Author's Notes:

I know last chapter was a bit heavy on the expodumping... this chapter has way less exposition... I hope...

Magic Dowser fought against the chains of the spell that was holding Minty and him fast. If only I could see how to knock it out, but I am not familiar with dragon magic. Sure, he had done it once before, but that was twenty three years ago, and he wasn’t under duress, and it was an egg. Before today, he wasn’t even aware that dragons could even do external magic…outside of their flame. Maybe it has to do with what type of dragon one is, just like with ponies...

The ponies couldn’t move away from the horror that was before them, as Ruby viciously clawed DragonWyrm Heart’s back to bits, scales and blood going flying everywhere. Magic Dowser could see now why Ruby was so afraid of hunting; there was none of the Ruby he knew in those eyes, just feral viciousness. He should have never even suggested hunting!

After it seemed like forever, Ruby jerked back, shaking like Magic Dowser had never seen her do, except right after a nightmare. From what he could see, whatever had taken control of Ruby was gone.

“No…” Ruby whispered in horror as she saw the blood and gore on her claws, and the shredded back of DragonWyrm Heart. “I am a murderer!”

She then stumbled out, crying. Magic Dowser tried to reach out to Ruby, to try and comfort her, but the spell that DragonWyrm Heart had put over him prevented him from moving or speaking. He tried again to overpower it, but he was forced to stop, as his horn was becoming inflamed from all the mental pressure. If he kept going, he knew he risked shorting out his magic, and then never getting out and finding Ruby.

Damn it, I can’t get out! Damn it, you dragon! Magic Dowser cursed silently as he tried to find the spell’s weakness. Thanks to you, Ruby is worse off than ever. Why did I ever think it was okay to follow a strange compass from a strange stallion?! This was all a set up by this...beast!

<...irs...la..>

Wha? I wondered as I slowly got back onto my feet, and, for a moment, I forgot why I was on the floor like that, until I could feel the pain. Ow, I haven't felt this much pain since never. Did I pass out? I looked around to see that the only ones in the den with me were Minty and Magic Dowser, who were oddly still behind the couch, stuck by my spell. Odd, I didn’t put that much power behind it, did I?

Magic Dowser looked like he was debating between finishing the job Ruby started, or running after her, to wherever Ruby ran off to. Minty appeared to be in a state of panic that I have not seen in awhile, or maybe I should say a long time… I still have not figured out how to ‘categorize’ sleeping for two thousand years into how I reckon time… and that was sixty years ago!

“Minty, what are you doing?!” Magic Dowser finally spoke as Minty appeared to have snapped out of her panicked state. She was pulling out some medical supplies from her saddle bag.

I knew what she was trying to do, and, while I found it endearing, it would be inappropriate for her to help me heal. I started to back up to get some distance, not that there was much in the den.

“DragonWyrm Heart, you need to let me help you.” Minty cooed at me, reaching out to me like Fluttershy would with her animals.

“Minty! That thing is a murderous monster!” I may have finally gotten over my guilt over what I did, but I still cringed at being called a murderous monster. “While I’m glad Ruby didn’t kill him, he doesn’t deserve any help!”

“Minty, you...”

“You shut the fuck up!” Magic Dowser snapped at me. “Or so help me, I’ll finish what Ruby did to you.”

“Dowser!” Minty slapped Dowser. “Enough! Murderer or not, if I don’t do something, those are going to be infected and certainly scar, if not worse!”

“Minty, I told you not to interfere, no matter what happens.” I was running out of room to avoid her, and I never could figure out how to do the healing spell effectively without using my paws to channel it, so it will take a few minutes for it to work. In the meantime, I had to keep away from Minty. I just hope she doesn’t have something similar to Fluttershy’s Stare, or I’m boned.

“I get that you want to be punished for your crime, but this is not the way!”

“Minty, please do not impose your values and systems on another. This is exactly the dragon way.”

“Then help me understand, because, while you need punishment, I don't see how having your back shredded like it was is appropriate for any crime.”

I couldn’t help but grin when she said this. She had a kind heart, and could very well be the Bearer of Kindness. Just as I’m sure that Magic Dowser is this generation's Bearer of Magic. Though the E.N. is currently in a state of peace, so they may never have to bear them. Then again, so was Equestria… though there was a prophecy…

“I’ll try, as I’ll have to give the abridged version…”

“Abridged! Just like you ‘abridged’ over the fact you killed my sister's father!”

“Dowser!”

“You can not be light with a dragon and a crime, we are too powerful, as we dragons are beings of raw might and magic. A single enraged dragon can burn an entire nation to the ground… Magic Dowser, you may be one of few people in the entire world that could take on a dragon one on one and possibly survive…”

“There are ‘rules’ that govern us, known as the Dragon Code. The Dragon Code is written into our minds at our Choosing… which is when we discover our true selves… This Code governs everything, from things as simple as dragon to dragon interaction, to how to hoard, and even to how to deal with murder… A dragon with honor follows the Code, while one without honor is but a rabid beast… thieving and burning and killing without thought or reason… and I’m not saying that just because it sounds noble; it really is what can happen.”

“Ruby did the one thing I needed... I needed to pay for my crime… but the two other dragons, one being Wanderer, Ruby's brother, and the other being Dragon FireWyrm, Quartermaster's hatchmate, both of whom, by right of the Code, were able to punish me, would not…which was also in their right… Ruby would have been justified in having me executed, skinned, quartered, and left out to rot, as an example for others… Ruby has been afraid of becoming a beast… her stopping tells me that she will not.”

I could tell that both ponies, even Magic Dowser, who had been eyeing me with threats of death this whole time, seemed a bit taken aback from what I said. This next part would probably make him like me even less, but I got this far, I may as well go the rest of the way. “Listen, I didn’t just kill another dragon, I killed my kin, a family member... I’m a Kinslayer.”

Minty gasped at what I said. I sighed as I contemplated what to say next. As I did, I could feel the warmth of my healing spell fade. I looked over my back to see my back covered in a crisscross of scars. Some of my spines were shredded, but they would grow back fully, over time. Hmm… from what I can see, the spell has done its work, good.

“Scars can mean a lot to a dragon. These on my back are specifically the type that any dragon would recognize. These scars mean that I have accepted my punishment for a dishonorable crime, in an honorable fashion, and received mercy. Although, if they make you uncomfortable…” I summoned my wings, which sprouted out from my back and covered most of my new scars.

“You have wings?” Minty and Magic Dowser exclaimed in shock.

“Of course.” I shrugged. “I’m just more comfortable without them…”

<Firstclaw?> Scorpion called out to me, mentally. Must be worried about me...

I was pacing outside, out of worry, when Ruby ran out of the house, in a state of panic. She stumbled as she attempted to flee the oasis. If she noticed me, I couldn’t tell; all I knew was, if I didn’t stop her, she could end up lost, or worse. I didn’t think she had any water on her, and, if she somehow tried to return, and over shot, she could end up in the deadly Salt Flats, and fall into an abyss, and to her death.

Ugh, let’s hope she doesn’t get angry for me using my voice.

Ruby please stop! My siren-like vocal suggestion slowed her down. Good. She wasn’t so far into her panic that she would ignore everything around her. Now, to take it to the next step.

Come, tell me what is wrong.
I’ll be a shoulder to cry on
For whatever troubles you so
To you I incline my ears…

The song affected Ruby like I knew it would, and she stopped, just short of the tree line. I slowly walked over her, so I wouldn't have to continue singing another verse. When you are in that kind of panic, a big lumbering dragon might set one off again, and I wasn’t in the mood to try and play keep away...

<Tell me what happened.> I said, though I had my guesses, given that I could see that she was covered in blood.

“I… I… I killed him!” Ruby roared out, shaking violently as she examined her blood-soaked claws. “I… I… was so angry … The blood… I’m a monster… a beast…”

Ruby collapsed, sobbing and muttering non-stop, things like ‘monster’ and ‘beast’. Ruby was no beast, that much I was sure, but she was not in any condition for me to tell her otherwise. Unless I could find out DragonWyrm Heart’s condition that is.

I listened for DragonWyrm Heart’s song, which was difficult, with all the interference from the area’s ley lines, Ruby’s and my own song being so loud, and with DragonWyrm Heart being inside the house. What I could make out, though, said that he was weak, but holding steady. Ruby did hurt him badly, but I’m not hearing any sounds of dying. Better double-check, nonetheless. The only problem was that I was too large to get inside the house, and, as the house had no windows, I couldn't just peek in that way. That left shouting mentally for him.

<Firstclaw?> I didn’t get a response, but I did hear that his song spiked a bit in volume. He must have passed out. I’ll have to try again later. Until then, I can at least calm Ruby down a bit, though I suspect that the best thing I could do was hold her, maybe let her sleep, and explain more in the morning, when, hopefully, she would be more receptive.

<Ruby…> I whispered to her. <You need to stop this talk of being a monster...>

“How can I not be a monster!? He may have killed my father, but I took out my rage for all the pain I went through because of it, on him… and I KILLED HIM!”

<No. I’m sure you didn’t kill him, but I do have a question. Did he offer up any resistance?>

“No…” Ruby looked at me with confusion, which was not a surprise.

<Hmmm…> I pondered for a moment, as I tried to figure out how to explain this to Ruby. It’s clear what DragonWyrm Heart was doing, but Ruby would not know this… <Ruby, ponies may call what you did a vile act of vengeance, but, to a dragon, what you did was an act of mercy.>

“HOW COULD MAULING HIM HALF TO DEATH BE MERCIFUL!?” Ruby roared at me, before cringing at her own outburst. “I live with ponies, not dragons! I don’t want to be looked at by them as a monster, or a beast… I want them to see a sentient being that has feelings, and wants to be a normal citizen, like everypony else. But everyone is telling me I need to hunt animals, and use my flame, and both will put them on edge. Mauling someone like I did would only reinforce their notion of my evilness, just because I’m different.”

<I don’t know how to sugar coat this...> I sighed. What I was about to say was not going to give her much hope, and this is coming from a dragon that was friends with many ponies. <But that may not be possible… Ponies and dragons do not have a great history… never mind the biological differences…>

Ruby started bawling again. Ugh, this is harder than I thought. With barely a flick of thought, my scorpion ocarina unhooked itself from my neck and skittered down to my awaiting paw. I think we both could use the sounds of a soothing ocarina song.

Ruby soon calmed down, after a bit of playing. I kept going, as I myself was too stressed to figure out a way explain things without setting her off. She was just too far gone at the moment, and would need time to process things before more could be laid on her.

“Does my brother know what DragonWyrm Heart did?” Ruby whispered to me during a pause in my playing.

<Wanderer was there, the day when…>

“DragonWyrm Heart murdered my father?”

<Yes…> I responded, though I don’t think she heard me, as I could hear the sounds of soft snoring coming from her. Oh Ruby… If you had only had allowed me to finish earlier, you would know that while your father, Quartermaster, died by Firstclaw’s paw, that it was because Quartermaster was doing everything he could to save Firstclaw from a terrible curse. It nearly destroyed Firstclaw to have become a kinslayer.

I curled around her and brought my head down to nuzzle her, not even caring that I was picking up blood on my snout. Ruby murmured and curled instinctively against me. That's it, Ruby, sleep. I’ll protect you this night. I almost found myself falling asleep, but I first had to check in on Firstclaw.

<Firstclaw?> I tried to contact him again.

<I’m fine, Scorpion. How is Ruby?> I sighed with relief when he responded.

<Sleeping…> I answered as I nuzzled Ruby again. I really needed to get a mate, and hatchlings of my own, if Ruby is anything to go by. <She was in quite a state of panic. I had to use my voice to get her to not flee. I hate doing that… it feels wrong.>

<I know Scorpion, I know…>