"Stay on your claws, you coward. I'm not done with you," Erion spat, disengaging with the weakened, now frantic dragon beneath him. "Come on, Silver Tongue. Get up. You're not this weak!"
Erion was bleeding from a dozen wounds, some bone deep. He kept one claw over his belly, where the Dragon King sought to eviscerate him as he was known to do with his enemies. Silver Tongue struggled standing up and swiped the almighty dragon by his arm, a dirty trick at most. Erion roared as his arm and claw gushed, but he ignored it in the end. He dismissed the pain, swinging around to face the cowardly dragon as five of the buildings around them crashed. The dust blinded them both.
"Tell me, brother; do you really consider that abomination to be your son?" Silver Tongue asked in a mock tone, grinning from ear to ear as he circled the worried king. "Is the half-blood so important to you that you will toss aside your hatred for ponies for his sake?"
"Do no patronize me about hatred!" Erion screamed, swinging viciously where he heard his brother. Silver Tongue chuckled, knowing he got under the elder's scales.
"So he is that important to you," he said, though with more sarcasm than given by his credibility. "You care—No, you love that abomination so much you're willing to toss aside your hatred for ponies. Have you forgotten that the pink one is our sworn enemy? Have you forgotten that it was the alicorns that slayed half of our kind?"
"We sought to overthrow the princesses and sell them like cattle." Erion pointed out, reminding the monster of their reason. "You and I were just hatchlings, but our mother and father enslaved hundreds of ponies. It was only a matter of time before we found ourselves dying at the hooves of Celestia and Luna."
"And you are willing to forgive them, as they are willing to forgive us. But here is some insight—the alicorn you are protecting has a special bond with your son. They share the same connection you and your disgusting wife have. And what is worse is that pink pony you have in the castle is Celestia's niece."
Erion didn't answer. He'd lost fat too much of his conscience and was growing animalistic fast, but he refused to allow himself to slide into savagery. He gripped his mind and tried to tune himself to Silver Tongue's footsteps to find and kill him.
He was fast too. Far faster than Silver Tongue had ever anticipated, even when he'd been warned about his brother's godly power and abilities. There was no possible way to determine when the dust would clear. More than anything he wanted to watch the deadly dragon bleed his royal blood, but he could not feel and heat or magic rising from Erion. He found himself alone in the shadows of the dust cloud, anticipating the moves of his enemy, being guided by instinct rather than his senses as he tried watch all four corners of his surroundings.
Erion's moves, however, were entirely unpredictable.
"Silence will not help you, little brother!" Silver Tongue laughed, breathing fire in every direction. "I will find you and kill you. And when I do, I'll be sure to snack on your son and breed your wife. Don't worry though, I'll be as gentle as possible!"
Without warning, two claws erupted through the dust at Silver Tongues shoulders. Erion thrust his blood dripping maw into the throat of his older brother, sidestepping slightly for the tip of his tail to curl and pierce its mark. The second roar of his brother was much weaker and he snapped his teeth shut, still half in the dust. Erion somehow sensed the arrogant beast before bursting from the shadows.
Silver Tongue tried to swear through his hollow breath, but the remaining chunk of his jugular was ripped clean from his throat as the tip of Erion's tail pierced his heart from behind. His body tightened as the Dragon King began to back away steadily, there was a shift in their minds, a clear telepathic message of triumph and defeat.
You dirty. . . little. . . Silver Tongue wheezed, losing consciousness as fast he lost his balance. How dare you. . .bite me. . .
I knew she was the niece of Celestia, but I will not hate her for what Celestia and Luna did to punish us. What happens between her and my son is a destiny I will not stop. Erion replied grimly, growling at his dying brother. You were never worthy of the crown, nor to be part of my family. Your heart is just like mother's and father's. Cold. Black. Empty.
I. . . hate you.
I know you do, Erion raised a claw over his older brother's head, aiming directly at the temple of his skull. And that is why you were bound to be alone.
What are you—
Farewell. . . brother.
Silver Tongue realized what was coming and did his best to scream, but the weight of Erion's claw came crashing down on him in powerful blow. His skull broke, crunching and snapping repeatedly, and all life remaining in his body was destroyed.
"I should get back to the castle and check on Cadance and Dragomir," the Dragon Kind said to himself, smearing the blood and bone underneath his claw across the ground. "They were already injured to begin with."
Deep in the heart of the castle, Cadance and Dragomir stumbled into the throne room and was instantly surrounded by the guards. What pushed them so hard just now? Looking back to the culprit, they gazed at the woman glaring down at them so that they could see just how angry she was. They stood quietly, listening to the sound of Megan cursing beneath her breath. Everything seemed wrong with this scenario. The situation. The sound. The movement this woman made. Cadance had this odd feeling in her stomach that something else is going to happen.
Beside her, Dragomir stood quietly, his head low, one arm around the other while his leg was angled in a weird fashion. It was like he had done worse to himself than those gryphons did. He was like the fierce bear Cadance considered him to be, deadly one moment and a big wimp the next. He tried to run a hand over her mane, but she stepped away and shook her head.
"I'm fine," she whispered, glaring at him. "But if we are about to get in trouble, I blame you."
Hearing her, he stiffened, the relaxation of safety draining from his body. He looked like he had been betrayed, a being with so little to look forward too, one caught up in a conflict of trusting anyone but himself ever again. He rubbed his hand over his bloody eye, and then he begrudgingly looked away with the pads of his fingers streaking blood, huffing away from the traitorous princess.
Megan stopped moving, her eyes suddenly hardening, showing that anger. She scowled at her son, a dark, frightening scowl that stole his breath and pushed fear and worry into his mangled body.
"I don't know if I should have you chained or locked away in a dungeon. I told you not to leave the castle!"
The queen's anger was at its heaviest and yet she to stay her fury. Dragomir found he was losing control in his legs as she hurried along. At first he'd been afraid, standing like a marionette with no one jerking the strings to his arms and legs. Blood seemed to cease flowing through his body, and he found his mother could easily show him the true meaning of terror. After she paced around them, the prickly sensation on his back was more annoying and troublesome and not so easy to manage. Megan picked up these signs as every ounce of her divine power radiated, but in deference to her son's condition, she wasn't acting on impulse. Her long stride kept the boy at his toes while the room went quiet.
"Your father will have to clean up your mess again. He'll probably have to fund a few houses for some of the victims."
"But we were attacked first," Cadance intervened, though with a little more authority in her tone, more than what she is able to muster in her young life as a princess. "That stupid dragon came after me and your son did his best to protect me, just like he did when those Gryphons almost raped me. He was only doing what was right."
Dragomir, though a little irked by her previous statement, gazed longingly at her. He found his heart swelling with pride and respect. There should be no more surprises with this strange girl, yet she astonished him by speaking in his defense. He wasn't sure if this was her way of easing the punishment to come or to make it worse. She had already pinned the blame on him, so why defend him now?
"He disobeyed you and that is understandable, but you cannot be angry at your son for unknown circumstances. That monster came out of nowhere and threatened to kill him and take me."
"But he did not listen to me, and now my subjects, my citizens, are enduring a terrible brawl between that bastard and their king. None of this wouldn't have happened if Dragomir stayed put in the castle." Megan pointed out in a dark tone. Every breath she drew was more difficult than the last, and she had to prevent herself from losing control with this young princess. Her mind was shot. She needed to let go of her stress, but this pink pony was making it more difficult.
Megan stayed as calm as she could, but deep inside, she coiled, on the verge of exploding and more than willing to act like the bad guy to protect them. She might be human, but there was no mistaking the power she keeps chained inside. Megan held her breath as the pink princess stepped back to Dragomir' side. She moved first to nuzzle his side and then glare at the furious woman rubbing her temples. Was she trying to relieve herself of the stress?
The magic surrounding the queen was thick enough that the guards around them avoided breathing it in, and they were not sure of the thin strips of forest green floating around her.
Megan allowed her powers free rein through expression. Being a woman with certain magic gave her all the gifts of a goddess as any immortal. As the silence went on, her power evolved even more. She was already pressuring the guards of the mixed emotions , and she had excellent control and a sense of the danger she created with one hand.
The roar of her fire, the burning divinity and motherhood permeated through her aura. The Dragon guards continued to observe her in an effort to see what she would do to her son. They could not abandon their posts, but they were clearly worried for the boy.
"I just don't know what to do with you anymore," she exasperated, groaning and dragging her hands through her hair. "I try my best to be understanding and lenient, but you continue to disobey me and bring trouble with you. No matter what I say or do, you just have to go out there and fuck things up for this family."
Cadance stiffened, unsure of the word 'fuck' yet certain that Megan used it to hurt Dragomir. It was all over his face that he was struck hard with guilt and regret as the woman continued ranting.
"Is it really so hard to listen to me, huh!?" the queen snapped, acting on her anger with a startling strike to the boy's cheek. Dragomir jerked to the left, surprised as much as the dragons and alicorn. He'd never been hit by his mother. "Is there any part of your brain that carries a conscience, or did all that work in saving you turn your mind into a dragon? Is there anything in that head of yours that knows right and wrong, or did you cease thinking and act like an animal?"
A sense of grief swept through Dragomir and Cadance. He wasn't anywhere near ready to hear all of this and he doubted if he could endure it. He rubbed the burning sting across his cheek, staring down at the floor as his hair became a dull blue. Cadance gasped and began to wonder if said color meant sadness or depression. Either way, she was not liking how Dragomir suddenly lost all of his spirit and vigor. The young prince wanted to get away without any of them realizing he was gone until it was too late, but Megan went on by slapping him a second time with the backside of her hand.
"Tell me your reason for leaving the castle," Megan said sarcastically. She ignored the wide slice across his cheek, although blood was dripping from the wound. "Oh wait, I forgot that my only son cannot speak. He is a defiant, impulsive mute prince that cannot think before he acts because he is more dragon than human. I wish I was wrong, but miracles rarely happen. You know, this is why your father and I sometimes wonder why you were even saved!"
Dragomir' body had settled again, but not in the best way possible. Around him the world seemed to sink so that his body was partially in the soil of his depression. He could see that his mother had hatred in her eyes, but even as he watched, Cadance pushed away the fear and dragged herself to the courage she needed.
Watching the boy's eyes widen and his body slightly shake, Cadance heart swelled with anger and respect. She had some reason to blame Dragomir for everything that is happening right now, but this was going too far. Queen or not, a mother should never strike her own child and speak ill of his existence. He might be young and arrogant, but he was still a teenager wanting freedom and a child that needs to be led in the right direction. He could have been grounded in some way to keep him inside the castle. No would have the trouble of at least taking away his magic, but to hit him. . .
Cadance was clearly furious with the queen as the despairing prince did everything in his power not to react on his unbearable instincts, but he had so little knowledge of his dragon instincts and now had to fight them with what little conscience he had.
Magic poured into the Princess of Love. She wasn't going to let the boy who saved her twice in less than a week take this sort of punishment. He did not deserve to be hit. If he wasn't going to stand up for himself and try to make his mother see her wrongdoing, then she was going too, even if it meant taking some of the blame. Of course there was that thought, but he did not deserve to be blamed either, not by her, not by his family, not by anyone!
From how low Dragomir' head was, he could not get a good look at the pink alicorn, but Cadance worked acted swiftly. She saw the exact moment when Megan raised her hand a third time and stepped between them. She raised her shield as fast as the woman's hand came down and enlarged it.
"Back off!" Cadance screeched, her shield jolting the surprised queen as the guards watched in astonishment. No one had ever defied the Queen of The Dragons. No one.
Megan grasped her hand tightly and hissed her breaths as the jolt left her. "You little shit, how dare you!?" she yelled in a deep tone, but Cadance would have none of it. She stood her ground as the woman approached the shield, though with precaution this time. "You do not get in my fucking way when I am teaching my son a hard lesson about respecting his parents!"
"Yeah, well I don't remember any lesson involving a slap or hurtful words like the ones you said!" Cadance barked, though with a bit more fear in her tone. "What the buck is your problem!? Dragomir is at fault for leaving this castle, but blaming for the fight that is happening outside is wrong!"
Cadance and Megan exchanged a long look. Megan grit her teeth. "This is none of your concern, nor involved with you. Now lower the shield and remember your place. In case you have not noticed, you're here because of my generosity. So I suggest you step aside and let me finish!"
"And let you draw more blood, I don't think so!" the Princess of Love exasperated, increasing the size of her bubble. "I may not be as strong as you, but I will not let you hurt him again. He does not deserve to be hated or punished for that monster fighting your husband!"
Megan went to signal her guards to remove Cadance from the room when suddenly the blood on her son's cheek and the young princess' words struck home. The guards could not feel her magic and grew worried for her as the shaky prince clenched his teeth. He shifted in the emotion of sorrow, sending small signals of it through his violent power. He unknowingly released orbs of blue and fought crying as the queen returned to reality.
Megan took another breath, fighting back the emotions that threatened to dishonor her.
"I. . .I didn't mean to—" Whatever she had to say was broken off by Dragomir sprinting towards the one place no one can reach him. His bedroom. He shed his restraints fact, becoming a blur in the eyes of his mother, the guards, and the Princess of Love, a gust that blew that them and rushed down the hall after his breakdown. He knew he screw up, but it was not fair for him to stay locked up in the castle all the time.
"Dragomir!" Megan yelled, but he was already gone and she was left to deal with the pink alicorn before her.
Cadance glared at the queen, something the guards found to be quite foolish. "I've not had a mother in a very long time, but I know one thing: A mother never hurts her colt."