//------------------------------// // The Unicorn and the Dragon // Story: Pony POV Series Origins: Queen Majesty // by Alex Warlorn //------------------------------// Majesty looked around her, fog, fog and more fog. As far as her eyes could see, nothing but the ground beneath her hooves, and then nothing but fog around and above her. Even as she tried to brighten her horn as strongly as she could, she was still unable to see anything but fog. "So, little pony, do you get it yet?" came a familiar voice from behind Majesty. Majesty turned around angrily at the voice, it was Zaleria. The witch was standing right behind Majesty, the unicorn quickly shot a magical blast from her horn hitting Zaleria right in the middle, and causing her to shatter like glass. "The presence of random injustice, means that there is no justice!" the voice of Zaleria came from the left, again Majesty turned around quickly and zapped her with magic from her horn, and the witch exploded into bits. "The fact that innocents can be destroyed, means that there is no innocence!" the voice now came from the right, Majesty quickly zapped Zaleria with her horn again, and again the witch shattered like a broken window. "Your life is a joke! A joke! Hahahaha!" from the back again. Majesty turned around to zap her again. Again, she shattered in a thousand pieces. "Hahahahaha!" Now the laughter seemed to have no sources, coming from all around her, suddenly a gust of wind came from nowhere and it cleared the fog. What Majesty saw now horrified her. It was Amrun, and it was on fire, she saw elves she had seen while walking across its streets, some she knew, others she didn't. Elves were fighting against each other, killing each other. Peliasson, Aria, Badhor, Arhael, even Dasyra the librarian, every elf she saw was either fighting or running away to escape being killed by another elf. "Hahahahahaha!" And the whole time, among the sounds of battle and cries of pain, Majesty could always hear Zaleria's bone chilling laughter. "Thank you, Majesty!" "NO!" Majesty woke up covered in a cold sweat. She looked around, she was still inside the same little cave she had entered to spend the night in. It was all just a dream... again. Majesty had spent the last 8 weeks traveling alone, eating whenever she felt hungry and sleeping whenever she felt too tired to continue. She traveled following the least busy roads she could find as long as they took her as far away as possible from any elven territory. Ever since she left the encampment of the Knights, after turning Zaleria into stone, Majesty had kept on traveling nonstop without any place to go in mind. She couldn't just go back to the Dark Forest, the elves of Amrun knew that's where she had been living before, and it would be the first place they looked for her. But she had never been anywhere BUT inside that forest, so she really didn't have any specific destination during the first couple of days. Interpreting maps hadn't yet been part of her study, not that she'd have a map to follow anyway. Now, however, she did have a goal in mind, she just didn't know where that was. Her path had taken her far from any town or settlement, then across a meadow, across a desert, and then where she was now, a mountain pass. She had decided to just find another forest where she would isolate herself from any contact from anyone. She wouldn't even try to find a herd. She'd live out the remainder of her life alone, it was simply for the best. It was foolish of her to think she would ever be anything but a wild unicorn. Majesty exited the small cave, it had been cool and cozy compared to the hot day outside. The mountain path was wide enough for her to walk comfortably across it, but food and water was scarce. She had drank some rainwater yesterday, but hadn't had anything to eat for two days, when she found that small bush growing out of the crack between two rocks. Maybe she would starve here in the mountains? ... Not that she really cared anymore. If that happy place in the land of dead the elves had mentioned existed, at least she'd be with those stolen from her again. "Let's see if I can find something to eat today." said Majesty to nobody in particular as she began walking down the mountain pass once again in the same direction she did so yesterday. Suddenly, the calm of the morning was broken when Majesty heard two thunderous roars above and ahead of her. The unicorn looked up, and was surprised when she saw two dragons flying, high in the air. The two gigantic creatures were fighting each other, well it looked more like one was attacking while the other one was defending itself from the attacks while trying to get away at the same time. One of the dragons, the one on the offensive, looked like it had jewels decorating its scales. Even from the distance Majesty was watching them, she could see them sparkling in the sun. Perhaps it was her affinity for magics fueled by such things as desire, rage, and hate, but she couldn't help feeling that the sparkling dragon, as bright as he shined, was a black hole. Majesty shrugged, whatever those two dragons were doing, it had nothing to do with her, if a stray fireball incinerated her, no big loss. She just continued trotting, but suddenly "Ah!" Majesty gasped as a sharp pain ripped through her head She placed her right hoof on her forehead from the pain and closed her eyes, and she had a vision. She saw herself standing in front of a female dragon, an injured female dragon lying on her back, she saw the dragoness extend her claw and opening it. The vision ended abruptly, before Majesty could see what the dragoness had been holding in her claw. "That was me but... could it be one of those dragons?" Majesty looked up again at the two dragons. One of them, who Majesty now realized was a female dragon (she thought, reptiles didn't exactly have the most obvious sexual dimorphism), managed to push away the other dragon, the one with jewels encrusted on his scales, who Majesty now could see was a male. The dragoness took the opportunity to fly away, Majesty noticed that the dragoness was holding something against her chest. Eggs, Majesty noted, there were several big eggs, some bigger than others, all in different colors like red, blue, orange, with dots of a darker shade of the same color. The jeweled dragon spit out a fireball, and hit the dragoness right on the back between her wings. The dragoness roared in pain, and the impact made her drop all the eggs she was carrying. The dragoness looked desperate as she flew down, trying to catch the falling eggs. It was then that Majesty saw the other dragon, the one with the jewel encrusted scales, grab one of the falling eggs right in front of the dragoness. The dragoness turned to attack him in desperation, but left herself open for another attack. The jeweled dragon hit the dragoness with another larger fireball at point blank. When the blast of the big fireball dissipated, the dragoness was falling down very injured, and her wings looked broken. She was clutching both claws tightly against her chest, as several eggs were falling around her, too far away for her to reach. The other dragon, the one with the jewels, held the egg he had taken in mid air, and simply looked at the dragoness as she fell down a chasm in the mountain range. Majesty could hear the loud crashing sound the dragoness made when she finally hit the ground all the way over where she was standing. After that, the dragon with the jewels, still holding the egg he had swiped, flew away, and the day was quiet once more. Majesty hesitated for a moment. This had nothing to do with her. All she needed to do was ignore it and be on her way. But her vision... she couldn't just ignore it. She had to find that fallen dragoness and see what this was all about. Majesty quickly made her way to the edge of the chasm where the dragoness and the eggs had fallen, it was completely vertical and Majesty could barely see the bottom. Majesty's horn started to glow, and so did part of the wall of the chasm. Suddenly a rock protrusion emerged from the wall, then another below it, and another, and another. Steps made of rock kept protruding from the wall of the gorge, forming a stairway right towards the bottom. Majesty's horn stopped glowing and she began taking the magically formed rock stairway to the bottom of the chasm. When she had reached the bottom, there was a small stream of water emerging from a crack on one of the walls of the chasm, and there was also a lot of moss growing around, she would have enough to drink and eat today. But first things first, she had to find the dragoness that had fallen in this abyss; she had waited long enough to eat something, she could wait a few more minutes. She quickly started to make her way through the chasm in the direction that she had seen that dragoness fall down just moments before. When she found the dragoness, Majesty saw that she was more gravely injured than she had expected, the dragoness was barely breathing and her wounds looked too serious. It was clear she didn't have much time left. Majesty saw there were smashed eggs around the dragoness, however Majesty also noticed that for all her wounds, the dragoness was still clutching something against her chest with both paws, protecting whatever it was with what little strength she had left. Majesty carefully approached, her curiosity getting the better of her, trying to remain silent. Unfortunately for her, she stepped on a small pile of pebbles, which fell down and rolled, alerting the dragoness of the unicorn's presence. The dragoness turned her head to see who was approaching and clutched whatever she was holding even closer to her chest. "A... po... ny?" said the dragoness weakly, her eyes softer than Majesty had expected. Majesty looked at the dragoness, "I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you... I was..." "I'm... dying..." said the dragoness. Majesty looked at the dragoness in sadness. "Yes. I can see..." "Please come... closer..." asked the dragoness. Majesty did so, she was now standing next to the dragoness. Just like in her vision. The dragoness took what she was holding against her chest and extended her arm towards Majesty. She opened her big claw, and Majesty could see an egg, a dragon's egg purple with darker purple dots all over it. The egg was bigger than any other creature's eggs Majesty had seen before, it was as big as her head, but it was still tiny by dragon egg standards. "Please... take it... save my egg... my last egg..." said the dragoness to Majesty. Majesty looked surprised, "What? No... I... I can't... you don't want me to take it... I... I can't..." "Please..." the dragoness pleaded, "No one... else here... please... take my egg...I want you...to take it..." Majesty looked at the egg in the dragoness' claw, then at the different smashed eggs lying around the chasm, then at the dragoness. Majesty looked at the dragoness right in the eyes, she was on the verge of tears, begging her, not as a dragoness, no, this were the eyes of a mother that has lost her children. And Majesty looked back at her, not as a pony, but also as a mother that had lost her children. Majesty nodded, and picked up the egg with her magic, setting it gently on the ground next to her. "I will make sure your unborn child stays safe. I promise." At least, she will do this right. "Thank... you..." the dragoness smiled at the pony. "What is the child's name?" asked Majesty. "If... it's a male drake... then Heathspike... like his father..." replied the dragoness, "And if... a female... Elebarb like her... mommy." the dragoness let out her final breath as what little life she had left finally escaped her body. "Rest in Valinor." said Majesty in a whisper. Then she looked down at the purple egg, lifting it carefully with her magic and placing it on her back. She turned around and began walking towards the exit of the chasm, leaving the dead dragoness alone with the rest of her smashed eggs. After drinking water from the stream and eating the moss growing near it until she had satiated her thirst and hunger to her heart's content, Majesty made her way outside of the chasm the same way she had come down, carefully holding the egg with her magic as she did so. +++ The first thing Majesty did was try to find the cave the dragoness, "Elebarb" she presumed, lived in around the mountain range. Which was easier said than done: there weren't many caves big enough to have a full grown dragon live in it, but the mountains were big and the range was pretty wide for one unicorn to cover by hoof. Food and water was scarce as well, but Majesty managed to find enough to eat and drink despite the difficulties. The whole time, Majesty kept the egg safe and sound, and even slept with it next to her body so as to keep it warm with her body heat all the time. It took Majesty a month until she finally found a cave that was clearly a dragon's den (the hoards still plain to see) , and had the lingering scent of the dragoness that had entrusted Majesty with her egg, and another lingering smell that Majesty guessed was her mate, "Heathspike" as the she had mentioned before dying. Majesty settled in, careful to not change anything, to wait for this Heathspike dragon to return. What Majesty intended was to give the egg safe and sound to the dragoness' mate, so he could be raised by his father. Majesty figured that eventually Heathspike would return to, sadly, find his mate dead, but at least she could return the egg safe and sound. But after an entire week of waiting for the dragon to return to his lair, she never saw a single dragon return or even flying nearby any of the mountains. The unicorn eventually had no choice but to abandon the cave. It was clear that no dragons would come back anytime soon, so waiting for him wasn't an option anymore. She had to find a way to track him down, wherever he was. She didn't know how long that might take her; all she had was a name and the fact that he was a dragon, but it's not like she had any better plans for herself, except finding a forest to live the rest of her life in self imposed exile. She had promised Elebarb that she would ensure the safety of the egg, and she intended to do at least one thing right before leaving everything behind to never be seen again. But how to track down a dragon? Well, Majesty figured, the best way would be to ask other dragons if they had seen him or know where he was. It wasn't much of a plan, but she really didn't know any other way to do it, after all, who else would know where a dragon was except maybe another dragon? Dragons weren't known to socialize with other species very much... or at all. Being a dragon's lair, there was plunder to be had. Majesty left it where it was, if Heathspike did return... Majesty had heard tales of dragons who would hunt down thieves and burn down villages for stealing a gold cup the dragon hadn't used once. And she'd be in a precarious enough position holding the egg of his dead mate. She couldn't help wondering, however, what was taking him so long. After all, a dragon might move to a new cave, but they would always return for their hoard. Majesty finally made her way out of the mountain range, always keeping the egg close, either carrying it on her back with a makeshift saddle or holding it with a levitation spell. Leaving the mountains, Majesty found herself in a wide meadow and she could see a small lake in the distance. After having a decent meal of green grass instead of the small plants she sometimes found growing from cracks between rocks, and having fresh water to drink instead of the dirty puddles she kept drinking from in the mountains, Majesty continued on. The problem with asking a dragon about this egg’s mysterious father Heathspike, was that Majesty really didn't actually know how to find a dragon either. Just that, based on her knowledge, it would be a fair bit away given how territorial they could be. So Majesty simply decided to walk until she either spotted a dragon, or found somecreature, like an elf, or a human, or maybe even another pony, that might have seen a dragon somewhere while they traveled. It was two days later when Majesty had her first break. It was mid morning and she was grazing next to a narrow, and empty, dirt road, keeping the dragon egg safely close to her. Her ears perked up when she heard the sound of hooves clip clopping on the ground, turning wheels, and footsteps, coming down the road towards her. She looked up to see it fwas a small, two wheeled, wooden cart being pulled by an Earth pony stallion coming her way. The cart was filled with several heavy looking sacks tied closed with a knot. A young male human was also walking besides the cart, he was wearing a cuirass on his torso, a sword on his belt, and had a small quiver full of quarrels behind his back. He also had something Majesty had never seen before held over shoulder with one hand, it was a bow, but not any kind she'd seen the elves use. "Hum... Hello! Excuse me! Can you help me!?" she called out as she walked towards them, the dragon egg safely on her back. The pony and the human were startled, they stopped walking and turned their heads when they heard someone calling out to them. The human put a hand over the sword on his belt in a defensive move. Majesty noticed right away, she stopped and held a hoof up. "It's all right, I'm not looking for trouble. I just need to ask you something, if that's okay with you." The pony and the human were surprised to see that the one that had called out to them was a pony. Not just a pony, a unicorn. The human stood at ease again, and smiled. "I'm sorry, but you can't be too careful around these parts. Thieves could be hiding everywhere, and a cart full of cargo like this one makes a for a desirable target." "You thought I was a thief?" asked Majesty. "But I know you aren't one because you’re alone, and there isn't anything to hide behind around here. Thieves never go alone, always in groups." explained the human. "So, I'm Wooden Spoke and this is my business partner, Indabor," said the Earth pony, introducing both himself and the human next to him. "Carrying any cargo safely and swiftly, no job too big no job too small. I take care of the carrying part, and Indabor here makes sure we stay safe the whole trip." "Hey, I thought we agreed on 'Indabor & Wooden Spoke'," said Indabor. "No, we agreed that whoever talked first got to say their name in front. You just were too slow this time." replied Wooden Spoke. Indabor rolled his eyes, "So, what can we help you with, Miss...?" "My name is Majesty," replied Majesty, "and I'm looking for a dragon." Wooden Spoke and Indabor looked surprised at this, they looked at each other then back at Majesty. "You said a dragon, not dragons. You mean any dragon or a specific one?" asked Indabor. "A specific one actually," replied Majesty. "I know his name, and not much more." "Well, even if you know this dragon's name, we wouldn't be of much help, dragons don't usually give their names to non-dragons... at least no dragon that we've ever heard of." replied Wooden Spoke. "We do know the location of a dragon around these parts." added Indabor, "If that is of any interest to you." Majesty's eyes lit up, "Yes! Actually I am. Where can I find this dragon?" Indabor pointed his finger down the road, "There is a forest about an hour away, straight down that way down the road. There's an abandoned coal mine in the forest, a dragon lives there." "You're welcome to travel with us if you want!" offered Wooden Spoke. "Oh... I... I wouldn't want to impose," said Majesty. "Nonsense, it'll be our pleasure to be accompanied by such a lovely lady!" replied Wooden Spoke. "It will certainly keep us from arguing about our name placement," added Indabor. "Well... okay, as long as it isn't much trouble," replied Majesty. "Not at all, right this way." Wooden Spoke said as he resumed walking, Indabor too. Majesty put the dragon's egg carefully on her back using her magic, and proceeded to walk right next to the Earth pony and the human. "You can put your egg on the cart while we walk together," offered Wooden Spoke, "I don't mind." "No, thank you," replied Majesty, "I'd rather keep the egg with me." "So," Indabor began, "you're a unicorn." "Yes. I take it you don't get many unicorns around here," replied Majesty. "Well, yes. We've only seen and heard about unicorns from some books and texts written by the elves." explained Indabor, "I've seen plenty of Earth ponies and even some pegasi. But never a unicorn." "Well, am I anything like you imagined a unicorn would look like?" asked Majesty. "I didn't know what to expect, to be honest. Though some of the pictures got the tail wrong," replied Indabor. "If you don't mind me asking, what is a unicorn doing in these lands? This is mostly human area." he elaborated. Or rather it was now after the satyrs and centaurs were all dead, elves had fled, and Tirek had razed it and not looked back. Majesty looked away sadly, "I... I'd rather not talk about that." Indabor and Wooden Spoke looked at each other in worry, a change of subject was in order to break the tension. "So, about that egg. what is it? I've seen many eggs from different creatures, but never one like that." . "It's a dragon egg, the mother died but asked me to take care of it before she did. The dragon I'm looking for is her mate, I want to return the egg to its parent. I'm hoping that some dragon might know about him and point me in the right direction." "WHAT?" Both of them looked at Majesty in surprise. "That sounds REALLY dangerous!" exclaimed Wooden Spoke. In reply, Majesty teleported, along with her egg, in front of them, then to their other side, then back where she began. "I can take care of myself." Wooden Spoke and Indabor were impressed to say the least. "Wow, I heard that unicorns could disappear and reappear, but I must admit that was pretty amazing." "It sure was. Not many wizards around here can teleport like that. Or so I've heard." "You heard? You never saw a wizard?" asked Majesty. "I know that elves use magic for almost everything, but we humans aren't very adept at magic. Human wizards are pretty uncommon. But what we lack in magical prowess, we make up with ingenuity." Or at least, they were uncommon where Indabor had ventured. Majesty narrowed her eyes, after all the witches she'd killed, after they'd successfully raided an elven town, she found that part very hard to believe indeed. The oblivious human proudly patted the strange bow with one hand. "What is that thing?" asked Majesty, "It looks like an elf longbow, but smaller... and why does it have that wooden part sticking out of it?" "This is called a crossbow," replied Indabor, "You won't find the elves with one. It allows someone to fire a projectile much farther away, more precisely and with less training and effort than a simple bow. Here, allow me to demonstrate." Indabor took a quarrel out of the small quiver and placed it his mouth, holding it with his teeth, and then he put the crossbow down on the ground against his leg, as he held it down with one foot. He then tensed the string and secured it with the nut, then placed the quarrel on the tensed crossbow. "See that rabbit over there?" Indabor then held the crossbow against his shoulder as he took aim at a rabbit a considerable distance away from them, and pulled the trigger of the crossbow, making the nut release the tense string and launching the quarrel at the rabbit, killing it instantly. "Very impressive," said Majesty, surprised. While living among elves she had seen how they had mastered several aspects of magic, but humans definitely had something worth learning if they were able to invent such devices. Majesty then shook her head. What was she even thinking about? As soon as she returned the egg she was going to live in alone, why would she care about learning anything else? By now Indabor had walked to where he had killed the rabbit, picked it up and walked back to Majesty and Wooden Spoke. "We'll be having roasted rabbit for dinner tonight!" he said to the Earth pony. "How long have the two of you been working together?" asked Majesty as the three of them resumed walking down the road. "Working together? Just a couple of months." replied Indabor, "But we have known each other for years already, we both apprenticed to become guards." "Which we both failed miserably," added Wooden Spoke, "So we decided to partner up in this little business endeavor." "Is it common for ponies to live among humans?" asked Majesty. "I dunno really," replied Indabor, "Back home in Vynciani, ponies like Spoke Wheel aren't treated any different. One place, humans didn't even look at him, another village the chief told him he was naked and had to put somethin' on." "I grow fur, humans don't, I don't get how I'm 'naked.' Another spot treated me like I was back home. This one spot near the Dark Lord's land, every creature looked at me like I was a talking dog and Indabor was a dancing monkey." Just then they reached a fork on the road, one path continuing forward and another one turned to the right. "Here's where we say goodbye, the forest is continuing straight down this path. But the cargo we were hired to transport is to be taken to a city down that road." Indabor said, pointing at the intersection at the right of the road. "I see. Thank you for everything," said Majesty as she continued to walk down the dirty road. "Be careful when you reach the forest," called out Wooden Spoke, "There isn't just a dragon, but wild beasts too." "Don't worry, I'll be okay!" replied Majesty, looking back as she saw Wooden Spoke and Indabor waving goodbye, then turning right to continue their own way. About an hour later, Majesty had reached the forest, looking around for any signs of an abandoned coal mine, or any danger that might be lurking around. Even if the mine was abandoned, and the forest had 'eaten it up', it was still possible to know where it was if someone knew what to look for. Fortunately, Majesty had lived as a wild unicorn basically all her life, so she did know what to look for, as sections of the forest had younger trees than others, and so on. An hour later, Majesty was entering the entrance of a cave that used to be a coal mine years ago she used the magic of her horn to light up the path ahead, again she felt energy coursing from her front left hoof up to her horn making her light spell even brighter. She flinched when she spotted the skeleton of a satyr that looked as if it had been blown to pieces. 'Why did I cringe? I've seen bones before...' Ten minutes later, she saw a big red dragon sleeping over a pile of gold and jewels. The smell of dragon was overpowering, blood, metal, smoke, and other things mixing here. Majesty noticed that it was a dragoness. Majesty stepped closer, carefully, but before she could do anything else, she saw how the dragoness suddenly opened her eyes. "Trespasser!" yelled the dragoness, she rose up and looked at Majesty in a menacing manner. Majesty didn't flinch. The dragoness immediately noticed two things, that the trespasser was a unicorn, and that she had a dragon's egg with her. "That egg, where did you get it?" the dragoness asked in a no nonsense way. "The mother was killed by another dragon," said Majesty, "before she died she asked me to take care of her last egg. I intend to return it to her mate. I was hoping you, as a dragon, might have heard of him and point me in the right direction. That is all, I have no desire for anything of yours." The dragoness seemed to relax. "Well, and who would that be?" "I only know his name, Heathspike." "Heathspike?" The dragoness was surprised at this. "But that means... Elebarb is dead? That is surprising news indeed." "Did you see the dragon that did it?" Majesty nodded, "It was a dragon with jewels and other treasure decorating his scales. He had a presence about him, like he would eat the world up if he had the chance." "Hmm, really? Interesting." The dragoness smiled, as if she knew something that Majesty didn't. "You know about this Heathspike?" asked Majesty, "Can you tell me where to find him?" "I could if I wanted to," said the dragoness, "but why should I? What will you give me in return of this information, unicorn?" "Weren't you concerned about this egg before?" asked Majesty, "Don't you want to help me get it back to his parent?" "Oh, I was concerned, and in a way I still am, but a dragon is nothing without their greed. And I am VERY greedy." The dragon grinned, all her fangs showing. "I see." Majesty looked around at the walls of the coal mine. "I can give you great riches for this information. Would that be an acceptable payment?" "It is. IF you can do it." "Tell me where to find Heathspike and I will." The dragoness chuckled. "The only reason I haven't burned you to a crisp is because you actually want to return Heathspike his egg. Do not push your luck, unicorn. First give me what I want, then I will tell you what you want." If Majesty had known more about mining and coal work in general, she'd wonder what fire breathing dragon would be mad enough, or desperate enough, to make their lair in a powder keg where using their signature weapon could end with them buried alive. "We'll meet half way," proposed Majesty, "I'll give you half the riches now, and I'll give you the rest after you tell me where to find Heathspike." "Very well." Majesty's horn glowed, and so did half of the walls in the abandoned coal mine. Majesty closed her eyes in concentration as her horn and the walls she was focusing on glowed even brighter, until a flash of light filled the place. When it faded, the coal in half of the walls in the mine had turned into diamonds. "That is half the cave," said Majesty, "tell me what I want, and I'll do the other half." The eyes of the dragoness lit up when she saw the jewels now protruding from the walls. "Excellent, excellent!" she said, then looked at Majesty, "From here go east until you find the ocean, go south there, always following the coastline. You will eventually see an island on the horizon with dragons flying in and out, that is Draco Island. Heathspike regularly goes there to teach young dragons." "Thank you, I'll keep my part of the deal as promised." said Majesty, her horn glowed again and so did the walls in the coal mine cave that haven't turned to diamonds yet. The glow intensified and then there was a bright flash of light, and when it finished, all the coal imbedded in the rocky walls of the dragon's chamber were now diamonds, technically making this now an abandoned diamond mine. "There you go. And now, I'll take my leave. Thanks again for the information." Majesty disappeared in a flash, as she teleported herself back not only outside the cave, but at the entrance of the forest. The dragoness was surprised, and a little disappointed she had left so suddenly. She was planning on keeping the pony have her keep making diamonds. "At least this is one treasure Smaug won't be taking from me any time soon. When Heathspike finds out what he’s done, he’ll tear him to pieces." Majesty left the forest and began walking eastward as the dragoness had told her. "Don't worry little egg," said Majesty to the dragon egg she was still carrying on her back. "I'll get you back to your father in no time." All she had to do now is find the ocean, how far could it be? = Walking Man's Road - Last Unicorn = As it turned out, the answer to that was: considerably far. For two months Majesty walked, only stopping to eat and sleep along the way, but the ocean was still nowhere in sight. Majesty was wondering if she was heading the right way, if maybe the dragoness had lied to her, but when she stopped to ask some travelers for directions, she learned that the ocean was indeed eastward, but it was several miles away, and she still had a long way to go. But Majesty would not quit. No matter how long it was going to take her, she'd reach Draco Island, find the egg's remaining parent, and return it safely to him. She had to do it, she had made a promise, she would do this right. And so she continued walking on. She sometimes wondered why would this Heathspike dragon go so far away to teach whatever it was he did, but then she realized that as a dragon he could fly, and it probably took him just a few days to cover the distance. She envied him a little for that. Beasts that tried to make a meal of the dragon egg met a swift end. Majesty had never been taught to 'scare away' dangerous animals. It was on a day in the sixth month of Majesty's journey when it happened. The sun was high up in the sky for midday, and to save herself the energy and trouble of traveling in the heat, Majesty was resting under the shade of a rather large tilted rock. There was a nice summer breeze that kept her cool and comfortable. The dragon egg lay next to her, where she could keep it safe from any harm. Majesty was laying down her head on the grass to nap when she felt it, on her side where the egg was next to her. Movement. Majesty quickly stood up and looked around for any sign of a threat, but there was nothing. She looked at the egg and to her surprise, it was shaking. A crack formed on the shell, and grew with every passing second. Majesty realized in a panic that the dragon inside was trying to get out! The egg was hatching! She didn't know how old the egg was, but apparently, it had reached the end of its gestation. Majesty just stared at the hatching egg, giving it her undivided attention, while several mixed feelings washed over her. Excitement, fear, happiness, worry... and many more, it reminded her of how she felt when she had her first foal. Finally, a small claw emerged from the egg, then a head, then another claw. The little drake had purple scales and short green spikes on his back, he didn't seem to have wings. Was that normal? She hoped he didn't have a birth defect! The wyrmling further broke the shell of the egg until it had pulled itself completely free and the shell fell to bits. The drake rolled around the ground, trying to make sense of what it felt, Majesty quickly noticed that it was a male drake. She remembered what the drake's mother had asked of her regarding the name. "Hello, little Heathspike. Welcome to the outside world." she said warmly. Heathspike slowly opened his little eyes. As they adjusted to the light for the first time he saw Majesty sitting in front of him, and he smiled and gave a tiny roar. Majesty smiled and nuzzled the baby dragon. "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe until we find your father." Little Heathspike nuzzled her back. From then on Majesty had to make sure the little drake was safe, she carried him on her back while he slept, or had him safely next to her while she slept at night. The fact that it wasn't an inert egg that she was traveling with, but a live baby dragon did slow her down, as she stopped several times a day to let the little dragon play around, and she also hunted small animals to feed him, usually squirrels, rabbits, and other small rodents, or some birds on some occasions. Hunting wasn't something she had done before, but her magic made it quite easy. When the occasional big beast tried to attack, she made sure to end it in a way that left something for the baby to eat behind. She did everything possible to make sure the baby drake was safe and well taken care off. Two months later, Majesty finally reached the ocean. It was a breathtaking sight for her, since she had never seen such a large body of water before in her life, it was like it went on forever, the waves, the salty smell, the sound of the water moving back and forth... it was incredible. Finding the ocean also meant replacing small mammals with fish for little Heathspike's lunches. Majesty remembered the instructions of the dragoness in the abandoned coal mine, and started traveling south, following the coastline, and always keeping an eye open for any island at the horizon, or dragons flying overhead, that would mean that she had finally reached Draco Island. It was two weeks in, Majesty was walking along the beach, the calming sound of the ocean had lulled little Heathspike to sleep, and he was doing so calmly curled up into a little ball on Majesty's back. A nice change from the heavy wind and rain they had the night before. She didn't walk right along the ocean all the time, walking on the sand was slower than on more solid ground, and the salty air and wind turned bothersome after being exposed to them for too long. Usually she kept her distance, but still with the ocean in range of view, always alert for a dragon in the sky or an island on the horizon. But she did walk on the beach every once in awhile, it was relaxing and easier to find food by fishing. At first it sounded so far away that Majesty didn't even pay attention, but as she kept on walking and getting closer to the source, her ears picked up the faint sound of someone crying out for help. She started to pick up the pace, going as fast as she could considering she was on a sandy beach, and had a sleeping baby dragon on her back, but she could hear it louder and clearer, someone was definitely crying out for help. Whoever it was, it didn't sound like they were in immediate danger, but it wasn't a specific cry, they were just saying "Help me, help me," over and over. Majesty quickly found the source of the cries for help, a man was lying on the beach, next to what seemed a small wrecked schooner. Majesty trotted over to the man. "Sir, are you alright?" The man lifted his head to look at Majesty, he seemed surprised but smiled at seeing her approach. "A lone unicorn!? Well, it doesn't matter, please... I was caught by yesterday's storm, I'm injured, I need help." Majesty couldn't see any visible injuries on the man, but he seemed like he was in pain. And the storm last night was pretty awful. Majesty got closer but suddenly stopped. A surge of energy shot up Majesty's right back hoof, up her spine and into her head. Suddenly she could feel threatening intent from this human... and also others that she couldn't see but were... on the schooner? "What's wrong unicorn? Please, come help me," said the man, caught by surprise that Majesty had stopped so suddenly. "You... you want to hurt me." said Majesty. This comment caught the man by surprise, he tried to hide it but failed. "What? That's nonsense... please, come closer and help me!" "And you are not alone! Who else is around here?" demanded Majesty. The man suddenly sneered and stood up. There wasn't a single scratch on him. "I don't know how but she found us out! Come out boys!" Six more men emerged from the wrecked boat at the man’s call. They wore old looking elven sailing clothes that most definitely didn't fit them, had rugged features and were holding a cutlass. One of them was wearing an eyepatch over his right eye and another one had a hook for a hand on his left arm. One of them was holding two, and threw one at the man on the beach who caught it easily. "Captain, is that really a unicorn?" said one of the men. "Yes, can't you see the horn on the head, you idiot?" Replied the man that had lied down on the beach. Majesty was stepping back as the men got off the boat and started to surround her."There’s plenty who’d pay the weight of that horn in gold. Plenty to repair the 'Tempest' and then some!" "Who are you!?" "We're pirates, little unicorn." replied the captain, "And we're in luck. Our ship got wrecked in the storm last night. We figured we would ambush the first idiot that passed by, and use what they had to try and get our boat repaired. We never expected a unicorn to show up, and alone no less!" he explained, the rest of the pirates laughed at that last statement, "We'll kill you, take your horn, and that will be more than enough to get our ship fixed and more!" "Wait a minute! Look on her back! It's a baby dragon!" pointed out the man with the hook, pointing his cutlass at little Heathspike sleeping on Majesty's back. "Well, I'll be, I didn't notice it before. The scales and bones of that dragon alone are worth a fortune!" Suddenly Majesty looked back at the captain, she didn't care what happened to her, but she was NOT going to let them harm a single scale on little Heathspike’s head. "If you run away now, I'll let you live." she said evenly to the pirates, who just laughed. "Really? There is seven of us, and we got you surrounded. What can you possibly do to us?" In reply, Majesty's horn glowed red with fire, a fireball emerged from the tip and she fired it at the now empty schooner. The fire almost immediately engulfed the whole ship. "Now I'll let you live if you run away AND drop your weapons," said Majesty. "If you think numbers do you any good, I faced an entire coven of witches alone, and they're all dead." "Y-You're bluffing..." one said, trying to remain calm but was visibly trembling. "Take one step towards me and find out then." The pirates looked wide eyed at the unicorn, and almost in unison the dropped their cutlasses on the ground and sprinted away screaming for mercy. Majesty picked up the swords with a levitation spell and threw them out into the ocean as far away as she could as she watched the pirates run away. Again she felt a surge of energy from her right back hoof shoot into her head, she could clearly hear feelings of fear from the pirates running away. What was going on? This had never happened before, was she, somehow, able to read the intentions of others? Majesty looked back as she felt little Heathspike stirring on her back, she picked him up in her magic and rocked him back and forth to calm him. "Oh, what’s wrong, little dragon? Did the bad men wake you with their screaming? Don't worry, I scared them away and they won't hurt you." The little drake yawned and fell back to sleep. Majesty smiled as she gently placed him on her back, and continued to walk along the beach, in search for Draco Island. Two weeks later, she finally saw it. First she saw a dragon flying in the distance, then two, then ten. She could make out a tiny island on the horizon, and dragons seemed to fly towards the island and away from it like birds circling for seed. That had to be Draco Island, it fit the location and description perfectly! But now the problem was... how was she going to get there? She certainly couldn't swim to the island. Maybe she could fly there? She never tried it before, but she was pretty sure that she could use a levitation spell on herself and baby Heathspike to float over to the island. But she had to be careful about the wind. Majesty closed her eyes and concentrated. Her horn started to glow, but the spell didn't result how she intended! Instead, she felt a strange surge of power from her left back hoof, up her spine, into her skull and towards her horn. Suddenly Majesty felt herself getting lighter, as what seemed like a cloud formed under her lifting both herself and little baby Heathspike into the air! "Whoa! What... I'm flying!" Majesty was surprised as the cloud seemed to take her towards Draco Island quickly, fast like the wind. The island got larger and larger as she got closer and closer. A moment later, Majesty landed on the island's beach. She saw the cloud dissipate and felt her body regaining its weight. She wasn't sure how she did it, but that had worked out better than she could imagine. "An outsider!" she heard a voice behind her. "Look! It's a unicorn!" said another one. "What should we do with her?". "Look! She's carrying a baby dragon on her back!" Majesty turned around, and saw six little dragons, a blue one, a purple one, a green one, a pink one, an orange one and a yellow one. "Um... hello, unicorn. Why are you here?" asked the yellow dragon. "And why do you have that baby dragon with you?" "Are you a good unicorn or a bad unicorn?" The dragons didn't sound threatening, but they did sound careful. "Hello, my name is Majesty," she said in a friendly manner, "this baby dragon was given to me while he was still an egg from a dying dragoness. I'm looking for her mate so I can return him to his rightful parent. She said the name of her mate was Heathspike. Do you know where I can find him?" The eyes of the dragons went wide with surprise when they heard that name. "She saw Miss Elebarb?" "She has Mr. Heathspike’s whelp!" "So, you do know him? Do you know where I can find him?" asked Majesty hopefully. The dragons looked down, suddenly saddened. "What's wrong?" asked Majesty. "Mr. Heathspike was our teacher, but he... he died." explained the green dragon. "He died fighting a bad dragon almost a year ago." Majesty's eyes widened in horror. She didn't expect that. This whole time she was trying to find the dragon’s parent, only to find the poor whelp was an orphan. "I see. Was this bad dragon covered in jewels?" The dragon nodded. Majesty felt fire in her veins. If the monster who killed Little Heathspike’s parents still lived, she would make sure they were avenged once their son was safe. "He’s the one who killed her. Where is he?" "Mr. Heathspike blew him to bits... He made sure that evil toad couldn’t hurt anyone else ever again." The pink dragon sniffed. "He was... he was a noble dragon." The orange one nodded. "No, he was the original noble dragon, and don’t you forget it!" The blue drake wiped his eyes. "I see. So... it was all for nothing then... I failed. Again." Majesty looked down. "What should I do now?" The young dragons looked at each other. "Maybe she can ask Queen Tiamat?" said the orange dragon. "Yes! Queen Tiamat might know what to do!" said the blue dragon. "What?! She can't talk to Queen Tiamat! She's not a dragon!" said the pink dragon. "No, but she HAS been protecting a baby dragon this whole time!" said the yellow dragon. "Yes, and not just any baby dragon. Mr. Heathspike's son," said the green dragon. "Queen Tiamat... is that your leader?" asked Majesty. "Queen Tiamat is much more than just our leader," said the pink dragon. "She's much more than a dragon," explained the yellow dragon. "She’s the mother of us all." "She might even kill you if you dare to speak to her, just because you're not a dragon," said the red dragon. "But if anyone knows of a dragon that might adopt Mr. Heathspike's whelp, it's Queen Tiamat," said the blue dragon. "Then I must speak to her. Please, just tell me where to find her. I don't care if I die, I just want to make sure this baby dragon is safe. I promised her mother before she died. Please, I just have to do this," begged Majesty. "You don't care if you die, if you can keep a baby dragon safe?" asked the pink dragon in surprise. "Yes," replied Majesty with full resolve. The dragons looked at each other, then nodded. "With fang and claw taking flight, I'll stand for what I know is right! What I have stored beside my heart, from me it shall never part! I defend my treasures I love so dire, who tries to take them will taste my fire! Beware to evil at my door, I'm a noble dragon, HEAR ME ROAR!" they said in unison, then they let out a roar. "Um... thank you?" Majesty stared confused as the young dragons recited the oath. 
"Queen Tiamat is in the center of the island, just go that way," said the yellow dragon, pointing to a path going to the gigantic mountain that rose from the island's center. "You'll recognize Queen Tiamat when you see her, you can be sure of that!." "Thank you," replied Majesty, she then turned around and began walking down the path. The rocks became more prominent, the land more dry, the air hotter as she went deeper and deeper into the island. There were also more and more dragons, and bigger, flying above her as she got closer and closer to the center. The dragons for the most part ignored her the way you would an insect. Others looked at her with dangerous eyes, and there were moments she teleported herself and Heathspike out of their line of sight. Finally, she saw the mountain at the center of the island, saw the dragons flying above in a circle. She began to climb, being extra careful of her precious cargo. She thought of how she had flown before, but didn't want unwanted attention. The mountain itself was odd, the jagged pieces of stone fused together by some great heat... if she didn't know better she'd swear it had been blown apart from the inside and then put back together. The smell of dragon in the coal mine was nothing compared to this, the scent was everywhere and on everything, it made Majesty dizzy, but she pressed on. She reached the mouth of a cavern shaped like a jagged maw, dragons flying in and out. It made Majesty feel like the mountain itself wanted to eat her. She went in anyway. Upon entering, the scent nearly knocked her out, to say nothing of the heat. It was worse than the hottest summer she could remember within. The cavern was carpeted with treasure plundered from many civilizations, and young and juvenile dragons rubbed shoulders against each other, many looking ready for a fight, but none dared... And Majesty instantly knew why. She was impossible to miss. The young dragons had been right, Majesty did know her when she saw her. She was larger than any Majesty had ever seen. Majesty wondered how the dragon even managed to leave or enter this cave. It was like the mountain itself was shaped to her. Her wings looked like she could have blocked out the sky. Her tail could swipe away a caravan. Her claws seem sharp enough to rend the oldest of trees. And... she had five heads. Each one with jaws large enough to swallow a small house. One lay on the ground sleeping. One kept an eye on the dragons. Another head watched the horizon outside the cave. One was staring at a wall covered in claw marks. The last was crunching and devouring SOMETHING... molten lava dripped from her mouth and stone shaped like a hand fell and shattered. But more than what she saw, was what she felt. A pressure, an immense one. Like instead of standing before a dragon, she was standing before a smouldering volcano. More a force of nature than a living thing. "How does she ever get enough to eat?" Majesty wondered to herself despite herself. 'And how does she not fill the place with her own filth? Maybe that's why the mountain is hollow?' The sleeping dragon head's ear fins twitched, and its eyes snapped open. All five heads rose and turned towards Majesty in a semi-circle, looking down on her. Smoke blew from their nostrils, and Majesty smelled blood and air on their breath. One of the heads sniffed at her and Heathspike, its eyes widened, this was followed by the other heads who took in Majesty and Spike's scent. One reared back, while another reached close enough that Majesty could see herself in its eyes like a full length mirror. But the focus was on Healthspike. One had its eyes furrow. Another smiled. Another snorted. One's face remained neutral. The fifth head yelled to the dragons within the cave in a strong commanding voice. "Wyrmlings! Leave us! It seems we either have another thief, or a guest! We shall speak to it privately!" The dragons all obeyed immediately, Majesty kept her head down as the entire flight exited the cave, keeping Healthspike close protectively. The heads' eyes did not leave her. Then Majesty was alone with the giant five headed dragoness, except for the sleeping baby dragon on her back. "You are Tiamat, am I correct?" asked Majesty without fear, if she died here, her quest would be completed anyway. "We are Queen Tiamat," snorted Queen Tiamat's left most head. Another head seemed amused at Majesty's lack of fear. Yet another was puzzled. "You have gone through a lot of trouble to meet us." stated another head. "Our jewels see more than others think, and they tell us all," said another. "Why would a pony of all creatures would be interested in an audience with us, and what is she doing with a hatchling?" said another head. "Did she claim it as her own after besting one of our jewels? Did she hope to ransom it? We were curious." "Especially considering that we could easily crush you right now." stated all five heads together. Majesty didn't flinch. "I don't care about dying anymore. And I know you wouldn't kill one of your own dragons. I am not here to ransom, only return what is yours." Majesty lifted up the sleeping baby dragon, and placed him gently on the ground in front of her. She bowed to the queen of all dragons. "I just hope Heathspike will be safe and happy here with you." Majesty could not see, but Tiamat froze at her words. "...Heathspike? How did you come by that name?" "His mother, Elebarb. She told me to name her last son after his father before she..." "You will tell us everything!" said all five heads in an echo. Majesty did so. The center heads asked for details, some Majesty could not give as she hadn't thought them important at the time, and other details Majesty thought important, the dragon did not care for. And when Majesty finished, "I don't care what befalls me. I just wanted to bring this baby dragon to you, so you might find a suitable dragon to raise him. I just need to know that he'll be safe, then I will accept whatever you might wish to do to me." The mother of all dragonkind was quiet for ages. Her heads looked to each other in some sort of silent conference. When the five heads turned back, they addressed Majesty. "The dragon's mother asked you to take care of the egg." said one of the heads. "You were there when he hatched." "You fed him when he was hungry." "You protected him when he was in danger." "It seems to us that you are a perfect choice to take care of him." said her fifth head. "What?!" Majesty's eyes opened wide, she had expected many things, but THIS? "No... I couldn't... I shouldn't... I'm... I'm not fit to do it. I can't protect this baby dragon." "Why not?" asked one head. "I've heard of your prowess in battle." "You have defeated many enemies." "Performed great magical feats." "You are very powerful." Majesty looked down, her eyes closed. "No, I'm not powerful. I can't... I can't protect anyone... What is power if I can't protect those I care about?" "You've been powerful enough to protect him so far." "What is power? Where does it come from? What is its source?" asked one head. "Is it the strength of one's muscles? Is it the amount of mana one has? Knowledge or wisdom?" asked another head. "But why would one NEED power? If one cannot use it for what they WANT? In your case, protecting your loved ones." "If you believe yourself to be weak, you will be weak. If you believe yourself to be strong, you will be strong. Great power can be gained, taken, given, lost, but any being with the ability to choose is never powerless." Majesty looked back up at Queen Tiamat. "Please, I swore to the mother on her deathbed, that I would protect her last son. Please... I'm a failure. I do not have power. I failed my herd. I failed my friends. I failed all of elfkind. I will be better off living alone in a forest, or dead... I don't care anymore. Please, don't condemn this innocent dragon to die by my negligence." The heads all laughed. Majesty didn't see what was so funny. "I understand that you failed your herd,-" "- And failed your friends." "But failing elfkind?" "That is exaggeration." Majesty was confused. How could the dragon queen not see what she had done? "What do you mean? Because of me, there was a fight within the members of an ancient Order of elven Knights. Elves needed them to fight for them, now they will fight each other. Elves will die by their own kin. I have condemned them to the worst possible fate!" "Fight among themselves? What gave you THAT idea?" said one of the heads. "After what happened at that camp, other elves found out what happened, yes. But chaos was not what came afterwards." stated another head. "The Order you speak of has indeed divided after they heard what happened, with different members within with different ideologies and convictions forming their own factions. The original Order is no more. These factions are founding their own orders, and these new Orders began protecting different territories where different groups of elven settlements were scattered." said another head. "These new Orders and groups of cities are forming their own small elven nations, but they have all also agreed to remain as a federation for their mutual protection, and to freely trade with one another. The old way of life of the elves fades, but a different way emerges as a result." said another head. "Many died, true, change does not come without its share of corpses. But none is even close to the end of elfkind. And the average elf who just wants to live their life took no part in the bloodletting." stated the fifth head. "But... but the witch said..." Majesty exclaimed. "The witch?" said one of Tiamat's heads. Another head started to laugh. "Creatures believe what they want to believe. The witch wanted to believe her spark would be an inferno that would consume the elves. What made you think the witch understood the elves that well?" "We understand wanting to keep what we love, but other creatures who express it by giving things away with nothing in return confounds us. A creature like that may be able to explain their reasoning, but we couldn't." said the farthest right head. "Not everything you hear will always be true." "And the worst outcome is NOT inherently the inevitable outcome." said the fifth head. "And... and you are sure of this?" asked Majesty. "As we said, our jewels see more than others think," said one head. "And they tell us all," said another one. "And even if they did not, while our jewels may boast they are fire, we truly are. Primordial fire. We know far more of how this world works than any mortal." "If the elves might fall one day, rest assured that it will not be by your actions. Tirek the Accursed will need to do so himself, for they will not do it for him. Elves will not go quietly into the night, they will not vanish without a fight. They will live on. They will survive." said another head. "We speak the truth." said another head. "We swear upon all our hoard.," said the fifth head. "You mean... I... I didn't... I wasn't..." Majesty started to cry, they were tears of joy. Her legs trembled until she fell down to her knees, "Oh, thank you Queen Tiamat... I... Thank you... from the bottom of my heart... thank you..." "So, we ask again, unicorn," said one of Tiamat's heads. "Will you keep your oath to the drake's mother?" "Will you take this drake, and protect him?" "Will you nurture him and help him grow proud and strong?" "Will you adopt him as your son. Will you be his mother?" Majesty stood up, cleaned her tear stained face with her hoof and picked up the sleeping baby dragon with her magic, placing him again gently on her back. "I do. I will," she replied. By now Majesty noticed that all the dragons had returned, they were now all sitting around both her and Tiamat, looking at them in complete silence. Even the young dragons that she had met on the beach were there, smiling encouragingly at her. "So be it." said one of Tiamat's heads. "Let it be known that from this day forward, the baby drake known as Heathspike, son of our precious departed jewels, Delphyne Whimsey Elebarb and Kenbroath Gilspotten Heathspike, will be under the care of the unicorn Majesty." "She will raise him as his mother. Protect him as her son." "And to assure that he will remember his draconian origins, the young dragon will be allowed to visit the land of dragons once every year." "Let this pact between us, become a bond that will join ponies and dragons for generations to come!" With that, the dragons around them roared and took to the sky again. Suddenly Tiamat's five heads opened their maws in unison and spit fire on Majesty at once. Majesty was too surprised to react, but when the fire cleared, Majesty wasn't there anymore, neither was the baby dragon, and the ground wasn't even charred. Miles away, again on the continent and off Tiamat's island, Majesty suddenly materialized with baby Heathspike on her back. She was dizzy only for a moment. That had been a weird experience, it seemed that Tiamat had performed some sort of teleportation spell on her using magical fire breath. But it wasn't like when she teleported on her own using her horn, this one felt completely different, like if her whole body was broken to pieces only to reform itself somewhere else. This had caused the baby dragon to wake up, and he did so crying. Majesty quickly lifted him with her magic, rocking him softly, calming him down. "Shh, don't worry little one, I'm here." This calmed down the little dragon, he looked at Majesty and started to smile and giggle. Majesty smiled back. "Well, I guess I'm your mommy now. You like that Heathspike?" The dragon giggled in reply. "I must admit that Heathspike is quite a mouthful," said Majesty, "I think I'll call you Spike, for short. You like that, Spike?" she asked the baby drake. Spike giggled back. "Very well, Spike, don't worry, you're safe with me. Mommy will protect you," said Majesty soothingly as she rocked Spike back to sleep. Majesty didn't want to be a hermit anymore. She wasn't sure what to do now, but becoming a recluse in a forest for the rest of her life wasn't it anymore. She was sure of something, she didn't want to depends from others to get answers anymore. If she was going to live her life, to do something else but being a wild unicorn, she had to find her own answers, her own path. She knew the first step to do that. She needed to learn how to read and write.