//------------------------------// // Who Let The Dogs Out? No Seriously... // Story: Callicantzaros // by Symphony //------------------------------// A/N: Pre-read and edited by BeauZoe. Pre-read for the game by Io. Fun fact, this was finished several days ago but I had some problems with editors, which is obviously solved now. The dragon stomped toward me and slowly spread its wings. I squeaked and glanced over my shoulder to see that I was about to step out into the sunlight. I had only three options to consider at that very moment. One: I could allow myself to back out of the cave, where I would suffer the horribly painful death of me being fried. Two: I could attempt to fight back against the dragon that was rapidly approaching me. Knowing me, that would mean that I would suffer the horribly painful death of me being slaughtered mercilessly. Three: I could try and talk my way out of this. Assuming that this dragon spoke as well as the other dragons that had been on the show did, that might mean that I would be able to make a deal with the huge reptile and hopefully avoid the horribly painful death. ...Yeah, I'm gonna go with option three on this one, as I really don't feel like dying anytime soon. The dragon continued to advance on me, but I took a deep breath and stepped forward, steeling myself for what was about to happen. I took another deep breath then spoke up. “Excuse me, but... But I-I really c-can't go out r-right n-now...” Oh God dammit, stuttering... “And why is that, freak?” It spoke up in a strong, feminine voice. It must be a dragon-lady or a dragon-guy with busted nuts. I'm gonna go out on a limb and presume it's the first one. “Why should I allow a monster like you to roam my cave?” She didn't ask, she demanded an answer from me. I bet she's a strong red dragonness who don't need no drake. I had to stop myself from laughing at the incredibly lame joke and collected myself. “I kindly ask you to not refer to me as a freak or a monster, my good lady. I'm a... A...” 'Callicantzaros.' “Oh yeah, that was it...” I cleared my throat. “I'm not a freak or a monster; I'm a callicantzaros, thank you very much.” I owe you one, strange voice in my head for reminding me of that. 'Fine.' “And the reason why I can't leave the cave is because I'm nocturnal. The sun's rays would kill me slowly, causing me to burst into flames and die horribly. And I really don't feel like becoming a nice little pile of ashes today. Or... Any other day for that matter...” The dragon regarded me with a raised eyebrow and visibly relaxed, until it noticed the vials on the vest and narrowed its eyes again. “What's in the vials you have there?!” She demanded. Ah, so she's demanding and probably wants to know everything... No wonder why she's on her own in this cave. She'd probably kick me out head-first if she got to know that blood was in the vials... I had to come up with something, fast... ... '…' ... Gee... That worked out just dandy... Quick, brain! Do your magic! “Um... It's uh... Uh... Tomato... juice?” Oh, and you wonder why I don't listen to you, you stupid glob of... whatever brains are made of. I grinned sheepishly, but accidentally flashed my fangs in the process. Stupid teeth... Stupid body... Stupid everything... I took a deep breath and pokerfaced. My eyes darted from side to side as a small, nervous smile grew on my face. Uh... No wonder why I never win at poker... “You're not a very good liar.” She stated and her wings settled to her sides again. “I can tell that you have blood in those vials from the smell and with fangs like those I can see that you must be a predator. So, a predator who is carrying blood... I presume that you are a vampire?” She finished with a smirk. Well fuck you too, dragon-lady... “Fine...” I sighed and slumped my shoulders. “I can't lie for shit, okay?” I pouted. Wait... How can I still pout? Oh well, that existential crisis will have to wait for later. “I figured.” She laughed, but tensed immediately as I took a step further into the cave. “Stay where you are...” She snarled. I lifted my clawed hands and froze. “Alright, you win... I am a vampire...” She growled and narrowed her eyes. “Woah! Simmer down, Sally! I was about to tell you that I don't have to drink blood every day to survive! I think it was once every week or so, so that's why I have these vials with me... Listen, I'm not gonna hurt you or anything, I just need a safe place to spend the day so I can continue on my way tonight. I won't bother you and I will stay just out of the sun's reach... I promise.” She stared at me in silence for a couple of seconds, but it felt like several antagonizing minutes for me. She finally sighed and lay down, never looking away from me. “Fine... But I will stay here, and you will not walk past me. Are we clear?” She puffed a small cloud of smoke through her nostrils. I nodded at an impressive speed and made myself comfortable against the cave wall. I yawned and closed my eyes, and it didn't take long until I fell asleep. I don't know for how many hours I was sleeping, but when I woke up I looked out to see that the sun was setting. I stretched my back popping it like a gunshot. God that felt awesome. I gathered my things and turned to say my goodbyes to the dragon, but only snores greeted my hearing. I didn't even have to look her way to know that she was asleep due to the sounds coming from her. I couldn't fight off my curiosity of what she was hiding from me, so I took a few cautious steps toward her and peeked over her side to see a decently sized egg. No wonder why she was so protective... I shrugged and resumed my hunched posture as I ventured out of the cave and broke out into a sprint. I sprinted for a good ten minutes until I heard a panicked roar from the direction I had come from. I whipped around and stood to my full height. I saw a big red thing which I presumed to be the dragon, along with a few smaller black spots around her. I snarled and set back toward the cave. I owed her a favor, and now was the best time to repay it. It took me barely six minutes to run back to the cave, so I presume I used up some extra energy this time. I leaped up to the plateau above the cave, unnoticed. I scouted the area below me to know what I was up against. There were a total of fourteen diamond dogs and all of them, except for one were holding the dragon down with several ropes tied to her wings, snout, neck and arms. Her tail was still inside the cave, so she couldn't smack away the dogs with it. The dog who wasn't holding any ropes was a big motherf-.. Well, you know the rest... He was easily my height when I was standing upright, and he had much more muscles than I. He also had two neat swords on his back and an evil grin on his face. “You will make nice slave, she-dragon...” He leaned over her snout with a leer. “...and your egg will have a big price on market...” She started thrashing like never before and I even think I saw tears run down her face. Oh fudge it... Here we go... I roared and jumped down to where some of the dogs who were holding the rope to her snout were and slashed wildly with my claws. I was met with a few surprised yelps, whines and gurgling. “Boo!” I grinned, intentionally bearing my fangs. The rest of the dogs holding the ropes released them in surprise at my appearance, momentarily forgetting the dragon they were restraining. The leader of the dogs barked at his subordinates to grab the ropes again , but they were too late. She broke free and swept her right arm in a wide arc, taking out almost half of the dogs with one single hit. I held out my arms, prepared to charge at any given moment. I snarled as I leaped toward the leader. I brought my arms forward to ready an attack, but he pulled one of his swords, sidestepped and slashed my back. A pained yelp escaped me as I hit the ground hard, but I spun around to face him again almost immediately after landing. I readied my stance again and charged. He swung the sword down again, but I countered by stopping the blade with the claws on my left hand. The alpha dog whipped forward his other sword and smashed the end of the hilt to my stomach. I tried to gasp as the air was slammed out from my lungs from his hit. I tried to recover from the blows, but he gave me a heavy roundhouse kick to my face and with that, I collapsed. I groaned in agony as he stood by my side and leaned over me to gloat. I couldn't think clearly, so I did the first thing I could think of from my momentarily embarrassing position. I leaned up slightly and clocked the bastard in the nuts… Claws first. I have honestly never heard something scream so high-pitched in my entire life. He dropped the swords and tried his best to nurse the missing parts. That's one dog who won't be playing with balls anymore... I heard a chorus of pained sounds and looked to see the dogs who hadn't been killed yet wince and whine. The alpha dropped to his knees and puked. I decided to end his misery as soon as possible, so with a quick slash, he collapsed and didn't say anymore. Well, except for a few incoherent gurgling sounds. I turned to the remaining dogs and grinned. “So... Who's next for neutering?” A cloud of dust kicked up and when it settled, all of the dogs who were there seconds ago were now nowhere to be seen. When I was sure that they were gone, I slumped my shoulders and whined. The wound on my back wasn't exactly comfortable. “Jesus Christ that hurts...” I turned my head to the dragonness to see that she was staring at me with wide eyes and her mouth slightly open. “You... You saved me… and my egg...” She worked her mouth for a few seconds to try and come up with something else to say, but closed it soon after. “Well... Now we're even...” I laid the palm of my right hand on my back where I had been cut and brought it forward. The liquid had the same feel and also the same smell as blood, but it was black... Almost like used oil. I shrugged it off as being one of the wonderful features this body I have... “Say... Do you know how to stop me from bleeding? I kinda need it... Bad...” I felt as weak as yesterday before I fed, so I reached for one of the vials, which through some kind of miracle, hadn't been shattered. I sloshed around the thick red liquid for a second, then popped the cap off it and downed the entire thing. She nodded wordlessly and walked back into the cave, while ushering me to follow her inside. I heard a gasp before me and raced after her, claws at the ready. There wasn't a dog in there, but her egg... It was hatching. “When dragon eggs are about to hatch, they emit a powerful magic which can be sensed by anyone near them... That must be why the dogs were here... They wanted to kidnap my child and sell him to Equestria to the highest bidder... And they would have made me a slave... I-…” She looked straight into my eyes. “Thank you...” “No problem... Just a question...” I scratched my neck with the palm of my left hand. “What's your name? It feels kinda weird not knowing your name after helping you like this...” “...Ronya...” She said softly. “My name is Ronya.” I nodded and turned my attention to the egg again. “How do you know if it's a boy or a girl?” I asked carefully. She pointed at the spots on the egg in a certain pattern. “The pattern on the egg shows the gender of the dragon inside.” I nodded once again and turned my head to the entrance of the cave. The sun had set completely now, as all I could see on the horizon was a orange hue which was decreasing in size. The egg shuddered and a sizeable crack appeared on the top of it. From the corner of my eye, I saw her tense up and hold her breath. Another crack followed, and the top of the egg came loose. And... D'aaaaaw! Baby dragons are adorable.