//------------------------------// // The Past Always Returns // Story: Scaly Elements // by SweatyFaggot //------------------------------// Dear Princess Celestia, A dragon named Dunite recently moved into the Everfree. I'm confused on what to do, as he does not seem to be violent. He seems to disapprove of my guardianship of Spike, however. He also is not small like Spike is, and despite being around (from head to claw) 12 hooves tall, he does not come off as greedy. In fact, he came into town and even spent the night here, and never took anything. I do not know, however, where this dragon lives and he has not been into town in a few days. I am worried, as I told him that pony & dragon relations here aren't that good, and he may not feel comfortable returning to Ponyville. Also, he has a few scars on him, and it almost seems like he lost his wings in a f-... That was all that Princess Celestia read. She looked up from the paper with a frown plastered onto her face. She looked to the nearest guard. "Ready the carriage," she ordered. ______________________________________________________________________________ Dunite had finally expanded his home to a comfortable extent, to about the size of a tennis court. Building his home here was not chosen at random; the nearby mountains where formed out of volcanic eruptions, which for some reason seemed to cease below ground, as if giving up on erupting but not it's position. The lava would work wonders for metalworking. Near the middle of the back of the cave was now an oven, which would take in a small amount of lava when activated. The only thing to do now was go back into town and try and check out those stores. The dragon sat in the darkness of the cave, rather regretting have to go into the town. His last visit had not gone too well, and he certainly did not want to meet that pink one again. Pinkie Pie, that's what her name was. The dragon turned, and sighed deeply as he headed off to Ponyvillle. _______________________________________________________________________________ Twilight and her friends bowed down before the incoming carriage. Now that she thought about it, she had always wondered why the princess needed to be carried by pegasus guards anyway. Did she not want to strain herself? That can't be; Rainbow Dash never got tired of flying, nor did Fluttershy, and the princess had very large wings to accommodate that large body of hers. It could be to keep up appearances or old traditions, most likely. The carriage landed, and Celestia stepped off of it with an uneasy expression on her face. This made Twilight feel uneasy. When Celestia wrote back to Twilight saying she was coming to Ponyville, she had not said why. I hope she isn't upset with me... Celestia looked around cautiously. She then looked down to Twilight, "Where is this dragon now?" "I don't know, Princess. As I wrote, I haven't seen Dunite in 2 days." "Ooh, ooh, hi dragon, hi dragon!," Pinkie said from behind them, bouncing with excitement. "Oh no," a lower voice came from somewhere further away. Celestia looked up to see a light green dragon looking at them all warily. "... You," she snarled _________________________________________________________________________________ The familiar voice sent shivers down his spine, but for whatever reason, he did not know why. He looked up to see a rather large, white pony glaring at him. She was about 3/4 his height, with both a horn and wings. She had pretty pink eyes, and a multi-colored mane. She wore golden jewelry, with purple jewels adorning them, her crown and neck piece, to be precise. The very definition of royalty. "Um... Me?," he asked. "Yes, you," she said, like she expected him to know why she did not like him. ... "Do... I know you?," He asked, started to become increasingly nervous as to what this pony could do. "You don't recognize me? The very pony that took your wings, you wretched creature?!," She nearly shrieked, her anger rising. "M-... My wings?," The dragon thought back to many years ago. As he looked closer at her, he could see a smaller pony, with a pink mane and innocent smile. The realization smacked him mentally, and his expression dropped into frown. They stood there, glaring at each other. Twilight did not speak up, for fear that any interruption would unleash their fury upon her. They continued staring for what felt like hours, a sort of invisible battle going on between the two. __________________________________________________________________________ "Father, thou cannot do this! They hath done nothing to offend us!," a young mare squeaked over the ruckus at a larger stallion. The larger stallion ignored his daughter, and watched the scene unfold as she cried. Slowly, the clamor died down and stallions started to gather around the large stallion & his daughter. "Commander, sir, thou request is ready," reported an armored soldier. Well, armored wasn't a good word; the most armor was a chestplate, the rest of the outfit was made of either fur or scales. "Very well, bring it here," The large stallion ordered as he turned to his daughter, "Tia, my dear. I have prepared something for thou so that thy can accompany us on these raids later on. Thou art coming of age, and this will prepare thou early. I know thou art hesitant to do so, but this is something that thou must do. As your father, I have to choose thy life's path for thou; who thou marries, what thou does, and several other things." The small white mare with a pink mane looked up at her father, her face bearing a confused and scared face. "To prepare thou for thy inevitable future, i'm going to have thou start on the small ones," the mare was trembling now,"I do, however, believe in a fighting chance. The dragon shall not be restrained. Should thou fail to kill this dragon, the dragon will kill thou. These beasts are not one of us, and neither are we one of them; thus, it is destiny that we fight one another to determine who is best. Besides, the threat of death will ensure that thou shall fight this dragon, and thy fate will be sealed." The soldiers returned, and along with the large stallion, formed a circle around the trembling young mare. A soldier came late after the rest of them, holding a moving bag as if something were trying to escape from it, it's escape stopped by the tight rope at the top of the bag, sealing it. The soldier dropped the bag before the white mare, looking at the large stallion for confirmation. The large stallion nodded, indicating his approval. The solder gripped in end of the rope with his mouth, pulling it quickly as he took off into the crowd. From the bag emerged a small pale green dragon, snarling at the skies above. It looked around at the surrounding guards, the bodies of the dead dragons, the whole massacre. He noted they were standing in a circle around him, all of them except... A white mare. Emboldened that her life was on the line, the mare took on a fighting stance, though still trembling. The baby dragon has not yet known much, but he knew naturally that the mare was most likely his target. He flew up from the bag, soaring down to the young mare while letting out a terrifying roar. The mare was taken back by this sudden experience; it surprised her that there was no hesitation, no restraint on this dragon's anger, all directly aimed at her. The dragon came down, made a missing swipe at her misjudging his distance, and flew around to come back for another attack. it's not my fault... IT'S NOT MY FAULT! Was what went through her mind as she released her attack on the incoming dragon. Streaks of light came surging out at the dragon. They tore into the small dragon, tearing off the baby's wings and eliciting a ear-ringing shriek. Blood spewed out, and the dragon had spiraled and landed on the ground before the light had died down. The mare looked on what she had done in horror, tears making their ways down her face. She shook, her breathing somewhat erratic. One would assume she was hyperventilating, but with the medical knowledge of the time... You get the idea, there was no paper bags for her. The soldiers dispersed and the large stallion carried the crying mare off on his back, wearing a neutral expression on his face. The dragon lay still on the bottom of the large nest, who appeared to be dead. The stallion returned home to his stronghold, depositing his daughter onto her cot and leaving her room so she could sleep. All she did that night was cry. ___________________________________________________________________________ The princess's frown grew deeper as the dragon dared a step closer.