Many mortals, and even some immortals, would believe that being surrounded by gold and every gem known in existence would never tire. That you could gaze upon it for eternity and never lose sight of its grandeur. That’s fine and all, but gold is boring. At least, that’s what I thought of it. Gold had its uses, but I was never a material type of being. It was an object, so there was no reason to be attached. Staring off into heaps and heaps of it without pause made it an all-around uninteresting scene.
Smaug was currently sleeping. That’s not surprising. Dragons, while fierce, are quite lazy creatures. They can afford to be and Smaug most certainly afforded it. His body was certainly strong and his armor could take many blows. I knew not how strong the hides of dragons were in this land, but my own, dragon scales were very difficult to pierce.
Of course, I was not to fight him. He would not harm me when I was a part of his…hoard. Such a thing was inconceivable and made me feel sick to my stomach. I had to bear through it. Smaug had tolerated one outburst. I dared not anger him once more. Not in my state. Not in this world.
So, I used the lazy nature of dragons to gain some alone time. ‘Perhaps I could find a way out of here.’ A fool’s hope, but a hope nonetheless. It was all I had currently and by my mother I was going to take the chance.
I noticed with painful realization, that just moving took its toll. It had been so long since I’d seen the sun. Oh, just a few days, but in my current state, that was a century. My fur was dimming and my mane no longer flowed like it was caught in the wind. Yet, I knew I still looked well enough. I had been fed…adequately. That was enough to keep me alive…for now. While immortals could survive on mortal food, it would be only a half-life. Barring tricking Smaug into letting me go outside, escape was my only answer. Escape to where was, however, the question in the air.
As I trudged through the gold, I again nearly lost traction in the piles of gold. Hooves were not meant to walk upon such uneven ground. At least, not the hooves of we ponies. I’m sure goats would have no trouble with their more versatile set.
Then I saw something within the gold. A little jewel that caught my eye. I didn’t know why it did, but it held my gaze. Wiping away the gold and other jewels interrupting my view, I beheld a jewel like no other. It was a gem as pure as fresh snow and glowed brighter than sunshine. It was so strange and exotic, but this wasn’t the first time I had beheld such a jewel. I had lived a long, fruitful life and in that time, I had met my own share of immortals. In the early days, before I had stepped down from the astral plane to rule over Equestria, the gods interacted on such a regular basis. We were all kin, in one way or another. Even those of other dimensions, or different states of the astral plane paid homage to one another. One of them, a goddess named Isha, had presented me a gift when I first took up my spot in Equestria. She had been a good friend and mentor in my early days and this gift was to bring my nation peace and prosperity.
The jewel was the Crystal Heart, or as it was known then, Isha’s Peace. It had warmed the hearts of my fair ponies, but eventually, I gifted it to our less fortunate neighbors of the north. I am surprised that they survived in such harsh conditions for so long, but Crystal Ponies are even sturdier than their Earth pony counterparts.
A smile lit my face as I remembered everything. From Isha hugging me after I accepted the gift, to the happy faces of the Crystal ponies. Luna wasn’t thrilled about my decision though. She felt that it should have stayed in Equestria, that we needed it more. We didn’t and that’s why I made my decision….Looking back, I made quite a few choices for our nation without Luna’s consent. Granted, her choices usually were…violent. Case in point: she wanted to smash Discord’s statue and shred his soul. I chalked that one up to moon phases.
I took another glance at the jewel and touched my hoof to it….’WHAT THE HAY?!!!’ I reeled back from it, almost as if it had burned me. It had not, but I felt hurt nonetheless. It was disgusting, revolting. Its aura was all wrong. Someone had taken such a thing of beauty and perfection and perverted it. This was a twisted mockery of the Crystal Heart.
My very being screamed in silent fury as my body shook slightly as I tried to contain it. I paid no attention to the sound of something large stirring in the gold near me. ‘Mockery! Evil! Abomination!’ I lifted my hoof with every intention to destroy the…thing beneath me.
“What do you think you are doing?” Smaug’s voice was low, but threatening. I turned my gaze to match his. He held no emotion in his face, apart from his eyes. They dared me to try and strike the jewel.
I knew there was no way I could destroy it before he himself strikes. While I am naturally immune to fire, dragon fire is enchanted so that would be painful. Not to mention his mighty jaws that could tear me to ribbons. I lowered my hoof and relaxed my face.
“Good,” Smaug smiled. “I had thought you had lost your mind, my precious jewel. An attempt against my hoard is akin to an act of suicide.”
“Do you know what this is?” I gestured to the jewel.
“The Arkenstone,” Smaug seemed rather pleased with himself. “My most prized possession, until your arrival that is.”
While I felt a little flattered by the praise, I knew it was both a mixture of a boast and humor. “From where did you get it and why…why does it hold such vile magic? Did you craft this?”
Smaug proceeded to raise an eyebrow. “Do I look like a crafter?”
“I have known many dragon crafters,” I said. “But you are right. You are a warrior, not a crafter.”
“Right you are, my precious jewel.” Smaug smirked.
I huffed in annoyance. His words were nice, but his tone belied the truth. He was mocking me when he called me a jewel. He thought it funny to see me as a slave. His slave! If I had the strength, I could have slapped him.
“To answer your questions,” Smaug spoke, interrupting my ire for a moment. “I took it from the dwarf king as he fled the mountain. MY MOUNTAIN!” Smaug stood up, shaking away the gold from his body. He spread his wings out wide. “His army was naught but insects to be swat aside. His nation was folly into thinking it could keep what was rightfully mine. I saw the riches that the dwarvish king hoarded from the world. I saw his greed and I wished to…alleviate his troubles.” Smaug chuckled. “And alleviate I did.” He leant down and sifted his claws through the piles of riches. “This mountain is mine. This gold is mine. Not any dwarf can tell you differently.”
“So you stole it?” I commented, waving a wing to encompass everything. “You stole all of this.”
“Stealing begets that others had rights to these riches before me,” Smaug snarled. “All gold belongs to I, Smaug the Golden. Why, I would not be a dragon without riches. Surely you must see this.”
“I see naught but selfish boasts of gain,” I replied. “You took away the home of these dwarves, everything they worked hard for, just for their gold. Selfish is a mild term I would use for such actions.”
“The races of middle-earth are but mere fledglings,” Smaug growled. “They plunder, they mine, but they do not know why. They do not see the true potential and worth of riches. Their very definitions pale in comparison to what they actually are.” He glanced at the bright jewel. “The dwarf who dared to call himself the King Under the Mountain did not see the truth of the Arkenstone. He could not see the magic it held twist his mind and turned the righteous king into nothing more than a slave to his greed. I found it amusing.”
“One shouldn’t find the misery of others amusing, Smaug.” I chided. “They are living beings the same as we.”
“I find that hard to believe,” Smaug rolled his eyes. “They all will die, we shall not. Life gave us these gifts, Celestia. It would be folly to try and bring us down to their level.”
“We have been given gifts,” I nodded. “But that does not make us better. The dwarves that lived here earned it. They built this home from nothing.”
“They carved holes in rock,” Smaug tilted his head in confusion. “Am I supposed to be impressed by that? If so, then should I not be as well impressed by a simple woodpecker who carves his home out of wood?”
“It is important to pay homage to any beings hard work, even that of a woodpeckers.”
“Bah,” Smaug scoffed. “Tis idiotic to praise a mindless beast, who give no thought to the future. The races of middle earth are the same.”
“Oh?” I quirked an eyebrow. “You give thought to the future?”
“I need not, for the sole reason that my future is here,” Smaug raked his claws once more through his hoard. “My life and everything that is important lies within this mountain. No man, dwarf, elf, or any other creature can match my hoard.”
“If it is so grand,” I tilted my gaze to the Arkenstone. Its twisted magic made my stomach churn. “Then perhaps the loss of one would….”
Smaug thrust his head inches from mine. “I know what you ask. The Arkenstone is a work of what most would call, evil. A seed planted within the earth to tempt any who dared dig the vast riches of Erebor. The dwarves did and thus received their righteous fate in the flames of my fire. None but I can have it, for its magic has no effect on my heart. Greed is the motivation of dragons. I know and I admit that. This gem belongs to me, the last dragon. I alone deserve to hold it for only I am ill in its presence.”
I was taken aback by his answer. It certainly wasn’t one that I considered, but still. He did not wish for its destruction, but perhaps there was something more. “It almost sounds like you wish to protect middle earth from its evil.”
Smaug reeled back. “Protect? Protecting middle earth is a fool’s goal. It is always in danger, always in peril. The races that dare to call themselves master struggle to breath each day. I would not waste my time on such weak creatures.”
I smiled. “They are not weak, Smaug. You simply do not give them enough credit. Where you see this ‘weakness’, I have seen greatness that rivals even we immortals.”
“How could you know?” Smaug asked, narrowing his eyes. “You are new to this world. All you have seen are the vast riches of my home.”
“Perhaps it is time for me to see then. It would not hurt to allow me to view this ‘Middle Earth’, you so hold in contempt. Maybe I’m wrong and you’re right, but I will never know whilst I’m stuck here.”
“Do you take me for a fool?” Smaug snarled. “I will not let you out of my sight. You are mine, now and forever. You will never leave Erebor.”
“Then you will lose me,” I glared at him. “I am the goddess of the sun. To be trapped here in the dark is like slow suffocation. My body is hollowing. While you may keep me ‘alive’ on mere scraps, my soul will drained. Do you wish for your ‘precious jewel’ to dim?”
Smaug was silent for a moment and I thought I saw a flicker of consideration. “I will think on this….”
“Thank you,” I sighed in relief.
“Do not thank me yet,” Smaug snapped. “A dragon has all the time in the world to think. It may be next week, or in a century. Perhaps it will never come. That is your life, Celestia. I decide when and where you are given privileges. I decide what is destroyed and what stays intact.”
One of Smaug’s claws gently pushed away the Arkenstone, and to my surprise, he softly brushed my cheek. I was surprised by his gentleness. He was a being of such great power and here he was, touching me as one would touch a lover. Of course, I was naught but a jewel in his eyes. I had to remind myself of that. Still…It was nice.
“Your beauty is something I wish to keep,” Smaug purred, pulling his claw away from me. His eyes however, were still glued onto my form. “I have never before beheld such purity and who am I to tarnish it. If I must let you see the sun once more, I shall,” he narrowed his eyes. “But you are still a shining gem. There is still much time to ponder.” He grabbed ahold of the Arkenstone. The dragon looked over my form once more, which reminded me oddly enough of a stallion appraising a mare, before taking off.
I glowered at his retreating form. ‘He thinks he can contain the Arkenstone? Tis folly. No doubt its influence draws in the gaze of others.’ I sighed and laid down. I was once more tired. Where I used to be able to go days upon days without rest, now I needed to sleep every few hours. ‘You invite your death, oh great Smaug…I wonder if he knows.’
As I drifted off, I couldn’t help but hope, if not for a moment, that I was wrong. That no other of middle earth knew of its existence. Smaug may be cruel, but I knew there was some good in him. No being is evil unless created from darkness itself and even then there was always hope. The dark is not always a place of dread. Smaug still had a chance and I was going to make sure he did.
So, is Celestia going to "save" Smaug? Make him a little bit nicer? That's the vibe I'm getting, at least. Not that it would be bad, per say. I would be interested in seeing if you can pull off turning the Fantasy Epitome of Greed into something better.
Also, quick question: Is Smaug really the last? I know that Tolkien never mentions other living dragons, and the games Battle for Middle Earth 2 and War in the North had dragons and are not technically canon, but there supposedly are a dragon or two living in or near the realm of the Easterlings (Dragon Priests supposedly studied under Dragons before Sauron came). And, no one really knows what is further west. Still, even if there are others, I suppose it doesn't change much to Smaug's perception. Just curious what your thoughts/opinions are.
A bit short, but oh yes it was worth the wait. I like Celestia comparing the Arkenstone to a corrupted Crystal Heart, and Smaug's boasting that it doesn't work on him, since he's already greedy. And meanwhile, Tia continues her plan of Kill Him With Kindness, which I doubt he has any defenses against.
Still really want to see - at some point in the future - Smaug with Sunbutt's aid chucking The One Ring into Mordor as a giant middle finger (Hoof? Claw?) to Sauron.
5153448 Simple answer: I killed the rest of the dragons in Middle Earth to sell to the Chinese for aphrodisiacs.
5153448 If not 'the' last dragon in existence, I believe that Smaug was the last of the great dragons. Perhaps there are other survivors, but most likely they are lesser drakes or some smaller form of dragon hiding away from the world.
I could be wrong. I apologize, I am not an expert on Tolkien.
simply
Good chapter. Very good, your best of this story. The conversation between Smaug and Celestia feels fluid, two minds of great intelligence debating each other. One believes he is the master, the other simply trying to get the hell out of there.
5153595 Fixed.
And thank you. I was rather pleased with this chapter. Mostly because I was able to get some time to actually work on this story, but other than that, I loved working on this conversation. Writing banter between Smaug and Celestia has become one of my favorite things. (Each story always has its fun quirks that I love to do.) Hopefully, there won't be such a wait...but with my work, college, and three other stories to write on, yeah....I'll do my best.
Ah the depth of Smaug is nice to see, but judging how Smaug is slowly changing his attitude towards Celestia. Granted not in a pleasant way.
But expected of Smaug. So its a good thing.
5153524
Makes sense. I take the story told by the games with a heavy dose of salt, and I too think Smaug was something akin to one of the "first," or "greater" dragons, since it seems he speaks about Ungoliant (mother of Shelob and the evil Spiders of Mirkwood) as if he knew her personally.
This was very good. I am really liking the dynamic that is developing between Smaug and Celestia and am very interested in seeing where it leads. Her presence is going to massively derail the plot of the Hobbit one way or another which is in turn going to have a huge impact on how the Lord of the Rings plays out, although I am not sure how exactly it will play out. I seriously doubt she will be able to talk him into giving up his horde, but once he gets used to living with her she might be able to get him to socialize more and possibly even accept the dwarves as part of his "horde" which would have some very interesting consequences down the line. After all, Sauron is a threat to everyone and everything in Middle Earth which makes him a threat to Smaug's horde, but there is no way he will take anything that even remotely looks like manipulating him into fighting their battles for them laying down which will make things very interesting indeed.
All in all, I think the Arkenstone and possibly the dwarves (I do not recall when this was set in relation to the Hobbit) are going to be the key indicators of his character development so it will be interesting to see how he handles them going forwards. There is honestly much less mystery surrounding Celestia because he has already accepted her as part of his horde so we know he will take care of her, the question is really how the details play out. Incidentally, I would really like to see Smaug take the sleeping Celestia outside in the next chapter because that is a good way to make sure she gets what she needs and does not run off while also paving a path forwards for the two of them to spend more time together outside the confines of the mountain which could evolve into peaceful interactions with some of the locals in the future which will be a lot of fun thanks to the sheer chaos it will cause (you know that dragon we tell horror stories about? He is right on the edge of town. With a talking winged unicorn. And they are trying to talk to people. And they started a mass panic. ).
5153524
Smaug was the last of the great uruloki, the fire-drakes.
In his time, he was the largest and most powerful dragon in the world.
However, he was not the last dragon, as other, smaller fire-drakes and cold-drakes (non fire-breathers) still lived on afterwards.
Still, no dragon to match him ever came about after his death; he was the last of the greatest.
Also, its worth noting that as huge and powerful as Smaug was, he paled in comparison to some dragons of earlier ages.
Case in point: Ancalagon the Black, mightiest of all dragons, whose wings literally (and I do mean literally) blocked out the sun when he approached.
Smaug x Celestia?
thumb7.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/436114/142089805/stock-photo-original-stamp-142089805.jpg
Wow, this chapter was deep. All those little bits of insight into Smaugs thoughts, the argument with Celly and the thing with the Arkenstone. I like it.^^b
Also, nice mentioning of Isha (best Eldar Goddes).
5154788 Celestia's lived a long life. Who's to say that some of the more ancient dragons didn't rival Smaug? (I like to think dragons grow over time. The longer they live, the larger they are. It's just that most dragons don't live to be that great of an age.) Not to mention that Celestia has been to other worlds before.
5153766
It would be interesting if Celestia pointed out that, considering that the hoard had to come from somewhere, dwarves must be making more gold than they are spending, and Smaug's hoard would actually increase if he let them back into Erebor.
(I can imagine Thorin's face when Smaug tells him he can call himself king of anything, as long as the gold flows to the right places.)
And then Smaug and Celestia start an evil megacorporation that supplies weapons forged in dragonfire to both sides in the War of the Ring.
5154788
So... How are you working this size comparison chart. Did you somehow work out the size of ponies relative to men or dwarves and then use it to calculate the size of their respective dragons?
And why are their two pictures of the red dragon, apparently at different sizes?
I'm going to assume those are 757s you're using for comparison but labeling them would have been nice.
That said, if that's accurate, then kudos on all your work and it drives home how horrifying that Ursa Major is, being significantly larger than Smaug.
5160440
But Morgoth isn't dead...
Technically...
But Sauron is Morgoth's lieutenant, and so commands all loyalties and binding oaths that Morgoth did.
5161067 Depends on the oath. Evil Overlords generally don't worry about succession plans and ensuring their organization survives if they die, so the oaths could die with them.
Funny enough, I think Celestia and Smaug actually did Nightmare Moon a favor, albeit unintentionally. If she had been unleashed, Sauron would have enslaved her lickity split.
Overall great chapter, good to see Celestia trying to reach Smaug's conscience, and giving us insight into the dragon mindset.
5188519
I don't know about a continent, but when he was finally defeated, his body fell from the sky and crushed the three tallest mountains in Middle Earth to rubble.
Heh. You may be right Celestia! But perhaps not!
5263831 yeah like the instant Sauron comes knocking saying "you have depts to pay Smaug" he's not really got much choice in the matter of going back to murdering all the people XD
I know it's wrong, but I had this sudden vision of Celestia as that stereotypical girl: "he's bad, but I can change him!"
Nitpicks:
but in my own
me (or perhaps "myself", but not "I")
being's / a woodpecker (or, beings' / woodpeckers)
drain (or, be drained)
I noticed Smaug mentioning to Celestia he is the last of his kind. Was surprised she didn't say anything about that.
Two things. First... in Arda, dragons literally WERE created from the darkness. Morgoth made them to end civilizations. Second, I spy with my liiiiitle eye a Warhammer reference!
5983498
Actually, Morgoth does not have the power to create, only corrupt.
http://www.planet-tolkien.com/board/14/1361/0/if-melkor-could-not-create
6083785 Tolkien went back and forth on that subject. But the line between "creating" and "corrupting" is a fine one anyway. Either way you end up with something that did not exist before.
Smaug has eyebrows?
6338422 Dragons have eye 'ridges' that look sorta like eyebrows, and function like ours do. Well, at least, they use them for facial expressions. It is pretty harshly debated on what they are really for.
Isha, a goddess of the eldar from Warhammer 40K, whose name was taken from Tolkien's name for the elves (at least at some point in their history). this tickles me. Almost as much as Tolkien claiming goblins invented tanks and machine guns.
Dang it, another 'darkness = evil' assumption.
7047152 I agree with you. What if a shadow creature that was born from the darkness saved the life of your ruler, is he considered evil because he was made from the darkness? Or most importantly, is every single changeling considered evil after seeing what one hive did out of the hundreds or thousands (i there are multiple hives that is) there are?
7047152 Tolkien was a Christian. All Christians think in such narrowminded terms. They fear the dark, but it is ever present. There can be no light without darkness.
7839269 but alas, there can be darkness without light. For where light can go out, darkness can only be delayed.
7839269 And there is always that grey are in between.
7849362
Ah but if all your life you have lived in darkness and no light then it is not proper darkness, for you have no light to compare it against.
Sir Stockholm Syndrome, is working overtime it seems
8712315
Just as one does not know true happiness without feeling sorrow.
9795982
Indeed, there must be opposition in all things, if there is no evil there is no good, if there is no light there is no dark, if there is no misery there is no happiness.
7839269
That's narrow minded. Not all Christians think that way. Maybe a few that you've met
11005018
Always funny to see people use such words, but making such sweeping generalizations of other religions like Islam is “phobic” lol.