Obligatory Bronycon Post - Sneak Peek at More Precious Than Silver or Gold · 3:43am Aug 10th, 2017

Ok, I just posted Dear Pinkie.Pie@CanterlotHigh.edu before getting all ready to go to Bronycon. I’m driving up with the wife, and *hope* to get there on time Friday. No real GPS needed for most of the trip, because the instructions would be “Turn left onto I-70 and continue for the next seventeen hours.” More below the break.

Still with me? Good.

I probably won’t respond to any notes you send to me about Dear Pinkie Pie until next week, due to (of course) Bronycon. For those of you there this week, feel free to look me up and say hi. I’ll be the tall, devilishly-handsome chap… Oh, wait. That’s Bad Horse. I’ll be the tall, old geezer with gold wire-rim glasses and a string on them, because I’m too stubborn for bifocals. Oh, and a red shirt. You may or may not see my beautiful wife with me, because while I’m ponying, she will be touristing. We’re at the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards (because I picked randomly from hotels) and we know *nothing* about the city, so any suggestions… Make that any useful suggestions will be appreciated (like how not to get mugged, how to avoid getting stuck for a few hundred dollars worth of unneeded expenses, where to make reservations next year, etc…)

The *plan* is to leave Kansas at early-AM, then keep going down I-70 until we run out of daylight and have to stop for the night (because we’re old). Hopefully, we will make it to the other side of Pittsburgh and within fairly short driving distance of Baltimore the next morning.

Schedule:
Attend all the writing panels I can.
Get to meet all the people in person that I’ve been typing to for the last five years.
Introduce wife to same, and any spouses/SO who is along for the trip and wants to tourist too.
Take pictures, because my memory is like a sieve for names.
Stay sober. (fairly easy, since I don’t drink)
Attempt to find somebody who can do a good picture of Infant Cadence for More Precious Than Silver or Gold’s cover pic. (part of the Cadence of Cloudsdale cycle by Skywriter)
Survive until Sunday. Leave broke.

And with that, I leave you a brief snapshot into the upcoming story which I’ve flashed in front of most of you several times, so bear with me.

More Precious Than Silver or Gold
The Search

(picking up where Piro the Dragon has already seen the Princess-Goddess and is begging to become one of the Sisters of Song, and care for her.)

“All things that I have and all that I own I have given to Her, but one. A dragon is bound by their Name in duty and service, tied by their soul to the Dragonlord of our kind, who we cannot help but obey. I give you this now, my Name, so that I may serve Her.”

Piro moved her mouth closer to the elderly pony’s ear and whispered that which only one other living being knew, and when she was done, she returned to her place with bent neck and contrite heart, both dreading and anticipating the Mother’s response.

She did not expect the laughter which followed, a quiet chuckle lasting a considerable time.

“If I had not Seen this, I would not believe it,” said the elderly pony. “And yet now that I have, you shall know the truth. Your gift is the greatest a dragon can give, yet it means nothing to the Princess-Goddess, and so I must refuse one last time your request to become a Sister and serve Her. But know that your Name is safe in my heart, for I will not live to see the sun rise on this morning. What is more, you shall depart from here also before the first rays of the Dawn for a destination far beyond my sight. You shall find a mate with the wealth of your hoard, clutch, and bear many dragons, all who will bear the touch of the Princess-Goddess in their hearts as well. The race of dragonkind will prosper with Her touch upon your children and your children’s children, but none of your brood will ever ascend to become Dragonlord, save the last.”

At that, the elderly pony fell silent. Piro looked up at the sky where the faintest pinks had begun to paint the highest clouds, giving notice that the Dawn approached. It was time for her to leave, as the Mother had Seen, for the sounds of the awakening ponies in the fortress were growing louder. But the chest of the pony still rose and fell, so there was still time to ask one final question.

“What of my child who will become Dragonlord? What did you see?”

Taking one trembling breath, the Mother spoke. “He shall be the least and the last of your broods, from an egg which you cannot hatch. You will give him to the Dawn, and he will be raised as one of us, more pony than dragon. Small of size and weak, he will possess the greatest of hearts. Born to a life of servitude, he shall provide a light to guide the weak and the timid into her destiny of leadership.”

A proud smile spread across the Mother Superior’s face and she looked up at Piro with those milky white eyes seeming to gleam with joy. “When all is dark and the Princess-Goddess faces destruction from the same evil which drove her to our sanctuary, he shall be the one brave enough to return her heart and save her entire empire from destruction again.”

“And for that, he becomes Dragonlord?” Piro’s mind whirled with the image of her son, the brave and powerful dragon ruling over all dragonkind.

The old pony chuckled, a dry and distant sound despite her nearness. “What would dragons care about one of their kind who gives away the greatest treasure of the Hidden Empire? No, dragonkind will not know or care about his deeds on that fateful day. But there will come a time when he will give them a gift far more precious than our Princess-Goddess has given to you. He will accept the title of Dragonlord only to give it away.” The old pony chuckled, a dry and wispy sound from where she had settled down on the loose gravel, her voice barely audible even to Piro’s sharp ears. “The love you give him will guide his heart, and from him, to all dragonkind in time. He will be a very giving dragon. Very giving indeed.”

“Giving.” Piro’s breath caught in her chest as realization flooded through her body. “I have given the Princess-Goddess my hoard,” she whispered. “Without it, I shall not attract a mate. I shall not clutch, and my line will end with me. What shall I do?”

“The answer you seek can not come from me,” rasped Mother from where she was resting. “Auric, it is your turn now.”

And once the elderly pony had reached the end of her words, she did not breathe in again.

Report Georg · 417 views · #Bronycon #MorePreciousThanSilverOrGold #CadenceOfCloudsdale

Comments ( 15 )