Chapters I wake to find myself in the bosom of my mother, her warm fur lures me into sleeping once again but the cold wind hitting my face is making it impossible.
It’s that time of the week again. Every week, I have to go to the castle of friendship and learn with my aunt Twilight and my uncle Spike about the proper use of magic and how to control it.
The very idea was weird for me at first. Why did I need to control it? My magic was perfectly fine… Well, that’s how I thought at first. Truth is, my magic was being held back by a powerful spell cast by my parents. And even if my parent wanted to keep using the spell, restraining my powers would only affect me in the future… or that’s what mommy Tia and mommy Wonna said.
…
I take a brief look outside of the warm embrace of my mother just to find that we just arrived. The slight pressure of the landing taking an effect on me a second later.
“Walaig,” I struggled to said.
My aunt receives me with open hooves. Spike is by her side with a scroll rolled up in his claws: probably the list of things I’ll be doing today. My mother handled them both my things before giving me my Whamy. The sight alone of my plushie made me squeak in joy before hugging it the same way auntie Pinkie does when she starts yelling in joy.
We are now in the main hall of the castle, my uncle in front of me, he looks weird, maybe scared? I don’t know for sure, they haven’t said anything to me since meal.
“Are you sure about this, Twi?” He asked, sweat trailing down his forehead. “My fire is like… a really a big step for her…”
“Don’t worry, Spike,” My aunt said, her face was behind a book but something told me that she was smiling. “She is more than capable. Just make sure to start slowly.”
Curiosity pushed the words outside of my mind, “wah wil pik do?” I ask them.
Twilight smiled in glee, I guess that is how I look when my mom gives me the Whamy after a hard day.
“Oh Flurry you look so adorable when you speak!” she jolted, her book no more in front of her muzzle. “Don’t worry, Spike is going to use his fire against you. You will have to use your shield like you have been doing these last weeks. But here is the catch, Spike’s fire is different than my magic, you will notice it soon.”
“Use your best shield, Flurry!” Spike exclaimed, a sighing escaping his lips afterward. “Can’t we just skip this part and go to the point when I’m on the receiving end?” he asked. He looked sad for some reason. Really sad…
“Sorry, Spike, I know you are afraid, but you need to have faith in our little Flurry Heart,” Twilight said before handling the book to Spike, “Besides, her magic is too powerful. Stepping up to attack lesson so early will only take a bad effect on her own understanding of magic.”
Spike stepped back and breathed a mouthful, “Okay… I’ll believe in her.”
“That’s the spirit!” Twilight nodded and then turned to me. “Flurry, set up your shield!”
Something inside me clicked, a weird rush that made me jolt the same way I do when a thunderstorm rampages through the skirts of the Crystal Empire, and almost instantly, my horn cast a shield spell around me.
Spike mumbled something, he sounded worried and a little angry but I couldn’t hear properly him over the protection of my magic. He took a firm step forward, his chest growing like a balloon. A green flame covered my vision a second later.
The flame surrounded my shield like water running through Tia’s mountain. The warm was really soothing and enjoyable, and the view was something new for me too. It looked like the shower of colors that covers the sky every night at home, but with more details and way more glimmering.
The warm feeling became stronger, more comfortable but a little painful at the same time.
It became stronger again.
I charged more magic into my horn and so the shield grew. It didn’t last… not a minute passed before the aching feeling returned. I charged my horn again. The fire grew. I tried my best once again, but it was impossible to contain it.
No… Aunt Twilight said I could do it.
I took a huge breath, and with a mighty grunt, a powerful shield raised over the one cast before.
The warm feeling disappeared.
I was safe and sound inside my magic. I sighed with content and stretched my hoofs.
Wait
The warm returned. The aching returned. The pain returned. And worst of all, I had no power left for another spell.
Help
I tried to cry for help but my chest felt heavy and sore. Images flashed inside my head, hay, wood, food; I was about to end like them, burned. The pain raised, I tried to scream but my throat felt like the very flame in front of my eyes.
“This is amazing! Her shield is even more powerful than Shining’s,” I heard my aunt’s voice… it almost felt like a whisper.
Twilight please help me. Spike, please hear me out, your fire.
My shields cracked. My vision was becoming blurry. I trotted forward in a bee-line, hoping that my uncle would hear my faint screams of help.
“ Your fire… is going to kill me. Please… Stop…”
My shield broke apart… it felt like a direct blow to the head. One that knocked me up instantly, saving me from the pains of the overpowerful green hazard.
I feel a sense of calm fill me… Whamy is by my side, I’m almost sure of it. I moan in delight, my eyes opening as the muffled pant turns into a yawn.
Uncle Spike?
Is not Whamy the one hugging me is Spike. A weird occurrence, last time I was awake he…
He almost kills me… We were training my shield power… and I failed. How? How was I still alive?
While losing myself in my thoughts, Spike noticed my eyes staring at him.
“Flurry Heart…” his voice sounded weird, like someone drinking and talking at the same time, “I’m sorry… I-I’m so glad you are safe and sound… If not because of my hearing senses I couldn’t have heard the sound of your shield breaking before turning my fire into magic.”
It was at that moment that I started noticing another important feature on my uncle’s face: he was crying. A lot. It was weird, like something that shouldn’t happen. Adults shouldn’t cry, right?
“Pike,” I said smiling in an attempt to cheer him up.
He wore a smile on his face once again, his claws wiping his tears before embracing me in another hug. The embrace didn’t last, but the warmth radiating from his scales was more than enough to make me feel like I was hugged.
Now with my head away from the scaly body of my uncle, I noticed that we were in his room, resting on his bed. His room was quite spacious, there were a lot of books with shiny and beautiful covers. The walls were the best part, posters of superheroes covered the whole section. To make it even better, every hero’s costume shimmered intensely, I-
“Let’s go to see Aunt Twi’, she went from purple to blue after our little big accident,” he said, his words bringing me back from the posters lingering on the walls.
He took me with his hands and after a couple of seconds we were outside the room and walking through the hall.
“No more training for today, Flurry,” Spike said before moving me in front of his eyes, “Today is gonna be just fun and food for you and me, little cutie.”
The mention of food made me jolt in joy, gibberish sound escaped my mouth as I embraced him in a bear hug.
Spike went silent again after those words, he seemed to be happy but there was definitively something odd about him. I still didn’t understand him, maybe he was still sad for what happened back there? He shouldn’t be, I was fine; he saved me in the last second after all.
…
I have to admit, dragon’s fire was something really to be afraid off, and its power and heat only grew with each passing second. Thankfully he is my friend and-
A horrible thought coursed through me.
I’m safe because he is part of my family… a friend… because this was a training and not a real fight…
A real dragon would have killed me… even when my shield was stronger than my fath-
I shrieked in fear and tightened the hug, pushing those bad thoughts aside from my head… they were too horrible.
Think about fun and food Flurry, that’s all that matters. Dragons are our friends now. There is nothing to fear.
There is nothing to fear…
Author's Note
And that is the first episode, most of Furry's early years will be like a prologue on this story. After setting up the arcs I will put according names to each chapter.
I intend to leave this fic at the bottom of my priority list. That, of course, will change as time goes on. (if it turns out that you readers actually like this then it will be more easy for me to pour some love into this story)
I'm currently searching for a second editor, so, if you want to help me out just send me via a PM or through a comment down below
At first, I thought that my previous realization of this world was dreadful enough, the fact that:
There are monsters too powerful and dangerous living among us.
But the days passed, and with it, my perception of terror changed. After I finished my lessons on offensive magic, a sudden realization coursed through me after being able to break through one of my uncle’s scales:
I was one of those monsters. I was dangerous and powerful too.
It was a really unique feeling. I was a powerful being, an almost unstoppable creature. It made me feel awesome for quite some time, to be honest. Mere ponies were little ants in comparison to my power...
Pride
The pride of a dragon, that’s how Spike called it when I explained him my feelings. He told me that most dragons ended as merciless monsters because of those thoughts. That I should only focus in being happy and make other ponies happy; He told me that with time I will understand the real purpose of my powers.
Well, I think I catch the meaning behind his words.
I laid sit in the center of the room of the school, foals of my age and grown ponies around me, all smiling in unison, happily doing their usual things without a care or doubt inside their hearts and minds.
All according to the spells’ description.
Illusion spells are the more complex of them all. Fortunately, they don’t need a lot of magic to maintain them. I had been casting a mind-controlling spell in the whole classroom for nearly a month now. I must confess, the results are more than what I expected. Only peace and joy could be heard inside those four walls.
Well, I could wish the same for today… there is an odd feeling inside me, but I can’t quite tell what does it means…
“You… Flurry,” Miss Marble stammered, her amber eyes twitching erratically. There was something really wrong with her. “Stop… that…”
Did she? No, that can’t be…
My eyes darted down as I tried to find an answer to my doubts… she was forcing her way out of my mind spell? Why would she? I’m just helping them, their daily work is a hundred percent more easily because of me.
No, scratch that. How is she even able to fight against my magic? I glanced at her inquisitively, trying to figure out how she was resisting my spell, she is just a mere mare… oh…
Her Cutiemark, a pair of diapers with shining stars surrounding them.
It must be a special ability of her… a mark with stars usually means that the pony will have an affinity or skill related to magic.
I took a couple of heavy breaths to calm myself at the new situation, the sudden idea of knock her unconscious snapping in my head. I shook the idea out of my head and breathed again.
“This is… Wrong,” she managed to say before stepping forward.
I glared at her, “Do you think? Are you sure what ‘am doing is wrong?” I challenged her, “fine.”
I dispelled my illusion spell. Not a mere second passed swiftly before the cries and yells of the other foals started to echo inside the building. The grown mares winced at the screeching sound of the babies yelling in faux agony.
“Are y’all sure you don’t want me casting that spell again?” I said confidently. I could bet that my tone and expression was as smug as the one of aunt Rainbow dash after a successful stunt.
What I received as an answer, whatsoever, made my confident smile frown…
“I can’t even think of how many months grounded you will be, little miss,” she replied with wrath staining her features and a solid vein pumping in her forehead.
Oh boy, you don’t know how angry I was at that moment. I imagined all the possible ways to hurt her. A single thought was all that I needed to teleport them miles away from Equestria. It made me felt bad… angry… how come I have to learn and live around this weaklings? I should be the one protecting them! I- I…
“I should be learning with you two until I grow up!” I yelled at my aunt Twilight. She was infuriated, and so was my uncle, Spike.
“Do you have any idea of what you just did?”
“Of course I did, I have been doing this for an entire month,” I stated back to her. “Those foals wer-”
“They were trying to found a way to be happy in their own way,” Spike interjected, “you just lied to them, now they have an entire month filled with lies to bear. Do you have any idea of how much damage you made? Every time the class and your spell ended, all the things they learned became useless: nothing but a vivid and forgeable dream… ugh, I can’t even- I need to have some air…”
Spike stomped his way out of the room, “Friendship lesson time, Twi’,” he exclaimed irritated in his way out.
… Twilight glared at me, her eyes heavier than the ones of any other creature… she was the only creature that with no doubt will outstand me both in power and intelligence in the future. Unfortunately, the amount of respect I hold for her was now becoming fear creeping through my bones.
“I know you had your motives, Flurry” She breathed, “but life depends on chaos and harmony, and what you were doing was forcing harmony into them, making them unable to grow and develop as the ponies they will one day be… I must add.”
What followed to those words was a series, correction; a full four hour-long lecture about the balance of goodness and evil in this world and how history has taught us ponies what happens when we mess up with it.
In true honesty, I quite appreciated the knowledge. It made me reconsider what I really needed to do to make the life of my future subjects better.
The first subject was about the days post the great union between the pony races: how in reality the union was a lot harder to achieve than the foal tale says. There was indeed a magical moment from which the wendigos got repelled back to the corners of the world. But it took more than three ponies to make that peace last.
Two hundred years was what it took to the three races to finally come to love each other as equals. And even then there was the last problem: the fear of being attacked by the winter monsters again at the mere glimpse of a fight.
She told me about a unicorn who—fearing that her ponies would start someday a fight big enough to make the monster return—enchanted the mind of her entire village. Forcing love with illusions and trickery.
Can you imagine it? A whole city, living a lie, a happy and safe lie, yet an unfulfilling one at the end. At least what I was doing was against little foals, not grown up adults with desires and goals. Those babies will be free of me and will get back to the harsh world at some point, but those ponies from the past? They were stolen from his life. It will be true to say they were dead at that point.
The second subject was about Discord and his days as the ruler of Equestria. Will you believe it somepony goes and tells you that Discord wanted the best for us? In his own way, he wanted to make of equestrian a utopia. No one could die, there was no reason to worry because nothing could last long enough to have a meaning,
That is the point, a meaning is something that I cannot just ignore it, ponies need a meaning in life, being happy is just not enough, being safe neither, they need to overcome challenges to achieve this meaning they put onto themselves.
That was what I thought while Twilight resumed the disaster that was Discord reign. At least until she told me something I didn’t know, his plan had worked for some ponies. There were, in fact, ponies who defended Discord and his way of thinking. According to my aunt, the real reason behind all those years of conflict between the princesses and the lord of chaos was because of those ponies who were by his side.
The last example happened some years ago, Starlight’s village. Another example of how complex was what I needed to do. She had a perfect village, everyone had the same meaning, everyone felt the same; just like in discord case, it seemed like there could be nothing the village would need. In the end, Discord and Starlight had the same problem but different things can be learned from their experiences. From Discord, I understand that ponies needed a meaning. And from Starlight, I learned the importance in uniqueness.
Maybe I’m targeting the wrong issue, the problem is nor the ponies neither the way they live by… or at least that’s what it seems.
I thought before thanking my aunt for her words and knowledge properly. I apologized for my recklessness and asked for her advice. I needed to understand my future subjects so those past mistakes won’t happen again.
“Then you should start treating them as subjects, but as equal,” My uncle said from the other side of the door before opening it, a silver plate with snacks at claw. He deposited the meal at the table which separated me and Twilight before addressing to her.
“Twilight, it may be a good idea to send her to…” he pointed to himself and looked at her for a couple seconds. It didn’t make sense at first. Then Twilight’s eyes started to snap open and it even made less sense everything happening around them.
“What?! Spike she is just a little filly!” She reclaimed, “Have you any idea of…”
“Twilight…” he deadpanned—a thing that combined with his cute face got a couple of chuckles out of me. He ignored me and continued, “I went through that hell, remember?”
Finally, the curiosity got the better of me and I couldn’t help but ask what they were talking about. They explained that originally, Spike was meant to be Celestia’s assistant, and for that to happen he had to surpass a series of challenges first. He earned the job, but, there was no one better for my aunt to take care of her while she studied friendship out of her hometown, so the princess decided. Fortunately Ink Raven has remained strong and quite accustomed at the job to keep working as Celestia’s left hoof.
“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Twilight explained, “I don’t care what she can learn out of it. I read your reports and essays.”
“You did what?!” Spike exclaimed, quite mad by the looks of his teeth and clutched claws.
“Well, I was hesitant at first, you appeared back into my life and I wanted to know more about you and what happened on all the years we were separated,” Twilight defended. ”I didn’t read anything personal,” she added quickly, “just the objectives of each job.”
Spike breathed deeply and asked forgiveness for his outburst, explaining that there were some personal things on those reports that only Celestia should know. Twilight answered him with a sudden hug which quite frankly didn’t surprise me. Those two hug themselves more than my parents. My uncle was soon smiling again and looking at me.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be with her until we both know if she can handle it herself,” Spike proposed before lifting me up to the back of his head, I helped him a little of course, his arms are too short for that job. “It may be a hunch, but I think, our little flurry is not going to learn much about ponies and life in the kindergarten… she reminds me of some little drake who knew too much for his age.”
My aunt hummed for a second, then hummed some more, this time her eyebrows denoting the high amount of thoughts inside that big head of hers.
Spike sighed deeply, action who he followed with a tight grip around my body, “If anything happens I will take the responsibility,” he shouted before running out to the castle’s door. Twilight said something but I honestly couldn’t understand what it was.
Since she didn’t teleport her way out to stop us, I concluded that she accepted my uncle’s idea. I looked back at the castle while Spike kept running. Feeling that maybe I was forgetting something, or maybe I was just anxious. However, Spike interrupted my thoughts before I could understand myself.
“Hey, Flurry, do you think we can have a heart to heart once we get to the train?”
Author's Note
Still working on handling my time between my job, house, work on the church, and little sister.
The smell of leaves and dust, the sound of wind coursing swiftly near my ears, the forest and mountains looming on the distance, the murmurs of the other passengers clouding my busy mind, leaving me in the hands of serenity itself, as if an incarnation of peace was hugging me.
So dazzled I was on my own trip that it took three calls from my uncle to get my attention. He pointed out my weakness towards long travels with a warm smile before moving to my side and hug me.
“Uncle Spike?” I asked confused.
He laughed before stepping aside, “I’m just proud of you Flurry,” he said. He rested on his back and with his eyes looking at the ceiling he sighed. “I’m sorry for going all harsh on you some hours ago. I know you had good intentions, it just that the way you did…” he turned to me, with furrowed brows, “It was wrong, Flurry.”
I tried to apologize, but he hushed me with a finger, telling me it wasn’t necessary to say sorry twice. He probably heard my conversation with Twilight. “Now,” he recoiled back a little to look me better, “you must be wondering about all the fuss from earlier between me and Twilight. And more exactly, how are the challenges I had surpass.”
“Actually, I’m really intrigued about…” I pointed to myself, “Why do you want me to go for that same path.”
“Do you remember what I told you the first time you got lost thinking about your powers some months ago?” he pointed, which made me ask if he was talking about the pride , “Yes, that’s what made me dive in the path of the knight.”
“The path of the- wait, you were affected by pride?” I withdrew in confusion, “ The pride of a dragon?”
He nodded.
“But how? Uncle Spike, I don’t understand, what could have made you go prideful?“
Spike took off one scale from his tail and showed it to me, “You should know by now how resistant are these,” he waited for my answer, and after I nod, he continued, “then look.”
He took the scales with the sharp tips of his claws and in a single movement, the scale was cut into multiple pieces. I looked intrigued at the remains for a second, what was he trying to demonstrate with this? I already knew that his claws were sharp enough to cut a diamond-like object…
My eyes grew in size as I looked back at him. He responded with a serious look, followed by a short history of him, about his early days as a hatchling, a really dangerous hatchling. Do you think that taking care of a foal is a big deal? I mean, even I, a foal, know how hard it is! Now imagine that the foal is greedy by nature, and to make it even worse, he is armed literally to the teeth. Celestia had to imprison him during his first days in the castle because he couldn’t stop ripping off the armors of the guards.
“Celestia is the kind of mother that gives examples instead of lectures,” he added, his eyes focused on his claws, “She turned me into a skunk to show me how it was to be repulsed by everyone else. Then she turned me into a turtle to show me how my greed and the fact that I wanted to have everything for myself at all times would make me unable to play, have fun or even life peacefully to begin… and then…”
Spike breathed deeply and turned to me, “she…”
“Turn you into a monster?” I asked at the same time that I moved closer to him.
“Worse, she turned me back into a dragon… and introduced me to a group of little foals…” He paused, “she showed me that day how my life could be if I followed the ways of other dragons; that everyone would fear me like those innocent foals did when they laid their eyes on me…”
Spike was again looking at his palms. I couldn’t say anything to cheer the mood, because, the truth was that his words reached a place in my heart. Memories of other ponies looking at me during my practices, foals avoiding me in the playground, nobles who saluted me only when I was near my parents…
“We are monsters, cute ones, but monsters after all,” My uncle smiled, faintly. His mood gave me an odd feeling, something between fear and intrigue.
“Uncle Spike...” I beckoned, “you are not a monster. I don’t think anyone could see you like one anyway.”
I was trying to cheer him up, but when he looked back at me, I knew that his smile was not a product of my words. It takes time to know how to show others your heart, he said before the whistle of the train interrupted our conversation.
But it takes wisdom to make others see their own heart. He said after the whistling stopped.
After that, he promised me that everything will make more sense to me after our talk with the princess, yet at the same time, he pointed that there were things that not even she could understand. That really made me curious.
“But she has centuries of knowledge on her shoulders,” I stated while making my way up to his back and asking for an example.
“Things like how I grew so fast, even though my body hasn’t. I have eaten more precious stones than any dragon of my age, yet more than ten years had passed and I look the same,” he explained while carrying me on his way out of the train.
“Dragons growth process is still unknown for ponies,” I stated, my head resting on Spike’s soft fins, “is just now that they left out their caves for other creatures to know them. So I can understand if she didn’t know anything about you at the time.”
He saluted some nobles as they passed us, his eyes locked in somewhere in the distance before raising his head, foreshadowing his next words, “what about you then?” “Me?” I asked doubtfully, “she is an alicorn just like me-“
“Yet she doesn’t know anything about you,” he stated. “You are a different kind of alicorn Flurry.”
I stared at him with furrowed brows and asked what did he meant by that. To which he answered with another question that made the rest of the walk towards the castle a silent one.
Do you think a filly of your age would’ve understood and learned everything you had up to this point?
Author's Note
Thanks for reading up until now. Sorry for taking so long on this and my other stories, I'm trying my best to keep some time each day to write a little bit of each project.
