Green Planet Part 2 (Side Story)
"Well, this brings back memories." Fire Flash rolled over and shook the sand from his back.
"Yeah, but backwards this time." Rainbow danced lightly on top of the dune, smiling down at the other dragon. Years had passed since they met and first fought in this very spot. The landscape had changed dramatically; flat wastes were buried under rolling dunes, the dusty, withered corpses of wandering plants dotted the horizon, and in the distance, what little remained of the ancient city of Casull burned in never ending flame. "That makes three," she laughed, "you're getting weaker."
"Fat chance," Fire flash scoffed. The two dragons had changed almost as much as their surroundings. Almost mature, but not quite there, they were already stronger than any who dared to challenge them, especially when they were forced to work together. "You're just getting stronger."
Rainbow cleaned her ear with a claw. "What was that? I must have misheard you, that almost sounded like a complement." With a hearty laugh, she started down the dune, walking carefully, lest she collapse the sand under her. Still the smaller of the two, but only by a little, she was rapidly approaching Fire Flash's size. If she didn't stop growing soon, she would probably surpass him.
The red dragon rolled his eyes. "Whatever, I lost. If you're happy with three-zero, how about telling me why you dragged me all the way out here?"
Rainbow swept a wing out to the side, kicking up dust as she indicated their surroundings. "Don't you recognize this place?"
"No," Flash answered, shielding his eyes from the grit. "What am I supposed to be seeing?"
The other dragon sidled up beside him, playfully nuzzling at his chin. "Are you sure you don't remember?"
He sighed, tolerating the contact even though he was still sore from losing. "Yes, I'm sure." When she finally sat down, he followed suit, extending a wing around her. The sun was just starting to sink away, and the temperatures would soon join it. Nights in the desert were harsh, but sharing them made it bearable. "What is this place?"
Rainbow ruffled her feathers up, trapping as much air between them as she could for insulation. "It's where we first met. Sure has changed, huh?"
Fire Flash surveyed the area again. Memories, old, but etched into his mind, played through his head like they were yesterday's. "It can't be... Has it really changed this much?"
She leaned against him. "I know," she muttered quietly, "I could hardly believe it myself when I found the cave. The water dried up, but everything else is still there."
"Dried up..." He clicked his tongue. "Too bad, now that we can defend it, that would have made a nice den."
"A den?" She pulled away to look up at him. "For the two of us? Like, you know, a real den?"
"Well, yeah?" He looked away, not wanting to meet the questioning stare directed his way. "Why are saying it like that? I mean, sharing beats fighting over it, right?
"I don't know, I might get the better end of that stick." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "But, you better be careful. A den, I might just get spoiled."
"You already are." He nudged her in the side. "Besides," he added with a smirk, "I wouldn't have to fight you, I could just smoke you out. I know how much you hate the smell.
She looked away with a pout. "Only because it sticks to my feathers..."
Silence fell over them. Fire Flash knew how much she hated being teased about her aversion to smoke and flames, but given that it was his special ability, he couldn't resist. He watched her sulk for a moment, and wondered what was going through her mind as she looked this landscape. All he could think of was the realization of change. He didn't know if things were worse, or better, only that they had changed, and that they had survived.
He leaned down and ran his snout through the colors of her crest. The only response was a stifled giggle. It was the one thing he knew would always get a smile out of her. "You know, the land isn't the only thing that's changed."
"You're right, it isn't." She looked back up, but her expression wasn't the wrinkled smile he was expecting. Instead, she stared quietly up at him, wide eyes sparkling in the fire of the setting sun. It was far softer, and far more vulnerable, than he had ever seen her before. "We've changed too."
He lowered his head, touching their snouts together. "We have, haven't we?"
She pushed past his snout, rubbing their faces together, and he moved closer to her, wanting to touch as much as possible. "That isn't a bad thing," she whispered in his ear, and by the time their lips met...
Air filled his lungs, jump-starting the cycle of breath that had temporarily ended. He gasped in air, overfilling his lungs, and coughing as cold air burned his throat. He was on his back, charred, broken branches jabbing him as he looked up into a blurry pair of golden eyes.
"You're breathing again! I was so worried."
The eyes moved away, and with them moved the shadow that covered him. Bright sky stabbed his eyes through the treetops, forcing him to turn away. And when his blurry vision started to clear, he found himself looking into the eyes of the twisted, broken carcass of the plant mage. Laying amidst the blackened coal of his plants, his claw stretched forward, lifelessly reaching for help none could provide.
Fire Flash scrambled away from the remains with an anguished shout. His head screamed for him to stop, pain pulsing in protest at the stimulus assaulting him. Light, sound, buried memories, and his own feelings of regret clawed at him, dragging him back to his knees. What was happening? Why was he here? He was just in Casull! He was home, not here. Wherever here was. He couldn't think, couldn't focus. All he wanted was to be back with Rainbow, in that brief, forgotten moment of happiness.
"Help me," he whimpered, clutching at his head.
Something pulled at him. He didn't have the strength to resist. Or did he? He didn't know, couldn't tell. Either way, he didn't have the will to try. He felt something wrap around the back of his neck. It pulled him in tight, and he waited for it to twist, to snap his neck like he had done to so many others. But that final attack that never came.
"Shh. Shh, it's alright."
At first, he didn't recognize the voice, but slowly, to the rhythm of soft patting on his back, his senses returned. "Derpy?"
"Feeling better?" Derpy released him from the hug, and helped him up. She saw the tears running down his face, but didn't mention them. "You ran out of breath before I could release the bubble." She waited a moment for him to answer. "Flash? You ok?"
He stared at her, tears flowing without shame. He knew he was crying, and he didn't care. He didn't care that it made him look as weak as he felt. "When I was young..." He looked down. At some point, he had grabbed Derpy's claws in his own. "When I was young, I had nothing. I was an orphan in a dead city that barely existed. Every day was a struggle to survive, just to find enough water or blood to drink to see tomorrow." He pulled her to him, and held her tight, in a way he had only ever held one other. "I wish that had never changed. I wished I could've died in that miserable existence. If you never have anything, you don't have to know how painful it is to lose everything."
The sound of a breaking twig caught Derpy's attention. "Flash?"
"I can't do it!" Whatever she heard, he was oblivious to it. "I can't lose everything again! Knowing love and losing it, seeing how great this world can be just to be sent back to that sand covered hell I came from? I'd rather die." He let his head fall. "But, I won't die for nothing. Next dragon we fight, I want you to run. I'll fight to my last breath to slow them down enough for you to get home."
Another snap, and Derpy pinpointed the location. There was a twitch, and her eyes snapped open in horror. "Flash! He's moving!"
Derpy grabbed Fire Flash and dove to the ground as what looked like a gnarled root whistled through the air towards them. It missed and slammed into a tree, splintering it. The plant mage flopped over, not alive, like Derpy feared, but moved by something else. The pouch on his belt was torn and writhing, like something was crawling within, and trying to escape.
The pouch burst open as its contents expanded skyward. A tangled mass of bark and burl rushed high, weaving and swirling towards the sun. At the same time, massive roots grew below, freely twisting and planting themselves as they pleased.
Flash and Derpy could only brace themselves against the ground as chaos stormed around them. Displaced air and magic battered at them in wake of impossible growth. Deafening cracks and booming rumblings shook them as the forest was torn asunder, replaced by a single tree towering several times higher than any tree ever should.
It was all over in minutes, and Derpy looked up, and up, and up. The top of the tree was partially hidden by clouds, massive golden flowers shining in the midday sun. The patch of ground they occupied seemed to be the only spot within a hundred meters not consumed by the maze of roots. It extended as far as she could see, a cage of wood, meant for larger creatures than her. The two of them would be able to navigate it, even if it would mean climbing in some places.
She looked back down. Fire Flash was still below her. He didn't even try to move. He just stared apathetically at the awe inspiring plant above them. She didn't quite know why, but seeing him like that made her angry. How dare he give up?!
"No!" She yelled, planting her claws on his chest and knocking the wind out of him. "You don't get out that easily! If you want to throw your life away, fine! I'll take it. It's mine now." Fire Flash moved a little, and Derpy pushed back down on him, pressing him to the dirt. "News flash, you aren't the only one with a tragic past. You at least knew what you were. I didn't even know what it meant to be a dragon until I was who knows how old. The ones who taught me, who showed me the wonder of life and gave me pride in my possibilities, they deserved better than they got. They were killed for trying to save me. I can't ever tell my daughter who her father was. She sees the other families in Dragonspire, and wonders why ours is different. How could I tell her the truth? How could I ever explain what he did to me?" She pulled back a claw and squeezed it into a fist. She belted fire flash in the jaw, knocking at least on fang free of his mouth and loosening another. "You want to die so you don't get hurt? Try getting hurt and struggling to live, like I did. Because that's what we are! We are dragons, and dragons bow to nothing, least of all pain."
Fire Flash said nothing, and Derpy crawled off of him with a snort of disgust. He could have stood up, but he didn't. He stayed on his back, watching as leaves the size of sails swayed overhead. "You have something to live for, some dragon else that gives you the strength to move on. I had that once, but she's long gone. I'll never see her again."
"You don't know that." Derpy shook her head. "She's out there somewhere, what would she say if she saw you like this?"
"She'd probably kill me herself," Fire Flash sighed, "then go after Koro for fun."
"She's that strong?"
"Strongest in the northern wastes. Stronger than I can ever hope to be." Flash rolled over and picked himself up. "Phoenix Lignum."
Derpy blinked. "What?"
"The tree, it's a Phoenix Lignum. I saw one once before, but it was just a fallen husk. The tree only grows under two very specific conditions. The first is that there has to be a forest fire, or the aftermath of one. The second, is that a dragon must die at its base." Fire Flash rubbed his jaw again. "Better him than me."
Derpy looked over with a smile. "I've never seen one before, but I've heard of it. It was in one of the stories the farmers would read to teach me to speak." She walked over to Fire Flash. " I was told that the first promise made beneath it would remain unbroken forever." Derpy lifted her claw and placed it as a fist over his heart.
He looked down at it, then met her gaze. In that moment, he understood something. The strength that Rainbow had, the strength that stayed his claw in their first battle, the strength he envied, the strength that he had grown to envy, it wasn't a physical, or even magical strength. It was simple strength of will, and this grey dragon had more than did. But, she did seem willing to share. He placed his fist on her heart, copying her movement. Then, they made a promise to each other.
"I will survive."
Hastily preserved, this comment chain is.
Badly Drawn Turtle
#1 · 1w, 2d ago · · ·
"You don't get out that easily! If you want to throw your life away, fine! I'll take it. It's mine now."
Yes. Rainbow Dash had her chance; he's Derpy's, now.
And Derpy is Applejack's adopted sister. I can't say I saw that one coming.
A tree that big was probably noticed. The question is, are they close enough to Dragonspire for it to be seen by someone who doesn't want to kill them?
By the way, does the plant mage have a name, or should I just call him Crazy Plant Mage? Either way, I miss him, even though he existed for a total of two short chapters, one of which he was dead the whole time. 
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IT LIVES! and boy howdy, does it.
I sure have a lots of reading to do
Just finished up to the Side stories, might read those later, and I'm looking forward to more of this gloriousness.
Well, this is an epic Derpy. Dat breath weapon
I love abilities that work best with creativity and ingenuity.
Very enjoyable side story overall. More of best pony is never a bad thing, no matter what species she is.
6210872 Two.
6211535 I didn't know either of their canon or fanon names when I named Rarity's parents (in a planning session almost two years ago.) They are both supposed to be members of warrior tribes, so I named them after the .338 lapua magnum. Random, huh?
Ag, I really want to read this... Everyone I know who has loved it!
But it's one a.m....
Maybe I should invest in some caffine pills?
Derpy the bubble butt dragin .......
Now you see me......,,,O.o,,,now you don't!
Im glad I decicded to read this little gem, and I hope it continues, the way the abilites and types and styles are shifted around makes for fun times trying to work out just what is going on with who.
Is Pinkie the only one who effectively hasnt changed, along with Celestia, apart from the dragonification, or else, who has the Pinkie Ability, if any, of completey trashing reality?
Looks like Twilight will have Golden Oaks Library back? just as long as Tirek doesnt come back to trash it again.
Nitpick:
than she did
)
(Sadly this detracted from the power of the scene a bit for me
Is FireFlash Scootaloo's dad? Seems reasonable.
6443335 Yeah, but it turned out that Spike's magic wasn't quite so incompatible. How far have you read? I don't want to spoil anything.
"We are dragons, and dragons bow to nothing, least of all pain."
Spoken by the seemingly most demure individual of the MLP universe. That should be the story motto or something...
6214198
Pretty fitting to make them two parts of a whole. A whole that would form a family that would give birth to Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Rarity the guardian of Twilight, the dragin half of a legend, and lover of the only pony!
Also, that they are two warriors that form a singular weapon.
Magnum is the hammer, and Lapua is firing pin!
....
Wait. Would it be the other way around?
Shit, I think I fucked that up!
how did the mane 6 all meat.
you explained how rainbow dash and Rarity met but not the rest of there friends.
on the show defeating nightmare moon and the elements harmony brought them together .
i am at chaoter Green Planet Part 2 (Side Story)
hear it is 2018 and even in this chapter from back in 2015 Derpy is still the unsung hero.