//------------------------------// // Coming Into the Open // Story: Night Fury's Lament // by JumpingShinyFrogs //------------------------------// My heart beats rapidly as the majestic white alicorn strides up to me. Her expression is unreadable. Is she angry? Happy? Sad? Disappointed? It's impossible to tell. Twilight speaks, "Princess, I-" "What has happened here, my little ponies?" asks Celestia, cutting Twilight off. It must be an odd sight to take in. The towering blaze behind us, three terrified fillies, a griffon, a changeling, multiple ponies and a bruised and battered dragon. The alicorn receives no answer. She tries again. "What has happened?" Applebloom speaks up. "Um, we were out in the forest...and a load o' Timberwolves started chasin' us. So we ran out of the forest, and then the griffon over yonder-" She gestures at Malachite, "-and his freaky buddy saved Scoots an' Sweetie. But the wolves trapped me, an' mah sister wasn't able to stop 'em. That's when the dragon appeared! It fought the wolves off, and then everypony started chippin' in, an' they beat 'em!" she explains with enthusiasm. "And why exactly were y'all in the forest in the first place?" asks Applejack sternly. "We were going to see if the cape we left was still there," says Sweetie Belle. "We're sorry," apologise the three fillies simultaneously, hanging their heads. "And to think I was just stopping by to say hello," mutters Celestia. "On the bright side, we found the cape!" exclaims Scootaloo, pointing at the cape tied around my neck. Applejack smacks a hoof to her face. Celestia gives a small giggle. She quickly sobers up and looks at me. "And who is this? I have never seen such a creature," she says. I gulp. This is the moment of truth. "My name is Umbra," I say, my eyes never leaving hers. I hear a pony gasp—I'm pretty sure it's Twilight—before the white alicorn facing me responds. "I see. And, what breed are you?" asks Celestia. "I am a Night Fury dragon," I reply. "Where is your homeland, Umbra? You are not from Equestria, I can tell. I sense powerful magic around you. And I received a most ominous letter from my faithful student, describing a creature like yourself—one she suspected of murder." Another pony gasps, very quietly, leading me to believe it was Fluttershy. "I hail from the Isle of Berk, in the Barbaric Archipelago of the Wilderwest. The magic you're feeling may be the translation spell I am using to speak. Very few of you seem to speak Dragontongue," I explain. I glance back at the silent crowd. Pen is as unreadable as the pony I am speaking to. Malachite is listening intently, completely still for the first time since I encountered him. Twilight appears to be in shock, and Spike is prodding her with a claw, while also focusing on the conversation. Fluttershy too seems frightened, but she always seems frightened. "Where is the 'Isle of Berk', and the other places you mentioned? I have never heard of them," says Celestia, closing her eyes and appearing deep in thought. "This may shock you, but..." I explain my entire story to them. Spike nods sagely as I do so, knowing the story already. Twilight is in utter disbelief, and Celestia raises an eyebrow at multiple intervals, but nobody interrupts. At the end of my story, Twilight takes her turn to speak. "I find this all very hard to believe. Other worlds? Humans? Magic without the use of a horn, wings or hooves? But, at the same time, I can't really see any other ways for this to be possible! Once we're done here, I have a lot of research to do!" She squeals and claps her forehooves together, before realising everybody else is looking at her. She blushes and returns to her position behind Celestia with a small cough. "What about the report of murder in the forest, and of your threats towards Ponyville?" asks the princess. "The latter I cannot be help accountable for. Is wandering around the town aimlessly while waiting for a friend considered a crime now?" I ask coolly. "And what friend were you waiting for?" asks Celestia. I briefly consider whether or not to reveal Spike as being a friend of mine. He might be punished. On the other claw, he did nothing wrong. I make my decision. "The only other dragon I know of in Equestria, besides the hulking behemoth which nearly killed me—Spike," I say. Twilight turns to the small purple dragon next to her. "Spike? Is that true?" she asks. Spike shuffles his feet a bit. "Yeah. I found her in the basement when I was getting that one potion for you, and I decided that it would be nice to have some other dragon to talk to and learn from," he explains. "Well, Spike, I'm glad you can make friends so easily, but maybe pick a little more carefully next time, ok?" responds Twilight. "But why? Umbra taught me how to fish, and I taught her the very basics of magic. She tells really good stories, and she's never hurt me, or Fluttershy, or Luna. So why can't I be friends with her?" asks Spike. "Back up," says the princess suddenly. "Luna?" "And Fluttershy. We all hung out together at night and had fun," answers the young dragon. Twilight looks in Fluttershy's direction, the timid mare looking at the ground. I must admit I'm touched to see the youngling standing up for me. The only problem is that it will make what comes next all the more difficult... "Luna," repeats Celestia, "as in, my sister?" "Yes, that Luna. How many other Lunas do you know?" asks Spike, somewhat rudely. He's learned from the best, I suppose. "Spike!" scolds Twilight, giving the hatchling a hoof to the back of the head. "Spike, take a letter," says the princess. Spike produces a quill and parchment out of nowhere. Celsetia leans down to whisper in his ear, and Spike writes down every word she speaks. When he is finished, he rolls it up and burns it, transforming it into a wisp of purple and green smoke which floats away. "As lovely as this conversation is, may we please get back on topic?" I ask, becoming slightly impatient. "Wait just a moment," says the princess. I do just that. About ten minutes later, the sky becomes darkened by storm clouds. A chariot, pulled by two odd, bat-winged ponies appears; I can't exactly see the pony in the chariot—she's dark coloured. The chariot stops in mid-air, and the pony descends. I see her clearly now. It's Luna, and she does not look pleased. She seems to take no notice of me, going straight to her sister. The surrounding ponies bow once more. "For what purpose have you awoken me, sister?" she asks Celestia. "Care to explain this?" asks Celestia in return, pointing with a hoof at me. Luna looks in my direction. Her slightly-less-than-amused expression changes to a small smile. "I see you have returned, dear Umbra. Have you heeded my advice?" she asks. "I was about to, when Celestia here decided to call you," I answer. "By all means, proceed," she says. Celestia looks as though she has something to say, but Luna holds up a hoof to stop her. "We will talk later, but allow the dragon to continue her tale," she says. And so I do. "I explained the 'threats' against Ponyville, but not the accusations of murder. It is with great regret that I must admit that that was true. I did kill that colt," I say slowly. Gasps all around, from Fluttershy and Spike in particular. Only Luna remains silent, an unrecognisable sparkle in her eyes. "This is a serious crime, Umbra. I hope you realise this," says Celestia ominously. "Let me finish. I may have killed him, but it wasn't on purpose." "And so how did it happen?" asks the princess skeptically. "I was merely in the forest, hunting a small animal of some sort, when a young colt charged from the bushes. He began to slice at me with a wooden sword. I reacted before I could think. A single swipe of my tail shattered his spine," I explain. "But if it was an accident, why was he found on an altar?" asks Twilight. "I have no idea what you ponies do with the dead, but I provided him a dragon's grave," I say. "This is most troubling. Despite the fact that you say it was an accident, we have no way of knowing. However...your punishment shall be lessened," says Celestia. I must admit, this is odd. "Why?" I ask. "Because you have already atoned for it, at least partially. By saving the life of this filly you have made up for your crime, in a way, and proved in a different way that the murder was in fact an accident. Why would you save the life of this filly if you were hunting young colts?" says the princess. She whispers something in Luna's ear. Luna's eyes widen and she whispers something back. Soon the two princesses are engaged in an argument like hatchlings. Everyone is staring, waiting for their verdict. Eventually, they come away from each other, both looking somewhat satisfied, though Luna's eyes seem brighter than Celestia's. "Luna, would you like to do the honours?" "Of course, dear sister." Luna looks me dead in the eyes. Her poise is less friendly, more regal. I can tell that she's switched into 'badass mode'. "Umbra, the Night Fury dragon, thou hast committed a crime most grave. Thou hast murdered a colt of our nation. However, thou hast also proven thyself worthy of a second chance, by saving the life of a filly of our nation. As such, we decree that thy punishment shall be eternal service to the community of Ponyville. Thou must defend the village with thine life, protect it from all harm. The town's needs should come before thine own. Thou must help its residents whenever they request it, and ensure that they are satisfied with their surroundings. Dost thou agree to this, Night Fury?" she asks, her voice reverberating throughout the entire area, her tone smooth and controlled, firm but not angry. There's only one answer. "I do," I say, my head lifted. Luna breaks her royal facade briefly to smile at me. "Then, by royal decree, we hereby proclaim thee Ponyville's eternal guardian dragon." I look around at the village, which I get to call 'my' village now. Not too bad of a deal, to be honest. A few days later, I get up and enter the town. The ponies are still wary of me, but they don't attack. I'm headed off to the boutique which Rarity owns. She asked me to go there. She said she had a surprise for me. I arrive at the boutique, and with a bit of effort, I get through the door. Rarity is inside, pinning fabric to terrifying pony mannequins. She turns at my arrival. "Oh, hello there, Umbra darling. I simply must show you what I designed!" she says exuberantly. "Uh...okay?" I say. I'm not exactly used to hospitality from the ponies, but out of all of them, Rarity and Applejack are the most friendly. Her head disappears into a drawer, and she pulls out something shiny. She carries it over to me, and before I can see what it is, she sticks it to my ragged Crusader cape. "Oh my, it looks simply ravishing on you, if I do say so myself," she gushes. She pulls over a mirror with her magic and holds it in front of me. Attached to my cape, is a little badge of sorts. It's a shiny silver colour, with the emblem of a dragon fang on top of a horseshoe engraved onto it. "It's amazing!" I say, and I mean it. "Why thank you," says Rarity, taking the mirror away. "I don't usually work with metals, but Twilight has been showing me forge spells, and I thought I'd try it out." With another thanks to Rarity, I leave the boutique. I set off flying around aimlessly. So far, there hasn't been anything for me to protect against. I decide to stop by my favourite three fillies. Heading towards the orchard, I spot two creatures flying around in the distance. One is brown and one is rainbow coloured. It isn't hard to figure out who it is I can see. I decide to skip interrupting them. I'll chat with them later. I reach the Crusader clubhouse, where Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are watching something which is catching on green fire. I land, startling the fillies. The tree stump in front of them catches fire once more. When the fire subsides, a very disgruntled Pen is standing there. "Oh good, you're here. They can pester you instead. I'm out of here," he says, before buzzing away. "Aw. Watchin' Mister Changeling was fun," says Applebloom. I laugh and settle down. "How have you little fillies been doing?" I ask amiably. "Awesome!" says Scootaloo. "Yeah!" agrees Sweetie Belle, her voice breaking so adorably I almost die of a heart attack. We chat aimlessly for a while, until the sun begins to sink. Even when night falls and the Crusaders fall asleep under the warmth of my wings,mi continue to look at the horizon. It's taken a lot to get here. A lot of pain, tears, and determination. But looking back, I wouldn't change anything. As my eyes begin to slip closed, the silhouette on the moon winks at me.