Year of the Dragon
A dragon's life is not measured in the passage of time but instead by the acquisition of memories. Their hordes are not just a collection of shiny things, but a testament to maturity for those whom have truly grown. Each object therein possesses significance, each token is a symbol of life for the dragon; and his horde was among the finest in the land.
原墓
Hara Haka they would call it. The Original Grave. The ponies who discovered his cave as he slept carved its walls into a temple for their god of fire. Just because he had made his nest in a volcano, these simple ponies had assumed he was its spirit and, for a time, he did little to dissuade them.
死の天使
Shi no Tenshi they would call him. Angel of Death. It was a strange title as he had no particular sway in that realm. Save for his physical advantages, he was no better at implementing an ending than his small group of loyal followers. In fact, there was one more deserving of the title.
不和
Fuwa. The word scarred his mind like a well placed sword. Discord. A creature from a faraway land who made the entire world its home, had invaded his own, and ended his life. Though the distinction meant little to him a thousand years ago had been a different time. A time where death was the merciful solution. Yes. So true that a dragon's life is measured in events chronicled by artifacts: so too is their deaths. The event when those objects, and the ability to collect them, is swept away.
ウサギの天使
Usagi no Tenshi he was called now. Angel the Rabbit. In that time of uncertainty, when Discord reigned, any creature great or small was the toy of this monster. The whole world over there were no exceptions and even the Angel of Death knew no peace. He heard tale of ponies displaced in space, and pony-eggs being transplanted into trees, all for the amusement of the draconequus. So too did he find his new form. The one his mare called "bunny". It was an embarrassment to think that any part of that being could be called dragon.
責任
Sekinin, a word he could not escape, nor dare try to run from. Responsibility. Angel had always watched over the ponies in his charge. No matter his form—great or small, mighty or meek—he was their protector, and no magical tampering by Discord would change that.
まで
Made... Until. There was a pony for whom an exception was made. Not chosen by the guardian Angel but rather his ward. A kind spirit whose large heart was chained by a small voice. The colors of her yellow fur, and pink hair, complemented well what was once his own opalescent shine of scales. The white dragon was now a white rodent; a creature beneath his own palate, driven to hunger for plants.
鉱質
Mineral. Crystalline structure was best. It snaps and crunches into a cascade of flavor to be released unlike garden variety silica stone. There was one particular garden stone that he hated most of all.
寿像
Juzo. Statues. There are some that weep, and others that leer. Even the miniature gnomes and the products of a cockatrice that draw the ire of somepony, but none incited Angel's wrath like the one that laughed. An actual object of hatred and triumph would be the envy of all living things. To possess it for a horde would be a great honor to one's family name, but such a pleasure belongs to the Sun.
属して
Zokushite. Belonged. That time has passed. Life returned once again to that sour stone. Discord haunts the world once again, but times have changed. The mare in his charge, for whom he has spent much time serving and teaching of his strengths, had since turned those strengths against him. She had invited Discord into their home. Made him one of her many pets.
裏切ら
Uragira. Betrayed. That occurred often in Angel's life. That limited creatures wound tighter than the springs of a clock would make errors when perusing meaning in their lives. That each moment that passed away heralded another decibel for the executioner's calling. The sands of time bury those whom are trampled under-hoof of Death's slow march.
時間
Jikan. Time. Angel cannot fathom immortality the way in which Discord and his heavenly sister opposites must comprehend existence. Nor does he fully understand the time that is measured by the creatures lives so abrupt as the ponies. He still remembers when Love was said to transcend time, and had witnessed Friendship do the same. For once in his life time had context.
命
Inochi. Life. His had been over for some time. No trinkets or baubles does he collect. Though once his ward did find one of her own, but it too is gone now. There is one whom could fix him, breathe life once again into his phantom wings and call out his shining scales, but he would sooner stay dead than to ask. Never before had a paw-full of hops felt like an everlasting trek.
死
Shi. Death. It was the thing that ponies feared. They once feared him. Creatures would stare father time in the face and wait for his arrows to align in their hooves, and pierce their hearts. They celebrate anniversaries of this end. No. The other one. Angel often gets the beginning and the end confused. Not long ago the yellow one celebrated hers. She was given many memories, tokens of life, by the other ponies each time. A strange ritual that happened with alarming frequency.
年上の
Toshiue no. Older than. By one year she would say. One year wiser the Apple would add. Such a strange thing for a plant to say. Angel wondered if Fluttershy would ever start a horde of her own to mark her passage through this world. They lived in, and shared such a place with other creatures, but it wasn't the same. It wasn't her. Her life. Her memories. Her world. It was theirs. That was a point of some import to Angel.
特定
Tokutei. Particular. A salad was served in just such a manner and Angel was disheartened. No matter the type of insistence he mustered she would provide no resistance. Though the promotional material in the bottom drawer carried the memory of the one day in which she did. A Minotaur succeeded where he failed; if only momentarily. He turned from his food to address the dresser.
あそこ
Asoko. Over there. The motivation came. The insurmountable distance between he and Discord became a measured work of will. With each bounding bounce a light levity was added to his frail frame. Perhaps life was worth living again. Perhaps it is not weakness to cater to, but rather personal accountability that Discord may provide. To be made whole again was well within the creature of chaos's power.
今
Ima. Now. A funny word so tightly constrained in a certain understanding of time that he did not fully possess. Angel Bunny stood at the step of the monolithic force of magical madness. Discord.
次いで
Tsuide. Then. He didn't understand the distinguishing features as nothing had change. The Angel of Death was just as small to Discord now as in the time when he towered over him. He looked about with suspicion for his equine elate before returning his gaze to the draconequus. The question in his eyes was all too clear.
船尾
Senbi. Stern. Such was the "No" he did receive. There was now a thing on which Death and Discord agreed. The mare was too important for them to selfishly take back their life of the old ways. Indeed times had changed. There was no place for creatures such as those. This world was for ponies.
壊れやすい
Koware yasui. Fragile. Their tentative peace comes at a cost to all powers. Many cannot live. For a thousand years the Sun had been locked in a cage. The Moon in stone, and Love in ignorance. As harmony rises the need for these powers will fade. Discord will end, and Angel's body will too become one with the horde. An artifact in another's memory. As it is with all things.
終わり
Owari. End. Here he would remain. At her side.