//------------------------------// // Bloody Flames // Story: Night Wing // by Gravity012 //------------------------------// Night Wing Wooden creaks filled the silence between two creatures staring each other down across a wooden expanse. Sloshing could be heard occasionally as the ship rocked in the water, and distant eruptions periodically rumbled through the hull. Hoofsteps could be heard wandering the deck above as ponies maintained the ship and kept it away from the various rocks in the water. A third being interrupted our staring contest with a long-suffering sigh. “Night, how long are you going to stare at the kid?” Eyes the color of hot coals darted over to a silver-maned thestral for a split second before swinging back to the avian in front of them. ‘Until he stops being a dragon. Let me have my moment.’ I leaned closer to the dragon, him leaning back in response. ‘That’s an order.’ “What’s he saying?” The blue-grey dragon never broke eye contact, looking ready to bolt at the slightest wrong move. “It’s not worth repeating.” Rolling my eyes at Silver spoiling the moment, I leaned back to the relief of the hatchling. ‘Ask him for his name.’ Unfortunately, the little drake couldn’t read. That meant Silver would be translating for me for the whole conversation. Silver repeated the question to the drake, though the only response was a slight narrowing of the eyes. ‘I simply want to ask you questions about dragons. Then you can go free and do whatever it is you do all day.’ I huffed at the stubbornness of the dragon. “Well I was told I would get crystals for coming here, and I haven’t gotten any yet. Guess neither of us are going to get what we want.” He shot back at me, smoke drifting from nostrils as his arms crossed. With a loud bang a thin disc of red crystal fell from the ceiling. “Ah!” Startled, he fell from his chair and darted behind it. When nothing chased him, he glanced back around it. ‘There’s your crystal. Now will you talk?’ A snort sounded out in the room. ‘Where’s the brave dragon act now?’ His chest puffed out a bit and he glared at me as Silver narrated. “I would have been fine if Inferno didn’t show up! That idiot always manages to cut me off!” A smile spread across his snout. “Well, not anymore. Heh.” I cleared my throat, and he seemed to remember who exactly had solved his problem. “Uh, Torch. That’s my name.” He still hadn’t sat back in the chair, preferring to use it as a flimsy shield. “There’s no hard feelings right? I mean, that must not have been your hoard, because you just abandoned it. So, really, I didn’t do anything wro-“ Another cleared throat interrupted him. “Sorry, very sorry. Shouldn’t have tried to steal from you.” ‘Why do you want these crystals so badly?’ His gaze grew confused when that was translated. “Wait, are you not some freaky mutated dragon?” This question was directed at Silver. “No, I’m not a ‘freaky mutated dragon’. She leaned close and puffed air in Torch’s face. “You’ve got quite the mouth on you. I’m a Thestral, for your information. Have you never seen a pony before? This ‘Inferno’ seemed to recognize us.” “A what? Do you come from outside the Heart!?” He came out from beside the chair, eyes bright. “What’s out there?” “The heart? What’s that?” Silver was getting good at knowing what I was thinking. Torch opened his mouth to answer before closing it with a snap. A calculating look came into his eyes. “That’s a dragon secret. Sorry, I couldn’t tell you without breaking dragon law.” An avian chuckle drew two sets of eyes to me. ‘From what I’ve seen, dragons don’t seem to be the type that have ‘rules’. Another disc of crystal crashed down, making me wince. Why is this stuff so heavy? I’m going to break another hole in the hull if I’m not careful. Reminding myself to open the portal a little lower next time, I watched the greedy hatchling. “The Bleeding Heart. That’s what we dragons call the land we live in.” He turned to Silver. “That’s probably why Inferno knew what you were. The bigger dragons go outside the Heart sometimes.” “So you’ve never left this place?” Sympathy leaked through in Silver’s voice. Torch just snorted a small flame and rolled his eyes. “Nope, just me and the sky!” His chest swelled with pride. “I’ve been outsmarting other dragons for years.” ‘Just you?’ A bit of sympathy started seeping into me. He eyed the crystal discs on the table before locking gazes with me. Oh for the love of… The pillar of bloody crystal I had portalled onto the ship earlier fell through a hole in the air. With a crash it split the table in half and dented the floor. Not low enough… Silver put a hoof on her head and groaned, while I winced at the thought of telling the repair pony. Torch drooled at the massive amount of crystal, reaching a hand forward to touch it. He pulled his arm back and looked up at me. “You’ll give me all this? Just for answering your questions?” Nodding my head, his eyes grew a little less guarded. “Yeah, it’s just been me. Male dragons don’t stick around to raise hatchlings, and the mothers only stay until the first molt.” Seeing the question in my gaze, he answered before I could ask. “The first molt is when our spikes harden and our wings become strong enough to lift us. With a bit of help from our magic of course.” ‘I didn’t see you flying much.’ Silver and I both gained a bit more sympathy for the hatchling. “My mother was killed years ago. She got too big, and the others in the area didn’t appreciate the threat.” A hardness came into his eyes. “Dragons don’t work together very often, but when their bloodstone supply is threatened they make exceptions. Of course, while they were all down in the lowlands gloating over someone half dead, a rockslide happened to wipe them all out.” A cruel gleam shone through the hardness. Wishing to change the subject away from missing family, as it hit too close to home, I asked about the bloodstone instead. ‘You never answered my earlier question. What is so important about this substance?’ Touching the crystal pillar with my wing, I noticed Torch flinch as if he wanted to run forward and take it from me. “You really don’t know?” He licked his scaly lips as his gaze flicked between me and the blood-colored crystal. Seeing my head shake, he continued. “Dragons need it to get bigger. Without it, it would take a hundred years just to reach our first molt. Even with the little bit I’ve managed to find over the years, I’m almost ready to molt.” ‘I see.’ It made sense, I supposed. Everyone competing for the limited supply of bloodstone. It was terrible, but definitely imaginable. ‘So the amount we found, I take it that’s an unusual amount?’ “The amount you had could probably topple the power structure of a region.” Hungry eyes stared up at me. “Even the Dragon Lord doesn’t keep that much on claw.” ‘Dragon Lord?’ I leaned forward, my interest peaked. I seemed to remember something about that from the show. The name Torch was tickling at my mind too, but I couldn’t remember why. “Dragon Lord Scales. The biggest dragon there is.” Torch glared at the wall, seemingly looking through it. “Dragon Lord is just the title we give to the bigger dragon, though being the biggest comes with certain benefits.” ‘Such as?’ I seemed to remember the Dragon Lord had to have something in the show, but maybe it worked differently here. “Well, there’s a reason she has ruled for millennia. No one can go against what she says. It’s part of who we are, we have to obey the biggest.” Anger flashed across his gaze. ‘I’m guessing you want to be the biggest?’ I raised an eyebrow at him and he scoffed. “Obviously. Who doesn’t?” ‘So what’s your plan? Eat these crystals and be on your way?’ The tube of bloodstone rolled across the floor with a clatter as I shoved it. Torch jumped out of the way before narrowing his eyes at me. ‘From what I understand, that will just get you killed.’ “Then what do you suggest, stay small forever?” He stalked to where the crystal stopped, standing on all fours in front of it protectively. ‘You seem decently smart. Instead of doing it the same way as everyone else, try something else. Something unexpected.’ A ball of ice formed in front of him and dropped to the deck with a dull thud. ‘I’m guessing dragons don’t use magic for much other than flying and breathing fire?’ Torch examined the ball of ice, rubbing his claws on it before yanking them back. “What is this?” It rolled away from him with a shove. ‘Ice. I imagine you don’t have much around here.’ I chuckled at my own joke, while Silver just rolled her eyes. “I’m listening. What do you suggest?” Curious orange eyes stared up from the ground. I deliberated in my head on what to do. The name Torch had finally brought forth some memories. I remembered that, at some point in the future, this little dragon became Lord of the dragons. While he wasn’t the most friendly in my memories, he certainly seemed better than the current leader. Also, judging by the circumstances under which he retired, it was likely he formed various laws and restrictions to keep the dragons in check. ‘How about, instead of hoarding gems and gold like your cousins, I offer you a different type of treasure?’ Torch’s eyes glowed with curiosity. Opening a portal to the small library back at the Everfree castle, I heard a shout of surprise from who I guessed was the librarian. Sticking my head through, I quickly located the flustered unicorn mare. ‘Hi there, can I get a few books on beginner magic and learning to read?’ After a moment of confusion, then another to read the words, the librarian quickly ran off into the shelves. With a sigh I pulled my head back out. ‘Well this is totally ruining the suspense I built up. Don’t read that to him.’ I glared at Silver as she read it to him. ‘I’m trying to keep up a mysterious and powerful image here.’ Torch just looked confused at our banter. “Well, this is a surprise.” A pink maned pony head came through the portal. “Here are your books Night. The librarian called the guards about floating bird heads in the library. I just knew it had to be you.” Five thick books came through the portal, wrapped in golden light. ‘Hello, Celestia.’ A heavy sigh escaped me. Well, this is where the fear and respect end. “Oh, who’s this!?” Torch was backed against the wall, looking highly disturbed by the situation. “It’s good you’re making more friends Night, I worry about you sometimes.” A foreleg joined the head, wrapping me in a hug. “Well, I have to get back to work. Scry me again soon!” Celestia disappeared again and the portal shut. ‘Just take these.’ Grumbling, I levitated them to the dragon and dropped them with a thud. ‘Silver, go get Strawberry to help him start the basics of reading. I’m going to my room for the evening. Give the hatchling a place to stay if he wants it.’ Torch was more interested in the books than us, and I saw him cautiously opening one as I left the room. This is definitely a good idea, I reassured myself. 1 Week Later “Thank you.” A much larger Torch stood on the top deck of the ship, all the previous hostility gone from his eyes. On all fours he was as tall as a pony, and his wings had increased in size to match. “You have earned yourself an ally among the dragons, Night. Equestria will have little trouble with the dragons when I accomplish my goals.” Five books were clutched in his front claws as he prepared to depart. In a week's time he had made shocking progress in learning to read. He soaked up everything new like a sponge, hungry for all the knowledge he could attain. The entire bloodstone column had been consumed over the course of the week as well, which is what lead to his new size. After the mistake of eating half the crystal on the first night, and waking the entire ship with the growing pains, he had slowly consumed the rest over several days. ‘Don’t get too cocky.’ An eruption in the distance drew both our gazes. ‘You sure you don’t want to stay a bit longer and get more familiar with reading?’ “You insult me.” A toothy grin spread across Torch’s face. “Besides, I haven’t completely given up on getting bigger. Unless you want to give me more bloodstone?” ‘I think I’ve helped you enough.’ Smirking I shooed him off with a wing. ‘Off you go, before you get anything else from me.’ “Are you sure you don’t want to staaaaaay?” A squeaky voice came from behind us both. Eyes widening, Torch took off from the deck and started gliding away. “Goodbye! The next time you come through, maybe you can help me with some of the bigger dragons!” A dark chuckle echoed out over the water as he shrunk toward the shore. I looked back to see a pouting Lime. She had been quite happy to have another child on the ship. Torch was not as happy about that. Lime had pestered him at every free moment, trying to get him to play with her. ‘Don’t worry Lime. I’m sure someone else will play with you.’ She huffed and walked away grumbling. Kids. While we had technically fulfilled the reason for coming to the Heart in the first place, finding dragons, I wasn’t totally satisfied. I had only seen two this entire time. Yes, the phoenix made up for it, but I still wanted the full dragon experience. Torch had been happy to supply the location of a popular congregating point for the local dragons. Not wanting to get into a conflict again, only a small group would go. Namely, me and Silver. We would only observe, and then leave without anyone the wiser. “Ok Night! I’m ready to go.” Hoofsteps marked Silver’s approach across the deck. Glancing back at her, I could see she had a small pack with supplies on her back along with her armor and blades. Not that the blades would do much against a dragon, but it made everyone feel better to be armed. ‘Let’s be on our way then.’ With a burst of heat-infused ash, a portal appeared between us. Gravel crunched under our claws and hooves as we traveled down the ravine. We had portalled back to the cave where Inferno had found us. The yellow dragon was still there, though covered in a thick layer of ash, sprawled across the mountain. Lava and dust had begun to cover his body, slowly hiding him from the world. Distant eruptions and shifting rocks were the only sounds as we made our way further east. Torch had said we were within a day's walk, if we moved fast. After an hour of silence, Silver decided to break it. “So, uh, Night.” She cleared her throat suddenly. I glanced at her to see she was staring down at the ground. “Do you remember, back before you-“ she snorted, a small smile forming. “-exploded, we were talking about… Relationships?” I stumbled, scattering gravel. She glanced up at the noise, looking around the area before realizing it was just me. ‘I do.’ She frowned at the short response but pushed forwards. “Well, I was wondering if you had given it any thought.” Her gaze was locked forwards and her steps were stiff. ‘I have.’ Realizing she wasn’t looking at me, a wing reached out and tapped her. ‘I have, Silver.’ “Well, do you-“ She stopped walking and huffed. “What I mean is-“ Again she stopped. She stomped a hoof down and spun away from me. “Why is this so hard!?” “Chirp.” A glance over her own shoulder confirmed I had her attention. ‘I’m pretty sure I can guess what you want to ask.’ We both cracked a small smile at that, and she turned back to face me. Mine died quickly, however, and hers followed. Looking at the ground, a flash of blue eyes and a tainted moon went through my mind. ‘Silver, you are very special to me. You are one of my few close friends, and I would do almost anything for you.’ My gaze came up and locked with hers again. Hopeful eyes met mine, and I felt a little more of my heart break. ‘But not this.’ Hope drowned in a single tear, slowly cutting a trail through ash-covered fur. “Why?” Soft and slightly broken, the word cut me like a knife. ‘Silver… I don’t think I can handle being that close to someone. Nor do I think I’m in the mental state for a relationship.’ A step forward was met with a step back. ‘Please Silver, I don’t want to hurt you. I just… can’t be that for you. Please don’t make me choose between that and our friendship.’ I couldn’t lose anyone else, but I didn’t want to get closer to anyone either. “I-I understand.” Another tear joined the first as steam rising from the rocks. “Requesting permission to return to the ship, Sir.” Again I stepped forward to try and embrace her, but she stepped away. ‘Ok, Silver. We can talk more when I get back.’ A portal opened beside her, and she quickly ran through without another word. My gaze didn’t leave that spot even after it closed. I hope you understand Silver. My mind felt a bit numb, after standing there staring at a patch of gravel for half an hour, so I shook myself from the thoughts in my head. Focus on something else Night. What were you doing out here? Dragons! Yes, dragons. Focus on the dragons. Taking to the sky, I abandoned all thoughts of stealth and avoiding airborne threats. Skimming the bottom of the omnipresent ash cloud, I tried to concentrate on finding the gathering spot. Focus on the dragons.