Ghosts of the Umbral Flame

by NovaTheFireBolt

The Coliseum

Chapter 7: The Coliseum

Seven long years have passed since the birth of the infamous dragon-pony hybrid. During those years, the mare he had come to know as his mother raised him to be the savior the Draconic Remnants needed him to be in the safety of their cavern and surrounding areas.

He became very intelligent. She educated him with some scrolls she had liberated from her old home. After learning to read, he adapted a lust for knowledge, and he would absorb it quick as a breath of air.

Spells, however, were limited.

Of course, being what he was, he could manipulate and summon fire with his magic with as much ease as a dragon breathing a jet of flame. The mare, however, would not let him test how high a degree of flame he could generate for the sake of the safety of others. But mostly her own safety, since she lived with him.

His Telekineses abilities ranged from being able to levitate smaller dragons and large rocks. This was easier for the two to practice with because of the abundance of both. Most of their other spell tests were not as prominent, though.

The red dragon taught him to fight, not just with brute strength and muscle, but with his mind. He taught him how battles must be won in his head before actually fought on the battleground. They casually spared, the hybrid mostly on the defensive posture because of his disadvantage of not being the same size as a dragon.

Thanks to his Draconic genes, his hide was harder and more resistant to injuries like burns and cuts. Through training with the red dragon, his agility got better, his reaction speed was faster, and he was ultimately stronger than any other pony nearby.

The hybrid also served as the grey dragon's new understudy.

The last silver scaled one had become a being of jealousy and anger, storming off into the wind, never to be seen again.

After weeks of debate, the entirety of the Grey Sun council had decided that the hybrid have the right to battle in the Games for the Alpha position.

They did not think he would actually participate.

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"AGAIN!" shouted the red dragon over the fading roar of the hybrid's flame.

They had been testing how hot of a blaze he could generate for the past hour. The mare had gone out into the nearby forest to gather supplies for a potion she was creating, and they thought they'd take this legendary opportunity by the reins. She had not disclosed what this potion would do, however, so they couldn't judge how hard the ingredients would be to find. Thus, they didn't know how long she'd be gone.

Gritting his teeth, the hybrid brought up a flame around the pile of gems laid out on the grass that he had been trying to liquify. From the previous attempts, the pile was black and looked like slag. Pushing harder, the flame grew hotter and more intense.

"Focus," he told him.

The hybrid fixated his sight on the epicenter of the burn, willing it to expand and consume the pile of gems. He felt an age old desire to burn resurface, and focused it into his magic.

Slowly, they began to melt, whatever colors were left were running into each other making it look like a mound of midnight black ooze. An overglow enveloped his horn. Sweat beaded on his brow and dripped into his eye, making him take a quick breath and push harder on the flame.

The red dragon leaned back and smiled, content with the new outcome of the challenge.

"Very good," he said to the hybrid as the flame died.

"The Alpha would be proud."

They both turned to greet the mare, laden with saddlebags filled to the brim with berries and colorful flora.

The hybrid trotted up to her and motioned for her to look at the result of his hard work. She did and smiled at him, but as she continued onwards, she frowned at the red dragon for making him test his flame more than what she allowed.

The dragon grinned sheepishly in return.

The hybrid returned to his slag pile, broke off a small hardened piece and levitated it into his mouth. Pleased with the taste, he cantered into the cavern, leaving the dragon and the mare behind. Smiling, the mare took off her saddlebags and sat next to her Draconic friend.

"He sure has grown, hasn't he?" she said, looking into the saddlebags for one particular object.

"Haven't we all?" he replied as a light drizzle began to fall from the clouds above.

Chuckling, she levitated a small hoof-sized object wrapped in a large leaf out of the bottom of her saddlebag and floated it in front of him.

Curious, he glanced at her a raised an eyebrow.

"Just open it. You'll see."

With a careful claw, he unwrapped it's binding and the leaf fell to the ground.

What he saw took his breath away.

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"I knew I'd find you here," said the grey dragon as he walked into the mining tunnel that was now mostly empty after the continuous 7 years of use.

Looking away from the glyphs, the hybrid craned his neck to greet the dragon.

"You know," the dragon began, "I do plan on battling in the games. Maybe you can watch me from the stadium-"

"I will be participating as well."

His voice was cold and gritty and shocked the dragon when he heard it. The hybrid almost never spoke, and when he did, it was usually one sentence and very precise.

"Well then," the dragon replied, picking an emerald out of the wall and popping it into his maw. "I suppose I can't stop you or convince you otherwise. You do have the right to battle."

The hybrid gazed at him angrily.

"I mean that the odds are against you. The other fighters are all dragons-three times your size. What makes you think you have any chance of winning the Alpha position?"

He casually turned away from the glyphs on the walls, moving his mane away from his eyes and walked next to the dragon, not looking anywhere but straight ahead.

"I believe I can win."

And with that, he left the grey dragon alone in the tunnel, left there to mull about everything the hybrid said to him.

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The coliseum was enormous.

As the story goes, it was born from a volcanic mountain that erupted just about every which way but down. Effectively, it was a bowl for magma in the later years. The magma cooled and was then shaped to be the coliseum it is now. The rim was flat, and served as seats for those who wished to watch the battle that raged inside.

Dragons were in the coliseum training for the the Alpha Games that would be held in three days time. The hourglass that indicated this was placed in the center, for everyone to see.

"Well, this is it."

The mare, trotted upon it's rim, saddlebags upon her back and the hybrid next to her. Their manes rippled in the winds and the land was given a strange orange ambience from the sun being blocked by the clouds.

They watched the red dragon on the ground below, training for the Games.

Sighing, she traversed into the bowl, tasked with retrieving the hourglass and returning it to the Draconic Remnants cavern. The hybrid followed her, gnawing on a sapphire all the while.

"Why do you want to fight?" she asked, placing a tentative hoof on a loose rock, half expecting a non-cryptic answer.

After a full ten seconds of thinking, the hybrid just shrugged. "I believe I can win," he said.

"And do you really believe you can? Or are you just saying that to assure yourself?"

A rock slipped below his hoof and he growled slightly, striking fear into every rock nearby.

"I do."

She glanced back at him, and continued down into the coliseum. A sly smile spread over her face as she let it sink in.

He wasn't fighting in the Games only for the position of Alpha, nor was he fighting to test his strength.

He was fighting because he honestly thought he would win.

"Then I believe you can, too."

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"A dragon has been spotted flying towards us, my liege!" shouted a castle guard as he entered the kings throne room, breathing heavily. "What are your orders?"

Slowly, his crowned head rose from a scroll riddled with spells and magical secrets.

"I am well aware of the creatures in and around my castle. Leave now. Go on."

He shooed the guard away with a hoof, and with a bow, he left back to his post.

Over the past 7 years, the king had aged pleasantly, while his castle however, had remained the same.

His stance on dragons had altered, though.

"Welcome, beast," the king said, his voice quiet enough so only he could hear.

The silver scaled dragon who had flown many a mile back to his homeland entered the throne room through a skylight in the ceiling, and dropped to the floor almost silently.

"Did you bring it?" the king queried, returning his attention to the scroll.

Opening his claw, the silver dragon placed an egg with a fiery design embedded on it in front of the king.

"One phoenix egg. As promised," he grumbled.

Smiling, the king rolled the scroll up and let the dragon take it. Unraveling it slightly, he read parts of it. Satisfied, he raveled it up and with a swift pump of his wings, he was gone once more.

"Damn creatures... Always so cryptic."

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The hybrid had dreams that were a mess of things he didn't quite understand, but a small tug made him feel like he should.

Shadows roiled like an ocean, whipping back and forth in the moonlit skies.

He had this dream many times, but each time the black ocean of stars raged more than the last.

And then he woke up.

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The Games were one day away, and most of the dragons had traveled to the coliseum to either watch or compete.

The hourglass was tucked away deep in the megachamber, right were the mare had left it the day before. After a good nights rest, the mare and the hybrid disembarked from the cavern. She trotted to where the hybrid was waiting, laying down under the sun.

"Come now. I can teleport us back to the coliseum."

Opening an eye, the hybrid rose to his hooves and whipped his mane out of his face.

"I am ready."

And in a sudden flash, they were gone.

The hybrid did not know he was not ready to face what was to come next. Not without help, at least.

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A wind tore into the silver dragons face, making him veer slightly away from his initial destination with a tilt of his wings. A cold front was approaching from the north and rivaled with the heat wave from the south. When they collided, a storm brewed. The same one he ventured through now. He knew of the danger, but his objective was more important than his own safety.

He carried a scroll in his claw, ready to guard it with his life; it's secrets would either ensure him immortality, or an instant death.

But he knew one thing for sure.

The Games were about to get much more deadly, the skies darker, and the earth heavy with the weight of spilled blood.

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(I have to thank all my friends for persisting me to finish this chapter up. Because had they not, I would have finished the story in this Chapter alone.)