Facing The Dragon
“Stop squirming!” She told you as she applied a bandage to your wound. You flinch for just a bit while the cotton touched your wound. Her horn glowed a bright baby blue as the bandage tightened to clot the wound. “There, was that so hard?” Princess Flurry Heart asked you. You look at your hoof. Not a moment ago, it had bite marks from a Yeti.
However, as the bandage was applied, the pain was gone and you could move your hoof like normal. You shook your head. “Thank you… But it’s my job to protect you. Not the other way around.” You said.
“I couldn’t forgive myself if I just let you limp with that wound.” Flurry Heart said. “Besides, you need your strength.”
“… Thank you.” You said to her. You two continued on the path shown to Flurry Heart on the map. As you did just that, you remembered how you came to protect such a beautiful mare.
A long time ago, the Crystal Empire was nothing more than an arctic wasteland. However, after the Crystal Princess returned to her throne, the ice melted and the Crystal Empire became a lush, beautiful land full of green grass.
However, after about thirty years of peace and harmony in the Empire, the winter suddenly returned. The Empire was now frozen in ice, leaving their denizens to be treated to the harsh bitterness of winter. The rulers of the Empire, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, went to Canterlot to seek help.
They were told that the cause of the sudden winter was because of a white dragon that had taken residence in a nearby cave and had his slumber disturbed by the destruction of his habitat. While they prepared an army to try to slay the dragon, their daughter, Princess Flurry Heart, took a different route.
She looked for a hireling to help her trek across the winter wonderland, find the white dragon, and deal with him herself. Out of all the mercenaries she could have hired, she picked you of all people. It was obvious why she did so.
You were the same age as her. Everyone else, while very experienced, were old and had many scars and missing appendages to show for it. You, on the other hand, were a very young and very healthy colt.
You spent this travel wondering if her parents approved of her journey. If she didn’t, what sort of consequences would await you and her? As you pondered this, you heard a soft snarl. Flurry Heart stopped by and looked.
“… We’re here.” She said as she stood in front of a large cave.
“So… what’s your plan? If you think we can beat him, you clearly have no idea what you’re facing.” You said.
“No. That’d be suicide. We’ll talk with him. Get him to understand that he’s disturbing our land. That’ll work.” Flurry Heart said. She walked into the cave.
“Talk with him? No, that’d be suicide. Dragons aren’t known to be talkative people.” You say this as you remember the ironic tale of the Savior of the Crystal Empire, who just happened to be a dragon. A baby dragon, at that. You followed her and you immediately notice the dragon laid down in front of you. He was ready. And you could tell with the way his mouth was wide open.
“Greetings, Mr. Dra-” Right then, a white light emitted from the white dragon’s mouth.
“LOOK OUT!” You galloped to her and knocked her out of the way as the dragon fired out an ice beam. Just in time too. You felt your tail be hit with the beam… and suddenly you can’t feel it any more. You turned around and noticed that a chunk of your tail was now shattered ice. The dragon looked to the two of you and roared.
That’s when you remembered that white dragons were the least intelligent of all dragons, being only able to act like an animal rather than think with logic. He ran to you and tried to bite you. Flurry Heart grabbed you and flew up. It was the first time you actually noticed her wings. At first, you found it odd that her wings seemed… out of place. Like they just looked like they didn’t match the same stature as her.
It was when she spread her wings and fly that you knew why. Her wings were as big as her entire body, from her head to her tail. The dragon roared as it tried to strike at the flying Flurry Heart with his claws. The first time was a miss, but the second time was a direct hit… right into an icy wall. The dragon tried to pull out, but his left claw was stuck in the wall. Flurry Heart landed and walked to the monster. Her horn glowed.
“Hey, Mr. Dragon… I can help you out of that… but… I want you to promise me you’ll leave this cave. You’re making my friends and family very cold…” She said. That’s when you notice the dragon’s reptilian eyes. The slits that act as pupils began to widen until they were a full circle, much like a pony’s pupil. The dragon nodded as Flurry Heart smiled. Her horn glowed again as the dragon’s claw glowed as well. She pulled the claw out of the wall and the dragon stepped back from Flurry Heart. The dragon walked out of the cave and flew off.
Your jaw dropped. Just what the hell did she do to it? Did she just brainwash it? She approached you and smiled.
“There. Taken care of.” She said.
“H-how were you able to do that?” You asked.
“It’s my talent.” She showed you her Cutie Mark: two crystal hearts, one blue, the other pink, overlapping each other while a tiny star of the opposite color rests in the center of both. “I’m able to have creatures understand what I’m trying to say to them. In short, I’m sort of like a mediator.” She said.
“So… you’re able to persuade ponies, in other words.” You said.
“N-no! Nothing like that. I just present them with my thoughts and they’re free to decide whether they’d agree with me or not.” Flurry Heart said. You still had that doubt, though right now, you worried about something else.
Even with the dragon leaving, the winter storm still persisted.
“We should camp for the night. This cave will serve as shelter.” You said.
“Alright…” She said.
“I’ll keep watch in case the dragon comes back or we fight another yeti.” You said.
“Alright…” She set up and got ready to sleep. Meanwhile, you began your long and hard duty to protect her.
You shivered. You had no time to sleep. A monster could come out any moment, and if you were to sleep, you would put the princess in more peril than she put herself through. Though… you thought about it…
You remembered your fight with the yeti. You held off the yeti and even got some good hits in, but it was clear you couldn’t beat him… Then Flurry Heart belted out a nice, heavenly song and made the yeti go away. You wanted to think of how Flurry Heart could have possibly controlled that yeti like a siren, but you instead thought about how beautiful her singing was.
The way she smiled after getting the dragon to leave also melted your heart. However, it did nothing to melt your body as you began to feel your hooves being frostbitten.
“Mister… You should get some sleep…” You turned around and heard Flurry Heart lying on her belly.
“I… C-c-c-can’t… I pr-promised myself to protect you…” You said.
“I know… That’s why it’s my turn to protect you. You’re cold and tired… You know what I said earlier… I can’t forgive myself if anything happens to you…” You wanted to accuse her of playing mind games with you, but that’s when you noticed her horn wasn’t glowing. Come to think of it, her horn didn’t glow when she was serenading the yeti.
Only when she talked with the dragon, a primal monster that couldn’t be reasoned with, not through words or even song. She talked to it. That was her talent. She wasn’t trying to hypnotize you. She legitimately cared for your well-being.
And no one in your entire life had ever cared for you. You hesitated, but you couldn’t help but agree with Flurry Heart. You trotted and lied down next to her.
“Here, let me help you.” She unfurled her wings and laid one of them over you. Her wings were so big, they covered you like a blanket. It felt so warm and cozy, that you snuggled closer to Flurry Heart. When you touched her body, her warmth made you cling onto her. You were very cold and needed her warmth.
“S-sorry… I…”
“It’s okay… Like I said, I’ll be the one protecting you now.” She nuzzled your head for a bit.
“… Flurry Heart… You said that you need me, and yet… you handled these problems by yourself. If anything, you could have done this all alone.” You said. “Why need me?” You asked. What she said made you realize something about her that never once crossed your mind:
“Because… I didn’t want to be alone.”
This now explains why you were chosen out of all the others. You were her age, and despite the lack of experience compared to the older ponies, you were chosen. Now it all made sense. She never wanted a protector…
She wanted a companion.
You smiled. Nobody cared about a mercenary pony like you until today.
“Thanks…” You whispered to her as you fell asleep in her wing.
As morning came, so did spring. It was as if the dragon was never there. You and Flurry Heart woke up and went back to the Crystal Empire. It was a half-day trip, at least. When you got back, you were greeted with the obvious thing you could think of:
Flurry Heart’s parents rushing to her and asking if she was okay.
“Flurry Heart! Where have you been?” Princess Cadance asked.
“We were worried sick for you!” Shining Armor said. You knew of these two, but you felt afraid to talk with them, especially since you knew the moment you did, they’d throw you in the dungeon out of fear that you had something to do with her disappearance.
“Mom, dad, I’m fine. I went over to the dragon and got him to leave.” She said.
“You what!? Honey, you could have gotten hurt!” Cadance said to her.
“But I didn’t! I had my friend here to protect me.” Flurry Heart went over to show you off to the two, though you just blushed and hid your face.
“You… hired someone?” Shining Armor looked at you. He glared for a bit. “Hey… Aren’t you a mercenary?” He asked. “Your clothing looks remarkably similar to one.”
“Yes. I’m a sellhoof…” You had to explain yourself before he called for the guards. “I was asked by your daughter to come with her, and I worked hard to keep her safe and protect her.” You said. You looked at Shining Armor as he frowned.
“I see… How much for the service?” He asked. You paused. You and her never quite established a price, or even terms of agreement. You simply came with her to move a dragon. That’s it. You decided that you should get in good graces with the Empire.
“None. I simply helped her because she needed it.” You said. Shining Armor shook his head.
“Even so… We can’t leave you empty hoofed.” Shining Armor said. That’s when Cadance used her horn to create a crystal shard from the ground. She plucked it and handed it to you.
“A single crystal is worth hundreds of bits in Canterlot. Especially if you say that they were made by me. I think this would be enough payment.” She said. You looked back to Flurry Heart.
“I didn’t want to be alone.” You took a deep breath and shook your head.
“No. I mean, I already had payment from Flurry Heart.” You said. You realized how wrong that sounded and quickly spoke up before Shining Armor would get his guards to skewer you. “She gave me shelter and protection when I was in need. She bandaged my wound and took care of me as much as I took care of her. For that, I can’t think of any greater payment. Keep your crystal.” You awaited their judgement. “Think of it like a visit to the dentist…” You prepared for the worst.
Instead, you had a hoof over your shoulder.
“Such a noble pony. I can see why Flurry Heart put her faith in you.” You instead saw Cadance smiling at you. You looked to Shining Armor, who simply gave Flurry Heart a scowl.
“Never in all my life have I’ve been so disappointed…” However, his face also shifted to a happy one. “And yet so proud of you!” He rushed over and hugged Flurry Heart.
“You helped my daughter save the Crystal Empire without needing to kill anything. I hope you understand that we will be in your debt.” She bowed before you. Never in all your life have you been so humble. Before today, if any Princess would bow for you, you would have asked for riches that would have you set for life.
However, all you could think of for payment is the beautiful young pony that you walked with. However, there’d be no way they could offer her hand in marriage. Especially for a simple mercenary like you. You trotted away.
“Flurry Heart said you were a friend… And I can tell in your eyes that she’s a friend to you as well. If you won’t accept a single crystal… how about a job?” Shining Armor asked you.
“A… job?” You asked.
“I have to admit, Flurry Heart made us worry when she ran away. However, you made sure she came back in one piece and she did the same for you. Your care for your client is stronger than any mercenaries that I have known back in my war days.” He said.
“… Thank you.” You smiled.
“I think this arrangement will be one you’ll like. I’d like for you to be Flurry Heart’s permanent bodyguard… If it’s okay with you and her, that is.” Shining Armor said. As soon as he said that, you smiled. Before you could say yes, Flurry Heart rushed to you and held you. Your hearts beat as one as you both said:
“Of course!”
And from that day on, you were an honor bound member of the Crystal Empire Royal Guard, protecting Flurry Heart on a daily basis. Not that you minded it though, as it brought you closer to the mare that made your life worth living. Every day you spent with her, you were reminded of how the moment in that cave where she had given you a flurry in your heart.