One of the first songs I had grown to like was one by Gary Jules. Mad World seemed alarmingly accurate to me. Throughout the time I’d been listening to the song, I learned to see the creases and lines that made up the faces around me. Draconic expressions were a little different to human expressions, but we all shared the same emotions. Fear. Jealousy. Loathing. Pain. On occasion, hope.

When I was first learning about manipulating Power from my father, a magus had approached me from one of the camp’s followers, of the Sstahn clan, had offered to mentor me in the workings of Power. At the time I’d been naïve. I didn’t notice that the magus had waited until Stefan and my father had taken their leave. I have foolishly believed that the every dragon from the Sstahn clan could be trusted.

Only after being dragged hundreds of miles, bound by spells and physical restraints, waiting in an abandoned warehouse until my father almost tore the building and surrounds apart looking for me that I realised I had had my first real introduction to the game.

The game was something everyone played. It was different depending on who you were and what you did. Some people didn’t even know they were playing the game, but I knew that this game was something I was forced to become very much aware of. The game was betting the future of not only my life but the future of dragons themselves.

Though it was through no fault of my own, I can’t help but feeling I had failed the game and in doing so, failed my father’s legacy. Being the last of your race was a terrible burden to shoulder.

If my father had taught me anything, it was to never give up. There were too many things more important than moping around feeling sorry for yourself.

Get up, he would say. Get up and scream in defiance as your adversary closes for your throat. Fight for life.

–––––

I tailed Twilight, heading towards her… castle? It was a whimsical design and I couldn’t tell whether it was made of crystal or stone or some sort of advanced material. They mentioned a lot of technology that made me wary. I was lucky that I took the form of something familiar within their world, or else they may have been more guarded and treated me with hostility. They seemed to be accepting creatures though, which surprised me more than anything.

Spike had decided to ride me. I didn’t mind the burden, it was negligible, but the adoring looks Twilight sent back at me sparked an urge to drop the drake like a sack of bricks. He’d probably fall like a brick without learning to use Power like the Shen Lung did. My wings almost skipped a beat when a sudden thought occurred to me.

Did Power work here?

The thought and implications that it wouldn’t hadn’t occurred to me. I mean I had seen the workings of Power, or at least something similar to it by the flight of the unusual winged unicorn. Twilight’s wingspan was too small to carry her weight like a traditional bird or winged creature relying on physical principles to fly. Twilight was using some sort of assistance. Secondly, Spike had a sort of magic too, his flames looked weak but they seemed to have additional usages.

If I couldn’t use Power here, that was a severe disadvantage. I was a magus, or close enough to one anyway, I was never formally acknowledged. My father had rolled his eyes at that sort of traditionalism and told me that such thinking was why college graduates were being hired instead of engineers like himself with over twenty years of military and electronics engineering experience. He couldn’t understand that at all.

If I couldn’t use Power here I’d have to learn the native version here. I was reasonably sure it would work. I wasn’t an expert at inter-dimensional Power metaphysics but I was reasonably sure that Power was able to bridge the two worlds, meaning there should be a source for the Power on this world somewhere.

Regardless there wasn’t much I could do except gather more information. From where we were headed I suppose Twilight was someone important. I might be able to find out more about this place from her.

When we landed in front of the double doors to her abode, there was a stir of commotion. Various equines approached all of a wide range of colour palettes. Many had wide, curious eyes and sported either horns or wings or neither. I noticed that no other had wings and horns that Twilight had and I filed that away. Could be significant.

“Nothing to see here!” Twilight exclaimed, making ‘shooing’ motions with her hoof. “I’m just escorting a guest who will be staying at the castle for a bit. There’s no danger, no need to worry.”

With a murmur the crowd dispersed and I raised an eyebrow at the level of trust the other ponies had in Twilight. Was she some sort of community leader of this town or something? No, she mentioned that there was a mayor… I shook my head, slightly confused.

Then the most incredible thing happened. Twilight’s horn glowed and the door briefly flashed the same magenta colour before opening. Violet and magenta were on the opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of Power, but I’d never seen a Power glow and sparkle. Thoughts raced around my head as I scanned around for patterns etched on the door or was visible on her horn.

What the heck was going on?

Twilight seemed to notice my expression.

“You look like you’ve never seen magic before,” she commented with a chuckle.

I gave her a blank look.

“No,” she said. “R-Really?”

Spike decided to jump in then. “Serious?” he said.

My mouth curled downwards into a frown. Twilight seemed to remember herself and stopped gawking.

“Oh,” she said. “Uhm, that’s unique. I guess I’ll be careful not to use too much magic around you. I’ve never met a dragon that didn’t know what magic was. Most dragons have innate magic after all. She beckoned me as she trotted inside.

Shaking my head I followed.

This world was getting more and more fantastical the longer I stayed. What next? Monsters and Princesses?

Author's Notes:

All around me are familiar faces...
Worn out places, worn out faces...

Next Chapter: Magic and Power don't mix.

As always, my superlative readers, thanks for reading!