A clatter of stones drew the attention of the soul resident of the mountain towards the easiest way up. At least if you were traveling by hoof. Many had appeared in that exact spot before, so it was not uncommon to suddenly hear the sounds of a new arrival in that direction. Just another piece of meat to add to the pile.
Or her stomach.
Fighting made her hungry. So if this so proclaimed ''Dragon Slayer'' actually put up a good fight, she might dispose of him in a healthy way. For her at least. She had grown accustomed to the taste of pony meat, and it had become almost a staple food source when she couldn't sink her claws into anything else.
That brought her back, back to when the thought of eating something related to her sickened her. She looked down on herself, and saw both halves of a whole. Dragon AND pony. She wasn't accepted by either, because to both sides, she was more of the side they despised.
That was why she was out here, killing those who sauntered up hoping to defeat her and revel in the glory of defeating such a horrible monster that terrorized towns and cities.
She let a small chuckle out. The nerve. She rarely left the mountain which was now her home, and she tried to keep to herself, and they had the gall to accuse her of terrorizing villages? Oh how she hated them, and the dragons? They weren't any better. They laughed at her attempts at friendship, called her weak, and so she left, making sure to kick every single one of their rumps to remind them who the weak ones were.
Another clatter of stones brought her back to reality. She shook the memories from her head and rose from her seat to greet the next pathetic fool who dared challenge her.
She was expecting a griffon decked out in full armor, or maybe a group of ponies wielding spells and various magical weaponry. What she wasn't expecting was an earth pony wearing nothing but a satchel and a very un-magical longsword to crest the horizon.
He was panting from the exertion of climbing such a steep slope, but he seemed to be faring better than most of those who made it up here. He must have been native to a mountain town. She scowled, and lifted off from the ground, her large bat like wings beating the air, as she swiftly approached the earth pony, she was hoping that the sounds of her wings and the sight of her would scare him off. She wasn't really in the mood today, she just wanted to sleep in peace.
He did not flee. Instead, he merely looked up with a blank stare, his brow creasing in curiosity. A loud echoing roar sprung from her throat, telling him to back off. This was her mountain, and if he didn't leave now, he would never leave.
The pony flinched, but still did not turn and high tail it outta there. The stare down lasted a full minute, and she took this time to observe the pony's features. He was tall, taller then her if she was standing next to him, but she had seen far larger ponies trot up the mountain. His fur was dark blue, while hers was a dark shade of purple. His brown eyes stared back at her deep yellow ones, and while her long mane of a bright blue shimmered in the light, his dull ginger mane sat blankly on his head.
He had no wings, he didn't have two horns, or any horns, sticking out of his head, he had no fangs, he had no outwards magic, and his frame looked like the only workouts he had was long walks and sprinting. The sword was a very minor threat. There was no way he could beat her in a fight.
Her lips curled into a small smile of triumph, before they peeled back to reveal her fangs and she dove for him. Startled, the pony below suddenly dashed to the left, avoiding her swooping strike. She snarled, and pulled up, her mouth already forming a concentrated ball of fire.
She let the ball loose, sending it spiraling towards her opponent, this time however, instead of dodging, he drew his sword, and sent it flying past her head with a loud thwack!
She stared at him for a moment, dumbstruck. He had just sent the flaming ball back to her by using the blade like a bat, how was that possible? That blade was clearly un-magical, there was no way he could have done that...unless...he knew how to channel his magic into the blade!?
He broke her train of thought, when he suddenly shouted: ''Wait! Wait wait wait! Before you try and kill me again, I'd just like to say, I'd really rather not die today! I'd also really rather not fight you!''
Lies. This pony was lying to her. Did he think she was stupid or something? The second she lowered her guard he'd slam that blade into her back and twist until the pain killed her. She looked down to glare at him and launch another attack, and then she realized he was nowhere to be seen.
''What...? Where the hell did you-''
''Over here. Far away from you and your flames of death.''
His voice came from a good distance away, from behind some rocks, where she could see his head poking out from behind one of them, clearly being very cautious. That made her think again, she had been distracted, it was the perfect opportunity to strike, and yet he didn't, he ran and took cover as if to hide, and yet still revealed his location to her.
Was this pony some sort of idiot?
Her horns glowed bright with magical energy, and suddenly he was yanked from his hiding place with a yelp. She held him by the sword, trying to shake him off, but he refused to let go of his weapon, holding onto it for dear life. Thoroughly pissed, she launched another fire ball at him.
Seeming to expect this, the earth pony let go of the hilt of the sword and hit the ground.
Now he was at her mercy. She lowered herself to the ground and approached him, his sword still hovering in her magic. He stood, staring at her with a mix of annoyance, and...fear? Deva-vu? Had this happened before?
''You were a fool to challenge me so openly and then try and act like you weren't here to kill me. Any last words before I chop you into little pieces with your own weapon, reassemble you only to chop you up again, resurrect you and force you to watch a tree die, and then chop you up again and eat you?'' She chuckled internally at the last part.
''Y-Yeah...look, I really am sorry for disturbing you and making you think this stuff, I get it, the townsponies made me understand why you'd think that but-''
''I've heard enough outta you.'' The mention of those jerks and what they'd tried to do to sent a flare of rage throughout her body, and she brought the blade down.
It didn't connect with a pony skull, it didn't even connect with anything, in that short moment he had suddenly launched forward, grabbing hold of the hilt between his forelegs, the shock broke her concentration and she let go of the weapon, the flat of the blade swept her off all four legs and she was on the ground, the stallion standing over her with the blade pointed at her exposed neck.
''W-What...I'm...impressed...I guess this is where you proclaim me a monster and end my existence, right?'' She closed her eyes, she had been fighting for so long, and for what? She was tired, and she was ready to accept her fate.
Nothing happened.
She cracked open a eye. Then two. He was just standing there, the sword in it's sheath, and not a single hint of hostility in his eyes. He offered out a hoof, and, hesitantly, she accepted it.
''Why...?'' She asked, still worried that he was plotting some horrible way to kill her slowly and far more painfully then if he had just ended her while she was on the ground.
''Why? Simple, I never came up here to fight you.''
''Then what did you come up here for?''
''To meet you, to find out if you were anything as bad as what they described you as. If you were, even then I wouldn't have tried to kill you, not unless you tried with every fiber of your being to kill me first.''
''How? How could you tell I wasn't that bad? That I'm not that bad?''
''Simple, you gave up. Any normal monster would've fought to the bitter end or spit at me and cursed my name to Tartarus. I read that in a book once. Anyway, you just...you didn't give off the vibe that you were...evil. You just wanted to live your life in peace.''
''You...you could tell all that?''
''Actually, I was kinda just guessing, and I guess I was right. I'm glad that I was right.''
The two sat down, looking away from each other. They had just been in a life or death situation, and now they were talking like...like friends. She couldn't help but smile a bit. There was a few brief moments of silence, before the stallion once again broke it.
''So...what's your name? Nopony ever mentioned it.''
''You came here without knowing my name? Heh, some friend you are.'' She said jokingly. ''It's Momoko. I suppose you can just call me Momo.''
''Wait, we're on nicknames already? Also, we're friends already? Wow, that was quick. Oh yeah, mine's Swift, nice to fully meet you.'' Swift smiled cheerfully at the hybrid.
Momo couldn't help but smile back. That's when he leaned in and kissed her. Soft lips pressed against hers, and she was left in total shock for a second, before she found herself wrapping her forelegs around his form, pushing herself deeper into the kiss. Her wings unfurled, and she wrapped them in an almost protective cloak.
She was starting to feel like she was going to melt into the kiss when suddenly Swift pulled away. She stared for a second, shocked at him and herself, and feeling slightly colder then she had a second ago when she finally put together what had just happened and pulled back, her cheeks burning red and her wings stuck straight outwards.
''W-What the hell was that? W-Why all of a sudden? We just met-''
Swift silenced Momoko by placing a hoof over her mouth. He grinned, ''Because I'm an idiot, and you need an idiot in your life.'' He pulled his hoof away and let her stew on that sentence.
''What? But, but, you can't just...but you...how... are you saying your in love with me!?'' She suddenly exclaimed.
Swift merely chuckled. ''Well, I mean, we did just meet, but I can tell, you might just be the one. Besides, if we want to decide it's love, we should get to know each other better, as y'know...special someponies?''
Momoko stared at him, deep into his eyes, and she saw. She saw, he wanted to protect her, he wanted to make her laugh, he wanted to help her.
''Yes.''
They said nothing more at that point, they just sat there on the rocks of that mountain she had lived on for such a long time, looking over the many tree's below, and the small town nestled within those trees that had accused her of being something she was not. Something this pony did not see even a spec of inside her.
They sat there a long time, hoof in hoof, a silent message between the two. Swift would help Momo, and she would help him, and maybe someday, together, both of them could finally live in peace.
Swift's stomach growled, and a second after, Momoko's followed suit. They glanced down at their stomachs, then at each other, and began to laugh.
Before long, Swift had set up a campfire, and was roasting some s'mores over top of it. Momo sat beside him in eager anticipation. He wrapped a hoof around her and brought her in close.
There was another reason Swift had known Momo was no monster. A monster would have fought with all the power they had. Momo had gone easy on him, even if she didn't know it herself.
The swordspony smiled inwardly to himself. Fate had taken a hoof in todays events, and maybe it was fate that would continue to bind the two together, no matter what universe, no matter what time, no matter how long it took to drag them together.
Momo let out a small flame, that spiraled upwards into the sky, unnoticed by either of them. It was a different flame, a flame not made of hate, fear, anger, or even a sneeze.
The flame of love continued it's journey upwards, signaling a love that would last forever.
Author's Note
I wrote this for my speical someone, Momoko, otherwise known as Mogadextry. I'm a truely lucky guy to have found her, and I hope that the flame of love continues to fly ever onwards.
Happy Hearth's and Hooves / Happy Valentines Day everyone. 
