Long ago, during the beginnings of Equestria there was a pony that was just like any other. His name was Cerulean Scribble, a humble and intelligent earth pony. He traveled from the barren lands of his home in search of the rumored land of Equestria. The land was said to be founded on the principles of harmony and friendship. So Cerulean decided to make the journey, as anypony would do in order to find peace away from a land of malice and tension. His trek was almost finished and as he began to climb what he hoped was his last mountain, Fate decided to intervene.
Because Cerulean was so humble and average, Fate felt as though an amazing event must happen in his life. And so it did.
Cerulean tentatively walked on the winding path of the mountain, only to find the path lead into a gorge. Stray rocks fell, jostled by every small sound. Cerulean held his breath, in hopes to stay silent. Sadly despite this, other creatures did not feel the same. A distant roar caused Cerulean to look up. Up in the sky there were two full grown dragons battling fiercely. Cerulean was then given an even better reason to not be heard, and attempted to not be seen either. But his dark blue coat and sky blue mane did not blend well with the gray rocks of the gorge. He watched in awe at the battle above him.
A large red dragon shot flames from its large maw. Cerulean shivered as he caught the shine of sharp teeth. The smaller white dragon batted the airborne flames away with its large wings. The large dragon had medium sized wings and four legs. The white dragon had a bat like build with only legs and wings. This gave the white dragon a disadvantage as the red dragon swiped at it. The dragon’s large claw tore through the wing membrane, causing the white dragon to screech loudly and go spiraling to the ground.
The screech caused the gorge to shake and Cerulean watched in horror as the rocks began tumbling. He reared up on his hind legs and galloped for all he was worth on his small narrow path. The mountain shook again and Creulean risked a glace to see why. The white dragon had hit the summit with a deafening crack and began sliding down the mountain. Though the dragon looked small in the sky, it was absolutely enormous up close. Cerulean began to gallop even faster and narrowly escaped being dragged down by the dragon's massive tail. The entire path behind Cerulean was no more. And as he began to gallop again, seeing as the mountain continued to tremor, he heard the cry of a baby.
He turned to find a small white figure grasping a dried plant, as it hung over the gorge. Cerulean raced back on what little was left of the original path, dodging fallen rocks hoping to make it to the figure. The figure turned out to be a baby dragon, about the size of a newborn foal. Unlike the larger white dragon, the baby had four limbs and no wings. It cried out as it struggled to hold on. "Momma!" The baby sobbed as it looked down at the fallen white dragon, grim realization swept over Cerulian as his eyes followed the baby's eyes. Cerulean turned around and lowered his tail to the baby.
"Grab on." He told the dragon, hoping the youngling would understand. He looked over his shoulder and caught the baby's stare. Its slitted golden eyes questioned him. "Please, the plant won't hold much longer." He begged. As if by his words the roots of the dried plant began to show as it was pulled from the rock. The dragon looked frightened and grabbed onto Cerulean's tail tightly. Tears sprang into the blue stallion's eyes but he gritted through the pain. And with all the might he contained, he lifted his tail and swung the baby dragon onto his back. He refused to cry out as he felt little claws dig into his mane and pull tightly.
Cerulean dashed again throughout the collapsing gorge, mindful of the baby on his back. His heart pounded and his lung burned, but was spurred on when he saw the end of the gorge. He jumped off his trail and slid down the side of the mountain. Rocks raced at his side and the baby dragon whimpered, pulling tighter on his mane. Cerulean's eyes blurred with pained tears, but he saw the ground rapidly approaching. He braced himself and attempted to jump, only to stumble and roll as he hit the ground. His undoing was the fact his eyes were closed tightly when he sprang off the mountain.
When he opened his eyes again he stared in surprise at the lush forest before him. He was then pulled out of his gawking by the sudden rush of pain, everywhere. The pain intensified as something beneath his chin squirmed. With much effort he lifted himself and stared down at what lied beneath him. The little milk white dragon stared up at him with golden slitted eyes filled with tears, while clutching a partially eaten diamond in its small claws. "Momma?" Questioned the little dragon as its eyes darted beyond Cerulean, who turned his head to look as well.
Cerulean's black eyes stared at the gorge; or what should have been a gorge. The large pile of rubble that sat were two proud mountains that had made a gorge caused Cerulean's heart to sink. He turned to the little reptile and shook his head, words failing him in a way he had never experienced before. The small dragon hurled itself at him, wrapping small scaly limbs around his neck and sobbed. Cerulean got over his shock and wrapped his forelimbs around the small shaking body, sobbing with the newly orphaned dragon.
When they had cried themselves dry, the baby fell onto the grass staring at the ground with a lost expression. Cerulean stared and nuzzled the baby with his muzzle. "Please, don't be sad. I'm here." He said softly to the baby dragon who wrapped its scaly limbs around Cerulean's muzzle. Cerulean lifted his head and stared down his nose at the white dragon. The baby trilled like and songbird then babbled as any small foal did when they didn't know how to speak. Cerulean smiled and turned his head to place the baby on his back. The baby grabbed his mane tightly, and Cerulean let out a hiss of pain. The baby noticed and loosened its grip. Cerulean looked back at his new companion and smiled. The baby babbled and buried it face in the stallion's mane.
And with that, Cerulean entered the forest, determined to begin a peaceful life in Equestria. Fate watched happily at the unlikely pair and watched as all the pieces began to fall into place.
Night came quickly and Cerulean had no choice but to spend the night in the forest. Fearing the night he fell in to a restless sleep, tightly wrapped around the baby dragon. When morning came Cerulean woke to the sound of growling. The stallion quickly left the floor and stood before the baby dragon protectively, only to realize the sound was coming from him. A blush rose to his face causing his fur to turn a deep violet. He turned to his companion and found the baby staring at him calmly. His stomach rumbled again and the dragon offered the diamond to him.
His pushed the jewel back to the little drake and laughed nervously. "Sorry, but ponies don't eat jewels." He said. The baby blinked a couple of times, the opened its mouth and swallowed the gem whole. Cerulean grimaced at the sight of the baby's budding fearing the idea of a teething dragon. His stomach growled again and Cerulean decided it was time to search for food.
Cerulean made quick work of weak branches he plucked off the trees, creating a makeshift basket, seeing as he lost his saddle bag in the avalanche. The baby quickly clambered onto Cerulean's back, mindful of his claws, and grabbed onto his mane. Cerulean gave the baby the basked to hold and began walking through the forest in search of edible food.
As an earth pony Cerulean knew which berries were toxic and which were safe. He quickly found bushes covered in sweet juicy berries. He then moved upwards, as he searched the trees for fruit, finding apples and the like. Soon the basket was full and Cerulean felt proud of himself as well as famished. The little dragon stared at the basket in his lap and Cerulean saw the wheels turning far too late. Before he could stop the baby, the dragon lifted the basket and g swallowed its contents whole.
Cerulean stared in shock at what had transpired in only a few seconds. He let out a choked and anguished noise, hanging his head in mourning of his lost breakfast. He sat down, letting the baby slide down his back and onto the ground slowly. A personal cloud of sadness hung over the dejected pony. This went on for a few minutes before a new sound was heard.
Cerulean's ears perked up and he turned to find his companion making the same noises of a cat getting rid of a hairball. Panic filled the pony's veins as he scrambled around searching for anything that would halt the dragons choking. Then the heaving/hacking stopped with a small thud and Cerulean froze mid gallop fearing the worst. And in front of the little baby dragon sat a shiny red apple, completely undigested and surprisingly clean. Cerulean stared in confusion. "What in the..." he questioned absently as he peered closely at the apple.
The baby began hacking again and Cerulean backed away, still keeping a close eye on the dragon. A compass came tumbling out of the dragon's mouth in relatively the same condition as the apple. Cerulean stared in shock, and his mind came to a conclusion.
"Are you keeping those safe, in your stomach?" he questioned. The dragon nodded happily and Cerulean stared at the baby dumbly. "Well okay then." He said as he picked up the apple and cleaned on his fur for good measure. He then began eating the apple, noting there was no odd taste or noticeable change on the outside. The baby trilled and crawled to Cerulean to snuggle up to.
A warm feeling entered Cerulean's heart, and he decided that he didn't care if his companion was a weird dragon or not. He would protect the little baby from harm with everything he had. And with that thought Cerulean finished his apple and stood with a determined look in his eyes. The dragon next to him squawked as Cerulean stood. Cerulean turned to the dragon and noticed something new, they were absolutely filthy. Both he and the once white dragon were covered from head to hoof, and claw, in dirt. Cerulean sighed and allowed the dragon to once again clamber onto his back.
Cerulean walked deeper into the forest in hopes of finding water for two reasons. The first reason was so he and the little dragon to bathe. The second reason was to follow the running water to a village. It was a long shot but he had hope. He sped up to a trot as he began recognizing signs of water. The grasses were darker, the soil softer, and mosses growing sparsely on the bases of trees. He continued on as he began to hear the croaks of frogs and the babble of running water. And with a strong sense of happiness Cerulean burst through the brush to find a calm river flowing. He almost began bucking in happiness when he remembered the baby on his back.
He turned to see the little dragon had its face buried in Cerulean’s mane. He nudged the dragon and lowered himself so the baby could climb off his back. The baby crawled on the grass toward the river; it stopped and stared at its reflection. The baby chirped in happiness as it began to splash at its reflection. “Momma! Momma!” called the baby as it tried to grasp the water. Cerulean watched the baby with a weight settling in his heart, and began to approach the dragon. “Momma! Momma!” the baby’s cries grew frantic and Cerulean nuzzled the baby. The baby clung to Cerulean as it sobbed, much like the first time they met. Cerulean wondered how in the world he was supposed to help a baby dragon grieve its lost mother. The baby’s sobs subsided into only a few sniffles and released Cerulean in favor on wiping tears from its eyes.
Cerulean then walked into the cool water and watched as the dirt just seemed to disappear from his body. He began to scrub his coat and washed his main and tail. He scrubbed at his flanks to clean the dirt off to reveal his cutie mark. It was a simple scribbly signature, because his talent was calligraphy. But that talent wouldn’t help him survive in the unknown forest. The little dragon followed the pony’s example and crawled into the shallow edges of the river. Cerulean took notice of this and began to wash the baby dragon softly with his hooves. The baby dragon trilled and blew steam from its nostrils into Cerulean’s face. Cerulean gave a snort and the baby dragon gave a high pitched chirp that sounded suspiciously. Cerulean gave a smirk and splashed the laughing dragon. The baby immediately stopped and stared at the pony for a full minute. And then the world’s most epic splash battle between dragon and pony ensued.
Once the splash battle was over Cerulean kept cleaning the baby and found the answer to a question he never even bothered to ask. Was the baby a boy or a girl? Despite his nonexistent knowledge of dragon anatomy it was pretty obvious the dragon baby was a boy. And as he guided the baby out of the water with his muzzle a knew question entered his mind. Did the baby have a name? Well it never hurt to ask.
“Little one, what is your name?” Cerulean asked softly to the baby. The little dragon stared at him and blinked. “What did your momma call you?” he asked again. The baby seemed to recognize one word.
“Momma?” he asked questioningly. Cerulean nodded, hoping the baby understood. The baby made a sad noise and sniffled. It was clear to Cerulean that he wouldn’t get an answer from the dragon.
“Since you don’t exactly have a name, I guess I’ll call you Uther, how about that?” He asked as he rested his chin on the dragon’s head. He gave a contented hum as the newly dubbed Uther made soft chirps of contentment.
“Papa.” Squeaked Uther as he curled up under Cerulean’s chin. Cerulean stiffened in shock, but felt a sense of happiness at the thought of being the small dragon’s papa. And not long after that Cerulean and Uther were cuddled together, catching up on sleep they had missed the night before.