//------------------------------// // Chapter: Three: Questions and the dragon's story // Story: Dragon's sorrow: Tales of Dragon's rest // by Megaskullmon //------------------------------// “Excuse me, Elder.” I look up from the book at the young mare—a mare who just became old enough to have foals of her own. Of course, we don’t force this anymore as we used to when we needed to get our numbers up. “Yes?’ The mare gulps while a zebra mare pats her back to help her speak up. I chuckle, smiling sweetly at the mare. “Don’t worry I won’t bite your head off. I am not like the other elders. I am calmer and willing to listen to questions no matter how odd they can be.” The mare smiles. “From what you read a little bit of that book is there any place we can find it? So we can read the entire thing?” I sigh profoundly, shaking my head. “I wish I could tell you after the dragon passed the books vanished and I have no idea why. All I remember are her words before she died. She has been watched by an old friend for many years and she knows full well those books would go to a place they’re needed.” The mare smiles a very weak smile. “Then it must be hard to remember all this.” I chuckle nodding. “Yes, it is but being near my old friend I remember what I can do. She helped me through so much before she told me the story. As I said I wasn’t very popular in this community and I always got attacked. It took a cloaked mare. I have no idea who she was or her name to help me get off my flank and do what I felt was right.” I look back to the tree leaning into the tree softly and whispering to the tree. “I need more help, my friend. I need your wisdom again.” I close my eyes like I am hearing the dragon speaking in my mind. I know it’s not her speaking in my mind but my mind reusing what she said to me. I go back to the book and look at where I left off. “I got to the end of the story of Dragon’s Trek to Michigan.” __________________ The past I lower the book, noticing Malla is gone and she is in another room screaming at something. “No. I had to do it…No…I had to” I notice she is talking to herself in a mirror.  “I had to do it. I couldn’t allow her to suffer..” I put my hoof on Mallas's leg and she growled, turning to look down at me. She calms her eyes, turning gentle again. I take a deep breath seeing the rage in her eyes. I feel dread just from staring at her broken eyes. “Malla, have you been by yourself for too long you have no idea how to handle someone showing up?” She stares at me laughing. “What gave you that idea..No I wasn’t talking to myself? No…I..fine I have been on my own for so long that my mind kind of lost it. I even have hatchlings and I don’t even know if they’re still alive after all these years.” Malla sighs frown forms across my face. “Please Malla, I grew up being told never to lie to the elders you’re more elderly than any pony in Dragon’s Rest you’re the founder of Dragon’s Rest I can’t hold this question back are you all there?” Malla weakly smiles “To be honest Glyph I haven’t been fully there for a long time and when you understand what happened you would understand. So much happened and when you live as long as I have you start to wonder if it was even worth it.” The old black dragoness has seen so much and she remembers almost everything. I look over to the other books she wrote. She wrote in so many is this the only way she can remember? She has been on her own for too long. Does she need to write on these pages to even remember? “Malla you told me you would let me ask you questions after reading Dragon’s Trek tell me…if you did your journey again would you have treated Lyra better and the one named Chris?” Malla stares down at me and a weak smile forms on her face. “Oh Glyph If I could I would go back and try everything to fix how I treated Lyra. She never deserved my treatment of her. As for Chris, same with her, well him ugh this event got weird. So if I could I would do it all again correctly. I wish I could see Chris again and the little one named Starla. I am sure they’re both dead again..” The old dragon looks towards the incline leading back out of the cave. “I do feel at times though I am watched by someone like they’re a guardian angel. So many wanted to come down here to kill me over the years. But some pony is keeping the story of an evil creature down here needing objects and food for a very long time.” A weak smile forms on my face. I shift on my hooves. I don't feel it’s my place to ask this question but It’s all I can do. I take a deep breath blowing the hot air out of my mouth and nose. I glance at the glyph on my rump. I am well known for not following others and questioning everything. Maybe it’s time to put that skill of mine to the test. “Forgive me Malla but I feel you’re being far too hard on yourself. From what I have seen you shouldn’t be fully to blame for the bad luck of Dragon’s Rest unless there is more you haven’t told me yet.” Malla looks back down at me, her gentle old eyes filling with tears. “Oh, there is much more. But first, you need to read the founding of Dragon’s Rest. My friends and I.. even though a lot of them stopped trusting me over the years when I became harder and colder they did everything they could to keep the place going while I allowed my dragon heart to be cold.” Malla went to the next journal and took a deep breath sighing. She opens the book and there are old faded photos. I have seen some of these photos and it’s rare to find them without them being very faded. These have at least been taken care of. I can at least see her friends in this old photo. I can see them well, including a zebra like me. “Even with a spell, there is no way to keep old photos from becoming worthless. These are the founders of Dragon’s Rest. We found it as a way to come together as outcasts and lost. We were all lost at the time. I am sure there were more communities out there, even unwilling ones to see the world at large. I could tell you this myself. I didn't wish to spread ourselves too thin.” Malla set the journal down in front of me she sighs heading back to her hoard to lie on it. I watch her and I just stare at her for a few moments. While I do I see the roots coming out of her body again. Oh, this poor creature is going to either die from these roots or she is going to die of old age whatever comes first. “Malla, if I can promise I will keep the old values of Dragon’s Rest alive and try to bring it back to normal before whatever you did went down will you show yourself to the ones up above and tell them your story at least what you can?” Malla smiles nodding. “I doubt I could but when the time comes... I will have the urge to go up there and go into the middle of the area where the old place stood and where my friends and I first came together to survive.” Malla lays her head down to rest. I opened the next book to read it. I read the first few lines that hit me harder than I expected. "Greetings, I am Malla. I used to be human like you. I went on a journey from Buffalo, Wyoming to Battle Creek, Michigan. I wasn't alone though. I had a pony from another universe on the trip with me. I met another human known as Chris, a baby known as Starla, and another known as Colgate. I welcome you here to Dragon's Rest." " Greetings, I am Malla. I used to be human just like you, but I have lost my human body too. Back on May 23rd, something happened to us. I wish I could understand it myself. But I can't. But I have been trying to make due. Before I go, let me leave you with a few words of wisdom. I may no longer be human, but I have yet to stop being Human." As I read on, I look up at Malla again after reading all this feeling even worse for her.