G 4mat- The Island

by AmpUpHeart

Dragon to Dragon

The ponies walked up to the observatory and walked in. As they were gaping at the size of the mane room, Maud immediately walked up to the display of a rock that was twice her size. She tapped her hoof on it and felt its surface. It felt like lumpy metal.

"This is a meteorite, isn't it?" She said.

"Indeed," Starcatcher said, spiraling down. She landed in front of everyone and saw her old friend.
"Well, hello, Kimono! Long time no see."

"It has been a while," Kimono said, "Sakura has reached the age that I began teaching her the concept of zen."

"Fascinating."

"Indeed."

"I see that you already became acquainted with my friends."

"I have. Including Spike."

"Where's Ning?" Sakura asked.

"Patience, sister," Kimono said.

"I'm up here!" A breathy voice said. Spike looked up to see a serpent-like shape spiral towards them. When she landed, the ponies had a stunning sight.

The form looked like a dragon, but unlike any they had seen before. The legs were more slender than most dragons, but they looked graceful, nonetheless. Her scales shimmered in a rich shade of green. Her underside was a golden yellow. Her claws were a midnight blue. She had horns on her head and spines on her back that matched. Her eyes, although narrow, had a sparkle in them, and the whites of the eyes were a sky blue. What was even more shocking was that she didn't have wings.

"How do you fly?!" Spike exclaimed.

"Eastern dragons like me don't have wings. We simply hover and glide." Even the voice sounded threatening and friendly at the same time. Rather than a dark grumbling noise, the voice was a breathy whispering sound.

"Woah."

The dragon didn't make any movements except for breathing. She expected this. She decided to let the little dragon take everything in before moving on.

"Okay," Spike said, "This is getting a bit awkward. You're Ning Jing, right?"

"Correct, but you can just call me Ning. You must be Spike."

"Y-yeah. So... I don't mean to say this rudely, but... What are you? Like, what do you do?"

"The ways of eastern dragons differ greatly from western dragons. I must say that I am curious to know about your life, and how it differs from those of other eastern dragons I've encountered."

"Well, it all started back when I was hatched from a little purple-spotted egg..."
...............................

"And that concludes it!" Said Spike.

"Very intriguing," Ning said. The other ponies had run off to talk with one another.

"I've never seen a dragon undergo an age reversal. For that matter, I've never seen a dragon be so generous before. For the first few years of their lives, most western dragons I've seen will have relations with other dragons, and even start families. But after the first thirty years or so, they'll slowly succumb to their own greed. Then they'll think of nothing but collecting anything valuable. It also shows in the fire one breathes. The brighter the flame, the stronger the dragon's feelings of greed, anger, and the like."

"Yeah," Spike said, sighing, "But what about you? What are eastern dragons like?"

"We're essentially the polar opposites of western dragons. Many of us don't grow to monstrous size; we just grow in length. Some can be over 20 hooves long, but are as thin as me. We simply glide and hover when we want to fly. And instead of fire, if we're attacked, we'll breath out a mist. It can range from barely visible to pea-soup thick, depending on how our emotions.

"Like western dragons, many of us live in caves. However, we're not out to collect the biggest collection of gold and jewels that we can. Instead, we try to form the most serene accommodation possible. They may spend weeks polishing river stones so that they have just the right texture. Some will fashion their abode out of a clearing in a forest of bamboo. We actually avoid jewels because they're loud. They break the calm atmosphere. But we'll often visit one another's homes and give advice on how to improve it. Of course, only about half of the advice is taken. Each dragon has their own version of serenity. So what may be helpful for one's peace can disrupt another's."

"So what about you, Ning?" Spike asked, "What's your home like?"

"I live deep in a cave not far from Tameura. There's an underground river, and stalactites and stalagmites everywhere, some even as large as Twilight's castle. In one of them, I carved a concave dome, in which I sleep. I set up a variety of wind chimes from large ones I've made out of bamboo to small, metal ones given to me by villagers. The citizens of Tameura live in peace with dragons. One of them, a unicorn named 'Aura Gami,' gave me an enchanted stone that lights up, as a 'thank you' for saving the town from a drought. She said that I could drop it underwater to provide better light in my home."

"You didn't ask for it as payment?" Spike said.

"No," Ning said with a laugh, "It wasn't much trouble; all I had to do was fly around the village and spread my mist. And even if it WAS trouble, eastern dragons are very generous. I wouldn't have asked for anything. I've lived in Tameura for centuries. I've come to be known as one of its guardians, since I rarely leave it and I'll risk my life protecting its people."

"You know," Spike said, "How did you find Tameura?"

"I was found as an egg," Ning answered, "Although there are exceptions, most eastern dragons find a safe location to lay their egg, lay one egg, and leave it."

"You mean you were abandoned!?" Spike gasped.

"I never said that I was abandoned," Ning said, "My mother cared about me. But we seem to find our role in life alone sooner than we do with our parents. Although eastern dragons are often very tight knit, we develop friendships, not love relationships. Since we live so long, we rarely have children. Usually, when two dragons meet and they feel like they were meant to be together, they'll give one another two tests. First, they test one another's strength. Then, they'll examine their homes. You see, they're looking for a balance between a feisty attitude and a sense of peace. If they agree, they'll mate, and they'll go their separate ways."

"Just like that?" Spike said, "And what does that have to do with a mother leaving her egg behind?"

"When the partners meet again, they'll usually resume life as friends like they would with anyone else. Although we develop strong bonds of friendship, we don't have much of a sense of love. We know that it exists, and we don't look down on it, but we just don't experience it ourselves. Of course, there are the exceptions."

"But what does this have to do with the lost egg?"

"We look for our purpose in life from the minute we hatch. We don't hatch full grown, but we have the same maturity level as a young teenager. The lack of love and the fact that our purpose often differs from our parents' usually complicates our youth."

"Oh."

"But a young pony found me. She was actually Kimono's ancestor. It was fifteen hundred years ago. She was just a filly. Although her name and face have obscured over the years, I remember what happened. She took me to a pony who had a connection with dragons. That pony watched over me until I hatched. After I hatched, I became acquainted with the town, just beginning at the time. They were building the first houses. I was out of town more often than not. I found the cave and made it mine. I explored. The people weren't afraid of me. They knew the ways of dragons and let me have my space.

"However, when winter came, the town was hit hard. The shelters weren't a match for the frigid air. Many of the ponies faced the risk of freezing to death.

"I had made myself comfortable in my cave, but I merely staked out one cavern of the entire network. When I realized how desperate they were, I showed them the way to the cave. They packed their food reserves and moved in. When spring came, they all celebrated. From there, I helped rebuild the broken structures. I became known throughout the village and grew loyal to it. Many things happened, but as the years passed, the town grew. I became a part of the town, and I became friends with Kimono.

"Starcatcher visited Tameura when she was around fifteen. She came to map the stars there. She became friends with Kimono and me.

"Have you ever seen your mother?" Spike asked.

"No, but I know that I will someday. One of the final steps to truly come of age as an eastern dragon is to meet your parents."

"Amazing," Fluttershy said, peeking in, "You don't mind if I come in, right?"

"Of course not!" Spike said. Fluttershy strolled in and looked closely at Ning.

"Amazing," she said.

"When did you get here?" Spike asked.

"Not long ago. I had walked into the observatory when I heard you telling your story. I couldn't help but listen."

"It's all right," Ning said, "You must be one of Twilight's friends."

"Yes. I'm Fluttershy."

Author's Note:

Some filler while introducing Ning's character.

Comments

[LiterarySerenity]

Ooh. I love the mythos you build here with the eastern dragons, especially the thought of them polishing river stones. That is quite an interesting image, in addition to the thought of those dragons being more solitary yet having strong bonds between them as friends. Ning Jing is incredible.

[AmpUpHeart]

6084724
I got the idea of polishing river stones from the fact that I love smooth texture. Plus the images of those stacked stone formations often seen in the DS game known as Zenses: Zen Garden. The game refers to the formations as "zen stones" in the scavenger hunt activity, although I doubt that it's their actual name. But I've associated them with zen-related things ever since.