//------------------------------// // IX - Moonlite Friends // Story: Flames // by Olakaan Peliik //------------------------------// The air outside was crisp with a cold breeze coming from the northwest. Spanning before my eyes were miles and miles of sunlit land, painted orange, reds, browns of fall foliage. It was a perfect day to be outside. But instead, I was here in Canterlot Castle, in a diplomatic meeting with a pair of Saddle Arabians. Tall ponies who live out in the desert a whole ocean south of the Dragonlands with very strange clothing. The delegates, a stallion, and a mare were taken aback at first when they saw me in the meeting room. But Celestia calmed them down for the most part. I had actually tuned out the discussion and started staring out the nearby window. “Ambassador Krein. Are you still with us?” Celestia pulled my attention back. “Oh, um, yeah, what are we on?” I asked looking the papers in front of me. She flipped the papers in front of me to the page she was on. “We were discussing trade routes. Do you need us to go over it again?” I looked up at the clock to find that it was four thirty in the afternoon. “Actually I should be going,” I said. “My sister will be home from school, she’s probably worrying.” And if we’re being honest, I was glad to take the excuse I needed to leave. Celestia nodded. “We have gotten through most of the treaties here. We can pick this up tomorrow morning if that’s all right with everypony?” she asked the delegates. “Yes, we can do that,” the stallion of the two nodded. Celestia tapped her hoof on the table. “Then it's agreed. We can finish this up tomorrow.” I got my copy detailing the new trade routes through the Dragon waters, stood up and headed straight for the door and out of the castle. I wanted to stretch my wings out. I leaped up into the air and lazily flew back to the house. I let my thoughts wander a bit, considering plans for the coming months. Kii’s hatchday was coming up soon, and it’d be winter just a few weeks later. I couldn’t wait for Kii to see snow for the first time. In fact, I couldn’t wait to see snow myself for the first time. The only place in the Dragonlands that saw snow was the central mountains, and it was the one place in the Dragonlands I didn't get to go; it was so cold that I'd freeze to death in no time there. I reached home in no time and landed on the sidewalk, ignoring the stares from the ponies on the street. The house looked calm. Kii was probably doing homework or reading. I could use a good nap. As I reached up to turn the doorknob, a flash of light and a crash came from inside. Quickly throwing the door open I barged inside. “Kii! Kii? You okay?” I called. “We’re okay big brother!” Kii called from her room. “Okay, thank the Spirits,” I muttered as I looked around. Several things were knocked over and out of place. “Who else is here?” I asked going up the stairs to Kii’s room and entering. A unicorn with tiny fangs, a dark purple coat, and a navy blue and dark red streaked mane and tail was sitting on the bed. She blinked up at me with bright yellow eyes. Kii sat next to her, rubbing her eyes. “I just messed up a Candlelight spell. It’s a novice level spell, not dangerous, no big deal,” Kii explained getting up to stand in front of me. “Who’s this?” I asked. “This is Hex. I met her on the first day of school. I thought I told you about that?” Kii asked as a question. “Not that I remember.” I looked over to see a broken lamp on the floor by Kii's bed. “Both of you go downstairs while I clean this up.” “But—” Kii had started. “Now,” I said in a more firm tone. Kii shrunk away from me. Hex walked around me in a hurry and exited. Kii followed her slowly. Once they were gone I started cleaning up the lamp, which was broken into glass shards big enough to cut through Kii's thin scales. I made trips down into the kitchen to throw away the glass, going back several times to make sure I didn't miss any. Once done, I went into the living room where Kii was sitting on the couch, eyes glued to the ground. Hex sat next to her. “Hex. Do your parents know where you are?” I asked her. She nodded. “Yes. I told them where I was gonna be and that I was gonna be at a friend's house.” I raised a brow at what she said. “Indeed.” I looked over at Kii who was avoiding eye contact with me. “It's not like I'm a stranger,” Hex protested. I snapped my gaze back onto Hex. “You are to me. Now I would appreciate it if you could go so I could have a word with my sister.” I could feel my scales heating up. “Okay, I'm going.” Hex stood on the couch. “See you at school,” I heard her whisper to Kii. Following my request, Hex jumped down and headed out the door. I sat down and looked at Kii. She said nothing and stared at her claws. I glanced around the room and noticed more things in disarray. Books were scattered all over the floor, the pillows by the fireplace were scorched and had their stuffing coming out. Some documents I had left on the table in front of us were now messed up and out of order. “Kii, I'm not mad at you for practicing your magic,” I took a breath. “I'm mad because you brought a stranger into our home without me knowing.” “But she's not—” Kii stopped when she caught my look and sighed. “I understand.” “I would like to formally meet her next time,” I said. “You know how we do things.” “Like when you approach Lord Torch?” Kii asked. “Yes, a similar manner as that,” I nodded. I took another breath. “Now you and your friend made a mess of the house. I'd like you to set things straight. Leave these documents on the table here alone, I’ll clean those up myself.” “Okay,” Kii nodded and got to work using a combination of her magic and claws. “It’s been a long day. I'm going to go lie down for a bit.” I went back up the stairs to my room and climbed up onto the large bed. I fell asleep fairly quickly. “Big brother?” I heard Kii say. She shoved my wing. “Big brother, I'm hungry.” “I'm up,” I groaned and rolled over off the bed. “What time is it?” I asked, rubbing the crust out of my eyes. “Almost seven,” Kii said, still seems a little nervous about earlier. “Almost seven, eh?” I pondered. “We're going out to eat.” “Can we go to the Moonlite Diner?” Kii asked. I moved out of the room and started downstairs. “Where's that?” Kii followed. “Hex said it's down by the Sky Docks.” “Hex told you about this place, is that right?” Kii nodded at me. I considered for a few moments, then shrugged. “Eh, why not? I suppose it's good to try new things.” “Yay!” Kii hopped up on my back. “Can I sit back here?” “Sure.” We exited the house and started toward the Sky Docks. The Sky Docks are the underside of Canterlot, carved out of the mountain stone. I had already been down there a few times, exploring the city when I had nothing to do the past few days. Ponies here were still wary of me, but the number of griffons I saw amongst the streets made me assume that seeing unique creatures was part of the norm down here. I had also noticed that there were very few nobles in that part of the city; they didn’t seem to know that it existed. Guess it wasn’t “fashionable” for them to be seen down there or something. I made my way through the crowd, plotting our position on my mental map of the area. “Where did your friend say this place was?” I asked. Kii sat on my shoulders and pointed. “She said it was by the grocery store down here.” I looked to where Kii was pointing: a small general store near the base of the stairwells to the upper city. I searched for a sign that indicating the location of the diner. “Over there!” Kii cheered and pointed. Over to the right was the diner that we were looking for, the Moonlite Diner. It was painted in dark blues, and the gas lamps were tinted a purple shade. I walked in. The inside was marble tile floors, and the same color scheme as the outside just lit up a bit more. A thestral approached us. “H-hello there. Can we help you tonight?” he asked, shaking. His dark purple coat, navy blue and dark red streaked mane and tail, matched the decor. I nodded. “Indeed. My sister and I are looking to try something new, so here we are.” “Ah, I see. If would find a seat, my daughter will be with you shortly.” He motioned a hoof over to a table. Kii hopped off my back, hurried over to the table and got comfortable. I followed and sat across from her. A familiar unicorn filly with fangs trotted up to the table, levitating some menus and a notepad. “Good evening. Our special tonight is spaghetti with eggplant with a fruit salad on the side,” she said without looking up. “Hey there,” Kii chirped. The filly looked up and her face lit up. “Kii!” She then saw me and her face fell slightly. “After I left, I didn’t think he would let you come here,” she said to Kii. Of course. This was the filly I asked to leave the house earlier. “Hex. It’s good to meet you officially,” I said. Hex ignored me and turned in the direction of the kitchen. “Mom, Dad! Come out here please!” There was clattering and the sound of a pair of wings flapping. The thestral from a moment ago and a blue unicorn mare with a red mane hurried out into the room. “What is it sweetie?” the mare asked the filly. I stayed quiet and observed. “I want you to meet that friend I told you about. Mom, Dad, this is Kii.” Hex pointed to my sister smiling in the seat. “So you're the little dragon we've heard so much about?” the mare asked with a broad smile. Kii nodded. “Well, we've been wanting to thank you for being our daughter's friend.” “Mooom,” Hex whined. “What’d I say?” the mare asked with a grin. “Proper introductions are in order,” the stallion started, turning to me. All his previous nervousness had evaporated. “My name is Moon Mace, but you can call me Mace. And this is my wife, Aqua Spice.” “Hello,” Aqua smiled at me before turning her attention back to Kii and Hex. “I'm Krein, Dragon Ambassador. This is my sister Kii.” I motioned a claw to Kii sitting across from me. “Well, I'm sure you two are hungry. What will you be having tonight?” Mace asked me as the females chatted. “What do you recommend?” I asked. “We have something called an Avalanche. Biscuits, eggs, gravy, and hash browns, piled high on a plate.” “I'll have that. What do you recommend for the little trickster?” I glanced at my sister. “A stack of mini-pancakes and scrambled eggs.” “She'll have that, thank you,” I nodded. “Coming right up.” He turned to his wife. “Come along dear, we have orders waiting.” “Oh, that's right,” she jumped and followed her husband into the back. “So before I forget, what will you two have to drink?” Hex asked bringing up the notepad again. “Tea, please,” I said to the filly. “Lemonade, please,” Kii smiled at her friend. “Got it! Be right back.” Hex ran off to the kitchen. I looked suspiciously at Kii. “You need to work on your subtlety, little sister. Remember, I have eighty-seven years on you. Don't think you can sneak things like this by me every time.” “I know. But she's my friend,” Kii said without a shred of remorse. “I know, and I'm glad you found one. But you can’t spring things on me like this all the time. Next time, just ask.” Kii’s ears flattened against her head and she huffed. “Okay.” We waited for our meals to be finished and brought to us on two steaming plates. My Avalanche was very filling, and Kii evidently enjoyed her pancakes, because she dug right into them as soon as they were placed in front of her and got syrup everywhere. Hex took every opportunity to come talk to Kii. I even had to remind her that some customers were waving her down to get her to pay attention. Time passed as we ate our meals. I took my time with my eggs, but Kii must have been particularly hungry because she finished her pancakes in a hurry. Now she was licking the last of the syrup off the plate with a big smile. Watching Kii smile always made me happy. I’m glad she was fitting in here, even if it was just a little bit. Suddenly, I felt the familiar burning spread across my body. I grimaced and fought down a wince. I looked over at my shoulder to see the mark glowing and giving off heat. I looked over at Mace. “Is there a place I can have some privacy?” “Restroom is over that way,” Mace pointed with a hoof. “Thank you,” I hurried into the ‘Stallion’ restroom and managed to squeeze into a stall, shutting the door behind me with some difficulty. Once there I touched the mark to relieve the burning and held the magical fire in my outstretched claw. “Yes, my Lord?” “Krein!” Torch’s voice boomed from the flame. “We've had a bit of an incident. I expect the ponies to learn about this soon enough, but I want you to tell them first so they don't think this is an attack.” Obviously, this was urgent if he felt the need to contact me. “What has happened, my lord?” “Three dragons were less than pleased when they learned that we were approaching the ponies for trade negotiations. They have taken it upon themselves to attack the ponies living in the deserts to the south. I want you to tell the Princesses that this was not done under my authority. Once done I want you to go to the desert and bring them back to be branded.” A chill went up my spine. “‘Branded’ my lord? That punishment hasn't been used since before your rule if I'm not mistaken.” “It hasn't been used in three Dragon Lords,” Torch confirmed. “But this is necessary; all dragons must know that I am serious about keeping peace with ponies. Do you understand your task?” “Yes, but..why me, my Lord?” I swallowed. “I’m not the best warrior.” “Until I choose an Enforcer to uphold Dragon Law, you're it,” Torch snapped. “Go and smooth things over before they get out of claw.” “Yes my Lord,” I nodded. The flame snuffed out and I was left with my thoughts. Branding with magical fire. Scarring a dragon's face permanently, marking them a traitor to dragons for the rest of their days. This is going to weigh heavily on me. And of course, Kii wouldn’t be pleased to learn that I was leaving her on her own again. I’d have to arrange for her to be taken care of while I was gone. Hopefully, the Princesses would be as understanding as before. But right now, I had a more pressing issue on my mind. I was stuck in the stall; the walls were too close for me to turn around in. “Uh...help?” I called out. This was going to be awkward.