//------------------------------//
// Episode 9: A Rare Pair 
// Story: COLD 
// by Shadow Spector 
//------------------------------//


Episode 9: A Rare Pair


Opul’s eyes were opened at the sound of the large crash. It was still dark in her room and she was still expecting to need just a little bit more sleep, but through her curiosity, she rose to a stance.
She peeked through the white bars of her crib. They blocked her on all four sides like her own little prison, but she was determined to get out. She knew that if something dangerous was happening, she would have to do anything she could, but she didn’t have any experience at all with thinking for herself. She couldn’t blame anyone for that though; she wasn’t ready to do that yet.
Opul reached her claw through the tiny openings between the white beams that held her back. She was reaching for a miniature stick that she recognized as a tool typically used to discipline her on occasions when she was bad. Normally, she would recoil at the mere sight of the stick, but she was determined to use it to aid her in her escape by using it as a stepping stool. By the time she reached it, the slightest touch knocked it off the dresser it was resting on, eliminating that as an option.
The dragon sat back and huffed with her arms crossed. She was only slightly tired, but she believed herself to be awake enough to face the day. 
Opul looked around in an attempt to find solutions. She once again tried to reach her claw again out of the wooden bars, but immediately when her arm slid against another portion of the beams, she was scraped with a splinter, causing her to immediately scratch her arm with her claw to relieve the pain as best she could. It only took a couple of scratches for her to come up with the answer.
She softly scratched her sharp claws against the other ends of her appendages, feeling the slight sting. The feeling was enough to notice but not enough to cause her any pain or to leave any lasting injury. After she was done with her test, she was ready to perform the real escape.
She bared her tiny claws at the wooden beams, scratching the sides of them delicately. She did the same to the opposite side of the wooden beam, creating tiny indents in the wooden column. It would take her all day to fully cut through one of the wooden beams so she decided to stick with her initial plan.
Once again, she heard a distressing noise, but that sound came to her in the form of a tone of voice rather than a bang. Her curiosity levels rose even greater as she worked faster, cutting the slight fractures in the wooden bar in front of her.
Finally, she was satisfied with the shallow depth of cut in the varying levels of the bar, and she lifted her leg to place her left foot in the indent, propping herself up further into the air. She reached her right leg up as well, placing it in the second cut she made in the wood to bring herself even higher. It was at that time she realized she was still barely not able to quite reach the top, causing her to propel herself from the second indent, grabbing onto the top ledge of the crib with one last grip. 
She struggled only for a couple of seconds to lift her head higher than the above ledge, and for a moment, only her head was free. She took a couple of seconds to calm her breath before she swung her leg up and lost her balance on the bar, causing her to tumble over onto the ground.
Opul rested on the floor for a moment. She knew escaping would have been easier with wings, but she hadn’t reached that luxury of life yet. It was tempting to her to fall asleep again, and she briefly considered that option until the muffled sound of crying vibrated the air from under the doorway.
The dragon sighed at the newfound obstacle, but quickly became resourceful, retrieving the disciplinary stick from the floor to be able to reach the arched handle of the non-click door. A relieved smile came to her face when the stick did its job, pushing itself through the opening of the handle before following her force. The door opened slightly when she pulled the stick towards her, and she quickly stuck her claw in the way to prevent it from closing on her again. 
Immediately after she emerged from her room, the door closed behind her, but she didn’t need anything from there anymore. All she needed to do was figure out where the mysterious noise was coming from, so she let her little legs carry her to the location.
By the time she could hear the voices clearly, she stopped herself, worried about what her parents would think if they noticed that she was awake already. She leaned in as close as she could outside of the room where she heard the familiar male and female voices. 
“I don’t want to do this either,” the male voice whom she recognized as her father spoke up. “But it doesn’t seem like we’re given much of a choice.”
Opul quickly recognized her mother’s sobbing, causing the little dragon to become concerned. Was there something wrong with the baby? She had heard of other children being taken in the civilization she lived in, and she speculated that it was because of this that she was kept hidden for her entire life. But she didn’t know how it could have been possible to lose a little sibling that had not even arrived yet. 
“You don’t even sound like you care!” Her mother snapped back.
“I do care,” Opul’s father said. “But if we let our emotions take control of us, we’ll never know peace again. We just need to get this over with. Maybe he won’t be albino. Maybe we’ll get lucky and be allowed to keep this child here.”
“I want to keep both of them,” the female voice sounded again. “Why do we have to choose?”
“It’s just the way things work here, honey. Pale dragons are a bad omen to the leader. I talked to him many times before, but I couldn’t be direct without giving away our daughter existence. I don’t know how we’re going to tell Opul this.”
Opul’s ears rang at the direct reference to her, and she finally revealed herself in the doorway. “Tell me what?”
Both of the adult dragons gasped in unison. They stared down at the little dragon who was not even a tenth of their size.
“Opul, you-you shouldn’t be up,” the father alerted. 
The mother regarded her daughter emotionally. “You should enjoy your final sleep.”
Opul tilted her head and staring at the silver dragon egg behind the couple. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m not sure how much of this you can understand, sweetie,” the father cut in. “The dragon who is in charge of all of us? He’s a bad dragon, and he doesn’t like it when there are dragons that look like you. He thinks it's a curse. Your mother and I could only hide you for so long, but when your little brother or sister arrives, we cannot keep you protected. You can’t stay here anymore.”
Opul’s expression dropped to the floor. “What? Was I bad? I can be good.”
“No, no, it’s not that, honey, I swear,” the silver-colored mother was quick to add. “There’s-. There's . . . ."
Finally her mother growled before turning to her husband. 'We can't do this! We have to fight it."
The adult male dragon clenched his eyes shut. "That's been on my mind for longer than you can imagine. Every outcome results the same. We risk both Opul and our new dragon and they both go. This is the only chance both of them have at surviving."
"Soo-vive?" Opul repeated. "What's that mean?"
Her father clenched his eyes shut as a single tear collected on an eyelash, but he gave no response.
“What if I help take care of the new baby when he gets here?” Opul added. “I can do all the things you can do.”
“Opul, you’re only three years old,” the father softly cut in with his eyes still shut. “You don’t know the first thing about what’s right around here.”
The white dragon’s expression remained unchanged, but her chest tightened. All she wanted to do was stay, but that didn’t seem possible. She wouldn't allow herself to cry though. 
“W-what do I do?” Opul asked firmly. 
“I'm so sorry,” the father said while staring at the ground. “Ever since you were born, this question weighed on my mind. This is the only way.”
For a moment, nothing was said, until finally the gray-colored dragon reached out his claw to take Opul’s tiny claw. Together, they walked out of the room as Opul’s mother continued to break down at the table.
The father and daughter took a path out of the civilization that no one could spot them at. Opul looked up at the gray face of her father, seeing a damp streak finally become visible on his cheek, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she just focused on what she was always taught, which was not to question authority and to keep your mouth shut.
Finally, the pair of dragons arrived at the walls to their civilization. Opul looked around to notice the absence of any other dragon there. The white dragon just waited patiently for her father to open up a tiny opening in the walls, frequently hesitating throughout. It was unfortunate that Opul was so small because it didn’t take long at all to make the exit wide enough for her.
The gray dragon gulped. “It’s time.”
The adult dragon looked at the child expectantly, causing Opul to waddle her tiny legs through the walls.
Opul paused just outside before looking back. “Will I be alone?”
Opul’s father gave a shaky breath before taking her claws in his own. “You’ll be fine . . .”
The adult gave one last form of affection to Opul in the form of a kiss on her forehead. Finally, the dragon clenched his eyes shut as he closed the walls on his daughter.
“Daddy?” Opul called out at the closed wall, but only silence followed.


The baby dragon’s stomach growled as the heat hit against her. She had been spending hours just sitting at the walls, waiting for something to happen, but there was nothing. 
She had only anticipated this to be temporary, but this was the longest she had ever been alone. She just wanted to walk back to her house and get her favorite food from her dad, but she didn’t see any way of getting back in. The walls were too sturdy and too high for her to climb. Her claws weren’t sharp enough to cut through them either.
Her stomach growled again, and for the first time in her life, she was actually worried about if she would actually get another meal. From her limited understanding of everything, it was apparent to her that maybe she had to get her meal herself.
She left the side of the walls for the first time in hours and went on the hunt. Around her was just pavement, but beyond her view was a forest that seemed to strike her as promising. Within seconds, she began to progress towards the woods. 
She stopped just short of it, hearing mysterious noises arise from the numerous trees. She was terrified, not knowing what to expect. She was not ready to do something like this. If she was put in any trouble, then that was it. There would be no defending herself. Instead of getting lunch, she would end up being lunch.
By her third stomach growl, Opul finally fell to her knees in the tall grass, crying at her desperation. All she wanted was food, but she had no idea how to get it. The poor dragon didn’t even know what she was supposed to eat. 
She stayed crying for a long while, expecting someone to come by and take her in and ask her what was wrong. She kept waiting for something to happen, for this cruel joke to be over, for everything to go back to how it should’ve been, but nothing changed. She was still in solitude, listening as the wind blew the grass from side to side, the only thing that filled the empty void. 
Nothing changed except for how long her stomach growl lasted this time, prompting her to hit her fist into the ground hard, but she knew this wouldn't change anything. From this, she rose again, eyeing anything to satiate her hunger, but nothing looked edible. It was just grass, dirt, and tree bark. She was feeling a way she never felt before. A sense of abandonment from not only everyone she's ever known but also herself, thinking that her soul inside had left her back at the walls and that she was on borrowed time, expecting to leave life as she knew it at any moment. 
She stared up from the ground, angry at her helplessness. She couldn’t stand the thought of not being able to get what she wanted. Normally, by just being polite and obedient, she would be able to get what she needed and also avoid any disciplinary results as well, but with no one to help her, she was lost on what to do.
The white dragon decided to scan the ground again, looking for one last possible solution. She may not have known exactly what she was supposed to eat, but she had been alive long enough to recognize some things as edible and other things that served a different purpose. 
All she found on the ground were greens. She had trouble separating what was inedible plants and what was edible. She had to take her chances with anything though. 
Opul kept waddling on the ground, scavenging for anything that could possibly help her reach the next day. She was beginning to lose hope when she managed to stumble across a plant that was green at the top and orange at the base. She gave a sigh of relief as a smile came to her little face, and she pulled the green head of the plant out of the ground.
"A carrot . . ." She said with widened eyes. "Just like mama's pretty fruit bowl."
She lifted the plant in her claws. The vegetable was about half the size of her, but she regarded it with bright eyes, adoring its orange features as if it was a saving grace. 
She licked her lips as she heard her stomach growl more ferociously again, and with one big chomp, she bit into the carrot. Immediately, her mouth ignited into a fire, and she spit out the vegetable almost immediately.
Opul’s breath was getting shakier now as her one hope at solving her hunger was just taken away from her. Instantly, she knew what was wrong: dragons could only eat gems. Any other food would be rejected. Unless she could manage to stumble among the rarest things to find, she would starve to death and there was nothing she could do about it. 
It was at that time that the baby dragon finally decided to give up hope. She collapsed back down to the ground and leaned up against a tree with the carrot still in her claws. She finally understood what her mother meant by “enjoy your final sleep.” She was only going to be sleeping one more time after today and this sleep would be permanent.
Slowly, her eyes began to close while she was sitting against the base of the tree. Opul had chosen the most vulnerable spot to rest, but she didn’t care anymore. She knew her fate was inevitable, and anything that would make it come sooner was welcomed. 
The sound of scurrying in the tall grass launched her eyes opened again. Opul backed up closer against the bark of the tree, scratching up the scales on her back as she sought protection from whatever creature was almost upon her. She had just been welcoming death, but now that it felt imminent, she grew terrified. With a last ditch effort, she lifted up the small carrot stick out in front of her, holding it out as though it were a sword with the partially bitten-off end facing the tall weeds.
The grass directly in front of Opul began to part and the baby dragon watched in terror as a furry creature slowly reared its head. The white non-pony could not tell what it was, only that it had some form of Y-figure on its face that was twitching up and down, getting closer to the carrot. 
It took Opul a while to realize that it was the creature’s nose that was getting closer to the carrot, and the animal that was a quarter of the size of the dragon stood in place without advancing. The racing heart of the dragon began to ease as Opul saw the small creature, and she was quick to put together that the furry animal wanted the carrot. The confusing part was that it wasn’t willingly stealing the vegetable. It instead was starting at it, as if waiting for permission to retrieve it.
“Carrots?” Opul finally offered.
The pale dragon brought the plant closer to the creature, permitting him to eat to his heart’s content, and the animal did just that, starting at the end of the carrot to work his way up.
“Eat up, little friend,” she continued. “I’m glad one of us gets to eat.”
The creature’s ears went up as he continued to eat, and finally Opul was able to recognize the species.
“You’re a cute little bunny, aren’t you, Carrots?” Opul said as she carefully stroked the soft fur of the creature.
Carrots finally finished the vegetable and grinded against Opul’s ankle in an appreciative manner.
“That tickles,” Opul giggled. 
It was a breath of fresh air to actually be with another lifeform again. She didn’t feel nearly as alone as she had for the majority of the day. A wave of relief washed over the dragon as she was convinced everything was going to be okay.
The moment was immediately concluded when Opul’s stomach finally made another growl, sounding so loudly that Carrots jumped up and moved away slightly.
“No, no, it’s okay,” Opul said.
The white bunny only stopped for a moment before he turned away from the pale dragon to disappear back into the tall grass.
Opul’s concerned expression faded into emptiness as she watched her newest friend depart from her. She slammed her claw down into the dirt, lips quivering at the way life was treating her. The dirt just absorbed the blow, causing the dragon to tremble even further at not being able to blow off the steam. Instead, she continued to hit the soft dirt, too stubborn to realize that it was a lost cause. Throughout her efforts, she was getting more and more tired, and by the sixth hit to the ground, her panting finally filled her ears and she fell face-first into the dirt, passing out into a much-needed nap. 
She awoke just a bit of time later to the feeling of something prodding against her arm. She immediately bolted upright, scaring Carrots away momentarily before the bunny stood up straight to face Opul. 
Opul’s shocked panting quickly subsided as a smile returned to her face, but the smile grew even bigger when part of the furry creature’s paws started reflecting sunlight. Held by the albino bunny were a set of gemstones all varying in colors, causing Opul’s mouth to water. 
Carrots scooched in closer to the dragon before placing the gems at her side. The mesmerizing sight was too much for Opul, and she broke down in happy tears, thankful at the thoughtfulness of the creature. She wasted no time in devouring the gemstone down, satiating her hunger all at once. Some were too hard for her teeth, but she kept on chewing as best as she could.
Finally, Opul decided to lean back against the tree again with her full stomach. Her arms extended out on the ground in front of her, both on either side of her legs. The dragon’s eyes were slowly shutting when she felt the fur slide in between her arm and her thigh. The baby dragon looked down to her right to see Carrots also laying down next to her, all cuddled up. 
"We need to soo-vive," she began. "We both can . . . Only together . . .' 
Finally, Opul's eyelids shut to some much-needed rest.


 	Opul awoke to the sound of thumping on the wooden raft. She was barely able to get to sleep with all the swaying motions of the jumbo river, but now that she was awake, she felt a little ornery. 
“Carrots,” Opul blinked. “What is it?”
The bunny kept thumping his paw against the raft, getting louder and louder so that Opul would wake up. Eventually, when the white dragon curled herself up again, Carrots hopped to her friend, jumping on her leg to get her awake.
“Ugh, what?” Opul demanded, finally opening her eyes. “Why can’t you let me enjoy -?”
She cut herself off at the sight of land. For the past week, the two had been sailing aboard their makeshift raft, eating and drinking nothing but the stored food that they had been gathering like a squirrel getting ready for hibernation.
“I can’t believe it. Are we really here?” 
Carrots hopped up and down as if trying to say something.
“You know I can’t understand you.”
The bunny pouted before the white dragon cackled. 
“You want to go out,” Opul guessed. “Of course I know what you want.”
Opul got to the front of the raft and placed her claw in the water, paddling the raft closer to the shore. It took a bit of force to overpower the currents in the water, but with enough effort, the dragon was able to get close enough to land so the water wouldn’t be too deep. 
Before Opul could manage to dismount off the raft with Carrots, the wind uplifted and blew the raft backwards. The dragon watched the land begin to shrink slowly as she was being pushed further and further back out to see. Panicked, Opul looked to her bunny who was barely clinging onto the raft as he shook like a sail. 
“Carrots!” Opul yelled through the storm. “Hang on!”
The dragon stuck her full arm into the water this time to prevent the backtracking of her raft, but it did nothing compared to the amount of distance they were gaining with each passing second. Finally, Opul was hit with a solution.
“I have an idea,” she said. “But you’re not going to like it.”
Through the stormy rain, Opul managed to reach out her claws to safely grasp her friend. The raft was now swaying uncontrollably and Carrots was held close to Opul throughout every moment of the disaster. 
“Don’t worry!” she yelled again. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
She tried to calm her breathing, but nothing could steady her breath after the sight behind her. Opul had been focusing on the brightly lit shore in the distance when a big shade was brought about the water. As the dragon finally turned to what was causing the darkness, she found herself witnessing the creation of a huge tidal wave, still growing in size and eating away at the leftover water from the ocean floor slope.
Opul began hyperventilating. “I need to, Carrots. I’m sorry.”
The wooden raft was nearly to the wave when Opul finally jumped off the raft, holding her friend in her grasp and protecting him with her life. She was about to hit the water with a splat when she finally extended her wings, taking off into the air through the horrible conditions set before her. 
The tidal wave behind Opul was getting closer with each passing second as the dragon zoomed towards her saving grace in the distance. The horrific sound of the water crashing down onto the ground set off the white non-pony’s adrenaline, and she flew as fast as her wings could carry her. It wasn’t long before the water mist from the collision interrupted her flight, warning her that she didn’t have much distance left. With one last push of speed, she reached the shore, flying straight passed it, deep through the forest, not stopping until she knew she was in the clear.
She eventually stopped as she came across a few mountains. She landed on the ground and placed her friend down gently before folding her wings. 
Opul took a deep breath before looking at Carrots for the first time since the disaster. He was hyperventilating with his mouth and eyes widened at near equal lengths.
“It’s okay,” Opul said with her claws slightly raised above him. “I know you hate flying, but it was the only way to survive that.”
The bunny leaned closer to the ground before hugging it close, shivering from what he was put through.
“I’m sorry,” Opul said. In her chest, she could feel her heart rate decreasing back down to normal levels. “I won’t fly anymore. 
She placed the back of her right claw against the ground, gesturing for Carrots to hop back in her grasp. After he obeyed, the two set out to explore what new aspects awaited them through the mountains.
As the dragon emerged from the forest, there was still nothing in sight except for desert, so Opul filled the silence.
“I wish that stallion would have told us about the potential for a wave like that. In the eight years we’ve spent together, I never thought we’d be that close to losing eachother.”
The dragon continued to walk, passing a long row of mountains to her left that appeared to go on forever. 
“It’s okay though; we made it.”
Carrots smiled as he rubbed his cheek against one of Opul’s digits, causing the pale dragon to achieve just a hint of red pigment to the scales on her face. 
Opul cleared her throat as she stepped over some train tracks, entering into a new part of the yellow desert.
“We have new scenery now. New adventures await us. What did you want to do first?”
Carrots darted his eyes away for a split second before his stomach rumbled. He then placed a white paw near his mouth.
Opul giggled. “Of course we can get you some food. But we have to find a place that has that first.” Opul looked around at the yellow desert among her. “Maybe not here.”
The dragon continued looking around, only noticing the mountainous features to her left. She considered retreating briefly before she noticed a tiny spec in the distance.
“Please don’t be a mirage,” she hoped as she proceeded into the direction.
It took quite a bit of walking before she finally arrived close enough to the gated city. She peeked up from a distance to notice different equines on the top, causing the pale non-pony to hesitate and rethink her decision.
“We need to play this cool,” Opul whispered despite there not being a need to.
Carrots heard her loud and clear as he licked his paw to rearrange the fur on his head.
“No, not like that. We need to be smart.”
Opul kept her distance from the city to keep from getting noticed. Instead, she traveled around the never-ending walls to reach a section that didn’t have any equines on the lookout. When she finally arrived at the walls, she pressed up against them, trying to push them open but inevitably failing.
She was breathing hard by the time she gave up. “Any ideas?’
Her friend narrowed his eyes for a moment in thought before his face lit up. With confidence, Carrots bared his paws to begin scratching at the ground, creating a wide hole in a matter of seconds. Opul watched with fascination as the bunny went to work, crafting the makeshift entrance and angling it down to go underneath the walls. In a matter of minutes, the entrance was complete, and Opul gingerly traveled through the underground passage.
Her head poked up on the other side of the walls like a ground mole. It was a beautiful sight, one that she had never known before. She was at the very corner of the walls, looking around at a civilization with so many different types of creatures that she could not dare name them all.
“Do you think there are other dragons here?” Opul asked. “I hope not.”
Carrots frowned up at the other white non-pony causing Opul to get lost in thought.
“Yes, you’re right. If dragons are here, we could find some gems.” Opul studied her friend. “And, of course, some more carrots while we’re at it.”
The bunny’s expression reverted to its natural smile. His nose twitched momentarily as something caught his attention. Within the second, he was off, hopping close to the walls to stay hidden, and Opul followed suit without the hopping part.
As the dragon followed her friend’s lead, she checked the road that was in the distance to her left. She watched as she saw so many ponies smiling, as if having the time of their lives. But she couldn’t distract herself from the sight of so many creatures that were not ponies looking miserable as can be.
She was about to make a comment when she noticed that Carrots had stopped just outside of a building, staring intently at the wall with his nose still wiggling.
“You smell something?” Opul asked. 
The dragon took her friend safely in her claws before boosting him up next to her head in view of a nearby window, peeking inside to see what they were about to get into. From within the room was a group of ponies at some form of buffet. They were all dressed in formal attire, and Opul saw her food source in the form of gemstones that were in the clothes of the ponies. Laid out on the tables were also several different rings with gems on each of them, vulnerable for an easy grab. In the buffet place was also a diverse collection of vegetables, a much better diet for Carrots than what he had been named for. 
“Okay, we need a way to get in and a way to clear everyone out. What do you think?’
Carrots stared intently through the glass before looking down to the ground. His eyes lit up as he jumped from Opul’s grasp, landing on top of a set of wooden doors that led down to the basement.
“Good idea,” Opul smiled.
The white dragon wrapped her claws around the handles to the cellar door and opened it up quietly. She let her friend enter through the bottom first before she followed him down into the basement of the household, leaving the entrance opened behind her to provide light.
Opul looked ahead to see light shining in from a door that was just at the top of some stairs. “All we need to do is clear out everyone up there. Then we can feed you and scurry before anyone sees us.”
Opul looked around for solutions, but it was hard to see in the dark. The light coming from the opening was not enough to illuminate the full room, and the search for a solution would have been completely up to guess work if it weren’t for the quick thinking of Carrots.
The bunny put a paw to his mouth before extending it outwards.
“I know you’re hungry, but we need to find a way to clear out these ponies first.”
Carrots shook his head and waved his arms vigorously before pointing to Opul. She watched as her friend performed the same action of touching his mouth and then extending his paw outwards. It was when he shook his paw, imitating the pain of being burned, that Opul finally understood what he was going for.
The dragon smirked in understanding as she breathed fire, lighting the way in front of her to see the outer edges of the basement. She looked around, trying to find a solution as she heard the constant hum of chattering through the floor above her. 
Opul turned her head to see another edge of the room but was running out of ideas. It was when she saw the metal fire sprinkler from above her head that she thought of the perfect plan. With just a tilt of her noggin, she aimed her breath up to blast a steady and focused stream of fire onto the flowery system, waiting until the water poured out of it as an alarm sounded throughout the household.
Through the floor, the dragon could hear the mass confusion before listening to the numerous sounds of hoofsteps all going into one direction. She waited until she heard nothing before rushing up the stairs to get into the room. 
Opul took her friend over to the buffet table where carrots as well as a whole set of other greens were set out, only getting pelted with minimal water. “Okay, Carrots. You are what you eat. Now dig in.”
Opul watched in pleasure as her friend enjoyed his meal, eating both the healthy vegetables and the unhealthy carrots. She was so lost in the moment that it took a growl of her stomach to bring her back to reality.
She turned quickly to the table where the gemstones were still set out, causing the dragon to lick her lips at the sight. Within a few seconds, she was at the table, eyeing what she presumed to be her future meal. The gemstone reflected light into Opul’s eyes, driving her crazy to finally get some food, but as she brought the ring closer to her, she noticed an engraving listed on the inside of the accessory: Property of Harrow.
Immediately, the dragon was conflicted as the water from the sprinkler system finally died out. She froze for a few moments and the only movement inside the room came from the feasting bunny. Opul was about to eat the gem with no remorse, but the name on it spoke to her. This belonged to someone. Someone had to work hard to achieve this, and Opul was about to discredit everything that went into that gem by eating it.
Carrots finished his carrots and hopped down from the table. He traveled to the opening to the basement but stopped when his eyes focused on Opul’s frozen body position. Instinctively, he hopped over to her to place his paws against her leg, trying to get her attention.
Opul looked down at her friend, terrified. “I’m so hungry . . . but I can’t steal this.”
Another growl was heard from the dragon’s stomach and Opul reassessed her decision. She brought the gemstone closer to her mouth but couldn’t bring herself to finish the job.
Noises sounded from outside of the room, but before Opul could react, the doors erupted open in a swarm of ponies. Carrots hid behind the leg of Opul, but the dragon was still frozen in protest. The only thing she moved were her eyes when she saw the jaws drop from the formally-looking equines.
“Hey!” a violet stallion spoke up. “That’s not yours!”
Opul looked at the ring with the giant gemstone that she still had in her claws, causing her to flinch in realization.
“Guards!” the stallion continued. “Some non-pony is trying to rob us!”
Opul dropped the ring back on the table and tried to put her claws up in defense against the invading armed-ponies, but before she could get a chance to talk, they seized her, grabbing her little friend along with them before dragging her out of the room.


It was a long and uncomfortable trip to the throneroom, but Opul tried her best to keep up her spirits. She was terrified at what might have happened, but she was more worried about the well-being of her friend. The white non-pony began to slip from the guards’ grasp, and they jerked her around violently as a way to punish an escape. Dizzily, Opul remained still the rest of the way.
The guards grabbed both of her arms and threw her through the double-doors, causing them to open up as she fell face first into the throneroom. 
“Well, well, well,” a voice sounded from the opposing end to the room. “Who thought it was a good time to visit?”
“We found her attempting to steal an expensive piece of jewelry, sir,” one of the guards spoke up.
From the opposing end of the room was a desk and a throne of an exaggerated size. The throne was facing away from Opul, but she saw, poking out from the side of it, a blue unicorn horn.
“What do we do with her, sir?” the stallion continued.
“Well, we welcome her in with open arms, of course,” the voice sounded again.
Finally, the throne began to rotate, revealing a dark blue unicorn dressed completely in purple. The stallion noticed the white non-pony and gave a sinister grin, causing Opul’s wings to extend defensively. The blue unicorn’s eyes widened at the sight.
“You may leave us now,” he spoke up without adjusting his gaze.
“Very well, Emperor Contume,” the lead guard said.
The guard behind Opul dropped the bunny on the ground at Opul’s legs before joining his comrades to march outside the room.
Opul’s breathing grew shallow. “Who are you?”
“Ugh, do you not listen at all?” the pony huffed. “He just said my name was Emperor Contume.”
“Contume?”
“Emperor Contume,” he snapped. “Address me properly.”
Opul flinched, causing the stallion to snicker. The dragon looked away and began to fold her wings back up, but instantly, Contume intervened.
“No no. Keep them up.”
The white non-pony regarded the leader in confusion. She shook her head in misunderstanding before Contume repeated himself.
“Keep them up. Your wings. Keep them extended.”
Opul shifted uncomfortably but obeyed, stretching her wings as fair as they would go in either direction.
Contume smirked. “Yes.” 
The stallion approached closer to the dragon, eyeing the wings inquisitively. “How often do you fly, dragon?”
Opul had now reached a new level of discomfort, but she was too afraid to reject anything. “Uh, my friend doesn’t like it when I fly, so I don’t really do it that much.”
“Ah,” Contume said. “So what you’re saying is you don’t use your wings that much.”
Opul tensed up. “Why?”
Contume touched a hoof to Opul’s right wing, stroking slowly. “Because I could use them.”
The white dragon gasped, but before she could back away, the unicorn’s horn sparked yellow and Opul felt a tugging on her right side. 
“No!” Opul screeched. “Stop it!”
“If you’re going to stay here,” Contume began, “you’ve got to give me something.”
Opul’s eyes began to water as she felt her wing about to come off. She tried to bring up her claw to stop him, but at Contume’s first sight of it, her arm also glowed yellow and was forced to stay in midair.
Before Contume could finish the job, a flash of white surrounded his vision. The unicorn was about to figure out what it was when Carrots came around to poke his fuzzy, white paws into his eye, causing the tyrant to bellow as he released his grip on Opul’s wing.
Opul fell to the ground in pain as she felt her right wing, happy to know that it was still intact. When she looked back up at the unicorn, she noticed Carrots scurrying all around Contume’s neck, barely managing to avoid the unicorn’s focus.
Contume screamed in frustration. “Stop moving so I can freeze you!”
Opul got up off the ground to help out her friend, but before she could get close enough, the doors opened as a rush of guards entered the room.
“We heard screaming, sir,” the first guard said.
Opul looked at the guards for a moment, but when her eyes returned to Contume, she saw Carrots being suspended in midair by a yellow aura. She gasped but couldn’t do anything.
“Have you finished your business with this citizen?” the guard continued.
Contume’s eyes hovered down to Opul’s still-attached wing with a glare. “Yes, I have.”
“What should we do with her, sir?”
“Send this non-pony into the community.”
“Did she pay?”
Contume eyed the helpless bunny in his grasp. “Oh, I think she’ll pay enough.”
Opul widened her eyes. “No. You’re not taking him.”
“Take this creature out of here,” Contume demanded.
“Give him back!” Opul screeched. 
      She lunged forward to try to reclaim her friend, but her claws came up short as the guards pulled her back. She continued to fight them, but she couldn’t free herself, and her last sight of her friend was his helpless stare in midair as the doors to the throneroom closed.


Opul was shivering as she was dragged out of the palace. She was about to accept anything that the guards would do to her, but they stopped just outside of the building and released their grip on her.
Opul didn’t know what else to do except cry. She lost her only friend that got her through life, and it was entirely her fault. She was surprised at the amount of hydration she had when the tears just wouldn’t stop. She tried to calm herself down but couldn’t, uproaring at the top of her lungs to express her devastation. She covered her eyes with her claws in efforts to prevent the flooding of tears, but they leaked through anyway. Her breathing grew heavier and heavier and she couldn’t stop the pain. Finally, she let loose another scream again at her situation, unable to yell loud enough to soothe herself.
“Would you shut up!” a nearby voice demanded.
Opul uncovered her eyes and blinked twice so she could see better. In front of her stood a tall, orange griffon with a coat that resembled a carrot. She glared at his ignorance before he continued.
“What is your problem?”











Cold