//------------------------------// // The Dragon (Spike, OC; Comedy, Slice of Life) // Story: Anthology of Graybles // by Str8aura //------------------------------// Don't get out much, huh? First time out of your cave?" Spike mused, biting into a faded gem he had dug up and carefully watched his companion. They might have been male or female, he wasn't sure. Sure wasn't about to check. Their coat was a stained blue, marred closer to grey from years of dirt and dust and detritus and who knew what else. Their mane and tail were once a shimmering gold, although it didn't seem to have lasted long. Their herbivorous teeth, occasionally visible through their lips as they ate, had been forcibly hardened and sharpened, ground on rocks and gems and, he grimaced as he imagined, bones and skin. Their wings were tattered and torn at the moment, lying limply at their side, but powerful muscles still jutted out beneath the iron skin. What sat beside him, docile as a cat, was very clearly a feral dragon in the skin of a pegasus. They only growled in response. "Can't speak? Your parents really were feral. Where you from?" He considered pulling his map out of his knapsack, waiting for him to point, but decided against it. The pegasus hummed contently, swallowing down the emerald they were given. It was a little concerning how rarer gems were getting out here. Back home, he could dig a foot down with his claws and easily find a few smaller ones. Out here, he'd be lucky if he found one five feet down. Spelunking meant the possibility of running into another feral, and the only other alternative that wasn't rocks out here was meat. He was beginning to realize his ancestral home was a third world country. He wondered how far he had wandered, trying to get back to roots. He vaguely remembered a book Twilight had made him read when he was a little younger, and how particular note had been made of the step that took the characters the farthest from home they had ever been. He wasn't much a counter of steps, but he imagined he had crossed that line a few days ago. "Guess you can't explain your story, either." He added, turning back to his companion. "I somehow doubt you were hatched for a school exam." The pegasus growled again as he absentmindedly reached out to scratch their neck, nearly forgetting that they were far more intelligent than they seemed. "Sorry." He retracted quickly, and they relaxed. He had come across his companion about a week after leaving, an hour before having lunch with them, digging around for gems in the ash that ran deep in certain parts of the badlands. He had offered a few of his remaining stash, and nearly instantly won them over. Odd, considering how territorial the ferals out here tended to be. "Yep, that's pretty much my story. Egg wasn't even supposed to be hatched, but one little girl was magically strong enough to do it. Didn't have much else to do with me, so they left me to her family." As he talked, he scrounged around in his knapsack, pulling out a compass. The last dragon migration he spotted had been due north. "So lemme guess; Looking for your parents?" They nodded, watching him intently. "Dragon or pony?" He held out a palm with each choice. The pegasus nervously tapped a hoof into his first gesture. "Looks like we're bros!" Spike chipperly concluded, gripping and shaking their foreleg. They looked hesitant, but nodded nonetheless. "So, want to travel with me? I'm looking for some dragons myself. Same goal, same path- Surely we can knock some quid pro quo." The pegasus's eyes lit up, nodding eagerly. A cavitied tooth jutted out from his lip, sharply bent and dented. "Alright! Come on, little dude! I know this can't be all there is out here." He gestured out to the ash and rock around them, before looking up to the mountains out in the distance. one was rounded at the base, before jutting up sharply in a smaller pillar. It looked almost like a giant thumbs up. His companion nodded, growling confidently. They pulled themselves to their hooves shakily, before standing tall beside him. He experienced brief dissociation as he realized his companion was taller than him, but quickly recovered. "Alright! No reason returning to roots can't be done without a friend. And as far as I'm concerned, you're a dragon." He winked, shooting a finger gun at them. "But first things first, you're gonna need a name." Their smile wavered, and they took on a more serious, professional face as they pawed in the dirt, tracing. Spike's smile grew as the symbols began to come together, forming a name the pegasus was proud of. Not that he could know. The symbols were complete gibberish. "Well, good enough. We can make do as we go along."