Sparky sat by himself on a bench that overlooked the beach. He sighed sadly as various thoughts ran through his mind. Thoughts that had a firm grip on his mind. Although, he had lived with the ponies of Maretime bay since he had hatched. He felt alone in the seaside town. He was the son of the sheriff. Nephew to three amazing mares; one of them now a queen of the pegasai. He was apart of a very unique family. But, he was still a dragon. He was the only dragon in Equestria. The only one in Maretime bay.
He heard a mare whisper to a foal. “No, sweetie! Don't go near that thing!”
He smirked as he heard the mare hurry her child away. He heard comments like that all the time and none of them were the wiser. The words hurt but he didn't care for them. If nopony wanted to get to know him, fine. Why did he care if they saw him as a monster? Why should he care if he was blamed for the dumbest of things? Why.....did it hurt? He sighed again as his gaze went to his feet. He didn't want to admit it; didn't want to acknowledge it. But, their words did hurt him a little.
He was the son of Hitch Trailblazer and he was proud of it. But, at the same time he started to see himself as a monster. He didn't have hooves; he had claws. Claws that were meant to hook, rip and tear into prey. He had scales not fur. Scales that were thicker than anypony's hide. They were also fire and lava proof. He could fly like a pegasus and he was as strong as any earth pony. But, he could somehow breath magical fire. Something ponies couldn't do. At night went it's at it's darkest he could see fine. And, then there were his fangs. His mouth was filled with sharp teeth. Teeth that were meant to tear the flesh off his prey's bones.
He is a predator. He is a beast that could outmatch and pony. He is a dragon. He......is crying. Tears fell from his eyes as he sobbed quietly. He was thankful that nopony was seeing this. That was the only thing he was happy about. All of it hurt. He hated his damn claws. He hated his fire breath. He hated his fangs. He hated everything about himself. He hated being a dragon in a town full of ponies. He hated the stares, the comments, being called a monster.
He stood up and started to walk towards the towns' only exit. He didn't have a destination in mind; he just had to get away from the town. To get away from everypony. To be by himself. He walked out of the town and down the road. Rather than continuing on the path; he walked off it and started to make his way through the countryside. His tail dragged behind him and he walked with a slight slump. Tears still fell from him.
Posey Bloom hummed happily as she tended to her flowers. She had been blessed with good luck that week. None of the “Mane five” had payed a visit to her home that week. That meant she didn't have to put up with with that annoying unicorns magic. Or those Pegasus sister flying around her home. She was even grateful that the beast had not been near her home. Yes, it had been a wonderful week for her and her flowers. The moment she looked up from her garden; she gasped and made a mad dash to her home.
She hid herself inside and locked the door. She watched it from a nearby window. The beast was walking the trail that went by her home. It walked slowly with it's head hung low. It was possibly learning how to track its' prey; like the beast that it was. She was ready for it if it dared to come near her home. She held a bat in her hooves. She was ready to bring it down if need be. The beast came to a stop and stared at her home. To be more precise it seemed to be staring right at her through the window.
It was watching her like she was watching it. Was that why it was there? Was it there because it was planning on hunting her? To make her it's first meal? She was tempted to run out and show that damn thing who was the master here. To show it that it did not belong in her town. That it had no rights to live amongst them. She wasn't going to fall for the tears that it cried. It was just a tactic to get her guard down.
Eventually, the beast continued walking down the path. It was heading towards the woods; good it could stay there with the rest of the animals that didn't belong. Maybe, they would get lucky and it would attack the unicorns that lived in the woods. As she started to walk away from the window; a glow coming from the path caught her attention. She gazed it for a moment before curiosity got the better of her.
She walked outside and headed towards the area where the beast once stood. She gasped as she got a better look at what was left behind. There in the middle of the trail a flower had grown. A flower that had the most beautiful shades of color she had ever seen. The petals that had bloomed had the pattern of scales on them. The petals had formed themselves into a heart shape. She recognized the design as the bleeding heart. A very beautiful and rare flower for their parts. But, this one was a little different.
The heart that was formed had nectar dripping down in vast amounts. Almost as if it was crying. She got a better look and noticed something hidden inside the flower. It looked almost like a ember. A gentle flame was hidden inside the flower. She slowly reached out her hoof to touch it. She stopped short of the petals and slowly drew her hoof back. She looked up from the flower and looked at the trail the beast.......Sparky had just walked down.
Sparky sighed heavily as he sat alone in the middle of the woods. He had stopped crying long ago and now just sat alone in the silence. He heard birds flying overhead. Some kind of animal roaming in the area just in front of him. He assumed that it was a wild pig. He could hear a faint grunting followed by the sound of something digging. He heard all these sounds every time he would come here.
He called out. “Mrs. Posey I know you're there.” He turned to look at the area just to his left. He continued. “Behind the tree. Currently standing in an ant bed.”
Posey screamed as she jumped out from behind the tree and started kicking the dirt off her hooves. The last thing she wanted was to feel the bite of ants. She panted a little bit from the sudden rush of fear fueled adrenaline. She looked at her hooves and then glared at him.
She accused him. “You lied.”
He shot back. “You were spying.” He turned his head away from her and looked back down.
For a moment Posey sat on the ground in silence. Sparky didn't say a word as she stared at him. Normally, anypony.....any creature would probably comment on how rude it was to stare. She was tempted to run back to the protection of her home. At any moment the beast could. She shook her head of the thoughts that invaded her mind again. This was not some mindless beast. This was Sparky. Slowly, she got up and walked closer to him.
She sat herself down next to him; she wasn't sure why she was here. She wasn't sure why she had bothered to follow him into this damned forest. She should be home right now sipping some tea and reading a book. But, something was keeping her there with him. She was nervous as she tried to figure out what to say.
Sparky spoke. “You don't need to say anything Posey. Everyone has already said it.” She was confused; what in the world did he mean by that? He explained. “No, honey. Don't go near that beast.” Posey looked at him as he continued. “Why does that thing still live here? Good thing it's not allowed to attend school. Think Sunny just wants it around to keep us in line.” He listed everything off that had been whispered behind his back. All of those words they though he did not hear.
Posey slightly cursed herself; she had more than once spoken ill about him. But, could anypony really blame her. Look at him; he was a dragon. A dragon for goodness sake. He was no pony. He was nothing but a beast. A beast that at any moment could destroy their town. Destroy their homes. Destroy their families. Their businesses that each of them had worked so hard to build. He could do all of it and.
He interrupted her thoughts with the saying that drove him over the edge. “Do you really think Sheriff Hitch loves that thing?” Posey looked at him again as he finished. “Oh, please. How could he see that thing as his son. I bet first chance he'll get. He'll put that wretched thing down like the dog it is.”
That was something really low to say. Something that even she would never say. No matter how irked she was by his father and his friends. No matter how much she disliked him. To question Hitch's love for his son. Nopony, not even her dare question it. Especially after what he had done to that alicorn that tried to seize power. She shuddered at the memory of seeing him ending that alicorn with his bare hooves.
Sparky asked her. “Why are you here Posey?”
She looked at him as her mind fumbled with her answer. She eventually responded. “I just wanted to see if you were okay.”
He replied. “That's a lie.” He continued. “You never really cared about my feelings. So why would you care now?”
He had her there; what was she supposed to say? Hey, I'm sorry for saying all those hurtful things behind your back. Hey, you're not a monster you're a pony like me. I only care now cause after you left a rare flower bloomed in front of my home and I had an odd sensation to follow you. What could she say to him?
He spoke. “You're lucky Mrs. Posey.” She looked at him as he continued. “You're lucky you don't have claws like these.” He showed her his claws. “Fangs like this.” He flashed his teeth sending a chill down her spine. “Wings like this. Scales like this. Horns like this.” He felt his anger growing more and more. His claws balled into fists; the tips digging into his palms drawing some blood.
Posey felt fear now; worried about what he was going to do. All of her instincts told her to run. Get away from this beast before it killed her. She was right; all of them were right. He was a monster and he was going to kill them all. He was going to burn all of Maretime Bay down. He was.......crying?”
The dragon before her was trying his best to keep from sobbing. But, the sadness was too much for him to hold back. His body shook as he tried to hide the emotion. He fell to his knees and continued to sob. Posey looked at him with pity as she slowly walked closer to him. She stood just in front of him; but this time she saw him in a different light.
Now she saw him as a teenager who was trying his best to stay strong. Trying his best to fight off his sadness. He looked up at her with eyes that longed for comfort. She then did something neither of them would have expected her to do. She wrapped her hooves around him in a caring hug. He returned her hug and sobbed into her shoulder. He was no beast. He was a child. A child that was hurting.
He thanked her in a cracked voice. “Thank you.”
Author's Note
new story hope y'all enjoy.