The monster pony didn't return. Not for a while. While he was gone, she learned about the baby dragon that had hatched from the egg. It had bright violet eyes, and it was an ice dragon. Very contrasting to her own normal fire belly. But there was no way she'd be able to tell him no. He was adorable!!
But he was simply another mouth to feed. And she already had enough trouble feeding herself.
She went two days. And she fed him more than herself.
A full week went by. She was still hunting for more animals. Her tail became infected.
Another week. The dragon learned to talk. It managed to spread it's wings and hover. Her tail was still hurt.
After a full two weeks, the monster pony came. He brought apples. She liked apples. So did the whelp.
He came again two weeks later. He brought chalk. She used it to draw. Her pictures weren't coming to life anymore.
The monster pony gave her more magic. It helped the pictures to move again.
He came every two weeks for a few years. They decided that the whelp be named Firestone.
Firestone eventually ran away.
She cried for the first time in a long time.
She knew she shouldn't. She was now 13.
She wasn't supposed to cry.
The monster pony came to comfort her.
He was nice.
Brush learned that the dragon pony was named Soma.
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Soma came to the cave again. He was much bigger now. Almost bigger than Brush was. But not yet. She was still a few inches taller.
Today he'd sneaked away from Celestia. It wasn't his day to leave, and he thought he could come surprise her with an apple. She loved those.
He walked in, to see her hunched over in a corner. She looked much different from when they met. He still remembered it. She was his size, maybe smaller, and she was standing just outside the mouth of her rocky home. She was hugging a monster. It was nothing but a shadow to him, but she saw something different. She saw her mother, who had died years ago. She never told him if the monster had returned. Perhaps.. It had been killed by the dagger? That's all he'd had. And she was starting to get hurt, so he had to help.
But now things were different. She was bigger, stronger, and smarter. She was able to sharpen her claws more often. Her magic paintings were learning to survive easier. They were small, barely bigger than his head. But they still came to life as long as she made them.
She had obviously made one this morning. It was still stuck on the wall.
Right next to her.
She was still crying. He walked over to her. She was hunched over with tears streaming down her face. He'd only seen her cry once before, and that was when they'd met. He didn't remember her crying bright purple tears. He hugged her, and she fell silent. She started to sob.
This went on for a few minutes, and she was calm again. She sat against the wall. "A-Are you... okay?.." He said to her with a trembling voice.
She simply nodded. "I'm fine.." She said with a soft, cracking voice.
"Just not as happy." She mumbled. He handed her an apple. She ate it in two swift chomps, her sharpened teeth biting through like a knife through jello. She smiled, and he smiled back. "Are you still upset about Firestone?" He asked cautiously. She didn't respond.
"When did you make this??" He asked her, pointing to the small drawing on the wall. She mumbled "A few minutes before you came.."
She turned to put her back against the wall. Her wings were growing so that she couldn't fold them to her side. His wings had barely grown at all.
She had to have her wings half open. Eventually she opened them fully, in order to stretch them out. They sat for hours talking about the different things they had to say. Soon, before they knew it, there were dark grey storm clouds in the sky. Brush folded her wings as best she could. Lightning flashed and startled the pair. Soma was worried. He hadn't told Luna or Celestia, or Discord about leaving. He knew they'd be worried. But he couldn't go out in this weather. He was the son of absolute chaos, along with harmony. He was bound to get struck by lightning.
Unless he was in shelter. Brush knew this as well. "C'mon. There's a bigger cavern down this way." She said over the sounds of the storm. Winds were blowing furiously. She started walking down the hall, wings half-folded. He followed closely, having never gone this way before.
He looked back towards the mouth of the cave. A branch fell. And something fell with it. "Uhh.. Hey.. There's something over there.." He said under the thunder outside. Brush didn't respond, so he assumed she didn't hear him. He spoke louder. "Uhh.. Brush?? There's something outside the cave!" She turned around to face him.
"I know." She said quietly. Though it was barely above a whisper, it could still be heard over the pouring rain. She turned back around and started walking again.