> Night Fury's Lament
>  by JumpingShinyFrogs
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The wind whips my tail as I soar through the sky. The wind, the air that is fighting to slow me down, blows in my face with frightening intensity. An ordinary creature would need to close its eyes to prevent the oppressive gale from drying them out.
But I am not an ordinary creature. I have a transparent third eyelid that functions as goggles of sorts, keeping my eyes moist.

They also allow me to catch my prey with no discomfort. My perfect vision spots a shoal of mackerel far below me. I scan the group and pick out the biggest one. I track it for a while before I fold my wings and execute a superb dive. Within seconds, my target is thrashing between my jaws. I take one of my claws and slice it down the belly, ending its life swiftly. Even a mackerel deserves mercy.

Nature would dictate that I, the Night Fury dragon, and the predator, should eat this fish. I admit, it's tempting. I haven't eaten in days, and my stomach growls like a Monstrous Nightmare. But I restrain myself, for this kill serves a far more important service. Clasping it in my jaws, I fly into the woods. The trees make high speeds difficult, but I slalom through with great ease. Flying has always been a talent of mine.

Finally I reach my destination. There, on a crude altar constructed from wood and stones, lies the body of a young human girl. The flowers I have scattered on her hair and clothes hide the ugly wounds from where the wolves tore into her. I do not know how humans treat their dead, but I have given her a dragon's grave. An altar, flowers and an offering of food. Her spirit will not be blocked from rejoining her fallen brethren. The setup will warn other dragons to leave her be. No dragon, however treacherous, would dare defile a grave. The girl will lie here in peace, undisturbed.

There is a stone slab at the base of the altar. On it I have engraved the following epitaph:

This young soul perished because I, Umbra the Night Fury, hesitated out of selfishness. With this altar allow me to amend my wrongdoings against such a young persona. Rest in peace young one, and may your spirit have an easy journey to its final resting place

Many dragons mock and scorn me for respecting the humans. I couldn't care less. If one causes a problem, one must take responsibility. This girl is yet another victim of my fear. When I happened upon the scene, a young human surrounded by hungry wolves, I could have saved her. But I hesitated, for humans have not been kind to my family. My younger brother was killed in a trap and my older brother was shot down by a pathetically skinny human. If he is still alive, he surely cannot fly.

However, life is precious no matter whose life it is. With a roar I charged free of the shadows. I killed two wolves and sent the rest of them running. But I was too late. Blood had been spilt, and the girl looked at me with her terrified eyes. I looked at her with my apologetic ones. A few minutes later, she breathed no more. 

I had cursed myself and constructed the altar. Then, as was my custom when I happened across a dead human, my fault or not, I took one of her smaller possessions, placed some blood on it, and delivered it to their village. I hoped this would convey the message well enough for them to know she was no longer living, as They cannot speak my language.

Now I needed to complete the grave by leaving an offering of food. I lay down the mackerel, stand back and utter a prayer. It takes a few moments for me to realise I am not alone. Standing next to me is an elderly human male. I ready myself to flee, but then I realise that he appears to be paying his respects. How he found this place, I do not know. He reads the runes which I have scratched into the stone. I am surprised he can, for few humans can read or speak Dragontongue. 

"You are Umbra the Night Fury, yes?" he asks, addressing me in my own language.

I am so shocked that for a moment I cannot find my tongue, and fumble with my words.

"Yes, my name is Umbra. But how do you know what a Night Fury looks like if you have never encountered one?" I answer.

"What gave you the idea that I have never encountered one?" he replies coolly.

"The stories I hear when I fly over your village. Though I have never laid a claw on it, I hear and observe many things," I explain.
"I often hear how a Night Fury is the ultimate prize because nobody has ever seen or killed one."

"It is true, that none of those clueless men have seen one of your mighty race of dragons," the strange man. "They do not know what they are missing. By killing the dragons who come to their village, they believe they come closer to killing a Night Fury. Your beautiful raven scales, powerful wings, sharp claws, opposable horns and blue fire. Are these wonders of nature to be lost simply because other dragons took a few sheep? Ridiculous."

I was beginning to feel nervous. This man could be a friend or foe. I could not tell.

"Most dragons attack the village because they are following orders, and being threatened. I, on the other claw, never swore allegiance to the Red Death. Those who did now regret their decision. They complain about it constantly and I laugh in their face. Anybody with ears could have heard the deception in that silver tongued liar's words," I say haughtily.

I do know that I have a problem in that I am vain and proud. Too late, as usual, I realise that I have broken an ancient draconic code. I have betrayed another dragon's secrets. Oh, the gods will punish me for this...

"You are the dragon who has been setting up the gravesites for humans throughout the forest. I have to thank you for that. Other dragons would eat the corpse as quick as look at it," the man says.

"How do you know about the graves? And for that matter, how is it you speak the language of the serpents so fluently?" I ask.

"I do not live in the village. I am a hermit and a sorcerer and have devoted my entire life to studying dragons," he explains. "As a thank you for respecting the humans, I will grant you your heart's desire. Choose wisely, for you have but one choice."

I racked my brain for my heart's desire. Many things came to mind. Glory, gemstones, a lifetime supply of fish. But even I realised how shallow these choices were. Then it hit me. My heart's one true desire.

"I would like...a fresh start. Somewhere I could go where the failures and guilt of these woods doesn't exist. A second chance at life," I tell him.

"Are you sure?" he asks.

"Yes. Positive," I answer.

"Then your wish is granted."

All of a sudden I feel quite dizzy. My vision blurs and I collapse onto my knees. Before I lose consciousness, I utter one last statement.

"Thank you..."

The world turns as black as my scales.




> Eyes in the Darkness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wake up in some sort of dark room. At first I'm terrified that the sorcerer has blinded me, but my vision soon adjusts. I shake myself and wonder where I am. Looking round, it is a strange place. The floor is not like the springy moss of the woods. It's more like rock, but it's too flat to be natural. There is a set of stone stairs leading up to a wooden door. Benches and bookshelves surround me. Many of the benches have strangely coloured liquids in bottles on them.

The door opens. A small, bipedal creature appears in the doorway. His body is purple and scaly. His crest is bright green. His tail ends in a single point. He looks vaguely dragonlike, but he lacks wings. 

"What did you want me to get, Twilight?" he calls over his shoulder.

A distant voice, with feminine qualities answers him, "Get the invisibility potion. It's the blue one with green steam coming out of it."

The creature enters the basement, his clawed feet tapping the strange floor. So far he hasn't seen me. He strides up to each bench in turn, examining the bottles, which I guess are potions. The last one he examines is the one nearest me. He appears not to find his target.

"Are you sure it's down here?" he asks, again addressing the distant voice.

"I brewed it in the basement and didn't take it out, so yes, it's down there," the voice answers. She sounds a little frustrated.

"It's not on any of the benches," he complains.

"It might be on the floor, Spike," the voice calls.

"Why is it on the floor? That doesn't seem very safe," the purple creature, presumably named Spike, asks.

Nonetheless, Spike begins searching the floor. He looks wherever he thinks a glass bottle might fit. At last he finds it. It's right next to my foot. He bends down to pick it up, and as he stands up, he locks eyes with me. He looks as if he's just seen a ghost. 

I see him begin to open his mouth, probably to cry out. Before he has a chance, I leap out, and pin him to the ground, a claw over his mouth. I feel hot fire singe my foot, but I grit my teeth and bear it. All of this is silent. When you do most of your hunting at night, remaining undetectable by ear is key.

"Why are you so frightened, brother?" I whisper, for I am now fully convinced that he is a dragon, albeit the strangest one I've ever seen.

He cowers in utter terror, still flaming my foot. That's when I realise that this is a similar situation to the humans. I can understand him, but he cannot understand me. I sigh and release him. I lift my foot to see the nasty burn. I whimper and lick my wound, neither noticing nor caring that he is staring at me.

To my utter amazement he begins to speak in Dragontongue. Very shaky Dragontongue, but Dragontongue nonetheless.

"Who are you?," he asks, messing up his pronunciation, but I was still able to grasp what he was saying.

"My name is Umbra," I tell him. "If you don't mind me asking, what breed are you? I have never encountered one of your ilk," I ask.

"Umm, I'm a dragon," he stumbles with his words.

"Yes I know that, but what kind of dragon? I for example, am a Night Fury," I say with exasperation. He can't speak properly and he apparently can't answer the simplest of questions either.

"There's only one type of dragon, right?" he asks, puzzled. "Also what's a Night Fury?"

It hits me suddenly. The sorcerer has not sent me to a different part of the world. He has sent me to another world entirely!

I decide to confirm it with Spike.

"Do you know where the Isle of Berk is?" I ask.

"I've never heard of it. But this atlas might help you find it."

He heaves a massive book from one of the shelves. Opening it on the world map, we look over it for about 20 minutes, confirming that the Isle of Berk does not exist here. While we do so, I tell him my story.

"Spike! It's been half an hour! What's taking so long?" the voice from before calls.

"That's Twilight. She's really smart. She'll know what to do." says Spike.

"No. Please don't tell anyone I'm here. I'll reveal myself when I'm ready. What time is it?" I ask.

"It's about noon, why?" he tells me.

"I work better at night. So I guess I'm here all day. I hope you don't mind having a large dragon in your basement." I try to do something my older brother calls 'smiling' but all I can do is leer.

"SPIKE!" Twilight calls angrily.

"Gotta go!" Spike says in a panicked way. "I'll, uh, bring you some food later on."

With that, he runs up the stairs and closes the door.


~~~


Twilight Sparkle read through her notes for what felt like the hundredth time that day. If only Spike would hurry up with that potion...

"Got it!" Spike said, running up the stairs from the basement.

"Finally! What took so long?" Twilight asked.

"Oh uh, I couldn't find it," he said.

Twilight was suspicious.

"What happened to the rest of the potion?" she asked.

More than half of the potion had spilled when Umbra tackled Spike. But she had asked him not to tell Twilight about her, and his dragon's honour demanded he comply with the lady's wishes.

"I tripped and spilled it," he answered coolly.

"Spike! That stuff's dangerous. Show me where you spilled it, so that I can clean it up," she demanded.

Spike really didn't need Twilight in the basement. Surely she'd notice Umbra hiding in the shadows. Then again, until she jumped out, all he'd seen was a pair of glowing green eyes in the darkness.

Hoping for the best, he said, "Sure."

Spike lead the way to the basement door.


~~~


I've been sitting in my shadowy corner for no more than ten minutes when the door opens again. At first I think it's Spike, coming with the food he promised earlier but right behind Spike is the strangest thing I've ever seen. A purple unicorn, with a mane highlighted three different shades of purple. Don't get me wrong, I've seen unicorns before. But they were always white, and terrified of dragons. Just what sort of world was I in?

The unicorn trots forward, and that's when I realise why she's not afraid of Spike. Adorning her back is a set of feathered wings. They look way too small for her body, I doubt she can fly with them. She must not be a unicorn after all. But she's not a Pegasus either! Just what type of animal is she? Her flank has a...picture(?) of a large magenta star with five smaller stars surrounding it. Weird.

The strange unicorn says, "Alright Spike, show me."

I recognise her voice as Twilight's.

Spike points a claw at me. "Right there," he says.

The traitor! Doesn't he know anything? Ancient draconic code says to always comply with the wishes of ladies or your elders. I am both of these to him.

But, looking at his claw closer, I can see that he's pointing front of me. I let my gaze drift downward and see a blue stain on the floor. He must have spilled the potion. But still, why bother showing it to Twilight?

Twilight walked forward and stopped.

"Spike," she says. "What's that?" She points a hoof at me.

Shit.

"Um, spilled potion? Clean it up so we can leave. The basement is really creepy," Spike says.

"Not that, the glowing green things," -she points again- "They almost look like eyes."

She reaches out her hoof, and comes into contact with my snout.

"AGH!" she screeches.

"Close your eyes, put your head down and back up," mouths Spike from across the room.

I follow his advice, silently as always.

"What! What happened!" asks Spike. He's a better actor than he appears.

"There was something there. It was scaly..." Twilight says, clearly frightened.

"There's nothing there. Look." I can feel the air movement as he waves his claw where my head was previously.

"Really?" More air movement as she does the same.

I hear a strange sound, and Twilight's hoofsteps as she trots back up the stairs. The door closes.

"You're ok now," says Spike.

I open my eyes and lift my head. The blue stain is gone.

"That could have gone better," I joked, 'smiling' (leering) again.




> Terror in the Everfree
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I must have fallen asleep at some point. I soon wake up, and less than a minute later, Spike comes into the basement carrying some flat white thing. A plate, I believe the humans call them, though I don't know the purpose. 

"I came earlier but you were asleep," he says, laying the plate down in front of me.

"Thank Thor for friendly purple dragons," I attempt at a joke, pulling my famous leering act. "I'm starving."

Thor only knows what he's trying to feed me. It's thin, crisp and oily. I can't figure out how to eat it. I try swallowing it like I would a fish, but I start choking. I try shredding it like I would a deer, but it just gets stuck between my teeth. Finally, I resort to desperate measures. I try to do something herbivores do, chewing. The strange food is brittle, tastes of nothing, and I can literally feel it wearing down my teeth. Not ok. 

I spit it out and complain, "What is this? It's horrible."

"Hay fries," he answers. "I'm surprised you don't like them. Everypony likes hay fries. I like them too, and I'm a dragon."

Hay? Yeah, no.

"Hay is something horses, cows and sheep eat. Not what most dragons eat and certainly not what Night Furies eat. See these?" -I bare my retractable teeth- "These are meant to kill and then eat what they killed," I say. 

I can't be certain, but I'm fairly certain he wets himself at that moment. If he doesn't, he comes pretty close to it.

"K-kill?" he stammers. "You don't eat ponies, do you?"

"Ponies? As in small horses? No. I eat fish and deer mostly. I'll eat sheep if I'm hungry, cows if I'm desperate. But never horse. Horses are smarter than your average creature. They can actually hold a conversation. That's a rule of mine- if it can answer back, it's not prey," I explain.

He breathes a sigh of relief, I'm guessing he was concerned for the well being of Twilight.

"Got any meat?" I ask.

He shakes his head.

"Fish?"

He shakes his head again.

"Great."

He looks torn. I wonder if my comments upset him? Too bad if they did. It's not my fault he seems to have forgotten the thrill of the hunt.

He suddenly walks into a corner of the room and begins rooting around for something. He opens a box, and briefly I can see sparkles hanging in the air. He closes the box again, and approaches me. He's holding two gemstones, a ruby and an amethyst.

He holds out the amethyst, "Here."

He must hold me in higher regard than I thought. Sharing one's hoard is an even higher honour than sharing one's kill!

"Thank you," I say, more sincere than I've ever been in my life. I take the amethyst and admire myself in its crystalline depths. I love being vain!

To my immense surprise, he begins to eat the ruby, crunching it into dust. His face acquires a look of dreamy contentment.

He looks at me expectantly. I try to explain that where I come from, gems are a way of showing how powerful you are, since gems are hard to come by unless you rob other dragons or human villages. They are not for eating.

"Using gems for beauty is what Rarity does! Come on, try it!"

Eventually I give in. I'm terrified that this is going to break my teeth. Gems are just a little bit harder than fish. Just a little bit. I gingerly take a bite. It's softer than I thought it would be. And the taste! Even the freshest river salmon can't compare to this heavenly flavour! I quickly finish it. It doesn't satisfy my hunger, but the taste is so magical that I don't care.

"That was amazing!" I say, completely in awe.

He grins, "Told you."

"How did you figure out that gems were good for eating? It's unheard of where I come from," I ask. 

Aw, now I'm sad I never tried eating my hoard. Could have helped me all those times I was comfort eating river salmon after failing to protect human children.

He chuckles sheepishly and explains, "Actually, most Equestrian dragons don't do that either. I found out how good they were by accident. When I was first hatched and given to Twilight, she used to try to teach me to behave. Whenever I did something good, I'd get a gem. She knew that dragons like to collect gems, so she thought it would be perfect. The first time she gave me a gem, I thought it was some kind of food. So I tried to eat it. It was delicious! And I've kinda sorta eaten gems ever since."

"Interesting," I say. Now I know why he lives with Twilight.

"By the way, what time is it now?" I ask.

"Oh! I forgot. It's about 10 at night. It's dark out now, so if you want you can leave," he says. Is it just me, or does he sound a bit sad while he says that?

"Lead the way," I say, gesturing.

He climbs the stairs and opens the door. I follow him, wincing every few steps as muscles that are stiff from being curled up in a corner all day begin to stretch out.

The place beyond the door seems to be some kind of library. Bookshelves aplenty, balls of crumpled paper, and for some reason, birds' feathers lie scattered around. Teetering stacks of books on the floor threaten to fall over at any minute. I pad along silently, my claws not scratching or clicking on the wood floor. Spike is less subtle, but that probably doesn't matter considering he lives here.

On an indoor balcony, Twilight is asleep on some strange object. I can't really describe it, and I have no idea what it is. It's a frame of wood, covered with a flat piece of stuff called 'fabric'. I ask Spike what it is. He tells me it's called a 'bed', then looks at me as if I'm stupid. I tell him that I spent my whole life living wild in a forest. As far as I can remember, this is my first time ever being inside a building.

We exit through the door, and I turn around to look at the structure we just emerged from. I can't believe what I see. It's not a building, it's a massive tree. I've never seen a tree so huge. The diameter tells me it's at least several thousand years old. Amazingly, despite the fact that it's been hollowed out, the tree appears to still be alive. The leaves are green, and I can see acorns scattered on the ground at the base. 

As soon as I'm out in the open, I spread out my wings and beat them a few times. I'm trying to stretch them out and get them warmed up for flight. Spike looks in amazement.

"I didn't realise you had wings!" he says excitedly. 

He seems to be scrutinising my physique very closely. I don't blame him, I am just so irresistible! He looks at my opposable horns, which I have raised straight up. He seems particularly fascinated by all of my flight sails, particularly the ones on my tail. The spines running down my back have him interested too.

I open my mouth to say something, but Spike interrupts before I have the chance.

"What happened to your teeth?" he asks, pointing at my gums.

I answer by pushing them out.

"Ah." 

I stretch my wings.

"Thank you for covering for me today, helping me get out of the basement and most importantly, for sharing your hoard with me," I say. Draconic code again, though I would have thanked him anyway.

I ready myself to leap.

Right before I jump, Spike calls out, "Wait!"

It must be urgent for him, because he doesn't even bother fumbling with Dragontongue.

He rubs his knuckles together and stares at the ground, an awkward expression on his face. 

"Umm, could you maybe come back and visit sometimes? See, the thing is, I only really have pony friends. I've met dragons before, but they were always really mean. You're the only dragon I've ever met whose been nice to me. So, maybe you could think about it?" he asks, both tearfully and awkwardly, if that's possible.

I'm shocked honestly. I never really had any friends before, dragon or not, other than my brothers. I've spent most of my life trying and failing to protect humans, and getting mocked and outcasted by other dragons as a result. So there's really no other answer is there?

"Of course," I say.

"Really?" asks Spike.

"Really," I answer, pulling him closer to me with a wing.

"For now though, I need to get settled somewhere. I'd there somewhere secluded nearby?"

Spike thinks for a moment. 

"There's probably a place somewhere in the Everfree Forest, but I don't think you want to go there. It's full of all sorts of horrible monsters," he warns.

"Forest? That's right up my alley!" I exclaim with glee. "And the whole monsters thing? Surely nothing is as terrifying or dangerous as a large Monstrous Nightmare who thinks you stole from his hoard,"- I shiver at the memory -"Now that's scary," I continue.

"Are you sure?" he asks nervously.

"Yeah!"

"Whoa, what are you doing?" he asks as I bend down.

"I'll need a guide, and it's safer, faster and funner to go by air. So come on, hop on!" I order.

"Faster, yes. Funner and safer? I don't think so."

Unfortunately for him, I'm not asking him, I'm telling him. I coil my tail around him and drop him at the base of my neck. I barely give him a second to think before I take of straight up, in the heat of the moment I forget I have a passenger. The first thing he does is try to find something to hold onto. He grips my horns, a bit tighter than is necessary, but it's justified, so I'll let it slide.

Once I reach a suitable altitude,  I change my angle to a more horizontal one, to Spike's obvious relief. From there it's easy flying, a lack of wind and weather makes the trip simple. Spike shouts directions and I follow accordingly. As I fly, I observe the world below. Not much is happening this late at night, but the buildings bear a resemblance to the human villages. The only inhabitants I can see all appear to be equine in nature.

There's an aquamarine unicorn playing a lyre in the park. An apple orchard with strange, rainbow coloured fruit hanging from a cluster of trees. The trees crackle with electricity. Two ponies, one orange, one red, kick the trees furiously, harvesting the strange fruit in buckets. A little yellow filly with a bow in her mane helps catch the apples. She's so adorable, I can't help but like her.

A strange sight awaits a little further on. A cyan Pegasus with all the colours of the rainbow in her mane snoozes on a cloud. I've by now got fairly used to seeing the strange inhabitants of this world, but the problem is that she sleeping on a cloud as if it's solid ground. Clouds are irritating things, cold and damp, and they obscure your vision too. But normally you pass right through them. Standing on clouds doesn't end well, believe me, I've tried it.

A few more ponies are hanging around, though not as interesting as the ones I've already pointed out. I see a cute little cottage at the edge of a forest, I'm guessing it's the one we're heading to. Various animals run around the place. Two fillies wearing red capes are chasing the animals, a butter yellow Pegasus is shouting, if you could call it that, at them to stop. I laugh a little at the sight. The Pegasus just needs to assert herself. She's telling them to calm down because someone named Applebloom isn't there yet. 

I have an excellent memory, so once I know where the forest is, I take Spike back to the library. I bid him goodbye, and take off toward my new home. 

So far, I'm pleased with the sorcerer's spell. I've found a new home, discovered the wonders of gemstones as a food source and most importantly, I've made a friend. All of this is more than I had on the Isle of Berk. But the situation that awaits me in the Everfree Forest is not one I had hoped to see for a while.


~~~


Sweetie Belle was nervous at the thought of doing this again, but Scootaloo had assured her that it would be fine this time. Applebloom was now arguing with Scootaloo, again.

"For the last time, there's no such thing as a cutie mark for arguing!" Sweetie Belle said loudly.

"Be quiet. You don't want to let the monsters know there's dinner here, do you?" Scootaloo scolded her.

"Hey! You guys were the ones arguing," Sweetie huffed.

"Both of y'all, shut it. Ah think ah heard somethin' over yonder," said Applebloom, pointing at a bush.

"There! Is that the iguana?" asked Scootaloo, pointing at a green reptilian tail.

"No, the iguana has black stripes on his tail," pointed out Applebloom.

"Girls, haven't we seen that tail somewhere before?" asked Sweetie Belle nervously.

"Yeah...we have," said Scootaloo, realising what she was getting at.

"It's a cockatrice!" yelled Sweetie Belle. 

The three fillies tripped over one another and landed in a heap as the creature of past experiences emerged from the bush. Instinctively, they closed their eyes tight. The cockatrice wasn't satisfied. It began to peck and scratch at their eyelids, trying to get them to open their eyes. It had forced Applebloom's eyes open and was about to turn her to stone...

Suddenly there was the sound of a ballistic whistle and a ball of blue fire struck the ground right next to the fillies. Startled, the cockatrice fled, only for another fireball to hit it directly. It collapsed to the ground, dead.

The three terrified fillies braced themselves for the next attack. When it did not come, they opened their eyes. The charred body of the cockatrice lay smouldering. There was no sign of their saviour. They searched all around the area. Applebloom suggested scanning the sky, she stated that she saw the fire come from above. For a brief moment, they thought they saw a dark shadow in the sky. 

But, continuing to look at the sky, there was no sign if it. They dismissed it as their imaginations. 

Applebloom called the other Crusaders into a huddle. The topic was how to thank their saviour.

"Ah have an idea. Ah know it was meant for Fluttershy, but..."


~~~


I'm so pleased with myself! I saved someone. I actually wasn't too late! Well, one of them may have permanent damage to her eyes, and there's a chance that they're scarred for life, but that's much better than having to create three graves on my first day here.

I had been looking for a cave or a place where I could dig a cavern when I had happened across three young ponies wandering through the forest.  The two fillies I'd seen at the cottage, still wearing their capes. A proper unicorn, white, with no wings and an orange Pegasus. I admit that that's quite weird but after seeing Spike and Twilight I'd say it's normal around here. The little yellow filly from the farm was there too, wearing a similar cape.

I thought these little ones were being a tad reckless. They were talking about finding an iguana that escaped from someone named Fluttershy's house. I decided to follow them and make sure they didn't get lost and/or killed. And it's a good thing I did. Cockatrices are nasty creatures. I hated them at home, thank Thor they were rare. You'd see petrified dragons and animals scattered throughout the woods. Disgusting.

But as usual, when danger came, I hesitated. Thank Thor they had the sense to close their eyes, or else my delay might have been fatal. I very nearly hit them with my fire too. But at least they're alive and that particular cockatrice won't be bothering anyone since I fried it to a crisp. Roast cockatrice is one of the most delicious things you can eat, I can't wait to harvest the corpse. It'll make a nice first meal in Equestria.

Now the little fillies are huddling. They may have seen me landing in this tree, I hope not.

The yellow one calls, in her strange accent, "If y'all are still out there, we wanna say thanks!" 

"You can come out and show yourself!" offers the orange Pegasus.

"You're a Crusader now!" adds the unicorn.

"We ain't gonna hurt ya. We wanna thank ya properly," assures the filly from the farm.

"I don't think they're going to come out," says the unicorn to her friends, clearly disappointed.

"The offer is still there, we're going to leave this here. Take it if you want," calls the orange Pegasus.

"If y'all decide to come to Ponyville, show it ta us so we can thank ya properly!" 

The farm filly seems determined to thank me properly.

The three begin to leave. As soon as I'm certain they're gone, I go and see what they gave me. It's a red cape with a gold underside, just like the ones they'd been wearing. The emblem is a blue patch with a golden image of a rearing filly.

It's way too small for me, but the gesture is appreciated. I have an idea of what to do with it. I tie it around my neck, not as a cape, but as a neckerchief.

I'm a Crusader now. 

I don't know what that means, but I like the sound of it.
> Evasive Maneuvers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's been a few days since I arrived here. It turns out I didn't need to go quite so deep into the forest to find the perfect den. There's a rock formation near the cottage where the Crusaders had been chasing animals. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but it spreads out downwards into a sprawling underground complex. Best of all, the only inhabitants are small creatures who would make excellent prey. There's even a hot spring. I love heat, like all dragons.

Near the entrance, there's a river which flows into town. The river is full of various fish, as well as an abundance of my favourite food, river salmon. It's the perfect lair. Gems seem a little easier to find here than at home. I was digging to make a backup entrance and discovered a bunch of them. I was also using rocks as target practice, to make sure I didn't come quite so close to hitting fillies again, and melted a rock to reveal precious metals and gemstones inside. So I have the beginnings of a hoard.

But, after seeing the inhabitants of the town, and talking with Spike, I realise just how lonely my lifestyle is. So I decide to take Spike up on his offer. We agreed in advance that I would hide in the tree's canopy and make a sound to let him know if I was there. The only problem is, it's broad daylight. My scales make hiding at night a breeze, but they're a dead giveaway during the day. Oh well. Maybe if I fly high and change my flight pattern, the ponies will think I'm a bird.

Despite the risks, I emerge from my new den, spread my wings and fly straight up. When I deem myself high enough to be considered a bird, I set off towards the library. I'm a little disappointed that I'm now too high up to see the ponies during the day. I reach the library and dive swiftly into the tree's canopy. I meander along the branches, calling out. When no one comes, I wander along some more. A piece of paper is lying on another branch. With amazing agility, I leap over and read what it says. In poorly written dragon runes, is written a note

Dear Umbra

I am gone to meeting royal Twilight with. Be back 7:00 at.

-Spike

Somehow his writing is worse than his speech.

If the note is to be believed, then I have a lot of time to kill. I don't feel like going home quite yet, so I decide to risk breaking into the library. I didn't see anyone else there, and if he and Twilight are gone, it should be empty, right? Besides, I have some urgent reading to do. I climb down the tree trunk until I reach an upstairs window large enough for me to fit through. It's locked, but for some reason there's a lock on the outside. Doesn't seem to have much of a point, why would you need to open a window from the outside? 

A Pegasus could fly up and break in. Or a Night Fury could use her claws to pick the lock. Either works. With a little bit of wiggling and listening, I'm in. I set about searching for a book to answer my questions, maybe a 'Hitchhiker's Guide to Equestria' or something? The closest I come is an encyclopaedia. Eh, close enough. I open the book and begin searching for an explanation for the strange apples, the physics-defying clouds, and most importantly, the winged unicorn, Twilight.

Unfortunately, I hit a wall of a problem right off the bat. I can't read the writing at all. I could read human runes to some extent, but this is entirely foreign to me. I guess I'll have to wait until Spike can help me translate it. Or better yet, he could just explain it to me directly. I put the book back and check for fallen scales, careful to leave no trace. When I'm satisfied, I check to make sure no one is there, climb out the window, and lock it again.

I fly out over the town, wondering where I could go or what I could do. I decide to just meander along a bit. The town is bustling with activity in the busiest time of the day. I love observing towns when they're like this, even though it's a little dangerous. Still, these ponies don't seem the type to make weapons, so what's the worst that could happen? My Crusader neckerchief flaps proudly in the wind as I soar over the town, climbing a little when I see a Pegasus.

I see various humorous scenes. A grey Pegasus is bouncing up and down on a cloud. How, I have no idea. Every time she makes contact with the cloud, lightning shoots out. Ponies on the ground are running away, some screaming. The cyan Pegasus from my first night here is trying to get her to stop, only to be shocked for her trouble. Eventually, the grey Pegasus manages to shock herself. She's stunned just long enough for the cyan Pegasus to confiscate her cloud. With a cry of 'I just don't know what went wrong!', she plummets to the ground.

A pink pony with a darker pink curly mane is bouncing around greeting ponies, causing laughter and smiles all around though. I can't explain it, but just looking at her makes me happy. She's armed though. Two deadly looking cannons are positioned on her back. I wouldn't want to get on her bad side. Oh Thor, she's pointing them at someone. Odin, what did that innocent pony do to deserve this? With a bang, bits of paper and string erupt from the cannons, covering the surrounding area and ponies in party decorations. Wait, what? I'm not even going to try to understand.

I fly out over the orchard. The two ponies are still hard at work, harvesting regular apples this time. As I fly over the orchard, I realise just how big it really is. It's easily several acres. The only thing growing is apples. There's a few other crops, there's some wheat and corn, but that's it. The filly isn't there today. I hope her eyes are ok after the cockatrice incident. I decide to fly over the orchard and see if I can spot her.

I fly over the entire orchard, without spotting her once. I wonder then if she's still at the cottage. As I prepare to turn, I spot something I didn't notice before. A small wooden hut, built around a tree, with a staircase leading up to the doors. I go and take a look. I stealthily observe through the window, and smile at the sight. The three Crusaders are in there, wearing their capes and discussing something. The farm filly doesn't seem to have any damage to her eyes, thankfully.

They seem to be discussing their 'cutie marks', whatever those are. From what I can gather, the farm filly is named Applebloom, the Pegasus is named Scootaloo, and the unicorn is named Sweetie Belle. Their adorable names only help me love them even more. Their conversation is muffled, but I can just about make it out.

"All right! Today's the day we earn our cutie marks!" says Applebloom, trying to motivate her friends.

"Well, our last crusade didn't go so well," says Scootaloo.

"We should probably avoid animals, Fluttershy wasn't too happy with us going into the forest," points out Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah, and ah bet our mystery hero ain't gonna be around all the time," says Applebloom.

"Do you think they took the cape?" Scootaloo asks.

"Ah don't know. Ah hope so. Ah really wanna thank 'em. That cockatrice was about ta turn me inta stone!" exclaims Applebloom.

It takes all my force of will not to reveal myself right then and there. Now I realise why Applebloom was so focused on thanking me. She came the closest to death that night. And I was there, just at the right time to save her. No wonder she's so smitten with me.

Eventually they settle on going to 'Carousel Boutique'. I decide to follow behind them stealthily. I don't know why, but I feel attached to these little fillies. I'd guard them with my life. I follow them to their destination. They're in there for about five minutes when another proper white unicorn chases them out. I laugh at the sight. I follow them to a strangely shaped building that smells of bread and cakes. They're in there for a good half an hour when a wailing sound starts up from inside, and they come running out in a cloud of black smoke, with the crazy pink pony, covered in soot, waving cheerily after them, telling them to come again.

Next they go to the library. They find it open, which means that I must have spent all day observing the town. I hadn't meant to do that, but oh well. I'll fly off home, grab something to eat, and then visit Spike. Twilight chases them out. She looks up briefly and spots me. Oops. That meal and forest are looking more and more appealing. She pushes the Crusaders back inside, locks the doors behind her and steps out to examine me further. Honestly, I'm surprised no one noticed me before, I was flying fairly low.

I turn and speed away towards the forest. Twilight shouts something after me. I'm at what appears to be the town square when a rainbow coloured arrow smacks into me, hard. Reeling, I search the ground to realise that my assailant is the cyan Pegasus. She starts accusing me of various things I didn't do. I can't say otherwise though- she doesn't understand me. Twilight must have raised the alarm, because this Pegasus didn't notice me otherwise. A powerful, hot beam strikes my shoulder. Twilight is there, firing beams from her horn.

"Rainbow, help me catch this thing!" she calls to the Pegasus.

Rainbow, huh? Looking at her mane and tail, it isn't hard to see why she was named that. Unfortunately, this Rainbow is not as pleasant as actual rainbows, seeing as she insists on bucking me in the face. She's screaming insults at me, mostly to do with the fact that I'm a dragon. Talk about racism. I didn't even do anything!

"Leave me alone!" I growl. 

As I expected, Rainbow pays no attention.

"Beat it you overgrown handbag!" she yells at me.

Handbag, eh? I don't even know what that is, so I can't really be offended by it.

More magical beams strike me, burning me quite badly. I'm going to be needing some serious aloe vera. Rainbow is very irritating. Of course, I don't want to kill either of them. I don't even want to hurt them.

Are they blind? Can they not see that I'm not even fighting back? Do they not realise that they started the fight? 

Of course they don't. This is just like the humans

I charge up a fireball, making my characteristic ballistic whistling sound. I don't aim at them, just near them. It's a warning shot.

Killing sentient creatures is not my style.

Clearly, it's their style. Rainbow lands herself on top of me, trying to force my wings shut. I know what she's trying to do, it's a trick I've used myself in dragon fights. Unfortunately for her, it's been done to me as well, and I've developed a counterstrategy. Even though my wings are far too muscular and wide for her to ever think of closing, I snap them shut, and allow her to think she's won. She cheers for herself, as I drop like a stone to the ground. She's most likely waiting for the right moment to jump off.

By now a large crowd of ponies has gathered below, including the white unicorn, the farm pony, the pink party pony and the yellow Pegasus. Spike and the Crusaders aren't there, still locked in the library I suppose. That's actually a relief. I don't want them to see me. Speaking of the Crusaders, I wonder if Twilight and Rainbow have noticed the cape? If they have, what do they make of it?

Rainbow is still on my back, acting very smug. Less than two metres from the ground, I spread my wings, catching her off guard. I use the sudden surge of air resistance as a safety net, and make a full recovery. As far as I know, no other dragon uses this trick, since their wings aren't as strong as mine, and actually end up being closed. I may have dislocated one of Rainbow's shoulders, but it isn't my fault she decided to be stupid and attack me. She's flung off of my back, having enough sense to spread her wings. She nurses her shoulder, and is forced to land. Her wings can't take the same strain mine can, and being thrown off of a Night Fury proved too much for her.

Twilight is casting various spells with her horn. I didn't know unicorns could do that. One of the spells conjures a storm above me. Perfect. Because I didn't have enough burns already from her beams of death. Lightning strikes my horns, giving my head a shock I won't soon be forgetting. I swipe at her with my claws. It was a futile attempt, I was nowhere near close enough, but using my fire could prove fatal. I scream in pain and drop a little bit of altitude as one of her magical beams pierces a hole in my wing.

Twilight needs some talking to. Call me a terrible individual, but I find intimidation to be incredibly fun. Instead of flying away from her, like I have been, I turn and fly towards her. She's confused. I roar loudly, it translates out to 'Leave me the fuck alone!'. She briefly stops, probably frightened, but soon regains her composure. But that was only step one. I open my mouth and charge up a fireball, aimed directly at her. Of course, I don't plan on actually loosing it. But seeing the glowing ball is just enough to frighten her into turning around. 

When she's safely out of range, I loose the fireball, right where she had been, it explodes, creating a plume of fire in the sky and sending a blue shock wave pulsing outwards.

Twilight avoids the fire, but is knocked off balance by the shock wave. I take the opportunity to turn and flee, but Twilight isn't having any of that. She approaches and aims a white hot beam of magic at the back of my head. I swing my tail and catch her off guard. I manage to knock the wind out of her. She too, is forced to land.

Now that the fight is over, the adrenaline drains out of me, and I feel every single injury I received. Blood trickles from my nose where Rainbow kicked me. Her initial charge broke a few ribs, and breathing is painful. The hole in my wing is slowing me down, not to mention it's unbearably painful. A minor injury to my tail makes my flying erratic and wobbly. My head is buzzing and aching where I was hit by lightning. The smell of burning flesh and scales penetrates my bloodied nostrils. The burns I received are causing me horrible agony.

As I flee, I see something odd. The yellow Pegasus has burst into tears. She's the only one who seems sad. Rainbow is telling her to 'Get over it, Fluttershy'. The yellow Pegasus, presumably named Fluttershy, takes off and flies towards her cottage.

Weird. I fly off towards my den, scooping up a few fish along the way. 

When I reach home, I cannot hold the fish down. I char a patch of ground, curl up, and try to sleep.

There's a good chance I won't make it through the night


~~~


Fluttershy flew tearfully. She was upset after seeing the fight between her friends and the dragon. She hoped to maybe find the dragon on her way home. She had seen it enter the Everfree Forest, but lost sight of it after that. She decided to let it be. She'd find it someday.

She entered her cottage and lay down on the couch, sobbing into a pillow. Angel, for once concerned with someone other than himself, hopped up and stroked her mane. Birds preened her feathers, and Mr. Bear gave her a kiss. Even these kind gestures could not console her.

"Oh Angel," she sobbed, scooping up the bunny in her hooves. "It was so horrible! My friends were so mean to that dragon! I know they couldn't tell, but I could sense how scared and upset it was! And I heard it asking them to leave it alone! And do you know what the worst part was?" -She paused to blow her nose- "It didn't even do anything! I asked Rainbow and she just said, 'It's a black dragon Fluttershy. What screams 'bad' more than that?'. I thought we'd learned from Zecora that looks could be deceiving, but obviously not! And Twilight was worse! She was shooting beams of magic at it! She burned it really badly! And almost the whole time, it was trying to run away! It only shot at them a few times, and it wasn't even trying to hit them!"

Many of the animals nodded their heads in agreement, this was a terrible crime. 

"And now the poor thing is in the forest, hurt and alone! I don't really like dragons, but this was just too much!"

She started crying again, tears running freely down her face.
> Friend of the Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pain. That's literally all I can register when I wake up. Searing, agonising, unbearable pain. I'm astounded I even woke up at all. I'm definitely going to be stuck on the ground for a while, that is, if I can even manage to crawl out of my den. The next thing I register is the smell. It doesn't smell like my den, before or after the fight. I manage to crack open an eyelid. It's still night out, which strikes me as odd, considering I've definitely been asleep for more than a few hours.

But the problem isn't when I wake up, it's where. I'm not in any place familiar. I'm in a small structure with a green wood floor, and a round red rug in the centre of the room. I am lying on said rug. Birdcages and other such paraphernalia hang from hooks and the like on the wall. The cages are empty though- the birds are flying around freely. A white rabbit jumps up into my face. He smirks at me, sticks out his tongue, and hops away. Hate at first sight. He'd be getting up close and personal with my tongue by now, if I could find the strength to move.

I let my gaze drift downwards to my foot, which had previously been burned. To my surprise, it's been wrapped up in strips of once white fabric. Now it's more of a dull gray colour, with spots of red where I had been bleeding. I blink a few time to remove any blurriness in my eyes, and somehow manage to lift my head.

"Hello?" I croak, wincing as the effort strains my dry throat.

I hear a sound like 'meep', followed by a goat bleating, which leads to the sound of something hitting the ground. Said sounds come from behind the couch. The white rabbit reappears, pulling something pink out from behind the couch. As he gets closer, I realise he's pulling a pony's tail. A pair of butter yellow hind legs come into view, as Fluttershy, for some reason lying on her back with her legs straight up in the air, comes into view. There's a shocked expression on her face. Did I scare her by accident? How did I even get here?

The rabbit taps his foot impatiently by Fluttershy's face. When nothing happens, he hops off into what appears to be a kitchen, and returns holding a glass of water. He throws the water all over Fluttershy, rousing her. She shakes her head.

"Thank you Angel," she says to the rabbit.

She then focuses her attention on me.

"I'm sorry I got scared," she apologises to me.

"You don't have to be sorry," I tell her.

"Oh um...all right. Sorry for being sorry..."

My first reaction is to faceclaw. This turns out to be a bad idea, as it sends a spike of pain through my leg. My second reaction is to do a double take.

"Wait...you can understand me?" I ask.

"Of course! Though I don't think anypony else can..." she answers.

Well this is a surprise. She can understand Dragontongue, but she can't speak it? Actually, just being in her presence sort of make everything seem right with the world. She just radiates kindness. Somehow, I get the feeling that I won't be engaging in aerial combat with her anytime soon. She looks and sounds like she couldn't fight her way out of a wet paper bag.

"How did I get here?" I ask.

"Oh...um...Angel bunny found your cave, so I had all my animal friends help me take you here..." mumbles Fluttershy, barely comprehensible.

I try to stand up, which is quite painful, but I manage it in the end.

I spread my wings and examine them, both for damage and parasites. After pulling a couple of ticks from my wing membranes, I notice something. The hole in my wing is gone! No, not gone. It's been sewn up neatly. Already the membranes are repairing themselves.

"Did you do that?" I ask.

"Oh um...yes," she answers quietly. It isn't very hard to see how she got her name.

"Did I do something wrong? Oh, I'm so sorry if I did something wrong!" she says frantically.

"No, I'm just surprised is all. I didn't know that was possible," I assure her.

She visibly relaxes. Good, I was afraid she might keel over again. Once my legs stop shaking, I turn to leave.

"Where are you going?" she asks.

"I'm not a fan of pity," I say. "You've been helpful and all, but I prefer to lick my wounds in private,"

"You aren't going anywhere," she says sternly.

"Or else?" I ask. Seriously, she'd lose a fight with a dead jellyfish, what's she going to do?

She doesn't answer. Instead, she glares at me. Thor only knows what she put in those icy aquamarine eyes of hers, but it makes me sit right back down.

She's all smiles again once I sit down, a stunned expression on my face.

"What do you like to eat?" she asks kindly.

"Um...fish?" I mutter quietly. Oh great, she's contagious!

She goes into her kitchen and emerges with some perch, loach, mountain salmon and trout. No river salmon, just mountain salmon. Still it looks appetising. I shove my nose in and prepare to grab a trout, when I smell something that doesn't sit well with me. Instinctively, my hackles rise. Is she trying to kill me or heal me? 

Confused, she reaches in. She lifts up first a trout, which is fine. Then she lifts the problem. Something long and slimy. I start growling again. I'm sorry, I can't help it.

"Do you not like eel?" she asks, bewildered, and slightly frightened.

"I hate eel. Eel is toxic to dragons," I explain, still baring my teeth.

"Oh my! I had no idea! I-I'm sorry," she stammers. I can't tell if she's scared or upset.

She tosses the eel into a corner. A large bear picks it up and swallows it like a noodle. Disgusting.

Now that the eel is gone, I can enjoy the fish. I swallow them whole, headfirst. Fluttershy watches with a disgusted look on her face. Too bad for her, there's really no other way to eat fish. Unless you cook them with your fire first and then shred them. But something tells me she'd appreciate that even less.

Once I'm finished, very little remains. I retract my teeth, leaving only gums behind. Teeth help when you're eating fish. Gives you a better grip. But when you're talking to skittish Pegasi with speech impediments, it isn't hard to see why hiding them would make you look more benign. No one is really sure why we Night Furies can retract our teeth. Even I'm not sure. I think it might be to stop our fire from burning our teeth, but other dragons just have fireproof enamel. So why bother screwing around with retractable teeth?

She's shocked, to say the least.

"I didn't know dragons could do that! That's so cute, what else can you do?" she says, clearly excited. Even though her voice is still barely audible, it's the loudest she's been this whole time.

After she finishes babbling excitedly, Fluttershy proffers some small object in front of me. I sniff it. It doesn't smell of anything I recognise. I ask her what it is.

"It's a pill. Just eat it. It'll help you get better."

I reluctantly follow her advice, and immediately wish I hadn't. It isn't big enough to swallow whole the way I normally would. So I end up losing track of it. And as soon as it's in my mouth it starts to dissolve, a foul taste spreading through my mouth. I don't care if she glares at me for the rest of my life, that thing has got to go. I make motions to spit it out, but she must have been expecting this, because she whistles. The bear who was in the corner approaches and clamps my mouth shut. 

Try as I might, I can't shake him off or open my mouth. So I'm forced to endure about five minutes of this, to make sure I ate it. The worst part is that it doesn't even do anything. 

"I ate that crap and nothing happened! What gives?" I complain.

"Just give it time," she says. "You'll feel better soon."

She enters the kitchen once more and emerges with a deep dish of water. I plunge my snout in and drink it dry. It gets rid of some of the taste, but not all of it.

"Am I interrupting something?" asks a familiar voice from outside the door.

"Oh, no, come in," says Fluttershy amiably.

Spike opens the door and enters. He's shocked to see me. Especially wrapped up in strips of fabric, with water dripping down my snout, a disgusted expression on my face, and a very smug bear looking down on me.

"Umbra?" he asks, unsure of what to make of the situation.

"Hi there," I say.

"Oh! Have you already met Spike?" Fluttershy asks, confused.

"Yeah. We're friends."

Spike beams as I make my statement.

"Umbra? Is that your name? I never got a chance to ask," says Fluttershy.

"Yeah, that's my name," I answer.

"Why are you called that?" she asks.

What kind of a question is that? After a moment of thinking, I realise what she means. Rainbow has rainbow colours in her mane. Fluttershy is quiet and shy. She doesn't understand how names work on the Isle of Berk. Fortunately, I do know why I was given my name, so I can avoid a long winded explanation of the difference of names. I'm not a patient dragon, cut me some slack.

"Well, I hatched during an eclipse. When an eclipse happens, the sun is being blocked out by the moon. The shadow the moon casts on the ground is called the umbra," I explain.

"Cool!" says Spike, not bothering to try and make contact with his semi-coherent grasp of Dragontongue. He's figured out that I can understand them by now.

"Well, I'm called Fluttershy because I'm quite bashful," Fluttershy says. "Please don't tell anypony...if that's ok with you..."

"Never've guessed," I deadpan, eliciting a laugh from Spike and a confused expression from Fluttershy.

Her explanation really makes me wonder, how the hell do pony parents know what their child is going to be like when it's older? It doesn't make much sense.

Fluttershy's rabbit shi- I mean pill, actually did the job in the end. I'm not hurting quite so bad. It's a pity the same can't be said for my poor obliterated taste buds.

"Why did you come here, Spike," asks Fluttershy.

"Oh uh, Twilight asked me to tell you to keep an eye out for the black dragon," -he glances at me- "But I see you're way ahead of her on that."

Really? I literally didn't do anything, and now I'm being hunted just because I'm a dragon and my scales are black?

Fluttershy goes into a huff at his statement. "Oh, that. Twilight and Rainbow should have known better! I expected more maturity from my friends, especially after the incident with Zecora," she complains.

"Speaking of that, what the hell did you do? You broke one of Twilight's ribs, and dislocated both of Rainbow's shoulders and one of her wings!" Spike asks angrily.

"Absolutely nothing," I state flatly. He falters for a moment. I think he might have been expecting me to get defensive, but I don't have anything to be defensive about. I didn't do anything, plain and simple.

"Please explain," he says.

"Not much to explain really. I was watching the town all day, I followed Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle around, to make sure they stayed out of trouble, Twilight saw me, she and Rainbow attacked, I fought back and won," I explain.

"Wait. You know the Cutie Mark Crusaders?" Fluttershy asks, making me jump. I'd nearly forgotten she was there. Kind of sad, considering I'm inside her house.

"Yeah, I saved them from being turned to stone by a cockatrice a few days ago," I answer.

"So you're their mystery hero!" exclaims Fluttershy. "I didn't realise they were gone until I came in to check they were asleep. A few minutes later they came in, scared out of their little minds! But Applebloom told me they'd run into another cockatrice, but they'd been saved by a mysterious creature that they didn't see or talk to."

"When did all of this happen?" asks Spike, incredulous.

"About a week ago," says Fluttershy.

"Is that where you got that?" asks Spike, pointing to my Crusader cape.

But I'm more concerned with another detail. "Another cockatrice!?" I ask. Just how much trouble do these three get into?

"The last time it happened, I was there to protect them. I scared the cockatrice away, using non-violent methods," she explains, clearly taking pride in her methods. Personally, I don't think she could've used violent methods even if she wanted to, but that's just me.

"I hope you did the same," she asserts sternly.

"Umm, about that...I sort of killed it," I say sheepishly.

"What! But that poor cockatrice probably had a family!"

"So did all the things it had turned to stone," I point out.

"What did you do with the body? I hope you were decent," asks Fluttershy.

"I ate it," I say. Spike makes a sound like 'eergh' and pretends to throw up.

Fluttershy looks angry. Watch out, I pissed off the fluffy pillow!

"That's horrible! Why would you do that!" 

"Predators need to eat too," I say bluntly.

This stops her rant in its tracks. In the awkward silence that follows, I realise how stifling it is in here.

"Can I go outside for a minute," I ask. "I need some fresh air."

Fluttershy gives me permission, making me promise not to run away or kill anything in a strange fashion that involves me crossing my chest with my claws, and covering my eye with a foot, while reciting a strange rhyme.

She claims that a 'Pinkie Pie Promise' can never be broken. As I step outside and breathe in the cool night air, I wonder out loud what would happen if I broke the promise.

I nearly suffer a heart attack.

The crazy pink pony erupts from a potted plant she clearly can't fit in. "You'll lose your friend's trust FOREVER!" she warns.

When I regain control over my breathing, I look at the plant to question her further. Only scattered dirt remains as evidence of her existence. I'm wondering now if there was more than just pain relievers in Fluttershy's pill.

I cross a little bridge, which spans the river. I settle myself on the grass and just admire the night sky.

"The night sky is so beautiful," I remark to myself.

"It has been a long time since I have heard those words," says a voice.

I look around for the source of the sound. I would flee, but past experience has shown that anyone who can understand my language is not a threat. Except maybe the pink pony, but I don't think she was entirely real.

"Who's there? Show yourself," I call.

I notice something I didn't before. There's something on the moon. The silhouette of a pony. Said silhouette moves, jumping out of the moon and materialising into what is quite possibly the most amazing creature I've ever seen.

A tall, dark indigo mare, with a horn longer than the average unicorn's. Like Twilight, she has a pair of wings. The picture on her flank is a crescent moon with a black background. But the most astounding thing about her is her mane and tail. They are sleek, and flow in non-existent wind. They're the colour of the night sky, with small glowing dots probably meant to represent the stars. A black tiara is positioned on her head.

"Hello, dragon," she says. Her voice is odd. She sounds noble and dignified. Her tones seem more advanced than the humans, but less advanced than the other ponies. 

Oh crap, is she going to kick my ass too? Even if I wasn't already injured, she probably wouldn't have much trouble.

"Hi there, um..." I trail off. I don't know her name, or even what species she is.

"Luna. Thou mayst call me Luna."

"Right. Hello, Luna," I stammer.

She chuckles, "Why are you so frightened? Any friend of the night is a friend of mine."

"Friend of the night... Yeah, I guess that's a pretty close description of me. I love everything about the night. The beauty, the temperature, the creatures that come of of hiding. I guess we Night Furies live up to our name," I'm more relaxed now after hearing her laugh. It helps her seem more...normal.

"My name's Umbra, by the way."

"It is nice to encounter an entity other than myself who appreciates the night sky for what it is. A tapestry, intricate and complex. Once, the lack of admirers for my beautiful night drove me to bring about eternal night. My elder sister was forced to banish me to the moon I control."

"Control?" I ask.

"Yes, my job is to raise the moon to bring forth the night. My elder sister raises the sun. I can tell you are not from around here, so I will explain to you how Equestria works."

She then proceeds to explain various anomalies I'd failed to understand. The clouds were as tangible as solid ground because the wings of aerial creatures channel magic that allows them to walk on clouds. Other ponies can't. She and Twilight were alicorns, ponies who possessed the innate magics of all three pony races. Alicorns were considered princesses.

Chatting with Luna helped me relax. Eventually, Spike and Fluttershy wander out and join in the conversation, though they're initially shocked at seeing Luna.

"Hold still for just a moment," orders Luna.

Her horn lights up, and she touches it to a spot between my eyes. The sensation is strange, like something is being forced into my mind. My mouth feels strange too. 

"Speak," she commands.

"Um...ok?" I say, quite confused.

Spike and Fluttershy look at me in astonishment.

"You can talk!" exclaims Fluttershy.

"I've always been able to talk. How did you not realise this?" I ask, exasperated. What a random time to make such a pointless observation. Still, something seems odd.

"No, like pony speak. Not dragon speak," says Spike.

"I can?" It dawns on me suddenly. "Holy shit, I can!"

All three glare at me. "Sorry," I apologise sheepishly.

Whatever kind of a spell Luna cast, it's translating my words as I say them. Communication just got a whole lot easier.

"Thank you," I thank Luna gratefully. 

She just smiles in return.

We spend the rest of the night talking and laughing, telling stories ranging from Twilight freakouts and swapped cutie marks (which is apparently what the pictures on the ponies' flanks are called), to battling evil unicorns and robbing other dragons. 

Spike sends a letter to Twilight via his fire saying he's spending the night at Fluttershy's and Luna does the same for her sister.

And if anyone would have passed by that night, they would have seen the strange sight of a sarcastic black dragon, a naive purple and green dragon, a butter yellow shy Pegasus and a regal indigo alicorn, laughing and having fun together under the pale light of the moon.

And in that moment, amongst my new friends, I couldn't have been happier.

> The Good a Dragon Can Do
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Weeks pass in a blur as I grow accustomed to my new home. I observe the antics of the Crusaders when I can, read books with Spike, rescue animals with Fluttershy and share experiences with Luna, who visits most nights. My wounds from the fight have healed, and the panic has died down, allowing me to indulge in a semblance of normal life.

Right now, I'm sitting in my den, with Spike showing me a book he 'borrowed' from the library. Yeah, news flash, there's no need for a dragon to sugar-coat thievery. It's what we do, might as well embrace it. 

I've taught him to catch fish, and even though he's obnoxiously loud, and terribly clumsy, he's got the hang of it. He cooks the fish with his strange green fire. It takes forever and a day for it to even start charring them. His fire isn't particularly hot. I suspect it was adrenaline that cranked up the temperature at our first encounter. One time, he ended up making a fish disappear in a puff of smoke. Weirdest thing I've ever seen. Turning a letter to smoke I can understand, but a fish? That doesn't work in my book.

That night, Luna told the story of how, that evening, her elder sister, Celestia, was drinking tea and reading by the fire, when a burnt fish suddenly materialised above her and was speared on her horn. They never did figure out where it came from. Even Spike couldn't put two and two together, so in a fit of giddy laughter, which is a rare occurrence for a dragon, I had to connect the dots for them.

Still, back to the book. It's about unicorn magic. I don't find this fascinating at all, but he seems very intrigued by it. Sweet Thor, does Twilight not expose him to draconic literature? Sagas of great battles, long forgotten tales sung by the bards and the finest hunting techniques...Spike certainly is a deprived dragonling if those treasure troves of knowledge are denied to him. He can't even speak the language, for Odin's sake!

"So unicorns channel magic through their horns by focusing, and drawing on their internal strength," Spike lectures me.

"That's real interesting, can we skip to the part with the dragons?" I yawn.

"And you called the ponies racist," Spike scolds me. "Don't you want to hear about magic?"

"Not unless I can do it myself," I say nonchalantly.

"Well, maybe you can. All creatures in Equestria have magic in them. Dragons more so than others. All you need is an outlet to use it. Your wings probably act as magical batteries. If you had a horn or something, you could probably put that magic to use," he ponders.

Now I'm interested. I flip up my horns. "Would these work?"

"Maybe," he answers, not entirely sure.

"Lemme try! Where's the instruction manual?" I ask with excitement. I've kind of sort of envied Luna since I first met her. Being able to use magic to pick stuff up must be awesome.

"Ok, um, first focus on this," he instructs, picking up a pebble.

I attempt to do so, succeeding to some degree. 

When he's satisfied the stone has my undivided attention, he continues, "Now draw on the magic."

What magic? How am I meant to know what it feels like, or even if I have it?

"Um, I can't. I can't find something if I don't know what I'm looking for. I'm not from here, so maybe I don't have any?" I suggest, disappointed with how likely the possibility seems.

"No, I think you have something going on. It's magic that let's dragons breathe fire," he says matter-of-factly. 

"Correction, it's a special organ filled with gas that lets dragons breathe fire," I point out. Fire isn't magic, even the humans have figured that out, and they're more primitive than half the animals here.

"Come, let us test this conundrum outside," says a regal voice.

Looking towards the entrance to my den, I notice that night has fallen and Luna is here.

"Hi Luna, welcome to the party," I say, gesturing to the piles of fish entrails and animal bones. Wings from the strange, big eyed, round, insectoid creatures that occupy the tunnels down here lie scattered as well. They might be small, but they taste great and not even Fluttershy seems to like them. Best of all, as soon as I eat one, another has been vomited up by one of its brethren. Weird, but helpful.

"I'm here too...if that's ok with you," says an unmistakable whisper. Peering around Luna, I can see Fluttershy ducking down, the white rabbit (I refuse to call him Angel) on her back, playing with her feathers and tapping her hide impatiently.

At a tug on her ear from the rabbit, Fluttershy rephrases, "I meant, I'm here too, and uh, maybe I can help? If you want me to..."

The rabbit sighs and gives up, hopping in the direction of Fluttershy's cottage.

"Do you not have the ability to fly?" asks Luna, ignoring Fluttershy.

"Yeah, I can fly, but what does that have to do with anything?" I ask her in return.

"Then you do indeed have magic. Airborne creatures cannot fly without the aid of magic," she states matter-of-factly.

I flex my wings and point a claw at the muscles. "No, it's powerful muscles, hollow bones and an aerodynamic body structure that allow me to fly," I correct her.

Next I gesture to my tail and flight sails. "All of my flight mechanisms are very delicate. I wouldn't be able to fly if my tail or flight sails were damaged. I would just lose my balance and tip over. No magic involved," I finish.

Luna is stunned. I'm not sure if it's because I won the argument or if it's because she didn't know that it was possible to fly without using magic, but she doesn't respond.

"Um...I can help..." mumbles Fluttershy. No one pays attention to her though.

"That is preposterous, nay, impossible!" says Luna, still shocked by my explanation.

Fluttershy is still whispering, but I'm too caught up with Luna to do anything about it.

"Maybe you need magic to fly because your wings aren't big enough for your body?" I suggest.

Mistake. Fluttershy is still muttering away, but Luna looks thoroughly offended.

"Art thou suggesting that we are, how wouldst thou put it, fat?" Luna fumes. 

Her voice is loud, so loud I can actually see the volume coming out of her mouth. Her manner of speaking changed to one I can't make heads or tails of. Fluttershy cowers even more, and Spike is knocked off his feet from the sheer volume.

From behind her mane, Fluttershy still can't form coherent speech. Whatever. I'll worry about her later. Right now I have an angry princess of the night to deal with.

"No, you aren't big, but your wings are small," I point out.

Luna calms down a bit, though I can tell she's still annoyed.

I continue, "They're only about the size of an owl's wings, whereas you are a fully grown mare. An owl has wings that are about the size of his body, and that helps him to fly. You shouldn't be able to fly, because your wings are too small. That's why you must need magic to fly," -I fan out my wings- "My wings are huge, about the same size as my body. They're also very muscular, and I have lots of little sails to help me fly. My bones are hollow, and my scales are lightweight, which also help."

I finish explaining and wait for Luna's reaction. She looks satisfied.

"We are sorry. We merely took the wrong meaning from thine explanation," she apologises.

"Still doesn't solve the problem of how to test if Umbra has magic," points out Spike.

"That is true," Luna ponders.

We continue like this for about five minutes, when all of a sudden-

"LISTEN TO ME!" comes a shout from the entrance.

Luna, Spike and I turn to look at Fluttershy. She's standing up straight, with a look of defiance on her face. 

As soon as she realises we're looking at her, she cowers behind her mane again, "If that's ok with you..."

Two claws and a hoof hit the faces of their owners.

"What is it, Fluttershy?" I ask the terrified Pegasus.

"I might know a way to see if you have magic..." she mumbles.

"Pray tell, what is the method you speak of?" Luna asks. I notice she's switched back from using odd pronouns. Maybe that happens when she's angry?

"If Umbra can walk on clouds...then maybe she has magic?" Fluttershy suggests.

Luna and Spike blink, while I sit there with a confused expression on my face.

"Why didn't I think of that?" asks Spike.

"I don't get it," I say, very, very confused.

"Oh uh...things that can fly can walk on clouds because of magic...if you can walk on clouds then you must at least have some magic..." Fluttershy stammers.

"Shall we test it?" asks Luna.

"I don't see why not," I agree.

We walk outside. The night, though it is young at this stage, the sun only just having set, is crisp and beautiful. Fluttershy and Spike seem a little scared of it, but Luna is relishing in it, just like me.

Luna flies up, out of sight for a while. She returns with a small cloud. Fluttershy flaps up, very slowly, and lands on it. Luna joins her.

"Come on...if you want to..." calls Fluttershy, her quiet tones almost impossible to hear.

I fly up and hover next to the cloud, unsure of what to do. I reach out a claw at the cloud, and to my surprise, I don't pass right through it. Rather, it feels as solid as the ground, but soft, like the down on baby birds. I grip it in my claws. When I'm satisfied it's solid, I tentatively alight on it. I don't fall through. Maybe I do have magic after all!

"Well done!" praises Luna.

"See, you can do magic!" says Fluttershy.

"Nice job!" calls Spike from the ground.

"I'm so happy for you, I feel like cheering for you!" Fluttershy exclaims. 

She takes a deep breath. I'm prepared for another bellow like earlier, so I brace myself.

"...yay," she whispers.

I stifle a laugh. She calls that a cheer?

"It is with regret that I must return to my duties as Princess of the Night," says Luna. "I will see you all tomorrow night."

And with that, she leaps towards the moon, becoming the silhouette once more. The silhouette of Luna winks at me, before settling into its position on the moon.

Fluttershy yawns. "I might go to bed now, actually. I'm tired and I need to be up to feed the baby animals tomorrow morning," she says sleepily.

I glide down to Spike while Fluttershy does the same.

"Goodnight," Spike and I say, before returning to my den.

Spike attempts to teach me a spell to levitate things. With a lot of pain and time as well as much frustration, I manage to lift the stone about an inch and hold it there for a moment before dropping it. The aura of my magic is a bright green, and surrounds both of my horns as well as the stone.

Now that I know what to do, it's a lot easier. I gradually get better at it, and even after Spike has left, I continue practising. Eventually I can hold it there for a long time, move it in different directions, and raise and lower the height of it.

I flip through Spike's book. I can't really read it, but the pictures tell enough of a story for me to figure out what the spell does.

I find something that piques my interest. It appears to be a spell for stealth, if the pictures are correct. The steps to performing it have illustrations too, and I attempt to perform it. A sudden spark from my horns and a feeling of lightness last briefly before I feel normal again. Did I do it right?

I decide to test it on the insect creatures. By now they've learned to flee when they spot me. Not that it makes any difference, I'm far too fast and stealthy for them to get away. I walk right up in the face of one. It doesn't move. I wave a claw in front of it. It doesn't pay attention. I repeat on a few others. None of them seem frightened in the least! I must have got gotten it right. I celebrate by hunting a few of the insects, catching a couple of fish and topping it all off with a nice sapphire.


~~~


I decide to give my new stealth spell a test run by flying out over Ponyville today. I love observing towns, but haven't dared since the incident with Twilight and Rainbow. I cast the spell before I leave. I have no idea how long it lasts, so I decide to renew it every now and then.

I fly out over the orchard first. The orange pony, Applejack, as I now know her name, and the red pony are picking apples. I fly low, testing the spell once more. Applejack looks up, but doesn't see me. Perfect! That's confirmation that it works.

I approach the Crusader clubhouse. It's been so long since I've seen my favourite three fillies. The Crusaders aren't in there right now. I suppose they're out getting into trouble.

As I set off toward the rest of the town, wanting to see what else is going on, I see something strange. Applejack and the red pony aren't picking apples any more. Now they're trying to set a pile of dead branches and leaves on fire, with little success.

"Consarnit! This dang pile o' wood and leaves won't light! Can y'all do anythin' about it Big Macintosh?" asks Applejack.

"Eenope," replies the red pony, presumably Big Macintosh.

They resume trying to light their bonfire. I think back to what Applejack said. Big Macintosh might not be able to do anything about it, but maybe I can...

My mind made up, I loose a ball of fire at the pile of wood. It catches instantly, blazing high with a pillar of smoke.

Applejack and Big Macintosh are surprised and terrified at the same time.

"What in the hay caused that? Was it you?" asks Applejack.

"Eenope. Ah think it came from up there," drawls Big Macintosh, pointing a hoof in my general direction. However he's way off the mark, which proves that my spell is working.

I leave the two apple farmers to their own devices and set off towards the town, flying low for an astounding view of the streets.

A small red school lies in the town. A bell goes off, and lots of fillies and colts come rushing out. The Crusaders are among them. I notice that two earth pony fillies, one pink, one grey have backed the Crusaders up against a wall. I listen in on their conversation.

"You're just a bunch of useless blank flanks," jeers the pink pony.

"Yeah, we don't need a bunch of losers like you three at the school dance," sneers the grey one.

Sweetie Belle looks close to tears, and Scootaloo lays a comforting wing across her friend's back.

"We can go to that dance, 'cause we want to, and there ain't nothin' y'all can do to stop us. At least we're actual real fillies instead of fake doll ponies," responds Applebloom hotly.

"Yeah, I bet you guys are real disappointed that Daddy couldn't buy you a real reason to be here," taunts Scootaloo. "Seriously, get a life," she finishes.

The two bullies are furious. The grey one opens her mouth to say something, but closes it when she can't think of anything.

"Whatever! If you three even set so much as one hoof in the school hall tomorrow night, you're going to regret it, big time!" threatens the pink pony.

The grey one gives Applebloom a shove, sending her careening into Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. All three collapse in a heap. Sweetie Belle bursts into tears, while the two bullies are in fits of laughter.

I've been sitting here this entire time, and my rage has been simmering, stewing, boiling, and now it is smoking hot. How dare these two ignorant, rude, immature bullies verbally and physically attack the Crusaders? The Crusaders are sweet little fillies who deserve every ounce of a dragon's protection.

I position myself between the Crusaders and the laughing bullies, and beat my wings, hard. The two bullies are knocked over into a wall by the sudden gust of wind.

They groan and stagger to their hooves. Unfortunately for them, I'm not a very merciful dragon. As soon as they're up, I repeat the process. I do this about three more times before settling back. At first the Crusaders were frightened, but now they're laughing, rolling on the ground.

The two bullies, dizzy and clumsy, bang into one another before groggily threatening the Crusaders with something to do with ice cream, before wandering off and throwing up in the grass.

Satisfied, I leave the elated Crusaders and fly off. I'm just as happy as they are, smiling and humming a tune. Even the rearing filly on my Crusader neckerchief emblem seems to be rearing higher than usual.

I pass the same ditzy grey Pegasus who I saw the day of the fight. She isn't using clouds this time. She's delivering mail. A brown stallion with a darker brown spiky mane emerges from his home, probably to receive his mail. The ditzy grey Pegasus somehow manages to send a piano plummeting his way. How she stored that in her bag, and how she flew with it, I'll never know. What I do know, is that that stallion won't be enjoying the sun for long.

None of the ponies seem to want to do anything about it. So I guess it's up to me. Swooping, I grip the piano in my claws, and struggle to lift it. It's incredibly heavy, but with a lot of effort, I move it a safe distance away from the stallion, and drop it.

"Goodness, what happened?" asks the stallion.

"Sorry Doctor! I dropped the piano that was meant for Cheerilee's school dance on you!" calls the grey Pegasus.

"Derpy? How did you manage that...why am I asking?" mutters the Doctor.

"Some random unicorn must have saved you, because the piano started floating! It was weird, though, there was no magical aura!" exclaims Derpy. Suitable name for the clumsy wall eyed pony.

"What? Derpy, that means that it wasn't a unicorn. Are you suggesting that the piano just flew, of its own accord?" asks the incredulous Doctor.

Derpy isn't listening. "Thank you random unicorn! Have a muffin!" she calls, producing a baked object from her mailbag, and throwing it into the air. 

I catch it with my claws, thanking Derpy silently.

"See! No aura!" she exclaims jovially.

"What? But that's impossible... Derpy, please go fly over to the floating muffin and see if you can figure out what's holding it," orders the Doctor.

Derpy starts to fly up to me. I fly away, eating her muffin as I go. It's delicious, very sweet and light. I'll have to ask Spike to ask her to make some for me.


~~~


About 15 minutes after my encounter with Derpy and the Doctor, I start to get a little sleepy. It's true, I have a horrible sleep schedule. I tend to be awake during the day and night, with little time for sleep. I turn and head back to my den.

As I pass the boutique, the white unicorn, once again chasing the Crusaders out glances upwards. Shocked she rubs her eyes and looks again.

Oh shit, did my spell wear off? Apparently so, as sewing needles, spools and rolls of fabric are thrown at me. Hey, at least it's not burning beams of white hot death that are being fired at me.

Either way, I need to leave. I fly away as fast as I can, renewing my spell as I go along. I manage to get home without anyone else spotting me.

I curl up in my den and soon fall asleep, my dreams filled with muffins and dazed bullies in front of bonfires.

It's impressive, the good a dragon can do when she puts her mind to it.

Now, if only the ponies could see that...
> Fleeing From Conscience
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another uneventful day has passed. I'm miles from my den. Spike, Fluttershy and Luna are doing Thor only knows what.

It's blissful, in a horrible sort of way, that hollow feeling when you know you've become a monster, not worth friendship or love. If I wasn't so cowardly, it wouldn't have happened. If I could fight my reflexes it would have been fine. But thanks to that fateful night in the forest, less than a week ago, I'm now doomed to flee or face the consequences of my actions. 

That young colt was so very foolish. He shouldn't have startled me. Shouldn't have dared to try to fight me. If he had been smarter, I wouldn't have snapped his spine on impulse. I wouldn't have had to construct my first Equestrian grave. Instincts are impossible to fight, I know that now. I was delusional to think otherwise. My destiny is to forever wander alone, I know that now. I can't even enjoy more than a month in happiness. 

I don't deserve the kindness of a soft spoken pegasus. Nor the sage like wisdom and casual conversation of a regal alicorn. I'm not honourable enough to have the pleasure of teaching a young drake the draconic ways.

No. Even the frigid wasteland I stand in now, devoid of life, light and love is too good for me. An unworthy punishment for someone so vile as myself.

The ice chills my scales and slows my heart as I walk. I'm not going anywhere in particular. A city, surrounded by a dome of warmth, is visible on the horizon. I change my course. I wouldn't want to sully their shining residence with my impure claws and scales, hued as black as the night sky. They wouldn't welcome me anyway. Dragons are not commonly accepted among ponies.

Luna's glorious moon shines overhead. Her many stars wink at me. One of her constellations forms the shape of a dragon. Poised regally, it is the very opposite of what I have become.

I don't bother stopping to sleep. My course is set towards mountains in the west. They are sparkling, the moon's light glinting off the ice. It's hauntingly beautiful. I've been wandering for about two days straight, without sleep. Any naps I may have taken since departure were purely because I collapsed. I haven't eaten since I left. I don't really want to. I caught a few fish the other day, but harboured no desire to consume them. Instead I left them on the ice.

The flat sheet of endless white stretches for miles. It's been days since I last saw a plant. No wonder nothing lives here. It took me a long time to melt the hole I caught the fish out of, and it refroze almost instantly. Every now and then a bird will swoop overhead. Occasionally, a few either brave or lost ponies can be spotted wandering around. I dare not approach them, for fear that I would somehow end up killing them.

Luna's silhouette is visible on the moon. She watches all from her vantage point, and I pray that a lone black dragon crossing the ice would not catch her attention. I lack the will to face her right now.

My prayers are ignored.

Luna lands in front of me, a worried expression on her face.

"Umbra! Why are you out here all alone? Nopony has seen you for a week!" she exclaims, clearly concerned.

I'm touched that she's worried about me, but the fact that I don't deserve it is bothering me.

"Please leave. I don't want to talk about it," I say, pushing past her.

She spreads her wings and once more lands in front of me.

"Nay, I shall not leave. Explain yourself," she orders.

"Luna, please. Just go away. I don't need your pity, and I'm sure that you're freezing," I object, noting how she's shivering and hugging herself with her wings.

"However cold I may be, surely you are more so. You lack a coat of fur, and scales do not do much to shield one from cold," she points out.

I respond by launching a fireball at the ground. 

"I have a built-in heater," I deadpan.

"That's as may be, however you still must explain to me why you are venturing through the northern ice, alone, having told no pony. Spike and Fluttershy are worried half to death, as am I. Provide an explanation, posthaste!" Luna commands.

She isn't scaring me. Only making me feel worse, as well as aggravating me.

"Leave. Now," I growl, baring my teeth at her.

She's taken aback, but firmly stands her ground.

"You do not frighten me. I will have my answer. I am prepared to wait all night to receive it," she asserts firmly.

"And I am prepared to wait an eternity for you to leave," I reply coolly.

For a moment, we engage in a stare down. Luna's piercing gaze, though nowhere near a frightening as Fluttershy's, penetrates deep into my soul.

"I'm not going anywhere," she states, flatly.

I narrow my eyes, my pupil's shrinking into slits. I've had enough.

"Luna, just go away. Now. Go back to your calm and pampered life. Go enjoy being a princess, lavish lifestyle, adoring subjects. You don't have the weight of any major screw ups crushing your back constantly. I don't need your company right now!" I screech at her.

A expression of deep hurt appears on Luna's face.

"Whatever it is you feel you did, it cannot possibly compare to my crimes. Long ago, I committed an atrocity far worse than you could possibly fathom. I was duly punished, however, guilt still plagues my mind," she says in a low voice.

I immediately regret what I said. I touched on something dark in Luna's past. And had the gall to accuse her of a coddled lifestyle. Even if I somehow manage to forgive myself for murdering that colt, I doubt Luna will ever speak to me again.

Before I can apologise, Luna leaps back into the moon. Her voice emanates from above. 

"I will be back, once more seeking answers. Of that you can be sure," she warns ominously.

Great. Thievery, failure, murder, and now emotional scarring. Might as well add 'enslavement' to my list of crimes.

I spread my tired wings and beat them. Flying at such a low temperature is a terrible idea. I don't really care. Insulting one of your only friends is also a terrible idea. So it doesn't really matter at this point. 

I note the scar from where Fluttershy healed the hole in my wing. She really is an excellent healer.

The mountains grow rapidly as I push on. Soon I reach a ledge, with a gaping cave entrance. I crash land heavily. The cold, lack of food and lack of sleep, combined with the effort of flight have taken their toll on me. I stagger into the cave. Groggily, I fall flat on my face. Well, this is as good a position as any to sleep in.

As I drift into slumber, I become aware of a voice speaking to me.

"Woah, where did you come from? Who are you?" 

I ignore it. Mysterious voices can wait until later.

"Are you ok? Hey, come on!"

This voice is really annoying. I crack open a eyelid. Feathers, and a beak are all I bother to register before succumbing to sleep once more.

"You're seriously worrying me... Oh Celestia, what should I do!"

The voice is panicking. About...me?

I don't know. I don't really care. More terrified babble is the last thing I hear before I truly fall asleep.

> Companionship
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Brr...it's chilly. Where am I? Did Luna bring hard cider again?"

I'm after speaking my thoughts out loud. Go me. But now I remember why I'm here. I'm a pathetic excuse for a dragon, that's why. I'm in a cave...in the middle of nowhere...with a weird voice?

I snap open my eyelids. As opposed to being near the edge of the cave like I was when I landed, I'm much deeper in. A fire is blazing. A pile of dry firewood is stacked neatly off to the side. A basic mat made of animal skins is spread on the ground opposite to me. A saddlebag is packed next to the mat. And skinning a bear in the corner is the strangest creature I've ever seen.

Its front half is feathered, with an eagle's beak and talons. It bears the wings of an eagle on its back. But its hind legs, tail and lower half lack feathers and are decidedly feline in appearance. Its feathers and fur are different shades of brown, with the exception of the feathers on its head, which are white. A couple of feathers stick out over its face in a fringe, and six more, three on either side of its head form twin crests in a similar arrangement to my own horns.

The strange creature looks at me.

"Oh, you're awake! Mind giving me some answers?" it questions. His voice is interesting. It's masculine, with a poetic quality to it. Which is ruined by his hasty approach to things.

"I don't know, I don't feel like talking," I say, rudely but honestly. It's true, I don't.

"Answers. Now," he orders, trying to be intimidating, and failing miserably.

"How about you introduce yourself? Then maybe we can discuss answers," I offer.

I notice that he's wearing an amulet of sorts, made of a flat coin of a sea-green, banded gemstone. The layered shades of green are very entrancing. Maybe I'll ask him how he got it. 

"Alright, you first," he says warily.

"Not talking. I asked you first," I press him.

"I'm standing my ground," he asserts firmly.

"Then I'll go back to sleep. Wake me when you wise up," I say nonchalantly.

"Ugh, this is going nowhere. Fine, I'll go first," he groans.

Heh heh, nailed it.

"My name is Malachite. I'm from the Griffon Kingdom. I'm out exploring, looking for something. I make my living by selling any cool or rare things I can find along the way. I have a friend who I travel with. He's out fishing, but he should be back soon," he says.

A griffon? I've heard of those, but didn't know they actually existed. The name Malachite also rings a bell. Some type of gemstone I think?

"Alright, a deal's a deal. My name is Umbra, I'm a Night Fury dragon. I'm a terrible dragon so I left home to punish myself," I confess. I don't give him all the details, but for some reason, just confiding in someone takes the edge of the pain away. And despite our rocky start, I actually find myself enjoying Malachite's company. I wonder what his friend is like?

"Tell me more!" he demands, a little too exuberantly.

"Why?" I ask, more than a little suspicious of him.

"I love dark, dramatic backstories!" he exclaims.

"Right...that's not creepy at all," I say sarcastically. 

"Heh heh, only joking," he laughs.

"Not funny," I say, before joining him in laughter.

"In all seriousness, you should eat something. You're all emaciated, and it's really creepy," he says, sobering up.

"I'm not hungry," I say, before my stomach betrays me, causing Malachite to laugh again. He tosses a fish in my direction.

"C'mon, eat up. There's no shortage, I have loads and my friend is coming back with more," he offers.

"I may be hungry, but I still don't want to eat this," I refuse his offer, dead set on starving myself.

"What's the matter? Too fancy to eat common food?" he teases, putting on a posh accent.

He rubbed my scales the wrong way altogether, so I decide to prove I'm not a prissy little hatchling. In one quick movement I slide out my teeth, grab the fish and, having ripped it into two halves, devour it. I lick my lips and attempt to smile.

Malachite drops the rest of his fish.

"Sweet Celestia, remind me not to get on your bad side!" he exclaims, the fear obvious in his voice.

Changing the subject, I ask, "Why do you have so much fish? If there's two of you, shouldn't there be a lot less here? And if you have so much, why is your friend out catching more?"

"I can answer the second part of your question. We're leaving soon, and need to collect more supplies. That's why I was skinning that bear," he says, gesturing to it.

"As for the first part...well, to put it bluntly, my friend is...a little odd. You'd do better to talk to him yourself," mumbles Malachite.

"Someling is talking about me. Is that you, Malachite? I always knew you were a little crazy, but talking to yourself? Really?" calls a voice, somehow managing to playfully tease Malachite, while still sounding concerned. An impressive feat, to be sure.

I turn to the source of the voice. Hey, you know when I said Malachite, Luna and Twilight were the strangest things I'd ever seen? Well, those statements can take a long walk off a short pier, because this is undoubtedly the weirdest creature I've ever seen.

His body vaguely resembles a pony, but instead of a coat of fur, he has a hard carapace, like a beetle or a sea turtle. His horn is short, and curved, like a fang, unlike Luna and Twilight's horns, which were long spirals with little to no point. His wings are gossamer thin, and insectoid. They're a pale grey in color, and full of holes. In fact, the creature's entire body is filled with holes, particularly his legs. His tail is short and the same grey colour as his wings, appearing not to be hair, but rather a thin material, possibly the same tissue that formed his wings. Fangs clearly show, hanging out from his upper jaw.

Now, when I think insect, I think of the colour black, and when I look at this creature I think of insects. So maybe that's why it comes as a shock to me, that rather than black, or some other colour with good camouflage, this creature's chitinous body is white. Not the same white as the snow, or even Sweetie Belle's coat, more like a very light grey, but white nonetheless. His eyes don't seem to have pupils. Either they are entirely iris, or there is no iris and just an oddly coloured sclera, but his eyes are empty, and are a sickly pinkish red colour.

The creature speaks once more.

"Huh? What's that?" he asks, pointing a hole-filled...appendage at me. His voice is a trill, with a sort of buzz to it, again, very insect-like.

"Hey bro," Malachite greets the insect. "This is a visitor. She wandered in while you were out. I fed her and made conversation."

"Oh good, you're not crazy," laughs the bug with relief.

He turns to me.

"Hi! I'm Scolopendra, but you can call me Pen," he introduces himself, offering a hole-filled limb. I clasp it in my claw, unsure what to do, but based on my observations of humans, and to some degree, ponies, it would appear that the proper response is to shake it. Not sure why, seems rather pointless. Why shake claws/hands/hooves when you can send blasts of fire as a greeting?

Still, it appears I was right, as after I shake it, Pen withdraws his limb. "And you are?"

"I'm Umbra. No nicknames, no titles, no surnames. Just Umbra," I say.

"Nice to meet you!" trills Pen.

"If you don't mind me asking, what race are you? You appear to be a type of pony, but I've never seen anything like you," I ask.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," he says.

"Well, I'm a Night Fury. A type of dragon. I'm not from here. Like, at all," I say.

"Fair enough. I'm a Changeling. We're a type of pony, created during the reign of Discord. We feed off of emotions, but love tastes the nicest and sustains us the most. But, well...I'm not like other Changelings. Most Changelings are black, with blue eyes, but I'm white, with red eyes. And most Changelings have 20/20 vision, but my eyesight isn't the best. I left the village when I was a larva, and met up with Malachite. We've been together ever since," he explains.

"First off, that's really weird, no offense, and second off, you said Changelings were 'created'? What does that mean?" I ask.

"Good question. It's a story not many ponies know. Even most Changelings don't know it, but when you spend all your time inside your house trying not to get beaten up for being different, there's not much you can do but read. The story begins, long ago in the time of Dis-"

"Peeeeeeen!" whines Malachite, who had been twiddling his talons awkwardly through our entire conversation. "I've heard this story like a million times!"

"True, but Umbra here hasn't. Go back to skinning your bear," Pen dismisses him.

Malachite takes his advice, and wanders off, muttering under his breath.

"As I was saying, before I was interrupted, this story begins in the time of the tyrannical rule of Discord. All ponies feared and loathed him, but none were brave enough to stand up to him. All except one. One brave young pony sought to stop Discord's reign. Against the wishes of her family and friends, and against her own better judgement, she ventured forth to his lair. She was captured almost instantly, and brought before Discord. He decided to use her as a victim for his latest bit of fun. Using his chaotic magic, he transformed her into an emotionless insect. She went on to become the first Changeling Queen. 

Her bravery in challenging Discord inspired two others to take a stand- sisters who would go on to be the famous Princesses Luna and Celsetia. Using the Elements of Harmony, they turned Discord to stone, becoming immortal alicorns as a reward. Once they took the throne, and began to restore Equestria, they decided to fix that which Discord had broken. They sought out the new Changeling, and attempted to restore her to her original state. But Discord's magic ran too deep, and they were unable to fix her. They decided that they would at least try to give her emotions back. But the spell they used backfired. Instead of returning her emotions, they caused the Changeling to hunger for emotions. She could feel, but she now consumed all emotion around her. She broke away from them and started a colony of Changelings in the Badlands."

A tear drips from Pen's eyes as he concludes the story.

"And we have lived there ever since."


~~~


Dear Princess Celestia,

It has come to my attention that the body of a young colt was found in the Everfree Forest last night. The body was found lying on a stone altar, about halfway to Zecora's hut. It was found surrounded by flowers, with a few fish and some gemstones. An engraved stone tablet was present, inscribed with unknown runes. I will set about deciphering them as soon as possible.

In an autopsy that was performed, it was discovered that the colt died due to a broken spine. Imprints of scales were found, as well as claw and tooth marks. Given this evidence, I believe I know the culprit.

A large, black, dragon-like creature has been sighted around Ponyville for the past month and a half. It is this creature that I believe to be the killer. I don't know for sure why the colt was killed, or why his body was arranged so intricately, but I believe it may be some sort of sacrifice, perhaps to a beast of Tartarus?

I didn't want to trouble you about the dragon, seeing as it only shows up occasionally, and when it does, it is easily beaten or frightened away, but now the situation is more grim. May I be so bold as to request that you look into this matter? I have enclosed an artists sketch of the creature.

Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle

P.S I know I'm not usually so formal in my letters, but the Ponyville Chief of Police was adamant that if I was going to help investigate that I had to keep professionalism when detailing the incident.














> Equestria's Red Death
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You said this would be easy!"

"I lied."

The griffon and the changeling squabbling in the background is irritating me to no end. Haven't they ever climbed a mountain before? For travellers, they seem very unused to travelling. I get that it's cold, but really?

I feel compelled to break somebody's spine, but unfortunately, I've already done something like that and it didn't end well. It's the whole reason I'm here, after all. 

Pen is trotting along, happily humming a tune, having just insulted Malachite into speechlessness. 

Malachite is sulking, looking at the ground and snorting.

I'm walking along and rolling my eyes.

"Can't we just fly?" I say, hoping for a good answer. Because otherwise, I'm taking off right now. "We all have wings, after all."

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," says Malachite. "Why don't we?"

"How far, and how fast can a fly travel?" asks Pen, rather randomly.

"Um, I dunno, not very?" replies Malachite.

"There's your answer," says the changeling.

"Still faster than walking," I argue.

"Can't you just be a Pegasus or something? Umbra's plan is better than your 'We'll just walk up one side of a mountain and down the other' plan," whines Malachite.

"Too cold for a Pegasus."

"Dragon?"

"That could work," muses Pen.

I honestly have no idea what they're talking about. I figure that a 'Change'-ling would be able to shift its appearance, but become an entirely different species? I'm sorry, but that isn't possible.

I'm proven completely wrong. A flash of emerald light, and the white changeling with red eyes is gone.

And in his place is a very familiar creature.

With raven black scales, rippling muscles, sharp talons, broad wings, a long tail and deep green eyes, I can only be looking at one thing.

And that's me.

"What. The actual. Fuck," I say, looking him/her/it over. I truly am a magnificent creature, but this is just weird and surreal.

He pumps his (my?) wings experimentally. "Wow, you're clearly a powerful flier," he comments.

Malachite stares in wonder. "That's so awesome. Feel up to flying now?"

"No. That's weird, stop," I protest. I refuse to fly with myself. Even his voice has changed to match mine.

Pen ignores me. "Alright. We'll try flying like this for a while."

With that, he takes off Night Fury style, straight up. Malachite ascends at a more leisurely place, flapping his wings lazily and rising into the air.

Not wanting to be outdone by myself, I beat my wings hard and launch into a series of acrobatics. For whatever reason, my territorial instincts have kicked in.

Flying alongside a griffon and myself, we soar across the ice fields, towards verdant hills far off to the south.


~~~


In roughly a week and a half, we've made excellent progress. Where exactly we're going, I have no idea, but we are now in a location called the Macintosh Hills. They are south of Ponyville and north of the Badlands. Malachite unfurls a map. To my utter surprise, we've literally traveled from the top of Equestria to the bottom in such a short time. Am I really that fast?

Pen is no longer assuming my form, which is good because I was thoroughly freaked out by it. 

As we take a break on a grassy hill, a flash lights up the sky and a crash of thunder sounds. I love to watch lightning storms, but apparently the guys don't. Malachite rushes to cover himself with his wings. Pen hisses as refreshing droplets strike his wings and carapace. 

"Is there a tree or something around here to shelter under?" asks Malachite.

"What's the problem? It's just water. It won't kill you," I say, rolling my eyes at their immature behaviour.

"I still don't like it," says Malachite.

"I agree wholeheartedly," says Pen.

"Fine. I see a cave in the distance. We'll go in there." I sigh in defeat and begin to stride over to the cave in question.

Once we reach the tunnel, Malachite shakes himself like a canine, eliciting a glare from Pen and a laugh from me. It's dark in here. Even with my specialised nocturnal eyes, I'm having difficulty seeing. Pen is all but blind, and even though Malachite is doing a little better, he still can't really see. 

I can certainly smell, however. I can smell a lot of meat, some fresh, some old. I can smell sulfur and carbon. But most prominently, I can smell minerals. 

Advancing into the cave, I notice a green light behind me. Pen has illuminated his horn, creating a little torch of sorts. I smile at him and continue.

What I see is beyond anything I could imagine. A vast trove of gold, gems and other precious metals, all hoarded in one place. Elegantly carved crowns lie on mountains of gold coins. Goblets engraved with playing Pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies are filled with sapphires and flawless emeralds. A pile of rings embedded with diamonds of the highest rarity lies, off to one side, upon a beautifully crafted throne of platinum. Even the cave itself is lined with gems. A mosaic forming the shape of a flaming eagle is embedded upon the right wall. 

And this is just in the area we can see! Who knows how far the cave and treasure trove extend? Beyond ten metres away, the light from Pen's horn fades to blackness. 

However, while I'm filled with wonder, Pen and Malachite are backing away towards the entrance. 

I turn to them. "What's wrong? Get your asses in here! You collect unique things? This is one hell of a unique thing."

Malachite points a shaky talon at a rather unsightly rock formation near the edge of the light. The rock consists of three curved ridges. It is a rusty red colour, though that could just be the light. 

"So?" I say, walking over to it. "It's an ugly rock. Get over it."

Malachite continues to point, mouthing something, sweat dripping down his beak.

I continue to ignore him, and walk further along the rock formation, trying to figure out what has him so spooked.

"Ow!" I yelp, wincing in pain as I step on something sharp. As I look at my foot to identify it, I notice something. 

Adorning my foot is a set of three, curved ridges, also known as claws.

I look at the 'rock formation' and gulp. 

It's not a rock formation.

It's a set of claws.

A pair of immense, amber eyes open, shining a light into the cave. Pen and Malachite bolt out of the entrance, screaming.

I, however find myself unable to move. I'm frozen in place, forced to watch in fascinated horror as a mighty beast uncoils itself.

Its eyes cast a light far greater than Pen's measly flicker. Its rough scales are crimson red, covering a long, lithe body hundreds of metres long. Its spiked tail lashes like a whip, creating tremors throughout the cave. Its powerful back legs look ready to spring at any and all prey. Blood red spines run down the length of its back, and a set of sharp, strong horns sprout from its head. Its massive jaws could crush two Roman ships in one go and not notice they were there. Its long arms sported a set of cruel, curved claws that make my own talons look like the thorns on a rose. Its vast wings unfurled like a sail, red at the joints and yellow in the membranes.

Forget the tired old greyish-blue Sea Dragon who rules the Archipelago, this, this hulking monstrosity is a true Red Death.

The Red Death opens his mouth and lets out a scream, more unnerving than death itself, only adding to my fright. His forked tongue flicks in and out of his mouth. After the scream, comes the fire. A raging inferno of flame comes roiling out of his mouth, engulfing half of his cave wall. I finally gain the mental capacity to run, and bolt for the entrance, but the Red Death cuts me off. His tail slaps down and blocks my way. I spread my wings, but falling stalactites make it a treacherous journey.

One of them catches me on the shoulder, knocking me to the ground. The Red Death prepares to crush me with his claw, but I launch a fireball at him. I doubt it hurts him, but it leaves him distracted enough for me to move out of the way. I once more attempt to run, but his tail still blocks the way. I scramble with my talons and attempt to climb over him, my injured wing dragging behind me as I go along. I mange to climb half of his tail, before he raises it to his head, unfortunately with me still on it, obviously intending to consume me. 

He is about to drop me into his gaping maw, when a bolt of green magic strikes him. The Red Death flinches, and turns, momentarily distracted. I look too, to see Pen, standing at the entrance, his horn still smoking slightly. Upon realising he has been located, he runs once more. The distraction is all I need. Ignoring the pain, I spread my wings and glide toward the exit. I'm almost there, but Fate has a way of crushing hope and windpipes. The Red Death catches me in his claw, and pins me to the ground. He opens his mouth to loose an inferno upon me. 

There's no getting out of this one. My scales may be fairly fireproof, but they will not be able to stand up to this. I close my eyes and steel myself for the killing blow.


~~~


"Umbra!" says my brother, rushing up to greet me.

I'm crying, curled up in a little ball.

"What's wrong?" he asks, concern in his eyes.

"The Monstrous Nightmare hurt me," I wail.

"Let me give you a trick," he says. "No matter how big or strong your opponent is, a well placed fireball works every time."


~~~


I open my eyes. A well placed fireball...

The Red Death prepares to loose his flame. 

I have to time this perfectly. A second too late and I'm dead.

Right as the flames begin to form, I release my most powerful fireball ever. Every last bit of hydrogen I contain goes into it.

It explodes in the back of the Red Death's throat. He clutches at himself in agony, shrieking and writhing. He releases me and I waste no time escaping. 

I sprint out of the cave and into the setting sunlight. Pen and Malachite are there, huddled together. As soon as I emerge, they untangle themselves and run with me. We don't stop until we are a fair mile from the cave.

"How did you get out?" asks Malachite, incredulous I even managed it at all.

I tell them the whole story. The two swap glances every now and then and many oohs and aahs are made by Malachite. Pen swells in pride when I tell of his bravery.

"There's still something I don't get," says Pen. "How didn't you know it was a dragon's cave?"

"Because," I say sheepishly, thankful that a blush won't show on black scales, "there weren't any books. Where I come from, all dragons love to keep books, and sometimes even write them. The fact that they weren't there made me think we'd stumbled across some ancient king's treasure or something."

We all share a good laugh at that, relieving some of the stress, before deciding to set up camp earlier than usual.

I'm tired, and soon fall asleep.


~~~


I'm in the Everfree Forest. I've just killed a fox and am about to eat it.

I hear a war cry, but not a powerful one, no, it is the voice of a child.

A brown colt, with no cutie mark rushes into the clearing. His wooden sword looks plain and dull.

I can't help myself. My hackles rise, my tail flexes.

A thud, a snap and a scream. 

Then silence.

I look at the body, mortified. 

So young, so full of life.

Hadn't even found his destiny.

So much to live for.

So many friends to make and places to see.

All it took was one swing of my tail.

I took that all away from him.

Now I am no longer the only one in the forest.

"Murderer," says Fluttershy, staring at the ground.

"Guilty," says Spike, glaring daggers.

"Bad," says Rainbow, looking haughty.

"Scary," says Applebloom, curled on the ground.

"Horrible," says Scootaloo, buzzing her wings.

"Terrible," says Sweetie Belle, stamping her hoof. 

"Useless," says Pen, mimicking me.

"Dangerous," says Malachite, avoiding my gaze.

"Is this what has troubled you?" asks Luna, with sympathy.

My other friends vanish, and so does the colt.

"Luna?" I say, wondering if it is really her.

"I am observing your dream. Do you truly fear that you will kill a young soul?"

"No, Luna. I don't fear it. I already did it."

She looks taken aback, but soon speaks again. 

"Was it your intention?"

"No."

"Then the fault is split. On the one hoof, it is your fault, for attacking blindly."

I hang my head in shame, but she continues, "But it is also the fault of the colt. He should not have been in the forest, and was foolish to think he could challenge a dragon."

"What do I do?" I ask. "I've done things I'm not proud of in the past, but never openly murdered someone, especially not a youngling."

"You move on," she says. "You take your punishment and learn from it."

"You know they won't forgive a black dragon," I say.

"I myself have firsthand experience in the art of being forgiven. For a crime far worse, I had to be punished twice. I will never repeat mistakes. You must do the same."

Her statement reminds me of a previous conversation with her. 

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier," I say, completely sincere. "I was upset and confused. I see now that you are hurting just as badly as, if not worse than, I am."

Her smile is warm and sincere. "Return to Ponyville. Take your punishment with your head held high, and learn from it."

I begin to formulate a response, however, as I begin to speak, ripples spread throughout the forest. Luna is pushed back by an unseen gale.

"Return home!" she yells as the area falls apart.



~~~


I awake at our campsite. Pen and Malachite are asleep alongside me.

"Wake up guys!" I yell, prodding them with my claw.

They stir in their sleep. Malachite lifts his head and speaks, "Why?"

I grin at them.

"We're going to Ponyville."


> History Repeats
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm trailing behind, and at a lower altitude. Flying is a little bit difficult at the moment. Not only is my shoulder bruised, making each wingbeat painful, but I have no hydrogen in my gas bladders. I used it all in that last desperate fireball, and now staying airborne is difficult without it helping to keep me up. It'll refill in time, I suppose.

Pen and Malachite offered to walk, but even at my slow pace, flying is still far faster.

As we soar through the sky, I see various towns below. Travellers of all species, mules, cows, ponies and the occasional griffon walk along the roads. There aren't any Changelings. Apparently they're hated for some reason. There are a few small towns. One has a great apple orchard that rivals Applebloom's farm. Creatures resembling large, shaggy-haired cows trample through a cleared path in the trees. Ponies throw unidentifiable round objects at them as they pass.

A blue pony with a purple hat and cape stands on a simple stage in another town, only to be jeered at and mocked. The crowd makes use of any and all ammunition at their disposal to remove her from the stage. I can't help but feel sorry for her. She's trying her best, but the ponies aren't giving her a chance. Eventually, she gives up and leaves.

We're near Ponyville, according to Malachite. He's travelled this airspace many times before. We should be there by midday. Pen yawns. I feel a twinge of guilt, for insisting we leave so early, but Luna took the time to talk to me, and I will not ignore her advice. They don't have to come if they don't want to.

A few hours later, Ponyville is within sight. Flying is a little easier now, though I still doubt that I could produce more than a spark of fire. I notice that Ponyville seems deserted. There aren't any ponies in sight, and the almost omnipresent sound of hooves clopping on the ground is not audible. Maybe they're still asleep? 

However, there are three ponies, rushing frantically through the streets. Namely Rainbow, Applejack and the white unicorn whose name I never learned. 

"Scootaloo!" calls Rainbow, flying around. She hasn't noticed us. 

"Scootaloo? Applebloom? Sweetie Belle!" she continues to call. My heart sinks as I recognise the names of my beloved Crusaders.

"Sweetie Belle, darling, where are you? There is a Timberwolf warning in place, and we are so close to the Everfree..." yells the white unicorn.

The hell is a Timberwolf? Whatever it is, it doesn't sound friendly.

"Oh Applejack, what if something happened to them?" says the white unicorn.

"Ah know yer worried, Rarity. Ah am too. But ah'm sure we'll find 'em in one piece. And if we don't, Rainbow Dash will spot 'em from above," replies Applejack, offering comfort to the distraught unicorn.

The Crusaders are missing? With a warning in place? No way. I refuse to allow anything to happen to those three foals. I feel the warmth of my Crusader cape around my neck. It's seen better days, but the rearing filly emblem still shines out proudly.

I look up at Pen and Malachite. "We're finding those three fillies."

"Why? I thought you didn't like the ponies?" says Malachite.

"I don't like some of the ponies. These three are different. We're finding them, and that's that."

Pen shrugs and cracks his neck. "Where do you propose we start looking?" 

"How about the forest where my den is? That's where they were when I first saw them, and with that warning, there's a chance the ponies haven't looked there yet," I suggest.

I beat my wings and lead the way to the forest. Rainbow gives an unintelligible shout. She's probably seen us. Whatever. I'll deal with her later. Right now, I've got fillies to rescue.

We're within sight of the forest, when suddenly, a cacophonous howl erupts from within, followed by silence. I stop, and Malachite crashes into my back. I turn briefly to glare at him, when a shrill scream pierces the quiet. I whip round, to see a sight that makes my heart skip a beat.

The Crusaders run out of the forest screeching, followed in hot pursuit by strange creatures indeed. Their bodies are composed of sticks, leaves, bark and other sorts of wood. They have the body shape of a wolf, with glowing, empty eyes. Their entire body is surrounded with a ghastly green glow. 

My companions react before I do. Powerful talons snatch Scootaloo into the air, and a buzz of green changeling magic lifts Sweetie Belle to safety. 

Which leaves only Applebloom.

By now, Rainbow has caught up with us. She shouts some more obscenities at me, but I ignore her. Applejack and Rarity join the party on the ground. Rarity begins to scold Pen, obviously not enjoying having a Changeling so close to Sweetie Belle. 

Applejack stares at the Timberwolves, for I'm certain that this is what they are. The wolves have surrounded Applebloom in a tight circle. The filly is crying, curled up in a little ball, obviously waiting for her doom. Applejack leaps at one of the wolves, but it knocks her back with a lazy sweep of its claws. Rainbow ignores me, and instead dive bombs the wolves. They growl and snap at her, and she is forced to retreat. 

Applejack and Rainbow are helpless. Rarity is preoccupied, and even if she weren't she probably wouldn't be able to help too much.

So that leaves only me.

With an almighty roar, I stomp down on one of the wolves, smashing it into splinters instantly. I step towards Applebloom. She shies away from me, but I stick out my neck and show her the cape. Recognition dawns on her features, and she uncurls. I pick her up in my claws as gently as I can, and prepare to airlift her out. 

Pain spikes through my left wing. I turn, to see that a wolf has ripped a huge tear out of it. There is no way I'm going to be able to fly with that. I turn to escape through the gap only to be greeted by a sight that chills my blood. The remains of the wolf I destroyed glow with what appears to be magic. Within seconds it has reformed into a snarling monster.

I move Applebloom to the only place where I know she'll be safe from being caught in the crossfire. I sequester her safely underneath me. The wolves will be hard pressed to reach her. I bare my teeth, whip my tail and prepare for battle.

The Timberwolves don't hesitate. One of them launches itself at my face. I duck and whip it with my tail, growling as the wolf bites onto its tip. I shake my tail furiously to dislodge it, succeeding with the added bonus of sending it flying into another wolf. Neither breaks, but they are stunned. Two wolves charge at me, one on each side of my abdomen. I snap open my wings, the force of their powerful muscles knocking the two wolves away. I wince as the tear sends hot pain rippling through my wing,

I lash out with my teeth. I catch one wolf by the tail, and, shake it furiously. The beast whimpers like a dog as sticks and branches come flying off of it. I throw its unmoving remains at another wolf, shattering the two of them. Hopefully the scattered parts will prevent it from reforming. I lash my tail and pin a wolf to the ground. I coil my tail around it, and smash it repeatedly into the ground, splintering it.

I roar in pain as two wolves claw at my sides. Green dragon blood gushes from an open wound, forming a small puddle. The steady blood loss makes me dizzy for a moment, but I shake it off. I cannot allow wolves to claim another young life.

I rear up and bring my claws down hard on two wolves in front of me. They both splinter, but unfortunately, the two fallen wolves regenerate themselves, rendering my effort pointless. I bring my tail down on another wolf, this time hard enough to break it instantly. I steal a quick glance at Applebloom. She appears to be in shock, staring at my dripping blood.

I need to come up with a new plan of action. Another beast leaps at my face. It's too fast for me to react. I close my eyes for the impending blow. When it does not come, I open them again, to be treated with a very odd sight. The wolf is struggling in midair, suspended by a light blue aura of magic. The wolf is flung into two of its brethren. 

I turn to see Rarity, panting heavily. She smiles at me, and picks up another wolf. When it's in the air, Rainbow dives on it from above with a powerful kick, splintering it. Malachite swoops down and gathers some of the wood. I get it. By removing the wood, it probably can't regenerate. Pen fires a green beam at a wolf. The creature whines and runs off, smouldering. Applejack intercepts it, delivering a mighty buck that shatters it.

My friends, and even some of my enemies...They are all helping me fight the Timberwolves. Whether they are helping me, or Applebloom, or both of us, it doesn't matter. They're making an effort, so I need to as well!

With renewed energy, I spread my wings, to look as imposing and large as possible. I bring my claws, tail and teeth down hard. I pity any wolves who got in the way.

I tear one apart with my teeth, smash another with my tail and eviscerate three more with my claws. With the aid of Rarity, Pen, Malachite, Rainbow and Applejack, every wolf lies broken around us. We wait cautiously for a few minutes. When nothin happens, Malachite gives a cheer.

"We did it!"

I open my mouth to say something, when Rarity gives a screech.

I whip my head around, and watch in fascinated horror as the broken shards of wood all glow at the same time. Branches, sticks and tree bark from the forest are also pulled by the magic. All the wood comes together, to form a massive behemoth of a Timberwolf. The creature is five times the size of the ones we just bested.

Pen attempts to fire a beam at it, but the beast merely shrugs it off. Rarity tries to pick it up, but her magic dies with a spark. Rainbow, Applejack and Malachite don't even bother.

I wrack my brain for ideas. What can hurt a massive wolf composed of wood and magic?

Then it hits me.

Fire

I suck in a breath. I gauge that I have only enough hydrogen for one shot. I have to make it count.

The familiar ballistic whistle starts up. The wolf readies itself to pounce. My mouth glows, before a single ball of blue fire is loosed.  

It explodes on contact, lighting the colossal wolf up in a huge plume of flame. The beast shrieks, before succumbing to the flames. It collapses into scattered wood once more, now nothing more than a bonfire.

It's finally over. We did it.

Wordlessly, I reach down and pick up Applebloom gently in my teeth. I carry her over to Applejack, and place her on the ground.

Applebloom opens her eyes and looks first at Applejack, then at me. Malachite and Pen smile at me. Rarity looks neutral, Rainbow looks a little bit unfriendly, but that's understandable. Applejack gazes down at her sister lovingly. I back away and lie down, panting. I'm quite dizzy from blood loss, and I'm hurting all over. I watch as Applejack and Applebloom nuzzle each other. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo emerge from their hiding place and rush over to hug the small filly.

Applejack raises her head and looks at me. She walks forward.

"Ah don't know if this can properly cover mah feelings, but...Ah thank ya with all of mah heart fer savin' mah sister."

"It's not the first time!" chimes Applebloom.

"Yeah!" agrees Scootaloo.

"See the cape?" adds Sweetie Belle.

"We were in the forest a while back, and a cockatrice came out ta get us! But somepony saved us..." says Applebloom. She's still shivering and curled up on the ground. I can tell she's putting on a brave face for her friends.

"So we left them a cape to say thanks!" says Scootaloo.

"And the dragon has the cape!" says Sweetie Belle.

"So ya must have have been the one t' save us," concludes Applebloom.

This is quite touching. I'd appreciate it more if I wasn't barely clinging on to consciousness...

Applebloom gets up. She walks forward, slightly wobbly. 

"Fer then and fer now...Thank you!" 

She hugs me on my snout. It's a little painful, but I don't say anything. I just close my eyes and let her hug me. It's nice to be appreciated.

"What's going on?" asks a familiar voice. I open my eyes.

Fluttershy, Spike, the insane pink pony and Twilight are rushing up.

"Umbra!" exclaim Spike and Fluttershy.

Twilight turns to them, bewildered. Fear, apprehension and distrust are visible in her eyes.

"What happened here? You all look like you went ten rounds with a pack of timberwolves! Oh but that would be really bad because Timberwolves are really mean and dangerous! I think it's because they have no friends. Hey, maybe I should throw the Timberwolves a party! Then they could make friends and they wouldn't be so mean anymore!" rambles the pink pony.

"Pinkie, darling, that is almost precisely what happened," says Rarity with exasperation.

"We saw the fire and came running," says Fluttershy. She notices me.

"Oh my! You're hurt!" She rushes past everyone else, knocking over Twilight in the process.

"My little ponies, what is going on?" asks a smooth, regal and motherly voice.

All the ponies in the area, as well as Spike, Pen and Malachite, bow before the pony who descends from above.

Folding her regal alabaster wings, a pure white alicorn with a flowing mane striped pink, blue and green, and a tail to match, gazes around. The sun glints off her crown and jewellery as she surveys the scene.

I don't need to be told. Without a doubt, I've come face to face with Luna's elder sister.

Princess Celestia.








> Coming Into the Open
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My heart beats rapidly as the majestic white alicorn strides up to me. Her expression is unreadable. 

Is she angry? Happy? Sad? Disappointed? It's impossible to tell.

Twilight speaks, "Princess, I-"

"What has happened here, my little ponies?" asks Celestia, cutting Twilight off.

It must be an odd sight to take in. The towering blaze behind us, three terrified fillies, a griffon, a changeling, multiple ponies and a bruised and battered dragon.

The alicorn receives no answer. She tries again. "What has happened?"

Applebloom speaks up. "Um, we were out in the forest...and a load o' Timberwolves started chasin' us. So we ran out of the forest, and then the griffon over yonder-" She gestures at Malachite, "-and his freaky buddy saved Scoots an' Sweetie. But the wolves trapped me, an' mah sister wasn't able to stop 'em. That's when the dragon appeared! It fought the wolves off, and then everypony started chippin' in, an' they beat 'em!" she explains with enthusiasm.

"And why exactly were y'all in the forest in the first place?" asks Applejack sternly. 

"We were going to see if the cape we left was still there," says Sweetie Belle.

"We're sorry," apologise the three fillies simultaneously, hanging their heads.

"And to think I was just stopping by to say hello," mutters Celestia.

"On the bright side, we found the cape!" exclaims Scootaloo, pointing at the cape tied around my neck.

Applejack smacks a hoof to her face. 

Celestia gives a small giggle. She quickly sobers up and looks at me.

"And who is this? I have never seen such a creature," she says.

I gulp. This is the moment of truth. 

"My name is Umbra," I say, my eyes never leaving hers.

I hear a pony gasp—I'm pretty sure it's Twilight—before the white alicorn facing me responds.

"I see. And, what breed are you?" asks Celestia.

"I am a Night Fury dragon," I reply. 

"Where is your homeland, Umbra? You are not from Equestria, I can tell. I sense powerful magic around you. And I received a most ominous letter from my faithful student, describing a creature like yourself—one she suspected of murder."

Another pony gasps, very quietly, leading me to believe it was Fluttershy.

"I hail from the Isle of Berk, in the Barbaric Archipelago of the Wilderwest. The magic you're feeling may be the translation spell I am using to speak. Very few of you seem to speak Dragontongue," I explain.

I glance back at the silent crowd. Pen is as unreadable as the pony I am speaking to. Malachite is listening intently, completely still for the first time since I encountered him. Twilight appears to be in shock, and Spike is prodding her with a claw, while also focusing on the conversation. Fluttershy too seems frightened, but she always seems frightened. 

"Where is the 'Isle of Berk', and the other places you mentioned? I have never heard of them," says Celestia, closing her eyes and appearing deep in thought. 

"This may shock you, but..."

I explain my entire story to them. Spike nods sagely as I do so, knowing the story already. Twilight is in utter disbelief, and Celestia raises an eyebrow at multiple intervals, but nobody interrupts.

At the end of my story, Twilight takes her turn to speak. "I find this all very hard to believe. Other worlds? Humans? Magic without the use of a horn, wings or hooves? But, at the same time, I can't really see any other ways for this to be possible! Once we're done here, I have a lot of research to do!" She squeals and claps her forehooves together, before realising everybody else is looking at her. She blushes and returns to her position behind Celestia with a small cough.

"What about the report of murder in the forest, and of your threats towards Ponyville?" asks the princess.

"The latter I cannot be help accountable for. Is wandering around the town aimlessly while waiting for a friend considered a crime now?" I ask coolly.

"And what friend were you waiting for?" asks Celestia. 

I briefly consider whether or not to reveal Spike as being a friend of mine. He might be punished. On the other claw, he did nothing wrong. I make my decision.

"The only other dragon I know of in Equestria, besides the hulking behemoth which nearly killed me—Spike," I say.

Twilight turns to the small purple dragon next to her. "Spike? Is that true?" she asks.

Spike shuffles his feet a bit. "Yeah. I found her in the basement when I was getting that one potion for you, and I decided that it would be nice to have some other dragon to talk to and learn from," he explains.

"Well, Spike, I'm glad you can make friends so easily, but maybe pick a little more carefully next time, ok?" responds Twilight.

"But why? Umbra taught me how to fish, and I taught her the very basics of magic. She tells really good stories, and she's never hurt me, or Fluttershy, or Luna. So why can't I be friends with her?" asks Spike.

"Back up," says the princess suddenly. "Luna?"

"And Fluttershy. We all hung out together at night and had fun," answers the young dragon. Twilight looks in Fluttershy's direction, the timid mare looking at the ground. 

I must admit I'm touched to see the youngling standing up for me. The only problem is that it will make what comes next all the more difficult...

"Luna," repeats Celestia, "as in, my sister?"

"Yes, that Luna. How many other Lunas do you know?" asks Spike, somewhat rudely. He's learned from the best, I suppose.

"Spike!" scolds Twilight, giving the hatchling a hoof to the back of the head.

"Spike, take a letter," says the princess.

Spike produces a quill and parchment out of nowhere. Celsetia leans down to whisper in his ear, and Spike writes down every word she speaks. When he is finished, he rolls it up and burns it, transforming it into a wisp of purple and green smoke which floats away.

"As lovely as this conversation is, may we please get back on topic?" I ask, becoming slightly impatient. 

"Wait just a moment," says the princess.

I do just that. 

About ten minutes later, the sky becomes darkened by storm clouds. A chariot, pulled by two odd, bat-winged ponies appears; I can't exactly see the pony in the chariot—she's dark coloured.

The chariot stops in mid-air, and the pony descends.

I see her clearly now. It's Luna, and she does not look pleased. She seems to take no notice of me, going straight to her sister.

The surrounding ponies bow once more.

"For what purpose have you awoken me, sister?" she asks Celestia.

"Care to explain this?" asks Celestia in return, pointing with a hoof at me.

Luna looks in my direction. Her slightly-less-than-amused expression changes to a small smile.

"I see you have returned, dear Umbra. Have you heeded my advice?" she asks.

"I was about to, when Celestia here decided to call you," I answer.

"By all means, proceed," she says.

Celestia looks as though she has something to say, but Luna holds up a hoof to stop her. 

"We will talk later, but allow the dragon to continue her tale," she says.

And so I do. "I explained the 'threats' against Ponyville, but not the accusations of murder. It is with great regret that I must admit that that was true. I did kill that colt," I say slowly.

Gasps all around, from Fluttershy and Spike in particular. Only Luna remains silent, an unrecognisable sparkle in her eyes.

"This is a serious crime, Umbra. I hope you realise this," says Celestia ominously.

"Let me finish. I may have killed him, but it wasn't on purpose."

"And so how did it happen?" asks the princess skeptically.

"I was merely in the forest, hunting a small animal of some sort, when a young colt charged from the bushes. He began to slice at me with a wooden sword. I reacted before I could think. A single swipe of my tail shattered his spine," I explain.

"But if it was an accident, why was he found on an altar?" asks Twilight.

"I have no idea what you ponies do with the dead, but I provided him a dragon's grave," I say.

"This is most troubling. Despite the fact that you say it was an accident, we have no way of knowing. However...your punishment shall be lessened," says Celestia.

I must admit, this is odd. "Why?" I ask.

"Because you have already atoned for it, at least partially. By saving the life of this filly you have made up for your crime, in a way, and proved in a different way that the murder was in fact an accident. Why would you save the life of this filly  if you were hunting young colts?" says the princess.

She whispers something in Luna's ear. Luna's eyes widen and she whispers something back. Soon the two princesses are engaged in an argument like hatchlings. Everyone is staring, waiting for their verdict.

Eventually, they come away from each other, both looking somewhat satisfied, though Luna's eyes seem brighter than Celestia's.

"Luna, would you like to do the honours?"

"Of course, dear sister."

Luna looks me dead in the eyes. Her poise is less friendly, more regal. I can tell that she's switched into 'badass mode'.

"Umbra, the Night Fury dragon, thou hast committed a crime most grave. Thou hast murdered a colt of our nation. However, thou hast also proven thyself worthy of a second chance, by saving the life of a filly of our nation. As such, we decree that thy punishment shall be eternal service to the community of Ponyville. Thou must defend the village with thine life, protect it from all harm. The town's needs should come before thine own. Thou must help its residents whenever they request it, and ensure that they are satisfied with their surroundings. Dost thou agree to this, Night Fury?" she asks, her voice reverberating throughout the entire area, her tone smooth and controlled, firm but not angry.

There's only one answer.

"I do," I say, my head lifted.

Luna breaks her royal facade briefly to smile at me. "Then, by royal decree, we hereby proclaim thee Ponyville's eternal guardian dragon."

I look around at the village, which I get to call 'my' village now.

Not too bad of a deal, to be honest.





A few days later, I get up and enter the town. The ponies are still wary of me, but they don't attack. I'm headed off to the boutique which Rarity owns. She asked me to go there. She said she had a surprise for me. 

I arrive at the boutique, and with a bit of effort, I get through the door. Rarity is inside, pinning fabric to terrifying pony mannequins. She turns at my arrival. 

"Oh, hello there, Umbra darling. I simply must show you what I designed!" she says exuberantly. 

"Uh...okay?" I say. I'm not exactly used to hospitality from the ponies, but out of all of them, Rarity and Applejack are the most friendly.

Her head disappears into a drawer, and she pulls out something shiny.

She carries it over to me, and before I can see what it is, she sticks it to my ragged Crusader cape. 

"Oh my, it looks simply ravishing on you, if I do say so myself," she gushes.

She pulls over a mirror with her magic and holds it in front of me.

Attached to my cape, is a little badge of sorts. It's a shiny silver colour, with the emblem of a dragon fang on top of a horseshoe engraved onto it.

"It's amazing!" I say, and I mean it. 

"Why thank you," says Rarity, taking the mirror away. "I don't usually work with metals, but Twilight has been showing me forge spells, and I thought I'd try it out."

With another thanks to Rarity, I leave the boutique.

I set off flying around aimlessly. So far, there hasn't been anything for me to protect against. 

I decide to stop by my favourite three fillies. Heading towards the orchard, I spot two creatures flying around in the distance. One is brown and one is rainbow coloured. It isn't hard to figure out who it is I can see.

I decide to skip interrupting them. I'll chat with them later.

I reach the Crusader clubhouse, where Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are watching something which is catching on green fire.

I land, startling the fillies. The tree stump in front of them catches fire once more. When the fire subsides, a very disgruntled Pen is standing there. 

"Oh good, you're here. They can pester you instead. I'm out of here," he says, before buzzing away.

"Aw. Watchin' Mister Changeling was fun," says Applebloom.

I laugh and settle down. "How have you little fillies been doing?" I ask amiably.

"Awesome!" says Scootaloo. 

"Yeah!" agrees Sweetie Belle, her voice breaking so adorably I almost die of a heart attack.

We chat aimlessly for a while, until the sun begins to sink. Even when night falls and the Crusaders fall asleep under the warmth of my wings,mi continue to look at the horizon.

It's taken a lot to get here. A lot of pain, tears, and determination. But looking back, I wouldn't change anything. 

As my eyes begin to slip closed, the silhouette on the moon winks at me.



> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's been years since I first arrived in Equestria. Almost twenty years, to be precise. The Crusaders have grown up to be fine mares.

Sweetie Belle's a singer. Scootaloo's a stunt flier. Applebloom is an engineer. 

I remember teaching them all kinds of things back when they were fillies. I remember the time Sweetie Belle wanted to know about Dragontongue, and so I taught her different songs. I remember teaching Applebloom how to carve stone efficiently. And I remember the time Scootaloo rode on my back through the sky, and we performed loops and dives for hours.

The other ponies got used to me, eventually. 

I've had to protect the village from all kinds of things. Hydras, cockatrices, manticores, an Ursa Minor, and on one occasion another dragon. The Timberwolves never did come back, though.

Of course, when I wasn't defending the village, or helping its residents, I was hanging around with my friends. Sometimes, odd things happened, like the time Spike, Scootaloo and I switched bodies via magic. Or the time Pen and Malachite's friend came to visit. 

But those are stories for another time. 

Right now, I watch the three mares whom I helped raise. They're back from the city, to say hello to everyone they knew as fillies. I'm among them, I hope. The Princess has remained as young as she was when I first met her. I wonder what immortality must be like? Painful, I'm sure.

Spike, now a fine young dragon, has been helping me watch the village. He's bigger than I am now. He still has a lot to learn, though, and even though I'm an older dragoness now, I'm still willing to teach him. 

Maybe someday I'll retell all of these stories. I'm sure the princesses would love to hear about them. Or maybe someone else is out there reading these. Who knows?