As I watch, the rug gives little shifts and motions. I lean a little closer, and I can just barely hear something within it.
I feel Mirage shift atop me, and hear her quietly ask, “Kitty?”
I do not respond, and reach out to the rug, watching it carefully. I gently grab its edge, watching the moving bit of it with care, noting that it is growing stronger over time.
Then I roll the rug out with a sudden motion, and I hesitate as a unicorn appears from within it. The same unicorn I saw screaming, still in her fine dress and jewelry.
She stumbles to her hooves, dazed and obviously greatly confused. “This… is… unacceptable.” I hear her mutter as she wobbles to her hooves, a bit disheveled. “Clover!” she abruptly calls. “Clover, to me! Clover!”
She shakes herself a little, and hesitates a little, looking around at the den. “…Clover, why are we in a cave?” she asks. “The luggage will be ruined by the humidity…”
She pauses, staring at the pile of my wealth.
My wealth? I… really enjoy that thought, actually. My wealth.
“…Clover?” she calls again, but far weaker, uncertain. I can see fear growing in her, and feel myself smiling. “Why is the luggage just dumped in a heap, Clover? …Clover?”
She swallows, and stops. I simply keep watching her, wondering about her. I spot her horn light and she suddenly flinches, badly. Then she very slowly turns her head, keeping her eyes shut, towards me. Once she is directly facing me, she keeps her eyes shut for a few moments, her face incredibly fearful and reluctant.
Then they open, and we see one another. For a few moments, it is silent, us watching one another, her wide eyes staring, me, grinning at her.
Then she screams and panics. And in my den, her scream echoes off the walls and seems without end. I think it might even somehow be louder than before.
“SILENCE!” I roar at her.
At my roar, she suddenly freezes in place, her scream mercifully stopping. I look back at Mirage, and reiterate, “I will find the fillies, Mirage, but first, this unicorn.”
I look back at her, still in the same… Wait.
She has moved toward the exit just a little. Still in the same position she froze within too. She even somehow got her tiara back as well without me noticing. Cunning.
However, this is a, maybe the, unicorn that had Mirage captured. I am not about to let her go without teaching her a lesson.
And I do so dearly want everything she has on her.
Her scream instantly resumes the moment I move, so I just roar to make her stop, and in the stillness, begin trying to get everything off of her. I feel Mirage climb to my head.
“Kitty!”
“Yes, Mirage?” I ask, trying not to damage anything on the unicorn as I try to get it off of her, focusing on the gold and jewelry. I don’t really care about the dress; too small.
“Kitty, what are you doing?” she asks me, and her tone makes me slow a little.
“…Is this the unicorn who captured you, Mirage?” I ask.
“No.” she tells me, making me worry a little, before she adds, “She’s the one who told that one to tie me to a post.”
“Then I am simply teaching her a lesson.” I tell Mirage, fairly happy I have an excuse for her. I kind of don’t want to tell Mirage about this newfound urge for wealth.
“By… stealing all her jewelry?” Mirage asks me, her tone doubtful.
“You’ll see.” I tell her, trying to fiddle with a tiny clasp on a tiny necklace. I sort of think it could open or something, and I want it despite its small nature. “Now, help me get this off of her. I don’t want to snap it.”
Mirage flits down, but I see some hesitation in her even as she helps me. As she works with the last of the stuff, I look, and spot some chain I must have grabbed by mistake. Taking it, I grin, a good idea coming to me.
A brief while alter, I had dirtied the unicorn, damaging her dress before managing to seal the chain in the stone and then getting the chain to hold her. Fiddly work, but rather satisfying to do. That done, I simply laid down and waited for my roar to fade. Mirage’s own nervousness and hesitation matters little; this is what is right.
My roar fades, and she blinks at me, startling suddenly, only to notice the chain holding her in place. She looks to it in shock and dismay, then to herself in the same, to my growing satisfaction. As she feels her head for her missing tiara, my grin grows, and as her hooves dart to her neck, she gasps and looks down, and I greatly enjoy the ripple of horror that passes over her as she looks up, and finds me close to her.
But even as I ready myself to speak, my mouth opening, she suddenly sits down, and her eyes fill with tears. I hesitate and she sobs suddenly, and collapses in place. She cries gently, but I can hear her despair.
I… I am left unsure how to respond, but Mirage instantly flies from my head to try and comfort the broken unicorn. I watch them both.
A part of me is exalted by the sight of the sobbing unicorn. A part of me revels in what I have done, and wants me to do more. To make her suffer more. It is only fitting, that part tells me, that she does so for she has harmed Mirage, and through her, harmed me. Harmed my pride.
But another part wonders about what I have done. Memories of my time in stone return to me, and the pain I felt when a Mirage cried. The stories I have been told about revenge and anger, all the evil that comes from rage.
…I feel I have a choice. I cannot resolve the two feelings.
On one side is my instinct. My birth. All that I am for being born what I am, demanding that I act as I am meant to act. The unlearned knowledge within me, the voice that guides me to action, the urges that live in me.
The other is the lessons of Mirage. The lessons of all the Mirages. Each one, marching through the ages unbroken, teaching me something more than my birth, be that by tales or by example. I cannot turn away from them, even with the pull of instinct. They are all I have lived.
Yet, I cannot deny my instinct, and I find myself caught between the two.
My birth, or my life. Instincts or lessons. Myself, or them.
The struggle grows, and I groan, shutting my eyes. The call of instinct screams in my head: hurt her, make her suffer, eat her for daring! Each of the Mirages call for me to spare her, to know her, to forgive her.
It is one or the other, but I cannot choose! Life or birth!? Them or me!?
I cannot decide!
I slam my head into the floor, trying to make the struggle stop. The pain momentarily gives me some clarity.
Can I even deny what I was born as? Is it even possible that I might become something that I am not, to accept all that they have taught me? To grow beyond my blood and flesh, to silence the call of my body? It is even possible, or am I doomed to this conflict?
Am I what I was born as, or am I what I lived as? Which is the truth? Which is correct? What is the right answer?! Why do I not,
A sudden buck disrupts my thoughts, and I look up to see Mirage, looking at me. Her words are meaningless to me.
But I can see her kindness, her compassion. I can see the bond that we share reflected in her eyes. I can see her fearing for me, and I know that she is screaming in concern and worry for me. In her eyes, I can see something I have not seen for nearly a thousand years.
I see her love for me. I see the same love reflected in her eyes that I once saw so very long ago in her ancestor’s eyes.
Seeing her, I know the answer.
Seeing her, I wonder why I ever struggled to know the answer.
All of them gave of themselves for me. An unbroken line of Mirages, teaching me their lessons, being there in my imprisonment.
I am what I was born as. A giant winged cat that doesn’t even know his own species. The instincts that live in my blood and flesh, the same that I’ve heeded over and over again, the unspoken knowledge that lives within me. With them, I am but a predator; a monster in the skies.
But they gave me so much more. For nothing, they gave me everything they had. I took their lessons into my heart and built something that was something more than what I was born as.
I accepted the mantle they gave me, and bore the name she gave me with pride. I rose up beyond anything I could be alone, every last one helping me to stand up, to go beyond what I am. I did it for them. For a thousand years, I trusted them. For a thousand years, my mind endured for them. For a thousand years, my heart beat for them.
I am more than my birth. They lived with me and they live on in my memory. Every one, etched into my heart, every lesson learned and known and accepted, every Mirage known and remembered, never to be forgotten.
By myself, I am nothing but what I am.
But with them, I am everything I could ever desire to become.
My instincts silence within me, and I feel myself relax from a tension I was not aware of.
“Mirage…” I murmur, and I see her calm, at least a little.
“Kitty, what happened? Are you alright? You bashed your head really hard…”
“I am.” I tell her, before I look to the broken unicorn; she has stilled, and no longer cries. The sight is no longer good to me. “But I have done something terrible.”
Mirage hesitates, looking with me. “…We went too far Kitty.”
“I went too far, Mirage.” I correct her, reaching out to gently snap the chain. “This is my mistake; not yours.”
I gently pull the unicorn to my side, feeling her shift slightly, but she makes no sound. I… I still don’t feel anything for her, but all I know calls for me to make amends.
Suddenly, all the wealth matters little to me.
“…I remember when others made me cry.” Mirage murmurs, watching her. Then she looks up to me, her face uncertain, her eyes regretful. “Kitty...What did we do?”
I sigh gently, relaxing. “This blame lies with me, Mirage, not you. To me, Mirage. Come the morning, I shall make this right.”
Mirage gently flaps to my head, and I feel her settle there.
“I am tired now.” I tell her. “Try to find some peace this night.”
“…I’ll try Kitty.”
I can hear her hesitation, and I know why she is hesitating; she wants to fix this. She wants to comfort the unicorn, to make this better, to make right what I made wrong.
Maybe someday, I might want to do those things as well. But for now, I can accept something a little simpler. I will obey the lessons. I will listen to them, and even in ignorance and apathy, I will follow the prescribed trail that they have left for me.
As a foal listens to their parents, I will listen to them. I walk with every Mirage, and I become something more than my birth.
Come the morning, with any luck, Mirage might show me the way forward.
I worry for the girls as I sleep.
“Go on then. Just eat me and put me out of my misery.”
I blearily open one eye to see the unicorn standing in front of me. She is standing tall, and though she seems brave, I can smell her fear. I can see the trails of tears on her face yet. She is also wearing her tiara and necklace, and I think that she has attempted to clean herself and straighten the remains of her dress.
“Come on then. You won’t find a better meal.” If my eyes are not deceiving me, she shifts, standing obliquely so that I can see most of her. She grows slightly more fearful as she does so, though she hides it masterfully.
…What is she doing? Is… Is she trying to tempt me into devouring her?
…Maybe it is a dream? My instincts trying to get me to renounce my earlier choice? I would not do so, not even in a dream. Never again.
I slightly shake my head, denying her and them, and close my eye again.
“And why not?” I hear her ask, and there is a strange tone of indignation in her voice, her fear reducing. “Here I am, the prized princess before the beast, helpless before you. Now, give in to your desires, and quickly, before your handler wakes.”
I do not respond, and after a moment, I hear her huff. She then pokes me with a hoof, and I ignore that as well. I will not…
…She’s now trying to open my mouth on her own, I think. That is either her magic or her hoof, possibly both, trying to get my jaws open.
Definitely a dream then. There is no possible way that this is actually occurring; she is showing such determination to get me to eat her it may rival my own to not do so.
I’m tired though, and her attempts are annoying. Irritating. However, I have a sudden idea.
I open my mouth and sense her back up suddenly. Not to be outdone, I move forward, and grab onto her carefully. She goes perfectly still as I do so, and I shift to get her entirely within my mouth, not harming her in the slightest. Then I shut my jaws, and relax; I will show mastery, and not bite down. I feel the urge to bite, but I shall not! I am the stronger of this dream.
I feel her lose her stiffness, and feel her shift in my jaws. Then, she shrieks. My head vibrates from it, and Mirage yells, leaping from my mane. I spit the unicorn out, baffled and dismayed.
It had not been a dream! The unicorn had actually tried to get me to eat her! Is she mad!?
She is currently gasping on the floor, her eyes wide with panic, and I hear Mirage gasping as well, shocked herself.
“What are you thinking?” I demand of the unicorn, utterly baffled by her action, struggling to wake fully. At my voice, she calms, and gets to her hooves oddly quickly, though she remains in her place. “Explain yourself.”
She reacts oddly, as if I caught her doing something criminal. She is suddenly quiet and defensive, not looking at me in a rather pointed fashion and appearing almost aggressively defiant. Almost as if she is daring me to question her, though her gaze is looking elsewhere…
“Kitty, what did she do?” Mirage asks me, flying a little forward.
“She tried to have me eat her.” I tell Mirage.
“What?!” Mirage yelps, looking to the unicorn as if she was mad.
The unicorn turns to see us both, her gaze defiant and determined, and directed at Mirage. “I will not surrender before you nor your beast, pegasus.” she declares, standing tall and somehow appearing regal despite her current state. “I am Princess Platinum and I will not show weakness before you nor the great beast you command. You may have captured me, taken me from my kind to this cavern, stolen my luggage, tried to humiliate me, but I am the princess of the unicorns, and I will not bow or quake before you!”
I can still smell her fear, and see it despite her strong stance. She is still not focusing on me, instead glaring at Mirage.
Mirage is speechless, as if in great shock.
“You are Princess Platinum?” she asks in astonishment, to my faint wonder.
The unicorn tosses her head back, and seems almost arrogant, a little of her fear leaving her. “I am she. How do you not know me? How would anypony not know me? Has Commander Hurricane decided to keep his recruits ignorant of his betters?”
“Commander Hurricane!?” Mirage gasps, slowly drifting toward the ground. I’m not sure why the names have such an impact on her, but it is obvious that she is in no condition to further this. I must take action.
“…We never intended to take you, Princess.” I say, a little worried; she seems aggressive, and I’m a little worried that this will end badly. “Nor do we intend to have you surrender to us.” Princess looks to me in surprise, which I take as a hopeful sign.
“I… I was overtaken by greed, and thoughts of revenge for the taking of Mirage.” I admit, struggling to think of what to say that might calm her fear and anger alike. “That is why I took your gold, gems, and finery, and why I sought to humiliate you.”
“I was wrong to do so, but, in greed and anger, I’ve done these things to you. If you would, Princess, accept my apologies, worthless though they may be, and take back your things.” I end that by lowering myself, to try and make myself seem smaller, so she might better know my regret.
Princess seems stunned, staring at me, almost gaping a little. She blinks several times before she slowly says, “…I never… you are… very well spoken.” She takes a breath, and seems to calm, looking at me without her earlier fear.
“…I had thought you to be just some terrible, unthinking beast.” she tells me, her eyes growing unsure, hesitant. “Yet, you… aren’t.” A few moments pass as she continues to watch me with that worried confusion for several long moments before she speaks again.
“…If you truly mean what you said,” she says slowly, uncertain, “then I accept your apology.”
I relax, giving a large sigh, to her slight surprise. That went far, far better than I worried it might.
If she had not forgiven me, I might have found myself at odds with her and the other ponies I saw in the tent, presumably those part of her group. I am not certain what might have occurred, but I do know that, if Princess did leave with a grudge towards me, it would inevitably lead to conflict between me and them.
“Thank you, Princess.” I tell her giving her a small smile. I see her hesitate again, obviously trying to think, but I am relaxed now, relieved.
I note that she is still dirty from my earlier handling of her. I have a sudden idea about how I might help her; how I might better my apology. She startles as I grab her, and, as I anticipated, she shrieks as I start cleaning her. She struggles weakly, before seeming to accept it.
I set her down, clean once again. She pants in place, and before she might come to any conclusion on her own, I tell her, “I’ve a debt to pay you, Princess, and grooming you is only the start of repaying that debt. I only groom those I trust, and I hope that I might one day earn your trust in turn.”
Princess stares at me, gaping a little, and doesn’t respond, her exact expression a little hard to guess. Then she looks away, looking almost troubled before she gives a soft sigh and relaxes. She looks back to see me, her expression still concerned, but far less tense than it had been before.
She opens her mouth only to freeze as we hear something outside my den.
“But I didn’t hear anythin, Chancellor.” a tired voice says.
“I know I head somepony scream!” another voice, one far more excited and energetic, responds. “And what if it’s one of us, crying out for help!?”
“How would anypony get ahead of us? We’re th first an th only ponies out here, remember? An there’s no place fer anypony ta hide anyway.”
“There is! That cave, right there!”
I look at the entry, wondering, and Mirage hides behind me. To my and her surprise, however, so does Princess.
“What are you doing?” I hear Mirage ask her, though I remain watching the entrance, wondering what is coming.
“Hiding!” Princess retorts. “I can’t let her see me like this! It is entirely unacceptable!”
I wonder at her words, but I have… something coming. They are ponies, I know, but still… I’m not certain if they are foe or not. I sit up, and spread my wings out, making myself appear larger, and more intimidating. It might be for the best if I just scare them off.
Two ponies enter, both in strange clothing. One is pink and covered in ruffles and much more, with a ridiculous and oversized hat atop her head. The other is a dark orange, and her dress is far more normal, brown, simple and durable.
They both hesitate as they enter, gazes drawn to the drawings on the walls and the crystals I have placed around the area. Then the orange one spots me, and shrinks back in sudden fear, but the other seems to not even notice.
Still staring at me, the orange prods her companion, and whispers something hurriedly to her.
The other looks at her, almost appearing confused. “There’s no giant winged cat here Smart.” she says as if stating an obvious fact. “This place is empty, except for the crystals, the odd writing on the walls, the heap of stuff, and the giant winged cat.”
Smart doesn’t really react to the insanity that the pink one is producing, as if very well used to it. I decide to interject.
“Why are you trespassing in my den?” I growl at the pair, repressing my curiosity over them; they are rather strange indeed, but I have something important to protect, and little reason to trust.
They both freeze, though Smart swiftly begins trying to drag the other out of the den. Then she shakes her sensible companion off and walks to me, fearless.
“We thought we heard somepony screaming, and came to check.” she tells me as if talking to any other pony, her perfectly calm nature enough for me to have a hard time keeping up my aggressive stance; she was being too strange. “Did you, by chance, happen to hear anypony screaming?”
“Chancellor!” Smart hisses as she remains stubbornly by her companion’s side, despite her fear, “If anypony was screamin, it was because of that beast!”
Chancellor turns back to Smart. “Don’t be silly Smart. It’s his home, and he would know if anypony was screaming in here. And besides, he’s harmless!”
That had both me and Smart stop and stare at the mad pony.
“I mean, just look at him!” Chancellor says, turning to gesture at me. “He’s simply enormous, with gigantic, beautiful wings, gleaming, perfect black claws, and shiny, sharp white teeth as large as a pony!” she says, and I’m left uncertain how I should respond. I’m entirely at a loss for what to do now. “Look, he even has a bunch of bones stacked in that other cavern, like a real gentlepony.” she adds, pointing that way, Smart glancing that way, paling a little more.
I think I might have felt something shift behind me, but I ignore it. Weird as Chancellor is, she’s a strange pony and thus far, new ponies have meant trouble. I glare, and softly growl, threatening them.
“So, it is totally safe here!” Chancellor declares happily as I bare my fangs at her; she seems to not even hear my growling, despite my slowly increasing it in volume. “He’s just a massive carnivore who can easily swallow a pony whole!” With that, she gives Smart, who is backing away, terrified, a large grin before she hesitates and adopts a thoughtful look.
“You know what Smart?” she asks slowly.
“Y, Y, yes Chancellor?” Smart asks, staring at me. I shift my gaze slightly up, looking to her now, making her freeze in place, her eyes huge.
“That does sound like something that would make somepony scream.”
Smart is near panicked, though she remains still as I look down at Chancellor. She is still calm, if deep in thought.
Then Chancellor seems to realize something, and nods happily to herself as I loom over her, intensely curious as to what was wrong with the pony, but keeping my aggressive appearance. Then she, without warning, leaps into the air and gives off a wild scream, before rushing out of the den, Smart already ahead of her, having started the moment Chancellor screamed.
I stare after them, a bit startled by Chancellor’s jump and scream; I hadn’t expected something like that. I huff, and shake off that feeling, and frown, thinking.
They seemed harmless if… strange. Very strange. I am still puzzling about them as Mirage walks around to my front, her own gaze confused.
“…Why were they like that, Mirage?” I ask her.
“I… I have no idea Kitty.” she tells me, shaking her head. “Oh, yeah: Princess Platinum fainted when she saw the bones. You really need to clean that place out some time.”
I turn to see Princess, collapsed upon the stone. I’m still a little unsure as to how I will make everything up to her, despite her accepting my apology. Worries for later, however. I have to find the girls, and don’t want to wait the time for Princess to wake back up.
I stand, and tell Mirage, “Stay within the den, and keep an eye on Princess for me. I am going to search for the girls, and with luck, I shall find them soon.”
Mirage nods and I exit the den, and soon spot the retreating forms of Chancellor and Smart, still running away. They are heading north, toward the distant mountains.
It could prove a promising start to follow them, but doing so may reinforce the ‘pony eating monster’ thing and I’ve no wish to further that image. However, they have given me a hint of direction, and I will still follow it… just not directly. I will instead head toward the smaller forest beside the Everfree, and from there take flight to the distant peaks. Following them still, but in a way that would be unlikely to be noticed.
I flap a few times, and I take flight, hoping that I might find the girls, or if not, then some hint as to their fate. Soon enough, the mountains rise before me, and I firm myself.
I will find the girls.