//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 Learning from Kindness // Story: The Dragon King's Rebirth // by Sipioc //------------------------------// Chapter 11 Learning from Kindness He was here. You knew it, you could smell him. You waited for him to slip up, and now there was nowhere to run. Silently you crept forward being sure not to be noticed. Keeping low to the ground you periodically scanned the scene for any sign of... 'THERE!' You spring forward, eyes locked on your quarry. The 'vermin' had eluded you for too long, and now you were closing in. You were begrudged to admit it, but he was far more cunning than you had first thought, leading you into various traps and pitfalls the likes of which had left your body bruised and sore. What he hadn't counted on was your persistence and tenacity to see this deed to the end. To be sure, this was a battle of wills, and you refused to let HIM win. A blur of white shoots around a corner to which you follow suit. Immediately, you feint left and dodge right as a series of projectiles narrowly miss you. "Not this time, hairball!" You snarl triumphantly as you resume the chase. You are on his furry heels now, a lunge forward and you could have him right by the nape. 'No, no.' You say to yourself 'Need to run him down this time.' Recalling a similar attempt that resulted in him taking a sharp left while you sailed forward, becoming quite personal with the floor. He was desperate now, and attempted to leap to get away from you. In ideal circumstances that might have worked, (again), but now he was tiring and in order to properly pull it off he would need to slow down. You allowed him an initial try, to give him a glint of hope, before you sent it crashing down. The second attempt you had caught him mid air, gripping him tightly. You felt his heart pounding in his little frame as you pulled him to your own chest a cruel smile forming at your own skill. This was short lived, as running full speed on all fours, then suddenly downgrading to two was catching up to you. Still that was a sacrifice you prepared for, as you tucked yourself to your side, holding him firmly to you, as you skidded off the floor, all the while turning to your back to absorb the impact. What you didn't account for was the open closet you two were careening towards. A loud crash could be heard coming from the inside of the little cottage near the Everfree. Various animals that roamed the grounds ceased their various grazing and grooming and looked toward the commotion. Then all was silent. When the dust cleared, you pulled yourself out of the wreckage of the hall closet. Your grip on the current bane of your existence, steeled. Looking down you couldn't help but grin at the little white rabbit currently held prisoner in your forelegs. "Thought you could get away, rodent?" You hissed at him. The white bunny, that went by the laughable name of 'Angel', only sharpened his glare at you. His black doll eyes belying what you knew was impressive levels of hatred. You noticed he was even more dirty now, the dust and sweat of the chase already co-mingling with the grime his initially sullied coat sported. For a time the two of you remained that way, meeting each other's glares beat for beat like a scowling chess match. The unavoidable truth of the situation, however, was growing more clear as you laid sprawled on your stomach amongst the rubble of trinkets and assorted springtime hats. Yes, you had him. He could do nothing to squirm free. But your own quadrupedal nature and the need to hold him firm, lest he renew the chase, meant you were stuck there. Unlike other animals about the cottage, your terrifying presence failed to cow him into obedience. Threats fell deaf on his large floppy ears, and the state of his coat (and your shear revulsion of the thought), prevented you from using your mouth to carry him by the scruff all the way back downstairs. A new tactic was called for, and you didn't like it one bit. "So...," you began, not breaking eye contact with the lowly lapine, "...ready for that bath?" The white wretch merely crossed his furry arms and stuck his nose up at you. 'It would be so easy to simply chomp off his head off then and...' 'Shut up!' You thought, physically shaking the sensible, albeit gruesome act of vengeance on your current vict... "Look!" You said rather loudly, taking yourself and Angel a bit by surprise. "You hate me. I get that." Your voice now more normal. "Hate you, too." Angel's nose returned vertical as he attempted to further turn away from you. "But," You said, biting at your words, "we are...both reasonable...mammals." Though he still wouldn't look at you, you did notice his ears perk slightly. "Their must be something...you want, to make this...easier." The little white rabbit slowly turned at you, a brow raised, regarding your proposition. Reluctantly, cautiously, you loosened your grip, and placed him in front of you, as you moved to a seated position, still ready to spring at the first sign of treachery. The little creature, plucked at the fur on his chin. Your gaze didn't flicker from his form, waiting for him to run, but also slowly starting to regret giving him any choice in the matter. A small smile slowly spread across his whiskered face, already you knew you weren't going to like this. --------------------- Fluttershy made her way back from the market, saddle bags filled with groceries, a smile on her face as she recalled the soothing spa date she had with the girls. Admittedly, she felt more then a little guilty for leaving her 'apprentice' at home to watch over the animals. She couldn't help but giggle a little at the sound of that. It had been only a week ago that she was approached by the colt's parents, asking her to take him under her wing, and teach him how to work with animals. At first she wasn't sure. Her special talent with creatures came so natural to her that she wasn't sure she could actual 'teach' it to somepony. Still, seeing him stare down that beastly bully in the meadow gave her a bit more confidence that the colt had his own natural talent with animals; monstrosities or otherwise. Reluctantly, yet gamely, she agreed. The initial meeting hadn't gone the greatest, she was sad to say. The whole cottage seemed to shudder and shriek the moment the grumpy colt stepped through the door, various animals inexplicably began to go into a panicked frenzy. It took a almost four days, and eight bags of treats for incentive, but her animal friends soon became more calm around the ornery little stallion. Flint needed a lot of work, too. He was combative, short tempered, and lacked any patience. Still, Fluttershy had dealt with similar behaviors from her animals, particularly the predatory ones. Much like them, a calm voice and gentle touch, and a well of her own patience, seemed to be the trick for him. Already, he went about helping her around the cottage with a lot less cursing, to no small relief to her sensitive ears. She was going to do something different today though. It was grocery day and she offered to take him along to run errands with the added incentive of pampering at the spa as a treat for all his hard work. To this, he merely looked at her as if she had started speaking woodchuck. He then declined, adding he would rather bathe Angel in rose petals and lavender all the while serenading him then go into that place. It was then she realized, that she was really making progress with him. How he knew Angel desperately needed a bath or his bath time ritual was a mystery to her, but she took it as a sign that she was making a difference with her teaching. The slack jawed look of joy on his face was all the encouragement she needed to see before she left for town. Yet all the while though, she was had second thoughts. 'Angel, the little dear, can be quite stubborn, especially on bath days.' She bit her lip nervously as her little home came into view. 'Still, Twilight said that sometimes teachers have to let their students learn the hard way, to learn real lessons.' She reassured herself. As much as she had faith that things wouldn't be that bad, her imagination quickened her step and she secretly prepared for the worst when she opened the door. -------------- 'How did this happen?' You wondered as you took stock of the events that lead up to this moment in your long life. 'I used to be one of the most feared beings on the planet. I've decimated whole armies, brought great beasts to ruin, destroyed entire cities on a whim!' Living as a pony child had been bad enough, but when Cozy and Sparks approached you about this whole "apprentice" thing. You knew this was going to be trouble. They used phrases like; "We were talking" meaning: Talking about you behind your back, and now you are going to have to do something we suggest. "You need structure": Get out of the house, and not terrorize the populace or scream at royals. "Use your special talents." : Butt tattoo means something. "We spoke with somepony in town who is willing to teach you." : Some poor sod was told a partial story about you and is now to be stuck with you until you make them cry. To this you could only respond as naturally as you could. "Get your bits back for whatever stupid parenting book your reading now." Meaning: I'm on to your game and aren't amused by it. After Sparks scolded you for your brashness and Cozy tucked something that looked strangely like a book out of sight. You were told the situation. By now they had heard about your "harrowing rescue" of the three fillies from Hodag, coupled with your mark appearing on your flank, they concluded that you could learn to be a productive member of society, by working with animals. To this you merely questioned their logic. After all, animals hated you. Regardless, you had every intention of running this whole thing straight into the ground, to prove you didn't like being manipulated. That was the plan, until your first day with Fluttershy. She was just as calm and quiet as the day you first met her, but somehow she was less annoying then other ponies you'd met. She didn't feel she needed to fill every moment with chatter. When it came to the actual 'work' she didn't boss you around, rather every thing she told you to do was presented not as a command, but a suggestion or a request, which you chose to oblige. Her animals reacted just like you expected them to, but after a while she had gotten them to at least stop squawking at you. You couldn't help but watch in awe of her expertise on creatures you would have merely crushed as mosquitos a thousand years prior. You were more amazed to find that after five hours of being their you had not only helped her with chores, but you hadn't hated doing so. You were also not blind to the fact that for a pony she was...attractive. Her flowing mane and dainty grace was something you did find, overall...pleasant to be around. Your current situation however, was an all time low. There you sat in the middle of a living room getting your mane and tail braided and combed by a bunch of woodland creatures. This was part of the deal you had worked out with Angel. He would willingly bathe, as well as help clean up the mess he made throughout the cottage. The cleaning of the house went by painlessly as you always did keep things neat. Zerilith may have been a dragon's den but you kept it free of debris, and corpses. In exchange you would need to swallow your pride and allow Angel and his friends gussy you up. You had seen them do this for Fluttershy, their grubby little mitts brushing and grooming the pretty yellow pegasus. Now it was your turn as various birds and squirrels groomed your usual 'as is' style of fashion. The ringleader sat on your back, his own coat a pearly white smelling of lavender. He, however, stank of smugness. He was currently in the act of tying a bright red ribbon in your already slicked back mane. "Enjoy this while you can, rodent." You grumbled through gritted teeth. He merely smirked at you, and patted you on the head. You knew full well the insidious bunny was enjoying this, mainly because you weren't. "...a deal... is a deal." You chanted over and over throughout the vile procedure. It wasn't as unpleasant as you thought it would have been, but that did not mean you had to like it, or not wish swift vengeance on the cotton tailed menace. "Oh!" A gasp immediately sent you into high alert. The resulting lurch sent a few skittish animals fleeing. Angel on reflex (but probably on purpose) wrapped his furry little arms around your withers as you came to your hooves. The resulting 'embrace' must have appeared to be 'cute' as the returned mistress of the house looked upon the scene with adoration in her eyes. Already you felt your face turn red and you puffed your cheeks indignantly. "That is so nice!" She said clapping her hooves together in delight. "I'm so glad you boys are finally getting along." She said, lowering her bags and turning her back to you both. Seeing the clear opening, you sharply jostle the little white cockroach off your back. He lands with a thunk on the hardwood, starting another of many death glare matches before he hops over to his owner and your supposed 'mentor.' "Everything looks wonderful, Flint." She said walking about the room. "All the animals are fed and happy, the cottage looks spotless, and Angel,". She says looking at her little companion, who has taken his spot on her back, "looks so handsome!" The little puff ball seems to beam at the compliment. "Yeah well..." You say dismissively, eager for her to simply let you call it a day and go. With a full body shake, you undo the work the animals had done, your kempt hair popping back to its normal unkempt position. You were having issues with the ribbon when the mare came up behind you. "Stand still." At first you were going to ask 'why' when you felt her nuzzle the side of your head. "Fluttershy...what are y-you..." Your voice trailed off as you slumped into her gentle grooming of your head. You wanted to pull away, you should pull away. 'Don't want to' 'Pull away!' 'Nope.' You ignored the turmoil in your mind as your practically melted into the floor. In the past Cozy would often brush your mane, you had allowed it to an extent. But she had nothing on this. "There!" The yellow mare said proudly ceasing her enchanting touch. It took a moment for you to register her words, and that you were slouching and your tongue was hanging out. "What do you think?" She said smiling at you. "Heavenly—I-I mean...you know! Whatever." You corrected, eyes refocusing and trying to play it off like you hadn't been reduced to a drooling mush on he floor. This only made her giggle yet again, "I meant what I did to your mane." Confused at first you reached back. Instead of your cavalier mullet you felt your hair was tied back in a modest ponytail. The ribbon was undone and now merely binding you mane together. "Would you like to see?" Fluttershy had said as she walked over with a hand mirror in her mouth. "NO!" Without realizing it at first you, jumped back. You still hadn't gotten over what you saw reflected in that window that afternoon you came home from detention. You don't know what it meant, but looking into that face haunted you. You had since sworn off mirrors, an odd quirk to your list of habits. "It-it feels, alright." You said calmly. Fluttershy's shock wore off and she set the mirror down. "It makes you look quite handsome, yourself." She said smiling as she started to unpack her groceries. "Y-you think so?" Slipped out before you could stop it. She looked to you again, smiled that sweet smile, and nodded. Your blushed returned at that as she went back to sorting her items, various animals assisting in putting them in their proper places. "I think that's all for today. Thanks again for doing such a great job today, Flint." You composed yourself and merely shrugged "Sure." Making your way for the exit. Just before you open the door you looked back at the butter colored mare. She was in the middle of humming a little tune to herself as her animals came out to greet her. How content she was in her own serenity, how pure she was in her kindness... 'How it made you sick.' 'No it didn't.' Somewhere in the back of your mind you felt a twinge, like something had gently cracked. You allowed yourself a small smile as you walked out the door.