I hate being interrupted. I didn’t properly know how much I hated it until now. That could be due to my isolation, but I would think some beings would at least have the courtesy to attack me AFTER I am finished speaking, not before. Celestia’s words still rang through my mind as strong as the tremors and small snippets of pain that now dwelled in my form. My rebuttal was well formed and barbed enough to silence her. I would never get to speak it however.
What ever this creature is, it will know pain like none other.
The creature was strong, I had to give it that. It managed to push me nearly the length of my mighty tail before smashing me against the dwarvish cauldron. I now despised, if just a tad, dwarvish greed, or rather, their insistence of making giant cauldrons. They are very uncomfortable to be slammed against. Thankfully, my attacker hadn’t tried to grab me yet, so I smacked him with my wing hard enough to throw him off of me. I heard the creature stumble as it tried to keep some sort of balance on…two legs? Yes, I heard only two. There were few creatures large enough to push me like that, fewer still that walked on two feet. I had an inkling on what it was.
Turning my gaze to my attacker, I growled. There, standing before me, was a beast I thought I’d never see again. Well not in the flesh anyways. It stood as tall as I with wings that were paltry imitations of my own upon its back. Its burly arms were like that of men and its legs like those of a bull. Its body was like molten fire and its eyes burned with hatred. It returned my growl as it righted itself.
It was a balrog.
“So that measly worm sends his lapdogs, hmm?” I sneered. “I would have thought him wiser than that. What is a dog to a bear?”
If there was a creature I hated more than anything, it was balrogs. They were insipid creatures that had no brain in their skulls. They knew nothing of carnage and to add an insulting flavor to them, they dared call themselves creatures of fire. Dragons are the masters of flames! Not these measly creatures. How dare they try and touch and control fire in such ways? How dare they claim to be of the same element? I had always wanted to rend these monstrosities to pieces and it looks like I’d get my chance.
“Smaug,” the balrog actually spoke. “Our lord Sauron is most displeased with you.”
My eyes widened. “You can speak? I had thought that head of yours full of coal.” My surprise was indeed genuine. In all my time, I had always thought of these brutes as nothing more than snarling animals. I was proved wrong. I hate being proved wrong!
“Where is it?” The balrog demanded.
I narrowed my eyes. No one demands anything from me! “Where is what, dog? Where is your sense of reason? I would think you have none, so please leave me be while I still feel generous.”
“Where is the Valar?!!” The balrog raged, already losing patience.
Such a feeble creature. It was fitting for Sauron to have such a bombastic thing such as this as its servant. It was loud, ill-tempered, and oh so longing for attention. Just. Like. Sauron. I would laugh if I was not so irritated by its interruption.
“Valar,” I let the word flow off my tongue. It was a familiar word and I should remember it….Then something in my mind clicked. “Are you referring to me? I’m flattered.” I smirked, drawing the balrog’s fury. It was fun doing so. I wanted to savor its anger so I could remember it for all time. Why, I would ask myself. Well why wouldn’t I want to remember the face of my soon to be prey?
“Your lord desires an answer!” The balrog shouted.
“I have no lord!” I roared back at him. “I will never bow to anyone. I am Smaug, the greatest of calamities. A single beat of my wings is a hurricane. My fire turns everything to ash. My claws can rip through the toughest armor. Nothing can best me, so why should I bow to a lord that can be vanquished?”
The balrog growled, glowering at me. In its hands appeared a fiery mace. Paltry fire magic. I am torn between laughter and disgust once more because of this creature. It took an aggressive posture towards me, trying to be intimidating. Intimidate me?!! It has the gall to try to scare me?!! It will die!
“You will regret that,” the balrog stated as though it believed it to be a fact.
“You think so?” I tilted my head. “Then answer me this, dog. Since you seem so keen to talk, I wonder. Can you scream as well?”
“A balrog never screams,” it answered.
I smirked. My muscles flexed and my mirth grew. I was going into battle. It has been years since I have fought anything and years more since I’ve fought anything challenging. This thing was in the middle. It wouldn’t last long, but it would be a good way to stretch my old self. “There’s always a first for everything.”
Then, with a mighty roar, I lunged.
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A daemon. That is the only word I could come up with that could aptly describe the creature before me. A daemon pulled straight from the pits of Tartarus. I know what I’m talking about. I’ve faced my fair share of the creatures. I knew their weaknesses, their strengths, and tactics. They were rather uninventive creatures and over time it grew easy to slay them. There was just one problem….
My store of magic was so dangerously low.
I was frustrated with myself. Not just because of my lack of magic, but also because I didn’t hear the daemon at all. I could hear Smaug clawing his way through the dark just fine, but not this hulking creature sneaking up on us? It must have used magic of some kind to do that. I could clearly hear his every footstep now.
Smaug’s strike was fast, but obvious. The balrog sidestepped it and punched his neck. Smaug grunted and whirled around quickly to face the fire daemon once more. I had to admit, Smaug was light on his feet and quick as lightning when he wanted to be. Smaug paced around the ‘balrog’ as it did the same to him.
Smaug chuckled. “So you know how to dodge? Clever dog, but that won’t save you forever.”
“You are nothing but a worm, Smaug.” The balrog growled. “I am the servant of Sauron. He give me strength. What does you gold give you? Hmm, worm?”
I noticed how Smaug tensed up at the word ‘worm’. It obviously angered him like no other. I made a mental note to never call him such, even if we battled. A dragon is fierce. An angry dragon is horrendous in its actions. I do believe the balrog, fire daemon or not, should keep his mouth shut and act.
Of course, now that I thought about it, I think it would be best if he angered Smaug. Smaug was a clever dragon. He would keep an eye on me throughout this fight. The dragon didn’t trust me to be on my own. Anger clouds the minds of even the cleverest beasts. Yes, if he was angered enough, perhaps I could slip past him.
My musings were cut short when the balrog charged, mace held in both hands. The beast roared which sent shudders down my spine. It was so unnatural. Smaug swerved out of the way of the first swing, then the next. Smaug then rammed his side into the daemon, knocking it into a large cauldron. The daemon barely had any time to react before Smaug lunged at him. The balrog grabbed his jaws, one hand on each. I was a impressed by the balrog’s strength. It was able to keep Smaug’s mouth open. Dragons had incredibly powerful jaws to help them break into mineral deposits and smash bone. It spoke volumes of the balrog’s power.
Smaug growled, growled, eagerly pushing against the balrog in order to seize its head in his jaws. He thrashed his head and long neck, but the balrog held firm. The dragon even turned his fire upon the creature. While it couldn’t do anything, it certainly was a good attempt at blinding it. Finally, the balrog pushed Smaug away. Within seconds, another fire mace was in its hands and it tried to smash Smaug’s face. However, Smaug was ready.
He caught the mace in his clawed wing and grinned. Pulling it outwards, the balrog nearly came with it and Smaug struck. The daemon tried to move out of the way, but Smaug bit into its wing and like a dog with a caught rabbit, thrashed it about. The balrog screamed in pain, trying to dislodge Smaug. That is, until Smaug tugged hard enough to pull the wing straight out of the balrog’s back. Black sludge poured out of its wound as it cried out and fell to the ground in the dragon’s swing.
Smaug dropped the wing onto the ground and smirked. “A first time for everything.”
I think I could literally see the balrog’s anger snap. With a mighty roar, it threw itself at Smaug. There wasn’t enough space for the dragon to dodge, so the two went tumbling along the floor, pushing or throwing bits and pieces of machinery about in their squabble. The balrog punched and kicked with all its might and Smaug returned the favor with his own claws. With an added flare, Smaug smashed his tail into the balrog’s stomach, throwing it into a large cauldron with a loud ‘crash’.
The balrog simply grabbed the cauldron and hoisted it up over its head. Heaving it forward, Smaug easily dodged it. Hitting him with the cauldron wasn’t the balrog’s intention however. The daemon was already on Smaug, smashing its mace into his skull. Thankfully, his skull held but Smaug roared in pain as it made contact. The balrog was pressing its advantage, raining down a series of blows upon the dragon. Smaug’s thick hide and scales prevented any serious damage, but it was clear he was in pain.
I saw my chance to escape. With determination, I took a step towards the exit….And then Smaug screamed. I glanced at him. Smaug had been able to gain some distance, but his wing was bent. The balrog must have smashed it. I could see Smaug breath hitching in his chest and the balrog chuckled.
I couldn’t leave him! My heart ached at the very sight of his wounds. Why? He was a dragon. He kept me prisoner for months in this cave. He killed the ‘dwarves’ that made this mountain their home. He deserves death more than most. However….I cannot leave him. Not like this. In all my years, I have always believed everything has good within their souls. Smaug…helped me deal with Nightmare Moon. He didn’t have to. Dragons are heavy sleepers. He didn’t need to get up and our conversations were perhaps the most interesting ones I have had in generations.
Smaug, for all his flaws, was my friend and I will not leave my friends! Call it naivety, stupidity, whatever you will. I turned towards the fight.
‘Curse my big heart.’
Smaug was doing better this time. With a swing of his tail, he smashed the legs right out from under the balrog. Unfortunately, even with one wing, it was able to right itself quickly. Not quick enough for Smaug to snake around and attack its side. The balrog made to punch Smaug. All it did was thrust its hand right into Smaug’s awaiting maw. The balrog shrieked and punched Smaug with all his might with the other hand. Smaug grinned. With a hard bite, the hand and some of the balrogs arm was sliced clean off. Dragon teeth and jaw muscles are far stronger than anything a daemon can muster in its flesh.
Smaug spat the limbs onto the ground. “So disgusting and I had hoped you would at least make a modest snack, dog.”
The balrog’s rage was overwhelming and then it did something I had not expected. It’s whole body pulsed with black fire. It was so overbearing and hateful that it seemed like it was trying to burn me for even looking at it. With a forward motion, a surge of black fire magic smashed into Smaug. The dragon was sent crashing through the refinery.
I cringed at the sight. Smaug was down for the count at the moment and that’s all the balrog needed to finish this. In it’s hand formed the mace, but now it seemed larger and heavier than before. It would be enough to shatter dragon bone and reduce Smaug’s innards to pulp.
Time seemed to slow down around me. The balrog’s steps were deadly and determined as was its gaze. That oh so murderous gaze. Oh how I despise daemons. There’s a reason why there are no wild daemons roaming Equestria. Nothing harms my ponies.
AND NO DAEMON’S HARMING MY DRAGON!
I gathered as much magic as I could, while leaving myself enough for later. If I missed, I wanted at least one last shot. This was a tall order however. This daemon was a fire elemental. I was a sun goddess, so my more fire intuned magic would have to be powerful enough to get through to it. On its own, it wouldn’t do much. Thankfully, it was holy fire. I grinned and my horn sparked.
I don’t mean to brag, but I am a great markspony. I wasn’t taught by Skaði herself for nothing. It should be noted she also taught me how to ski, which was rather hectic. It didn’t help that there was that yeti….
I’m getting off track. I have a daemon to slay.
Pooling my magic into my horn, I took aim and grit my teeth. Using magic here wasn’t as easy as back home and it was taking more concentration and effort to keep up my spell then it should. I performed it well enough though for soon, my magic shot out of my horn in a spectacular yellow beam. The beam impacted the balrog’s head, vaporizing it with its holy fire. The daemon’s body tumbled, landing at Smaug’s claws.
Said dragon was now staring at me in awe. I smirked. I held back my laughter at the slack jawed Smaug, the oh so terrible. “Now,” I huffed trying to regain my breathing. “I think you were about to give me your rebuttal.”
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My orcs, proud creatures that belong to the world hate and war, trembled and hid throughout the castle. They were scared. Scared of my rage. They should be. Everyone should fear me! My rage is earth shattering. My anger able to boil blood. My spite a dagger that pierces the hearts of mortals. Everything and more am I.
Yet, a dragon and his valar pet best me?!! I am Sauron, master of darkness and rightful ruler of this realm. I would not be denied my victory, not be a dragon and not even by the gods themselves. I would hunt them down and strangle them with my own two hands if I had to. I would smash their heads upon the rocks they now live under. They would pay!
How had they killed my balrog? How had they best it? The valar’s power shouldn’t have been that strong. I would have sensed it, yet, my balrog lay dead and the valar sparked brighter than the sun above for a fleeting second. It was hiding its power. There was no other way. I felt something I haven’t felt in a long time.
Fear.
That feeling fueled my anger more so than my dead servant. The only balrog I had left and it was gone! Another piece for my rule was gone! Damn that dragon. I curse the very day my master made these sightless creatures. I once thought Smaug would be a grand tool. Something of use. No longer was that so. I needed him dead. Yet...perhaps I should give them a breather.
Yes, I shall. My anger vanished as I schemed. Yes, I shall give them a short respite. I’ll let them lick their wounds and think me whipped. They’ll grow complacent. They’ll think I’ve considered this an ultimate defeat. They’ll think I can’t find anything to match their combined powers.
I just had to wait. I have been doing this for hundreds of years. I can wait a few days or weeks more.
In that time, I was going to ponder what that darkness that dwelled in the valar’s light was. It was so vile and one with the night. Why, it almost was like a miniature me of sorts. I would ponder what this new element in the game was while I waited.