Relinquish the Sun

by Error732

Chapter VII

Fucang lifted his head at the sound of an approaching fellow. He had not truly been asleep; he had awoken some time earlier in anticipation of the end of his turn with the egg.

He shifted his considerable weight off of his unhatched spawn as he rose to his feet. Purple and spotted, the egg was miniscule by dragon standards, not even as large as a pony. That any dragon, much less the future sovereign, could emerge from so small an object baffled even Fucang. Even his long memory could not recall emerging from his own egg, though he knew that he had. It was fortunate, he mused, that childhood comprised such a small fraction of a dragon's lifetime. Such fragility did not suit his kind.

Any lesser creature would have described the nest chamber as pitch black, but an elder wyrm's keen eyes could spot the faintest glow tumbling in from the shallower tunnels. The room was only a little wider than the two tunnels that led in and out of it, ideal for retaining the warmth needed for young. Fucang and his child rested atop a modest hoard; precious metals and gems of every color carpeted the rocky floor. Both parents had contributed from their personal stashes so that the heir's first meal would fit its title.

The rumble of footsteps grew louder, thundered from somewhere just around the bend. There were only two acceptable reasons someone would dare approach this room, thought Fucang. Either it was Zhuyin, here to incubate the egg, or it was Zhuyin, here with news of the ponies. Any other creature, for any other reason, and he would rip them to shreds.

A shadow parted the light and grew as its own approached. To Fucang's disappointment, Zhuyin emerged, grinning broadly.

She hissed long and growled deep, then followed these with guttural sounds that only the most venerable dragons would recognize. Fucang, however, recognized the elder tongue easily, at it had been handed down to him with the rest of the legacy of the egg twins.

The deadline has passed, she informed him, and the ponies still defy us. It is time I taught Celestia a lesson.

She turned to leave, but Fucang roared in protest. No, it is time for you to guard our child. I will go. I am sure you would not want to forfeit your place in our young's life.

A hostile moment passed before Zhuyin assented and took her place in the nest.

Fucang stomped up the tunnel, ascending into the light. He passed through the maze of twisting passages, steadily ascending toward the surface. When he came to the communal chambers, he gave only a brief acknowledgement to his fellow dragons as they bowed their heads in respect.

As he emerged into the open, he stretched his wings and rolled his neck back. His pupils narrowed in the daylight, and his nostrils flared at the aroma of mountain air. With a few great wingbeats, he pummeled the area below him with gale-force winds and took to the sky.

It was not long to his destination. Just south of the mountains, past dense forest and open fields, a pony village festered in the last of the sunlight. Few of the hoofed vermin stood in the open at this hour; most had hidden themselves away in their feeble wooden structures. He circled back for a moment, just far enough away to be indistinguishable.

The Sun fell to the horizon and vanished, and the Moon rose to take its place. Celestia was busy. It was time he was, too.

He banked toward the village and descended, building up momentum like a mountain falling from the sky. With a twitch of his patagium, he veered toward the largest building below. As he neared his target, he pulled his hindlegs forward and extended his claws.

The ponies of Salt Lick City still out and about glanced up at a strange shadow growing in the sky.

As the fire swelled in his belly, Fucang recalled that he had planned to leave as many survivors as possible, so that Celestia could hear their stories. "Possible," he mused, was a very flexible word.

The ground shook under Salt Lick City, and the boom of splintering wood drowned out screams.

Comments

[PresentPerfect]

Hah! I should have guessed Spike would come into this somehow. :D