Origin of Dragon Charge(Short Story)

by PonyRob

Chapter 1: The Critic

At the age of six, Dragon Charge learned of cruelty. The runner of the orphanage and caretaker of the orphans, a beastly old woman named Dusty Broomstick, was a cruel, condescending, hateful mare.

As a young mare she had asked her father, a rich stallion known as Cash Flow, for a job in order to have money to spend freely. This is what she was given, and she resented the children for it. She couldn't fathom how she, the daughter of a respectable banker, could associate with dirty, miserable children. Whenever her uptight friends asked how she stood it, she explained that it was her "christian duty" to look after the poor, unfortunate orphans.

In reality, saying she was the least bit generous would be giving her too much credit. She was harsh, forced them to eat whatever was lying around the house, usually bugs, as if the kids were animals. If they disobeyed her, they'd get the end of her broomstick against their bodies, in front of everyone, even if it meant waking up the other children to make sure they witnessed it. Or at least, that was the least they'd get.

Despite most of the children being afraid of her, there was one who was brave enough to stand up to her. A nameless child who dubbed himself a Critic, he had a strong sense of humor. When meal time arrived, he would often critique the taste of each insect they were given. "Hmm... this one tastes faintly of sawdust, almost a smokey flavor. Tell ya what, Dusty, maybe next time you let it marinate in the raindrop a bit longer before bringing it to a nice simmer." The others would try to hold back their laughs, but usually to no avail. Critic got plenty of beatings, but he didn't care. Humor was what kept him going, and no one, especially not an ugly old hag like Dusty, would ever be able to take that away from him.

On one occasion, Dragon, seeing him being beaten, turned his flank to Mrs. Broomstick, earning a beating of his own. From then on, Dragon Charge and Critic did their little comedy acts together, bringing a moment of happiness to the other orphans each day, then getting smacked around later. They didn't care. She couldn't keep them there forever, and one night, the two boys plotted an escape.

"Look here", critic explained, carving a picture onto the floor with a pocket knife he'd snatched from Mrs. Broomstick in her sleep. "I'll pretend to be a ghost and walk outside old Dusty's bedroom. The overgrown wart is terrified of ghosts. I've frightened her enough times at night to know."

Dragon smiled. "You've done that before?"

Critic chuckled. "Yeah, I do it once every month, then stop for a few months to keep her on edge. I always hoped she'd have a heart attack, but eh, what can you do? Anyway, while she's too scared to move, you'll lead the others out of the house, to freedom!"

"What about you?", Dragon asked in a worried tone.

"You'll knock on the wall next to her bedroom window, giving me the signal to move out.", Critic replied.

They shook on it, and that night the plan was put into motion. Critic walked the halls outside Mrs. Broomstick's bedroom, making the moaning sounds that gave her such a fright, and after a few minutes of hearing it, Dragon woke up the others to tell them that they were leaving, and they got up out of their beds and followed him.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Broomstick hadn't been in her bedroom. She had been outside looking for more bugs for them to eat, and she saw them leaving and stopped them.

Later, she asked them all who was responsible for the plan, threatening to beat them all if nobody told. After a moment of silence, Dragon Charge spoke up. "It was me, Mrs. Broomstick." In one swift motion, She took him by the hoof, and, ignoring Critic's late confessions, carried him into the children's bedroom, commanding the others to follow. There, she brought out a crowbar she had found outside. She tied Dragon to his bed and beat him down, breaking his front hooves in the process.

Critic, angry at the harsh and cruel punishment his friend had recieved, tackled her and wrestled with her for the crowbar. However, she was older and stronger than he, so he got a good swing across the face before she left the room angrily. This act frightened the others back into submission. Never again would they follow the two friends who had tried to save them.