//------------------------------// // The Story Ends // Story: The First Hearts and Hooves Day: A Legend of Spike Story // by DiabloGuapo //------------------------------// After the trial of Prince Zephyr, the Unicorns’ involvement with the Pegasus Civil War came to an end. King Adamant didn’t care who led the sky nation, just as long the essential trade between the three tribes continued; the Unicorns would provide the day and night as long as the Pegasi provided the weather and the Earth Ponies provided food. Leaving the flying ponies to their bickering, the Unicorn King and his children returned to their own home to attend to their own affairs. The castle needed repairs from the damage that had been done by the Pegasi and by the dragon. Speaking of the dragon, Fiore Rossa’s entered her bedroom where she had first met the dragon. She observed the work the masons and carpenters diligently provided to repair the gaping hole in her wall. Aurum had broken through the glass doors that led out to the balcony, shattering the surrounding frame. The workers had begun the reconstruction just after she returned from the dragon’s lair and had made great progress while she was at the trial. New brick had been laid and a replacement door frame had been installed, but the glass doors themselves would take time to replace. For the next few days, a canvas would have to cover the empty doorway. Satisfied, the red mare looked over to the vanity and saw the fire ruby that rested upon its surface. Walking over to the dresser, she lifted the gem and contemplatively stared at it. Taking it over to the balcony, she pushed the canvas aside and stepped outside. Looking up to the setting sun in the distance, she raised the gem up, causing the orange streaks within to glow with the reflected light. Rose smiled admiringly at the ruby’s beauty, but then a concerned frowned replaced it as her thoughts turned to the one who had given her the sparkling jewel and the promise she had made. Placing Rising Sun back on its display on the vanity, Princess Rose headed out her bedroom door. As she made her way down the halls, she could her the hammering of tools as the repairs to the castle continued. In the great hall, she could see her father and brother looking over blueprints and construction plans, consulting with the architects. She knew her father would never permit her to go see the dragon, but she had made a promise. Backing away from the great hall, Rose thought of a new plan. Heading to the back of the castle, she followed the hallway that would lead her to the emergency escape route. It felt shameful to have to sneak out of her own home and she felt guilty for going behind her father’s back, but there was a strange exhilaration at the same time. After looking around to confirm that she was alone, she moved a large, hanging portrait of the Royal Family to the side to reveal a secret tunnel behind it. She slipped inside and moved the portrait back into place. ***** In a cave deep within Blind Chasm, Aurum sat upon his pile of treasure. With a claw, he toyed with a topaz, idly flicking it about on the stone floor. It had almost been a week since he had released Fiore Rossa and he hasn’t stopped thinking about her. Though he was surrounded by wealth, he felt as though he had nothing. Without his friend, the gold coins lost their luster and the gems lost their sparkle. She had shown him what he was missing in his life and now he pined for it. However, he began to believe that she would never return and started to wonder if all she said were pretty words to distract him. Maybe she only told him what he wanted to hear so that she could escape. Feeling hurt and betrayed, he nestled deeper into his hoard, but it offered no comfort. “Aurum?” an angelic voice called from behind the depressed dragon. His heart leaping up to his throat, he slowly turned his head around to see the mare that he foolishly doubted standing at the threshold of his home. At first, he thought it was nothing but a dream, but then the graceful Unicorn started to walk towards him. Abandoning his hoard, Aurum sprang to his feet and rushed to greet his friend. “You came back,” he said slowly, waiting to see if the beautiful image before him would vanish or not. Instead of fading like a taunting dream, the mare smiled up at him and said, “Of course I did. I made a promise, didn’t I? And friends always keep their promises.” “Yes. Yes, I suppose they do,” he said, finally allowing himself to trust what he was seeing. Welcoming her into his home, he walked with Rose into the cave. “How romantic; secret rendezvous, sneaking out of the castle, a forbidden love,” Rarity swooned before fluttering her eyes as she sighed. “It’s like something out of a romance novel.” “Alas… Like many a love story, it… was not without… tragedy…” Aurum told her regrettably. The secret meeting between the princess and the dragon continued for months. Every night, Rose would sneak out through the castle by means of the secret passage. She would then follow the trail she memorized of Blind Chasm and spent the evening with Aurum, talking and laughing the night away. Over time, the gold dragon came to understand his feelings for the Unicorn Princess and they frightened him at first. He didn’t cared what other dragons would think, for they already were his enemies. He knew that other ponies would never accept him, but he didn’t care about that either. All he worried about was if she would accept him. As they sat by the fire which he provided, Aurum was silent as Rose continued to talk. What she talked about, Aurum didn’t know, for he wasn’t really listening. Not that he was trying to ignore her, but his own fears were overwhelming his thoughts. He then realized she was asking him a question and he snapped back to attention. “Huh? What was that?” he asked. “I asked you what was wrong,” Rose told him, looking concerned. Aurum looked away, trying to think of how to answer her. She saw his confliction and rested an encouraging hoof on his claw. “Go on. You can trust me. You do trust me, don’t you?” He nodded and went back to thinking. Rose waited patiently and then he finally said to her, “Rose… I… I love you.” The unicorn’s green eyes widen in surprise, causing Aurum to look away, berating himself for his stupidity. “I love you. You are the best thing that has happened to me. You have shown me a life beyond hoarding and violence. You have opened my eyes and now I see what I was missing. You taught me the value of life and friendship. Before I met you, I was alone and miserable. I tried to bury the pain with treasure, but now, I realize that all of this,” he paused as he scooped up a clawful of gems and let it trickled through his fingers, “is worthless compared to you. You are more important to me than all of the treasure in the world and I do not know what I would do without you.” He waited for her to laugh, to scream, to yell, or to do anything to berate him for his idiocy, but she didn’t say anything. He then thought that maybe she was too repulsed to say anything, but then he realized that her hoof had never left his claw during his confession. Mustering up enough courage to steal a peek, he was shocked to discover that Rose was smiling at him while tears streamed down her cheeks. Her hoof on his claw began to calmly stroke it while she raised her other hoof to her heart, touched by his honest and pure words. “Oh, Aurum,” she whispered. “That was beautiful. Do you really mean it?” “Yes,” he softly confirmed. She then placed a hoof on his cheek and guided his lips towards hers. She gently kissed him and then looked him in the eye. “I love you too,” she said back to him. He then leaned in for another kiss, this time placing a claw on the back for her head while she held the sides of his face with both hooves. The fire cast the shadows of the dragon and mare on the cave wall; two shadows that became one. “So what happened next?” Amethyst asked, enthralled by the tale. “I think you know perfectly well what happened next,” Spike said to his daughter with a cheeky grin. “Oh, grow up both of you,” Rarity chided, but then blushed as she turned to Aurum. “So what did happen?” “A miracle…” Aurum answered. “And heartbreak…” “Are you sure?” Fiore Rossa asked the midwife while laying on her bed a few weeks later. “I am quite certain, Your Highness,” the middle aged, pink mare told the princess as she stood by the bedside. “Congratulations.” Her tone was quite somber, for she knew what this must had meant; the princess had a secret lover. For right now, the princess was in the early stages and could hide it, but in time, ponies would notice. “What are you going to tell your father?” “Nothing,” Rose answered, looking up from her still trim stomach to the midwife. The pink mare nodded, understanding the princess’s silent order and showed herself out of the bedroom. Rose continued to recline on the bed, rubbing her belly with her hooves. Conflicting emotions coursed through her body. She was excited, yet she was terrified. She wanted to cry with joy, but wanted to weep with fear. Her father would never accept this. It was one thing to for this to happen to a princess, but it was another for this to happen to a princess from a dragon! There would be no hiding this. Even when the foal comes, all will know. Rose did fear what her father would say or even do to her, but she feared more what he would do to Aurum and their child. At the dreadful thought, Fiore Rossa burst into tears. Overcome by her emotions and hormones, she sobbed uncontrollably with her face buried in her hooves. She needed to see Aurum immediately, but couldn’t risk sneaking out of the castle in broad daylight. Looking to the balcony, she saw that the sun hadn’t even reach the zenith of the sky. It would be hours until evening, and every minute would feel like an awful eternity. Without any other options but to wait, Fiore Rossa laid back onto a pillow, her hooves still lovingly rubbing her own belly. Meanwhile, Bun N’Oven the Midwife was trying her best to make her way out of the castle without drawing too much attention to herself. She was being escorted by a trusted guard that Princess Fiore Rossa had sworn to secrecy, but even with the guard, she was nervous. The suggested cover story was that she was a simple nurse and the Princess had called for her because she felt ill. However, the castle had their own medical staff and if anypony questioned her, they would quickly realize she wasn’t part of it. Then they would discover who she really is and the Princess’s secret would be out. The midwife and the guard were approaching the front door and both let out a sigh of relief. However, just as they reached the door, they heard the horrifying words, “Guard, who is this mare?” The pair turned around to come face to face with Prince Orichalum. ***** The sun had finally set and the door to Princess Fiore Rossa’s bedchamber silently cracked open. Carefully checking if the coast was clear, the blonde mare crept through the door and down the hall. Checking every corner, she cautiously proceeded to the secret exit with the practiced patience she had mastered from sneaking out almost every night for the past few months. However, there something was different about this night. Unlike all the other nights, she didn’t see any guards. Normally, she would have to evade detection from the patrolling soldiers, but the halls were now unnervingly empty. Nevertheless, she pressed onward towards the portrait. Looking behind her one last time, she moved the frame to the side and then gasped at what she saw. “Where are you going, Rose?” her father’s voice asked from the dark tunnel. The gray stallion then stepped out of the secret passage and then she heard the sound of many hooves. Looking behind her, she saw Orichalum along with a contingent of guards, the guard she ordered to keep her secret and Bun N’Oven hanging their heads in shame with them. King Adamant took another step towards his daughter. “I said ‘where are you going?’” “I’m going to visit a friend,” she told him. “Who is he?” Adamant demanded calmly, but Rose could hear the restrained anger in his voice. When she didn’t reply, he spoke with more force. “Tell me, and I might be merciful to the stallion.” “Aurum,” she told him as she braced herself for the oncoming storm. As expected, King Adamant’s eyes bulged with outrage and his face burned red. “The dragon!? My daughter has been defiled by a dragon?!” the king roared. “But father, you don’t understand,” she tried to explain. “He kidnapped you! Have you forgotten about that!? He’s just a monster!” “He isn’t a monster!” Fiore Rossa shouted back, surprising everypony. Orichalum wanted to say something, but he had no idea what to even think. He loved his baby sister, but the shock of hearing that she is pregnant by a dragon left him confounded. “Aurum is a good dragon.” “Bah! The only good dragon is a dead one,” Adamant scoffed. “They’re evil, conniving demons from the pit of Tartarus. They only seek death, destruction, and treasure. The only reason why the monster let you go in the first place was because Orichalum outnumbered him. The cowardly lizard knew it couldn’t take on all the knights alone so it gave you up.” “That’s not what happened! I’ve talked with him! I’ve seen what he’s really like! He’s a gentle soul and he truly cares for me! He loves me and I love him too!” As soon as the words left her mouth, everypony gawked at the Princess. Orichalum looked from his sister to his father, fearing how he would react. Unsurprisingly, King Adamant was livid. Veins bulged in his neck and his eyes threatened to pop out from his head as he seethed in fury. “You can never trust a dragon! Dragons are notorious for beguiling their victims with their words! It must have bewitched you!” the king accused, trying desperately to justify his daughter’s actions. “I am not bewitched,” Rose denied. “I am in love with Aurum the Dragon and I am carrying his child.” “Guards, lock the Princess in her quarters!” he ordered, his rage finally boiling over. “You are never going to see that monster again! The first thing in the morning, I’m going to hunt down that thing and kill it!” “Father, no!” “And you are going to remain in your chambers until the freak within you is born.” “Father! Are you insane!?” the princess screamed as the two guards behind her took a hold of her front legs and began to lead her away. “I’m sorry, my dear, but this is for your own good,” Adamant remorsefully told his struggling daughter as she was carried back to her room. As the guards left, Orichalum was left alone with his father. He could see the look of hurt and betrayal on his father’s face and could hear the cries of his sister echoing in the corridors begging to be released. Orichalum remained silent even as his father walked away. Later that night in the hallway outside of Princess Fiore Rossa’s bedchamber, a guard stood on either side of the door. While the rest of the castle slept, they remained awake to make sure the princess wouldn’t try to sneak out. Coming from the down the hall, King Adamant made his way to his daughter’s room. He had thought about what he had said and done and wanted to make peace with his daughter. He stood by his decision to keep Rose away from the dragon, but he didn’t want to lose his daughter. She was pregnant and must had thought she had nopony to be there for her. He wanted her to know that even though he doesn’t approve of her actions, he still loved her. As he reached the door, the guards stepped aside and he knocked. “Rose?” he called through the door. “Are you still awake? I want to talk with you.” He opened the door to find that the room was empty. Adamant rushed in and frantically searched the place, but there was no sign of his daughter. All he found was a book from her bookshelf laying on her bed. Picking it up, he discovered it was a book of spells. Looking at the page the book was opened to, he saw it detailed teleporting spells. The book dropped to the floor and Adamant raced out the door. ***** Aurum waited patiently for Rose to arrive, but the golden dragon began to worry. He knew that Rose was taking a risk by sneaking out of the castle, but she always came. However, hours had passed since the time she normally would arrive. To his relief, he heard somepony approaching the cave in a hurry and smiled when he saw it was Rose. She was carrying a saddlebag and he was about to ask her why, but his excitement turned to concern when he saw the panic on her face and ran out of the cave to met her. “Aurum,” she panted as she embraced her dragon. “We’re in trouble.” “What is wrong?” he asked. “I’m pregnant and my father knows,” she bluntly told him. It was one sentence yet it conveyed two very powerful statements. Aurum wanted to be thrilled by the news that the mare he loved was carrying his child, but the information that her father knew combined with her frightened demeanor only caused dread. “What did he say?” he asked, fearing he already knew the answer. “That he’s going to hunt you down and kill you and he also was going to lock me in my room until the foal is born,” she told him. “And what about the foal?” “He called it a freak, but didn’t say what he was going to do,” she sobbed, fresh tears spilling from her eyes. “I-I fear the worst. What if… what if he tries to k-kill it?” “I will not let that happen,” Aurum vowed. “I will protect you and the foal at all costs!” “Rose!” an angry voice called from the haze, the couple immediately knowing who it was. Hearing Adamant’s voice, green flames flickered out from Aurum’s nose and he stepped forward to defend his family. “No!” Rose cried, clinging to his chest. “Please don’t fight him! I couldn’t bare it!” Aurum looked down at Rose and back up to see the figures of Adamant, Orichalum, and their knights emerging from the fog. The Unicorns were dressed for combat and held their weapons at the ready. The King stepped forward and ordered, “Princess Fiore Rossa, stand aside.” “I won’t, Father,” she told him, placing herself between him and Aurum. “I will not stand for this,” Adamant glowered. “That monster must die!” “And what about my child, your grandchild?” she retorted. “That thing that grows inside you is not my grandchild,” the King denied, causing Rose to let out a hurt gasp. It pained Adamant to see his daughter like this, but she had to be taught a lesson. “I tell you one last time; stand aside.” “No,” Rose told him defiantly. “Then you leave me with no choice,” Adamant sighed, closing his eyes before opening them with a cruel glare. “Arrest the Princess and kill the dragon.” The knights charged the dragon and the princess, but Rose climbed on top of Aurum and shouted, “Fly, Aurum! Fly!” The golden dragon flapped his wings and soared over the heads of the advancing knights. Looking down, Rose could see the sadness on her brother’s face and the outrage on her father’s. As Aurum climbed higher into the night sky, Rose could hear Adamant yell up at her, “Come back! I command you to come back! If you leave, then I have no daughter!” Clinging to the back of Aurum’s neck as they flew away from Blind Chasm, Rose turned away from her father’s angry shouts, weeping as she lost half of her family. “We left the land of the pony tribes... and flew to the southeast...” Aurum explained. “We… discovered this secluded island… and decided to make it… our home… Here… we would be safe from prejudice… and could raise… our son in peace…” “Tell me about him,” Amethyst requested, curious to learn about the kirin that preceded her. “We named him… Rising Sun… for he reminded us of… the fire ruby I gave… Rose… one of the few possessions… she manage to carry with her… His scales were red… and his mane was golden… like the dawn… He was born… here in this cave… ages ago… He… he brought our lives joy… We raised him here… and befriended the native… dinosaurs…” “Did you and Rose ever return to your homeland?” Rarity asked. “Once…” Aurum replied. A decade had passed since Fiore Rossa and Aurum fled to Krazoa Island. In those years, Aurum had grown in size, now being over forty feet in length. The gold dragon circled down from the sky and landed in a grove of trees. Two cloaked figures climbed down from his back and stood on the grassy ground. The taller of the two beings looked to the north and saw a castle silhouetted by the moonlight. “Are you sure about this, Rose?” Aurum asked the taller of the two figures. “I have to do this,” she answered from within her hood before turning to the smaller cloaked being. “Are you ready, sweetheart?” “I’m scared, Mama,” a timid voice whispered. “What if he gets angry? What if he tries to hurt us?” “Don’t worry, Rising. I’ll be by your side the whole time,” she reassured her hybrid son. Taking his mother’s hoof, the hooded kirin walked up the trail towards the castle, looking back to his father. Aurum thought it was unwise to return, but he knew his wife needed closure. Unable to accompany them, he watched as they left the grove, praying that they returned safely. When Rose and Rising Sun reached the top of the trail, they saw the front gates of the palace. Standing before it where sentries carrying spears. Rising Sun gulped nervously when he saw the weapons and pressed against his mother’s side. “It’ll be alright,” she whispered, squeezing his little, clawed hand with her hoof comfortingly before continuing onward. Seeing two suspicious, cloaked beings headed towards the Unicorn King’s Castle, the guards pointed their spears at them and shouted, “Halt! Who goes there?” “It is I, Princess Fiore Rossa,” the mare answered, pulling her hood down. The guards’ eyes widen with surprise and looked at each other. “I have come to see my father, King Adamant.” “Uh… Just… Wait here please,” one of them said before opening the door. Rose waited for a few minutes before the large doors opened again and her older brother walked out to greet her. The siblings stared at each other, neither one of them could hardly believe their eyes. “R-Rose?” Orichalum stammered. “Ori?” Rose likewise gaped. He had matured so much in the past ten years. Like their father, the gold stallion had grown a large mustache, making him look even older. Without another word, the siblings pulled each other into a tight embrace and began to cry tears of joy. “I thought I would never see you again,” Orichalum wept happily. “I missed you too, big brother,” Rose sniffled. Turning to her son, she said, “Son, I want you to met somepony. This is your uncle, Orichalum. Orichalum, this is your nephew, Rising Sun.” Uncle and nephew stared at one another, Rising Sun with apprehension and Orichalum with wonder. Orichalum had wondered what the mating of a dragon with a pony would produce, but never thought he would see the result. He took in the sight of the kirin and marveled at the spectacle that he was. His hind legs were hoofed like that of a pony, but his front legs bore dragon claws. Instead of fur, his body was covered with red scales, softer yellow ones on his underbelly. A single horn adorned his forehead like a Unicorn, but it was rugged like a dragon’s. His tail was long and reptilian, but had a tuft of golden hair that matched his mane. What unnerved Orichalum was that the colt’s green eyes were slitted like a snake, giving him a predatory look. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” Rising Sun told his uncle in a small voice, intimidated by the way the stallion stared down at him. “Ori,” Rose said to her brother, diverting his focus from the half-dragon colt to his sister. “We’ve come to make peace with Father.” Hearing this, Orichalum’s face went from shock to sadness and said, “It’s fortuitous that you’ve come now.” The prince sighed wearily and said, “Father is very ill.” Rose and Rising Sun followed Orichalum to the bedchamber of King Adamant. Along the way, servants and soldiers alike stared as their lost Princess walked by with a strange foal walking behind her. When they reached the door, Orichalum opened it to reveal the king laying in his bed surround by nurses and physicians. Adamant’s iron colored mane was disheveled and contained quite the number of white streaks. His mustache had grown into a full beard and his slate coat had lost its healthy sheen. The old king coughed uncontrollably and strained his dimmed eyes as he saw two figures standing in the doorway. Recognizing the taller red blur as his daughter, he coughed and wheezed louder. The nurses and doctors tried to calm him down, but he waved him away. “Leave us!” he croaked. When they hesitated, the king raspily roared “Out! Everypony out!” The servants bowed humbly and obeyed, quickly filing out of the room, leaving their King alone with Rose, Rising Sun, and Orichalum. For a moment, nopony spoke. Adamant would cough sporadically, but otherwise made no sound as he took in the sight of his daughter and grandson. After looking at them for quite some time, tears began to trickle from his cloudy eyes. “Rose,” he hoarsely, but lovingly, uttered while reaching out to her with a shaking hoof. Fiore Rossa went to her father’s side and he wrapped a hoof around her neck, pulling her closer to him. Rose closed her eyes and cried as well as she rested her head on her father’s. While sobbing, he whispered the words, “I’m so… I’m so sorry. I never meant those things… which I said to you… all those years ago. Please, forgive this old fool.” “I love you, Father,” Rose told him, crying loudly. “I love you, my beautiful Rose,” he told her before looking down to Rising Sun. “What is his name? I must know my grandson’s name.” “I’m Rising Sun, sir,” the kirin meekly told his grandfather. Adamant reached out for the colt, who looked to his mother. Rose nodded and he cautiously walked up to the ailing stallion. Adamant placed his hoof on Rising Sun’s mane and weakly brushed it. King Adamant passed that very night surrounded by his family. Orichalum led his sister and nephew back into the corridor so that the servants could tend to the late King. Rose cried at the lose of her father, lamenting the years they had lost, but rejoiced that she was able to reconcile with him before he died. Orichalum then told her, “We’ll hold the funeral as soon as possible. Will you being staying?” “No,” she replied, wiping her tears. “I don’t think we can.” “Please, Rose,” Orichalum pleaded. “This is your home. You belong here.” “And what about Rising Sun? Does he belong here? How about Aurum?” she countered. Orichalum opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and looked down at the floor. “I thought not. I do love you, Orichalum, but ponies aren’t ready for change. We will be hated, and many will seek to harm us. I can’t allow that to happen. Maybe someday ponies, dragons, and kirins can learn to live in peace, but for now, I must do what is best for them.” “So, this is goodbye?” Orichalum remorsefully asked. “I’m afraid so,” Rose replied, feeling her heart break again. “You’ll always have a home here,” Orichalum told her as the hugged for the last time. “Take care of yourself. I love you, little sister.” “And I you, big brother.” Letting go of Orichalum, she led Rising Sun back out of castle. When they exited the castle gates, Orichalum stopped and watched them walk away. Before disappearing down the trail, Rose turned one last time and said, “Goodbye.” She never looked back after that, but Orichalum watched to see if she would. Once she and her child disappeared down the mountain, he walked back inside the castle. Waiting for them at the bottom of the trail was Aurum. He waited expectantly to hear what happened. Rose explained how she was able to make peace with her father and how he was able to meet his grandson before he passed away. Overcome by her emotions once more, Rose wept as her husband held her. Looking up at him, she said, “Take us home.” Aurum obliged his wife and flew the three of them back to their island.