//------------------------------// // Ch 8 // Story: My Little Ball of Fire & Vengeance // by Scootaboom1 //------------------------------// Amber Wood After what felt like a few minutes but was probably just a few seconds. I opened one of my eyes and looked towards the massive green dragon who was staring at me with a raised eyebrow. I looked side to side and with a nervous curiosity. Giving a nervous chuckle I asked, "Are you going to eat me?" There was then an awkward silence for a few seconds before the dragon said, "No..." I let out a sigh of relief and let out, "Finally!" Before I knew it I was out like a light. Most may say that it was a terrible idea to fall asleep in front of a massive dragon like that, but I would disagree. For one the dragons of this world can talk. That means that they likely have a society of some kind or at the very least can be negotiated with. While it may eat me in my sleep I really can't do anything about it. You know what the more I think about it in my head the worse it gets. But at this point there is not much I can do about that now. I am going to die. Though to be fair being eaten by a massive dragon is probably the most metal way to die that I could think of. If I awaken in some kind of after life I will probably have one of the best causes of death to speak of, probably. I wonder what I taste like? Regardless it will not matter soon enough... I was sore all over as I woke up. Is this what it felt like to be dead? Wait no. I am pretty sure that I am still alive some how. I raised my ear and heard the sound of a deep and resounding voice said, "So you are awake now." Laying where I had collapsed the night before I saw that the dragon had not moved from it's place atop a pile of gems. It seemed to be looking at me with an evaluating gaze. Maybe it will not eat me if I make a good enough impression. Giving myself a quick look over I saw a flaming puddle of cyan and magenta urine. Well then. I may not have my dignity but it probably made it so that the dragon would not eat me for the moment. The large green dragon pointed with a massive sharp clawed finger towards what I realized was a pile of rags. I looked back up at the large green dragon and blinked in confusion and the dragon said, "You made the mess in my home, you clean the mess you made in my home." Well that was fair. Grabbing one of the rags I soaked it in the rain outside the cave to smother the flames before wiping it up with a dry one. The dragon then told me to wash them off in the stream nearby. As I cleaned the rags in the stream I considered running off then and there but I was not sure how the dragon would react if it though I was stealing it's rags. Dragons are always portrayed as hating it when they were stolen from and even if they were just old rags the dragon may still hunt me down over them. As I brought the rags back in cave and placed them in their designated drying location my stomach let out a hungry growl. Letting out a nervous chuckle I asked, "You wouldn't happen to have anything for a nirik calf like myself to eat, would you?" The massive green dragon let out a snort of smoke but I was not able to tell if it was an annoyed snort or an amused snort. The dragon reached behind a pile of gems next to the cave wall and pulled out a box of some kind. Prying it open with a claw a small pile of somewhat stail bread and some kind of grass fell out. The dragon put the box to the side and grabbed a claw full of gems before stuffing their own face and said, "Humor me and the pile of bread and grass is all yours." Well it beat starving or searching for my own food. Skipping the part where I was from another world and recounted my encounter with Trixie which caused the dragon to laugh saying, "Not bad for a pony, but a little tip. Don't accept magic items from strangers, it will serve you well." "That's fair." It really was a good life tip, like don't take candy from strangers. When I explained what happened with the Ursa Minor the dragon choked laughing on his gem stones before he shot a ploom of purple fire. The heat it gave off was actually painful even though heat has not bothered me since I became a kirin. The dragon coughed as it cleared it's throat. When it finished clearing it's throat I continued my story to the point where I ran into this cave. Definitely heard a few chuckles from the dragon when the hydra showed up though. When I finished the story the said that I was free to eat the bread and grass. After quickly checking through the pile I found the freshest pieces of bread and gave them a quick mold check and dug in. It may not have tasted very good but it was at least something to hold me over for now. The grass that had been in the box with the bread had a very rounded look to it and was actually in pretty good condition. The dragon then commented, "That kind of grass is popular for some I it wasn't really for me." Biting into the blade of grass I found that it was actually pretty good. There was not really all that much but it was a nice dessert. It was like all the aches and pain just disappeared. After some helpful instructions from the massive dragon I was able to find my way back to the edge of town without issue aside from the heat making me dizzy. That is until I miss judged the stability of a ledge and it collapsed. When I opened my eyes I noticed that I had landed in a patch of that same grass. The first thing I noticed about it was that it was coated in a sticky gel that smelled absolutely delicious. Having just a little bit couldn't hurt could it... ... Ponyville is right there after all... Applejack Ever since that nirik had run into the Everfree Forest Twilight had made sure every pony in town knew everything about nirik and kirin including differences between them. Though she did make sure to mention that the chances of encountering another nirik or kirin for that matter are next to nothing. *Cung* "What was that?" *Cung* Same direction? *Cung* I better check it out. *Cung* When I reached the source of sound what I saw left me speechless. *Cung* Right there with a bucket on their head was a kirin calf. *Cung* And they looked a little red? *Cung* And not like Big Macintosh red but I have a rash all over red. *Cung* I should probably stop them from running into the wall repeatedly before they hurt themselves. It put my foreleg out in front of them to catch them before they ran into the wall again. As they wobbled in my grip I pulled the bucket off their head. Their eyes had a crazy look in them and it seemed to take them a moment to realize what had happened. They then seemed to notice their own tail and after letting out a drunken laugh began chasing it like dog while meowing. Unlike most dogs she actually caught it. I was not sure what to do but when I saw blood start to drip from their tail I knew that they needed professional help.