Chapter 9 — The Oldest and Youngest Brother
The Great Golden Dragon snaked his head back and guffawed, a sound like falling timber.The scales on his stomach were the same blue as his eyes, as were the goat-like horns that jutted from his head amongst a crown of green feathers. He laid a taloned hand across his great, rotund stomach. His raucous laughter faded gradually into a chuckle.
"Ahhh, so strange to hear my name on a Pony tongue." His voice crackled like fire. "What in My Sweet Mother's name could have brought you so far from your homelands? I hope my children haven't got in in their heads I need any sacrifices—I got over that phase generations ago."
The three fillies stuttered and stammered. Firelock was the first to manage a coherent phrase.
"You...you speak Equestrian?"
"Hmm? Oh, that chanting business earlier has you wondering how you can understand me?" He chuckled again. "I suppose it would be easiest to say I don't really exist in the way you think of existence, and as such don't need to go through all the haphazard...biology you do for communication. Does that make sense?"
Firelock blinked. Aestrak sighed.
"Okay, we'll try again. When I speak, I'm not forming words. See?" He pointed to his mouth, which remained still as he continued. "Think of it like telepathy—you're hearing what I mean directly, rather than going through the tiresome process of creating sounds that you have to decipher. The only reason you even are even hearing words is that this is how you're used to communicating—if you were deaf, you might be seeing written words. A newborn foal could understand what I'm saying, because I am, in fact, not really saying anything."
Firelock nodded slowly, her eyes darting around and her brow furrowed. Half Note and Tornado Bolt responded with empty stares.
Aestrak pinched the space between his eyes with his claws. "Oi, this sort of thing was always done better by my brother. Let's make it simpler. I'm talking to you, and you speak Equestrian. So I'm speaking Equestrian, because it's what you understand. But nevertheless, let us come back to my original question; Why are you, three young ponies, out in the literal heart of Dragon Country?"
Half Note gulped and spoke up. "We...We were trying to figure out what kind of magic Earth Ponies have - "
A gigantic head swivled down and interrupted her. "But you are an Earth Pony. Why did that question merit walking so far when you could have merely looked within yourself?" He chuckled, amused at his own observation.
Half Note fiddled with her hooves and blushed. "Well, uh, we were wondering if...what kind it was, and if, uhh..." She blushed and looked down. "...if an Earth Pony could ever have enough magic or be special enough to be a Princess."
Aestrak pulled his head back and blinked.
Birds chirped. The wind blew.
"...What does a female descendant of a royal house of the Unicorn Tribes, unmarried and not yet ascended to the throne have to do with any of your aspirations?"
"An Alicorn Princess. Like Luna or Celestia or Cadence or Twilight Sparkle - "
"Oh? That's a new name. I thought the most recent one to join the Great Herd was Cadence? Or Cadance? Maybe there two of them...Love twas the element, of that I am sure, and I suppose two would make enough sense...Ach, such a long time ago, I swear on the bones of my Mother that I'd forget my own name if it weren't etched in my soul. Can you sympathize, little one?" He smiled good naturedly.
Half Note nodded at her reflection in his giant teeth. "Uh, yeah, sure." She stared at the great golden dragon, waiting her turn.
He blinked back. "Oh, you were saying?"
"Thank you. You see, Twilight Sparkle was a Unicorn and she wrote a Friendship Spell and then—I guess because of that—suddenly she became an Alicorn. Everypony has been saying that she's the Princess of Friendship; or Magic, because that was her element of Harmony..."
"That makes sense enough." Aestrak leaned back and lounged on the massive pillar of stone and proceeded to pick dirt out from under his claws. "Continue."
"Anyway, everyone started thinking the same could happen to them but - wait, what?"
"Oh? Hmmm. Well, when the Elements choose bearers, especially for the Magic hidden sixth one, they often pick Alicorns, or those comparable in raw power to one." He pulled himself up to all four legs and stretched his wings, blocking out the light for the entire clearing and likely then some—the fillies couldn't see where the feathers ended. The muscles in his shoulders groaned like tree branches in a thunderstorm. Birds cawed somewhere in the distance. "However, I think I understand your question now. You wonder if an Earth Pony such as yourself could achieve the status that you have only witnessed a Unicorn achieve through means that are inherent and—as far as you can tell—exclusive to that...hmmm...sub-race, correct?"
Half Note blinked.
Firelock whispered; "He means she used Unicorn Magic to become an Alicorn as opposed to, like, farming or flying."
"Oh. Then yes."
Aestrak hummed and changed position to standing on all fours, wings spread, neck aloft and tail curled around the edge of the clearing. He tested his wings, forcing Firelock and Half Note to cling to the earth and sending Tornado Bolt spiraling backwards into a bush.
"Well, the simple answer is yes." He stretched his neck out—eliciting crackles to rival that of thunder—before angling it down to speak. "What is necessary to become an Alicorn is, in fact, equally likely to manifest in any breed of Pony—Though understand that that is still highly unlikely."
A bush in the background rustled and exhumed frustration.
Half Note leaned her head in towards Aestrak eagerly. "And that thing that is necessary...?"
A head the size of a house tilted to the side. "An understanding of a form of Magic so complete it is grasped by Mind, Body and Soul alike."
Half Note looked expectantly into eyes bluer than the skies, and just as silent.
Unlike the bush in the background, which was making noises akin to an upset young Pegasus.
Half Note stamped her hoof. "But you just said that you didn't have to be a Unicorn to—"
"—Yes, I did. Is your grasp of Magic really so limited that you only see it in a Unicorn?"
"Well, I guess Pegasi have a kind of magic being able to sit on clouds and stuff but Earth Ponies don't really have anything—"
Aestrak snarled and recoiled, the trees bending back from the gale his wings whipped up in his distress. Half Note found herself clinging to the dirt for dear life—Firelock had been tossed into the same bush as Tornado bolt. She peeled her eyes back open and saw a dragon larger than a mountain and more golden than all the bits in Canterlot staring at her with eyes that no longer reflected blue light, but now emanated a firey glow—as did the feathers of his mane, wings, and tail, which crackled and spat with the fury of forest fire. His breath was hot and smelled of burning hay and hair, the smoke emanating from his cavernous nostrils now black as death. Half Note felt like she was in an oven.
Aestrak pushed the little filly with the tip of his snout and snarled; "You...you ignorant pup! You don't even understand, do you? You are as blind to it as you are to the back of your head! You can't see how lucky you are, to have been born as you were. You have no idea the insults you've incurred, your blasphemies!" He yanked his head away and spat to the side in disgust. Several trees went up in flame along the path.
Half Note cowered and covered her head, hoping that the deity would smite her quickly.
Moments passed, and she remained un-smote.
She lifted a hoof and opened one eye. She saw the golden behemoth breathing heavily, head turned to the side and eyes closed. Something dark and moist made a trail from his eye to his snout. The fire in his feathers faded slowly back into their original leafy hues as he sighed heavily.
He turned his head and focused his eyes—blue once more—onto the trembling little filly.
"It appears I was mistaken as to what you needed to know. Rage bids me to end you for such dishonor, but if the Pony young are growing up not knowing..." he shook his head. "...Then I take it as my sacred duty to see to it that you are reminded." He turned his head to a bush which had two small heads poking out of it—one orange and red and one purplish gray. They disappeared with the touch of his gaze, but a jerk of his head called them out, ears hung back and eyes on the ground.
"Time has come for me to fly, and you need more than I can teach you. Seek my Second and Only sister, and mayhap she will aid you. But I see you are young in the flesh if not in mind. So, as a parting gift and as an indication of my will, I give you my tokens."
Aestrak rose on his hind legs and stretched his neck to the sky, palms outstretched and held upward as if in exultation.
I give you strength—as that of the heat of summer."
The trio of young ponies felt their skin tingle.
"I give you vigor—as of a raging dragon!"
They felt like they were floating. Something orange was glowing in Aestrak's palms.
"And I give you virility—to rival any of your kin!
Half Note felt no dirt on her hooves. Tornado Bolt felt no wind with her wings. Firelock felt impossibly hot.
The great dragon slammed his hands upon the soil, caging the three fillies in and bathing them in the orange glow. The fillies felt a fire in their blood and they cried out as bones grew and muscles pulled. Aestrak kept his palms as a cage till the light within faded. He pulled them back as he flapped his golden wings to hover, and grinned at the three wobbly legged ponies he left standing beneath. The beat of his wings did not disturb their posture.
"My little ponies...I give you the gift of fire.
With that he took into the sky, fading rather than shrinking.
A gentle breeze stirred the manes of three young adult mares lying in a most unusual meadow. One of them tried to focus wobbly eyes on something, even just the stars swimming in the sky. A pink Earth Pony with a blue mane held a hoof to her head to try to stabilize herself and ease the throbbing. She turned to the two mares beside her, one orange, unmarked Unicorn, and a purple-tinted Pegasus with a tornado on her hip.
She looked to her own and gave a mild sigh. Still blank. Figured.
The orange Unicorn sat up and exclaimed; "WAIT. Virility? Ewwwwwwww!" before promptly falling backwards with a groan.
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Why doesn't this story have more views/upvotes/et cetera?
for your efforts.
The spelling is good, the grammar is good, the concept is interesting, and the story flows well enough.
Well, here's a
2399479
Well, I imagine it's a combination of my habit of submitting in the dead hours of night and the lack of main character tags--people seem to prefer fics with characters they are familiar with.
Virility, Hah!
Really enjoying this so far.
*posting this comment a bit late, but whatever* The way it seems to me the three races of equestria are very strongly tied to three great civilizations: the pegasai are similar to the Grecian/Roman lifestyle where athleticism is prized above all and is integrated into everyday life, to prove themselves mature the young must affirm their strength and prowess in times of stress; unicorns are much like the Asian and Egyptian culture where those of worth are the wisest and knowledge is not simply an idea but a tool and weapon; the earth ponies are most like the Celtic and Germanic tribes where all work for the benefit of the whole and those who shirk duty are ejected far from the protection of their people, yet they are also proud and able to turn situations of great peril to feats of honor and respect. Farther proof is that half-note claims to be "only an earth pony" just as every hero was only a man with no godly parentage or special quality; this is the same in every German, Irish, Nordic and English legend that the hero made them-self through their power and will.
Brilliant. And I like the colors. But that shade of orange is a bit hard on the eyes. Maybe a different one?
2760596 Wait, does that mean he gave them stallion parts then? Kind of pointless otherwise as fertility would be the word used for females.
Virile pony foals!
Dragons are weird.
6690466
it's not a dragon
Well, well, well. It looks like Earth Ponies DO have their own talents, but living memory has faded away, and even the annals of history have crumbled over time so only ancient beings remember, even if they would have difficulty remembering their own name sometimes.
I've been tempted for a long time to write something about how there's not so much an anti-Earth pony bias, but rather a pro-Pegasus and/or pro-Unicorn bias to Equestrian society. The only thing we've ever been given to clarify if Luna and Celestia were born Alicorns is a third-tier canon source (a book, not even a comic) that contradicts a lot of show stuff, but regardless, having a 'Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns' and Celestia's last two students both being unicorns doesn't exactly paint the greatest picture.
Earth ponies in my mind are probably capable of being herbomancers with extremely long lives, and able to heal from wounds that would permanently maim a pegasus or unicorn, but alas, in show canon the most we've really gotten is growing plants, super-strength and in the two-off case of Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich random zaniness.
Yes, Firelock. Virility. Given some of the fandom jokes about Earth pony traits, maybe that'll be Half Note's special talent: the Princess of Fertility
Wait, what? There's really a discrepancy here and there as to whether they're young like the CMC, or several years older.