//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: From the Ashes // Story: My red eyed Friend // by Freelancer //------------------------------// Just so you all know this was a 'middle of the night at uni' chapter (got bored with drawing houses so I wrote this), so there is a chance of a few small grammar errors. ............................................................................................................................................................................................. Chapter 9: From the Ashes “You try anything Titan, and I will beat you within a scale width if your life,” Storm snapped, baring his fangs at both his little brother as well as the crowd of ponies standing behind him. “You think this is over? You think you can just win one fight and forget how much of an insult to your kind you really are?” “I am done listening to you and I am done with obeying the ‘rules of our kind’ Storm,” Titan replied firmly, looking down as Fluttershy emerged from the crowd, her tail a little blackened from Thane’s fire. “I know what I want brother… I want to have friendships among the ponies, and I want to be able to live among them as I used to… and I will no longer have my wants tampered with by you.” “You better hope then Titan I don’t come back and burn them all in their sleep,” Storm hissed, his diamond white eyes fixing on Fluttershy with an angry fire burning in them. “Especially this one.” “If you ever come here again Storm…” Titan snapped as his ivory talons opened out like drawn swords, his anger suddenly returning at his brothers words. “Maybe it would be best if I beat some sense into you now rather than later.” “Titan, wait.” Titan stopped and looked down at Fluttershy, his razor sharp talons almost at Storm’s white scaled face. Wordlessly, the yellow pegasus walked forward and stood in front of Storm, the two of them watching each other intently as everyone else watched the strange scene unfold. At last a smile spread across Fluttershy’s face, which only caused and angry growl in reply from Storm, although Titan could see curiosity in his eyes. "Storm… why do you not like us?” Storm gave out what sounded like a scoff at Fluttershy’s words, a sort of arrogant smirk crossing his face as he replied. Titan noticed a snarl cross Thane’s face and for a moment he thought the green dragon would decide to break a few of Storm’s talons, but soon Thane however seemed to think better of it and returned to normal. “Because you are a weak and pathetic race,” Storm chuckled darkly, his stupid smirk suddenly making Titan want to slam Thane’s anvil strait into his brothers face. “That is why I hate you,” “How are we so pathetic?” Fluttershy went on, sitting back on her rump as she looked at Storm square in the face. “What have we ever done that made you think that we were pathetic?” “Hmmm… let me think,” Storm said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and snorting as he spoke. “You’re tiny for one.” “But how are we tiny?” Fluttershy retorted briskly, every pony and dragon looking between the two of them. “I’m a lot taller than most of my animal friends, and I’m huge compared to most insects… so technically they’re tiny… but they’re also a lot bigger than some other animals, so in a way nothing is really tiny.” “Alright fine so maybe you aren’t tiny!” Storm snapped, clearly annoyed at being verbally outdone by the yellow pegasus. “But you’re weak… I could crush you with one talon without even trying.” “If we are so weak Storm, then why when Applejack kicks a tree does it shake and give up its apples?” Fluttershy replied in a flash; Titan had to admit when it came to an argument, she was as sharp as one of his talons. “And why then if Rarity wishes, does a stone boulder break open and give up its gems?” Titan heard a few muffled laughs from the pony crowd, they all fell silent however when Storm let out an angry snarl. Titan himself could do nothing but grin at his brother’s downfall, it seemed Fluttershy was a lot smarter and quick witted than the white dragon had thought. “Fine so you’re not weak either,” Storm snarled, the angry expression set on his face telling Titan he was now clutching at straws. “But you are cowards… right now you are all cowering behind the protection of my brother and his stupid friends, if they were not here, you would all run in fear at the pure sight of me.” “If we are such cowards, why does Rainbow Dash attempt dangerous stunts that not even a dragon would dare to try?” Fluttershy said gently, a smile spreading across her face as Stormed glared at her. “And why if we are cowards would I be sitting, talking and probably annoying you right now? You could after all quite easily reach me with your jaws or burn me before Titan could do anything.” “Oh for the love of… alright fine… but you are a totally useless race when it comes to the world.” “And yet we build towns and cities, have jobs, help animals, take care of the land, control the weather and even make the sun and moon rise and fall,” Fluttershy went on, at last looking up at Titan’s smiling face. “And we make good friends too… so I really can’t see how we are useless either.” A grin spread across every single face in the crowd as Storm let out a defeated sigh; in truth Titan was amazed, he had never thought Storm would admit defeat, but the white dragon seemed for once all out of fire. For a few moments after everything was quiet and silence reigned supreme, but in a way after all the noise of the morning Titan was glad for it. Who broke the silence however surprised Titan just as much as Storm’s defeat had, for it was Scorch who let out an amused laugh, and caused everypony to turn to where he was tied up to a nearby tree. “You know old friend… I have to say I agree with the little one” he chuckled, shaking his head while all eyes were on his massive crimson form. “Up until today I thought the same of them as you did… but, it seems we were both wrong in many regards about these ponies, and now their actions and her words have made that clear... they truly are far from pathetic. I know you and I have always been sworn to live by the dragons’ pride… but Storm, to me those ideals no longer fit in a world such as this, where our two races openly want to get along… and in truth I believe you should be proud of your brother, for bridging the mountains between ponies and our kind.” “You believe I should let Titan stay among these ponies?” Storm asked oddly, his eyes locking with those of his crimson companion. “My own little brother?” “Not just him Storm, but anyone who wants too,” Scorch said as he smiled, his tone firm but almost happy in Titan’s ears. “Storm, you and I have been living for some time in a gone age, where our kinds kept to themselves… that is no longer the case, and if anything we should now support the friendships between our two races. So in short yes, he should be able to stay here among the ponies of Equestria, if he wants too.” Storm turned to Titan but no longer was there and once of anger on his face, instead his gleaming diamond white eyes were soft like Titan remembered them from his hatchling years. Titan simply smiled and lowered his red scaled snout to his brothers white one, nuzzling him gently to show his affection of his older sibling. Then, for the first time in what seemed like years, a small smile crept across Storm’s face as he spoke, his voice no longer in anger or sarcasm but a tone of care for his little brother. “I guess now I must accept you truly are an adult Titan… and hence you can now find your own way in this world, without me,” Storm said gently, smiling up at Titan like he done when they were both very young. “So… I will take Scorch’s words to heart, and let you stay here if you wish. And, I just want you to know that even after all these years and everything we’ve put each other through, I still love you, little brother.” “And I still love you to Storm,” Titan grinned, nuzzling his brothers cheek once more before stepping back to the crowd a little. “Alright everyone let him up.” Somewhat uneasily, the six dragons who had been holding Storm down removed themselves and let him stand, the white dragon shaking his mass of scale to remove the dust and dirt that had gathered on him. Once his shake was finished Titan watched Storm lower his massive head down to Fluttershy, the yellow pegasus barely larger than one of his glistening diamond white eyes. For a single moment Titan felt his gut clench up in unease, but as Storm spoke all fear left in and was replaced by joy. “I guess I owe you an apology little one… especially for how I acted all those years ago,” Storm said gently, gently nuzzling Fluttershy’s cheek with his snout. “I am sorry I scared you back then…and I am sorry for causing such havoc here today, and scaring everypony.” “I forgive you Storm,” Fluttershy smiled, giving Storm a soft lick on the end of his snout in return. “And I want you to know I don’t mind you coming and seeing Titan.” “Thank you kindly… but I think he has seen enough of me for one day,” Storm chuckled, smiling up at Titan as a now untied Scorch came over and joined the small group. “So, I believe it is time we left you to your own little brother, until we meet next.” Titan and Storm shared an amused smile at each other, the fire of brotherhood that had for so long seemed dead suddenly seeming to reignite between them. For so many years, Titan had hated even thinking about Storm, but now in truth all feelings of dislike had been burned and now it seemed they both wanted to start over. “Until we meet again Storm,” Titan smiled, stepping back a little further to give his older brother enough room to take off. “I will wait.” With nothing more after than a parting smile Storm turned, and bolted down Mane Street, with Scorch right behind him, the two massive dragons at last spreading their wings and jumping into the air as they reached the edge of town. In silence Titan watched as his brother went from a massive white scaled form to a single speck on the blue horizon as he flew off, wondering how by the flames of his ancestors the events of the day had played out as they had. In truth though he didn’t care, for the first time in many years he was able to say he actually liked his brother, not to mention he was now able to live among the ponies of Equestria again. “How did you do it?” Titan asked at last, looking down at Fluttershy as the crowd behind them disbanded to examine the damage. “Storm had hated ponies ever since I can remember.” “All I did was show him he had no reason to hate us,” She giggled, fluttering up from the ground and landing in the gap between Titan’s horns. “And then I just showed him a little kindness… he really did the rest himself.” “I’m going to pretend I understand,” Titan chuckled, turning on the road and heading back towards the centre of Ponyville. “Now I guess we should see how much damage he did.” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… The town of Ponyville itself had survived the attack relatively well despite everything, but as Titan noted Thane had literally reduced the town hardware store to a combination of ash, junk, and rubble. The rest of the town was in relatively good condition though, and with a little cleaning up Titan saw there would probably no longer be any indication there had been an attack. Titan and the other dragons took up the task of clearing the sky of the dark thunder clouds, while below the ponies mended up the few damaged buildings, stalls and sale carts, and put out the occasional small fire Thane had somehow caused. Eventually, as Titan cleared away the clouds with swipes of his tail, he spotted Thane looking down at the ground every so often, and tracing his gaze he grinned when he realized Thane was staring down at a now bandaged up Rainbow Dash. Wordlessly Titan flew up the Thane and him a gentle tap on the shoulder with his tail, the green dragon immediately spinning around and snarling at his grinning red counterpart. “Do you mind?” Thane snapped, resuming his cloud clearing like nothing had happened, Titan however grabbed his tail in his jaws and pulled him to a stop before he could get away. “OW!... Titan, what do you want?” “Are you going to keep being a scale-brain, or are you going to go down there and tell her?” Titan replied firmly as he spat out Thane’s tail and pointed down at the cyan blue pegasus, causing Thane the growl and look away in embarrassment. “Look Thane, I know you like her so why do you keep denying it?” “Because it could never work Titan,” Thane snapped in a defeated tone, his voice causing both Ash and Saran to stop what they were doing and look at him. “Yes alright I’ll admit I like her… but how by our ancestors it possibly work with me being a dragon and her being a pony?” “Well, the only way you’re going to find out is if you ask her,” Ash said bluntly as he flew up, Thane now looking angrily between both Titan and the black dragon. “And Thane you better ask her and soon… because if you don’t tell her how you feel then I will.” Titan swore Thane’s eyes doubled in size and he looked like he was going to choke for a moment, although at last he looked down at Dash uneasily. Gently Titan put a claw on Thane’s shoulder to calm him, they had been friends for years and now it seemed Thane needed his support more than ever. “Come on Thane just tell her… I’ll come with you if you want, but you need to let her know how you feel… who knows maybe she likes you as well,” “I’m pretty sure she does,” Ash put in, glancing over at Titan before returning his dark eyes to Thane. “I’ve seen the way she looks at you Thane… plus not only did she defend you after your roar incident, but I’m pretty sure she also enjoyed kissing you as well.” “I highly doubt it… but ok… I’ll tell her,” Thane sighed in the end, taking a last glance up at Ash, before he heading towards the ground with Titan right beside him. Dash was at that moment explaining to Twilight and Applejack what exactly had occurred up in the sky with Thrases, but for once she was telling it exactly how it was, without putting any extra ‘awesomeness’ into her tale. What surprised Twilight the most about Rainbow’s story was not the event itself, but instead how much emphasis she put on her description of how she had felt when Thane had caught her. Twilight knew Dash well enough to know the pegasus didn’t often open up about her feelings, but for once it was almost like Dash actually wanted her friends to understand how she felt. “You know Dash,” Applejack chuckled suddenly, lifting the brim of her hat from her amber face. “I think you kind of like him.” Dash literally froze on the spot still with her mouth still open, when it closed however Twilight saw bright red patches appear on Rainbow’s cheeks. “I… ah… well, maybe I kind of do like him.” “Well it’s understandable sugercube,” Applejack laughed before Dash could say anything else, giving the cyan mare a gentle pat on the shoulder. “He’s the only one who I know to ever match you in the air, plus he saved your life as well… and despite being a little annoying I guess he has a good heart, just like you really.” “I’ll admit, the idea of a dragon and a pony actually being in a relationship is a fascinating concept,” Twilight put in, her words causing Dash to blush intensely again as their eyes met. “Does he know you like him?” “No… but I’m not sure if I should tell him,” Dash sighed, rubbing her side around which a bandage was now wrapped. “He’s a dragon you two… and I don’t mean like Spike, I mean a grown up adult dragon, I just can’t see it working out between us.” “Well why don’t you just tell him first?” Applejack chuckled, prompting Dash’s cheeks to grow even redder. “Then at least you have a starting point to go from.” Twilight opened her mouth to speak again, but before she could there were two loud thuds as Thane and Titan landed on the road beside the three of them. Looking up Twilight could see Titan was grinning, but Thane was seemingly uneasy, and looking over it seemed Dash was looking about the same. Gently Titan nudged Thane in the side, which Thane replied to with a growl; he then however slowly stepped forward and looked down at Dash. Twilight could feel the heat between them and there was no doubt now in her mind Thane liked her, the emotion between them so thick now it felt like the air was full with it. “So… Dash… how are you feeling anyway after what happened?” Thane asked somewhat awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with his claw as he spoke. “A few bruised ribs,” Dash replied, her cheeks reddening as she looked at her hooves. “But otherwise I should be fine.” “Oh come on!” Snapped three voices. It was then Titan, Applejack and Twilight all simultaneously face palmed themselves, and let out annoyed moans, much to the embarrassment of both Thane and Dash. At last however Twilight lowered her hoof and watched as Thane let out a growl and shook his head, looking down at Dash with a soft face as he at last spoke. “Dash… this is going to sound stupid I know but…” He began, lowering his head so they were level and Dash moving in a little closer. “I like you Dash, and I mean I really like you… I know you’ll normally only hear this from stallions… but every time I’m in the air, all I can think about is you, and all I can see is your face in my mind. And every time I lay my eyes on you I can’t help but think I’m looking at the most beautiful female in all the wo…” There was no doubt in Titan’s mind that Thane could have probably spilled his heart for another hour or more, but it seemed Dash had other ideas in mind. Halfway through saying the word ‘world’ Thane found his mouth no longer full of passionate words of love, but rather Dash’s tongue, her cyan hooves finding their places on his cheek as they both lost control. Titan, Applejack and Twilight could do nothing but stand and smile as the two embraced properly, it seemed Titan realized she had been just as infatuated by him as he was by her. It was perhaps to the now watching and gaping crowd of ponies the strangest thing they had ever witnessed, but as long as Dash and Thane were happy, Titan doubted either of them cared what the world thought; although Titan had to say the sight of a cyan pegasus mare and a green male dragon kissing, was not something he had expected to see in his lifetime. At last they released each other before reddening up in embarrassment a moment later, Applejack letting out an amused wolf-whistle to demonstrate everyponys’ thoughts on the event. “Wasn’t that hard then now was it?” Titan grinned, giving Thane a rough pat on the shoulder in admiration. “So, reckon you two can work something out?” “I want to…” Thane smiled as he looked up at Titan and then back at Rainbow Dash, a soft gleam in his dark green eyes. “But the final decision lies with you Dash… you want to try this… with me?” “ARE YOU KIDDING?” She said joyfully, jumping forward and suddenly wrapping her front hooves around his green scaled face in a hug “of course I do! Oh this is so awesome Thane… I’m probably the first mare in history to have a dragon as my coltfriend… err… well maybe malefriend is a better word I guess, but that doesn’t matter anyway.” “I can’t wait for the day when he meets her parents,” Applejack whispered in an amused tone, just loud enough for Titan to hear. Titan simply grinned and watched on happily at the new couple, he knew it was perhaps an unusual pairing of souls, but it just seemed to somehow work in a strange but romantic way. “You have no idea how happy I am right now Dash,” Thane grinned as she let go and returned to the ground, his face then however dampened a little. “But you need to know now before we go anywhere that certain things we… can’t do…” “Oh I can help you there,” Twilight jumped in excitedly, everyone now looking oddly at the excited purple unicorn as she clapped her hooves together. “I know a great spell that can temporarily resize body parts. I practised it on Spike’s tail and I know it works on dragons, so all I need to do is shrink Thane’s… “STOP!” Thane said suddenly, his green tail flashing over and filling the purple unicorns’ mouth before she could say anymore. “Twilight, I’m glad you have a solution to our… problem… but can we please not talk about this right now, and in the middle of the street… it’s just a little bit of a touchy subject is all,” It was then Twilight noticed everypony looking rapidly between her, Thane, and Dash; and seemingly looking a little unwell to say the least, no doubt due to the somewhat disturbing images their minds had conjured with her words. Titan could do nothing but smirk and shake his head; it seemed Twilight had a habit of putting words out without exactly realizing what she was saying. Dash and Thane to say the least were now both blushing immensely under the many gazes; although despite the awkwardness of Twilights statement, it seemed they both looked a little relieved, knowing there was one less barrier between them now. “Uh… that was… awkward,” Dash said gingerly as Thane removed his tail, her cyan cheeks still as red as Titan’s scales as all eyes fixed on her. “I’ll admit I’m thankful Twilight… but let’s maybe keep this conversation for later… we’ve only just started going out.” Before anypony could say or do anything else, a pink blur that was Pinkie Pie seemed to snap into existence out of thin air, her sudden entrance causing a chorus of startled yelps as everyone jumped in surprise. "OH MY GOSH! SO YOU TWO ARE REALLY GOING OUT?” She laughed, bouncing rapid circles around Rainbow Dash and Thane as Twilight face hoofed herself. “THAT IS SOOOO CUTE! I GOTTA THROW YOU A SUPER AWESOME ‘FALLING IN LOVE’ PARTY!” “But Pinkie…” Dash started, trying her best to catch the bouncing pink blur without success. “NO NEED TO THANK ME DASHIE,” Pinkie laughed, somehow stopping in mid-air and mid-bounce. “BUT I NEED TO GET STARTED RIGHT AWAY, SO I’LL SEE YOU AT YOUR PARTY TONIGHT.” Without another word, Pinkie disappeared without a trace and left everypony looking a little confused, after Fluttershy’s advice however Titan decided he didn’t even want to know how the pink pony did it. Eventually the watching pony crowd returned to their own business, although considering Pinkie now knew soon the entire town would probably hear of Dash and Thane. Titan at last grinned and shook his head, his red eyes looking between Thane and Dash as he spoke and broke the somewhat awkward silence. “Well… I am happy for you two but I am afraid I must be elsewhere… so I’ll see you all at the party tonight.” “And where the hay would you be needed?” Applejack asked, the edge of an amused grin returning to her face. “I happen to have my own mare to take care of,” Titan chuckled, giving one last farewell before heading off in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… “I’m glad Rainbow Dash finally found somepony,” Fluttershy said happily, readjusting a little so her head rested against Titan’s right horn. “Well someone anyway,” “I’ll admit It is surprising,” Titan chuckled, glancing upwards as the first gleaming star took its place in the darkening blue sky. “But I am happy for them… I know Thane is a little bit of a joker at the best of times, but I know he truly cares about Dash.” The two old friends were sitting on the grass outside Fluttershy’s cottage and watching the stars emerge, Fluttershy quietly lying on the warm scales between Titan’s ivory horns. It reminded Titan slightly of the night all those years ago, where the friendship between them had been torn apart, but now however that night was a distant memory, and no longer mattered to either of them. Not too far away Ponyville was beginning to spring back to life as the night fell, everypony coming out for the party to celebrate Dash and Thane’s new found love for each other. Titan was looking forward to the party, but at the same time he was a little sad, for as it were Saran, Blizzard, Sunset, Lunis and Raldin had decided once the next morning came, they would head back to the southern mountains. For a moment, as Titan watched the stars, he wondered if this was all just some kind of crazy dream, but as he heard Fluttershy sigh softly and felt her twitch a little he knew it wasn’t. a question sprang to mind that had been bothering him for a few hours, so he decided it was best to get it off his chest. “Fluttershy you don’t… you know,” Titan murmured, flicking his red eyes up towards Fluttershy. “Feel the same way for me as Dash does for Thane?” “In my heart you are like my big brother Titan,” Fluttershy replied softly. “You are my oldest and closest friend who I love dearly… but no… not like Dash does with Thane.” “No offense, but I’m glad,” Titan chuckled, returning his eyes to the stars. “So thank you Fluttershy… but just know that I promise I will always be here for you from now on. By the way, when I first met your friends they said you were terrified of dragons… are you still?” “Would I be sitting on your head now if I was?” Fluttershy said happily. “And would I have stood up to Storm if I still was?” “Just making sure,” Titan grinned, allowing his tail to rise and wrap around Fluttershy as he stood up. “Come on you… if we don’t show up tonight Thane will want my tai,l and Dash will want yours.” With a giggle Fluttershy took hold of Titan’s ivory horns and allowed him to carry her back towards town, both of them discussing the likely outcome of the night’s celebration. In Titan’s mind everything was now as it should be; Fluttershy no longer feared dragons, and he once again has his dearest friend back, plus he could now freely live among the ponies. In a strange and yet surreal way, as they walked under the stars, to him it felt like the thirteen years of being apart had never existed, like the two of them had always been, and would forever be the best of friends. End: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Ok…so that’s the end…that’s the bad news. Good news is that I have no wanting to let characters like Titan or relationships like Thane and Dash’s disappear into the pages of fanfic history (they only just got together after all). So... this story if continued (ish) in Underworld: Equestria.