Alicorns: A Dragon's Tale

It's astonishing what you can find when you are out in the open. Lush, green foliage with a vibrancy that blends almost perfectly with the colorful fruits, flowers, and even some of the animals that inhabit it. The trees would cast dark shadows that provided the wildlife with shelter from the heat of the sun or the heavy rainfall of passing storms. A large river bent and curved through the foliage for longer than the eye could see, the twists of it's body seeming like a bright blue and white serpent smoothing out stone with the sheer force of its shimmering, transparent body.

This was the land I had called home for an amount of time I could not measure as keeping track of time no longer seemed as important as it used to be. It was rather peaceful, and had remained unchanged for as long as i can remember living among it. So you could probably imagine my surprise when I noticed scattered pieces of stone and wood as well as a fallen tree leaning it's branches and part on its trunk on the tree next to it.

The marks on the fallen tree seemed to be deep gashes that were parallel to each other, as if from the swipe of a claw. What was more intriguing was the marks along the stump and the bottom of the trunk. It was a clean indention that gave off a faint heat, the ends showing no indication they would fit if put back together. I had seen this before, on that one night from so long ago. I looked around and noticed feathers in a small cluster that looked as if they were torn off. The feathers lead to a trail of arch-shapes prints with deep impressions and large spacing that indicated a hoofed creature was in a hurry to get away. As I followed the tracks, i noticed another set of tracks that were lighter and larger, yet not as spaced out in comparison, indicating that whatever was following behind was in no hurry to catch up to the other.

To say i was intrigued would be more than a simple understatement. I was near ecstatic or even, dare i say, hopeful. However, if my curiosity were to be sated, I needed to act fast. A lot can happen quickly in the forest, and the idea that whatever made the hoofprints would be inside the belly of a beast or carried away to a larger animal's den was not too far off to consider. And so I made haste, following the tracks at a swift pace on foot, as the foliage would've more than likely blocked it from my view were I in the sky. It wasn't long until I reached the end, however, and the mystery had been revealed.

It was an unusual sight to be sure, one I wasn't sure myself if it was real. It was an Alicorn to be sure. He had a yellow-orange body with orange feathers on the edge of his wings, one of which was missing quite a few of it's feathers. He bore a black and orange mane that looks rather unkempt, as if he never had a chance to even groom it. His muscular body shape had armor fitted around the torso that looked worn and cracked. On top of that, one of his front hooves seemed to have a broken bone, which explained why he wasn't making any attempts to flee, along with the heavy breathing that indicated exhaustion.

In this state, it wouldn't take much for a beast such as the chimaera between me and the alicorn to overpower him. Thus, I opted to take action, as I knew I wouldn't get another near perfect opportunity such as this to get answers to many of the questions that have been boiling over for years in my mind. The chimaera had already seemed to be in prime fighting condition, as well as a small patch of singed fur on one foreleg so if it were to fight, I would need to deploy caution. I chose to use an intimidation tactic, spread ing my wings and stamping my claws into the ground, leaning my head back as my lungs expanded my chest, before bellowing out a roar that caused many nearby fowl to immediately flee from the brush of the trees. I expected more of a fight, but apparently my voice alone was more than enough for the chimaera to turn tail and flee the scene with haste. My best guess as to why would be that it probably didn't want to fight over a meal that it could easily replace

I looked back to the pony, who surprisingly enough was still in the same poise as before, his horn now aimed at my throat. I started weighing my options on what to do, and under these circumstances the best choice made itself abundantly clear. If I tried speaking now, he would only retaliate and blast me with magic. If I left him there, anyone that might come looking for him would have difficulty navigating the forest, not to mention that another beast may come in some time after my departure in hopes of retrieving a morsel to satisfy its hunger.

I shifted my body forward ever so slightly before quickly snatching up the alicorn in my claw, turning his horn away from me. However, instead of striking back in self defense, he simply slumped over into a deep sleep, as if he had gone a while without rest of any kind. I spread my wings and flew off toward my home, horse in tow.

If this was to work, then it had to be done right. I wanted to make sure he didn't feel trapped in a dragon's lair. Thankfully i had a supply of an item that no one would expect a dragon of my size and bulk to possess. And that is books. I stacked a couple of books around him to provide an environment with a little more comfort. I also went out of my way to gather a few sacks filled with apples and a large container of water. Once everything was set, I placed the items within his reach and sat near the entrance, making sure i wasn't blocking too much of the sunlight.

It didnt take long for him to awaken, and once he did his wings slowly flared up as he leered at me. He was on full guard, just like before. I made no attempts to move forward, but instead lowered my head to his level. We soon began speaking to each other.

It started out as him slowly advancing as he asked questions, before his hoof stepped onto a pile of apples, squishing a few underneath from the pressure. I immediately began to explain the situation to him. He listened, but he didn't show any sign of backing down as he had stood tall with wings still flared, though his expression softened to one of confusion as I spoke. He looked around as I did so, before looking at a book and levitating it to get a closer look. He seemed to be even more puzzled as he read the title aloud "Sisters of the Sun and Moon". It was that day that I first spoke to another soul of that fateful night, and I am quite grateful that I did.

He started to gradually warm up to me after that. Day by day he seemed to be a little more comfortable around my presence, and would open up ever so slightly with each passing sunrise. It eventually got to the point where he was content in me enough to relay his situation to me.

His name is Wallace. And he was the leader of a group called the Fearsome Falcons, filled with ponies of different races and backgrounds who dreamed of a brighter future, and worked hard to make that dream a reality. They were fighting against an army of minotaurs who desired nothing but to conquer all the land they could find, and cast anyone they find as slaves under their iron hoof. What really seemed to have left it's mark on him was that their group had been raising a dragon since it hatched into a, and I quote, "Mountainous metal monster that could easily tear it's way through the darkest pits of tartarus".

The Fearsome Falcon's efforts were more than enough to keep them at bay, which was why the ruler of Equestria herself was not involved in the effort, save adding a few extra men from the royal guard every now and then. However, things did take a turn for the worse, as their group had been ambushed by the minotaurs. They nearly made it through the assault until the claims of the metal dragon were true, as the beast itself had shown up to aid in the fight, and made short work of incapacitating the Falcons. Wallace tried to fight off the dragon during the assault, but it proved to be too much as the minotaurs were also there, ready to pounce on him as well. He had apparently gotten lucky though, as he was swatted away by the great dragon's tail into the forest i found him in.

He had no recollection of how many days had passed as he wondered the land before ending up in the forest. It was sad indeed to hear of how far he had fallen, and it was through stories like these that we told to each other in which we were able to grow together as he recovered, and a new feeling had begun to grow in my chest. A feeling of contentment I cannot quite describe..