Chapter 2 Punishment
The small colt stared into the face of the beast. It blinked as he did, it breathed as he did. The two were different as could be; one a young earth pony, small for his age, approaching adolescence, his flank unadorned. The other was a massive dragon, ancient, battle worn, with horns protruding from its head forming a terrible crown of bone, it's razor sharp teeth were formed in a terrible scowl that was shared by the colt.
Anyone else looking at the scene would see a pony, sitting in the darkened school nurse's office, looking at himself in the mirror, his reflection showing him what all the world saw. Not for you though. You saw what you were, what you had lost. The power, the savagery, and the fear it invoked more than a millennium ago.
You winced slightly, as the large welt under your eye began to throb again. A token, given to you by one of the many school bullies that saw fit to make your current living situation difficult. You pushed back the pain; ignored it. After all it was nothing compared to your damaged pride. It had taken many hits, and not just today. This was not your first fight you lost, far from it. You lost nearly all of them.
You hadn't even done anything this time, minding your own business even. You learned long ago not to draw attention to yourself. Still, your small size and "unique" personality often kept you out of groups of friends ponies had, thus allowing you to be picked off by those looking for "easy prey".
"Dragons and ponies aren't all that different in that way." You say to yourself allowing a smirk at your own misfortune, wincing yet again, as the swollen part of your face stretched slightly from your moment of levity.
You were not blind to the irony in all of this, it was practically slapping you across the face on a daily basis. You had spent your previous life an apex predator; strong, solitary, and merciless, only to be now thrown into the life where you were at the mercy of practically everyone; and there wasn't a fire spewing thing you could do about it.
"Cursed Alicorns." You mutter to yourself, the beast in the mirror mimicking you, beat for beat.
It was that addition to the whole situation; being able to see the form you once had but being unable to utilize it, that was particularly cruel. This was punishment, and you knew it, Tartarus, you had even come to realize you probably deserved it. Still you hated the Alicorns for doing this to you, you hated the bullies that tormented you, the teachers and who tried to "sympathize" with you, the stupid children who ostracized you. Quite frankly, you hated everything right now and the constant burning your eye gave off wasn't helping.
Still through it all, the degradation, pain, and the insult, you would never cry nor give in to this life. You refused to. You would never outwardly accept being the sniveling little fur ball you had the appearance of, even in your worse moments of despair. No doubt the Sisters were watching you, self righteous in there judgment, and accepting your fate would only prove to make you a further joke to them.
"Never." You vow with the mirror. "I am the Dragon King, and as such I will never break."
A voice on the other side of the door breaks your personal blood oath with the mirror. The door that leads to the school office opens, and in steps one of the few ponies that you don't mind being around.
"Flint?" The stallion pegasus says gently, calling you by the name he gave you on the day your "rebirth". Your back is to him but you hear his hoof steps approach you. You cast your eyes to the floor beneath you even though you feel no guilt.
'After all, I'm not guilty of anything.. this time.' You think bitterly. 'Still, I know what I'll see if I looked in his face.'
He comes up to you and you can feel him look you up and down, his eyes, and expression falling on the welt under your eye and the few scraps on your forelegs.
His mood then shifts from one of worry to another of compassion, both you expected and neither of which you particularly like.
"Hey buddy." He says, sitting on his haunches in front of you.
Your eyes remain fixed on the ground, your face in your usual scowl.
"You look a little rough. You ok?" He says leaning closer.
You merely nod. 'I've had worse' you think to yourself 'and not just as a dragon.' Sour memories bubble to the surface, only fouling your mood further. Still you remain silent, your expression fixed.
"I talked to Ms. Kinder Hearts," he starts "She told me what happened."
You remain quiet, but your gaze now shifts off the floor to the direction of the mirror again.
"Do you wanna talk about it?"
"Do I ever?" You snap bluntly. You eyes meet with your "father's".
His eyes regard your own, flickering from one to the other, as if he's looking for something in the orbs that share the same color as his. Then with a sigh he smiles "Well, someday you might."
Your gaze returns to the mirror looking at the same scene transpire through the reflective glass. You had seen it many times before, but it always struck as a farce watching the pegasus stallion doting on the scowling dragon, as if it were his own flesh and blood.
'As close as he is sitting, all it would've taken was a quick lunge and...no...' A hoof on your shoulder shakes you out of your thoughts.
"Come on, let's go."
Without a word, you push off the bed and place your four hooves on the polished linoleum floor. You take one last glance at the mirror, the proud features of the dragon mocking you as you look down at your current form, your penance form.
'There was a time where this sight would drive me mad.' Recalling the "fits" you had when you were a small... well, a younger foal. The doctors would tell your parents it was colic or merely a quirk that would be outgrown.
'They weren't altogether wrong.' You admitted, you did no longer react so violently to this anymore. Accept it? No. Wallow in it, seldom.
You do what you have always done, endure it alone. You continued for the door, placing one hoof in front of the other. You pull the door open and step out into the world beyond, the stallion following close behind you.
----------------
You both step out of the gates of your school on to the bustling streets of Manehatten. Your face, sporting a stylish band aid with a football on it that you had gotten from the elderly school nurse.
'It was either that or a Wonderbolts one, and I doubt she would have liked my suggestion on where she should put it.' You thought ruefully, still, you had been in enough trouble for one day you decided.
Ponies of every color and race were going about their own affairs as you both made your way down the sidewalk. Some glided through the air on their wings, most walked, a few among them carried various items within telekinetic aura emitted from their horns. Admittedly you envied the other pony races.
'Had I been born a unicorn, I may have been able to reverse this curse, or at least hone my skills and learn powerful magic, or at least have something to stab unruly curs with'.
You thought back to particular instance where a young drake had challenged your title and wound up adorning your spiny crown for a few, heart-stopping moments. You returned to the present day, craning your eyes to the sky, watching the various feathered ponies soar in the urban updraft.
'Wings wouldn't have been that bad either, at least then I would have some semblance to my old life.'
You remembered flying fondly, one of the few things you did that didn't involve violence or death, at least not directly.
Your thoughts were interrupted by a quick galloping courier pony who dashed in front of you nearly toppling you over without so much as looking back.
"Bloody hate this city." You gripe under your breath, your face further contorting.
The busy streets and crowds only further served as a reminder you how insignificant and small you were. Sensing your apprehension, your companion stepped closer so that he could walk directly next to you so others would, in turn, see you. You hated the necessity of it, but...appreciated the act.
Despite the near miss and the crowded sidewalk the fresh air felt good and the walk allowed you to clear your head.
"Come on, stop moping." Said the cheery voice of the pegasus at your side.
"I am not moping." You say. 'I was starting to feel better, actually, now I'm full circle and irritated again.' You think to yourself, pulling slightly away from the winged paternity figure.
"Then smile! It's a beautiful day, your out with yer ol' dad. What mischief can us two colts get up to?" He said chipperly. giving you a playful nudge as the two of you stopped at a crosswalk to let a bright yellow taxi cart pass.
'Great he's doing the whole 'you don't have friends, so I will be your friend' routine.'
He had done it to you many times. Most of the time you would humor him and just go along with it, be it a hoof race home or...
With a jolt you found yourself hoisted off the ground by the stallion's forelegs, grabbing you across the midsection.
'Oh! You better not be hugging me...' You fume to yourself as you clench your teeth and attempt to turn and face your captor, only for the ground begin to leave you both.
"No! No! No!" You command angrily, kicking your back legs in protest, despite the fact that you were now thirty feet in the air.
"Come on 'grouchy colt', this always cheers you up!" He said with a smile in his voice as his wings flapped bringing you higher in the cityscape.
You relented and narrowed your eyes, rethinking a scenario from before, involving him standing so close to a hungry dragon's mouth.
You look down at the ponies still moving about the streets below. Your new vantage allows you to take the city bustle in fully. You both pass various stores, showing off their 'posh' fashion window displays geared toward their pegasus clientele who would see them from here, luring them in to spend their hard earned bits on a few pieces of marked up cloth.
'All flourish and color, no practical use, no armor, no way to even keep warm.' You roll your eyes at the whole ridiculousness of it all.
It's all so pointless.' Your think to yourself, now taking the city in as a whole.
'In a thousand years... even a hundred, whose gonna care about all those things they are doing?'
You two are now soaring at a good clip, weaving to and fro through the air. You hadn't noticed but you had relaxed greatly, even your face now resembled a neutral look instead of a scowl. The noise of the streets below was still present, but much more muted allowing you both for greater serenity; quite literally, above it all.
You turn your head in time as you two pass a tall building made of glass. Upon seeing the ridiculous reflection, you can't help but laugh out loud at the sight only your eyes can see.
"Feel better?" The knowing voice of the Pegasus who called himself your father said.
Realizing your momentary slip, you right yourself.
"Yeah, sure." You say nonchalantly
"Good." He says, holding you a little tighter, making sure he didn't drop you, and nothing else.
After a moment he spoke again. "Let's go visit your mom at work, I'm sure she would like to see us."
"I'm not in a position to argue." You quip as he chuckles and turns his wings towards the east and another series of buildings.
From the highest point of your flight you regard the city.
'It's been over a thousand years, it's bigger, and more built up, but it still feels the same when I flew over myself.' Your thoughts go to that last day, the fire, the rubble, the young mare, your fall.
The scowl returns to your face and you remain silent for the remainder of the flight.