A Flare of Light

by NightSky

Decisions

Author's Note: Let me say a few things before you begin.

I am not the god of writing, and this is my first fanfic, so keep that in mind when you read.

That's all I needed to say, enjoy.

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From atop a towering mountain, a pony watched the sun rise over the land. He had done this every day for the past year, ever since his family arrived here. He would wake up before his parents, leave the cave which they resided in, ascend the mountain, and watch the sun rise over the horizon, spreading its rays of warmth over the town below. He watched the town begin it's day, ponies leaving their homes and heading to shops, fillies going to school, or simply groups of friends together. He watched longingly, knowing he could never be apart of it. A single tear flowed down his cheek.

His name was Midnight Flare, and he could barely even be called a pony. His mane flowed like a cool fire, with orange, red, and yellow rippling through it. His eyes were snakelike, and blue as a searing flame. In front of his pony teeth were a set of fangs, giving him a very intimidating smile. But his biggest difference was inside of him, he had a very special power that had never been seen before. And all of these differences came from one source: he had a dragon for a mother and a unicorn father.

"How was the sunrise today, son?" An old voice asked from behind him.

"It was just as beautiful as usual, Dad," Flare said, turning to the elderly grey unicorn, Lightning Strike, who had settled down beside him, "I thought Mom and I told you not to climb the hill anymore, especially not at your age."

As Strike had aged, his health had slowly begun to deteriorate, but this was only natural. When they had arrived here, however, Strikes health dropped significantly, and it became evident that he might not survive another move, so Flare's family decided to stay in this cave.

"Oh, son, I need the exercise." Strike said, and laughed. But that laugh quickly turned into a cough, and Flare wrapped his arm around his father as the coughing fit ran its course.

"Maybe I should carry you back down to the cave," Flare suggests as the coughs subside.

"No, no, I'm fine son, really," Strike tried to look strong, but failed and gave a sigh of resignation, "Son, I needed to talk to you...privately."

"Sure Dad, what do you need to talk about?" Flare asked, realizing that this conversation was about to turn serious.

"Son..." A pause, "Son, I'm dying," Strike said, and all pretense ended. The suspense snapped like a over-taunt rubber band. The time Flare had feared of had finally arrived. The nightmare that had haunted the back of his mind was finally unleashed.Tears began to swell in his eyes as he looks into the eyes of his father.

"I'm not sure how much longer I have, and I want to tie up some loose ends before I go," Strike looked deeply back into Flare's snake eyes, full of sadness and somber as death, "Your mother and I have been keeping you locked up in this cave for too long, so I need you to promise me something."

Flare felt tears flow from his eyes. He may have been an adolescent pony, but now he was simply that scared filly who was being forced into something ahead of his time.

"Promise me this: When my time comes and I pass into the next world, I want you to leave this cave and go out into the world, to find your place among the ponies. We've kept you hidden for too long as it is." He raised a hoof to silence the question forming on Flare's lips. What about Mom? "Crystal will be entering her 100 year hibernation soon, and I probably won't last too long after that. I am sorry you got this deal for life, but it will only get better from here, never worse." And with that, Strike rose to his hoofs, joints popping. "Lets get back to the cave," he said wearily. and without another word, or even waiting for a reply from his earlier request, he walked off down the mountain.

Flare just sat there, lost in the thought. How much time do you have left, Dad? When is Mom going into hibernation? How will I survive without you two? But most of all, there was one big question that loomed like a storm cloud: Why? Why did this happen to ME? Why didn't you two prepare me for this?

At around mid-day, Flare had still not moved when a large shadow fell over him. He knew who it was, but didn't bother to look up at her, all he did was say, "So you'll be leaving me too, huh?"

The large pale blue dragon, Crystal, settled down beside of Flare, settling one of her wings around him like a leather blanket, and pulled him to her side. "Baby, I know it's hard for you right now, we never meant for any of this to happen."

Flare looked up into one of his mothers deep blue eyes. "When you go to sleep, does that mean I'll never see you again?" It was a hard question to ask, but so was the entire situation.

Crystal hesitated over the question. Finally, she sighed and said, "We don't know. If you inherited the aging of your father, then probably not. But if you have the aging of a dragon, then you will live for a great while after I awaken. But we need not to ponder over this; we need to enjoy the time we still have left with each other." And with this, She rose, picking Flare up in one of her hands like he was a fruit, leaped into the air, and glided down to the cave where they resided.

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From the top floor of the library, Spike called out, "Hey Twilight, get up here!"

The purple unicorn looked up from the book she was readingMy, he usually isn't this brash, I guess I better see what this is about. She rose from the floor where she was enveloped in her books, and ascended the stairs to the top floor, where Spike was eagerly peering through a telescope.

"What is it Spike?" Twilight said, trying to keep annoyance out of her voice.

"It's the dragon I keep on seeing, it's out again!" Seeing the skeptical look on Twilight's face, he moved a few steps back and gestured to the telescope. "Take a look for yourself!"

Moving up to the telescope, Twilight peered through the lenses. "I don't see anything, Spike, just the snow-covered mountain." The a deep blue spot catches her eye and she focused to reveal a large, pale blue dragon. "Oh wow," she says under her breath as she watched the glacier colored dragon. Then she noticed something else, another creature under its wing. Oh, it must be a mother and her child. I need to report this to the Princess immediatly.

"Spike! Get a letter ready!" The purple dragon hurried off to get the necessary supplies. In just under twenty seconds, he was back. "Ready Twilight!" He said enthusiastically.

"Dear Princess Celestia,

Today from my room I spotted what appeared to be a mother dragon and her child on a nearby mountain. There are caves in that area large enough for a dragon; we had to clear one earlier this year because of its snoring occupant. They appear not to pose any sort of threat to Ponyville, but I thought it would be helpful to inform you of this discovery.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle"

"Got it." Spike said, jotting down the last few words.

"Good, send it." And without another word, Spike took a deep breath and blew fire onto the letter, sending it on its way to Princess Celestia.

"Can you believe it, Twilight? A mother and her child, SO CLOSE TO PONYVILLE!" Spike seemed very excited about this, and Twilight couldn't blame him. He really hasn't seen many dragons in his life. Well, except for that incident with the dragon migration a few months ago.

"Yeah, this is pretty inter-" She was cut off by Spike uttering a belch and sending a letter flying from his mouth.

"Wow, that was a pretty fast reply." Spike said, regaining his composure. He promptly picked up the letter, opened it, and read it aloud:

"Dear Twilight,

Thank you for informing me of this situation. I have been able to sense the mother dragon you mentioned, but not it's offspring. She may be hiding it from other creatures to protect it. I will be sending my sister to investigate when she is available. I would go myself, but I have to much to do here. I do not wish to send you, you have done enough adventuring as t is. This dragon offers no threat to Ponyville, as you have said, for she is preparing to enter her hundred year sleep. If she does have offspring with her, I will keep it here with me until I decide what I wish to do with it. I have not been able to sense the offspring, so I am unsure of it's age.

Thank you again for this information, keep me updated,

Princess Celestia"

Spike looked about ready to burn a hole in the wall with excitement. "Another dragon? Oh, that would be GREAT!"

"Yeah, as if having one of you is bad enough," Seeing the surprised expression on Spike's face, she realized he missed the joke. "Hey, calm down, I was kidding, jeez."

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The afternoon went by quickly, with the three of them sitting in the center of the cave, talking about nothing and everything, they simply enjoyed the presence of each other, knowing their time together was coming to a close. Finally, a strange question appeared in Flare's mind, and even he didn't know where it came from. "Mom, Dad, does anyone else know that I exist?"

This obviously caught both of his parents off guard; they exchanged nervous glances with each other before answering. "No, we...I cast a spell over you and your father that prevented anything, even Princess Celestia herself, from sensing your presence." Crystal began, but Strike finished the thought, "When you were first created, a few ponies knew of you, but they have probably passed on by now."

"Why would you hide us from the world?" Flare suddenly felt adrift, and under all of that, he felt betrayal. If nothing knows I exist, how will I get along in the world when my parents leave?

Strike answered instead of Crystal, who looked crestfallen. "Your mother hid us so that if any of the ponies or creatures that detested us tried to find us with magic, they would be unsuccessful."

"And you say 'created' like I am a bakery good...Guys, how was I born?" Flare knew he was hitting on some sensitive subjects that they hadn't mentioned before, but with little time left, they had nothing to lose.

Strike looks up at Crystal. "You can probably explain this better then I can." He says wearily.

Crystal nodded, and after taking a moment to gather her thoughts, spoke. "When your father and I first got together, we knew that biologically, it was unsafe or more likely impossible for us to make offspring...the usual way. So from some instinct within us, we melded our thoughts together and created you, a blend of the good qualities of dragons and ponies. It was a move of emotion, and we should have thought more before doing it, but what is done is done, and we still are proud of what we created."

Flare was speechless. So I'm not a natural creature, I am a new species. He new he wasn't normal, but this revelation hit him like a snap-kick to the chest. I am ALONE. Flare felt himself begin to lose control. His emotions were taking control of him again. He gave in to them, and began to change.

The dragon within him was coming out, the form he preferred, for it gave him a sense of belonging and being normal, for this form had no pony-like features. His coat began to recede, and they were replaced by shining jet black scales. His hooves turned to clawed hands, spikes that glowed like fire emerged from his back, his tail grew out, and his horn faded from his head. As the transformation finished, Flare rose up let loose a wave of blue flame from his mouth, but aimed it towards the ceiling so it didn't harm his parents. It bounced from the ceiling in a brilliant ball of destruction before dissipating as suddenly as it had been created.

Both of his parents were surprised, not by the transformation, but they realized how angry and hurt their son was; he rarely used his dragon side for much more then to fly and to carry things, and never to breath fire.

Strike was the first to speak, trying to calm his son. "We tried to live in society, but there were few towns with enough room for your mother, and even in those towns there were too many ponies that were against our relationship or terrified of your mother. So we live here, in a place appropriate for a dragon."

Flare looked down upon his aging father and immediatly felt embarrassed by his outburst. He remembered those times, barely, but he remembered. Being chased out of the town by ponies either enraged over the idea of a dragon in their town or terrified for their lives. He remembered being ridiculed for his appearance in the few days of school he did attend, either by the students or even some of the teachers. He sank down to his knees but didn't bother going through the effort of becoming a pony again. "I'm sorry, I...I lost control of myself...again."

He felt a warm feeling pass over him and when he looked up again, his father was by his side, with one arm over him, and his mother had wrapped her long neck around them, placing one of her sapphire eyes in front of them. Flare felt tears well up in his eyes. "Will I ever see you guys again?"

It was the question of desperate children unwilling to let their parents go. "I don't know son, but we'll always be with you. we made this for you." Strike fumbled with something in his hooves, and Flare looked down to see it was a necklace. He took it from his fathers hooves gently and looked it over.

It was made of pure sapphire, with a picture of his mother on one side, and father on the other. The pictures were obviously formed through magic, for they flowed and moved. Looking around, smiling, laughing. The most significant feature of the pictures was that they showed Flare's parents throughout their lives; His father's picture would cycle from a filly to a handsome stallion to his present elderly state. It was here that Flare also saw his mother as a young dragon for the first time, a small creature with skin like a glacier and those same deep blue eyes. As Flare looked down upon it, he could no longer contain his tears, and broke down sobbing, holding onto his parents. He sobbed like a child, deep cries punctuated by gasping breaths. His parents just cried with him, and this was how they remained as the day faded and the night began, holding each other as they fell asleep.

The next morning they all ascended their mountain and watched the sunrise together, savoring over every detail. Yes, it really was their mountain. They had lived in it for over a year, and they knew every rock, blade of grass, and snowflake on the mountain. As the sun rose, Strike suffered from another coughing fit, and both Flare and Crystal held him as it passed. They decided it would be good to head back to the cave. Despite protests from both Flare and Crystal, Strike would not be carried back.

Strike was halfway back to the cave when he collapsed.

Comments

[BarthoBalchi]

So far its a good story, keep up the good work. Of course i am looking forward to what happens next, maybe a shipping between twilight and midnight? XD

[abandoned2123]

An interesting, albeit a very cliche concept, though you would be much better off with a ton of fleshing out. By fleshing out, I mean by breaking this chapter into three or four parts and extending them.

[NightSky]

440374 True, it is a tad cliche. Also, I will probably end up fleshing out this chapter over time.

[Griffin2x]

Seems very interesting will be tracking to see where this goes.

[moguera]

The biggest thing that I can think of is that you have verb-tense issues. You start out with present-tense and then switch to past-tense partway through. I recommend you just stay with past-tense. But whatever one you pick...stick with it. You need to stay consistent.

[Hardcore Gamer59]

good story tracking this

[NightSky]

440537 Thank you for pointing this out, I didn't even realize I had switched the verb-tenses.

[Freeze2270]

Favorited! Really impressive, can't wait for more!

[Relevant Heavy Metal]

Curse Of the Castle Dragon - Paul Gilbert

Heart Of A Dragon - Dragonforce

[Ambassador_Derpius]

Well you got my attention cant wait for more.

[Dream Catcher]

Okay, just started this, and it's good thus far. However, there is one rather small, if not significant error that hasn't been pointed out - you used the term "filly" to refer to a younger pony, but "filly" only applies to a young female pony. Foal is a general term for a very young pony, and after that it's either colt (for males) or filly (for females). Just thought I'd point that out.

[reader of the night]

How sad, still great and AWESOME story/chapter

[Sindenovah]

What gives the princesses the right to basically kidnap a dragon child huh?