My Little Memory

by Bubbleshy

3 - Enter the Forsaken One

Impossible things happen when you've been upon Gaia as long as I have. You get used to seeing weird things. The norm gets stretched into a new fabrication every day. When one lives out their mortal life they get to see a vague picture of how this world works. But when death refuses to knock upon your door...

Well, listen to me, rambling on about my troubles when no one could ever begin to understand me. Maybe that's why I'm here, staring off the Eastern Cliffs. This spot always seems to sooth my soul. I've travelled this world over, and nothing has struck me quite like these cliffs. The rolling waves beat upon the cliff face so hard it’s all one can hear for miles on out. This is why I’m usually the only one out here. The violent reactions from the East shores seem to scare away any wild life and … ponies...

Equestria has ruined that race! Ponies were once proud beasts among the lands. They were considered too intelligent to be compared to the lower races, too cooperative to be anything like the dragons, and too team worthy to kill each other recklessly as the gryphons do. Yes, I used to be proud to be a pony. Up until they soiled their image with their … kindness... Gods damn their kindness.

To think, that a mighty race such as the equines would succumb to such infidelities as caring. It makes me sick to think a society could build itself upon such values! Up until now, all the races had to stake a claim by showing they weren't afraid to own themselves. Once Equestria came to being, they somehow became so soft it was criminal.

I took in a sharp breath of air to calm my nerves and stared back off into the distance. Only one thing at this moment could calm me down. My wings stretched out as far as I could manage, and launched myself off the cliff side. The sea breeze always makes flying more exhilarating. After letting the cool winds calm me for a few dozen meters, I turned back to reassert myself upon the cliff top. I opened my eyes back up when it was around time to land only to see rock before me. It seems that in my peaceful glide through the sea breeze I forgot to flap my wings and am coming for a face first assault into a wall.

I raised my body up so to impact with my hooves and kicked off. This maneuver kept me from colliding violently with the rocks, but it also sent me tumbling down towards the waves screaming, "Damn you cliffs!" I flipped and twirled, unable to get control of myself. When I finally did maintain my flight, I was feet above the violent waves, and I had to flap ferociously to keep from being swept away by the tides and slammed into the rocks at the bottom. I frantically flew off in a thrill of adrenaline.

"That was close," I stated when my nerves had calmed. I flew around for a moment before I realized a new spot would probably be for the best. I set off for my second favorite spot on Gaia: the beach not far off from these cliffs. I took to the skies and headed down towards my freedom. The raging waves followed me down to the beach's shore lines. Once there, I stood upon the beach, glaring out into the Eastern Oceans. Life seems simple when you are allowed to slow down and watch it unfold. I would know all about that too!

Now that I was safe, I could make sure I didn't damage anything during the fall. Not a mark was made on my deep blue coat. All the way out to my cyan tipped feathers were pristine. More importantly, my makeshift turban was still firmly attached to my head and still running down my back and wrapped around my tail. Chaos would ensue if anyone ever caught view of my mane.

No ponies would dare search for me out here. These lands rested far beyond the Badlands. A pony would have to be mad to venture this far out! Their southern towns outside of Equestria pushed into the land but could never find its way to the outskirts this far out. Nothing of cultural intelligence lived out here save for the dragons. Though, I didn't have to worry about the dragons. In fact, I didn't have to worry about any of the wildlife that came out this far. My life mark would probably scare them all off!

I smiled and looked down at my flank. There it lies: an open scroll with a feather dangling above it. The feather was dripping ink upon the scroll, and a puddle of ink was pooling in the scroll's center. The mark in and of itself didn't seem threatening, but it was a universal sign among the races of Gaia that death were to follow. The dragons themselves feared this life mark! For a dragon to fear anything is impressive to begin with, but for all of them to be is a sign. That none are safe from me! That death will soon be greeting them, and that any who opposes me will soon meet their maker. I am the greatest to have graced Gaia. I am the one who will outlive everything else. I am -

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A young dragon --- roughly in its late teens to early twenties in dragon years, so about twice the size of an early teen but still young enough to have a short neck --- jumped out from the sand behind the pony and roared. The scare was enough to end the pony’s monologue in its tracks. He quickly stiffened up and fell over like board. The dragon stared at the pony in awe and started laughing hysterically. After a minute, the youngling caught its breath and stood back up.

"That's rich! It's been awhile since I've seen you. How have you been uncle Mint?"

The pony lay stiff for a few more seconds as a question settled into what conscious mind he had left. "Uncle ... Mint?" His legs went limp, and after another moment, he stood back up. He quickly turned around and looked the dragon over. Now that he got a look at it, there was something fairly familiar about this one.

"You are my uncle Mint, right? I can’t really tell with that thing on your head. But, I mean, what would a pony be doing all the way out here? This land is way past the end of the Badlands, so an Equestrian is out of the question. Any other pony in Gaia wouldn’t dare come this far into dragon territory."

The pony looked quizzically at the dragon for a few more moments. There was no possible way this was the dragon he was thinking of! Last he knew that little guy was just a hatchling. Except, now that he thought harder on the subject, he couldn't even remember when that time was. He snapped himself out of his train of thought and gave the dragon a stern look. "Tell me, what is the full name of this pony you call uncle."

The dragon was pulled out of his own thought stream of pony geography and expeditions, and gave the pony a chuckle. "Okay, now I know it's you uncle! And your name is Minty Galestrom." The dragon gave him a sweet smile and waited for his response.

Minty was taken aback for a moment. This had to be the hatchling he was thinking about! "Little Windy? Is that really you? Gale Jugend? I haven't seen you in ages!" Suddenly Minty's expressions went from quizzical to joyous as he hopped over to the boy who could easily swallow him whole.

"By the gods Windy, when did you get so big?" Minty was now taking his time looking the dragonling over now that he was closer.

"You've been gone for some time uncle. I've grown since last we met! It's a shame you haven't been around, I've missed you." Something was puzzling Gale in the back of his head, but he paid it no heed. Right now he was just glad to see his uncle again, and sad that it had been so long.

"Apparently, little one! Tell me, how is your father doing?" Minty was now smiling from ear to ear. He had already crouched down to take a better look at Gale's crimson underbelly. The dragonling did not take any offence to this. He was, after all, used to his uncle's odd behaviors. Even if it had been many decades since he saw him.

"My father is doing well! Last you saw him, my mother was quite ill. We had to let her die a few weeks after you left. Father was furious at her. He went out to find a new mate as soon as possible, so that I could be raised properly. Grand didn't take well to that at all, though." Being that dragons lived so long, they referred to each generation before them with a specific title. In this case, grand was the common title for their grandfathers.

Gale seemed oblivious to any emotional cue this would have caused any other sentient being. He was a dragon, and dragons don't attach themselves to one another. Dragons only attach themselves to an egg. Once a hatchling is born, the parents become less concerned about its safety, and give it attention solely based on feeding it and making sure it's comfortable. If a hatchling is killed by a predator while they are away, and the culprit is nowhere in sight, the dragons shrug it off and start over. Minty on the other hand looked disappointed. "That's absurd! Why would your father do that to you? I completely agree with your grand, he should have known full and well that another mate would have tried to kill you!"

Gale still wore an oblivious face. Nothing really struck a nerve. This was all just common conversation pieces to him. "True, except my father knew that Grand would look after me. Because after Grand knew how much you took a liking to me, he swore nothing would ever do me any harm! He even took to staying with me in the cave for weeks without food! He did it so my father could leave for normal business." Minty took this comment well, and went back to merrily inspecting the dragonling. He was now on Gale's side, inspecting his sapphire blue scales.

Gale realized what it was that had been bothering him earlier. "Tell me Uncle, you're merely a pony, so how is it that you're -"

"What about your grand? How is he in recent years?" Minty wasn't trying to avoid anything. He was literally so deep in his investigation that he wanted priority in questioning. He needed to know every aspect of how the dragonling was doing.

"Grand? Oh, he passed away not too long ago."

Minty was struck by this comment and halted his inspection. "But your Grand was so young!"

"Yes, it came as a shocker to all of us. He got in a fight with a neighboring dragon, and was badly injured. He would have survived, but his wounds became infected with a really deadly disease. We had to find a new cave after that. Great said he was a weakling to have gotten that injured in the first place, and deserved it." Great was a reference to his great grandfather.

Minty chuckled. "Oh, your Great would know a thing or two about weakness. He's just about the most cowardly dragon I've ever met! If not for the children he had, I would have killed him myself. I'm honestly surprised that he was even able to find a mate in the first place. Don’t even get me started on his lack of honor." After his little batch of comments, Minty calmed down once more. He went back to inspecting the dragonling, now on to his legs and feet. Specifically he was comparing Gale’s front legs to his back legs.

"Yeah, Elder said along the same thing. He wasn't very happy with Great. In fact, Elder just about attacked Great right after his comment. If not for Eldest and Father, he probably would have killed his own son!" Since dragons usually live six generations long, eldest is used for the fifth generation before the dragon speaking. Rarely will there be a case past this, but if there is, it is common to use a term such as grand-eldest or even great-eldest. Few cases have needed a term farther than that, but in all those cases the dragon was given the title of Eldest followed by his name to keep the chain from continuing.

"Your eldest is getting on in his years. How close is he from falling over and rotting in the sun?" Minty was now inspecting the dragonling's claws.

"Eldest is not far from his deathbed. Funny how Eldest Jugend is the Ageless Master, and yet all of us Jugends only live as long as a normal dragon." Gale lowered his head on this last comment. He knew for a fact that this implied to him as well, and wished that the blood of an Ancient was worth more than bragging rights. Minty on the other hand was now on top of the dragonling, stretching out the little one's wings and looking them over carefully.

Gale perked up for a moment, remembering his previous question. "Speaking of living for long periods of time, how old are you Uncle?" Minty perked at this sudden question. He was in the middle of looking over the dragonling's ridge line made by the black spikes on his back. He gave a little chuckle and hopped off of Gale.

"I’ll tell you when you’re no longer considered young," he replied as he walked away merrily.

Gale was unsatisfied, and followed the little pony. "No, seriously Uncle! I may not understand pony lifetimes very well, but you should be old. I remember you being an adult when I was hatched. Judging by how long it took me to become this old compared to ponies: you should be a wrinkly old pony by now, or at least unable to travel out this far on your own!"

Minty kept trotting off with a smile on his face. His eyes were closed as though to present himself as merrily done with the topic. After all, this was breaching on subjects he disliked answering to one who couldn't possibly understand. "Yeah, you’re right, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that you don’t need to know how old I am. It’s been fun, but it’s time to go now."

Gale felt cheated and was not happy with these turn of events. The conversation was not over! He sat through all of his uncle's questions; the least Minty could do was sit through his. Determination lowered his brow and he leapt over the pony. Gale hit the ground with a thud, sending sand flying everywhere, and turned on the spot to meet his uncle. Sand struck Minty like a weak wave, and stopped him momentarily. He opened his eyes and stared at the dragonling in shock. "No, you are not avoiding this subject with me Uncle. Tell me why you're so old and yet still look in your prime. How is it that you're older than my Great, and yet look like you're younger than me?"

Gale was now staring his uncle down. His brow was lowered. If not for how attached the two were he would have bared his teeth a little. Minty knew how much tension was in the air but merely scoffed at him. Minty went back to smiling and replied, "You think I'm just older than your great? I was considered ancient when your elder was born. You have a lot to learn little one." Elder being a reference to the generation between a dragon’s great and eldest.

The two just sat there in a staring contest. Except Minty was now back to pleasantly keeping his eyes closed. "What do you mean by that?" Gale asked between his teeth.

"Little one, I am older than your Eldest Jugend," Minty stated proudly, and trotted off beside Gale. Gale's anger left him instantly. He stood there in shock for a moment as he tried to absorb that information.

Gale had to stand there for a few moments. He was completely still as a rock. The information took a while to set in. Finally, he composed himself and shook off the shock. Gale turned around and caught up to walk alongside his uncle. "I don’t understand uncle. I have no Eldest Jugend. My lineage stopped at my Eldest. You must mean my Eldest! Right?"

Any other pony would have been confused by this question. What was the difference between what Minty said and Gale's eldest? Luckily, Minty had been around dragons longer than Gale, so he knew exactly what Gale meant from the beginning. "No, my little dragonling, I mean Schwarz Jugend himself!"

Once again, Gale had to stop and think about what he said, but this time he recovered faster. Albeit, a little more freaked out than before. "No! Uncle, I don't think you know exactly what you're saying. You have to be lying to me, because that is just impossible! Other than the other Ancients, not even another dragon could be anywhere near Eldest Jugend's age! I refuse to believe that a pony could be that old!"

Minty slowed in his trot, and opened his eyes in a glare. He came to a halt and looked up at Gale in displeasure. "Did you just tell me that I had to have been lying to you? I'm sorry young one, but you must be thinking of somepony else if you think I'd ever lie."

Gale had to take a step back. If looks could kill then Gale would have daggers sticking out of his face. Minty just stood there, generating an awful glare at his nephew. Gale forgot how prideful Minty was about telling the truth. Gale would never forget that story about the one lie Minty had told in his entire life. Gale struggled to swallow his nerve, but he got down a very audible gulp after an awkward moment. "No, uncle, I mean that you must be confused in what you are trying to describe. You do that you know. You say one thing that comes across as a lie being that you put no thought behind it."

Minty scoffed at the dragonling, and kept on trotting. If Gale isn't going to take what he had to say seriously, then he had no reason to continue the conversation. Gale sat there with his pride shriveling away, but pushed his emotions aside to get to the bottom of things. He ran back up to his uncle to get everything settled once and for all. "Uncle Mint, I'm sorry for doubting you like that. It's just ... Eldest Jugend is ..."

Minty stopped in his place, and turned to Gale. His anger faded away, and he gave the dragonling a genuine smile. "Old, to say the least, I know. The Ancients got their titles for a reason! I know that it seems impossible for anyone to come close to his age, but I swear to you that I'm not lying. Why would I have any reason to lie to you? I love you little one, and that should be reason enough to know that I'd never stoop so low as to -"

"ELDEST JUGEND!!" Minty jumped back violently. Gale came out of nowhere with that scream. Minty rubbed his eyes. Gale went back to standing there like a stone. Confusion screwed its way onto Minty's face.

"By Ladon’s tail! I completely forgot why I was even here. We need to go Uncle Mint. We need to go, like, now!" Minty stood there in a shock of confusion. He raised an eyebrow and slightly scoffed at the dragonling.

Minty pulled a leg into himself as though he were cradling it. A skewed look of worry upon his face. "Why are you screaming Windy? You’re making me panic. I don’t like to panic!" Just as he stated panic, he slammed the leg back down.

"Uncle Mint, we have to leave! Eldest Jugend has Silver Stream, and he's planning to devour him whole."

Minty's eyebrow rose even higher. "Juggy? Little Juggy captured Bubbles? Why would he capture Bubbles? Bubbles didn't ..." Minty thought everything through for a moment. His eyes slowly went wider as he realized just what Gale was trying to tell him.

"Uncle ... Eldest Jugend thinks Silver killed his son. He's going to kill him to make him pay for his crime."

Minty gritted his teeth in absolute anger. "That stupid, landlocked ... inbred ... pegasi servant!"

Gale exhaled mockingly. He expected a lot of things, but this? Where did this even come from? "Uncle, you do realize Eldest Jugend can use his wings, right? He's not landlocked, he's just big. His wing span more than compensates for his size; even though it looks as though it shouldn't."

Minty was pulled out of his little fit of rage, and looked to Gale. "What are you talking about? I was getting angry with Bubbles! I told that stupid dirt pony to stay away from Juggy for the next few years before I abandoned him to come here. This is exactly why I said that he should hide the elements so no one could find them! He could return them to Juggy when things cooled down. Now I'm going to have to go save his stupid flank!"

Minty stormed off for a moment before realizing the faster mode of transportation gaping right behind him. He turned back around and mounted the dragonling. "Come on Windy, we have a pony to save. Albeit, a dirt pony, but he still needs to be saved." Gale looked back at his uncle and scoffed. Without question, the dragonling got on all his fours and started a light jog. Before too long he had developed into a sprint, and leapt into the air with his wings at full span. After a few strong flaps, he was high in the air heading west.

They were flying off into the sunset. Only a few weeks from now, Silver would be waking up in Schwarz Jugend's cave. They would not be able to make it in time to save him, but they were certainly going to convince Schwarz to let his anger go and spit Silver out if they had to. "You mean to tell me you defended Juggy against the landlocked bit, but everything else you were going to let slide without question?"

Gale laughed at this question. "Uncle, we all know how Schwarz Jugend is towards you. So yes! Now don't make me drop you on our way out there. And take that stupid thing off your head."

“It’s a gift from the zebras, so shut up. I needed something to wear after I burnt - I mean - after that cloak Bubbles gave me burnt in a brush fire; that was not caused by me by the way.”

Author's Note:

I really should have checked how fast the updates were spamming before posting this one up. Oh well! Here's a new chapter. This one takes place a few weeks in the past with a different character. I wanted to get his perspective on the situation before continuing. That way everyone gets a basic view of both main ponies before the story continues.

Enjoy! And as always, pre-readers, proofreaders, and editors are welcome. Just pm me.

Comments

[Ducati]

Pretty good tellin' pardner, pretty good tellin'

[Bubbleshy]

3169486>>3169486 Well thank ya kind sir.
I didn't think people were still lookin this up.
I'll have to get back to writing this little gem.