//------------------------------// // ----- // Story: A little loopy. // by FaelaArts //------------------------------// Rolling the egg onto the Chariot, Sweetie levitated some rope over, securing it. The two Royal Guards stood at the ready. Pulling the ropes tight, she looked to Celestia and Luna, giving a grateful smile. Both shared a glance. “I know you stated they know you, but are you sure this is safe?” Concern on her face, Twilight approached, concentrating as she placed fire protection spells over both the Chariot and the ponies. Nodding, Sweetie avoided the pang of doubt in her chest. “I’m sure, I have to return the egg. I know we need to talk, and you have royal duties, but this kinda has to take precedence.” Biting her lip, Sweetie looked toward the egg, and the two chuckled. “Sweetie Belle, we understand having duties that must come first. Do not fear, once this task is done we will have time to talk.” Bowing her head, Celestia gave a bemused smile. Nodding once, Sweetie looked toward the Royal Guards, giving a second nod. Flaring their wings, they took off. Glancing back, Sweetie gave them all a wave. Sighing, Sweetie closed her eyes for a moment. Feeling the breeze on her as they flew by, she wondered what would happen if she could mold that into a blade. If paper could cut, could wind? Chuckling, she supposed Twilight would know. It would be an interesting conversation, at least. Opening her eyes, Sweetie frowned. “God, I’m making myself sick,” she scowled, looking off the edge of the chariot. Stifling a shudder, Sweetie wondered if dropping something from this height would cause any damage. Chiding herself, she knew it would, but her morbid fascination continued. What items could she drop? What shape would they make? “Stop iiit!” Rubbing her head, Sweetie groaned, giving it a rapid shake. It was hard accepting the fact she wasn’t in a Loop anymore, that the things she did had permanent effects. Part of her accepted it, the other part wanted to do it anyway. Sighing, she slouched as the Dragon Nesting Grounds came into view. “Stop, land just outside the top of the bowl. I don’t want to be barbecued.” Turning, Sweetie began to untie the egg as the Chariot came into to land. Pushing it off the Chariot, Sweetie began to roll it up the mountain, pausing once they were at the top. Looking around, she wondered where Thorak was. Carefully, she began to roll the egg into the bowl, looking around for the female Dragon. Seeing her, Sweetie began to make her way over. As Dragons began to take notice, she saw Garble poke his head out of the treasure pile. Giving a quick wave, Sweetie continued on her way. “Oh, my baby,” spoke the she-Dragon, walking over and plucking the egg up, cradling it for a few moments. Stepping back, she returned to the nest, leaving Sweetie alone. “My mate is catching food. He will be back at sunhigh.” At those words from the she-Dragon, Sweetie glanced to the sun. Frowning, she thought it was already midday. Shrugging, she turned, heading toward Garble. Crawling out of the treasure pile, he slid down it and gave Sweetie a tooth-filled smile. “Well well well, the namby pamby pony got out of her Time Loop.” Smirking, he leaned down and picked up Sweetie, bringing her into a quick hug. Putting her down a moment later, he motioned toward the gem pile. “Wanna go a round of King of the Hoard while you wait?” Of course Garble’s request was about the gem pile. Of course Sweetie agreed, letting go of her fear about using magic to place a stronger shield spell on herself. Feeling slightly relieved when it worked without problems, she watched as Garble roared the challenge to the other teenage Dragons. “Come on, this all you got,” she remarked, standing proudly atop the gem pile as the teenagers tried to take her down. To her surprise, she was tackled by Garble, who had opted for a sneaky route. Pinning her down, he declared himself the king, and let her go. Shaking claw and hoof, the two shared a good natured laugh. A roar shook the sky. “Looks like he’s back,” remarked Garble, following Sweetie down toward the middle of the bowl. A black Dragon plummeted out of the sky, flapping his wings inches from impact to stop his fall. Looking around, he noticed Sweetie, and glanced toward the she-Dragon, eyes softening. Tossing something toward a sick Dragon, he approached Sweetie. “Welcome back, young one.” Bowing his head slightly, Thorak blinked as Sweetie hugged his snout. Stepping back, she bowed slightly, suddenly all business. “Your liege! I apologise for the delay in returning your egg. It was selfish of me to do so, but I felt stopping an entire race from starvation had to come first.” Saluting, Sweetie scrunched her face up, and Thorak gave a hearty laugh. “I am glad to see you escaped intact. Do not fear, I anticipated you would be more focused on recovering at first to deliver our egg.” Rising, Thorak led the way over to the she-Dragon, and both curled around the egg together. Approaching, Sweetie felt a bit more of her guilt ease, watching the egg with a warmth in her heart. “Come Sweetie, get closer.” Using the palm of his hand, Thorak gently nudged Sweetie closer to the egg. Glancing between them, Sweetie raised an eyebrow, but obliged. As they breathed in, Sweetie felt a split second of fear, but discarded it. There was no need to fear, she trusted Thorak. Flame erupted around her, Thorak and the she-Dragon’s wings rising to close off the rest of the bowl. Flinching, Sweetie tried to cower as the flame hit her, but blinked as it merely licked at her fur, warm but causing no damage. Glancing between the two dragons, Sweetie watched as they began to fade from view, the fire obscuring everything but the egg in front of her. Without warning, the flame turned emerald green, and Sweetie shuddered as a spark raced over her skin. Looking toward the egg, she watched as it shuddered, and began to crack. The flame turned red and orange again for a moment, before once more turning emerald. A second jolt passed through Sweetie, and she suddenly felt very hot in her own skin. The egg gave another jolt. Finally, the flame turned a striking blue, and Sweetie felt it. Gasping for breath, she glanced toward the egg as it began to shudder and shake. Cracks began to form, and finally it shattered, revealing a tiny baby dragon, smaller than even Spike. The flames died to a soft red, and Sweetie sighed in relief as the heat went down. Soon enough, that fire died, and the two Dragons revealed the outside world once more. Standing, the she-Dragon walked away from the nest, and curled into a tight ball. With a sigh, her entire body began to harden, turning to stone. The edges began to smooth, and soon enough Sweetie couldn’t even tell it was a Dragon. Glancing to Thorak, her mouth opened and closed, unable to speak. “When our race tire of life, we become female, and produce an egg. This egg hatches upon our death, where our life force becomes the new life. You are the first pony in our known history to witness this.” Thorak gently pushed the baby Dragon toward Sweetie. Looking to it, and then to Thorak, Sweetie noticed there was a new dullness to his eyes. “Do not fear, I still have life in me. The transference merely exhausts me. I must sleep for a year, maybe ten, to recover. Because of this, I have a final request from me to you. My mate wanted our son to grow up in a loving environment. This has happened in the past only once, and we entrusted that egg to your leader. “This was also to secure our peaceful relations for the foreseeable future. And now, I do the same to my son by bequeathing him to you.” Thorak bowed his head, and Sweetie took a step back as the baby Dragon gripped her hoof, dragging him slightly. Biting her lip, she tried levitating him, finding that he was almost too easy to levitate. “I-I don’t know. I don’t think I’m old enough to even consider-” Pausing, Sweetie noticed Thorak had fallen asleep, and was sending out a wisp of smoke. Silence stretching, Sweetie looked once more to the baby, taking note of the gray scales. Narrowing her eyes, Sweetie blinked as she saw speckles of white upon closer inspection. ’What do I do…’ Sighing, Sweetie stepped away from Thorak, carefully balancing the baby on her back. It gripped her, and she winced as the claws dug in. Looking toward Garble, Sweetie approached, concern on her face. Garble did a double take, looking deep in her eyes. “Wow, he gave you the flame of a Dragon. I didn’t even know you could give a portion of that.” Looking her over, Garble soon noticed the baby, and fawned slightly at its sleeping position. “Flame?” Sweetie was getting tired of dragons, and their half-answers. “Yeah, your eyes have that ‘glow’ they were missing when we first met. It’s like an uh-oh what’s the word. You know those things some ponies hang up that say they’re a part of that family? Like a, uh…” Garble went cross eyed, glancing toward the sky as he thought about it. “A coat of arms?” Narrowing her eyes, Sweetie mentally sighed, overcome with everything that had just transpired. “Yeah! It’s like our coat of arms. Only a dragon would notice it though. It’s like an occasional flicker of green in your eyes. Not very obvious seeing as yours are already green.” Shrugging, Garble considered that a good thing, and began filling Sweetie’s bags with smaller gems for the baby. “I guess I better go,” she replied, simply weary. When Thorak woke up, Sweetie was going to give him one hell of a talking to. Part of her suspected he just didn’t want to raise a baby. Waving goodbye to Garble, Sweetie walked up the bowl’s edge, heading for the Chariot. The Royals Guards said nothing, taking off when she ordered it. Back in the bowl, Thorak rose, walking over to the rock that had once been the she-Dragon. Sitting down, he touched his forehead to it. Closing his eyes, he began to quietly mourn her. The other Dragons paid no attention, seemingly all occupied with other things. Only one dragon, Garble, flew over and stood vigil with Thorak.