Chapter 7 Anger and Toast
Chapter 7
Anger and Toast
It had begun as a small twinkle in the stars above, one that you had scarcely noticed. You were to preoccupied in your current assault on the white Alicorn, her solar javelin sparking as it bounced off your armored hide. With a quick flap of her ivory colored wings she had swiftly pulled away from you to allow her sister to re-enter the fray.
They had recently changed tactics to a tag team effort that you first thought was an attempt to save their strength and wear you down. But you were far from tired. The battle had waged for six hours now, the last four being held predominantly, mid-air, and progressively going higher. Already the breathable air was minimal and the veil of atmosphere that blanketed the planet was so thin that it gave way to an endless sea of stars. Still you pursued, and still they came on, in a glorious aerial waltz of savagery.
Ponies though they may be, they were worthy of their reverent reputation for indomitable power. Then again, so were you. They had just switched again, with the Lunar Alicorn pulling away in a dive for her Solar sibling to commence an attack to your vertical right. Which you avoided serious injury by barrel rolling with the forward force of the searing lance's bite.
Through out the course of the fight they had both landed their fair share of hits, some which drew blood, and pain. Actual pain! This brought you back to the early years of your ascension to power, where you faced opposition that could kill you. Now though, your wounds closed within moments of being made, a testament to all the battles you had fought in your rise to glory. Each had made you stronger, faster, and harder to kill. Already the Sun Alicorn's hit was a becoming a blemish. Spinning her lance as she broke off her attack, in a clear diversionary tactic she fell back. Allowing for her sister to come at you from below.
The Moon Goddess thrust her blade forward toward your gut. Anticipating her attack, you used the small opening she made and quickly dove down, evading the shimmering blade, and in turn curving your body below her. Catching her hind leg in your jaws.
Your teeth gripped onto the Alicorn's limb, a shriek of startled pain rewarding you for your swift catch. Biting down fully, you could take the leg clean off, effectively taking her out of the fight, if not out of this world. 'But, what fun would that be?' You thought darkly.
With a deathroll, you whip the Princess around, a satisfying crack, echoing in your mouth, signaling a broken leg from the abrupt jolt. Further using the momentum you released her leg and launched her downward. With shrill howl of agony, the Lunar Princess, plummeted below the blanket of clouds; mercifully, with all four limbs attached, but far from unharmed.
Suddenly, a shining blast of white light hit you directly in the chest. Your armor held but the wave tasted of ozone...and bloodlust.
"Good." You gritted your teeth in delight as your scales still smoked from the hit. About thirty yards from you, floated the white Alicorn: Princess Celestia, the elder ruler of this land and Goddess of the Sun. She was known far and wide for her compassion and wisdom. All of which was gone from her now as she had her lance aimed at your heart, with a look that said she meant to rip it out of you.
"MONSTER!" She bellowed in a voice that shook the very air around you, her body radiating with her wrath for her injured kin. Another blast came, hitting in the same spot, and then another. Again and again each volley came. But you were ready for them, and pressed forward, only phased momentarily by each cascade of solar fury. You had now halved the gap between you both, and she halted her barrage and prepared for a charge. Her body seared with power and took off at you like a comet, to which you obliged, your own fire engulfing you as you jetted forward to meet her. The white light of the goddess and the red inferno of your body barreled toward one another, gaining speed then collided with a massive crash that pushed you both back.
The Sun Alicorn righted herself quicker and once again surged forward to meet you, the still white hot lance ready to skewer you. Once again you proved faster than you appeared and snatched the hilt of the lance mid charge and redirect the princess' momentum past you. Her eyes widened as she moved below you, only to practically bulged when she saw your massive head come smashing down on her own.
Much like her sister, she too fell beneath the clouds, her helmet falling one way and her dented crown falling another. Her ethereal mane still flowing from her bloodied, but surprising un-caved in head.
With a roar of utmost joy, in the glorious battle, you parted your wings and reveled in your own power. Casting your shadow on the two holes In the clouds far beneath you where the two feeble goddesses fell before your unstoppable might, the Lunar Goddess' own moon bearing witness before you to their pitiful-
'Wait.' You paused your celebrating when you saw something out of place, something that didn't make sense. 'The moon.... is.... in front of me.'
Confusion racked your brain. 'Then what is casting my shadow?' With a slow turn you look up to see something that ran your molten blood cold. What had begun as the twinkle you hardly noticed, had now become a seething, careening rock from the aether beyond.
All of the sudden it became all too clear. Why they led you this high up, why they fought sporadically with you. You had been played. One fought and baited you higher while the other drew this extraterrestrial avalanche closer, aiming it directly at you.
"Is it not beautiful?" Came a voice below.
You turned to see the sisters rise through the parting clouds, holding each other up, staring at you with cold indifference, horns a light with the same glow that now rumbled toward you.
"It is a shame that this must be how we experience it." The bloodied Sun Goddess lamented, sounding truly saddened.
What little air was up there began to crackle and the rumble had swiftly changed to a thunderous cacophony that rattled your teeth. You did your best to steady yourself but found you were being thrown back and forth, ultimately stuck in the meteor's wake,; trapped therein.
You looked back to the Princesses to find they had vanished, teleported, no doubt far from the blast zone.
Your eyes looked above you, the size of rock was massive, making any attempt to flee pointless. You bellowed again, all joy gone, replaced with unbridled fury and contempt as you braced yourself for what was to come. Over the sound that had now rendered you deaf you thought you heard one final thing.
A small voice that echoed in your mind
"You must be so lonely. I pity you."
The meteor then hit the lower atmosphere and detonated.
—---------------------------
"Flint! Come and get it!"
You lifted your head from your pillow as you heard Cozy call you for breakfast. Shaking yourself awake, you rolled out of bed, recalling the nice dream you were having. 'Well, nice up until the end of it, anyway.' You made your way downstairs to the kitchen where the violet maned mare had her back to you, pleasantly humming to herself as she prepared the morning meal.
The tantalizing fragrance of said meal practically pulled you to the table, your stomach being empty since the few bites of apple you had yesterday afternoon.
Pulling up a chair, you eyed the earth pony before you. The melody Cozy hummed was that of a waltz she had on record, still packed away in a box somewhere. She seemed lost in her own tune, her meal prep flowing with her own dancing. A flick of a spatula here, as she went back to the bridge of the melody, an in time stir of the frying pan as she went from moderato to allegro. Gone was the look of a heart ache from the evening before, replaced with her good natured smile she wore when she greeted each day.
'It is... good...to see her happy.' You admitted to yourself, the ghost of a smile gracing your lips. A feature which you quickly hid when she turned and joined you at the table carrying the still sizzling order of breakfast hay-browns and scrambled eggs with green peppers, (your favorite.)
"Morning sweetie." She said in a sing song sort of way she always did, taking her seat next you.
"Mmhmmm." You said in a cavalier sort of way, that you always did. Pouring yourself a cup of juice and helping yourself to a generous portion.
She giggled at your eagerness and sipped on her coffee. "Excited for your first day at school?"
You merely rolled your eyes at this, your mouth too full to respond, but your expression seemed to send your intended message.
"Oh it won't be so bad." She chuckled into her mug as she took another sip. "It's a relatively small school, quite quaint really."
'Quaint.' You thought. 'She does like that word, doesn't she?' As a realtor she used that word often to describe homes that were small and old. You stopped chewing for a moment, and inwardly thanked the fates she didn't name you that, making note of the irony.
"I actually had a chance to meet with your teacher yesterday." She said, digging into her own plateful. "She seems very nice and is excited to meet you."
"Relax, Cozy." You replied, frankly. "I'll be good."
She nodded with a sigh, her smile faltering slightly at your use of her name as oppose to her title. From the beginning, you never did call her or Sparks by "those" names, you scarce to think those words ever left your mouth, even before coming to know them. You'd think she would be use to it by now, but each time it seemed to dim her a little.
It was around that time that your other 'parent' entered the room, a bit disheveled and smelling of battery acid and copper, a toaster under one forleg. He began fumbling with the device and plugged it into the wall.
"Fell asleep at your work bench again, dear?" Cozy said, knowingly to her bleary eyed mate.
"Y-yeah." Sparks rubbed the back of his mane, which was sticking out in all directions. "But I'd say it was worth it!" His mood switching from embarrassment to excitement as he fiddled with the knobs of the silver appliance, now sporting a few new welds and some mismatching plating, overall giving the appearance of something out of an cheesy sci-fi movie.
"I amped this baby up, cutting the time needed for toast to a quarter of the time." Sparks was in his element as he pulled out two pieces of bread from the aptly named box and placed them in the slots.
"Is that necessary? Or even... wise?" Cozy said nervously, subtly moving anything she valued away from the customized appliance, and motioning to you. You rolled your eyes, and got up from your seat, knowing exactly what she wanted you to do.
"Hey, limits are meant to be broken, especially time limits." Sparks chirped happily, adjusting the knobs again. "And this stuff is fireproof so, yeah it'll be fine." He added, his voice a little more flat.
"Three minutes a day, seven days a week, for a lifetime? Yeah, that's like two years just making toast." You deadpanned coming around the corner with a bright red fire extinguisher, receiving a wordless thank you from Cozy as she came up around you, a hoof resting on your shoulder, bracing herself for what was coming.
"That's the spirit, mah' boy." The Pegasus said with a grin. This was a usual occurrence in your home. Sparks' love of electronics, coupled with his need to tinker often led to similar scenarios. It wasn't that he was bad at it, far from it. Everything he 'improved' did, in fact, do what it was suppose to do. The problem was the shear impracticality, and sense of overkill for tasks as mundane as, well, bread preparation, in today's case. You immediately recalled the past "upgrades": A solar powered pocket watch that would in no way fit into any pocket, a vacuum cleaner whose suction could actually take paint off walls, and a flashlight that you swore could double as an X-ray machine.
"Here.....we.....GO!" Sparks pushed down the bread, simultaneously clicking his (normal) pocket watch. Cozy's grip on you seemed to tighten as the seconds ticked by. It didn't help that the machine was also starting to hum and rattle a little. At the 20 second mark the toaster made a popping sound and began to smoke slightly and gave off the smell of burning metal.
"Uh, hun'?" Cozy said with apprehension, slowly taking the extinguisher from you.
"Wait-wait." Sparks said absentmindedly. "Thirteen more seconds."
It then began to physically creak as parts of the plating began to warp. The silver luster being replaced by multihued rainbow patterns that morphed into black burns that smoked and bubbled.
The tension could be cut with a knife, even you found yourself mesmerized by this ticking firebomb.
"Sparks?"
"9...."
"The plastic is liquefying off the bottom."
"It will hold...7...."
"That can't be good for the counter."
"....5...4."
"Is it suppose to be...screaming?
"It's just the uneven heating of the metals,....2...1!"
With what now could pass for a ding, the toast shot out, causing all present to jump. The toast itself was surprisingly as he said it would be, perfect. Although you would need to look past the fact that it reeked of ozone, and was no doubt viciously toxic to ingest.
"HAH! What did I tell you! Perfectly toa-" Sparks' gloating was cut off by sudden spray of CO2 that dowsed the still smoldering appliance. The resulting temperature change caused it to screech in pain as it further imploded on itself. After the smoke cleared the pegasus stallion was met with the stern look of his quite livid wife. The now silent appliance reduced to something that resembled a wrinkled jello mold.
After a brief pause, the stallion broke the silence. "Aww come on Coz'." He said trying to shrug off the eye daggers, that were now boring into him.
"Don't even, Sparks Fly!" She bit back at him, her eyes narrowing further.
"I'll take care of the mess, I always do." He turned to his previously molten machination examining the wreckage. "I am glad to see that the tungsten heating coils took the heat great, but I suppose I could of been over doing it with the number of energy capacitors I installed." He licked his hoof and briefly touched the surface of the slagged appliance, eliciting a sharp hiss of steam from lingering heat, causing him to quickly jerk back his foreleg.
With grunt, Cozy roughly passed the extinguisher to the stallion and huffed over to clear the table. Sparks looked sheepishly after her, then to the heap, lastly to you.
"It was pretty cool though, wasn't it?" He said to you in a low voice, a foalish grin on his muzzle. Not being able to help yourself, a grin burst out of you, complete with a sputter of laughter that was only grew more uproarious as it was joined by the elder colt. Cozy, placed the dishes in the sink and braced herself on the counter, the sound of your collective laughter getting to her as well. She turned, her own face to be scrunched into a reluctant smile that failed to stifled her own laughter.
--------------
With a shake of her head, Cozy Homes regarded the scene before her. This was a memory making kind of moment if there ever was one. She was no longer mad, she couldn't bring herself to be. Her husband and son laughing in a smokey kitchen after another one of Sparks' hair brained stunts. She regarded the stallion, remembering the nervous colt that became her special somepony all those years ago. Their son, who, despite various challenges along the way, was growing up, and if last night's events and this moment proved anything, he was growing up right.
She broke down and allowed herself to join into the outbreak of hysteria. In truth it wasn't all that funny, but it was something that they all seemed to need after all the changes going on in their lives.
In the years to come, this moment would be one that she would look back with fondness, especially considering what would follow not long after.
But right here, right now, this encapsulated her life, her family. And she wouldn't trade it for anything.
------------
The moment of levity began to die down after a few moments. The mare was the first to speak through tears and left over chuckles. "You two are absolutely..." Her comment died in throat as her eyes fell on your flank.
"FLINT!!!" It was a feat of shear impossibility. One moment Cozy was on the other side of the room, a good ten feet away, and in a blink of an eye she was right on top of you engaging you in one of her all consuming displays of maternal closeness.
"How!? When!?" She held the hug tighter as she looked down on you with practically manic eyes.
Sparks was a little slow on the uptake, as the initial outburst had him pointing the fire extinguisher back at the ruined toaster, fearing a repeat ignition. When no signs of danger were evident he turned and was confused until he too saw what the ruckus was about.
"Did that happen just now!?" He exclaimed dropping the extinguisher with a thud coming over to investigate.
Feeling particularly smothered right now, you desperately tried to wiggle free, or at minimum make enough room to inhale.
"Let's have a look!" Said Sparks excitedly, offering no aid to your current asphyxiation. He carefully examined your mark, which wasn't at all awkward or anything.
"Yeah, get a good look, Sparks!" You half choked out, wiggling your flank in a lewd gesture, that either went unnoticed, uncomprehended, or just ignored.
"Well would you looks at that!" He said, backing away and now addressing your other end, that was currently grinding its teeth.
"A shield and a dragon!" Cozy beamed. "This must mean your gonna help protect a lot of ponies! I knew it! I just knew it!" She leaned down.
"Don't you DARE!" You choked again, and once again, your words were either unnoticed, uncomprehended, or just ignored, as a series of kisses were planted on your face.
It was around the time of the third wave of affection that a knock of salvation came to the door.
"Oh!." Cozy exclaimed, ceasing her assault, and allowing you to pull away. "That must be your friends to walk with you to school."
"I never said they were-"
"Fillies? Three of them." Sniped Sparks, some how having made his way to the door and had peered outside at the trio waiting for you. "Cute too. That's my boy." He added, narrowing his eyes at you with a grin that only made your face redder for the cocktail of indignation and embarrassment you were currently feeling.
You merely huffed at them both and gathered your school bag. Stomping off to the door, you opened it and stepped out. The Crusader's greeted you warmly as you wordlessly joined them, face still a little warm and scowled. Just as you thought you were free Cozy's voice spilled outside.
"It could mean he is gonna be a guard. Imagine that! Flint could someday protect the Princesses!"
Much like the toaster from a few minutes previous you could feel your face further buckle and deform from the rage within. Your fur bristled, but despite a few pops and cracks from your arching back and joints, you didn't make a sound. Your mouth was wide open as if a scream was coming out, but still no sound came. Looking on in amazement, the Crusaders found it eerie that a pony could scream so quietly and still make their ears ring.
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I'm liking the story so far.
I wonder what Luna would have thought if she had seen the dream?
'Why does this colt dream himself as this monster from history? And how is it all so accurate?"
5993881 thankya! I am enjoying writing it.
5994589
Indeed, that might come into play
Yay! More Cozy and Sparks!
As much as this chapter feels like filler IMO, I love it just because it builds up these two characters. I was interested in who these two are and this chapter helps learn a little more about them.
The next chapter will probably be at school, with Cherilee and the CMC. I hope you do a little more with the CMC and hopefully more story progression(duh).
Can't wait!
6014382 Thanks for the comment.
Yeah, I admit this was a bit of filler but I wanted a glimpse into the home life, not to mention I legitimately enjoyed exploring their characters plus foreshadowing what was to come.
The next chapter is not to "paper" yet but I plan to start shortly!
Thanks for the support!
I just found this earlier today and I'm lovin this, the great dragon, the parents, the premise... You're doin great.
6019084 Thank you very much! I appreciate the encouragement and am glad you are enjoying it!
I was listening to this as I was reading.
Past!Flint had to pretty much be a badass if it took a METEOR to kill him.
This is great, have thumbs up! And mustache
Yes, and Rarity's Cutie Mark means she will be a miner
.
On a serious note, yes, it could be common problem in Equestria, some ponies may interpret meaning of another pony's abstract mark as literal. While in reality, Cutie Marks have at least 3 layers of meaning.
5994589 That will be interesting to herald! His former life was so full of badassery that it took a meteor to kill him. I wonder if he would ever go back to being a dragon or 'dragon'.
I'm really loving this story so far!
Can I use that scene some time? It's my favorite (don't worry, I'll mention that I got it from this story, that is if I'm allowed to use it)
7527799 Sure! Link me the story too. I'd like to read it!
6239349 hello greed
6290527
Good thing he's friends with the CMC. The can (or eventually can) tell him what he can do with his mark. Although I imagine he'll wind up with dramatic irony, experiencing a dragon attack from the other side of the fireball.
Also: I love the parents! Seriously, way to give them a personality.
Hmm... What's this?
Interest: 6 -+1-> 7
Edit: Curiosity -> Interest
You know, it's moments like these that are special. You just put a spark in Slice of Life. And already the parental shipping has started. To be fair, getting three members of the opposite gender to turn up to take you to school before even going to school is pretty notable.
Unknowing low blow there, 'Mom'. Protect the princesses, the two ponies he loathes more than anything else.
Speaking of, adding 'Call parents Mom and Dad' to my list of things to look out for.
Stockholm's kicking in.
I feel sorry for the lot of them. It’s kinda depressing now that I think about it