Chapter 30: New Home, New Family
The Feast of Fire marked the turn of the year in dragon culture. And though a dragon may not overly concern themselves with the other beings who populated their world, such festivals were to them just as much a time for family and feasting. But not all in the Dragonlands could always get into the festive spirit; behold, spin the wheel to a prior Feast of Fire, two years before Spike Ironscale and Jade Spiketail sat down to hear a little story told by Elder Blast, when another whelp of the Dragonlands was still coming to terms with his new lot in life.
By all accounts, Slicer Steelspine should have been happy. The Brightcrests were kind to him, there was no denying that. And since they had taken him in, legally, he should now be considered a prince. Honestly, which child had never once dreamt of something like this happening to them?
He’d have gladly traded it all away, if it meant seeing a single member of his true family again.
It wasn’t like Slicer tried to keep the Brightcrests at a distance. It just seemed to happen on its own. No matter what, despite their efforts to make him feel included, there was always a chasm that separated them. And it was worse at this time of year, when he had such strong memories of past Feasts spent with Kalamet and Pala and Gemstone.
At one time, Slicer might have liked it if Lord Torch was his father. If nothing else, the Dragon Lord told the best stories, boisterous and loud as a dragon should be. This meant he nearly always won the gem-pile at a Feast-time contest, of course, but since he’d share it back right after, not much was lost from it and everyone had heard a good story. Wrestling the great Minotaur champion, Darkhoof, in a contest of strength. Facing down an iron battle-airship powered by the flames of an angry Kirin. The hunt for a giant snake called “Grootslang”, which Torch claimed could swallow a dragon whole.
But Slicer could never look at Torch without the reminder that Dad and the Dragon Lord had fought. That damn eye-patch. What quietly infuriated Slicer even more, was how many young dragons thought it made him look cool.
Most infuriating of all was that Slicer probably would have agreed with them. If only he hadn’t lost his Dad when Torch lost his eye.
“And that’s how,” Torch told Ember, finishing his latest tale, “your father brought up the wreck of the Alicorn from the bottom of the Crystal Sea, despite the best efforts of the Kraken to stop him. I only regret not giving that beast a good scar. But I still keep the ship’s hull tucked away safe, off in a little creek with the rest of ‘em. I’ll show you them all, one day.”
Ember had been listening to the story with rapt attention. She’d told her own story earlier, in preparation for a competition later on in the week. Had even bet a few gems against her father, thinking hers was that good, but really she’d had no chance at winning this one. And yet instead of sulking about it, she was positively beaming at her father for outshining her.
“Alright, Dad,” Ember said, with a wide smile, pushing a few gems his way. “You win.”
Which were words she would never say in a fight. From his sitting position in the family circle, Slicer reflected on how he should have felt touched by the display. When all it did was disgust him to see Ember act like a Daddy’s girl. She must have forgotten he was there. If pressed, she would deny ever having talked this way. Ember annoyed him to no end. She was all hot air and no fire-power. How hard must it have been, for her to stand upright with such a swollen head.
‘Everyone is a boulderhead! Oh, I can read as well as Heathspike now! I almost beat Garble!’
This was how she usually told stories. She always ‘almost’ beat Garble. Really, it was just another way of saying she wouldn’t have lost if only he weren’t trying.
Off to the side, Lady Blaze was smiling too, saying nothing as Torch pretended to hide all of Ember’s precious gems in one fist, only to show her it was empty, and they were in the other. Her gaze did not linger on the pair, though, as she glanced towards him.
Blaze was the only one of this family whom Slicer actually liked. He didn’t think anyone in the Dragonlands disliked her, except for a few dragons with high opinions of themselves like Scales’ Mom, and even they afforded Blaze a grudging respect. When she treated him kindly, he never felt as if her kindness was laced with condescension. He could tell she felt sorry for him, yet she never went out of her way to tip-toe around him. She was just a nice lady, and she took care of him.
Even so, Slicer could not bear how living with her meant living with Ember and Torch. He knew why he’d been adopted by the Brightcrests, not some other family. Just because he was young didn’t mean he hadn’t figured it out.
The Dragon Lord wanted to make a big display of no hard feelings towards what was left of the Steelspines, because he was the only dragon who could absolve the Steelspines for having treacherously attacked a Dragon Lord. That was all. Without their protection, Slicer would be living out in the wilderness before he’d even molted, at the mercy of rocs and tatzelwurms.
And meanwhile, Blaze was contemplating Slicer, knowing this, and knowing that he knew. Despite the Feast, her heart lay heavy. Every so often, ever since that conversation she’d had with Amber regarding their children, her mind would go back to one word.
Betrothal.
Such a meaningful word that was. Yes, their children were closer than was typical, but betrothal? Sometime after the initial conversation, Blaze had asked Amber if she’d think about doing such a thing to Heathspike, only to receive a very enthusiastic ‘That’s a marvelous idea! I hear Jade asked her cousin about that just a few days ago,’ in response.
Keeping such thoughts from showing, Blaze looked towards her ward, and offered him a smile. There had been a break in the winter rainfall, and so Slicer had got to spend time outside the cave, which she suspected he’d prefer. On this first Feast day without his birth family, he wouldn’t be quite ready yet to accept the Brightcrests.
Surreptitiously, she’d asked Topaz Ironscale to keep an eye out for him. Despite the old healer’s large size, Topaz was good at discretion, which was presumably how’d she gone shopping to that pony town for so long. Doubtless she was twice as careful nowadays. Should anything happen to Slicer in a mud-slide or similar accident, the best dragon at hand would be there to help.
She could only hope Slicer didn’t begrudge all Ironscales.
“How was your day, Slicer,” Blaze said quietly. “Did you find any good gems?”
Blaze would have given him one as a present, but while dragons liked gifts, digging for and fighting over gems was whelps’ delight. And few dragons were receptive to charity at the best of times. Offering it now would very likely only have put Slicer off-side.
“Nah. Not really,” Slicer said tonelessly, shrugging his shoulders. “It was okay, though. I mostly played with Scales.”
Blaze could hear the disappointment in his voice. Slicer, once an object of pity, seemed to be left a pariah overnight. Although no-one was so callous as to say it out loud, the words “sins of the father” lay on everyone’s minds. This made Blaze somewhat thankful for his relationship with Scales. At least there was someone out there to help anchor him.
Ember did her best, but it was clear the two didn’t mesh well.
However, it would be a lie to claim Blaze didn’t have reservations. A part of her still didn’t understand what Scales’ game was with Slicer, why she’d attached herself to a Steelspine. Was it to exact revenge on Garble for spurning her affection? She could foresee how risky this might turn out for the Ironscales. The loving, affectionate side of her wanted to see two children seeking comfort in one another, nothing more. What was pragmatic and draconic in her nature saw differently.
Betrothal, was it? Today, the idea of Slicer and Scales joining names seemed unlikely. But just wait a few more years. Benefiting as he did from the Dragon Lord’s patronage, it was wholly conceivable that Slicer might restore his clan’s honor. And although the Sunwings may show reluctance, if Scales remained willing, then Slicer had a potential mate waiting, along with a valued ally. She could only imagine how such a union would enhance the Sunwings’ prestige.
And Blaze could see it happening. Scales still proclaimed her desire for Garble, but she was young. It was easy enough to imagine that in a few years, the girl would hardly remember Garble existed, much less any desire to be his mate.
“I’m going to sleep,” Slicer mumbled, before skulking his way towards his own little corner.
“Oh. Good night, then.”
She received no answer.
The next day dawned as lonely as ever for Slicer.
Before his life had changed, the young drake hadn’t understood how it is possible to feel so alone while surrounded by others. He’d thought he’d had it bad before, when he was off in a corner mourning his unborn sibling. Little had he known. His family were still there for him back then, and though they’d been just as wrapped up in grief, at least this meant there’d been dragons around who could share these feelings.
Now, there was no-one. Even Scales, and that secret group he’d fallen in with, could only scratch at the surface. And even if there were a few other families in the Dragonlands among whom a parent or child had passed away too soon, they could not know what it was like for him, to have lost everyone so swiftly, so brutally.
Certainly not the Brightcrests, and least of all Ember. The Princess was visibly struggling with the new addition to her family’s home. Her mother had likely put her on her best behavior, and at least she probably felt sorry for his loss. But no way Ember wasn’t a little prickly about no longer being an only child. Sure, she hung out with that Ironscale girl, Smolder, whenever she could. It wasn’t the same as having to share a cave with her.
Stiff and sore from a bad night’s sleep, Slicer took a peek out of the cave’s entrance. Today was a gray, cloudly, miserable day. A typical wintry day in the Dragonlands. If only it had rained, there may be gems to collect. Yet although the clouds looked as if they might eventually burst, the downpour had not come.
“You up already?”
Slicer did not turn around. It was Ember. Yes, he’d got up early, and so had she. Soon after waking, he’d noticed her parents were still fast asleep, tucked together in their spot, with both their tails wrapped around the other.
He’d been unable to stand the sight longer than five seconds. His and Gemstone’s parents had been just like that, the morning after Feast-time. Grown-up dragons snoozing away, momentarily leaving the children to their own devices.
“Yeah. What do you want?”
Ember walked up next to him. He saw she was bristling. Looked as if he’d touched a nerve.
“Oh– nothing much,” she said. “Just wondered if you got any plans.”
Despite the tension, it sounded like Ember was trying to be friendly. Putting in a special effort for Feast-time, he guessed.
“Why?” Slicer asked, leaning a paw against the cave wall. “Weren’t you gonna go spend time with that orange girl, reading books or whatever it is you do?”
“I wanted to.” Ember stared outside, glancing up at the ominous gray sky. “She said it depended on how the weather turned out. If it already rained last night, fine, no problem. But it didn’t. So, no-show.”
“How come?”
“That’s none of your business.”
She must have thought that’d be the end of it, and Slicer would be none the wiser. However, no boy his age was unaware of why rain might be such a big deal, especially for some. He felt himself begin to smirk. It wasn’t nice, he should have sympathized as a boy, and yet right then, he wanted to take it out on someone, anyone.
“It’s because of Garble, isn’t it?” Slicer scoffed. “Everydrake knows he’s got a problem with water.”
Ember turned a little red. “Shut your mouth.”
But Slicer couldn’t hold back. “That’s one mighty Paladin you got there, Princess, if he can’t even handle a bit of rain.”
He’d gone too far. Slicer saw Ember was balling her claws into fists, and her teeth were clenched. Briefly, he wondered if she was really going to punch him.
Worst of all was that, deep down, Slicer might have hoped she would. Yet at great personal effort, given how badly she shook, Ember pulled her punches, having not thrown a single one his way.
“What? You’re not even gonna fight me?”
She took several deep breaths. “I’d like to,” she said, glaring at him. “But Mom would have words. Besides, I’m not going to give you the satisfaction. If you wanna fight me, Slicer– find something else to start a fight about.”
Ember was halfway to turning around and stomping off. Which would have suited Slicer just fine. Except that she then turned back, still glowering.
“And for your information– Paladins wear armor. Wait and see how tough water is once Garble gets his suit of armor!”
Slicer tried not to groan. There she went again.
Get Ember started, and there was no stopping her rambling speeches about what she’d do once she became Dragon Lord. Hah, like that was ever going to happen. The only way Ember could dream of getting the Bloodstone Scepter would be if someone handed it to her. Slicer wondered if Garble ever threw a real punch when they played together. Then again, the Princess probably hid behind Daddy if things got too hard for her. And dragons called Scales a brat. How did Garble tolerate her?
He opted to ignore her, doing a few exercises one of his new friends had assigned, while she pontificated.
After a few hours, Ember’s parents awoke, shutting her up at last. Breakfast was shared, without a word mentioning how the two kids had almost come to blows.
Once all was said and done, Slicer announced he was going out. Nobody stopped him, despite the unpromising weather. Ember might have denied him the satisfaction of one thing, but unlike her, he wasn’t going to spend the whole day stuck in her parents’ cave.
He’d just spend the day alone outside.
Well, Slicer was not quite alone. At least he still had Scales.
For a while, getting back in her good graces had not been smooth sailing. Slicer learned that telling someone who cared about you to essentially jump off a cliff wasn’t the best way to keep them in your corner. He still thought Scales had a funny way of caring, sometimes remembering how their relationship had started, with a single force-fed gem in a quarry. But during the short time he’d spent without her, he’d come to realize what he was missing. He’d acted terribly distant towards her, in those last few weeks at her parents’ cave, then lost touch with her once he moved to the Brightcrests’.
Making up for it had involved telling her how grateful he was for all she’d done, back when he’d only been half as miserable as he was now. That and a rare gem he’d happened upon. She appreciated the Earth Topaz tremendously.
She was a strange girl, Scales. He didn’t think she had many friends, but this wasn’t something she seemed to mind very much. She was perhaps the only girl he knew who’d spend hours primping and preening herself with jewelry outside of gatherings. Back at the Brightcrests’, Slicer had noticed certain drawings made on the cave wall by Ember and Smolder; he wondered if she would enjoy dresses as much as Smolder did.
Outwardly, it was as if nothing had changed for Scales in the Dragonlands. On that level alone, much to his own surprise, Slicer felt comfortable around her. They’d hugged, that night when Slicer’s father flew off to his death, but that was it. No displays of condolence, no signs of pity. If Scales felt deeply, truly sorry about anything, she kept it to herself.
The key was that, contrary to what you’d expect, Scales was a good listener. She may be vain, she may be trying too hard to look regal sitting on her gem-pile, yet she wasn’t full of herself like Ember. In fact, today Scales had been listening quietly, all while Slicer told her about the incident with Ember.
When he finished, there was just one question on her lips.
“Have you fought anyone yet? I can’t imagine how desperate you must be if you tried to get Ember to fight you.”
“No.”
The truth was that Slicer couldn’t recall the last time that he’d fought anyone. At first it was due to pity. For half a year after his family’s deaths, hardly any other drake his age had sought to challenge him over the slightest beryl. Then time went on, and he’d issued a few challenges of his own, but he’d been irritated at how half-heartedly his opponents fought back.
Eventually, some of the guys had decided it was okay to play rough with him again. This made him feel better, for a time.
Today? Something else was going on and he didn’t like it.
“I want to fight someone,” he grumbled.
“Want me to look for someone?”
“They’ll just run off.”
Slicer found the lack of fighting all the more aggravating when he needed it most.
Thal seemed to have taken a liking to him as much as Shard had, and as such, gave him special exercises to do in his free time. Part of him was thankful for it. He had kept in touch with the group, but days could go by without a peep from them. If he was lucky, he would spot Cream Crystalclaw, the only one of these dragons who regularly made a public appearance, and manage to get a quick conversation in. Normally, she would just assure that Shard hadn’t forgotten about him, before hurrying him along.
The group wanted to keep a low profile, yet Slicer had found a clever excuse to talk to Cream as much as she wanted. If anyone asked, he’d simply say his late sister had known her. This appeared to satisfy any curiosity they had.
Speak of the fiend, as his mind wandered, who else should he spot at the bottom of the pit.
“Cream!” Slicer nearly shouted.
The name seemed to set off alarms in Scales’ head. “Cream? Who’s Cream?”
“One of the dragons I met! You know, from that secret group I told you about?”
Although Slicer had been sworn to secrecy about the group, he’d been far more open with Scales than with others. While most adults knew about Cream Crystalclaw, it was better to keep everyone else away from the public eye.
“Look, she’s right there!”
He pointed to the dragon with glittering white gemstones for scales.
“You didn’t mention she was a girl,” Scales grumbled. Slicer had also left out the fact that she was very pretty. He only ever talked about two dragons named Shard and Thal. “Well, she looks busy, so we should–”
Scales was interrupted by the clattering of stones and saw that Slicer had left her to scamper towards the pit. She glared at the crystal dragon.
“Hussy,” she spat, before following her friend down the sloping path.
Clan Crystalclaw could have made the need for healers obsolete, had there been any more of them left.
Alas, Cream’s clan was doomed to forever spawn a single male, and then only as many daughters as they desired. As far as drakes knew, Cream could make her claws and spines majestically shimmer, veiling herself with an air of mystery and beauty. This was not all she could do. That shimmer carried with it just a touch of magic. Nothing like the kind wielded by unicorns. No, hers was more static.
Practically useless when used against an opponent, but not when a whelp took a nasty tumble off a gem pile. Her friends knew she had a magic touch. They just didn’t know that it was her ability.
She finished bandaging up a Firefang whelp, who had a nasty gash on his head. Once the bandages were set, she slid her claws across.
A single touch was all she needed to heal the wound. Her claws faintly glowed, their shine invisible in the light of day, and the whelp seemed to improve immediately.
“There we are, good as new. Now, be more careful when playing King of the Hoard, and please tell your sister she owes me a few gems for the last time you needed fixing up.”
The whelp nodded and scampered away, only for Slicer to take his place.
“Slicer!” Cream exclaimed, brightly. “You finally got back into a scuffle, and need my help?”
“No. Can you take me to Shard? I need to talk to him.”
Cream nearly groaned. But she was cut off by a peculiar sight.
She watched as an adorable pink dragon arrived behind Slicer, growling, her tail slamming against the ground every so often. Classic show of aggression. Likely she’d witnessed her mother or father do it to some other dragon trying to claim an item they’d found first.
But there was more to this. Cream saw it in her eyes. Jealousy, anger, all undercut by the darling look of wrath the girl was giving her. She didn’t know why whelps thought that inflating their cheeks and holding their breath would be threatening, but she wasn’t complaining. Actually, she was struggling not to laugh.
“Slicer–” Cream put her hand over her maw, to stifle a snigger. “Slicer, I’ll be right with you. But first, mind if I talk to your friend in private?”
Slicer gave her a look, before glancing back and spotting Scales. Grumbling, he left them alone.
“So, you must be the famous Scales that Slicer mentioned. My name is Cream Crystalclaw. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Scales didn’t move an inch, save for her tail slamming the ground. Cream merely smirked.
“What’s with that look? Is it because you’re worried I might steal Slicer away from you?”
The girl continued to glare at the older dragon, unafraid.
“Oh sweetheart, I’m already spoken for. Slicer’s all yours.” She leaned in close. “Between you and me, I think he has a crush on you.”
Scales’ cheeks flushed, her expression breaking at last.
“W-well, good! He should! I’m a beautiful flower, after all.” She looked back towards Slicer, who was waiting for them to finish. “Just bring him back safe after whatever it is he needs.”
Cream assured her she would do just that.
Was there anything that he’d overlooked?
Shard kept going over events in his head. He was keeping an eye on the Dragonlands, but he checked his other prospects periodically.
The Changeling Hive was still functioning, not that anyone could get close without their magic locking up. Trying to communicate with the Hive was a pain, especially if he wanted to send Elden, whose magic made him a valuable member of their team. Perhaps Surr would be better, if only he could be ensured not to kill someone of value, like Pharynx. A pity that Pharynx and Thorax were a package deal. Shard would have loved to get Surr to snap that weakling’s neck.
The Storm King, or Frost Monarch as he was known at this time, was likely prepping a ship for a future scouting mission. One armed with a few cages, nets, and disciplinary tools. Oh, Shard felt excited for that little adventure. He could barely contain his glee. But he needed to make sure the Storm King was kept safe once things fell through, and that his group could be seen as potential allies. That would be easy. Each of his comrade’s abilities rivaled the Mythic Dragons of old, if not surpassed their abilities. A demonstration was all it would take to sway the Storm King to his side. There was also the matter of Tempest, or Fizzlepop Berrytwist. If only he’d had his father’s old scrolls, he could have restored her horn and simply set the payment at serving the Storm King, until the time was right. A pity they were lost time.
There were the Pillars of Equestria. Should he obtain the barrel which Sunburst was supposed to buy and then send it to his door? It would remove chance from the equation. Time and fate were fickle creatures, after all. Some no-name could come along early and snipe it. Then what? He’d lose Stygian, and Elden wouldn’t get to throttle Flash Magnus like he so dreamed of doing.
And what about Cozy Glow? He needed to send someone to check in on her.
All of those were worries for later. The first three took priority, and that meant focusing on getting Garble on his side first. It wouldn’t be long now. Once two more winters had passed, at the start of the following spring, Garble would start his molt. The lynchpin that would burn all of Equestria to the ground. Cozy Glow could wait. So could the Pillars and Stygian. After all, what more fitting fate was there, than for seven idiots to spend eternity trapped in a hell of their own making?
“Shard.”
He turned, pulled away from his thoughts.
“Cream, and Slicer,” Shard greeted them with a smile. “What brings the two of you here? An emergency, I shouldn’t wonder.”
Shard was not unreasonable, nor was he cruel. Not without cause, of course. While Slicer needed guidance, Shard himself needed to stay unnoticed until the right time. Slicer, and meddling in affairs in general, brought unwanted attention. So there was a rule in place where Slicer could seek him out only in case of an emergency.
“I want to go to Equestria, and tell the Princess I forgive her.”
Shard could clearly tell what the boy just said was a lie, but he had to wonder why he was doing so.
“Slicer, if this is your idea of a joke, it’s in incredibly poor taste,” Shard said in a very flat tone. “I’m open to talk when you need me, but spouting off complete nonsense is a waste of time. I refuse to engage when you waste my time. ”
Shard went to turn back around, but was shocked when Slicer ran up and hugged him. Shard didn't tip toe around him, he was blunt to the point.
An unexpected gesture, to be sure. Yet not one he minded. He patted Slicer on the head. “Very well. Why not tell me what’s really on your mind?”
Slicer did just that. Shard sat quietly, his fingers interlocked, with one claw absent-mindedly tapping his knuckle. He was thankful Slicer had come to him. Sent to live with the Dragon Lord in person. Who knew the damage Torch could have caused. Fortunately, everyone treated Slicer like an outsider, so who else could he turn to other than their group?
“That is quite the predicament,” he finally said. “First we need to ask, why is Torch doing this?”
“I don’t know. For show, I guess. He doesn’t seem to like me all that much.”
“Oh, liking you has nothing to do with it. It’s simple, Slicer, he wants you to fall in line. He wants to break your sense of justice. He’s afraid that you’ll lose control of yourself, do something stupid, and get yourself killed. He has a point, you know. You’re young, emotional from everything that’s happened. It’s not out of the ordinary for a child to lash out.”
“I’m not like that at all! I always think before I do anything.”
“Slicer, when Elden first brought you to us, your plan was to swim to Equestria and assassinate Princess Celestia– who holds enough power to move the sun, a creation of the god Asgorath, the progenitor of dragonkind. I care for you, dear boy, but I will not lie and say you are not impetuous. First, you need to hide your hate and control it. Do not let your feelings about ponies come to light. Next up, you need to find an outlet for your aggression. If things become too much, have Cream escort you to Thal, or me if I’m available. We can spar. I cannot promise we’ll always be available right away, but if you call, we’ll answer as soon as we can.”
“What about everyone else?”
“If full-grown dragons feel the need to treat you as a pariah, let them,” Shard said. “If they cannot see your worth because of your family, they are not worth your time. Dragons should judge dragons by their actions. Not their words, not the actions of their relatives, not stupid hypotheticals they cooked up in their heads. What matters, Slicer, is what you do, regardless of what others say. You can wallow in self-pity, or you can take that frustration and channel it into something productive. That being said, treasure those that remain at your side. If they are able to see your worth, you’d do best to see theirs.”
“Thanks, Shard.”
“Anytime, dear boy. One more thing– talk to Torch, see if he can’t help straighten things out for you. You shouldn’t have to be left friendless because some overbearing parents think you mad. He may be scum, but even scum has its uses.”
Slicer paused for a moment. “Shard, I know I should just ignore her, I mean, everyone knows Ember’s annoying. But she’s not who you say is going to be Dragon Lord, right?”
The name brought a fury to Shard, as well as the thought of her becoming Dragon Lord. “I can say without exaggeration, that I’d sooner die than knowingly make that bloviating brat Dragon Lord. You are a lion, Slicer, and lions do not concern themselves with the bleating of sheep.”
He got down to Slicer’s level to make sure he was heard.
“Let me tell you about Ember Brightcrest, so you know where you stand compared to her. She’s an entitled, spoiled also-ran. Everything her father says about her is not only correct– I would consider it an understatement. She is enslaved to her emotions and vastly overestimates her abilities. Believe me when I say, if she is so much as poked, she crumbles, and I will spare you my diatribe regarding her countless insecurities. The only way she can beat anyone is if they go easy on her, while she receives every magical buff she can from disgusting, impotent little halfbreeds.”
Shard paused, and took a deep breath before continuing.
“Just let her pontificate. She’s a fool. The thing about fools is that if you engage them, they will drag you down to their level and defeat you with a lifetime of experience.”
Maybe, just maybe if she was lucky, Ember could do the one thing she seemed to be good at in the future, and keep someone's bed warm.
“Do you hate Ember?” Slicer asked.
“Hate cannot begin to explain my vitriol towards her. There was one dragon I despised even more, but he died some years ago.”
“What did he do?” Slicer asked.
“Nothing too bad, he just consorted with ponies, disgraced everything dragons stood for, and oh! Planned to install a Dragon Lord of his own choosing, to have these lands bow before Equestria. Wouldn’t that have been fun to witness?”
“He’s dead, right?” Slicer asked with a growl.
“Stone dead. For the best, in my opinion. His clan ability wasn’t just powerful, it’s terrifying when you think about the implications. He could very well collapse societies with his power.” Shard chuckled. “The worst part? I don’t think for a moment he’d have been aware he was even using his ability. There’s nothing more terrifying than a fool with power.”
“And the dragon they planned to use?”
“Oh, without him, even if they won, the idea wouldn’t cross their mind.”
“Do they have a name?” Slicer asked.
“They do, but you don’t need to know it. Remember, Slicer, judge dragons by their actions, not what might be.”
Slicer was about to argue, but took a deep breath. He calmed himself. “Understood, thank you.”
“Run along now.”
Slicer scampered off, and Shard turned his attention to a special dragon.
“You did good, bringing him here, Cream. Keep up the good work.”
He gave her a quick peck on the cheek, before sending her after Slicer. For Cream, a simple kiss like that was all she wanted out of this.
A little later, Cream and Slicer were walking away, the boy deep in thought.
A dragon who’d betray his kind for ponies. One with an ability so powerful, it could destroy societies without the dragon knowing he was doing it.
“What kind of ability can destroy society?” Slicer asked after a short while. He felt like he knew what the word meant, but asked just in case. “Society means how we live, right?”
“For brevity’s sake, it does. As for the ability, that’s something Shard never talked about much,” Cream shrugged. “I think he was scared that we may have tried to recruit him to our cause if we knew what it was, instead of doing what needed to be done. I did ask him why we couldn’t try and he said that everything in creation has a certain nature about it. A snake will always be a snake, a bird will always be a bird, and the dragon he talked about will always be drawn to Equestria. Even if it’s the most useful ability in the world, his nature was the issue.”
“So, not even you know what it was called?”
“No. All he said was that any dragon with his ability was dangerous. Elden mulled over the possibilities. He thought it had to be a mythic ability. Problem is, the dragon was male, so that can’t be the case. Quite the mystery, isn’t it? If Shard is keeping it to himself, I trust it’s for a good reason.”
Cream knelt and looked him over, checking that nothing was out of place.
“We’re almost back. Remember what Shard said, alright? Oh, and gems are one thing, but make sure to tell your little friend you appreciate her every once in a while. Okay?”
Slicer nodded, understanding just what she meant.
Over the next two years, life returned to normal for Slicer, albeit reluctantly.
Week after week, month after month, Thal made sure to whip him into shape. His lessons mainly consisted of sparring, learning how to exploit an opponent’s weak point, or outlasting the other fighter if such a thing wasn’t available. Slicer collected many bruises in that time, yet Thal’s true lesson was simple. The greatest enemy would not be another’s strength, but his own weakness. For even the strongest are beset by limitations. It was vital that Slicer learn to overcome them.
Thus, besides the moves to use in battle, Slicer was taught endurance. He felt sure Thal would have put him through trials that could have killed him, had Shard not been there and paying close attention during their lessons. If Shard was unavailable, then Thal simply wasn’t allowed near Slicer, much to the whelp’s chagrin. As it was, these lessons were borderline sadistic, or so it seemed to Shard whenever the lad reached the cusp of exhaustion.
With Thal as a teacher, lifting boulders and holding them over one’s head merely counted as basic training. Trying to carry enough stone to build a cairn, for dozens upon dozens of miles, up the steepest of pathways, was merely a warm-up. Their real practice was when they came to blows. He made sure that Slicer knew how to throw a punch and how to take one.
Not to mention the countless balancing exercises. Slicer’s least favorite of these consisted of him standing atop a stone pillar, on one leg, his arms outstretched, for as long until Thal gave him permission to leave. Maintaining his equilibrium was something it took forever to learn, when the slightest gust of wind could make him fall. He did ask Thal why this was necessary, only for the dragon to shrug, and say that one of his compatriots suggested it.
Thal gave him plenty of incentive not to fall, however. Surrounding the stone pillar were some of the sharpest, pointiest rocks to be found anywhere in the Dragonlands. But Shard put his foot down at this, and had them removed. Just because Slicer had thick scales didn’t mean this couldn’t hurt like Tartarus if he fell. If he’d been unlucky, he might even have lost an eye like Torch, or worse.
“For once, try and use whatever is rolling about in that thick skull of yours!” Shard ordered Thal.
Such training very often resulted in Slicer trudging back, battered and bruised, to the group’s hideout in the evenings. It was only thanks to Cream’s unique healing abilities, administered only after she chewed out Thal for being “irresponsible and borderline cruel”, that he’d be fixed up and all good to go the next day, leaving none of the Brightcrests or other dragons any the wiser as to what he got up to.
It was hard, but that was what Thal thought Slicer needed. His philosophy was one of pure strength. Might makes right, as Shard explained it. It did not matter to him if a group was moral, wise, intelligent, or charismatic, just so long as they were strong. Yes, the topaz dragon was a hard, tough teacher, nevertheless, the results spoke for themselves. Had Slicer been able to spend all the year round under Thal’s tutelage, had the group not needed to stay hidden, then he would have strode forward thrice as fast.
What helped was that Thal was not Slicer’s only teacher. The one named Surr, under the watchful eye of Shard, took over the duty of teaching him to hunt and survive in the wild, while Shard tried to teach the boy strategy.
Slicer was slow at first. It was like trying a new muscle. Over the years, he started to notice things. Spike Ironscale, with his pet phoenix, a weapon no-one else had. Or when Smolder Ironscale fought, the way she kept using feints, which others thought of as cheating, including Slicer. Still, most children fell back on brute force, but some of them never came close to those that could think on their feet. Once in a while, they’d pull out a trick once their back was against the wall, yet usually, the one who punched hardest was the one who won.
Perhaps if he tried to learn some tricks of his own, he could reach heights he’d never thought possible. He certainly rose in the ranks, but he was nowhere near what some considered the top ten. Arrow Firefang beat him time and again, none of their fights being particularly close. Then there was Garble. Slicer did not know what was more irritating. The fact that no matter how hard he pushed himself, Garble always remained ahead of him. Or how nonchalant Garble would be about their fights. He was laughing by the time it was over. Shard assured him there was no real shame in that defeat, and that his laughter was merely a child enjoying a good brawl. It didn’t keep Slicer from thinking that Garble was laughing at him at times. But it was nothing compared to the constant stream of praise from Garble’s little brother.
‘My brother is so awesome. My brother is amazing. My brother’s the strongest dragon there is!’
Perhaps Spike was related to Ember.
‘Like Garble would lose to you. He’s my Paladin after all, he needs to be unbeatable for the most part. Paladin this, Paladin that.’
He would have complained about Spike to Shard on a multitude of occasions, but then he remembered that he was a lion, thus he did not care for the bleating of a lamb. The only one who seemed to be on his side now was Scales, shockingly enough.
‘He has to be cheating!’ she would say. ‘If you could use your claws, you’d win without breaking a sweat! Garble’s lucky you’ve got to handicap yourself.’
He never forgot to let her know how much that meant to him. It invariably earned him a kind, genuine smile. It was a very nice smile.
Just like the one Scales was sporting now, as she approached him out of the crowd of young dragons, carrying a gem between her thumb and forefinger.
Like the rest of their age group, Scales had grown over the years. Not by much. The girl was still recognisably herself, with the lithe pink frame and striped horns. And yet for reasons Slicer found hard to explain, he was appreciating the look of her in ways he hadn’t before.
Of course, Princess Ember did not care much for Scales. Never had a kind word to say about her. More likely than not, Ember would have a few choice things to say over in the cave if she saw them together. He paid her no mind. Clan Brightcrest may house him for now, but he would forever be a Steelspine. And although he’d lost his family, he had gained a new one, headed by Shard Obsidian.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- TAD2 · 30k words · 126 3 · 4k views
- TAD2 · 119k words · 258 14 · 6.5k views
- Norwegian boy · 72k words · 126 17 · 4.2k views
- ShowShine · 23k words · 94 6 · 3.6k views
- Dedion · 54k words · 191 6 · 3.9k views
- Flameboy · 6.2k words · 33 6 · 2.8k views
- Blackcatsuperfan1 · 3k words · 45 5 · 1.6k views
- TAD2 · 72k words · 134 5 · 4.2k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.143 seconds
Total duration
984 users online
1,202,068 hits today, 1,960,719 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
When it comes to lore and characterization, you go all out. And you always do an amazing job 👍
Ohhh burn lol
Thanks very much for getting this next chapter up and running. REALLY appreciate the work going into the dialogue, characterizations and future chapter set-up. Well done effort on this chapter from (mostly) Slicer's point of view (however misguided that point of view might be). His reflections on the Brightcrests as well as Torch, Ember, Scales and too many other dragons to list (but including Garble) were appreciated. As well as Slicer trying to bait Ember, but Ember not falling for it being another great touch (as well as the Mythology Gag concerning the observation that she would only get the Blood Scepter if somebody else gave it to her). That was great too. Too bad Shard is seriously messing with the kid's head a bit too much (though Shard thinking about the other potential players was another really good bit). And then the two-year time skip at the end with Slicer still reflecting on his potential enemies. Too bad he has yet to learn about strength in teamwork (a group all complimenting each other's strengths and covering the others' weaknesses [which is actually half the secret to the future success of Twilight and her friends]).
I am definitely going to be looking forward to more of this.
I wonder if the dragon that shard considered to be absolutely busted will still have plot significance? Also, there is the fact that either shard is a time traveler, has THE MOST OP future sight or he's seen the lore of MLP somehow. I wonder what his ability is to be able to lead a group consisting of dragons who he says potentially surpass the mythic dragons in power. Although im leaning towards the time traveler theory, actually now that i think about it, what if his ability is time manipulation? that explains how he leads his group of dragons and how he knows whats gonna happen and who is involved.
Apparently scales really don't want nothing bad happened to slicer which that's pretty sweet of her to care
Bro once again if any of those psychopath dragons tried to touch thorax there will be hack to be paid
I don't think that's not the case sure he's a lot of things but he does care and no child should never go through something like that
I really hate this Dragon so incredibly much
Why do I have a feeling that you might be the one who's responsible
Oh slicer
Well I got to say this was a pretty interesting one nice to see it's still going very slowly but hey everybody's busy right anyway so slicer was adopted by torch after what happened and he felt like he's never really home like he was really out of place he really miss his family and he blames torch for everything and he was starting to get annoyed by Ember as well the other one he actually cared was scales which surprisingly she cares about him too but then slicer decide to meet with scales and speaking of the devil he's been keeping an eye on certain characters throughout the years and trying to mess with them sooner or later which I'm starting to hate him so incredibly much but then he saw slicer and he really talked to him about some certain things and he wasn't afraid for talking about torch daughter but he has to keep it in to play his card right and apparently there was a dragon who actually wants to be peace with ponies and creatures out there which he hated about him whoever this unknown Dragon was he would be better than these Psychopaths after that slicer throughout the years he's been training and apparently he can't wait to show everybody what he was made of and I still wonder if he's still going to go after Celestia I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid and I really hope somebody stopped those crazy dragons who's trying to mess with the timeline and worst of all the ponies and creatures alike well I guess we'll find out next time
Heh.
i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/342/448/526.jpg
11852909
Almost certainly. I suspect a couple of other things too:
1) He was Spike's real father.
2) His clan ability was his intelligence
Interesting. It sounds like Shard could have been talking about canon Spike, who did install a dragon lord of his choosing and upend dragon society with the power of friendship. And maybe Shard killed him by changing key events so Spike would never be adopted by ponies?
11853038
Actually that makes sense
11853078
Possibly. Of course, he still didn't end up destroying that particular nail, just ended up putting it in another location. Fate is going to find a way somehow. We just don't know HOW yet. But, yes, I have a feeling Shard is going to end up more frustrated and kicking himself for underestimating Spike (who is still going to befriend ponies later down the road - one in particular [we just don't yet know WHICH ONE of the Crusaders yet]).
11853038
Hmmm. Could be. We'll have to wait and see, though.
11852982
Well, one way or another, she IS going to end up sharing the role in some manner. Because we already know that either she or Garble is going to end up getting the title. And the way their relationship is going - well, enough said.
Someone needs to take Shard down.
Fascist dragons preying on the young , what a mess
11853672
Yeah. Of course, it, among other such jerk moves, typically goes badly in the end. Hopefully, they'll be able to take Shard down with a much lower body count than it took to beat Hitler. But I know better than to count on that.