//------------------------------// // Personal Satisfaction // Story: My Son, My Soldier, My Hero // by That_Random_Pony //------------------------------// 10 years before NMM's return King Draco sat atop his throne, listening to the newest news of the concentration of griffons. His best fighters were explaining the situation when a fighter crashed into the throne room. They rushed over to him, examining his mortal wounds. Arrows were embedded in his torso, and half of a spear was sticking out of his upper back. King Draco pulled out the spear, tossing it aside and picking him up. "What happened?" he asked. The fighter gurgled his blood, but managed to spit it off to the side. "They're… over the… southern m-mountains," the fighter forced. "They…" The fighters lowered their heads at the loss of a comrade, but King Draco looked to the spear. Turning it over, he growled at the inscribing of a talon. He snapped it in half then burned the splinters. "Sire," his top officer said. "The Black Beaks are in our territory." King Draco sighed, resting the young fighter on the stone floor. "Let him rest in the eastern volcanoes. It was his homeland," he said.  "Sire." The body was carried out of the room, and King Draco slowly stepped to his throne. The remaining officer followed closely. "Sire, what about the Black Beaks?" he questioned. "They are in our lands. You know why they're here." The king sat down on his throne, sighing to himself. "That imbecile Grypho wants the boy to be in his favor," Draco said. "If he can't have that, he'll have the boy as a hostage." "Then we must-" "I can handle this situation fine," King Draco said calmly. "Have the boy pack his things. He'll stay in the north mountains until we wipe them out." The officer nodded, running to the nearest tunnel. "And…" King Draco called, making the fighter skid to a halt. "…my daughter. The Black Beaks are formidable. If they make it here I don't want my daughter caught in the crossfire." "Yes, Sire," he nodded.                                                                                       Draco was in the middle of meditating when the stone door was pushed aside. "Prince Draco," he panted.  The boy stood up and turned to the fighter, raising a brow when Ember came as well with a bag. "What's going on?" he asked. "We're leaving," Ember said. "Come." Draco followed behind them as they ran through the tunnels. "Where are we going?"  "Far from here!" Ember called. He was brought to the landing cave from his first day. "Get on." "What about my stuff?"  "I took some of your things, they're in your bag on the carrier!" Ember said as she tossed her bag up then climbed on. Draco sat down, two fighters sitting down beside them. "Can soneone tell me what's going on?!" he exclaimed. "Griffon battalions are approaching," a fighter said. "You and Princess Ember will be taken to the mountains in the northeast until they are repelled." He whistled once, and the carrier-dragon beneath them growled lowly as it's wings stretched out. It ran forward and jumped from the cliff, flapping once to gain stability. It glided down, then made a sharp left and flew forward.  "How did the griffons get this far?" Draco asked. "They'd have to go through Equestria." "Or go around," Ember said. "It would take years to go around Equestria, but going over the southern mountains would keep them hidden until they struck." "And they have," a fighter growled. "They wiped out a division and are near the King's mountain." "But my father is back there!" Ember shouted, recently believing he would join them soon. "We have to go back!" "We can't," the fighter beside her said.  "I'm the Princess and I am ordering you to go back!" she yelled. "We are under strict orders by your father to disregard any orders by you or Prince Draco," the one beside Draco said. "Regarding going back, at least." "We can't leave my father! He-" "Ember," Draco said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure your dad can fight them off if he needs to." Ember snarled lightly, but knew her father was more than a match in a fight. He was king for a reason. With a sigh she slumped back in her seat. "Please Father, just be okay," she whispered. "Even the Black Beaks couldn't scratch a scale on him," the one beside her assured her. "Who are the Black Beaks?" Draco asked. "They are supposed to be the emperor's best warriors," the one beside him explained. "Not to mention his best lap dog's." "They fought in each of the Equestrian wars, always wanting to gain more land," the fighter next to Ember said. "They are skilled ranged and close-combat fighters. They're also very cunning. They're the reason the Equestrian wars weren't ended sooner." "But aren't dragon platoons in the Empire's borders?" Draco asked.  "The last two years have been difficult since the entire griffon army is holding out at their grain mills," the one beside him said. "It would be easier to send a carrier-dragon, but King Draco doesn't want to risk one to 'boil'" Draco nodded, slumping on his seat and crossing his arms to keep warm. "We'll be fine, Draco," Ember said. "My father knows what he's doing." "I know," he smiled softly. "I'm just a little tired." "We'll keep watch," the fighter beside him said. "Rest until we reach the mountains." It was all he needed to hear to nod off. His nap lasted for several hours before he was shaken awake. The dragon fighters were gone, and the carrier-dragon was groaning in pain. Draco looked over the side and gasped at the hundreds of arrows in the carrier. He heard thousands of little whizzing noises, and he saw a barrage of arrows heading straight for them. Ducking down onto the floor, the arrows flew like a swarm around and into the enormous dragon. It gave off another loud shriek of anguish. "Ember! Ember wake up! Ember!" he screamed.  She jumped up, readying for a fight. "Draco?! What is it?!" she growled grunpily.  A bloodied arrow tearing through the floor answered her. They tilted towards its head, then the plummeted to the ground. Draco and Ember grabbed onto the huge saddle and screamed as they fell. Ember's scales kept her stiff in place, but the sweat on Draco's hands caused him to slip. The dragoness grabbed his arm and pulled him closer. "Hold on!" Ember shouted, bracing herself.  They slammed into the floor, Ember being rendered unconscious and thrown into Draco. He wrapped his arm around her waist and grunted as the carrier-dragon tumbled through trees and boulder, some hitting Draco and nicking Ember. His left shoulder dislocated, forcing him to let go. He was thrown with the dragoness into a tree, where he was finally forced to let go as his spin fractured.  He could hear the massive dragon tumbling further through the small forest. Draco winced as he tried moving his arm, then let out a choked cry as he tried sitting up. It wasn't only his arm and spine: his ankle was twisted, a shin bone was popping out of his leg, and his left arm was bent inward. Though the agony was unbearable, he forced his head to turn to the side so he could look at Ember. She wasn't moving at all, and it didn't look like she was breathing either. "Ember…" he groaned. She kept still on the ground, her left wing looking torn near the joint. "Ember… please… wake up." A loud stomping of metal made him turn his eyes to the far bushes. A platoon of griffons in black armor came closer, one getting close to him and examining him. "He's still alive," he chuckled. "Tough freak. Emperor Grypho did say he wanted the thing alive." "Captain," a griffon called. "This dragoness is still alive." Draco eagerly looked back over to her, a flicker of hope entering his mind. "The king's daughter," another said. The captain of the notorious military group smirked. "It's been over five-hundred years since King Draco cut our nation's land in half," he chuckled darkly. "Kill her." Draco's eyes widened, and he tried clenching his fists. "No…" The captain, and some of the griffon warriors, looked back at him. "And it can still talk! I thought your voice might have been-" "Shut up," Draco growled. "Don't… hurt… her." The captain glared furiously at him, then raked his claws across Draco's face. "Don't you dare tell me to shut up!" he yelled. "And don't interrupt me you abomination!" Draco's eyes let tears fall as his arms failed to clutch the three bleeding claw marks. "Don't you… go… near… her," he forced himself to say. "I'll… I'll-" "You'll what?" the captain asked, his followers luaghing a bit. The captain went over to Ember, dragged her body closer to him, then pulled out his sword. "Watch your little friend die, freak." "No!" Draco yelled, ignoring the pain in his chest. "Leave her alone!" The captain pulled apart two of her scales, revealing the soft flesh beneath them.  "I said… stop it!" The captain put his sword above Ember, then yelled as he drove it down. "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Everything froze, save for Draco. His arm bent back to it's right position and his shoulder relocated. The bone popping up from his leg realigned into place and his ankle turned into it's original position. The open flesh above his wounds sealed, and his spine cracked as it reattached itself together.  You don't want her to die, do you boy? No. No! Why do you keep doing this?! You're not hurting her! I won't hurt her, child. I'd like to make a deal. I control you- No! -for a moment, and once these fools are pieces of meat, you can help your little friend. Draco looked to the Captain, almost stabbing Ember. She would die if he didn't do something, but if he let the thing loose he could hurt Ember himself. How can I trust you?! Because I am you, and you are me. I'm not you! I don't want to hurt my Mother or my family or friends! I don't want to either.  You're lying. I can resume the world around you and let her die, or you can let me power you and protect her! Understand?! He didn't have a choice. Do it The captain yelled as he rammed his sword down, but it never touched the dragon princess. The boy was holding his closed talons, keeping the sword from doing it's job. The captain struggled to pull his arm away, then shouted in pain as his talons were crushed.  "Jro yuvakef hyurt pof iit," Draco growled. The warriors gasped in unison as their leader's head rolled towards them, Draco's fist hovering above the bleeding neck. He twirled the sword and stomped his right foot forward, roaring at the hundreds of griffons. "COME ON!"  The Black Beak army charged forward, and Draco went to meet them. He slashed through four, stabbed a fifth then used his leg to kick another two behind him. Pulling the sword out, he chopped a griffon's head off then sliced another's in half. He caught an arrow before it could hit his face, and stabbed it into one's head. His sword broke off in a griffon's gut, making Draco growl and throw him into a group.  He raised his arms to block two spears, the heads digging into his forearms. Draco's mind ignored the pain, and he pulled them forward to heabutt one and ram his fist through the other's head. He pulled the two spears out of his arms and swung them around to cut the faces of ten more warriors. After tossing one away he parried and stabbed the warriors that were pushing him back.  He was pushed into a tree, seven other swords and spears pushing against his weapon. Growling loudly, he tossed them all back with a powerful shove. He punched his arm into the tree, swung his arm around, and uprooted it. The warriors were helpless as the log tumbled through their lines, crushing many of them. Draco roared at them, finally getting the message through their heads. They were all gonna die.                                                                                     Everything was fogged for a moment, and a splitting pain was in her left wing. Ember managed to open her eyes enough to see the ground, and the back of Draco's legs. The heavy scent of blood wafted through her nostrils. She groaned as she tried to move her arm. "Don't," she heard Draco warn. His voice sounded… broken. "What… ugh, what happened?" she groaned. Draco walked to a nearby tree and carefully set her down. Ember gasped and shuffled against the tree. Draco's clothes were torn to shreds. Blood soaked shreds. His face was covered in the red liquid, and dozens of cuts covered her body. His hair was stiff from the dried blood, giving him an even more psychopathic look. "Draco, agh!" "Don't move," Draco warned softly, gently pushing her back against the tree. "How's your wing and your arm?" She tried flexing both limbs, but she only grunted and muffled a yell. "I can't move them," she grunted.  "Just stay still," he told her. "We'll move in the morning." He gathered sticks and soon had a fire going. He brought back hunks of meat that were seasoned and salted for preservation. She preferred plain raw meat, but it was all he could do. He helped feed her the flavorful dinner, at the same time helping himself to eight other ones he found. As the night fully descended upon them, they stared blankly into the fire, Draco just a foot away. Ember stared at the blood, and the slash marks over his body. "What happened?" she finally asked. Draco kept silent, cupping his hands over the fire. "Draco. Draco. Draco!" "I killed them!" he yelled. "I slaughtered those bastards, every last one of them!" She could see that same rage, but it wasn't making hin go berserk. "Draco, you were probably-" "No, Ember," he yelled. "I killed them. I stabbed them, ripped them apart, took of their legs and beat them with it! I know I was the one who did it! I wasn't going to let you die!" Ember stared silently, then put the pieces together in her mind. The blood, the rips, the seasoned meat. "And how did you fix me?" "I took bandage wrappings from their bodies," he said coldly. "And the meat, too. Your wing was broken, your arm was dislocated, and I patched up a breach in your scales on your back." Ember reached around her side and felt the large bandages over a throbbing part of her body. She looked at her wing, but turned back to Draco when she heard him crying. He didn't hide his face this time. He was too tired to hide it, and his arms were sore from the beatings he took. Ember sat beside him and tried comforting him by nuzzling him gently. He'd never seen or felt her do that to anyone except her father, so his sniffles ceased quickly. "Thank you," she whispered. Draco put his arm around her, careful to not touch her broken wing. "You're welcome," he whispered back. They stared into the fire together, until the void of sleep overcame them.