Wouldn't have it any other way
Chapter 1: Wouldn’t have it any other way
The Skies above the Dragon Lands were covered by a thick layer of gray clouds. Such a sight would normally indicate rainfall, but not today, for these clouds held no rain in them. The Air was cool and there was no wind, leaving the surroundings very quiet.
Save for the rather active play of two young Dragons nearby.
One of the dragons was knocked on his back in the dirt, throwing up a small cloud of dust. He had deep blue scales all over his body, except for on his belly, which had pale green scales. A dark green fin with 3 pointed segments trailed from the top of his forehead to the back of his skull. A small dark green diamond-shaped fin grew from each cheek. He opened his light blue colored eyes and blinked several times to avoid getting dust in them.
Standing several feet away from him, another dragon of around the same age cracked his knuckles. He had highly reflective black scales, except on his belly, which had light purple scales. He had a row of three dark purple fins on the top of his head that spiked in the back. A light purple feather-like scale grew from each cheek. His light blue eyes stared at the other dragon, who slowly got to his hind legs.
“Are you even trying?” The Black Dragon asked.
“I’m doing the best I can.” The Blue Dragon said, catching his breath.
The Black Dragon suddenly scoffed and shook his head while smirking.
“You say that every time we spar. I’m thinking you really aren’t trying.” He said.
The Blue Dragon growled lightly before he charged at the Black Dragon. The Black Dragon adjusted his stance and held his arms out. The Blue Dragon dashed forward and locked his palms with those of the Black Dragon. The two Dragons stood their ground, applying pressure to their arms, forcing it against each other. They locked eyes and the Blue Dragon gritted his teeth as his feet, which were planted firmly in the ground, began to skid backwards.
The Black Dragon took a step forward, forcing the Blue Dragon back farther. The Blue Dragon pushed back with as much force as he could, but he still felt his feet scratch against the dirt as they were being forced back. The Black Dragon smirked as he pressed forward with more force, causing the Blue Dragon’s feet to leave scratch marks on the dirt. The Blue Dragon pushed back as hard as his muscles would allow, but it did nothing to stop his opponent.
With a sudden burst of movement, the Black Dragon shoved his arms forward. The poor Blue Dragon was shoved back off balance, losing his grip on his opponent’s claws, and falling on his rear. The Black Dragon smiled as he dusted his palms.
“You call that your best?” The Black Dragon asked.
Smoke shot out from the Blue Dragon’s nostrils as he glared at his opponent before slowly getting to his feet. Both of the young Dragons took their battle stances in preparation for another round.
“Alright boys, that’s enough.”
The Two Dragons looked to the side, in the direction of the sweet voice. Standing there was a Female Bipedal Dragon, taller than both of them. She had reflective black scales all over her body, with the exception of her belly, which was a beautiful shade of blue. She had a row of three blue fins on the top of her head that spiked in the back, as well as a blue diamond-shaped fin on each cheek. She also had a pair of black wings with blue membrane.
“Dinner is ready, you can have your little rematch some other time.” She said, staring at the two younglings with her Sapphire colored eyes.
“Awww, Mom!” The Black dragon whined, letting his arms hang at his side.
“No excuses. Your father will be home soon and he always likes to be greeted by his boys.” The Female said.
The Black Dragon pouted as he walked over to the female, followed by the Blue Dragon, who had a small smile on his face. The Female grabbed each dragon under their arms and with a mighty flap of her wings, boosted herself off the ground and took flight.
With the two younglings in her arms, the Dragoness flew in the direction of a small mountain, surrounded by a small plateau with a pathway leading to the ground. The Blue Dragon continued to smile as he looked around, enjoying the scenery from above. The Black Dragon, however, watched with little interest as he crossed his arms.
The Dragoness landed in front of a cave entrance on the side of the mountain that faced the plateau. She released her hold on the two young ones, who walked into the cave. Just inside was a hallway carved into the mountain’s stone walls, with two other passageways on the sides near the end. The Young Dragons and the Dragoness entered the passage on the right.
Inside was a crude kitchen. In the left corner was a large stone oven, with a large chunk of meat sitting on it. In the right corner, near the entrance was a short circular table carved from stone. Another carved out doorway on the right wall led to a small cozy den, with a wool carpet and several exotic pillows.
The Two young dragons sat down side by side by the table while the Dragoness went over to inspect the meat.
“I’ll just give it one more flame to keep it warm.” She said.
Taking a deep breath, the Dragoness blew a burst of orange fire onto the meat. When the flames clear, the meat was now smoking and dripped with juice.
“I hope dad gets home soon. I’m starving.” The Black Dragon said.
“Well now, you won’t go hungry.”
The occupants of the kitchen looked toward the entrance, where another dragon stood. He was around the same size as the Dragoness, if not slightly taller. He had pale purple scales all over his body, with the exception of his belly and undertail, which were pale green. He had a yellowish-green feather-like fin on each cheek and a row of green spike-like fins on the top of his head. Like the Dragoness, he also had a pair of wings.
The Blue Dragon got to his feet and walked over to the Purple Dragon, who picked him up and gave him a mighty hug. The Blue Dragon wrapped his arms around the Purple Dragon’s neck to return the gesture.
“Every time I come home, I always look forward to being greeted by you, Lyco.” The Purple dragon said.
“I’m always glad to see you, Dad!” The blue dragon happily exclaimed.
The Purple dragon picked up his son and gave him a hug. The female soon made her way over to the purple dragon and planted a kiss on his cheek.
“Find any Gems today, love?” The female asked.
“Just a few.” The purple dragon said, slipping a leather sack off his shoulder. “The spot I usually dig at must be picked pretty dry. I’ll have to find a new one.”
“I could help you the next time you go digging!” The young black dragon said.
The purple dragon set the sack down before making his way over to the stone table and set Lyco down next to the young black dragon, before the purple dragon patted the young black one on the head.
“Sorry Aquila, but every time I take you somewhere, you always seem to let your competitive nature cause trouble.” The purple dragon said.
“I’m just trying not to get pushed around, like you said you used to be.” The black dragon replied.
“Well, that’s different from challenging every dragon your age to a test of strength or speed.” The purple dragon continued.
“I remember that one time you were playing tug-o-war with that big kid and he pulled you face first into a mud puddle.” Lyco said, holding back a snicker.
“Can it, Lyco.” Aquila snapped.
“Now boys, let’s not start a feud. It’s dinner time.” The female dragon said, setting the cooked meat on the table.
What followed was a surprisingly polite meal for a family of dragons. They lacked silverware, so they instead resorted to using their claws to tear small hunks of meat off from the main part, but they politely ate with their mouths closed. Aquila occasionally tore into his meat like a savage animal, but a stern glance from his father, the purple dragon, caused his behavior to become more mannered.
Soon, the hunk of meat was reduced to a few bones. The purple dragon distributed some of the gems he collected to his family, which were munched on quite quickly by the two younglings.
“Hey dad?” Lyco asked.
“Yes?”
“I was wondering...could you tell us more about that pony town where you grew up?” Lyco asked.
The purple dragon suddenly froze right before he took another bite of the gem he was holding.
“Seriously, Lyco? He’s already told you about that place tons! All those ponies hated him because he was a dragon, and he said one of the winged ones actually attacked him! They’re all bad!” Aquila stated.
“Well, not all of them.” The purple one said, putting his gem down. “There were a few I remember who were real friends with me, even until the end. There were only like four of them though.”
“Wow! Who were they?” Lyco asked.
“Three young fillies who always stuck together, and a big stallion who worked on a farm.”
“Can we ever meet them?” Lyco continued asking.
“Oh no, I’m never setting foot in Equestia again. It’s not safe for dragons.”
“Did you really not have any other friends in that bad place?” Aquila asked.
“Well, I can recall one. Thorax, he was a changeling, but the first nice one. He actually became the king of the changelings the last time I saw him. I haven’t seen him in a long time though.”
“You’re friends with a king!? Cool!” Aquila exclaimed.
“There are a fair number of other races too, like Griffons and Buffalo. There was also another one who was nice to me, her name was Zecorra.”
“Was she another pony?” Lyco asked.
“Sort of, she was a Zebra. It’s like a pony, but they have stripes.”
“Sounds silly to me.” Aquila said.
“She lived outside of the village, in the forest where they banished me to. She still let me visit her and was the only friend I had to interact with at the time. She came from a far away land and was good with potions and other strange concoctions.”
“Were the ponies in that village really as bad as you say they were?” Lyco asked.
“For most of my life, I honestly believed they weren’t. They raised me since I was born. For years, most of them treated me like a good friend. Then as I got older, everything started changing. First they just stopped interacting at me and scowled whenever I in their presence. Then some of them even became hostile, like that Pegasus I mentioned. Finally, they blamed me for something I didn’t do and the Unicorn who was like a mother to me, banished me. They were never really my friends or Family, they were just using me as a slave until they needed a scapegoat.”
The purple dragon set down the gem as he leaned back against his seat, his face showing no emotion. Lyco’s ear fins drooped as he sulked in his own seat, saddened by his father’s mood.
“Let’s not talk about that depressing nonsense, let’s enjoy the gems your father found.” The female dragon said.
“Yeah, besides, those mean ponies aren’t anywhere near here.” Aquila said.
“I dunno, they always find some kind of reason to stick their noses into other races’ business.” The purple dragon said.
A gem hit the purple dragon lightly on the head, playfully tossed by his mate.
“What did I just say?” She asked him.
“Sorry…” The purple dragon said, hanging his head in shame.
The rest of the day was uneventful for the family of dragons. The sun had soon vanished from the sky and in it’s place was a bright half-moon and a field of stars on a black sky.
Lyco and Aquila were fast asleep, each one curled up on a cushion. They were inside their sleeping den, which was opposite of the kitchen, and their mother was there as well. She was also attempting to sleep, but found it difficult to do with the lack of her mate’s presence. She laid there awake for several minutes before she sat up, stretched her wings, and quietly left the sleeping den.
She made her way to the kitchen, finding it vacant. From there, she could also see that the den was empty as well. Her mate clearly wasn’t in the cave. Still yearning for his presence, she departed from the cave through the entrance. It didn’t take long for her to spot him laying down near the edge of the plateau, watching the moon in the sky. The moon was currently only half visible, soon it would become full again.
The female approached her mate, his gaze locked on the moon. He didn’t even hear her when she was right behind him. The female carefully moved her head right beside his.
“Virgo.” she whispered.
The male yelped before he rolled to the side and onto his back before sitting up to see his visitor.
“Lorelei, couldn’t you have done that more gracefully?” The male asked.
The female simply giggled as her mate got to his feet and once again sat down, watching the moon. The female, Lorelei, soon seated herself next to him.
“Were you having trouble sleeping again?” she asked.
“Yeah, I guess it was Lyco’s interrogation. It kind of worries me that he’s so curious about that place.” the male, Virgo, replied.
“Maybe he wouldn’t pry so much if you told him the whole story.” Lorelei continued.
“I’ve been trying to forget the real story, Lor. I just want to abandon it so I can live my life, our lives, with no regrets.” Virgo replied.
“It doesn’t look like you’ve been doing a good job of forgetting.” Lorelei said, wrapping her tail around Virgo’s. “Even before the boys hatched, you kept having dreams that made you growl in your sleep.”
“I just have to keep trying, that’s why I changed my name, to unshackle myself from any connection I have with that place.” Virgo said, massaging his forehead with his claw.
“Could it be that you just miss it?” Lorelei asked.
Virgo looked at Lorelei right in the eyes, his expression resembled something of an “are you serious” look.
“Miss it? No, there wasn’t any reason for me to be there in the first place. They just kept me around as a servant, then when they were sick of me, they found an excuse to throw me out forever. I should have left a long, long time ago.” Virgo continued.
“What about the ones you were nice to you? The ones you mentioned?” Lorelei inquired.
“4 or 5 ponies doesn’t counter the rest of the bigoted population.” Virgo answered.
The two mates sat there in silence for several minutes, unsure of what to say next. Lorelei rested her claw on top of Virgo’s and grasped it.
“If you had the chance to change that day, so that the one responsible was revealed, would you do it?” Lorelei once again asked.
Virgo stared up at the moon for a moment.
“With the knowledge of all pain and deception they inflicted on me? No, never. If I could change time, I would probably just take my egg and move it back to the Dragonlands, where it should have stayed.” Virgo answered.
Lorelei looked down, a frown forming on her mouth.
“I wouldn’t like that choice.” she said.
“Why? That way, I could have grown up normally.” Virgo said, looking over at her, and frowning himself upon seeing her sad face.
Lorelei then looked her mate in the eyes.
“Because then, I wouldn’t have met you.” she said.
After a moment of silence, the two mates shared a passionate kiss. When their lips parts, Virgo pulled Lorelei into a big hug.
“Meeting you was worth everything I endured. You and the boys are the brightest gems in my hoard.” Virgo said.
Lorelei smiled as she nuzzled the side of Virgo’s neck.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Author's Note
This is my first FIM Fic, one I thought out the most out of the numerous Ideas I've had. Forgive the grammar if it's got some errors, I really haven't really worked on the little things. Feel free to correct any errors.
Also, I wouldn't expect an update for a long time, if at all. I have LOTS of different projects and my interests constantly switches between all of them, so it may be some time before I can get another chapter out. I just finished the first chapter and thought I would share it since I haven't gotten any material here yet.
