//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Louder Than Words // by Niaeruzu //------------------------------// Cirrus stared at the map in front of her. It was a rather simple thing, detailing the area around Ponyville. It had a few simple drawings of houses, trees, mountains, and most important, roads. That was all Cirrus needed. Though it failed to tell her one thing. She looked up at the mountain in front of her, then back at the map. “Wow,” she mumbled. “It seemed smaller from a distance. And on the map.” When Slatescale had pointed at the mountain yesterday, it didn’t seem all that big. Only the very tip was covered in snow, so it couldn’t have been that high. Now that Cirrus found herself in front of it, though, the term ‘mountain’ was appropriate. With a sigh, Cirrus rolled up the map and put it back in her saddlebag, together with her other supplies. It was a good thing she came prepared: the weather wasn’t looking good enough to fly up. Strong winds blew at the foot of the mountain, and it’d only get worse at greater heights. Not that Cirrus had enough confidence in herself to fly up in even the best conditions, anyway. If there were any caves on this mountain, Cirrus couldn’t see them. She narrowed her eyes, trying to see if there was even a visible path leading up, but no such luck. With an annoyed huff, Cirrus wiped a few strands of mane out of her face. Better get started right away. One particular rock formation seemed promising. A pile of small rocks, easy to climb on, and if needed, Cirrus could use her wings for a small boost. Carefully, she hopped onto one rock, then to a second one, and so on, gaining a little bit of height with each jump. Some rocks were loose, teetering and wobbling when Cirrus jumped on top of them. Coupled with the harsh winds, this made it difficult for her to keep her balance. After a little while, a rough path appeared. Well, it wasn’t so much a path as it was a solid, narrow bit of rock, covered in cracks. While this made it a lot easier to get up, the rocks were covered in slippery moss, so Cirrus still had to watch her step. She paused for a moment, hazarding a look down. She hadn’t reached a dazzling height just yet. About four times her house, tops, meaning there was still a ways to go. Not exactly an altitude Cirrus wasn’t a stranger too, either, as she’d been far higher than this before. It was going to be a long, tough climb, but it’d be worth it. Slatescale had already done so much for Cirrus, it was only natural she’d somehow repay him. Whatever was in that cave, Cirrus was more than willing to brave it all on her own, even though she didn’t have the slightest clue as to what it was. What did Slatescale’s hoard even look like? If he left it behind for some reason, it couldn’t be that big. Cirrus only had a vague idea of what a dragon’s hoard looked like. Sure, it was a pile of gold, gems, jewelry and other valuables, but she hadn’t ever seen one herself. They were supposed to be beautiful, and Slatescale’s hoard would surely be a special sight, large or not. The higher Cirrus came, the more the wind picked up. After walking for a few minutes, then climbing up another pile of rocks, she still couldn’t see any caves. By now, the wind was so harsh that Cirrus couldn’t even look straight ahead in the headwind. It wasn’t doing her balance any favours, either. To make matters worse, she was starting to get tired and hungry. Luckily, she came prepared. Every now and then, there’d be little recesses in the rocks, and though they were small, Cirrus managed to stay out of the wind if she pressed herself against the cold walls. Not entirely safe, and very cramped, but at least she could catch her breath. She took off her saddlebags and rummaged through them, pulling out a simple daffodil sandwich. It wasn’t the best thing ever, but when you’re climbing a mountain, everything tastes great. And it wasn’t as if you could get a grand view of Equestria with every meal! As Cirrus eagerly stuffed the sandwich down, she took a moment to enjoy said view. This was the highest she’d ever been, but she wished she’d gone this far up earlier. Far down, somewhat close to the mountain, lay the Whitetail Wood. Slatescale wasn’t visible from up here. Good, because if Cirrus could see Slatescale, Slatescale could see Cirrus. And if he saw her, he’d probably get really mad. She promised she wouldn’t go to his cave, after all. Cirrus sighed. She felt awful for breaking her promise. Hopefully, Slatescale wouldn’t be mad at her. Desperate times called for desperate measures, however. Though it wasn’t really desperate right now, as Slatescale was doing just fine. Cirrus just really wanted to do something for him in return, and this was the perfect opportunity. After finishing her sandwich, Cirrus left her little hidey hole and continued climbing. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too much farther. It was starting to get pretty cold, and that would only get worse the further up Cirrus got. A few minutes later, Cirrus reached a plateau. It was a completely barren surface, with pebbles and small rocks here and there. Far more important, however, was the mouth of a very large cave, big enough for a large dragon to live in. Cirrus eagerly went over to the entrance. This must be Slatescale’s cave! It was big enough for him to fit in, and the insides were just... Cirrus couldn’t find a word to describe it. Piles upon piles of gold coins, gems, jewelry and other random valuables, like small statues and paintings, littered the floor of the cave. While the treasures didn’t pile towards the ceiling, there was more than enough that almost the entire floor was covered in coins. There wasn’t even a path leading between them, as some piles were large enough to spill over into one another. The other end of the cave wasn’t even visible, obscured by the large amounts of treasure. Awestruck, Cirrus headed in. She hadn’t ever seen this much wealth in one place! The coins shone and twinkled in the sunlight that was spilling into the cave, creating a mesmerizing view. Slatescale must’ve had a very good reason to leave all of this behind, but Cirrus couldn’t see it yet. After walking and climbing over a few piles of treasure, Cirrus could see what looked like a massive bed of coins, and on top of it, an enormous creature. It was a greenish-brown mass of scales, with the large wings on its back turned to the tiny pegasus. Its chest rose and fell slowly, and its long tail occasionally twitched a little. Carefully, Cirrus approached it. It wasn’t as big as Slatescale, but still enormous. Chances were, this is what Slatescale warned her about. “Um, hello?” she said, but there was no reaction. “Mister dragon?” A low, rumbling sigh erupted from the beast. “Dragon?” it said, its voice grunting and venomous. “Is that what you ignorant creatures call us now?” It stood up and turned around, revealing that it wasn’t exactly a dragon. To start with, the creature had no front arms, just a single pair of large, sturdy legs. It stood hunched forward, its massive head, covered in spikes and jagged scales, jutting forward. Its wings were large and outstretched, presumably so the creature could keep its balance. Its tail was very long, continuously moving around and flicking from left to right. The tail’s tip had a very large, cruel barb, and Cirrus shivered trying to imagine what purpose it had. “S-So, you’re not a d-dragon?” Cirrus asked. “Not at all, little pony.” The creature stepped down from its gold pile, the coins clinking between its claws. “I am a wyvern. Surely you must have heard some of the stories.” Cirrus shook her head. “N-No. I’ve heard of wyverns before, b-but never any stories.” “A shame,” the wyvern said. He leaned leaned forward, almost coming face to face with Cirrus. “You would be doing a lot more than just stuttering if you did.” It gave a big grin. One with large, very pointy-looking teeth. Cirrus’ legs suddenly felt very weak, which may have something to do with the fact that they were wobbling uncontrollably at the moment. She tried saying something, anything, but only managed to utter a soft squeak. The wyvern chuckled. “That’s more like it. Now then, little pony, what possessed you to come here?” “U-Um, I, I came hoard— I mean, here,” Cirrus stuttered, “because my f-friend, Slatescale, said his h-home was here.” “Slatescale?” The wyvern said. “I’ve never heard of him, or her.” “R-Really?” Cirrus said. “He’s a big, black dragon. With red spines.” “Ah, yes, I do know a dragon like that.” The wyvern walked around Cirrus, placing itself in between her and the exit. “This cave was his, after all.” It sniffed a pile of gold, then chomped down on it, taking a huge bite out of the pile. Hundreds of coins fell from the top, spilling down onto the floor as the wyvern effortlessly chewed and swallowed the hard metal. Cirrus slowly turned around. “I-If it’s not too much trouble, could you give it back to him?” The wyvern stared at her for a few moments. At first, it only chuckled a little. It paused for another moment, then burst into full-out laughter, throwing its head back and nearly falling over. “You can’t, heh,” it said, trying to catch its breath, “you can’t be serious.” “I am serious!” Cirrus shouted. “He’s feeling really bad about it, so please give him his home back!” “No.” The wyvern snarled. “You’re ridiculous. I took it from him, fair and square. He has no right to live here.” “Fair and square? No way!” Cirrus said. “He’s much larger than you! I bet he could mop the floor with you any day of the week!” “Oh, I know that,” the wyvern said. He gave a large, toothy smirk. “But not all battles are fought with brawn. Your friend, for example, can not talk. I’m sure you’ve noticed. It was just a matter of pushing the right buttons. Do you know how shameful it is for a dragon to be incapable of a mighty roar?” The wyvern threw his head back, unleashing a massive roar into the cave. The sheer volume caused the ground to shake, and the piles of coins to vibrate and shift. Cirrus had to quickly plug her ears with her hooves to avoid her eardrums from tearing. “Just like that,” the wyvern said. “Your friend took off with his tail between his legs, leaving his hoard to me.” Cirrus snorted. What a jerk! “We’ll see about that! I’ll get Slatescale, and I’m sure he’ll win back his home!” “But you’re such a beautiful little gem.” The wyvern tried brushing Cirrus’ cheek with the tip of its wing, but Cirrus turned away in disgust. “It would be so much better if you stayed here, as part of my hoard. Safe, and away from that brute.” “No way,” Cirrus said. “I’m going home, to my friends. Far away from you!” As she tried walking around the wyvern and out of the cave, the massive creature blocked her path by stepping front of her. “I don’t think I made myself clear. That was not a question.” The wyvern snarled. “You’re staying here.” Aghast, Cirrus took a few steps back. Suddenly, she was aware of the fact that it might just have been a very, very bad idea to come here.