Hatching in Equestria as a Silver Dragon

I slowly started to wake up, I was laying in bed back at the orphanage, it was late in the evening, near sunset by the looks of it on my window, curiously no one had tried to wake me up all day, still I didn't feel quite right, I had a dull constant headache.

I remember in my dreams I was back at the castle... I was safe there, I remembered that much.
How should I call that place? I can't keep referring to it as the second dungeon, nor can I call it the castle.

This place had nice fields full of various veggies, and plains of wild flowers and green grass, a nice forest too...

Harvest sounds simple, easy to remember and fitting, a quaint little village who once was the home of hard working earth pony farmers.

I name it Harvest Village, and Castle Harvest, maybe I could grow some plants inside the castle that I bring from the material plane! At least some decorative plants that grow indoors.

I realize I have slept for most of the day, I did really mess up my sleep schedule now by falling asleep so early, didn't I? I still felt a bit sleepy somehow.

I yawned wide and started to stretch, getting to the door of my room, oh right I was sharing the room with Treble and Sable, but both of them were absent at the moment.

But that wasn't important right now, did... Did the spell work? I went to a window, peeking out and letting a big sigh of relief.

Just as I theorized, a shimmering, barely visible rainbow dome was covering everything, I let out a small cheer at my success, all that effort bore fruit!

Now to check if it's working properly!

I ran to the kitchen and there they were, everyone was here, I suppose someone must have brought me back and put me in bed while I was passed out.

As if I couldn't feel more thankful to them, a wide smile on my face as ran over to them.

"Good evening sleepyhead, you really made it happen! I am really really proud of you, my silver knight." Mom was the first to greet me as I came into the living room/kitchen. Everyone was giving me a big smile, thankful the city was safe, at least protected from intrusion.

But I couldn't take credit for it, after all I had failed to enchant the spell on the throne myself, I had no chance.

Still as I approached her and dad, I got pulled into a one legged hug by her, followed by her head going over my own, she held me like that for a little while and I patted her side all the while.

"Mister Boreas talked to us, after you passed out in the middle of the city, he said he got you out of the Windstream to keep you safe, he said that falling asleep in a realm not made for the living is not safe, we took you back to bed right away because you were too tired to wake up." Sylf filled in on what happened after I powered the spell, I can barely remember doing so, and I still felt my magic was weak.

"I'm pretty sure we gave him more power by doing this, but if he protects the city then... I suppose it's a good thing, he seemed like a decent being when I met him earlier, what do you make of him dad?" I asked the unicorn stallion, who simply shrugged.

"I dunno, I talked with the goddess Faust about him, and she said she was going to have a talk with him, maybe she has something to say or something, but she told me that helping him was the correct plan of action, at least until we have repelled the army coming our way, and that he better visits her when things go back to normal and calmed down." I could only nod in agreement, we had options, sure but nothing else would ensure our safety better and with less bloodshed.

"And the enchantment... Does it work? Have you tried throwing rocks or... Just walking in and out while carrying something? You should be able to take in and out any items you are carrying, as long as they are moving at the same speed you are, you should be able to pull even carts or carriages inside the shield, but just carrying something on you should be enough of a test to see if all the other things work right, by if you throw a stone at the shield from outside, and you're not holding it or near it should bounce off." I explained in detail, but then shook my head.

"You know what? Don't tell me, I'll go test it myself, I want to ensure the results." Answered before they could, I really want to see the shield.

But first I went and greeted everyone else here, Sable, little Gilda, Treble and even mister Gruff, giving a short hug to each, and after that I had breakfast myself. An omelette with some cream cheese and wild garlic, all made by Sable.

"Thank you for the breakfast, now I will go and give the shield a bit of a test run, after that I'll tell Mr. Boreas he can turn it off until it's needed" I got nods from everyone after that and headed out, walking towards the edge of the city, specifically towards the entry/exit and I was greeted by the two guards, giving them both a thumbs up.

I kept going and walked outside, I could pass in and out of the shield without issue, i could definitively feel it, as the shield sensed my magic and automatically allowed me to pass through.

"Hey lads, I'm going to test the shield and see if it can stop attacks from rocks and things like that, please don't be alarmed when I throw rocks at it, okay?" I decided to warn them, no sense if startling the soldiers.

"Understood! Try without any worries, we were all debriefed about you, and your important contributions to our city, you have our thanks, we were there for the ceremony and we all agree with our god's decision, even if you had a talon in it." One of them answered with a smile and his fellow guard agreed with a nod.

"You have the army's full support, that's for sure, and we will hear you out any time from now on."

"Thank you both gentlegriffs, I really appreciate that! okay now... Let's try this shield."

I look around for a rock and find one slightly buried on the ground outside the city walls, on the dirt path heading up the hill.

It's not a big stone, not bigger than the palm of my paw, but it should be enough to check the shield works, as the rock is heavier than a regular arrow, it should be stopped and harmlessly bounce off or break.

I prepare and then stand on two legs, moving my foreleg back and prepare them throw the rock as hard as I can, it makes a whistling sound as it flies quickly towards the shield, hundreds of kilograms of power behind that throw, it arcs and hits the barrier fast, shattering into dust and falls down to the ground outside the barrier.

Perfect! I feel inspired, maybe...

I could make a personal shield that expands out very fast and pushes enemies away while dealing force damage, it would not be too difficult to do, in theory.

Both deflecting attacks and pushing melee opponents back... It would be an amazing power.

I prepared and shot a firebolt at the shield, it impacted and dissipated against the shield harmlessly, I feel a pang of pain in my head after using that cantrip, something's wrong with me?! That's not supposed to hurt, it never did before...

'System, what is causing me pain when I use magic?'

You are suffering from magic exhaustion, casting spells causes pain to you because it strains the magic pathways inside it, try to limit or stop your use of magic for at least another day, or you risk worsening your condition, not to mention increased pain and in severe cases, damage to the mana pathways in your body and brain.

Oh fuck my life! Now I'm helpless when I need my magic the most, I better listen then if I want to be of use anytime soon, I'm not dumb enough to just worsen my condition now by trying to cast anything else.

I sit down in the dirt with a frustrated groan and get comfortable, waiting for my headache to go away, thankfully it slowly goes away, it wasn't bad either but surprising.

'Mister Boreas? You can shut off the shield now, it works wonders from what I tested, I'm super glad for it too.' I say trying to pretend I was fine, I was happy the spell works of course, but not that I couldn't enchant it myself, that still fell like I failed.

'I seriously doubt they will have battlemages on their ranks, but it's good that you decided to cover all the basis, the shield works wonderfully, you think you don't deserve the credit, but you designed it, this is not something most prestigious mages would be able to come up with in weeks, let alone a single day, even if you based your works on other spells, it still is a marvel of design.'

The shield fades away until its off, motes of rainbow light float on the sky and slowly fade too where the shield was.

I felt my face cool with a blush at being complimented, but I was still feeling a bit like a failure, I was unable to do the most important part myself.

'But... I couldn't enchant it, I'm not skilled enough when it maters.' I lamented, feeling disappointed in myself, I could have been doing so much more and I didn't.

'The fact it would just take you practice while most creatures can't even enchant a single rune on a gem or item speaks volumes about your talent, natural talent, do yourself a favor and practice enchantment, make powerful enchanted items, if you practice enough you will become an amazing Arcanist, dont give up on something just because you couldn't do a Grandmaster level enchantment on a God level object, as far as I know, only Inferno could have enchanted my throne, the Sky Sapphires on it are far above anything you will find on in this dimension.'

I can't help but be amazed by this, so his throne and the sapphires in it are god level? I didn't expect my enchantment I designed required grandmaster level. He was right tho, instead of pouting and sulking about my failure I could get my shit together and practice more, learn to enchant more and more difficult spells, for now I could only do cantrips and tier one and two spells, but... I could improve enough to eventually make any type of enchantment possible!

I was limited to tier 7 spells, I needed to grow more in power to be able to cast anything of a higher tier, but when it came to enchantment, I was only limited by my skill, I could grow so much more! At least to seventh tier.

I just wanted to know something really badly now, something he didn't explain. 'Just to clarify, what's an Arcanist? I've heard that word before from you at least twice by now.'

'You don't know? How odd... back in my time, Arcanists were not unheard of, to put it simply an Arcanists is a mage that has obtained a deep understanding of multiple branches of magic and ancient knowledge from an advanced fallen civilization, all with a focus on finding the right path to their own Ascension, it's been done before, although magic is not the only path to it.' there were ancient civilization? What happened to them? That didn't matter now.

'I bet you aren't exactly telling how you got there, are you?' He chuckled at that, I could feel the smile in his beak despite not being there in person anymore.

'Maybe you'll figure it out yourself? As I was saying, Arcanists want to reach the level of gods, the only one who made it, as far as I know is Inferno, he had a combination of immense natural talent, extensive studies and lots of field application and experience gained alongside me and the others, fighting day and night, slaying both beasts, monsters and enemy warriors.' he continued, giving the example he knew best.

'How did he became powerful enough to ascend and become what he is now? It couldn't have been easy, please tell me more.'

'Of course not, but we had very unique circumstances you see, the land was not as peaceful as it became now, before the founding of Griffonstone, two thousand years ago, evil was rampant, bandits trying to steal from you or kill you for your armor, wandering warbands looking to conquer, loot, kill or enslave, necromancers with armies of undead, not to mention nations forming and breaking in constant wars, attacks by beasts and supernatural monsters like the wendigo and many many other dangers, and we were right in the middle of that mess, and as our group had different races, we were seen as dangerous by almost all the races, including our own, for traveling with the others, that was at first.' he paused, reminiscing about that distant past.

'We proved ourselves, we gained a good reputation, and at the same time we placed a huge target on our backs, that same target helped us grow more and more in power as we fought would be assassins and bandits that were after us for our bounties, and improved our combat skills every day, rarely having time for a break, so we lived in the moment getting experience and growing stronger quickly, this is how, after all our work we became the best of the best, in not only combat but various fields that may be unrelated.'

'After we had amassed enough cash and fame, I became an artist and an athlete, giving myself some well deserved vacations from the fighting, I became the most renown artist of my time after I retired from adventuring, even tho I had started drawing and sculpting when I was with my friends on the thick of it, I only had time to get serious about it later.'

'I also became an elite athlete in various sports, not even the strongest of earth ponies could rival me, or the fastest pegasus, I ran marathons, I even tried running track and came up on top, ponies for the most part were the ones holding this competitions and events, in their respective tribes each has their own sports too.'

'But of the two of those hobbies, oddly enough I found my passion in art over sports, I feel it is my true calling! Also speaking of art, I didn't say anything at the time but... You seem to have really taken a liking to my marble sculptures, didn't you?' At that moment I started to feel embarrassed really quickly, I wanted to escape and I was tempted to do so by teleporting away, consequences be damned, but I didn't, i just sat down and covered my face and snout, that was by now glowing with shame.

'I-i was just curious, promise! I... I ain't a pervert or something, but since the statues were just that, statues, I didn't feel like it was wrong of me to stare, and satisfy my curiosity, s-sorry about that, I keep my eyes from... wandering next time.' I answered softly, a hopefully i wasn't in trouble over this. I should have known he could see me, he probably has better senses than me too, fuck...

'Oh calm down lad, I'm just messing with ya! I'm not trying to punish you for it, I'm not trying to make you feel bad about what comes naturally to all of us at your age and older, it was just curiosity wasn't it? Its called puberty what you're going to start going through in months or a few years at most, you'll know very well what I mean then.' I let out a relieved sigh, glad to not be in trouble, that was the last thing I wanted, I was already anxious enough about everything that happened lately.

'W-what a relief you aren't mad, I don't want to admit to myself the truth yet, at least feel normal for now so when the time comes that I don't feel normal, I'll worry about puberty only then, now let's talk about something else.' I was recovering from the previous embarrassment, but still felt like a bit of an idiot for getting caught staring at that, I decided to ask about something that interested me greatly. 'Would you please tell me more about your friend Inferno? I was not raised by dragons so I don't know anything about dragon history, and I'd like to know more about such a legendary dragon, maybe It will inspire me to make more new enchantments.'

He was quiet for a few seconds
'Only if you tell me more about yourself, a fair deal, an exchange of information, I want to know why you have such power at your age, and what moves you, what motivates you, don't need to tell me everything, but at least give me a good idea of it.' I suppose it couldn't hurt to tell.

'Deal, I will tell you all I feel comfortable saying.' I don't want to anger whoever have me my second chance at life, hopefully telling my story wouldn't be a bad idea.

'Very well then, young Onyx. I'll go first.
Inferno, what he did outside of adventuring? He dedicated himself to research, enchanting and seeking the hidden knowledge of this world, ancient faded scrolls and books were his favorite discovery when exploring ancient temples or caves, he would become extremely excited when he found one of them, it was honestly adorable how he would celebrate that, he didn't care much about gold or gems like most dragons, he didn't show much excitement for them, but he still always had more than enough to stockpile them and used most of them to pay for his research materials and his magical ingredients. And of course eating the gems that wouldn't sell for a good prize.' He and I weren't so different, except for the fact he was probably leagues more intelligent and powerful than me.

'Some were rare items or parts from monsters, magical plants, etc. Others were less morally acceptable to obtain, subjects to experiment with, usually using himself and other times he used animals, but when we caught a specially bad person he was happy to take them off our talons, and I think we all knew where they would end up... We did not ask questions, but to be fair some crimes deserve the worst possible punishment, and while Inferno didn't enjoy causing pain, some experiments required living subjects to best test the result of complex spells, some deadly or dangerous that he couldn't test on himself, that's where the worst kinds of evil creatures became very useful.' After that, I wondered if all of Boreas three friends managed to ascend as he has? Most likely. I was sure at this point about three of them, including himself, I may find out someday about the deerfolk if I talked to some deer, but I was not sure where they live.

It was my turn to tell my side but I didn't feel like telling it all, I had an idea, while I didn't mention it earlier I had sort of clued on what he could do.

'Can you just read my mind and learn all I know that way?' I asked tiredly.

'I can only read your mind's superficial thoughts, for example I can tell you don't really feel like explaining everything even tho I just told you a whole lot... But if you want me to know you can think about everything in sequence, and it's not too different from telling it out loud...' fuck me, I guess reading old memories wasn't as easy to do without hurting the person you were reading from.

'Correct Onyx, I technically can, but you could suffer damage to your memories.' I figured, letting out a tired sigh I started to explain that was relevant, leaving out the fact about the show that it would have been too hard to explain, and who this entity that offered me the deal was, I'd rather not risk it finding out and punishing me for talking about it. I told him about the dungeons and about how similar they were to these 'structures' he designed for the entertainment in his realm, but with life or death consequences, I told him where this was all located, and why it all happened, and that linked to my reason for coming here and helping them, all I do, and ill I want is to survive, if that requires making the world an utopia, so be it, it was just a side effect of my attempts at improving my chances of survival.

He was satisfied with my answer, and even though he wanted to know the details he didn't push.

'You're stuck with a really complicated deal, I think it's cruel, despite what you still remember from your old life, you still are a child and yet... You fought and you won mere days after being born.
Let's hope that in the next fight things will be easier for all of you, I'll leave you to rest for now, I can tell your mind is still recovering from powering the barrier, goodnight lad, again you have given me much to consider and go over in my mind.' With that he was done talking and I managed a weak 'night' before I went quiet, looking up at the moon, letting out a sigh.

I knew up there was Luna... or Nightmare Moon, I wondered what was going through in her head at the moment... Maybe Luna was still in there struggling for control, or maybe she was fully gone, taken over by Nightmare Moon, I wonder what either of them were thinking, I wonder if I would get to meet Luna, if I would survive to see that day, if that day would ever come. I wondered if I had messed with the timeline too much...

I wanted Luna to be saved, she was one of my favorite ponies in the show, maybe she was less of a bitch than her sister, I can only dream. But still if she came back, her sister may mellow out, if the hope of her coming back was enough to make her want to change for the better maybe there was hope that Luna would fully turn her into what she was like in the show, what she appeared in the show.

I slowly got up and walked back up the hill, and into the city proper once again, it was dark and a few oil lanterns were illuminating the streets, hanging from simple wooden poles.

The guards wondered why I stayed there for so long just sitting down and starting at the sky, and just shrugged, what was I gonna tell them? That I spent hours holding a telepathic talk with their deity? That sounds ridiculous even to me.

I had theorized before that the throne where Boreas was sitting upon, is not a mere chair, but a highly enchanted and very powerful magical artifact itself, from the few runes I recognized it seems to be a hub of psionic energy as well as magical energy, perhaps a combination of both, and maybe that is what allows him to use the Idol to connect with all the griffons and other creatures in its vicinity...

He did say it was like a very advanced scrying eye, but that's the Idol, the chair instead seems to be able to link other beings directly to him, and even share their magic and who knows what else.

Certainly useful, but it seems to have its limitations, as he said earlier, I returned his followers to him, maybe he needs them to obtain the energy to power those artifacts or at least their most powerful abilities. I was not exactly sure of any of this, no point thinking about it.

I returned to my temporary home during my stay here, the door is thankfully open and there are still guards standing outside, I wave at them and they let me pass without a word, just nodding politely.

"Hey dude, you've been outside all evening, I though you were going to test the shield and come back, what got you so distracted?" Surprisingly it was Treble who was waiting for me, sitting on the table and reading a book, no one else was around us, at least not in this room but I could smell my parents, perhaps they were already in bed, hopefully sleeping.

I was not sure how to answer, so I just went and sat down on the table near him.

"I was having a chat with someone and lost track of time, I also stayed a while to watch the sunset, then eventually also stargaze and relax, the moon is very beautiful today." He gave me a look of curiosity, but decided not to pry, after all if I wanted to tell who I was talking to I would have.

"Hope you had a cool day, I like laying on a cloud and watching the sunset too, and stargazing to try to find any shooting stars, while not the most fun, it's still nice sometimes, you have more friends here? You're pretty good at making friends despite being a dragon, I've also hanged out with other griffons my age but never went anywhere beyond playing together, they didn't want anything to do with me just because I am an orphan, after they realized or I told them, they stop talking to me."

"Why would they stop talking to you for that? You're really awesome! We haven't hang out much since I was always busy here but I can tell youre fun to hang out with, just talking to you puts a smile on my face."

"Thanks, but I'm used to it, and yet I still wish I could have good friends or parents..." I felt a pang of sorrow at his words, I imagined what it would be like if Sylf had not found me that night over ten years ago.

"They think us orphans are purse stealing, dirty unwashed and that we will trick them and steal their bits, that's why the other griffons my age around here don't want to hang out, I only got my sisters and grandpa, we all try our best to prove then wrong, and I was glad that no one recognized me and the selection ceremony, or they would have been a lot more objections, at least I can say I was chosen by our god, that may... be enough to prevent issues, but it still sucks dude, trust me."

I moved closer and enveloped him in a hug, making him let our a soft squawk of surprise, his body stiffened at first at the unexpected affection, but slowly he relented and gave in to the hug, it was a gentle hug so that helped.

"I know I barely know you, and I know I'll not be here forever but I consider you my friend, you and both of your siblings, but if you ever need anything you know where I live, and I will visit too of course! I could even visit on my own now that I think about it... I just need to make a teleportation circle, something that will take about a whole month but maybe I can stay that long once the threat coming our way is dealt with." He tried to speak, but tears started to drip down his beak silently and onto my shoulder, he laid his head there for a few minutes, crying silently to himself while I held him and slowly caressed his back, right under his wings.

"D-dude... I-i didn't expect to get a hug, griffons aren't much the hugging type, but you give cool hugs, you're pretty cool, and I'm talking cold, but you're also awesome for this, thank you." He says weakly after crying silently for a while, his voice sounds pained but slowly gets less sad as I keep hugging him a while longer.

I smile weakly, feeling tears falling down my face as well, just imagining his loneliness, not having Sylf, or Coconut around...

Would I be alone still? Would I be alive?

I certainly doubt I would be alive, I don't think I could have fought and killed that gigantic spider back then, not when I was days old.

I blink slowly and clear my vision, taking a deep breath to stabilize my emotions, I don't have to imagine losing my family, I did once before, but if I lose my current family I would... I don't honestly know.

"I-i never thought anyone would want me around, I'm not lame, it's just that no parent wants their child to associate with an orphan, lowlifes.. they call us, but I've never stolen a single thing, and I taught Sable and Gilda to not steal either, we don't need to when Grandpa puts all of his effort into keeping us fed and happy, and I still plan to help him, working as a king or working by selling scones on the street, I have not changed my mind that I would help, it's the least I can do for him." After that we slowly break up the hug, he gives me a determined look, he clearly means what he says and he wants to help them.

"You'll make an awesome king, the most awesome one ever, it's fun to hang out with you, you're my friend and I really mean it." We share a fistbump and a genuine smile, then I get an idea to cheer him up even more.

"I could teach you how to wield a sword or even a warhammer, I'm self taught on that last one and I'm not very good if I'm honest, but I'm willing to try.
It just takes a whole lot of strength to swing around the hammer, so make sure you exercise every day and increase your physical strength, that will help you be able to easily swing any weapon around." His eyes sparkle in interest when I talk about learning to use weapons, like every teen he is very interested in the topic.

"You can do that?! Please teach me! We could even start now! I've got to read this books that we found in the library of the castle... But learning how to defend myself is a good way to spend time instead, I'm sure mister Boreas wouldn't mind." I shrugged and nodded.

"I don't know what mister Boreas thinks about this, but I'll teach you how to fight with one no problem, just remember that a stick isn't the same as a sword, you need to be careful where you point it at, and not to move the sharp edges close to you because you risk cutting yourself, with me that's less of an issue but you... You're fluffy and that doesn't protect you much from swords, it's better than nothing of course, but not enough. Now follow me."

We went to the backyard that had a few planters with herbs and where Gilda and Sable were playing around, the cat, Ashy was also there napping in the corner on top of a rock, sadly there was not enough room for them to play and us to fight here, so they had to go.

"Hey big brother, oh Onyx! You're back, you took a long time there, your parents said you would be fine though and left to their bedroom, I think they went to sleep." I waved at them and approached, Gilda also waved at me and said hello cheerfully, then the two girls went back to playing together.

"Please make room for me and Treble, I'm going to teach him how to fight with a sword, he is old enough to learn by now and he could practice with me." I asked them in a pleading tone, both looked at me and then each other and nodded slowly.

"Okay, but only if we can watch from the doorway. We promise we won't get closer!" Sable demanded excitedly and Gilda nodded and flapped her wings clearly also interested to watch us.

"Sure as long as you don't try to interfere or get close... I'll make sure that the sword will be covered at all times anyways but it's better safe than sorry." I then take my shortsword out of my inventory, it's in its proper scabbard, I tie the sword to the scabbard firmly with the rope that holds the scabbard around me and then I grab it in one hand and shake it, checking if the rope I used will hold the scabbard and blade together, and thankfully it does so I hand the sword to Treble.

He quickly grabs it and stands back, holding it in one talon and trying to get used to its weight and balance by lifting and moving it around in one talon.

"Now we will be fighting with the scabbard on, no sense in hurting yourself with the sharp edge if it bounces off something, that is always a danger with a sword, if you can't control it's edge at all times you will end up injuring yourself and your allies, understood?" I ask in a serious tone, but not harshly and I don't raise my voice or yell at all, I think a firm but gently approach works best, it does for me.

"Yes I understand, always watching where the edge is and not allowing it to be against myself, or those who are on my side, got it!" He nodded firmly.

"Okay now attack me with it, full force, don't worry because the scabbard will keep the blade from hurting me or yourself, go ham!" He hesitated, looking at me questioningly to check if I was being serious, I nodded at him with a small smile.

"Okay then, if you're sure... Here I go!" He then rushed at me and tried to do an overhead swing, aimed at my neck, which I simply crouched under, but he didn't relent, recovering and going to attack my legs from the other side next, something that was harder to simply dodge, so I jumped over it, his attacks were very telegraphed, he didn't try to feint or use a neutral stance, he revealed his attack angle before moving by the way he holds the sword, I could tell which side he was going after.

He seemed to realize that as well, and instead pulled his sword back and tried stabbing at me with it aimed at the base of my chest, this was actually the best way to go about it, against a dragon.

I lifted one of my claws and grabbed the sword by the scabbard before it the point could hit my neck, he stopped pushing the sword against me, and stepped back, I released his sword.

"Excellent, this last hit works much better than the previous ones, as a dragon, stabbing at me works better than slashing because my scales can deflect mundane blades made of steel, but stabs can manage to get past and hurt me if enough pressure is applied, at least... Last time I checked, I believe my scales have hardened since that time." He smiles proud at my praise, puffing out his chest and extending his wings, then he can't help but start bouncing in place in excitement.

"I want to go again! Please? There are so many moves I want to try, I've read books on knights before and how they fight, they were old and I didn't understand many times but they showed pictures, that's where I learned that stabbing hits are good against armored opponents, if I can find a weak spot in the armor there it can deal good amount of damage!" He waved his sword around a bit, clearly wanting more practice, he also didn't seem tired yet, he is very very excited to learn, how could I say no?

"Okay dude, I'm ready, come at me with all you got! Remember, don't hold back because I can take it." He did, this time he flapped his wings and took to the air, flying away from me and then coming back in a dive, picking up speed and momentum before grabbing the shortsword with both talons and putting all of this bodyweight and speed into the attack.

I could have dodged but that would risk injuring him as there was a wooden fence behind me, so I took him hear on, catching him midair by his shoulders, but he made a stabbing movement and still hit me quite hard with the sword, right into my neck in the middle where the windpipe is.

Onyx has taken 16 bludgeoning damage!

I admit that hurt a whole lot more than I thought it would, and sent me reeling back from his momentum, I may be strong but I am not heavy enough to remain standing after a divebomb like that, let the momentum carry me, and I was thrown into my back and left laying on the ground while grasping my throat where I was hit, thankfully my windpipe was not bent in, I could breathe just fine.

I lost, in a real fight I would be gasping for breath and maybe bleeding too, or worse depending how far the sword went in. I rubbed the spot with a frown.

He immediately rushed to my side in concern, standing over me and checking up on me to make sure I wasn't hurt.

Of course I could have fought back or even stopped him better and more safely, but I was overconfident.

"Onyx! Oh gosh I'm so sorry! Please tell me you're okay, I didn't mean to hurt you... I thought you would stop it like you did before." His tone was of genuine concern and worry, the girls also approached equally concerned, asking if I was hurt.

I continued to lay there a while longer, before answering.

"I'm just taken aback by how strong you are, can all griffons do that? That dive bomb combined with the whole body stab is a really dangerous move, if it was a real fight and the sword didn't have the scabbard on, you could have hurt me badly." I chuckled while rubbing my neck again, I was glad my neck was fairly muscular otherwise I would have taken some real damage, still that will leave a nasty bruise, and soreness.

"You tryna become a dragonslayer huh?
Quite the title for a king, but very bad news for me." I joked, chuckling to myself, I sat up and dusted my back with my tail.

"No no! I would never try to hurt you, you're my best friend! I'm so sorry, you're hurt! I-ill yo get your father, he can heal you right?" He said frantically, trying to run back but I grabbed him by the tail, he let out a pained squawk and hovered midair before falling to the ground and landing on his butt, then turned to me with a hurt and angry expression, blushing in embarrassment.

"No need to, relax! I've got a way to heal myself right here." Before he could complain to me about grabbing him I pulled the Amulet from the inventory and held it in my claw, it was warm to the touch and I felt a friendly presence from it, like as if it was greeting me, I ignored it and willed it to heal my neck bruise and a glow emanated from it and the pain was gone, I barely felt any more tired, but my neck was as if nothing had happened.

"Whoa! You're fine now, that purple spot on your neck is gone... Just like that? Also... Please don't ever grab and pull my tail like that dude, that's just painful and very embarrassing! Next time I'll not let it go." I felt surprised by his angry tone but I nodded my ears lowering as I felt bad for making him upset at me, he was right to be angry, pulling some creature's tail is not acceptable, it's very rude and painful, griffons more so than ponies as their tail is fully alive and not a knob with hair coming out of it like a pony's, but still it was rude to do, and something that was sure to at least annoy the tail's owner.

"I'm really sorry bro, I just didn't want you to go wake up my parents, I want to let them rest, I promise I'll try not to grab your tail again, if I do, you have the right to punch me in the face and I wont defend myself, and yes just like that, this amulet is special, but don't worry about that now, just... Let's go back to training, I still gotta teach you how to swing a warhammer, in case I get injured I have this thing to heal back so you better do your best, okay?" I excitedly encouraged him, pulling the warhammer hammer out of the inventory and placing it on the ground.

It seems the fact that this weapons were of a higher level didn't really affect his ability to use them at all, maybe a special ability? It was not really my concern, but I took it as a good sign, he definitively could use a shortsword very well for someone without formal training.

We switched to training with the heavier weapon, he again lifted it, and held it to get used to the weight, this was much different, a much less balanced weapon, that relied more on brute strength than on dexterity, it was a bludgeoning weapon meant to crush armor, to break bones and to tenderize the muscle under scales or though hides of creatures and monsters alike, did I really want to get smacked by it? Definitively will need to dodge better or I'll get seriously hurt if he lands a good hit. I wasn't exactly a melee fighter.

A few minutes later we began, I dodged far better now, an uppercut came aimed to my chest, then he pulled back and tried to bash me over the head on the return, but he was far slower with the warhammer, I was able to easily dodge and even when he tried to correct he simply couldn't reach me.

"Swing faster, don't be so obvious with it, try making feints!" I corrected during the fight, he goes to strike but slows down mid-swing, making me dodge prematurely by jumping, then while I'm midair he attacks for real with a grunt of effort, I can't move midair, I can only position my shoulder to absorb the impact.

"Oh fu-" I don't have time to even finish the sentence before the hammer impacted me on the shoulder, thankfully the muscle in that area is thick and dense enough to absorb the full impact, and the weapon bounces off.

Still that was quite scary, if he had hit harder and somewhere less protected, and from another angle I would have definitively gotten hurt, heck if I wasn't a dragon I'm pretty sure this impact would have shattered my bone anyways, muscle or not, but I was built different, still once firmly on the ground I surrendered, lifting my paws defensively and sitting down.

"You got me mate, well done! nice feint, I fell for it, didn't expect you would learn to do it so quickly to be honest, and you also aimed higher than I expected, I'm surprised you predicted I would jump over your hit, to be fair I'm not exactly experienced with melee combat, but I have at least some practice, you ever practiced before? Because you're very impressive." I asked him, smiling proudly, he would be an amazing fighter, that was for sure.

Being good at fighting when you are a king is important, because when everything else fails, you can only trust yourself.

He shakes his head at my question "I never really lifted one of this weapons before, but I've read all about them on the books from the abandoned library in the center of town, the books there are for public use and I found some ancient books on swords and various other weapons and how to use them, how to swing them and the many different techniques you could use to fight various types of opponents, I think they were some kind of manual for training an army..." He handed me back the weapon, and I stored it back with a thought, he was panting a bit by now from the exercise of swinging around that hammer, but still able to talk normally.

"You are impressive, keep practicing, ask one of the guards or even the General himself if he can give you lessons, I know it's a lot of work on top of already being the king, but you should take advantage of your talent, even if it's for self defense." The teenage griffon nodded eagerly, flying over to me and pulling me into a strong embrace, him this time was the one to start it, massaging my shoulder with concern with his talon, I just returned the hug far gentler, he even enveloped his wings around me.

I have to admit griffon hugs felt amazing, their feathers are so soft!

"Thank you, I definitively will, but is your shoulder okay? That was a strong hit, I know if I was hit that hard I would have broken something, yet you seem fine, hmm yeah maybe because... You're quite muscular, I can feel the muscle on your shoulders under your thick scales, seems I need to start working to make my body stronger too, or by the time you're my age you would have already left me in the dust. I need to keep up!" We both pulled away from the hug and stood in front of each other.

"You will become really strong once you get the proper training too, don't worry, also strength isn't everything when fighting, you saw how I'm much stronger than you, no offense, and you landed a hit on me, both with sword and with hammer, if the sword had not had its scabbard... Let's just say I don't know if my scales would have resisted the stab or not, and that Treble is why swords are always better for one on one combat, they are lighter, faster and can hit vital points on the body with less strength, and also less effort than swinging around a warhammer, you saw it yourself, you can't easily switch stances with a hammer."

He paid close attention to my words, and nodded in understanding, giving an answer of his own. "That makes sense, yes if I have a sword I can for example aim at the eye or the neck, maybe even the hearth, but with a hammer you can only target the head if you want to be lethal, or the joints if you want to immobilize, just anywhere in the body hurts a lot, it's less precise, more brute force and takes more advantage of your strength, if you are strong enough you can crush even armored creatures, you can break walls and doors too!" I was left speechless, he took the words right out of my maw... How the frick did he knew all of that? Oh, right, the manuals.

"Thank you very much for not taking out an eye, even with the scabbard you could have gotten at least one, I'm glad that we're pals, I would be terrified to fight you for real once you have more practice and have gotten stronger, I will make sure to practice extra hard." He looked unsure if accepting the praise or not.

"No way! I would never fight you outside of practice or a sparring match, I would never want to hurt you seriously, first of all you're my only friend... second I know you're not really a melee fighter, and you could have simply stopped me before I got anywhere close to you!" He had a point.

"Yeah true, I honestly know very little about fighting you close, I got my ass kicked more than a few times when tryin to fight, and I still don't feel like I have improved much, it's not easy, I can't be amazing at everything because I just don't practice enough, but spellcasting... That's where I can hold my ground, so in a real fight I would immobilize you and then I will knock you out before you can even get close, that's how it would go." I say honestly, its how it would go if I used my magic.

He smiled knowingly and patted my side. "Oh I know, from the moment you brought the Idol back I thought that you must be really skilled, I just wasn't sure at what, at first I thought at climbing because you got no wings so how else would you get back up? You could have used a rope but no one without wings that used a rope could survive, many tried it's just... They usually fall to their deaths because of poor quality equipment, or the jagged edges of the mountains. But you... You made it back!
Theeen you made the shield around the city to keep us all safe, right there I knew you are most talented at magic."

"I do my best, I want to become the strongest magic user of our times, but that's a far distant objective." If for no other reason than not being bullied by other stronger beings, to be honest.

"The ones who passed away trying to retrieve the Idol, They and all the other adventurers who have died while doing what they loved, are with him, soaring the Windstream and probably having fun fighting or relaxing in one of the cities, I know for a fact those who are ambitious and value freedom, the ones who love flying and sports, even art, they are welcomed by Boreas, although I'm sure their belief also plays a part." I'm sure it won't hurt to tell him that... I wasn't sure still what happens if I was to die exactly, for that I would need to experience it here, not looking forward to it, I need to stay alive or risk losing my powers.

"Lord Boreas told you this? How do you know?" I nodded to his question, and answered right away.

"He told me a few things and I deducted others, but he has a place for all of you griffons once you die, still you have to live a life that follows his values if you want in, I guess... I had a talk to him face to face to be able to enchant the spell that will protect the city, it was a very enlightening conversation, I'm sure you will meet him personally too for your education about being a king, maybe. Not exactly my place to say, so if it doesn't happen don't blame me."

He looked wide eyed at me and his eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Awesome! What is he like? I bet he's big and strong, like General Steelwing, am I right? You think I'll get to meet him?" I chuckled at his enthusiasm, he was not wrong, just slightly off the mark.

"I don't know if you will meet him, but he makes the General look small, he's also much stronger looking, but I bet he is much stronger than what he even looks like, since he is... A god, an ascended being, honestly? He can be very intimidating without even meaning to, or maybe I'm just very cowardly, the latter is most likely because I have a slight fear of powerful beings, just... Bad past experiences, don't worry about it, I think it's a good time to go to bed, I'm getting sleepy and I really need some rest now." I yawn wide, I had an eventful day, I had slept before but not enough, and my mind was still drained because of overusing magic in such a way.

"I hope to meet him, while alive, maybe he will teach me personally like you said, but I want to meet him too... Alright my cool new dragon friend, go right ahead, I know you missed some sleep so I'll stay and play with my sisters a bit until I'm tired enough, we will all try to be extra quiet from now on." I smiled at the offer.

"Thanks, goodnight to you." And with that I turned and left the backyard, heading straight the room my bed is in, before laying down in it and getting comfortable, it was about 1am by now and I needed to sleep properly a night to recover. So I did that, this time I was alone when I appeared in Castle Harvest, at least no one was here exactly, who knows? Maybe my parents were in some other place, but I could dream easy for now, it was safe here and I could read some books on gardening, if anything to pass the time and entertain myself.