Aethia

by Malckeor


I - Descent

"Yay! I got it!" said a brown-coated filly with a trigger in her mouth. "Look, Daddy!"
"Wow!" The winged stallion rose from his seat to get a closer look. "You chipped the edge! That sure was quick! Keep practicing, and you'll be scoring those bulls-eyes in no time."
She eyed the small break on the wooden figure. "Daddy? What happens when the arrow hits someone not made of wood?"
"Someone not made of wood?" He chuckled. "You mean someone alive? Like a pony, or a griffon?"
She nodded.
"Well, heh, it would hurt them of course," he stated. "A lot." His daughter stared at the crossbow in her grasp, and she moved it to the ground with hint of an innocent sob. He shuffled closer, placing a gentle hoof on her cheek where a streak of liquid had trickled. "No need to cry, Em. Just remember..." She opened her glistening green eyes to see her father's comforting visage at her level. "It's important that we do everything we can to keep ourselves safe. There's all kinds of dangerous creatures out there, as well as bad griffons and ponies who would use their own weapons for bad things." He held the small training crossbow between them. "When you're old enough to carry one of these, it will only be reached for when your life is in danger, to protect yourself from those who would try to hurt you and only them," he reiterated. "If you're lucky, you'll never have to use it at all."
She sniffled, her smile returning. "O-okay. I promise I'll always remember!"
"Yep! I know you will." He gave her a nuzzle. "Anyway, I think that's enough for today. How about we get dinner started?"
"Oh yes!" Her wings fluttered, and any amount of sadness on her face was gone. "Practice makes me soooo hungry!"
She took her father's hoof as they headed inside.


"Right side! Watch the rocks!" yelled Emerald Dream. Dazzleflash clopped across the rough cavern ground, leaping away just as a head-sized boulder crumbled down.
"Celestia's sake, girl!" he yelled. "You can't warn us any quicker? That's the fourth time I almost got crushed!"
"Sorry! It's not easy to see through all this dust, even from here." She ran a hoof through her light-blue mane and landed just short of where the rock had settled. "Besides, you're fine. It was just a little pebble."
"Yeah, a pebble that could have crushed or scraped something fierce," retorted Dazzle. "You use those pretty eyes well enough to judge your shooting. I'm sure you're capable of seeing through a little debris."
"Well you aren't crying over a tiny scratch right now, are you?" she replied with a smirk. "Although you might as well be."
"Oh, shut it you-"
"Uhh...guys?"
"What, Doug?!" Dazzle snapped at the gray-coated earth pony.
Doug fidgeted with a torch in hoof. A spade rested on his shoulder. "Should I...start digging now?"
The three shared a look towards the rocks and dirt that the unicorn's spell had left behind. "Yeah. Yeah, go for it," replied Dazzle.
"On it," said Doug. Long ago, in true earth pony fashion, a young Doug had discovered that he was good for nothing but digging and had since sported a small shovel on his flank. Soon after this revelation, his pa gave him an old spade as a "gift" right before hoofing him out on the streets, and in an act of self-pity with a side of defiance, Doug had held onto his shameful tool rather than casting it away; being an earth pony, he'd known as well as his father that he didn't require a spade to move dirt.
"We've been at this for hours," said Dazzleflash as the sound of Doug's digging filled the cave. "Are you sure that no-good featherbrained freak of nature was telling the truth? He had that look in his eye that they all share."
Emerald sighed at her unicorn companion. "Yes, Dazzle. I'm sure. I've lived here all my life, and the rumors about this mountain range go years back." She moved to help Doug, scooping a few rocks to the side. "As for Swooping Stan, he's a bit of a legend when it comes to hunting around here; he knows these slopes better than anyone. So yes, I'm positive he didn't mislead us."
Dazzle wiped dirt out of his red mane. "Well, I hope your trust isn't as messy as your sight. I haven't scored big in a while, and it'd be nice if that changed today." When it was Dazzle's time, fate blessed his flank with a treasure chest, the embodiment of want itself. Since then, he's done everything he could to keep up as selfish a nature as possible while seeking his untold riches.
Doug leaned his shovel against the wall with a nod. "You're up, Dazzle," Emerald said.
"Yeah, yeah." droned Dazzleflash. He moved to the wall, placing his horn on the rocky surface with an orange glow. "Just a... There we go. This is as sturdy a pathway as I'm getting." The orange glow intensified, dwarfing the light of Doug's torch. "Hold onto your flanks, because I sure won't."
Emerald flew up as high as she could, and Doug stepped back. The wall broke down until it was nothing but sparkling sediment. Doug coughed at the kicked up dust, feeling the ground shake beneath his hooves as it had before.
...And everything was still. "I-is that it?" asked the earth pony.
Emerald kept her eyes on the stalactites. "There's nothing going on up here." She placed a delicate hoof on the cave ceiling. "I think we're good. Did we break through?"
"I can't see through the dust," Dazzle said. Emerald landed with an adjustment of her holstered crossbow, and the three ponies stepped forward into the newfound cavern. Dazzle kept his magic glowing.
"Careful everypony," Emerald said. "If we broke through-"
"Whoa. What's that?" Dazzle's orange eyes widened. Down below was an ocean of reflections and multicolored light. It was absent on the right, where the darkness expanded to the larger cave network beyond. "I-it's metal! Gold! Gems! Treasure! We hit the jackpot, you guys!"
"Wow," said Doug with a chuckle. "We did, didn't we?"
"Hold on a minute-" Emerald's words fell on deaf ears. Dazzle dove into their prize as if it were a pool. He trudged through the gold, fishing out what seemed to be a sculpture of the first two alicorn princesses far from its rightful home.
"Ohhhh, this looks handsome! Professionally made, and it's in perfect condition! Dibs! This'll fetch a great price back in Equestria!"
"Uhh, Dazzle?"
"Shush, Doug! It's mine! I called it!"
"Dazzle..." Emerald grabbed Doug's torch.
"No! If it weren't for my painfully meticulous knowledge from working on that old rock farm, you idiots would still be out on the slopes-"
Emerald flew to where Dazzle sat and placed a hoof on his muzzle. "Shush for a minute. Look at this..." She lit up the chamber's left side, drawing amusement from Dazzle's face draining of color.
"Th-those are-"
"Eggs," Emerald said in a hushed tone, smirking at his discomfort. "We're lucky you didn't run into any of them during your little celebration." Gems clinked as she placed her hoof down. "Hmm..."
"Shouldn't we..." Doug gulped, trembling in place. "Uhh..."
"We're fine, Doug," Emerald said with a giggle. "See how there's only one entrance? We lucked out. This is an isolated cluster. The records I looked over said that chambers like these are far from the main network. We just need to keep quiet." She shot a look back at Dazzle.
"Oh. Well, if you're sure." Doug took a deep breath and plopped into the chamber. "What's all that stuff on them? It kinda looks like moss," he said with a curious eye towards the clutch, voicing Emerald's thoughts.
She placed a hoof on her forehead. "I don't know. None of the photographs looked anything like this." Emerald stepped closer and gently touched the odd coating. Each egg stood just as tall as she did. "It's softer than the rest of the shell. This one in the back is forming a few growths..."
"C-could it be the species?" Doug asked.
"A dragon's a dragon, you numbskull," Dazzle said, his voice muffled under the gems. "I'm sure these are just regular old eggs."
"No, Doug's right. Dragons have many different sub-species. Most here in the east aren't as complex as those in Equestria. They're more primitive, and typically larger starting out." She touched one of the growths and moved in for a closer look. "That still doesn't explain-"
Dazzleflash groaned, burying his head further beneath the treasure. "You're boring me to tears. I'm sure the brood mother is just sick or something. Can we grab our goodies and get out of here already?"
Emerald stared for a moment longer before shaking her head with a sigh. "Yeah, I guess so. Grab as much as you can, but keep quiet and stay away from the eggs." She stepped back towards their makeshift tunnel. "They're waiting to burst open like a couple of Equestrian spell mines. If we aren't careful-"
The cave began to shake again, and the ponies' eyes followed as a stalactite broke free with a crash, scattering the eggs throughout the chamber.
"Oh no..."
"You just had to open your mouth, didn't you?" Dazzle replied. The eggs began to shake with a bright glow before famished claws broke through. Distant roars echoed through the cave system, answering the young cries of the isolated newborns who were emerging for their first feast.
"Okay, we're done here," Emerald said, scampering through the treasure and nudging one of the eggs away. "Grab what you can! Let's go!" Dazzle placed the royal statuette in his gargantuan sack and began swiftly sliding in some of the gold and gems, only for Emerald to scoop the huge bag out of his hooves and fly back up to the ledge.
"But-"
"There's no time, Dazzle! We have to move!" She grabbed Doug's spade and helped him up while the lone unicorn glanced back, still in the same spot. "Move, stallion! They're almost-" A deafening roar interrupted her, and the cavern rumbled as Dazzle jumped. "Take my hoof! Quick!"
She and Doug pulled him up, and everypony turned tail just as one of the eggs thundered open. They reached the uphill portion of the tunnel, and another roar echoed louder than their hooves. "Not quite according to plan." Emerald panted as she spoke.
"You think?!" Dazzle yelled. "We were almost dragon food! Why weren't you watching for a collapse?"
"Ugh," Emerald said as they galloped upward. "Can't this wait until later?"