|
Author's note: Most of my stories are set in the past of the original ponyland like this one. There are a few differences however, in my version (They run into my version of the current Dream valley too, in later stories}. I hope you like it! The Dragon Prince Part 1 : Royal Runaways By Moonstar
~*~ Time: 15 years before Firefly's Adventure ~*~
Swoop and loop ..up ..and down.. Though the clouds and blue sky the white pony soared
lazily. This in Dream Valley of course was no wonderful sight.. normally.
But this pony, unlike all the other airborne ponies that lived in the valley....had no wings.
In fact, her kind were commonly called "earth" ponies and by the rules, had no "real" magical powers.
Tiddly Boom hated rules. Skimming across a cloud, she enjoyed for the moment the feeling of actually galloping over it, a second before falling throw. Laughing as the warm wind whipped over her rainbow mane she shook herself free of the clinging water vapor.
This little patch of sea coast forest Tiddly Boom liked to call her "quiet lookout spot": Far enough away from Dream Castle so that no one found out about her special "talent", Close enough to see almost all the way to Flutter Valley.
Her red twinkle eyes shine for joy as she soared low once again on another uprising current of air. Even if it was just her wish talent gift from Moonstar...
Oh, the freedom! To be up here with not a care or worry for once.
"Free! Free!" She whispered in bliss to herself "Free.."
"Tiddly Boom is that you?!" A cheery voice yelled
"Wha?!" She examined caught off grand, lost her concentration, and started to fall.
"AAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" She screamed falling toward the sea waves like.. well, like a Earthling pony that's just discovered the hard side of gravity.
A second before hitting the water a giant sea shell suddenly appeared, catching her safe and sound. "Gotta!" The voice said again, coming from under the shell. Puzzled and curios she leaned out over the side trying to get a look at her savior.
"Now don't do that ..argh!.. I don't think I can catch you ..urg! .. if you fall in!" There was only one kind of pony that could talk under water, but who...
"Shining Wave?!" Tiddly Boom shouted joylessly leaping onto the beach.
"That's me!" The orange Sea Pony giggled
Letting go of the sea shell to lay on it half under water, she wiped the sweat off her pink mane with a fin (A very unusual site) and sighed.
"You land ponies get heavier every day! It normally takes about five of my kind to lift even a baby! Luckily I was here." Shining Wave winked "Boy, you've grown a lot since I last saw you!"
Tiddly Boom kneeled down getting in better talking range with her smaller friend. "So have you.. Traded in your tiger float for a shell hmm?" She said playfully
Shining Wave blushed with embarrassment hiding her head under the water.
"Umm .. you remember that?" She asked quietly
"Yup! (How could I forget?) But don't worry I won't tell any one." Tiddly Boom smiled
She of all ponies wasn't the type to make fun of the "Baby age" seriously. As "Baby" Tiddly Boom she had a uncanny way of always wandering off and getting lost. Even now, being too old to be called a baby any longer and too young to have a mate (Yet always looking for the *Ahem* "right stallion friend") her baby rep. still followed her.
The two friends laughed talking over old times.
(Maybe growing up won't be that hard after all) Tiddly Boom thought happily ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Half a forest and valley away, at Dream Castle feelings were far from happy. "Do I HAVE too?" The baby unicorn pleaded, looking up at her mother sadly.
"Baby Majesty, honey, you want to grow up to be a good queen don't you?" Her mother, Raspberry Ice asked gently
" I guess so ..." The little pony answered timidly "I mean I really WANT to be a good leader.. but Mom, do I have to have another tutor? Can't I go play once and a while like a normal baby pony?"
Raspberry Ice nuzzled her little daughter "One day maybe you'll understand, your the first princess and your going to be Dream Castle's first queen later on...We just want you to be ready..."
Baby Majesty pulled away
"But I'm not! I'm just a baby! I won't be able to do it yet! I CAN'T DO IT!" Majesty cried running out of her nursery and into the courtyard knocking over wandering ponies left and right...
"Oof!"
"Hey!"
"Crazy foal!"
"Hey wait that's Princess Majesty!"
"Where are you going?!"
"Away!" She yelled crying "Far away!.."
The knocked asunder ponies looked on in disbelief as Baby Majesty galloped down the drawbridge, her white blue manned form disappearing into the darkness of early evening as she winked out.
Her nurse, Swallowtail, dragged herself out from under the mess of sheets that she had been carrying on her back. She cocked her head worriedly.
"What's wrong?"
Majesty's father Pepper got up from where he had been pushed, looking just as puzzled.
"I don't know. My little princess...It's so unlike her..." He murmured
Raspberry Ice trotted up beside her mate calling in dismay
"MAJESTY! MAJESTY! ..Majesty .. Oh I shouldn't have pushed her so much about royalty things ..By the rainbow, I hope she's OK.."
Pepper leaned over rubbing his head lovely against hers trying as best as he could to comfort her and (though he won't admit it) his self as well.
"Don't worry Raspberry' we'll find her..." The light purple unicorn stallion gazed up at the stars wishfully over his crying pink mate..
(I hope..) He added silently to the stars ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Farther away in yet another kingdom, an even younger princess was having troubles too...
"But Daddy you promised!" The yellow pink hared baby flutter pouted Her father Firecracker sighed looking about as unhappy as his daughter sounded. "I know honey but a meeting with the Fawn queen came up and we have to go.. it's just one thing..."
"But Daddy it's always somethin'!" Baby Rosedust said You Promised you'd teach me how to Utter Flutter and that it would be the PERFECT night tonight 'cuz there's a full moon!"
"Now Rosedust I know it can be hard on you but since your mommy Moonstar went away...it's up to us to be brave and run the kingdom." He kneed down his red muzzle nearly touching hers.
"Can you do that punkin'? Can you help me?"
Baby Rosedust lifted up her head a look of total crushment and grief on her face like none he'd ever seen before...
"No." She said quietly "No, cuz' you know how your always telling me to be like Mommy? To be strong? Well Mommy's never gonna come back! She when to that place, that "real" world and she didn't love me enough to stay here! She NEVER LOVED ME!!"{:(} Baby Rosedust cried flying up into the air and zooming out of the tree top place.
"ROSEDUST!" Firecracker called
He tried flying after her but stopped in the air, painting, after a few miles of the intense pace of wing beats. It was no use. Catching another of his kind was hard enough, but an enraged baby? He didn't stand a chance.
He felt like crying too, many times, and for once he wished he'd told his daughter the truth.. ..that her mommy would have died if she had stayed.
The red Flutter pony king looked up at the twinkling sky, wondering if in that land 'over the rainbow' in her human form Moonstar was doing the same tonight. (She will be back.) He though without any doubt
"She loves you very much." He whispered ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "Oh gosh, look how late it's gotten!" Tiddly Boom exclaimed
"Would you like to visit my home? Shining Wave asked "It's a long walk or, um .. flight back to your castle in this darkness.." "Well I don't know.." Tiddly Boom said looking down at the sea waves
At that same moment two sounds of trotting hoofs rang though the night air. One came from the north and the other from the south.. then in the blackness...
CRASH!
..The unmistakable sound of two ponies running into each over.
Tiddly Boom recognized the first instantly "Princess Majesty! What are you doing here?"
Majesty shrugged , doing a pony style curtsey to the other baby she had just run into. The stranger with sparkling wings did the same (more out of habit than thought) and they bumped heads yet again. "Sorry." The two little future queens murmured in unison, rubbing their heads.
"And who are you?" Shining Wave asked the little flutter pony.
"I'm Rosedust!" She said energetically
"PRINCESS Rosedust? Moonstar's little baby? OKAY guys, what are you TWO doing out here?" Tiddly Boom asked
Both babies started to cry again
"I RAN AWAY!" Both whimpered, then looked at each other in puzzlement "YOU RAN AWAY TOO??"
Tiddly Boom sighed "I don't know how this happened, but your parents must be worried!" She turned to Shining Wave "Sorry guess I'll have to take a rain check on that visit, I've got to march these little ones right bac.." "NO!!" Both babies chimed in Baby Majesty looked up at her with big BIG blue eyes "Please don't take us back ! You don't know what it's like.. when,when.."
"WHEN YOUR SO DELICIOUS!!" A rumbling voice thundered In the darkness behind the group an piercing yellow eye snapped open and in light cast by the moon on the water, pitch black scales glinted.
"DRAGON!" Tiddly Boom yelled in horror "WE HAVE TO RUN!!" She backed up quickly, barely noticing when one of her back hoofs touched water. Baby Rosedust and Majesty stood rooted to the spot held captive by their first look at one of these creatures of death. The dragon knew easy prey when he saw it. He chuckled grimly. Raising his head up to its full towering height his eyes began to glow.
"THAT'S RIGHT. FEAR ME .. FEAR ME.." Tiddly Boom swallowed, her own terror lost for the moment in place of concern for her little friends. Already their eyes were half closed and pale. If they gave in to that things spell...if they gave in to fear..there would be no hope for them.. (No!) She thought savagely Racing out between the dragon and the babies, she kicked out hard with her hind legs at its tender underbelly. The dragon screamed in agony, a lowsome , ugly sound halfway between a roar and nails on a chalk board. The babies blinked, dazed, their eye contact broken.
"RUN YOU TWO! I'LL HOLD HIM OFF!!" "But Tiddly Boom what about you?" Baby Majesty asked, looking back with frightened tears
"Don't worry about me, I'll be right behind you! NOW GO!"
Majesty turned and with a moment of hesitation, leaped into the waves. Baby Rosedust took to the air in alarmed blind frenzy... Right toward the dragon. It hissed laugher, taking it's attention off the white earthling; it raised a clawed forefoot, swatting the baby Flutter out of the air like a fly . Her scream, and the unmistakable sound of tearing wings as her body hit the water, was the last thing Tiddly Boom heard.. Before she too dived in.. Somewhere far away she could sense the fiery roars of a seemly disappointed dragon...
Above the waves the dragon paced, then , fairly convenced that the ponies were not coming back soon, folded it's wings. The leathery hide of them glinted like water and with a sickening sucking sound, pulled back into it's body like they had never been. Then faster than the first appendage, it's forelegs shriveled and disappeared. Flopping on it's stomach now for lack of support, it breathed shallowly though gills at the sides of it's neck
....and slowly and silently, like a midnight hunter, slipped into the ocean.
Prey was so much more fun when it swam...
*******TO BE CONTINUED****** |
