//------------------------------//
// The Pit 
// Story: Mordane Stronghoof 
// by Mr Stargazer 
//------------------------------//

Mordane gasped. He was in a pool of water. He struggled to swim and got his head above the water, but he still couldn’t see.
 
As he began to flail, his hoof caught onto the edge of something hard. Using that, he pulled himself up onto land.
 
He sat on a cool floor, panting and blinking rapidly, waiting for his eyes to adjust.
 
A deep voice shook his entire being, but he still managed to scramble to his feet. He peered into the darkness, trying to see what was going to eat him. 

“They finally sent one down?”
 
Mordane felt his heart turn into a jackhammer, but even so, he stood strong and looked forward. He knew that his death was imminent, but he wasn’t afraid. No, he was calm. Images of Trixie flashed through his mind.
 
If I am going to die, it will not be as a cowering fool. 
 
“Are you going to run, little pony?” The voice grumbled from the darkness as his eyes continued to adjust.
 
“No.”
 
“Many have said that before.” The creature laughed. “Until...”
 
From the dark, an immense wall of flame leapt up, and Mordane saw the monster of the pit.
 
A dragon.
 
It was huge, larger than a Hydra. It dwarfed any dragon he had ever seen. Its scales were dark sapphire, wet and smooth. Like a mountain of the precious gems. The eyes were emerald green and they were glaring at him.
 
Mordane’s fur stood up on end. His wings hurt as they tried to rip out of his restraints instinctually, but he stood still and met the dragon's gaze.
 
The darkness returned; Mordane could hear the dragon moving through the dark.
 
Then suddenly a wall of teeth leapt from the shadows and snapped shut right in front of his face.

“Oh? A pony that refuses to flee. Useless as it is.” The voice shook him to his bones. Down to his core. “I am fascinated. What might this pony call itself?”
 
He looked up and down the dragon’s snout, taking note of the open mouth and rows of yellow teeth

“I am Mordane Stronghoof.” No tremor in his voice.
 
“Stronghoof? Old name.” The dragon chuckled. “Why are you not afraid, little pony?”
 
Mordane looked up and down the dragon’s length stretching into the darkness and met its eyes. Any thoughts of lying were gone in an instant. Those eyes seemed to pierce his skin and dig into his soul. Anything but the whole truth, and he would wish for quick death.
 
“I am afraid. Very afraid.” Mordane sat down on his haunches and let his ears drop. “It would be madness to not be afraid in front of such a being as you.”
 
“Yet you remain before me. You do not run.”
 
“Running would do nothing against one of such majesty as yourself. I decided that if I was going to die, then I’d meet the Creator eye to eye. That I wouldn’t cower.” Mordane hung his head. He had no expectations, no hope to live past that minute.
 
The ground rumbled and he felt a shadow blot out the light from above.
 
The dragon exhaled, hot wind rushing all over his fur and threatening to push him down. For a moment, he feared being burned alive.
 
An inhale, and the air reversed, turning frigid cold as his feathers and fur shook.
 
Then it happened again.

And again.
 
“You are an alicorn?” 

Mordane shook his head to try to get rid of the ringing, but the dragon spoke again. “I smell much on you. Blood, yours and not. More blood than I would expect from a pony. I smell another alicorn. Hmm…a dragon?”
 
The dragon pulled back, staring intently at Mordane. He took this moment to collect himself.
 
“Where have you met one of my kind before?”
 
Spike.
 
“I met him long ago.” Mordane inhaled again to calm himself, “He lived with my magic teacher who hatched him from an egg. The alicorn you smelled. His name was Spike.”
 
“Spike? “The dragon chuckled. “Pray tell how this pony found this dragon egg.”

Mordane shivered. There was an edge to the dragon’s tone that made him want to answer and not think. Like the sheer size of the being’s gravity pulled answers out of him.
 
“His egg was part of the entrance exam for Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. The unicorn in question would need to use magic to force his birth.”
 
“…No pony should be able to make a dragon egg hatch.”
 
“That was the point of the test. They only had one dragon egg. Many thought it was…infertile. Twilight, my teacher, was able to make it hatch when she had a magic surge along with acquiring her mark.”
 
“I…see.” The dragon looked troubled, almost uncertain.
 
Then her eyes locked onto Mordane’s.
 
“I am not so hungry today, Mordane Stronghoof. I suppose I’ll eat you in the morning. For now, follow me.”
 
Mordane shivered but didn’t even think of disobeying. Hesitantly, he followed the dragon as it moved back into the darkness.
 
_______________________________________________________________
 
 
The cavern turned out to have a hallway at the end of it, just big enough for the dragon to enter if she bent down.
 
“Don’t think I can’t reach you back there. I’ll just smack you with my tail and lick you up later.”
 
“…I won’t forget.”
 
Mordane kept his head facing forward, trying to think. His mind was sluggish. Like rusted gears, his mind had slowed with disuse, and it was hard to get it to focus again.
 
The dragon…She isn’t keeping me alive for a snack. It must be about something I said. 

He started grinding his teeth and thinking over their conversation
 
His eyes, though, turned to the walls of the hallway they were traveling down. The walls were far from the rough stone one would expect from a cave. In fact, it was obviously pony-made, smooth as could be expected with a dragon’s scales rubbing against it.
 
Even with long streaks in the stone writing could be made out. Mordane recognized ancient Equestrian, though he didn’t know enough to read it.
 
“These walls are old,” said the dragon, as if she could hear Mordane’s thoughts. “Older than even I. At one time they held all the power of Equestria. The grand council and the two sisters. Now it is only ruins, buried beneath rubble and sunk into the earth.”
 
“What buried it?”
 
“Celestia,” the dragon said, then sneered. “Celestia casted it down during the Nightmare War.”
 
They came to the end of the hallway into another great chamber with no other exits.
 
Mordane swallowed, hard.
 
On the other end of the room was a pile of jewels and gems. Huge by his pony senses, but small in comparison to the large dragon.
 
In the moments as Mordane walked to the pile of glistening treasure, he began to feel the truly ancient nature such a being. Even eating the occasional jewel, she still had so many. Perhaps thousands, no, tens of thousands of ponies had passed through her maw. He remembered her eyes looking at him, gleamed over, like she was looking at a piece of wood.
 
To her, I am nothing but an interesting meal.
 
The image of her snapping at him played in a loop in his head. The sudden wave of heat that washed over him from her moist breath. He hadn’t breathed, but he could almost smell her breath in the memory.
 
Fear tried to creep into his heart, but like before it just seemed unable to reach him. His heart slowed to normal, thudding along with his hooves.
 
“Place your necklace upon the pile.”
 
Mordane complied, taking off the valuable jewel and tossing it onto the pile before moving over to a pile of cloth, which he quickly realized was the discarded clothes of those that had come before him. Most seemed to be thick winter clothing.

The dragon circled the massive pile of gold three timed, strikingly similar to a dog. The heavy metal reformed to fit her bulk.
 
They sat across from each other like reflections, each lying comfortably atop the piles of the deceased.
 
“So, little pony. Tell me of the outside world before I retire.”
 
“Well…there was a war between Tietus and Irona. I fought as a mercenary for Tietus. After losing, though, they heaped the blame for the brutality of the war upon me.”
 
“Tietus and Irona have always fought; they hate each other. Stupid little ponies. The king of Tietus is the rightful heir of the lands of Herridon. It was about two hundred years ago when the king’s council led a rebellion to form their ‘democracy’. Weak. Just like their king who couldn’t hold them.” The dragon rumbled in irritation. “Speak of things more interesting, or I may go ahead and eat you.”
 
Mordane thought for a moment, then continued.
 
“I am sure that from others you have heard almost everything about the land above you. Perhaps you would prefer to hear about Equestria?”
 
“I was a citizen of Equestria, pony,” the dragon snapped. “This land IS Equestria.”
 
Mordane blinked and shifted his mindset.
 
“Of course, by all rights this land should be part of Equestria, but the fact that it is not, doesn’t mean that Equestria is no more. It has only been reduced to north of the great divide.”
 
The dragon blinked slowly before smiling.
 
“I see…” She let out a puff of smoke, then scratched herself before stretching. “Tomorrow you will tell me of Celestia’s Equestria. For now, sleep.”
 
The dragon closed her eyes and soon began to snore.
 
Mordane laid on the makeshift bed. Taking a moment to measure the lack of a fear. To remember the look on Trixie face and his thoughts before death.

He wondered, what was it he had been so afraid for all those years?

______________________________________

Fire. Fire everywhere. Pitch-black fields and ruins as far as he could see. Bodies of ponies and men strewn around. He stood in an empty riverbed.
 
Mordane recognized his inner self. The projection of his inner self anyway.
 
Looking down, he was surprised to see only his human hands. He opened and closed the appendages that he was originally born with.
 
They seemed almost alien, but still it felt right. It was good to have them again. He shakily stood up, took a few tenuous steps and got into stride. He began to follow the dry river of tears.
 
Mordane reflected on the purpose of tears as he walked. They were meant to signal weakness, to incite empathy and draw others close. He supposed that was why it was dry now. There was no one for him to turn to. No one to speak to about anything.
 
He was always alone.
 
“That is not true.”
 
Mordane turned to see something walking beside him. A pony.
 
“You had your friends. Spike, Twilight, then Stalker and Boulder.”

 He turned and glared at the construct.

“Even in a crowd, one can be alone, Kindness. That form doesn’t suit you. You are not Fluttershy. Go back to your human form.”

Suddenly the form changed to that of a young woman. One he had met many years before comming to Equestia.
 
“And you are not real. Only a part of me.”
 
“I-” The construct began.
 
“Be no more.”
 
And like dust, Kindness dispersed. He felt the aspect of himself resettle inside of his mind.

“I grow tired of this place.” Mordane growled. “I keep returning here. Why can’t I leave this part of me behind?”
 
Mordane walked for a few days, a few seconds, or maybe an hour. Time was a meaningless thing here, passing as quickly, or slowly as he desired.
 
The land was barren. It fit, he thought, as it reflected how he felt. The ruins all around him were washing away, running into the wind.
 
He came to the tower.
 
At the base of it, the withered skeleton[?] of the necromancer from years before lay. Dead and gone, never to return. Mordane remembered ripping into him, tearing constantly to take what he wanted. In a flash of insight, he realized that perhaps the reflection of the other pony had always been more. Whatever it was, it was a part of him now.
 
The dead form flowed into him as well and he moved on.-
 
The chamber was empty. Not a single idea vied for his attention. Not a plan was strewn on the table.
 
The glass window was broken. Letting that hot, moist wind flow throughout everything.
At the table sat three figures. Somehow each seemed more solid than ever before. Mordane understood. They had drawn in the other parts of himself. Somehow he knew that they were the only four parts left.
 
“So here he is.” Rage gripped his fingers, knuckles turning white. “All in ruins. Everything burned and useless.”
 
“Yes, it is true.” Logic nodded, eyes cold but focused. ”Closing shop, it would seem.”
 
“It has been a long time.” He wasn’t certain who this little girl was. ”It is good to see you, Moment.”
 
“You are?” Mordane/Moment asked. “I do not know you.”
 
The others chuckled and shook their heads. They were acting far too real for Mordane’s taste. This was, after all, only supposed to be a reflection.
 
“You have given up.” She smiled as he leaned against the table. “There is nowhere left for me, but here. Everything is so empty. You have been running from me for a long time. I have been trying to get here for ages. Now... I have finally made it.”
 
Mordane felt fear it rushed in, like a thunderclap. This was not natural. He had no idea what this thing was. He should always know what everything here was.
 
“All of this was just a way to keep me from you, John.”
 
“Maria...I..I...”
 
Maria wrapped her arms around him.
 
“Don’t you love me anymore?”
 
Mordane’s world dissolved. 
____________________________________________________________________
 
Mordane woke up.
 
He rolled over. Inside, he was like a cavern, yet somehow he ached in his heart, a pain he didn’t want, but couldn’t push away.
 
No tears flowed.
 
“You slept unsoundly, little pony.”
 
Mordane barely held back a snap. He instead clicked his mouth closed.
 
The dragon looked over him before stretching.
 
“What have you dreamt of?”
 
“Things long forgotten.”
 
Mordane grunted before standing.
 
“Tell me of this dragon you knew.”
 
Mordane nodded.
 
“His name is Spike. He was a friend for many years. A bit awkward, especially when nervous.” Mordane cocked his head to the side trying to remember more and deciding how to proceed with the conversation.
 
“Where did he come from?”
 
“Celestia had him, from what I understand. I don’t know for how long.” Mordane considered for a few moments. “Ah yes, and he is married to a pony named Rarity.”
 
A deep chill settled over the room. Mordane winced as the dragon froze for a moment before suddenly heading off down a random hallway.
 
Mordane relaxed before a roar shook the room.
 
“MARRIED A PONY!”
 
The dragon wandered off down one of the many tunnels, each step shaking him to his core and bringing a clunk from the pile of gold.
 
*Gurgle*
 
Mordane’s stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten in a full day. Looking around the cave left little in the way of hope for food.
 
What light there was seemed to come only from a pit in the corner of the room. Mordane wondered what exactly it could be burning for a second as his eyes fell on a cistern.
 
Earlier he had assumed it to be a sewer. Now, though, he saw it to be reasonably clear.
 
Must be mountain water.
 
He walked over and dipped in his head, taking in several gulps before beginning to examine the structure.
 
It stuck out of the ground about half his height. There were carvings in the stone and, he noted, the ancient Equestrian.
 
Out of the cave, he heard the dragon returning. Looking back, he was surprised to see her carrying three pigs by their rear legs.
 
There was a gleam in her eye as she dropped them in front of him.
 
“Hmmm, my one meal a day arrived.”
 
She began to lick one of the pigs. Mordane raised his eyebrows as the skin was stripped of in a matter of moments. Then the dragon reared back.
 
Mordane bolted back just before a gout of flame consumed the pig, sizzling the flesh in an instant. He watched with fascination as the dragon repeated the process two more times, leaving a small pile of skin.
 
Mordane walked up again, really looking at the burning pigs. He sniffed and could smell no oil nor gas, only burned flesh.
 
Curious, I thought they would use a gas sack. 
 
“Perhaps you want a bite, herbivore?” The dragon asked with a chuckle.
 
Mordane considered it for a moment. Eating meat was something he hadn’t done since coming to this world. It was possible, but the ponies put it on the same level as cannibalism. Something only to be done in desperation. He certainly didn’t qualify yet.
 
However, the idea didn’t affect him as much.

“Yes actually, if you wouldn’t mind sparing some of course.”
 
The dragon stopped laughing and snapped her head back to him.
 
“What did you say?”
 
Mordane walked up and started looking one of the pigs over. Thinking of a way to get part off.
 
“I see no reason not to.” Mordane grabbed onto a leg then pulled.
 
The flesh tasted strange in his mouth. There was no chemical or acid from the dragon fire, but the burned flesh just seemed to slide off his teeth.
 
Ah, no canines.
 
A dragon claw came down and spit the leg from the body. Mordane fell back onto his plot but smiled in thanks.
 
Whipping off his hooves first, he grabbed onto the flesh and ripped off a piece of the pork. It was quite rare but surprisingly tasty. He could taste the iron content more easily than he remembered, though.
 
The dragon sat across from him and began to eat her food, watching in fascination as a smiling pony ate the flesh of another being.
 
“Your teeth don’t seem to help much in chewing that.”
 
“My hooves don't, either. It's a bit annoying.” Mordane looked down at her now-bloody claws. “Do dragons usually eat meat?”
 
“Not as much as I do, but we don’t suffer from it.” She lifted up her claws and began to lick off the blood. “So where does a pony learn to enjoy the taste of flesh?”
 
Mordane snorted for that
 
“Not any place I know. The concept just doesn’t bother me as much as my fellow ponies. To them, this meal would be an horrible crime. A sin against nature and all that.”
 
“Perhaps it is.” She chuckled. “Ponies don’t eat meat.”
 
“That is true,” Mordane said before heading over to the cistern and jumping in.
 
The dragon turned her head to the side.
 
“How old are you, Mordane?”
 
“Eighteen.” The dragon's nose scrunched up. Her eyes bore into him.
 
“How old are you, Mordane?”
 
He froze for a fraction of a second before continuing to wash.
 
“I'm eighteen. Quite young, I assure you.”
 
The dragon growled, and a claw snaked up under his throat before turning his head to her.
 
“I warned you not to lie to me.”
 
The dragon’s eyes flashed, and the world seemed to stretch. Suddenly Mordane couldn’t look anywhere else but her green eyes. They seemed to reach out and pull him in some intangible way.

“I’d have preferred to keep your mind intact.”
 
__________________________________
 
Mordane gasped. He sat up in the middle of his tower construct. Outside there was a storm raging and the peal of thunder, but that wasn’t what drew his attention.
 
The tower shook, and Mordane felt something pierce his mind, coming to be in this world and holding against the storm of his mind.
 
Suddenly, the great window busted in. The female dragon skidded to a stop on his floor, snarling.
 
She was much smaller and younger looking, but her eyes scanned the room with just as much rage.
 
She locked eyes with him.
 
“What is this?” She gestured with her claw. “This is your mental self-image?” She sped across the room and snaked around him. Mordane noted that they appeared as the same size.
 
“What are you?”
 
She pushed him over and crawled on top of him. Her claw dug into his throat as she sniffed him all over.
 
“Get OFF!”
 
A blast of force threw the dragon across the room to slam into a wall. She twisted in midair to land with a growl.
 
“So! Not a pony.” She laughed. “A predator. And one that I’ve never seen before. Tell me, creature, when had you taken a foal’s flesh?”
 
“Questions. Questions!” Mordane growled. “All you do is asking questions. If you want any more answers, come get them!”
 
The dragon leaped at him. Mordane leaned forward to go under her, but then her wings opened, and she twisted her body in midair to swing her tail at him.
 
The tail passed a few inches over him. Mordane then drove his shoulder into her.
 
Mordane began to pant. He wasn’t sure how he could be tired from a mental conflict.
 
The dragon growled and embraced him. Her claws wrapping around his head.
 
“Tell me!”
 
With a wrenching, the images of his life as a human began to flash past. Pulled against his will, it was as if he was being dragged through gravel.
 
His parents coming home late.

Their cold shoulders.
 
His grandfather.
 
The mistake and finding his way into a womb.
 
Then back again.
 
His parents.

His grandfather.
 
Star Charmer.

Maria.
 
Mordane roared. He punched the invader. He punched again. And again.

With a great heave, he threw her out of the tower.
 
___________________________________________
 
Mordane gasped.
 
He fell down into the cistern, the world spinning.
 
Mordane looked up at the towering dragon.
 
The dragon panted.
 
“Yes. I took it long ago.” Her eyes locked onto him again. A flash of anger was quickly washed away as Mordane realized she was analyzing him.
 
“So, you are no pony.”
 
“Mentally I am not.” Mordane looked down at himself. “Ever since gaining this body, though...”
 
“No.” She frowned. “You are...human, was it?”
 
“How much did you get?”
 
“Enough.” She turned around. “I need to think. Stay here.”
 
Mordane watched her move over to the pile of gold, do a few loops, then lay on it. Mordane decided that perhaps it was best to just do a little jog to dry off.
 
A few hours later, she returned. Her eyes looked him over. The glint seemed to be gone from them, though, leaving a stern look behind.
 
“I have decided not to eat you.”
 
“...Thank you?”
 
“Yes,” she continued, ignoring him. “You are no pony. In fact, you are a predator...even though you barely act like it.”

Mordane furrowed his brow and looked down at the ground. He dug his hoof slightly into the ground.
 
“I don’t know what to say to that. I am what I am.”
 
“No. You are what you think you should be,” she snapped before taking a moment to calm down. “You are mistaken; the path you have chosen leads to death.”
 
Mordane sighed and lowered his head. His eyes hooded over.
 
“Everyone dies.”
 
The dragon chuckled.
 
“True, even an immortal will die in time. A stray arrow, a falling boulder. Poison in their cup. Why are you ready for it, though?”
 
Mordane chewed the problem. He wasn’t sure how to answer the dragon. He just didn’t have much choice. It seemed inevitable. He had no way to…
 
“It’s because I can’t do anything about it. Not with my horn being broken.”
 
“Broken horn? Why would that stop you?”
 
“I can’t cast magic,” Mordane snapped.
 
“No magic?” The dragon frowned before a light blinked on in her eyes. “Do you only think magic comes through your horn? Are you not pegasus? Are you not earth pony?” She sighed before looking back over to him “You know though, that I wasn’t referring to the now. Why is it you seem to have already died?”
 
Mordane shook his head again. He had only been acting on what the world forced him to.

“I’m too weak to do anything that I want. To help anyone, save anyone. It all seems to turn to ash wherever I go and whatever I touch. I seem doomed to misery.”
 
The dragon looked him up and down. She seemed to drift off then, looking into the distance. Mordane sat still, not sure what to think. This entire time since he had saved Trixie was out of his experience.
 
“Fire.”
 
Mordane’s ears twitched.
 
“You are fire.” Her eyes focused on him again. “Fire burns hot. It draws others in with its warmth to keep them from the harsh cold. It burns them as well, though. So you dampen yourself. You hesitate and dampen your fire. You turn inward and lose sight of the world. Is it any wonder that they succumb when you are not there? When you are not fully in the moment?”
 
Mordane bit his tongue. He bit it to fight back the shaking in his chest. The urge to let the tears flow.
 
“I’m tired of being scared...I know my failings.” Mordane hung his head. “I just don’t know how to get better.”
 
The dam broke, and his shoulders shook. He didn’t want to cry. Not like this. Not out of his control and not out of his own terms. His belly twisted and the shame stabbed like a knife twisting there. The streams of saltwater poured out.
 
“I hurt everyone and everything. I can do nothing. I hate it. I hate it. I hate lying to everyone. I hate being weak. I hated being beneath HER.” He gasped. He was shouting now, his teeth bared, eyes fixed on the floor. “Beneath her shadow. In a world of HER making, In HER nation, I HATE IT. I HATE NOT BEING FREE OF HER! EVEN NOW SHE IS EVERYWHERE!”
 
He shook and balled up, tears falling to the dusty ground beneath.
 
The dragon nodded before snaking a claw under his chin and turning him to face her.
 
“Pony. I am Hahnu Loaas in the dragon tongue, and I will teach you to control that fire within. I will teach you how to live. I will teach you, Mordane Stronghoof, about yourself.”
 
___________________________________________________
 
“Keep going.”
 
Mordane had never felt this tired in his life. Nor had he ever been so hot. He was panting now, wings aching as he flew.
 
Two hours ago, the dragon had sat him down and asked him to meditate. Thirty seconds later, she had shot a fireball at him.

She then told him to meditate while flying, or she would burn him.

Mordane was not meant to keep going this long without breaks. He remembered Rainbow telling him to take naps when tired from flying, but Hahnu was giving him no chance.

“Feel the burning inside. Let it flow through you. Out of you. Let it burn the outside, not the inside.”
 
Mordane dipped again, and once again the dragon left off burst of flame onto the ground below him. It was already a cherry red.
 
“Fire is of the wind. It is movement and life. Let the fire burning you flow...low?”
 
What the hell is she talking about?
 
Mordane had used magic before to help him fly, but without a horn, such a thing was impossible. All he could do is flap his wings, muscles already cramping.

“How can you not see?” she growled.
 
“I-I’m--” Mordane gasped. “I’m trying; this is impossible, though. My horn is broken! I cannot control the flow of magic!”
 
The dragon snarled. Then drew a deep breath.

A hot wave of air blasted him. He was thrown back and pinned against a pillar sticking up. There he stayed for four seconds.
 
Ten seconds.
 
Mordane took the opportunity to rest. Not resisting against the wind and letting it hold him there naturally, thinking it would give him a few seconds.
 
Twenty seconds later, he started wondering just how long she could keep it up.
 
One minute after that, he was in awe. This was an impossible amount of air for any creature to be holding in their lungs.
 
Pushing against the wind, he cracked open an eye toward the dragon.
 
He saw her take a breath without the wind abating.
 
What?
 
Suddenly it stopped, and Mordane, not wanting to be singed, began to flap again.
 
“The wind does not answer to a horn.”
 
Mordane frowned before looking at his wings. A fireball screeched past and impacted on the wall. The dragon snorted.
 
“Again.”
 
Mordane groaned and took to the air, his wings creaking in protest.
 
“Feel the flow around you. It is the fire within you that let you mingle with air. Because you are the air.”
 
“Don’t I move the air with my wings?”
 
“No child. With your heart.” She sighed in exasperation. “I cannot make it any clearer. You must mingle your wind with the greater whole. Only then can you truly control it.”
 
Mordane tried. He focused on the wind. On his wings. He had done a dozen things, a hundred things in the last few hours.
 
“Be the wind,” he mumbled. And Mordane turned inward.
 
Wind is fire, fire is life

So my life?
 
He dodged another fireball. He was panting again.
 
Fire. Heat.
 
He saw the dragon standing and breathing as a windstorm racked across him. Her eyes blazing.
 
 Fire is life.
 
The words echoed back from his first lesson with Twilight. Friendship is magic. Feeling is power. He thought back to his greatest feats of magic, how he had been fueled by desire. How he had changed that feeling into his spells without thinking about it.
He once again dodged another fireball. Rage blossomed in his chest. This time he did not push it down.
Mordane reached down and unbuckled the clasp of his heart.
 
Hate, anger, and fear all flowed out like a torrent. Mordane did not flinch back, though. He did not run like before.

He channeled it down his wings, out in his breath. He breathed in anger, he swam in fear.
 
For as long as he remembered, he had to pull at the wind and push with his magic to maintain and control flight. For the first time, he felt the wind caress him. He felt the wind flow to his will.
 
The dragon fired another fireball. This time he felt how weak it was. How it barely held together.
 
With a flash of courage, he wrapped himself in a wind cocoon.
 
The fireball splashed over him. Ripped to pieces from the quickly-twisting wind around him.
 
“Goood,” the dragon’s voice rumbled. “Even a pup of a dragon could have dissipated that fireball. Though not as quickly as you did.”

She nodded her head over to the cistern.
 
“Take a break. We continue soon.”
 
Mordane teetered over to the pool of water.
 
*Plop*
 
He belly flopped into the water before flipping over and resting his head on the edge. He gulped down the spring water, thinking of nothing but the feeling of being wind.
 
____________________________________________
 
 I’m going to become a carnivore at this rate, Mordane thought as he twisted his head side to side before finally ripping off a chunk of meat. Mother would probably faint if she saw this.
 
He chuckled.
 
“What do you find funny, little one?”
 
“I just thought of my old teacher, Twilight, student of Celestia, and how she would react to me eating meat.”
 
She threw back her head and roared in laughter.
 
“I remember when Luna saw me eat for the first time. She emptied her belly all over my meal. Insisted on giving the pig a funeral.”

He choked. The image of Luna standing solemn over a grave for a pig was priceless.
 
“Though, did she not know of your true nature?”
 
“She didn’t even know I was an alicorn. Nopony did. I hid that way for a long time. What made you meet Luna anyhow?”
 
She smiled and leaned back to look at the ceiling. A claw came up to scratch her chin.
 
“I decided to make a mountain in their home duchy into my hold. Canterlot Mountain, I think it was called. It was empty at the time but within sight of their castle. I... may have taken a few animals. So they came to ‘vanquish the evil,’ as she put it. I put the little upstarts in their place.”
 
“You defeated them?” Mordane’s voice quivered. “How?”
 
“They were young. I was old, even then. After speaking for a while, I decided to teach Luna how to become one with the wind. Before their rise. Before the fall of Equestria. Before the Nightmare.”
 
She blinked, coming back from her thoughts before frowning back down at Mordane.
 
“You fear them?”

Mordane nodded his head rapidly. Only a fool wouldn’t fear the pony princesses. She furrowed her brow.
 
“I see...you have been fearing a lot of things.” She nodded her head. “Fear is the mind killer. The slow death. The cold that stills the winds of your heart.”
 
“You have been having bad dreams,” she said simply.
 
“Yes.”

“About the tower. About that girl.”
 
Mordane froze.
 
The dragon snorted, then stood up. Driving her foot into the ground hard enough to crack the stone and cause Mordane to yelp.
 
“Let us get started then.”
 
__________________________________________________________
 
“Fear is the mind killer.”
 
Mordane was deathly afraid.
 
The dragon had been keeping him busy all day, even after the flying. She worked Mordane to the bone. She had him lift rocks while flying, Protecting a small flame in a windstorm. Cleaning up bones.
 
The entire time she had spent explaining the taste of a pony. What it was like to feel the bones crack in your teeth. Mordane now knew the different taste of pony from Griffin, from chicken, from cow and even from zebra.
 
She even commented on their screams, in that she could tell what kind of being they were from them. Some would say nothing. Others would beg. Some very few would look her in the eyes like Mordane and got to live a bit longer.
 
Mordane tried to talk to her. Tried to get her to listen to stories of Celestia, Luna and Spike. She wasn’t interested. Not even in the least.
 
He began to practically feel the teeth on his flesh.
 
True to her word the bite never came though. She never even stated that she would.
 
By that night, exhausted, he fell into a pile of cloth and was out like a light.
 
______________________________________________________
 
Mordane stood at the window. Fear still twisting in his heart.

He already knew who was up here. He wanted to run. He wanted to put this tower at the bottom of a ravine then cap it.
 
He laid there trying to focus, trying to get up and move from this tower.
 
But he was too tired. Too weak.
 
“You’re back.”
 
Mordanes eyes shifted over weakly. Expecting her eyes to grab him in. They instead crossed him.
 
“Are you going to run?”
 
Mordane stood shakily to his knees, looking at the angel before him.
 
“I am too weak to run from this.” He suddenly realized this way the dragons intent. To make him weak to run.

“Have you forgotten me?” The voice of silk asked him.
 
“You know I haven’t.” He hung his head. “I have been running from you for a long time though. From what I did.”
 
She smiled, caressing his cheek.
 
“You didn’t have anything to do with tha-”
 
Mordane clamped down on her arm. Rage burning at the image before him.
 
“No. Not in her voice. I don’t have that right.”
 
Her face twisted into pain.
 
“John.”

“Get out.”
 
She stood there seemingly uncertain.

“GET OUT!” Mordane roared.
 
And like a wisp she was gone.
 
Mordane fell back to the floor and cried again. Through gritted teeth he cried. Until he heard a noise.
 
“Do I not even have peace from you in my dreams?”
 
“If this dream is peace.” The dragon materialized from the shadows in her smaller form. “Then I do not know misery.”
 
She slipped around the room and up the burning fireplace. Seemingly basking in its warm glow.
 
“Tell me what happened.”
 
Mordane snapped his head to her. Then back to the ground. His eyes hardened and lips drew back into a line.
 
“She died.” He looked off into the distance. “He died. They all died. And I survived.”
 
“Tell me.”
 
Mordane growled.
 
“Fine. But I do not want sympathy. I don’t want any comments. I’ll satisfy your curiosity and then you’ll be gone.”
 
_________________________________________________________
 
Two years before John became Mordane and came to Equestria
 
“John! John? Wake up John. You don’t want to lose that girl of yours.” His mother's voice cut in like a knife. “Anyone’s guess why she’s with you.”
 
He ignored the comment said as she moved away. For some reason he never fathomed she always seemed to think she was being quieter than she was. John ran down his itinerary for the day before glancing over at his clock.
 
Plenty of time left.

John stood up in his small cramped room and picked out some clothes.
 
“I said get up!” His mother roared again despite the fact he was up, “You don’t want to be like your good for nothing father.”

John bit back a retort. Instead her took a deep breath and reached over to the stand next to his bed. There rested a bible. He rested his hand on it for a moment.
 
Lord give me strength to forgive her
 
He released the breath and let the anger flow down the river. Down the river and out to the ocean from where it would never return.
 
His hand moved over and picked his pistol, strapping it to his back followed by putting his shirt over it.
 
Picking up his keys, wallet, phone and bag he took only a moment to load up a basket of his clothes before slipping out the front door.
 
He thanked God silently that his father wasn’t home and that his mother had slept in. Otherwise he wouldn't have gotten a full night's sleep.
 
“Yo, John!”
 
He smiled. There she was. Maria, right on time like always.

John wasn’t stupid. He could objectively tell that she wasn’t the prettiest girl around, but she was HIS girl and loyal to boot. Plus, an interesting person to talk to.
 
She wore plain clothes and little makeup. She wasn’t thin but neither was she fat. Pleasantly plump he would say.
 
“How’s my plump little buttercup” He grinned wickedly before dodging the cup thrown at his face from Maria. “Careful, you might just chase me away.”
 
“At least then I’ll not have to look at your smart ass. Get in the car we have church to get to.”
 
He slid on in. Taking a moment to wave over at his grandfather across the field.

“Had you invited him?” She asked as she pulled out of his driveway.
 
“Yeah. Said he didn’t believe in church. That him and the lord had an understanding. Then he started going on about some war going on in Kenya:”
 
Maria smirked. They moved down the road and took a left before coming to a stop at a stoplight.

On the corner John noticed someone standing.
 
It was a man he recognized. His name was William and his brother had killed himself a few years earlier. The thought left a sour taste in John's mouth. The brother blamed him for the suicide. The two of them had spoken before it happened. He had said some things. Looked at the guy and turned his own fears against him. John regretted it. But he refused to believe that he was responsible for the guy’s death.
 
John wouldn’t lower, or turn his head. He stared directly into the man’s eyes until his girlfriend punched him in the arm after the light turned green.
 
The two of them arrived at services and it was mostly uneventful. The spirit moved some, but not much and the sermon was about the ten commandments. He did learn that not using the lord's name in vain didn’t mean swearing though.
 
After the sermon and the talking afterwards, plus some rather pointed questions as to if they were married yet, they got back into the car and headed back down the road toward their town. It was then when John's phone went off.

“Hello?”
 
“John? It’s me!” 

John chuckled.
 
“Hey grandpa, what are you doing? I see you got your flip phone working.”
 
“Like trying to replace an engine one handed. So I’d bet my last two real teeth you're with that girl of yours. Going to bring her to meet me?”
 
“Yes he is.” Maria bumped in giggling. “How about we pick you up for lunch?”
 
His grandfather seemed to have shaved for once and his clothes had no holes in them, which was an oddity for the old man.
 
The three of them went down to a diner. John couldn’t remember what they talked about. All he could think of was the warm smile of his grandfather. His girlfriend spewing milk out of her nose at something he had said. The look of horror on her face as the two of them laughed.
 
After eating they went back out to her car when it happened.
 
When his past choices came back to haunt him.
 
He didn’t see the blow coming, nor did he hear the group of men. Before he knew it he was on the ground, stars dancing in his eyes and head pounding like an elephant was jumping on it.
 
“Stop it. I said stop it!”
 
John scrambled to his feet, grabbing the car for support. He forced his eyes to focus and assess the situation.
 
There was three of them and one was already reared back for a punch.
 
The blow landed in his gut. He felt his back pop from the impact. Instinctually John raised his hands to cover his face and caught the next blow with his arm. A twist and a step in, and he drove his left arm across the man’s face.
 
His assailant staggered back and it was then he recognized him.
 
“William? What the hell are you doing!?”
 
The anger he had seen earlier that day was boiling out of the man’s eyes. One of the other men had grabbed his girlfriend and had her head in a cross lock with his hand over her mouth.
 
On the ground laid his grandfather, clutching at his stomach. A big black spot spreading through his clothes. Johns eyes flicked back down to his assailant's hands. In the left was a knife covered in red.
 
“What am I doing? What am I doing!” William roared. “You killed my brother. What the fuck do you think I’m doing?”

William stepped in and swung in with the knife. John dodged just to the right of the swing and stepped into his assailant. Pinning the arm with the knife. William responded by coming in with a hard right into his side.
 
John gasped and was pushed back to the car again. His head swam again.
 
John had enough.
 
He reached up under his shirt and gripped his pistol. Whipping it out he saw a large man rushing him.

He fired.
 
Two shots right into the chest and the man dropped. But it was not William, only one of the guys helping him.
 
“Freeze! Or I’ll gut her!”
 
John had his gun at half raised. His blood was pumping. There was ringing in his ears.
 
In front of him. William was holding her. He had the knife pressed against her stomach and his arm pinning her to him. Maria was afraid. John could see it in her eyes.
 
John though, was not afraid. He was enraged.
 
“Your brother killed himself William. I can’t be held for that. He was already messed up.”
 
“Bullshit. My brother was good until you talked to him. What you said tore him to pieces. He wasn’t the same. Locked himself up until he put this knife to his own wrists.” He pushed the knife a little into her for emphasis. Drawing a gasp of pain. ”You killed him. I don’t care what the law says. You're going to pay. Mike! Take the gun. He won’t do anything while I have his girl.”
 
Mike seemed to hesitate. Seemingly wanting to run but made up his mind and started toward John.
 
John saw Mike moving closer. He knew that a knife was to his beloved’s gut. But a rage welled up inside of him and he made a mistake. The decision to kill came too easily.
 
Some part of him calculated the risk involved and put his own safety first.
 
Moving to the right he fired one shot into Mike’s head before moving back to William.

It was too late.
 
His face pinched in as William drew the knife in deep and long. All the way across her belly before John was able to aim at him.
 
John ran over to her. She was clutching her ruined stomach. Shaking as a pool of blood rapidly formed.

Some part of his mind registered that his grandfather was already gone. That Maria would soon follow.
 
“John?” She said tearing up. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
 
“Shh, don’t talk.” He whispered, cradling her head. In the distance he could hear sirens and people shouting. “Help will be here soon.”
 
She looked down at herself before shaking her head. Her eyes watering up.
 
“John, I. Love…”
 
And she was gone.

John laid her down.
 
He stood up and backed away. His hands hanging out in front of himself. Covered in her blood. He tried turning away but all around him were dead. Three men, his grandfather, Maria.
 
At a short distance he could see people he knew staring at him. Mouth wide with horror.
 
He looked at Maria’s face.

And he ran.
 
___________________________________________________
 
“The police picked me up at my grandfather's house and took me in. But the whole thing was on video and there were witnesses. I was only in for sixteen hours before being let go. A clear case of self-defense they said. No charges were ever brought against me. I wandered home and went to Maria's and my grandfather's funeral.”
 
“Then what?”
 
“I was alone. Until I came to Equestria.”
 
Mordane sighed before sitting down.
 
“So you ran.” She stated blunt.
 
Mordane glared at her.
 
“Yes, I ran.”
 
“Then you never stopped running.”
 
Mordane said nothing. Did nothing.
 
“Yet after you kept running others still died. What then was the point of running?”
 
“I just had to.”
 
The dragon nodded.
 
“You are afraid to live.”
 
“...Yes…”
 
“It is the small bravery to face violence, it is so much harder to face ourselves. It is hard even for a dragon.”
 
Mordane’s ears twitched and he looked up with a slight frown and pinched brow. The dragon was hanging her head, eyes closed.

“It is hard. Long ago I fought Celestia. I was the lord of my pack. Beholden to no one. I sat upon the Celestial mountain. Three times. Three times the pony princesses had come before me. Three times I had thrown them out of my personal hold, claiming another three years of gems for my hoard.”
 
She smiled.
 
“They did not show themselves for a long time. The gems kept coming so I didn’t mind. Then one day Luna came. Blazon in armor.” She chuckled “She defeated me with shadow. She was my opposite and held my weakness. I followed the old ways and swore myself to her. I was abandoned by my pack.”
 
Her wings rose and she growled.
 
“They left me. But I was not ashamed. This pony was strong. Worthy of my respect. I offered to go, bring the dragons to heel for her but they were too far below her consideration.”
 
She lowered her head.
 
“Celestia and I never got along. I would stay in my caves and she would stay in her family tower. She watched as her sister founded the small town of Canterlot.”
 
“I always thought it was founded by Celestia.”
 
“No. It was Luna. I remember when we abandoned it. In the middle of the night to move to the south. A few years later we were at war. Then came my greatest shame.”
 
Mordane waited quietly while the dragon collected herself.
 
“I was betrayed in this city. Despite Luna’s orders the council voted to surrender to Celestia. When she arrived I was in a sea of flame. Her wind met mine… and mine was found wanting. My wings were burned clean off. I was broken and waited for death.”
 
“What did she do?”
 
“She did the worst thing imaginable. She left me alive and took my egg.” The dragon spat and growled. ”She spared me.”
 
“She spared your life? Why would that make you angry?”
 
Mordane didn't even have time to react to the tail strike. It whipped around so fast that it was a barely perceptible blur. If it had been a few inches more to the back of his head, then it might have been the end. Instead only the tip brushed against him. Feeling like a firm slap.

“I. Am. A. Dragon.” She said low and menacingly. “Not some half rotted carcass unworthy of concern. To be left alive.”
 
Mordane tried to understand as he rubbed his cheek.
 
“I am sorry. I do not understand. What would an honorable dragon have done in her place?”
 
“She should have killed me. Then taken my egg as their own, and if I was worthy opponent, mate that egg with one of their own. To leave me alive but to take the egg was...despicable. Worse than nothing.” She spat a small ball of fire then sighed.
 
“But I am weak. Celestia is strong. This I must admit, even though it took me a hundreds years. Celestia is stronger than I am. Greater than I am.” her lips turned upward and a sadness creeped into her eyes. “It is hard to face those things you fear. For me it is that I am weak. Too weak to even keep my own son. To be even treated as a threat. Just as you were too weak to protect your mate.”
 
Mordane snifed.
 
“You must face this little one, because you are still little. You still have a chance. You have my fire and Celestia's magic. You can defeat her for me.”
 
Mordane shook his head. The tears flowing freely.
 
“I can’t do anything. I’m too weak. My horn is broken.” He laid down the tears flowing.
 
“You are not weak. You are afraid. That fear clouds your judgement.” She scooped him up carefully and brought him to her level. “You have carried this fear for others too long. It weighs you down. You cannot fear others hurt, because all is pain.”
 
Mordane looked the old dragon in the eyes. He looked at Hahnu Loaas. He saw himself. He saw that he could be strong. If only he stopped caring what they thought. Stopped fearing what harm he would cause. Because harm is just a natural part of life.
 
He had to succeed. It was right. It was who he was.
 
“Let yourself be the man you are. The way you must be.” She barked “Let your fire shine and be done fearing who is burned, or you will always be a pawn in others’ games.”
 
“You-you just want me to kill Celestia for you. To knock her off her throne as Luna did to you and she to her.”
 
“Of course I do. You will be my arrow into her heart.”
 
Mordane understood she was trying to manipulate him, but he could also see that it was to give him what he wanted. So he could trust her to serve her own interest. To tell him true.
 
“Am I truly strong?”

“More than you know. But you have handicapped yourself. You must put it all away. You must see what you wish and take it. The weak will bow and you will rise. It is your right. It is the only way things should be.”
 
Mordane could feel the rising uncertainty, the thoughts of what might be, the concern of losing control of himself to…
 
Himself?
 
The absurdity almost made him laugh. He had been running for so long. Trying to be the good pony. Trying to not hurt the little people. People unwilling to even see.
 
Why deny himself?
 
What was there to forgive?

He latched onto that desire for power and control. He heard the drums of destiny and did not shy away.
 
He opened his eyes and looked into his teachers.

“Let us continue.” she growled and grinned.

______________________________________________

Mordane inhaled. He exhaled. 

“Breath deeper. Let the wind flow through you. A baby dragon does this before even speaking.”

“That is easy to say. A baby dragon has scales. Not squishy pony flesh.”

The dragon chuckled.

“True. For you it is a far harder task. You must consciously control the flow of wi- heat, I think you called it. I have seen both unicorn and pegasi do this though. It is possible.”

Mordane stood before a pit of fire.The heat already making him uncomfortably warm.

“Are you afraid?” The dragon asked.

Mordane shivered but didn’t answer.

Instead he breathed in deeply. Focusing on the fear inside. He let it flow, let his anger at the fear flow. Let it all flow as he extended his wings.

He felt the wind stir.

With calm, he stepped forward and into the flames.

The flames were weak. No will drove them and Mordane was surprised at how easily they flowed with the wind.

He walked through the fire in a small cocoon of air with his wings fully outstretched. His smile grew larger until finally he passed to the other side.

“Good!” the dragon laughed. “Very good. You have learned to control your flame and those outside.

“Thank you Hahnu Loaas. I couldn’t have learned this without you.”

The dragon nodded. Before clearing her throat.

“Mordane Stronghoof.”

Mordane straightened at her serious tone and sudden change in demeanor.

“For over a thousand years I have been in this cave. Under this city. Despite being broken and in pain, fear of me drove the locals to send their criminals and animals to nourish me. I have eaten pony flesh and griffin without hesitation.” Her brow tightened, “My wind is strong. I would yours be strong as well.”

Mordane blinked. He felt uncertainty settle in but he pushed it away.

“I will accept your flame and I will carry your wind.”

The dragon smiled before suddenly drawing a deep breath and bathing Mordane in flames.
_________________________________________________

Mordane found himself at the base of that black tower again. It seemed. Less real now. More a memory of the tower than the tower itself.
 
Regardless he made his way up the steps, sculpting his form as he went.
 
Human, Armor and wings. Sword on his belt. He entered the high chamber.
 
“You came back.” Maria said. “I missed you.”
 
“I know.” Mordane whispered.
 
“Something's different about you.” She said puzzlingly.
 
“Aye.”
 
Mordane strode up to the girl. He reached out and caressed her. Bringing her in close.
 
He kissed her.
 
She stiffened at his sudden closeness but melted into him shortly after. A minute later he pulled back.
 
“I love you Maria. I will always love you.” He gripped her side “and I’m sorry.”
 
“It's okay John. I forgive you. It was never your fault to begin with.”
 
“No, I’m sorry I left you alone all this time. I left you far way in the back of my mind. This part of you left behind. Please forgive me.”
 
“I do Mordane, I do.” Mordane kissed her again.
 
Then she was no longer there.
 
Mordane stood in an empty room. He looked around knowing that this was the last time he would ever be here.
 
For the first time in a long time, he was looking forward to the future. The challenges to come didn’t seem so bad. Even thoughts of Celestia didn’t make him afraid.
 
With a smile he raised his hand.
 
And that world was no more.

_________________________________________________
 
Three days. For three days Lady Swirl had waited for the news. Waited to hear what she once lamented but now desperately desired.
 
From the pit, all that could be heard was murmurs and low grumbles. Too quiet and deep to make out but one thing was certain.
 
Somehow. Mordane was talking to the dragon.
 
The very idea chilled her to the core and she hoped to receive the news that the guards over the pit would hear the crunching of bones. Maybe a scream that would let her know she could rest easy. Sweat was being kept at bay by no less than four fan wavers. All working hard, but not sweating nearly as much as her.
 
Mordane lived.
 
She had heard the reports. Had heard of his cruelties and still had been certain that no pony could stand up to such harsh conditions. Yet here she was. She had put him through her worst and yet he still had not bent.
 
She sat down and rubbed her temples. Already many ponies were asking about him. Begging about him. Ready to hear if she had succeeded.
 
That now seemed so pointless. Earnestly her eyes turned over to the wall. Considering activating the charm. Sending him to Tarturas personally.

 But what if it doesn't work. 

She shivered.
 
“My lady.” A guard showed up. “The pit- He. He… “
 
“Spit it out!” She practically shouted. Rising slightly out of her seat.
 
“Mordane came out of the pit!” He seemed ready to bolt. “Do we throw him back in?”
 
“How did he get out?” She hissed.
 
“The dragon-” The guard gulped “Helped him.”
 
The mare locked up. Her eyes frozen wide before realizing how ridiculous she looked. She sat down and smoothed her dress. Thinking about what next to do.
 
“Okay…okay. Send him up to me.”
 
“My lady?”
 
“Do as I say!”
 
The guard bowed and rushed out. The mare walked around to the other side of the office chair and pulled out two glasses. Then she made herself a glass and downed it before pouring another.
 
Stay strong Swirl…
______________________________________________________________________________
 
“You are all dismissed.” The guards stiffened but a firm glare from her head slave made them obey without complaint. They knew that he was the hoof of their owner.
 
“You as well.” The head slave stiffened but bowed before leaving. Mordane had little doubt he would stand just beyond the door.
 
And so they were alone. Mordane had little time to consider why, as the mare began to take her clothes off.
 
First the hat revealing a bright orange mane. Then the dress to reveal a slender figure with slightly toned muscle showing through. He didn’t shy away. Looking her up and down with a small smile on his lips.
 
He confirmed that her eyes were green. He noted that many stallions would have been putty in her hooves at such a display.
 
“So, you survived. The Warlord, the city burner, the alicorn for hire is thrown into the pit with a monster and finds a friend. I should have seen it coming.” She crossed her hooves, then smirked. “Don’t tell me that you actually intend to wait so long that those enchantments holding your magic degrades.”
 
“No, I think you are going to let me walk out way before that.”
 
The mare paused, then frowned.
 
“You can’t expect me to do that.” She stood up and walked around the table. “I have read the reports of your actions while being a mercenary captain. Ponies such as you are not broken so easily. Which is a problem for me, as it seems you will never be a slave where it matters mos.” She tapped the side of her head.
 
Mordane cocked his head to the side.
 
“If you know what I can do, what makes you so willing to provoke me. To put a collar on the lion as it were. Was it pride? To make me work the fields-”
 
“I didn’t buy you to have you working fields.” She walked around to the other end of the table and began to pour some glasses of wine. “You are far too valuable for that.”
 
She places the glass in front of him. Mordane picked it up and gave a firm sniff. It smelled of grape and pear. A very weak drink then.
 
“Why did you buy me then?” Mordane said taking a drink of the wine.
 
The mare came closer before reaching around to the back of his head and pulling off his horn suppressor.
 
She grabbed both sides of his face and tilted his head back and forth to look at his still broken horn.
 
“Does it hurt?”
 
“No.” He replied quietly, aware of how close they were to each other. “You still didn’t answer my question.”
 
The mare pulled back and smiled. Her eyes slightly closed. She started to stroke his cheek.
 
“I would like you to father my children.”
 
Mordane leaned in and kissed her. She stiffened and puled back as she felt two pricks on her lip.
 
“Bullshit.”
 
The mare’s hoof darted to her lip. The feeling of points almost making her run from the room.
 
“I’m sorry?” She replied blinking rapidly.
 
“No one pays as much as you did for a slave simply for good breeding stock.”
 
“There is only one known alicorn.” She smiled “I had to act quickly to get you as cheaply as I did. That slave master didn’t know what he had.”
 
She slipped into the same chair as him now.
 
“Everypony that knows the old laws knows that an alicorn would have a right to the ancient title of Empress.”
 
“Of Luna. The nightmare.” He said flatly. “I think you and I both know that a title means nothing without an army to back it up. For that you need to not only be a noble, but a noble landholder.”
 
She shifted off of him slightly.
 
“A little bundle of alicorn foals would go a long way to making that land a reality.” She leaned in. “Combined with my wealth that is.”
 
“I say it again. Bullshit.” He turned and glared at her right in her face. “You don’t want me for my loins or you would have taken it on the first day. Though now that I think about it, I can think why.”
 
“Oh?” She asked smiling lightly.
 
“Earth ponies rarely make it as nobles.”
 
The tension in the room was back. Harder and colder than ever before.
 
“Not that I care about your race.” He smiled, drinking the last of the wine. “It fits though. The house, this room, your voice. You were once a wagon leader or you are the daughter of one. After becoming exceptionally rich you bought your way into a title.”
 
The mare frowned.
 
“I don’t know what you want from me, but I definitely know what you want for yourself.”
 
Miss Swirl huffed. Then hopped off him and practically stomped back to the other end of the room before shimmying back into her dress and putting back on her hat.
 
“Fine Mordane.” She turned to look back at him. “What do you want?”
 
Mordane mouth opened slightly to reveal his teeth. The mare's eyes dilated slightly as she beheld his new canines. A small point had grown on them.  His eyes seemed to burn as he smiled fully and honestly.
 
“I thought you would never ask.”

Just outside a butler stood stiff, face contorted in rage. Stiffly he made his way down the hall. Disappearing to find Mordane a servant. Perhaps the one in which he had shown an interest...