//------------------------------// // No Time for a Family // Story: Fear from the Heart // by Dragon Heart //------------------------------// The forest was alive with noise. Birds flew about the trees, singing and cawing without a care in the world. The wind blew and whistled as it drifted through the branches and leaves. On the ground, strange looking mammals scurried around foraging for food. One looked like a cross between a kangaroo and a giant rat with an elongated nose, almost like an elephant. Small horse-like creatures galloped in herds through the forest, running from potential danger. What they thought was danger was Hammerheart and the mares. "Oh my, this forest looks bigger down here than up on the mountainside." said Fluttershy. "I wonder what kind of animals we could find here?" Pinkie said as she bounced along with them. "Whatever we run into, I hope they're neighborly." said Applejack. "The last thang we need is some giant lizard er somethin' makin' a meal outta us." The sound of a throat clearing made Applejack turn her attention to Hammerheart, who was looking at her with a raised brow. "What?" Applejack shrugged. Hammerheart sighed and shook his head. "Nothin'." He said. Rainbow Dash flew up next to Hammerheart's head, whose veins began to swell in annoyance. "Is something on your mind, Hammerheart?" Rainbow Dash asked. Hammerheart turned and walked away from the Pegasus. "No, don't bug me wit dumb questions." Rarity trotted up to Hammerheart's side. "Please, darling, we're your friends. You can tell us anything, and we won't judge you." She said. "Ye're not me friends." Hammerheart said bluntly. The mares stopped and bugged their eyes in confusion. "Huh?!" Twilight trotted up next to Hammerheart. "What do you mean we're not friends?" She asked. "I mean we never were friends." said Hammerheart. Fluttershy flew up next to Hammerheart's head. "But you trust us, don't you?" She asked. "At least you trust me? Plus you accepted our friendship." Hammerheart sighed. "I trust you all, but not enough to even consider you friends." "Is that why you referred to us as 'companions' back at the Bison village?" said Applejack. Hammerheart shook his head. "We can never be friends, you all and me." Rainbow Dash flew in front of Hammerheart and faced him with her hooves on her hips. "And why not?" She asked. Hammerheart stopped walking. "Because I be a renegade, remember?" the mares slightly gasped when they remembered that. "You're all with me because you're part of a puzzle I'm part of." said Hammerheart. "Once I git me claws on the power of the Dragon Gods, and we beat Pyrkagias fer good, you'll all go yer way, I'll go mine, and we'll never meet again. You all can live together as friends while I roam about dealin' with Wyverns who want me dead." "But that doesn't mean we can't be friends." said Fluttershy. "It just means we have to protect you from your own." "I can't stay wit you all forever." said Hammerheart. "There's more than just me clan who's out ta gut me like a wild boar. Even ponies are tryin' ta take a bite out me with their spears and rocks and other stuff." "That only means we have to protect you at all costs." Fluttershy said solemnly. Hammerheart was about to speak, but the sound of screaming caught everyone's attention. They turned their gaze towards the direction it came from. Then a fearsome roar echoed in the air. Fluttershy was shaking. "W-wh-what was th-that?" She said. "Sounds like trouble." said Hammerheart. "Let's check it out." Hammerheart took off in the direction of the noises. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie followed after. Fluttershy was still too frightened to move. Twilight used her magic to grab Fluttershy and shake her a little. "Come on, Fluttershy, we gotta catch up!" said Twilight. Fluttershy shook her head. "Uh, right!" She said, and she galloped after behind Twilight. Hammerheart came to a clearing in the forest, but did not see anything that could have screamed or roared. He examined the area, slowly looking from left to right. "What could've made that sound?" He asked himself. His ears picked up on the sound of running feet. Hammerheart sniffed the air, and could smell something reptilian approaching. The others soon caught up with him, panting from the running. "Did you... find anything?" said Twilight. "No," said Hammerheart, "but somethin's comin'." Then, four lizards that were running upright on their back legs came rushing into the clearing, looking back. They all wore leather tunics that went down to their thighs, but one had a capital B on his chest, another had a capitol C on theirs, another had a capitol S, and another had a capitol T. When they turned their gaze to their front, they immediately stopped and screamed at Hammerheart. "It'z anudder meat eata!" One of them yelled. Hammerheart cocked his head back. "Another meat eater?" He thought. The sound of heavy footsteps approaching came to his ears. From behind a tree, a forty foot long dinosaur appeared and roared, showing its bloody, razor sharp teeth. It was a Tyrannosaurus. "Oh shoot, it'z 'ere!" Another cried. "Leg it, guyz!" They ran past Hammerheart, and the Tyrannosaur's attention turned to Hammerheart. It scratched the ground with its feet and prepared to attack. "Hammerheart, we gotta scram!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "You all go, I'll hold him off!" said Hammerheart. "Are you nuts?!" Twilight shouted, "That thing's way bigger than you! It'll KILL you!" "Size doesn't mean everythin'!" Hammerheart shouted as he went in to attack. Hammerheart and the Tyrannosaurus charged. Hammerheart tried to bite the T-Rex's head, but the Tyrannosaurus got in the first strike. It bit down on Hammerheart's neck and pinned him to the ground. It started shaking its head, trying to take a chunk out of the Wyvern, but Hammerheart made sure to keep himself in one piece. The Tyrannosaurus began to pull Hammerheart, making him stand up and walk with it. His hammer smashed against a boulder and shattered its top half to pieces. "Dere'z no way he'z gonna live against dat fing!" One of the lizards said. "It'z a monshter versus a hatchling!" "I HEARD THAT!" Hammerheart yelled. The lizard slapped a hand over his mouth. Hammerheart placed his right hand on the Tyrannosaur's head and pushed on it, trying to get free. He then made a fist and punched it right in the side of its nose. The Tyrannosaurus reacted from the pain by weakening its grip on Hammerheart, who slipped out of its jaws. Hammerheart then gave a warning shot at the T-Rex, slamming his jaws shut close to it and swinging his fists. His attempts of intimidation did not work as the Tyrannosaurus tried to take another bite out of Hammerheart, but the Wyvern pressed his hand on the end of its nose and pushed it away. The Tyrannosaurus then stuck its head under the Wyvern's body and tried to topple him over, but Hammerheart managed to keep his balance and stay on both feet. The Tyrannosaur's side face him, and Hammerheart attacked. He charged, lunged at the T-Rex, latched his claws onto it, and bit on its neck. The lizards grew wide eyed at the changing tide of battle. "He'z gotten 'old of him, now!" One said. "He just might win dis!" Another said. The mares watched in hopes that Hammerheart would beat this dinosaur. He had already sustained bite wounds to his neck. Hopefully, that would be the only casualty. "Come on, Hammerheart! You can win this!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Teach that beast a lesson!" said Rarity. Fluttershy sat behind a large rock with a hoof covering the other in concern. "Please, Hammerheart. you can do it, I know you can." She thought. The Tyrannosaurus roared in anger as it tried to shake Hammerheart off. It reached back as far as it could and tried to bite him, but could not reach far enough. Hammerheart held onto the Tyrannosaurus with all his might. He released his bite on the T-Rex and bit down again with double the effort. The Tyrannosaurus roared in pain. Then suddenly, a blast of fire shot from the sky and burned the Tyrannosaur's back. Hammerheart looked up to see some kind of figure in the sky. The fire gave him an idea. He took in a deep breath through his nostril and unleashed his own flames on the Tyrannosaurus. Hammerheart released his grip and jumped off the burning dinosaur. The Tyrannosaurus took a few steps back and shook its whole body. It was covered with third degree burns. It turned and walked away with its mortal injuries, and disappeared into the forest. Hammerheart cracked his neck from another battle fought and won. The figure in the sky landed behind him and giggled. "You were always a reckless punk, ever since we first met." The figure said with an english feminine voice. Hammerheart gasped as he recognized that voice. He turned to see a female Wyvern standing before him. She was exactly his size in length and height, though her wingspan was five feet shorter. She was orange with a yellow underbelly, spines, arrowhead on her tail end, and wing membranes. She had a pair of small crests sticking out of both sides of the top of her head. Her eye were like Hammerheart's except with sky blue irises. "Ravelas? What are you doin' here?!" said Hammerheart. "What? Is it a crime for a female Dragon to protect her future mate?" said Ravelas. The mares gasped in disbelief. "Did... did she say future mate?" Twilight asked. "I believe she did." said Rarity. "Um, what exactly does that mean?" said Rainbow Dash. "It means they're both getting married and having lots of baby Dragons!" Pinkie said, happy for the two Wyverns. "I don't know what you're talkin' about!" Hammerheart said defensively. "I followed your scent all the way to a floating island in the middle of the ocean." Ravelas explained. "When I searched the volcano, I found both a portal and some old Knucker Shaman fellow who said he was protecting the gateway to Saurosmo. I asked where you were, and he asked what relation do I have with you, and I told him that I'm your mate. After that, he agreed to let me go in. Then I followed a fresh scent all the way here and found you roughing yourself up with another beast." "But why did you follow me here?" Hammerheart asked, wanting a legitimate answer. Ravelas held her hands together and twisted her foot on the ground. "Well, Hammerheart, it's because..." Her cheeks grew red from nervousness, and Hammerheart put his hands on his hips. "It's.. because..." Her blushing grew. Hammerheart raised a brow. "I'm waitin'." Ravelas took in a deep breath. "You're gonna be a father." Hammerheart's brows remained furrowed, but his eyes dilated and his whole body went stiff. The mares also dropped their jaws to the ground in surprise. Their eyes dilated and their pupils shrunk. "Congratulations!" Pinkie shouted with joy, oblivious to the feeling that surrounded everyone else. "You're both gonna be parents! WHOO!" "What?" Hammerheart said, his voice stripped of any emotions. "It's true." said Ravelas, "I'm preggers, and they're your chicks." "How do ya even know?" Hammerheart asked, really wanting to debunk her claim. "I'll explain later." She said looking at the mares and lizards. "There's too many folks around here." One of the lizards approached Hammerheart. "Oh, Great Savior." "Hammerheart, ya bloke." Hammerheart deadpanned. "We fank you fer savin' our tails from dat monsta. If you'd like, you, yer mate, and yer buddiez ova dere can come wit us ta our village an rest fer da night." He pointed to the sun, which was setting in the distance. "Our home turf'z no place ta dink around durin' da night." The mares and Ravelas looked to Hammerheart, who lowered his head slightly and sighed. "Fine." "Great! Follow us!" The lizards regrouped and led the way. The mares followed after them. Hammerheart walked behind them, with Ravelas by his side. He really was not taking the news very well. "I'm gonna be a father?" It was nighttime, and the moon was high in the sky at its fullest size. Hammerheart and the others were led to a village that stood over a lake within a swamp. The huts were made of trees and bamboo. Primitive lanterns contained brightly lit fireflies. Within the center of the village was a fire pit. The four lizards that led them to their home and the mares sat around the cozy flames. "So, what are you guys?" Twilight asked. "We be Saurasks, luv." One of them said. "We're Lizard Boyz an Girlz dat have lived fer a long time. Ever since da very dinosaurz walked around da Earf. Oh, I almost fergot. We needz ta intraduse arselvez." They all stood up. "I'm Basha!" "My name'z Crasha!" "Dey call me Smasha!" "And I'd be Thrasha!" They all leaned on each others' shoulders. "An togedder, we're..." Basha, Crasha, and Smasha jumped high in the air while Thrasha stood tall and held his arms out, making a "T" shape out of himself. Smasha landed on Thrasha's head shaped like an "S", Crasha landed on Smasha's head shaped like a "C", and Basha landed on Crasha's head shaped like a "B". "Da Baz-Bo-Billeh-Bruddaz!" They all said with pride in unison. The mares stared at the quadrio with dumbfound looks plastered on their faces, but Pinkie was the only one clapping and laughing and cheering. "WHOO HOO!!! You guys are awesome!" She cheered. "Fanks." said Basha, "But enuff about us, tell us yer namez." Everyone blinked as she returned to reality and Twilight cleared her throat. "My name's Twilight, Twilight Sparkle." "The name's Applejack." "You can call me Rainbow Dash." "My name is Rarity." "I-I'm Fluttershy." "And I'm Pinkie Pie!" "Pleased ta meet ya." They all said. "So what were you guys doing with that T-Rex?" Twilight asked. The brothers gave sheepish smiles. "Well, we were tryin' ta take down one a da most vicious predatorz that ever walked da Earf." Basha explained. "Unfortunately, we were unprepared when we came across one dat waz munchin' on itz food, and it waz mad. So it left itz carcass and tried takin' a bite outta us." "Sounds like one heck of a challenge." said Rainbow Dash. Suddenly, the part of the floor that Thrasha was standing on gave in to the amount of weight it was supporting, and collapsed underneath him. Thrasha fell through, and got stuck up to his chest. The other brothers toppled off and landed with hard thuds. "Ack! Thrasha, whot happened?!" said Smasha. "The flippin' floorin' under my feet broke, again!" said Thrasha. "Dat'z da fourth time dis month!" "We eitha need ta rebuild with tuffa wood, or try ar team playin' somewhere less weak." Crasha suggested. As the Baz-Bo-Billeh-Bruddaz talked amongst themselves about the flooring, Fluttershy looked around and noticed that Hammerheart and Ravelas were not present. "Um, has anypony seen Hammerheart or his fiancee?" Fluttershy asked. The mares looked at each other, then at Fluttershy and shrugged. "He's probably hanging out with his girlfriend or something like that." said Rainbow Dash. "I just don't get him." "What do you mean, Dashie?" said Pinkie. "I mean, he says we're not his friends. Is he forgetting that me and Fluttershy helped him get out of that pit in the Everfree Forest? Or was that not enough for him?" "Rainbow Dash, please." Twilight said, placing a hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "He probably doesn't want us to be with him when the Dragons' Law catches up to him." "But he said those other Dragon are afraid of the Elements of Harmony!" Rainbow Dash nearly yelled. "We're like his personal bodyguards, which sounds really stupid, considering, but while he's with us those Dragons can't touch him." "He said the reason Dragons won't attack our towns and cities was because they think we could use the Elements to destroy them." Twilight rephrased. "But the Elements of Harmony don't destroy things, they protect and show power through the magic of our friendship." Rainbow Dash wanted to keep arguing, but Twilight's point stopped her dead. "Oh, yeah..." She said, hanging her head low. "So, what're ya gittin' at, Twi?" said Applejack. "I'm saying that Hammerheart might be right about a true friendship between us and him never working. He thinks he's safe with us, but if the Dragons hunting him find us and realize we can't stop them, then Hammerheart's history." Rainbow Dash tapped her hoof tip on her head in thought until she remembered another thing of vital importance. "What about Princess Celestia and Luna?" She said. "Hammerheart also said they fear them. Surely they could save him." "They probably could, but the Princesses would never kill for the sake of protecting someone." said Twilight. "Anything they could do would only be temporary set backs for the Dragons." Everyone sighed in defeat. It would appear what Hammerheart said might be correct. A true friendship between him and them could probably never work. Fluttershy got up and walked away, and Rarity saw her. "Fluttershy, where are you going?" Fluttershy did not look at her. "To get some more air." She said, her voice emotionless. She flapped her wing and flew up to the top of a nearby bungalow and sat on the center of the roof. She looked up at the moon, tears in her eyes. "Hammerheart, don't do this to yourself." She thought. "I don't care if you're an outcast. I don't care if you're always in danger. I don't even care that you're a Dragon. You're a good friend, and you risk your life to keep us safe. I've always thought Dragons were horrifying monsters, but you show that there's more to you than meets the eye." Hammerheart and Ravelas sat on a tiny island in the lake under an old weeping willow. Hammerheart looked down with his eyes closed, and Ravelas touched his hand. Hammerheart opened his eyes and withdrew his hand. "What's wrong?" said Ravelas. Hammerheart wanted to give some kind of excuse, but nothing came. "It's nothin'." As they sat together, Ravelas decided to try and lighten Hammerheart up. "Do you remember when we first met, six months ago?" Hammerheart sighed deeply. "All too well." Ravelas giggled. "I can't believe how fast you stole my heart." Hammerheart pressed his hand against his face in realization. "Which explains why yer expectin'. I can't believe I fergot all about it." Ravelas gave Hammerheart a peck to the cheek. "Now you see why I came looking for you? I want you to come back home, with me, so we can raise our chicks together as a family." Hammerheart stood up and walked up to the edge of the island, facing away from Ravelas. "I can't go home wit ya." He said as serious as he could. "I have to complete a quest fer salvation, and there's a very high chance I won't live ta see the next day." Ravelas looked at him in sympathy. "Besides, I told you before, we can't be together. Until I can forever lose my clan's desire to kill me, I can never be with you." Ravelas gasped and placed a hand on her chest. Tears began to form in her eyes. "Are you saying that... you don't love me?" Hammerheart sighed. "I never said that. If the Dragons' Law drags me down, I don't want you ta fall with me, or anyone else. As long as I'm by meself, no harm will come to anyone." Ravelas understood now. Hammerheart is just protecting her from himself, but it still saddened her that they could never be together. "So, you're forever a lone wolf, then?" She said, looking away. "For now." said Hammerheart. "But..." Upon hearing "but", Ravelas looked back at him. "If I can find a way ta clear me name, and my clan ceases their hunt for me..." Ravelas could feel her aching heart beat with new found hope. "Then... maybe... we could be a family. That is, if I live to see that day." Ravelas began to cry, but they were tears of joy, not sorrow. Hammerheart turned around to face her again. She got up off the ground and rushed up to Hammerheart to embrace him. Hammerheart stood still at first, but then wrapped his wings around her in the same hug. Ravelas began sobbing into Hammerheart's shoulder. "Don't start leakin' tears on me now, Ravelas." He said. "Save 'em fer when it really matters the most." Ravelas pulled back and sniffed, wiping her eyes. "No promises. Just get home in four months or less, alright?" She asked. Hammerheart chuckled. "No promises." With that said, they came together again for a kiss goodbye. It was a strange moment to Hammerheart. Why was he saying stuff like what he just said? He just could not understand his own motives. But perhaps even he should not question his own decisions. They broke from their kiss and pressed their foreheads together. "I guess I should leave now, and let you do what you must do." said Ravelas. Hammerheart sighed. "That may be best." They fully broke from each others' embrace, and Ravelas stretched her wing and flew back the way she came. As Hammerheart watched her fly away, he looked down and grew tense. He still was not sure if what he was doing was right, but he would have to face any consequences later. He laid on the ground, curled his tail around himself, and went to sleep.