FEB 14 Wednesday.

I walk through the darkness of the predawn night and focus on my magical senses.

After my talk with Larimar, I practiced with my space magic, and went to bed early. My reasoning is simple, I still want to explore so I'd need to get up before sunrise. Right now I'm walking around the area and stretching out my senses in search of something specific.

Normally I just spend my time looking around in the day and not really using my magical senses in any large way, but at night I'm afforded an interesting opportunity. Most Dragons make their homes in cliffside caves, or in caves at the top of volcanoes and mountains, in contrast, not as many live inside of valleys.

Some still do but it's far less than other locations. With the absence of most living things, I can stretch out my life magic senses to sweep over a large area to pick out different sources of life magic without much interference. I can tell what is an animal or Dragon by the complexity of their life magic which means everything else is not an animal.

I've already found a few interesting pieces of life in this hostile area of the world. A few caves with small lakes with fish in them, and a few small plants as well. Most of the plants are just hardy shrubs and bushes without anything of much interest about them, I still collected seeds from each of them regardless though.

At the moment though I've sensed something odd. I'm at the base of a large and very active volcano. I've had to maneuver around several pools of lava and a few lava streams just to get this close to the area. But somewhere nearby there is a source of life magic, and this location is much more hostile than others, so what is living here?

I can tell it's not an animal or Dragon, most likely a plant. Which is why I've followed it, a living plant right next to a volcano is bound to be interesting in some way. From my previous distance, I couldn't tell how much was here, but I'm closer now and can make out its location better.

As I close in I notice a small cliff in my path, I just cast a Lightening spell on myself and jump up quickly. Once I'm on top of the cliff face I see a large lava river a few dozen feet in front of me, the river is several dozen feet across, and even with my shield the heat is palpable. What really catches my attention though is the source of the life magic, it's inside of the river, FULLY inside of it.

In fact, I can't see it, it's submerged completely and I can't tell where it is beyond its life magic source, but my life magic is certain there is something living in there. I'm not sure what it is, but it now has my undivided attention and curiosity. I reach out with my life magic senses and try to get a better feel for whatever this is.

Its magical flows are too slow for anything but a plant, the amount of live magic it has is above a lot of other plants I've seen. Nearly three times that of a normal Pony's life magic, a decent amount for any plant. This plant is probably magical in some way, it has to be to live inside there, but how to get it out?

After a little thought, I use my life magic to guide my field and try to grab onto the plant to drag it out. I may damage the plant but I can heal that, it needs to be brought up regardless. After some concentration, I pull with my field, first slowly but then using more and more force as it stays firmly in place.

Eventually, something gives with a snap and I'm able to start pulling the plant up through the lava, taking my time to not lose it by accident or damage it more. I pull it out and move it over to me to get a closer look at the light of the lava, and what I see is not what I expected.

It's a gem, but also very much alive. The plant is a single stalk, with jagged shard-like leaves protruding off of the main foot-long stem-like structure. The base is only an inch or two wide and the stalk extends in a straight line to the tip, with the spiky leaves-like protrusions all along its length in a spiral pattern.

The gem is a mix of colors, a completely see-through gem with no imperfection that seems to cover the plant like an outer layer, and a core of blood red seen throughout the inside of it. The mostly see-through leaves have tiny red lines zig and zag throughout the leaves branching off from the red core. It's like the core wood of a tree, but this is growing tentacles throughout the rest of the weird plant.

I immediately have a million thoughts on this new discovery. A plant without any organic matter, at least as far as I can tell the entire plant is made from crystal, I flip it over and see I broke this stalk off from the roots, and I can see inside the plant. It is definitely pure crystal all the way though.

I feel some heat coming from it, and I can tell it's rapidly losing what life magic it had in itself. I reach out with my magic and feed it some to keep it alive, which it absorbs without issue for now. It seems I can keep whatever this thing is alive at least, but its demands aren't small though. It grew in lava and is dying outside of it quickly, I need something more stable than just keeping it alive with my magic.

I take the stalk and place it on the bank of the lava river, submerging half of it inside the lava while resting it against the more solid stone underneath the lava. I have no idea what this is, or how it works, but I don't think it will be an easy task to keep it alive as it is, so my best bet is making seeds.

Seeds are made to be durable and hardy, and I might be able to keep them alive much easier than this plant, which is quickly losing life magic. I dump some life magic into the plant and try to make it take root, luckily it does after a moment and I'm able to have it stabilize and stop dying.

I don't take notes and just quickly try to grow seeds from it while forcefully stopping any other growth to do this quickly. I don't want anything to happen to the plant before I get some seeds, and my luck is not the best sometimes so speed is key. A moment later the stalk starts to grow a large bud on top, the sound of creaking and crunching crystal is audible as it quickly grows out of the stalk.

The small bud is mostly red with a thin layer of clear crystal on the outside, It opens up and unfurls into a large red flower, around the size of my head. But instead of acting anything like a normal flower, the innermost petals start to grow thicker and thicker as I add more life magic.

I've drained almost all of my magic by the time it finally stops, and the result is five shards of gem the size of my hoof. Each is a deep blood red with a thin clear crystal coating like the rest of the plant. It takes a little force, but I'm able to detach what I presume is a seed easily enough.

The shard is in a natural diamond shape and I feel it's life magic for a few moments. It may be very different from normal plants, but the magical flows in the seed are stable. Like other seeds it's able to be detached without dying, so after confirming that it is able to exist fine I pick the other seeds tiredly.

With the seeds collected, I delicately break off the flower and then break the entire plant from its roots again. Once I have it all gathered I quickly move away from the boiling river, exhausted from both the magic use and standing next to the extreme heat that is highly uncomfortable.

I look up and have to adjust my eyes as the sun rises into the sky while I chug from my flask. "Seems this will have to wait then," I say tiredly. I really REALLY want to test and experiment with this thing, but I have a meeting to get to. I rest for a few minutes and decide to just fly back, I'm tired, and making it home quickly is important.

This plant seems like something rare and potentially valuable to a Dragon, and Dragons can smell magical gems. The plant is too big to store in my saddlebags so flying back quickly is my best option, despite the risks. I sigh and drink more tea before standing up and casting the Wing spell to quickly fly back to my camp.

POV shift, Larimar.

I slowly move my large claws to move another gem into the correct place so it's not broken by the larger gems accidentally.

Many may find it slow to sort their horde even a little, letting it lay around, but I prefer something a bit more structured. Not completely sorted, but gems in one area of the large cavern I call home, and gold in another. Yet, now I have something I can't sort anywhere.

I use my tail and bring down the orb floating in the air above me, bringing it close so I may once again inspect it. I have slept, eaten, and bathed, yet I remain both thoughtful and annoyingly undecided on this particular object. Who is that pony? And just who have I made a deal with?

Many of the young do not remember what I do, many do not think about how dangerous some things can be. I have a few scars that prove that only fools ignore the magic and its power. But despite the danger of magic, one must recognize what it means to have that power work for you.

This small thing, this shield, is an immense tool or weapon if used properly. When I first tested this I put a good amount of my strength into two blows, intent on seeing what that pony would think if I broke his shield. But it didn't break, it withstood my blows without difficulty.

To have something that takes such blows for me is, powerful. I could simply keep the shield on while with me and be able to ignore danger from many things, but it is much better used here. It can defend my hoard without me, no young one would dare steal from me, but other elders are more... Annoying.

I huff out and place the shield in the air in front of me, intently watching it spin slowly. I do not trust that Pony, but this deal is worth a little risk. I place the orb in a far corner for the moment and make my way out of the cavern, moving down the lengthy tunnel and out into the sunlight of dawn.

That Pony, Shade. An odd name, but all their names are odd. He is not what he seems to be, he is a lie, a lie so blatant it's a wonder it hasn't fallen yet. Yet, even I can't tell what the truth is, but I know a hiding predator when I see one, and he hides himself well.

At first, he was nothing but a slight oddity to me, a pony that would walk right up to me without fear or hesitation. But those eyes, they looked wrong, so very wrong for a pony to have. He looked at me, studied me, and ripped me apart piece by piece, searching.

A predator is many things, but most important is what they are hunting, what draws out a predator's appetite. For this pony it seems to be knowledge, nothing has truly interested him from what I've heard. The few Dragons I asked said he's been at the market again and again, always with questions.

Our teeth, claws, size, powers, none of that discourages him. He asks more and more, learning and growing, and his eyes do the same thing. They look at you and see your weakness, and despite my size, I feel as if he is... Dangerous to deal with, a threat I can't fully see.

I look to the sky for a moment and unfold my wings before taking flight, heading to a specific destination that I will spend time at. Not long though, the days will pass quickly enough and I will be able to move away from this pony unscathed, if things go to plan.

My lack of sight is what makes me so curious, he has stood in front of me but I can't tell why he seems dangerous. To have the confidence to stare me down with such eyes, and show nothing but a small weak pony on the outside. What kind of predator pretends to be, that?

It matters little though and answers will not help me here. Whatever this pony is underneath it all, it doesn't seem to be an enemy, and that is enough for a deal. It helps that I am taking the larger share of our deal, despite my mistrust of the shield, it is very valuable and clearly powerful.

Something I find more interesting is where he got it, you don't just have something like that with you. This means he brought it with a deal in mind, a deal with someone like me, he came prepared. Maybe it is a good time to talk to the young ones about the ponies, and learn about how they have changed since the last time I looked at them.

I land with a thud in the small valley I've been asked to stay in for my days and notice he has not arrived yet. I smell the air and look for any signs of a trap, but it is untouched and calm. It seems I wait then, not that I mind being paid so much to do so little.

Even if he came to our lands searching for information I was lucky enough to strike a deal first, benefiting well from it, and maybe I will be able to get more than just this. Caution first though, let's see what this pony wishes to learn about.

POV shift, Shade.

I carefully wrap the odd plant stalk I got today along with the flower I grew from it, both now thoroughly dead.

The seeds are fine, sitting alive and intact on my desk with seemingly no problems. The same is not true for the plant itself, shortly after I took flight it started to rapidly lose its life magic and died. I already drained most of my magic to grow the seeds and sadly didn't have any to give it to keep it alive.

The good news is the seeds are fine, and if needed the roots and base of the original plant are still under that river of lava. I can go back if I truly need to but I hope I don't need to. Either way, after putting everything away and taking a break to have breakfast with Entropy and recover more I set out to meet Larimar later than intended.

I gather my things and Entropy actually stays on my back as I walk through the small valley, but once we leave the valley she goes back into my shadow after I give her a treat. She's improving, but all things take time, especially with children. As I approach the larger valley next to my camp I see Larimar already waiting for me.

I wasn't completely sure if she'd show up, but it seems I made a good choice when making my deal. She's sitting in an upright position, which gives me a pretty detailed look at her underside, including more private areas. But I'm mostly unaffected by the sight, not even glancing at it.

Many Dragons in the market lay on their side with their belly exposed, so I've seen that particular area of a Dragon plenty of times before now. Dragons are also not shy about that sort of thing, and I'm lucky they don't have much to really see, everything being internal for them.

I do find it biologically interesting that they don't have a cloaca, as I can make out two separate patches of smaller scales on all of them. I shake my head to get those thoughts out and walk over to Larimar as she lies down. "Hello, thank you for coming." I be polite out of habit than anything and take out some cloth I cut to lay down on.

Some smoke slowly drifts from her nostrils and she nods slightly while moving her head closer to me. "A deal is a deal, and this one I intend to keep." She stares at me as I take out my teapot and start to make tea while getting comfortable. "Ask then." She says, sounding a little bored.

I bring out my notebook and start to think, flipping through a few notes before finding a topic she might actually know something about. "What does the word Entropy mean to you? I believe it's in reference to some religion or god, but I'm not sure." I open with a more complex topic.

She goes silent for a while. "A god is an, inaccurate term to use for such a word." She lays her head on the ground near me and keeps talking. "Entropy. Is a very old belief, many have forgotten it. Only us elders really remember anymore, and I am no expert on it. It holds little interest to me."

I make notes on the Dragon word used and wait for her to continue. "Entropy, a very old Dragon word for death, but it also means more. Rest, or silence, maybe an end where one is needed. I have heard it used in many ways, but those who worship it see it as more a destined end." She says slowly, going through her knowledge with thoughtful words.

It's not uncommon for the meaning of words to change or mutate over time. "Do many worship this concept? And how do those that do actually go about it? Honoring the dead? Tribute? Sacrifice?" I ask multiple things as she actually seems interested enough to follow along.

"Ssss. An interesting last choice." She points it out, as sacrifice is not commonly used in this context. "Tribute to the dead, to family lost, or to those taken too soon. No, I know of only a few who even pay it any mind, but many give them a certain respect for their knowledge on such things." The more she says the more interesting and odd it becomes.

I didn't expect the Dragons to have anything like a unified religion, or a large-scale one either. It seems like many other things this religion is in decline, or maybe it fell long ago and only small bits even remain now. "Are there any other similar practices you know of among Dragons? Worshipping any other beliefs?" I ask, trying to get more context.

She shakes her head. "A few of the younger ones learn of them and some even adopt different beliefs. It normally fades away with age." She says not really giving me much to work with. I guess there's not much to say to begin with though, maybe something to ask a younger Dragon then?

I finished making more notes and switched things up for now. "Ok, so how often would you say a Dragon lays eggs? How old are they when they do so? Anything you know along those lines." I give a more vague question to see how she'll react and answer. She could give me little and force me to ask specific things, hopefully not though.

She puffs some smoke out and lets out a slight rumble. "Dragons are protective of hatchlings, even more so than any horde. No Dragon would ever harm a hatchling before they could stand on their own." Her eyes narrow a bit. "And if a fool did, they will find many Dragons ready to, hunt, them, down." She half threatens me in a very plain-to-see manner.

I nod understanding her intentions. "I don't even want to be near a mother Dragon protecting her young. I ask more to understand your life cycle, how you are born, live, and die." I answer very clearly and seriously, I do not want a pissed-off mother Dragon after me for any reason. "And, just to be clear, such a fool would find me hunting them as well," I add just as seriously.

I don't like the idea of others harming the young, that part of me is still very much human. She stares me down a little, "Good. A dragoness normally doesn't find a mate until later in life, around one hundred years old, normally more though." She says with her normal tone.

I note that quickly and sip some tea. "Does a Dragoness only have one mate? More? I'm not sure if you're familiar with it, but Ponies can form herds. One stallion and a few mares, although it's not nearly as common as a single mare and stallion." I explained to her.

"Not the details, but yes I know about it." She shifts her tail in the distance and moves some boulders out of the way to be more comfortable. "It is known to happen with particularly strong Dragons, but it is also not common. A Dragoness can have many partners throughout life, and we are less, strict than you are when it comes to mating."

I nod having seen exactly that personally before. "It takes a year, sometimes more to birth an egg. Normally only two or three eggs in each clutch, sometimes more though. Although, it becomes difficult for us larger Dragons." She hints at the blatant size problem. "But even I can lay an egg, with difficulty."

I try to keep any images out of my head and quickly mark down her answers. "It can take a long time for a Dragon to hatch, often years, other times decades. Sometimes, never." I see a very slight hint of emotion in her, but only for a moment. "Some eggs simply lie dormant, never hatching. No Dragon ever knows why." She says after a short pause of silence.

I'm friends with Celestia and I know the weight age can put on you, so I don't ask anything about eggs and let her continue. "After hatching, a Dragon will normally be a hatchling for a decade or three, they become a whelp when they get their wings." A few things come to mind when hearing that.

I know Spike wouldn't be an adult by pony standards at the age he got his wings, so something a teen then? "Why the physical difference then? Some look far larger than others, despite the age." I ask while quickly writing down several relevant things.

Her spines flex and shift a bit. "I don't know, some Dragons grow quickly, and others very slowly. I've seen whelps smaller than you be older than ones larger than that rock." She looks at a large boulder several times my size. "Some are very old, yet never grow too large at all, it is another mystery." She blinks her eyes and I watch the interesting movement of her eyelid.

I do have a small theory about that, and it has to do with magic, but that's uncertain and not important at the moment. "What do hatchlings eat? Anything out of the ordinary for Dragons?" I did say I would try to learn more for Spike's sake and I intend to do just that. "Do they have any special needs outside of a Dragons norms?" I added after a moment.

She stretches out her wings to lay them out in the sunlight, sunbathing her wings as we talk. "They eat everything we do just a lot more, much more as a whelp, and mostly that amount for a great many years as they grow larger. Hatchlings prefer to be warm, not excessively though." I can hear a slight bit of understanding and weight behind those words.

It's likely Larimar has been a mother before though, that's a little too personal to bring up though. "Well, moving on. What makes an elder, well, an elder? Is it about age? Or hoard size?" I'll need some more information on older Dragons if I really wish to talk to Torch.

She moves her head, lifting it to look at me. "This is going to be what our next few weeks are like, yes?" She changes the subject abruptly, but I nod in agreement as this is what we'll be doing. "I expected less simple questions." She comments with neither annoyance nor emotion, just fact. "You really did overpay me, that is a good way to get on the side of many older Dragons." She gives some actual advice, which I take as a good sign.

She puts her head back down with a thump. "Age, strength, and then hoard. All are important though." She smirks a bit at me. "Settle in, this one is not so simple."

I do as she says and shift to lying on my side. "It's good we have time then," I answer back with a smirk of my own. It seems I still have much to learn.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. :}
Current year is 996

Ok, a two things. First, you will all be getting a chapter for Thanksgiving, but not on Friday, then you'll get one more chapter on Saturday before I take my normal day break, and then I'll see you all Monday.

And secondly. I want the new plant to have some magical effect, and we also need a name for it. Any suggestions for either of those would be much appreciated.