• Published 25th May 2012
  • 7,624 Views, 471 Comments

A Cog in the Machine - ManlyDerp



The Flim Flam brothers have a secret; a live secret that breathes fire. Please, listen to my tale.

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Chapter 10: To Be Heard... Part 2.5 of ???

Silence reigned.

Despite the creaking of the ship, my heavy breathing, the sound of Cog’s father’s stomach growling angrily, and the pounding of my heartbeat in my ear… silence was absolute.

And then… the dragon started laughing.

“…Hahah… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

In the face of the deep, harsh laughter I stood my ground, not finding any humor in what I had just declared.

Still, the dragon continued to laugh, ignoring me and my words. Pretending that I wasn’t even here… just like how the many adults before him treated me… I narrowed my eyes, trying to show the beast how serious I was.

Still... the dragon continued to laugh.

“HAHAHAHAHAH!!!” He bellowed mightily. With the swipe of his claw he leveled a gem pile next to him, and with a simple jump he laid himself bare upon the remains. His fist banged the floor, causing the very room to shake, as his mad cackling finally reached a fevered pitch.

Hahaha… hahahaha… ha… B-bird! Why… why are you making my sides hurt?” the drake asked, desperately trying to hold back another fit of the giggles. “W-why are you saying such nonsense? You look at me as though you… you… -Snort-, a-as though you wish to slay me! You, who is nothing more than a mere hatchling?! This… -Hack-, t-this is truly the highest form of comedy! Hahaha… HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Still I held my glare. Momentarily balancing on my hind legs, I raised my free claw forward and cracked it in an attempt to look threatening. It worked well on the Flim Flam brothers earlier but here the action didn’t produce any favorable results… Again I was being ignored.

The dragon wiped away a tear with a mighty claw, still completely engrossed in the jest I had all together missed. Giving me a toothy grin, the giant raised himself back up into a sitting position and then lowered his massive neck, drawing his head ever closer to my own. Retaining his smirk, he let out one last chuckle before finally seeing fit to let me in on the apparent ‘joke’ I was being left out of.

“Heh… Child… even elders amongst your kind turn tail from me,” he explained, treating me like the child I unfortunately was. “That is what is so humorous here, don’t you see? You griffons; the ‘true’ hunters, the master carnivores… nothing but chickens! They crumble at the sight of my kind! Putting taboos on our names, claiming that they are cursed… Emeraldgrey.”

I raised an eyebrow at the sudden sporadic namedrop.

With cocky grin ever present, the dragon elaborated.

“That… is my name, bird,” he hissed proudly. “And Cogwill is my daughter’s… Are you now cursed then, griffon?” he mocked. “Have I access to your very soul? These are the ridiculous things your kind believes in, so I must ask, do I now own you?

I remained quiet.

… Deep inside, I was secretly saddened by the fact that I now had the knowledge of Cog’s full name… but I tried not to show it.

The monster’s smirk grew ever larger all the same. “I see… you are quite amusing. I have met many griffons in my long life, bird. Males and females, old and young, cowards and warriors… all are dead now by my claws. They made excellent meals, child, because they all possessed their credos and were fully grown because of them… Yet here you are; a hatchling without a cause, without a pack, lacking any meat. I… I… -Snort-, I-I simply can’t take this!” He wailed merrily. “This is too much! It’s as if a flameless whelp has challenged me, or a brandless pony! HAHAHAH!!!

And thus he laughed…

“HAHAHA!!!”

And laughed…

“HAHAHA!!!”

And laughed some more.

“HAHAHA!!! HAHAHA!!!

“HAH-”

Fling!

The sound of my arrow flying through the air.

Squish!

The sound of it imbedding itself into the monster’s claw.

… The laughter died after that. Silence rained yet again…

“… Bird, what was your name?” The dragon asked me quite casually as he, with a simple shake, dislodged the tiny dart from his swampy green flesh. “You gave it to me earlier, even though it is taboo amongst your people to do so… grant me the ‘honor’ of hearing it again.”

“Nathan De La Griffon, sir,” I replied swiftly as the tips of my good wing went to work with reloading my crossbow. “Of the Roc-y Mountains, in the Kingdom of Lemuria. Son of Triiodide De La Griffon, The Alchemist, and Zhar-Pititsa De La Griffon…”

Click!

The sound of the arrow being locked in.

“… The Drake’s Bane,” I finished as I took aim. Stretching my arm out, using the other to stable myself against the floor, I held myself firm.

The dragon snorted.

“Hmph, you boast a long title, yet none of these acquaint to who you are, boy. Well then, Nathan… you are a friend of my daughter, yes? Part of her ridiculous hoard?”

“Yes,” I answered stalwartly, trying to hide the fact that the tips of my wings, as well as my fingers, were shaking. After quickly adjusting my glasses, I continued. “I-I think she thinks I’m afraid of her, and the truth of the matter is that I am… but sometimes… sometimes there are personal lines that need to be crossed in order to become friends with someone. Cog was willing to give in to her greed to protect me, even though she thought our friendship was over, thus it only seems fair that I should try to conquer my own fear for her sake… it’s what friends do, sir.

The dragon growled.

“Conquer your fear? Is it me you fear then, bird?”

I nodded my head slowly, not taking my eyes off him. “Yes. All dragons, actually… even Cog at times like now.”

“I see…” Emerald replied in a tone I didn’t quite like. “Yet… you still attacked me just now… heh, well then…”

Hhhhhhhhhh!!

The sound of air being sucked in. Emeraldgrey was inhaling… which means… Crud!

“FWOOSH!!!”

Breaking into a roll, I tucked my wings against my barrel as I dodged the giant funnel of red flames that had been launched at me. The fire singed my feathers, and utterly destroyed the already tarnished bandages that were wrapped around my bad limb. As the ashes of the ruined wrappings fell off my body, both my plumy appendages flared out on instinct and remained strong. The pain I once felt was all but gone at this point, despite the pain in my heart still being ever present.

Cog’s father simply smirked.

“You are trespassing in my domain, child. Leave now or the next blast will hit you…. Hmmm… it has been such a long time since I’ve savored roasted flesh. My meals have been tasteless for far too long!”

Despite my ever growing anxiety, I refused to allow my body to seize up in the face of this monstrosity’s furious glare.

“No,” I spat, weapon still aimed. “Not until you help me fix Cog! She’s a monster now, just like you… but that’s not Cog. That monster isn’t my friend! Cog is better than that! My friend is better than that! So, you’re going to help me get her out of her greed growth or I’m going to make you do it!!

“… Heh… still you make me laugh, bird!” The true dragon roared. “You boast power you do not possess, that no one possesses… do you think yourself a hero? Do you think yourself a warrior capable of commanding the will of a god?!

“Do you think yourself a dragoon like the foolish ponies of old?!”

“… No… I don’t,” I answered truthfully after a second. “I don’t think of myself like that. N-no one really thinks of themselves like that anymore. Not even mom did… and I… I-I really don’t either. I’m just a kid after all… but…”

Fling!

The sound of another arrow flying through the air, courtesy of my trigger finger. The dragon was prepared this time and clenched his fist in response. He swung at the tiny projectile, aiming to destroy it easily…

Fwoosh!

… But what Mr. Emeraldgrey wasn’t prepared for this time, however, was the dragonfire that came along with my attack. He never noticed it (as he was too focused on my eyes) but I was able to light my weapon up when I dodged his earlier burst. Now, the once fearful giant was engulfed in his own flames. His pained cry threatened to rupture my eardrums, but bared it I did, allowing me to stay standing.

My resolve hardened as I reloaded my weapon a second time.

“What I do think of myself as though,” I professed, screaming as loudly as I could. “… is a good friend! One who returns favors that have been given to him! One who sticks up for others! One who keeps his promises!”

Click!

The sound of my crossbow yet again being made ready to fire. I aimed it forward once more, this time with both claws glued to it. My wings gently fluttered in place, allowing me to stand.

“So,” I shouted loudly. “For the sake of Mr. Red and Mrs. Blue and Vinyl and everyone else who’s been lost this day because of your cowardice, and for… for…”

I looked down at my claw…

… Then clenched it.

“… And for that wonderful dragoness who opened and stole my heart in one fell swoop; whose own heart was broken by my spinelessness … I will make you fight you stupid, cowardly, bastard!!!

From within the burning flames, the monster roared right back at me.

“I SHALL FEAST ON PHEASANT THIS DAY, BIRD! TO THIS I SWEAR!! RRRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!

And thus with the beating of my wings I charged the great blazing behemoth, finally having gained the courage to fight my own battles

… Mom… please give me strength, wherever you are

***^***

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

Within the land of lost souls, a deity rests.

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

Under the gaze of this deity, a pony sits.

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

As this pony sits, flames silently burn all around her. As these colorful flames burn, images appear and disappear of their own accord.

The blue one’s blaze holds the pony’s attention…

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

The orange one behind her, however, is left ignored.

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

Tis truly a shame… for the slightest of seconds the fire flickered, playing out quite an interesting scene…

A scene neither the witch nor the bard will ever get to see.

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

These poor, little, ponies…

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

And thus we return to she who is the true child of our story, both in mind and now in form

She who possess eyes both of deep magenta and blazing crimson…

~To Be Continue~

Author's Note:

Black sheep chapter is black sheep-y. This one was cut short due to this story entering a hiatus around the time this chapter came out. That's why it's so short... hopefully you were still able to enjoy it ^_^