper! I'm going to be gone for a while."

"I don't want you to leave!" she had tears streaming down her face and dripping off her chin.

"I promise you, I will be back." my voice faltered at the end. Tears began to roll from my eyes as well.

"You monster! Give my sister back to me!" she screamed at Ragnarok

He looked down at her. "Hm... This one is not mine. How is she here?"

Just then, my father ran out to grab Pepper. Ragnarok saw this and made a small smirk.

"Let's see if there's anything extra for the princess to do."

And with that he spread his wings and took off. I heard my sister screaming my name. I screamed hers back. When I didn't hear her anymore, I still screamed. I screamed until my voice went raw. And then I let the tears flow.

I flew alongside Ragnarok as we headed towards this so called "Vulcan". He always flew close to me so I could not escape. I'd already tried. Let's just he has long arms and a strong grip.

We continued flying as the morning sun rose behind us. Tears were still falling, but not as frequently and without the sobs. I let them fall, and I hoped that my "father" saw them. Because, then he would realize how much it hurt to leave my home, my life behind. I hoped he saw these tears and feared that I would never stop trying to return home, because that is what I was going to do.

And so, as we flew to Vulcan, my tears falling to the earth below, I thought of the many different ways to desert this dragon next to me.

Chapter 3: Half Home

It was around noon when Ragnarok and I arrived at Vulcan. I remember seeing the place when we were flying. The sheer amount of lava that surrounded the village is what amazed me. There were at least a dozen lava flows that ran down the side of the mesa. On the flat of the mountain, pools of molten rock littered the area. There was even a lake of lava that seemed to have an island in the center of it.

When the massive dragon and I landed, many other dragons were about to great their king, until they noticed me.

"What is that, doing here?" said a male dragon, pointing a claw at me.

All the other dragons were definately taller than me. But not as tall as Ragnarok. Maybe about three quarters of his size. Male and female alike, the dragons all came in different colors. Some younger dragons began approaching, they were about my size.

"She," the king dragon said, "Is my daughter, and is the princess of this land."

I winced at the introduction. Never have I ever not wanted attention, until now. All of the dragons turned to look at me. I gave an embarrassed grin as my ears flopped to the sides of my head.

"But Ragnarok! That must mean-" said a female dragon with yellow scales

He interrupted her thought with a nod. I was curious about what she was going to say.

"Please, everybody," it seemed so foreign when he said everybody, "return to whatever you were doing."

They slowly returned to wherever they'd came from as Ragnarok leaned over towards me.

"It is time to give you the tour." he said with masked cheerfulness.

I remembered my hatred towards him and then turned away from him with a "Hmph!". He shook his head at my stubbornness and walked of, causing the ground to mildly rumble with every step. With nothing else to do, and no knowledge of where anything was, I hurried after him.

We both walked for a while until we came past a large cave.

"This is the Rest Cave. It's basically where everyone sleeps. We'll have to pick out an alcove for you later."

I simply stared at the cave. It looked more like a giant pod or bubble. How the entire population of Vulcan could sleep in there, I hadn't a clue. Unless there were underground tunnels, there was no possible way.

Ragnarok continued moving. I followed as we stopped near a sort of bonfire circle. There was a strange hut a few feet away from the central fire pit.

"This here is the king's room. Most of my work as king is done here. And in front of it is the Dancing Circle. We hold our evening gatherings here."

"What kind of gatherings?" I asked, my curiosity becoming to immense to be held back by my foalish silence.

"You'll see tonight." he said.

He seemed happier since I'd just spoken after my long spell of silence. That only made me angrier.

"King Ragnarok! Our scouts returned with some important news!" exclaimed a dragon that came out from the King's Room.

"I'll be right back, Wisp." he said as he hurried over to the hut.

It felt rather awkward, just standing there. I looked around, hoping to find something to occupy my time.

"So your name is Wisp, huh?" said a female voice behind me.

I turned and saw three dragons standing behind me. The one that was closest to me was the one speaking. She had purple scales with red spines and eyes to match. They seemed younger than the other dragons, possibly adolescent.

"But, of course, that isn't the real topic here. The real topic is "Why is a PONY in a dragon village." she said with much distaste.

"Um... Well considering that I'm Ragnarok's daughter, and a half dragon, I should be at least half at home here." I struggled to say daughter.

It seemed like the meanness that she had in her voice had melted away.

"Oh my goodness! I had no idea how high ranking you were! Please excuse my rudeness, Princess Wisp."

"Just Wisp is fine." I didn't really like the title.

"Y-yes, of course. I'm Ophiucha, by the way."

"Its nice to meet you." I said extending my hoof.

"Likewise." She took my hoof in her claw and shook it.

After we shook...appendiges, a strange look of puzzlement came over Ophiucha's face.

"Hmm... I sense that we will have a deep, meaningful friendship."

"Huh? How can you sense something like that?"

She smiled, "Dragon sense. You'll begin to develop it soon."

Ragnarok emerged from the hut. He looked kind of stressed. But he still motioned for me to follow him and continue the tour. I quickly followed behind, saying goodbye to my new dragon acquaintance.

"Maybe we can hang out sometime?" she called after me.

"Maybe." I said turning and giving her a small smile.

She smiled back. But then the smile turned into shock as I continued walking.

"Wisp! Watch where you're go-!"

I didn't hear the rest of her warning. As I continued walking, I placed my hoof down, only to find empty air below it. I lost my balance and toppled over into the hole that I stepped into. I turned to look at what I was falling towards. I barely had time to open my wings before I plunged into the pool of molten lava.

Swimming in lava was definitely different than what I expected. While I thought I was going to burn up, the experience was rather fun. My immunity miraculously protected me from being burned up. In fact, the lava was actually pretty refreshing. It felt like I was in a jacuzzi rather than a hole with liquid rock in it.

I broke the surface of the lava and stared up at the faces above me. Ophiucha and her two friends stared down in surprise. Ragnarok looked down from above them.

"Holy crap! You're alive!" said Ophiucha.

I gave her a weary smile, "Can I get a little help?"

She reached a claw down and pulled me out of the pit. When I had my hooves on solid ground, I noticed little clumps of lava sticking to my fur. I shook it off as I thanked the purple dragon.

Ragnarok turned to leave and I hurried after him. We arrived at the lava lake with the island in it. When we actually got close to it, it looked more like an arena.

"This is the Arena. Most of our trainees practice fighting here."

There were a few teen dragons out on the island. Two of them, it looked like they were sparring. One was big with green scales and a yellow spine. While the other, more slender one, was light blue with a greenish spine. I focused on the blue one. Somehow, it noticed my look and turned to face me. It's eyes were half-lidded in a look of boredom. It returned its gaze to its opponent and then strode forward with monumental speed. It punched the other dragon in the jaw, causing it to collapse to the ground. The blue dragon bent down and whispered something in the defeated dragon's ear before turning away.

The king dragon and I headed towards a different area of the village after that.

Dinner was horrible. I couldn't eat a single bite. All that the dragons had was...meat. It seemed that all the dragons gathered around the Dance Circle to eat. When the cook dragons brought out the food, I nearly gagged. The ferocity of the dragons' eating made my appetite evaporate. I asked Ragnarok if there was a salad or something that I could eat. When he said there wasn't, I nearly burst out crying right there. Fortunately, dinner didn't last long, and it soon became time to...dance?

All the dragons gathered around the circle as Ragnarok stood in front of the King's Hut.

"We pray to the great lord, Aval, that he will bless our hearts with the ability to perform one of his many great dances." he said, raising his claws towards the starry sky.

Suddenly, the dragons began stomping their feet onto the ground in a rhythmic beat. There was a sound of a dragon whistling a high lead. Then the stomping ceased and replaced with snapping. Although, the sounds were amateur, the music somehow found its way into my brain, like someone was putting the sounds into my head so that I could sing and dance to it. My hips, involuntarily, began to swing to the beat. When I tried to tell them to stop, they only swung with more vigor.

The dragons burst forth in a chorus of "aahs" as a group of dragons went into the ring and began dancing. The stomping began again. I felt some unknown force pull me towards the center of the circle.

I was about to comply when I remembered that I hated this place and didn't want to be here.

I pulled my body away from the crowd of dancing and singing dragons. Every step I took away from the circle, the less the force tugged me back towards it. I walked away from the party. I didn't belong there. Ponies and dragons don't, or shouldn't, mix.

I thought of home as I lay in my stone alcove. How I missed it. How I wished to be back at home, with my sister, with my parents, and in my comfortable bed. This stone slab that I was attempting to sleep on was an honest price of hell. Any position that I laid in always caused discomfort, somehow. Sleep was a definite impossibility, so I simply lay awake, thinking of my home.

The sound of flapping wings broke me from my thoughts. There was a hole in the roof that allowed moonlight to pour in. A shadow eclipsed the light, and then it returned to normal.

"Somepony went through the hole." I thought.

I slid out of my alcove and flapped up to the hole. I peeked my head out and looked around for a sign of somepony. I spotted a dragon sitting on a rock. It was the blue dragon from the Arena. It was definitely male. He was maybe about four feet tall. He was sitting on the rock, gazing up at the moon and sighing. He had a bit of red under his eyes. I watched him for a while as he stared at the moon. Suddenly he went tense and his eyes went back to his bored half-lidded look.

"You know, I can tell you're watching me." he said

I almost panicked and dived back into the hole. But I didn't know if he was talking to me or some other dragon that I couldn't see. I looked around for another dragon.

"Yes, I'm talking to you." he said as he turned to look at me.

That's when I panicked and dived.

AN: So there it is. Short chapter, I know. But don't worry, epicness is destined to come. (that's what she said lol that failed) Next chapter will have some epic fight scenes. So stay tuned. Please comment and such!

Extra Chapter

AN: I forgot to add this scene to the previous chapter. So here it is. This scene is not told in first person because Wisp is not actually present. Please don't hate because of the perspective change. Thank you!

Canterlot

Princess Celestia sat in her throne, looking upon the mayors of the Equestrian towns. They bowed to her before beginning their emergency meeting. The rampaging dragon in Fillydelphia was identified as Ragnarok, King of the Western Dragons.

"They've generated mass hysteria, causing thousands of bits worth of damage and possibly accountable for casualties!" shouted the mayor of Coltifornia, "We must declare war against the wretched beasts!"

"Causing more bloodshed will not avenge the dead. Besides, damage is repairable. While I do agree the dragons owe us something, we cannot stir up hate. We are on the brink of war!" replied the mayor of Manehatten.

The mayor of Ponyville merely sat by and listened to the conversation. Princess Celestia listened in anxiety and shame. The bickering of the two mayors increased in volume, until they were screaming their throats raw.

"SILENCE!!!"

Everypony except the guards cringed at the sound of the Royal Canterlot Voice. They all turned to face a frustrated Princess Celestia.

"We must act and think together, as a nation! So please, be silent. And let us solve this problem." she said with rare tears in her eyes.

She blinked them out of her eyes as she continued.

"It seems that we must extract some sort of cost from the dragons with out angering them..." she paused in thought, "Aha! I have an idea."

The mayors looked at her hopefully.

"I will consult with Ragnarok himself and negotiate an agreement. If all goes well, the dragons will help reconstruct Fillydelphia."

The mayors all nodded in approval, except the one from Ponyville.

"Isn't that risky? What if the king dragon attacks and injures you?" she said with worry.

"Do not worry. I have plans if that situation arises."

Celestia was about to teleport to Vulcan, the home of the Western Dragons, when a guard stopped her.

"Your Highness, this mare claims to have valuable information."

A white mare with a bright orange mane stepped out from behind the guard. Upon seeing the Princess, the unicorn mare ran towards her with tears in her eyes.

"Please! Please, you have to save my daughter!"

The mare collapsed onto the Princess and began sobbing heavily. The alicorn shushed her and tried to calm her down.

"Sshhhhh... Be calm, my little pony. You must be calm so you can tell me of this information you claim to have."

"A-ah. Yes. Just...just give me a moment. There's so much that I need to find out where to start." she said, settling down because of the alicorn magic.

"Then don't speak." spoke Princess Celestia.

She placed her horn onto the mare's forehead. All of the mare's memories poured into the Princess. As to not disturb anything private, the Princess sorted through the memories. In a matter of minutes, she knew everything.

"I understand. I will do anything in my power to return your daughter to you."

The Princess, once again, turned to teleport away but was stopped by the mare, Blaiz.

"Princess. If...if you somehow don't succeed, please give this to her." She handed her a duffel bag.

Princess Celestia smiled kindly, "I promise."

And with that, she teleported away in a glowing ball of gold magic.

Chapter 4: Dragon Lust (Chivalry)

I awoke to the sound of chatter. I groggily sat up from my stone bed and looked around through squinted eyes. I somehow managed to fall asleep in the alcove. Although, my entire body was tense and stiff. I sat up and smacked my lips. The stiffness caused my stretching to be unbearably uncomfortable. I got up and sleepily trotted outside to where all the noise was coming from. There was a large crowd of dragons blocking my view of what was happening. I squeezed through the mob towards the front. When I reached the front, I was pretty sure I was still dreaming. The scene was to strange for it to be actual reality.

Ragnarok was standing there, having a small quarrel with Princess Celestia.

The deity of all pony kind glared up at Ragnarok and said something sternly. I couldn't hear what they were saying. He replied, looking annoyed at the fact that they were having a conversation. She suddenly flew into the air and got into his face. She continued to speak while he looked surprised at her action. He nodded slowly after each sentence she said. After one final sentence from the Princess, Ragnarok paused in thought, and then motioned towards three dragons in the crowd.

"You three. You will do as she says." he said gesturing towards Princess Celestia.

She turned to look at the dragons that we're assigned to her for whatever reason and caught my eye. She then spoke to him again, motioning towards me. I was definitely the subject of this conversation. I grew excited as the possibility of the Princess rescuing me dawned upon me. Ragnarok turned to look at me and then back at the alicorn. He said a quick response. I read his lips and it was a definite "no".

"So much for rescue." I thought.

Princess Celestia looked towards the ground in defeat. She looked back up at the king dragon and said something before turning and landing on the ground. She trotted away as she motioned for the three dragons to follow her.

I wouldn't accept this loss without a fight. I ran up towards the alicorn princess.

"Princess Celestia!"

She stopped and turned towards me. She gave a sad look as I cantered up to her.

"Princess Wisp..." she acknowledged.

It was somewhat shocking to hear the Princess calling me that.

"You probably have questions about the conversation between me and your father. Allow me to explain. I came here to extract a debt. These three dragons here are coming with me and helping repair Fillydelphia."

I was glad to hear that some cost came to Ragnarok after destroying my home. But I was still anxious to hear if I was being rescued.

"On the note of retrieving you, I was unfortunately unsuccessful. I'm afraid you're going to have to stay here and carry out your fathers commands."

I was seized with panic and anger. Why didn't the Princess use her powers to force Ragnarok to release me? Why not just teleport me away?

"I can't do any of those things, Princess." she read my mind, and again with the name, "The relationship between the western dragons and ponies is tedious as it is. If I somehow anger the king, war is practically inevitable. Please don't take this the wrong way, but if not saving one pony means preventing war from harming other ponies, then id rather protect the majority."

It was selfish of me, but I did take it the wrong way. How could she abandon me, one of her little ponies? I almost wanted to knock some sense into her. But then I realized, I hoped she hadn't read my mind at that moment.

"I brought something for you." she said.

Her horn glowed in a golden aura. An average duffel bag suddenly materialized out of thin air. I recognized it.

"Your mother gave this to me to give you if I was unsuccessful." she said sadly

I clenched the zipper in between my mouth and pulled the bag open. Inside was my entire set of fire stuff. I was shocked to see it all in my bag, even the oil.

Princess Celestia began to move away. She obviously needed to go. As I looked up at her she cleared her throat.

"Be strong, my little pony. If you wish to return to your home, then follow whatever command Ragnarok gives you. Trust me, the more you do well, the faster the work goes."

She placed her horn against my forehead. Golden sparks flew from where we made contact. She turned and walked towards where the three dragons were waiting.

In a swirl of golden light, the dragons, and the princess dissapeared.

I slammed the bag down on my stone bed. Not on purpose, it was just that the bag was heavy. Fortunately, the jar of oil didn't break. I opened the bag and pulled out each item to examine. After going through several gymnastic items, I came across something that I never put in my bag. I pulled out the photo and examined it.

The photo was taken over five years ago. My mother was standing in the left side of the picture, holding a baby Pepper with her magic. She had her mouth open in mid-laugh. My father stood next to her, a soft grin on his face. And next to him was a younger version of me. I was giving the photographer the silliest, toothiest grin possible.

I noticed that in the picture, I didn't have my cutie mark. That meant that the photo was taken before the fire. Before I discovered my heritage. Before this entire living hell began.

I didn't notice I was crying until I heard a loud footstep behind me. I placed the picture back into the bag as I turned to face the dragon that was entering the cave. It was Ragnarok. I tried to wipe away the tears as subtly as I could.

"Wisp, I must speak to you about something." he said almost in a sad tone, "Please follow me."

I was tempted to rebel against his command, but I remembered the Princess' words and I slowly trotted after him. We walked out of the cave and headed towards the lava pits. We passed multiple dragons, doing their...dragon things. I still had no idea what they were doing. Most of them looked like they were meditating or something. The younger dragons we passed were just standing around and talking. I got a few smiles and nods from the teens.

It was strange, it felt more like I was making friends in school rather than being acknowledged by something, er, somepony, argh, someONE that was a completely different sentient species than me.

"Oh Celestia," I rolled my eyes at myself, "Big words make brain hurt."

We passed by a group of snickering boy dragons. As I turned to look at them they burst out laughing. I stopped to look at them weirdly as one walked up to me.

"Aw... Such a pretty face." he said as he ran his claws softly under my chin,"To bad I'll have to smack it later!" he let out a wicked cackle as his cronies snickered behind him.

I smacked his claw away from my face, "Get your filthy hooves, gah, claws offa me!"

The dragon backed away in mock fear, "Oh no!"

He looked back at his friends, "Guys, help me! This girly pony is gonna style my spines and make me a tea party dress!" the friends were nearly rolling on the ground in laughter.

"I wonder how much she can stuff into her mouth?" he thought aloud, "Ponies are meant for more...minuscule things aren't they? But that doesn't matter now. All I gotta do is beat her in the arena, that's what matters."

Every hair on my body stood in disgust as I listened to the dragon's taunts. I gritted my teeth as I prepared to buck him in the mouth. I was, unfortunately, interrupted when a pillar of flame came between me and the dragons. They stared up in fear as Ragnarok growled in their faces.

"Begone! Insolent maggots, taunting the Princess!"

They scurried away in complete fear. I bet my eyes were red in rage. And my nostrils must've been flaring like a bull or a buffalo. Ragnarok pulled his lips over his baring teeth and continued walking. I gave a huff in anger and followed him. I was to angry to think about why the dragons wanted to beat me up.

We stopped by a pool of lava behind the King's Room. It didn't seem that different from the others that littered the Mesa. However, it did have a strange shimmering red aura about it.

"This is the Pit of Rejuvenation." he said in an almost tired voice, "It is connected to the magical flow that stirs beneath this mountain. Any injuries that the bather has when they bathe in this pit, are healed."

I turned to him, "Why are you telling me this?"

He looks at me, "As the Princess of the Western Dragons, on of your duties is to find a mate."

The look on my face was probably distorted in confusion and disgust. That had come completely out of nowhere.

"Traditionally, any female dragon that comes of the age to be prepared to mate, they must select a mate. Each male dragon that does not already have a mate will fight the female dragon. If the female wins, a new dragon will fight her the next day. If the male wins, they have the right to mate."

"Get to the point already." I was impatient from the history lesson. I had a vague guess of what was going to happen.

He sighed before he continued, "Because of your dragon heritage, you will be placed into the arena and will fight."

I wanted to argue, or stubbornly ignore his command, but I was shocked into silence. First, he kidnaps me, and now he makes me fight so I can find a dragon that probably wants to molest me. I wanted to say "buck that!" but I was paralyzed in complete and utter disbelief.

Before I knew it, I was whisked into the arena. Crowds of shouting dragons cheered from the stone seats surrounding the lava lake. I stood on the flat island, still in shock about why this was happening to me. I barely noticed the introduction that Ragnarok gave.

"Welcome, everybody, to the Courtship Duel! As usual, every male dragon without a mate, will fight the female until one of them defeats her! The best of luck to both sides!"

The crowd continued to cheer as a dragon flew from the benched area and onto the island. I was snapped from my daze when I noticed it was the dragon from earlier, the taunting one.

"Get ready, pretty pony." he hissed at me, "I hope you're good at suppressing your gag reflex."

He crouched down on all fours and glared at me with his slitted eyes. The irises seemed to become thinner as he growled and lunged towards me without warning.

Out of instinct, I ducked to the ground. The dragons face contorted in surprise as he sailed over me. Time seemed to slow as I realized what I had to do.

I put every ounce of hatred and rage into my hind legs as I tucked them in towards me. Then, I released the tensed muscles in my legs. My hard hooves sailed through the air and made a satisfying noise as they connected with the dragon's face. I felt the jaw bone snap as the temporal flow returned to normal. The dragon was rolling on the ground, howling in pain. I trotted over to him and whispered into his ear.

"Cheer up. Now you can open your mouth wider."

It had been four days since that first fight. I had fortunately one each fight on the other days. After each fight I got to soak in the Pit of Rejuvenation. Still, it didn't stop fatigue that was setting into my body after such strenuous activity. I knew my luck was going to run out soon.

I stood in the arena, preparing to face my sixth opponent. A figure flew from the benches towards the island. My eyes widened when I saw it was the blue dragon that was sighing on the rock on my first night. He landed on the ground and looked at me with the same bored, half-lidded look that was on his face the first time I saw him. He stood there for a second, sizing me up, before he took a battle stance. I was about to stand in a defensive position when I heard one single dragon cheering over the rest.

"You can do it, Wisp!" yelled Ophiucha

I focused back on my opponent and took a stance to as he took a step towards-

I was suddenly flipping through the air. I landed on my back and gawked up at the dragon that was somehow next to me.

"Such speed."

He pulled his five fingers together into a flat point and pointed his sharpened claws at me. The ends of his claws were literally millimeters from my throat.

"Surrender." he said casually.

I strangely grew infuriated at his calmness, "Buck you."

I kicked him in the armpit with my hind hoof as I flipped backwards and landed onto my hooves. I turned to face the still recovering dragon. I brought my hoof up to hit him in the-

He somehow recovered instantly and elbowed me in the cheek. I could feel blood in my mouth. I backed away and tenderly touched my cheek. I winced at the pain that came from the touch. I glared at the dragon in pure hate.

"Stop looking so bored." I growled at him as I rushed him.

I flailed my forehooves in front of me. He unfurled his scaly wings and curled them around him to block the flurry of hits. As I ended the attack, he opened his wings and slashed his claws at me. I felt a wound open up beneath my right eye. I felt the warm blood trickle down my face.

I quickly recovered from the hit and jabbed him in the shoulder. He only gave a small grunt as recognition of the hit. He took the opportunity of me having my hoof outstretched and chopped me in the shoulder. The speed of the hit was what made it hurt. I could feel the pain causing me to see black spots. I stumbled and he continued to pummel me with chop after chop and smack after smack.

I pulled together one last punch that was guaranteed to hit at this distance. I pulled my hoof back and then released towards his face.

He ducked down and dodged my hit. He then stuck his claw out and placed his palm on my forehead. Time seemed to stop as I stared in fear at his now fully alert eyes. His eyes glimmered in concentration. Some godly deity hit play on the reality remote as I felt the force of his palm slam onto my face.

I flipped through the air and landed onto my back. I stared up at the cloudy sky above me. I felt the blackness creep into my mind. The cheering of the crowd turned into a low hum.

The dragon entered my blurring vision. He bent down towards my ear and whispered.

"I hope you can forgive me for the damage I've caused."

I gave a strange smile as he leaned away.

"You're one of the few...beings that I know that know of chivalry. I like that."

His expression didn't change as I glared at him, my smile disappearing.

"Stop it. Because I have no intention of liking you."

What really got me mad was that he simply shrugged to the command. I wanted to scream at him, but unconsciousness said, "Nope."

AN: Wow! Things are starting to heat up! I liked envisioning the scene as I wrote it.

Next time: dancing, Some romance stuff, and a new chaperone for Wisp! What will be the outcome of this possibly shaky relationship between Wisp and the mystery dragon? Lol. I know the answer and you don't. U mad?