Dragon Kin

"Time for bed, babies." Smokey Haze had a remarkably soothing and singsong voice for a dragon, which rang through the cave like clockwork every night to summon her children to nest. 

"Can I have a ruby before bed?" Gorge asked in a rough, gravelly voice. This request could also be timed like clockwork, though lately it had been denied. He was eating the family out of house and home.

"No more midnight snacks," his mother reminded with a laugh and a nuzzle goodnight. 

"Ni' ma! Ni' da!" Grit had a bit of a slur, but what she lacked in oral pronunciation she made up for in athleticism. She leapt over their brother, pouncing on his back as she raced him to bed. 

"Night kiddo," Hork, their father, distractedly patted her head as she passed, already curling up for the night himself.

"I'm already comfy here," Ether yawned with a sly, childish wink. She was curled up on top of Aether, using her soft wings as a pillow. 

"Well I'm not," Aether retorted, just as ornery. She grinned playfully as Ether clung to her back even as she stood, moaning about how tired she was and that Aether would need to carry her to bed. 

"I'm too tiredddd."

"Sucks for you," she tried shaking her off.

"Carry meeeee!" 

"You wish!" Aether bucked more violently, finally knocking her twin free. Gleefully riled, Ether pounced, and both rolled to the floor laughing and wrestling.

"Girls! Bed!" Smokey Haze sounded stern, but she couldn't help but smile. Her tail wrenched them apart, and they submissively giggled.

"Night Mom," Ether bid.

"Night," Aether agreed. 

"Goodnight, you two." Smokey Haze looked like she was about to go to bed herself when the rhythm of flapping wings filled the doorway. It was Chaora. 

"Sister! Everything alright?"

"Not quite," was the reply. Chaora's gaze bounced around her sister until she could pick out Hork in the background. "Hork, watch the kids, won't you? I need to speak to Smokes."

"Your kids or my kids?" came the drowsy reply. 

"Your kids," she failed to conceal her exasperation.

"Yeah, sure, sure." His head ducked back down as he got comfortable, and Chaora was almost certain he'd fallen asleep already. She glared at the snoring lump. 

"They're fine, Chaora. What do you need to talk about?"

"Not here, Mount Gilfang."

"Gilfang?! That's a bit of a trek isn't it?

"Can we come?!" Ether's head popped up from out over the top of the nest, followed closely by Aether.

"Please?" Her twin agreed. 

"Mount Gilfang is not for young hatchlings," their mother warmly warned. "The top is surrounded by rough winds. You need to practice flying along the geysers more before you get close to Gilfang."

"I can make it! I know I can!" Aether boasted. She was, actually, the best flyer of the family; her four wings gave her a bit of an edge.

"Remember what we talked about knowing our limits," Chaora sternly cautioned. Aether's face furrowed into a nasty scowl and let out a loud huff. 

"Back to bed girls. I'll be back by morning." Smokey shooed. When she saw both daughters slinking back to bed, the two older dragonesses flew off. 

Aether paused when she heard them fly off, and crept back toward the entrance. 

"Where are you going?" Ether whispered, already halfway into the nest.

"I'm going to follow them," Aether hissed back.

"Mom told us to stay!" 

"Aunt Chaora doesn't think I can do anything," Aether sighed, slouching a bit and screwing up her nose. She was a bit worried she would start crying again, but Aether was bigger than that. "But I'm a good flyer. If I show her that I can fly up Mount Gilfang, maybe she'll finally let me play with the other dragons."

"Well then I'm coming too!" Ether nimbly jumped back down to the floor.

"No! I gotta go myself. Just... Can you stay and keep dad off my back? We always sleep together. If he wakes up and sees both of us gone he'll worry. But if he sees you he probably won't look that close to notice I'm gone."

"Ugh, fine. You owe me big-time for this, though! Next time I'm going on an adventure without you!"

"Yeah, whatever," Aether grinned, taking off in the night. 

---

Aether's night vision wasn't as great as most dragons, and as it as only a crescent moon out, there was little light to aid her. Even so, she barely managed to keep the outline of the two grown dragons in sight. She was able to glide easily after them most of the way, conserving her energy for the rough winds her mom had mentioned. Aether followed them to the base of a mountain she recognized only from far off. It was much bigger than she had imagined up close. She had watched her mom and aunt fly in a spiral around the mountain, probably following a thermal, as she'd recently learned the term. As she neared the mountain, a strong draft yanked her into the thermal. The winds were no joke! Her wings, puny in comparison to her mother's, had no hope of keeping up. But, if one good thing could be said, at least she wasn't blown completely back. Having four wings probably gave her the ever so slightly edge she needed to have a hope of besting these winds. Slowly but surely she ascended. About halfway up her exhausted wings felt ready to give out, but she managed to duck into the brush of the mountain and travel on claw- until she recovered some strength. She ran faster with every passing minute, afraid the older dragonesses would leave before she even reached the top. 

An eternity passed and every fiber of Aether's being burned with exhaustion and cold. She wished she could breathe fire to warm her, but her fire glands hadn't come in yet either. Pure spite fueled her to the mountain peak, determined to prove her aunt wrong. Even after she found the dragons though, she crept behind a boulder downwind to keep out of sight, taking the moment to compose herself. Both adults would have a fit if she stumbled in out of breath, teeth chattering and shaking all over. Over the howling winds, she eavesdropped on the tail end of their conversation.

"What's this really about, Chaora? You didn't bring me all the way up to Gilfang to make small talk," Smokey Haze looked her sister in the eye. The purple dragon stiffened, taking on the stern, formal stance Aether knew so well. 

"No. I didn't. Sister, I need to talk to you about Aether."

"Aether? Is something wrong?" Smokey snapped to attention. She always had been especially concerned for her precious runt. The eavesdropping child hunkered down further into the snow. Aunt Chaora brought mom out all this way to talk about her?

"I caught her wrestling by the lava pools today. She could have been killed, Smokes."

"Oh heavens. Ohh... I know children will be children, but... ahh, her fireproof scales just can't come in soon enough, can they?" the dragon sadly shook her head.

"SMOKES." Chaora gripped her sister's shoulders, pressing in close to her personal space. Her slit eyes speared her sister's like daggers, desperate anger in her voice. " It's just the two of us out here. You can be honest with yourself. PLEASE be honest with yourself! Aether will never grow scales and you know it!"

Silence fell over the mountaintop, even the winds dying down. In the quiet, Aether could have sworn she heard her heart drop. Smokey's eyes clouded slightly, and her head drooped with defeat. It seemed she had run out of excuses.

"I have supported you all these years," Chaora went on. She let go of Smokey, confident she was finally getting through to her. "I don't care that you've taken in Aether. She's family now no matter what she is. But sister, please, you MUST face the facts. Face what she is! If we continue to treat her as a dragon, she'll die. We must bring the flock to terms with her origins so that they know her limits."

"Sister-"

"They have already accepted her, Smokey! She keeps up with the other hatchlings, she wrestles and plays. She's the best flier of all her age, and well liked by the adults. Nothing will change, except that we can keep her safe."

"Chaora-"

"And think about Aether! You can't keep her past from her forever. She knows she isn't like the others. The longer you wait, the more the truth will hurt her. Would you rather her find out on her own, or just tell her that she's a pony?"

"I'm... a pony?" 

The quarreling dragons whipped around. Aether didn't care about spiting her aunt anymore. She could no longer feel the cold, though her coat was soaked and freezing- just her heart aching, entire chest heaving. Her vision was blurred and darkening. She felt sick.

"Aether! How- you- you're freezing! We have to get you home!" If Smokey could have it her way, they all would have ignored the transaction that just took place. But Aether stepped back from her approaching mother. She didn't want to go home, she only wanted answers. 

"Is it true?" Aether's voice cracked, face riddled in anguish. Smokey stopped short, her own heart breaking to see her daughter in so much pain. The realization that she had been the cause hit her moments later, doubling her grief. Shame clogged her throat until all she could do was hang her head.

"Yes, Aether," Chaora stepped up in Smokey's place. "We still don't know how you got there, but your mother found you as a foal in her nest during hatching season. She took you in and raised you as her own, but yes. You are a pony."

Aether was struck silent. The weight of reality setting in crushed the remaining wind out of her. She was starting to get dizzy, and she didn't think it was the high altitude.

"Aether? My lovely?" Smokey tried to appeal. 

"Let's get her home," Chaora directed. "She's had a hard night."

Aether was too dazed, too cold, too exhausted to resist as her aunt scooped her up. She wasn't even sure she was conscious the whole way home. The last thing she remembered was the soft embrace of their nest, her sister's frantic cries trying to shake her awake, and Chaora's shouting, scolding their father for not keeping an eye on her. Then, blackness.

---

By the time Aether stretched awake, she was left wondering, praying that it had all been a bad dream. Unfortunately, her sore muscles argued otherwise. Something else was off though, she realized, groggily coming to. Ether wasn't sprawled on top of her or hogging the soft side of the nest. Gorge wasn't snoring and Grit wasn't bouncing around trying to wake everyone up before the crack of dawn. She had the nest to herself. Everything was just... quiet. Aside from the usual buzz of activity outside of course. Which meant... It must've been nearly midday! Or later! She never got to sleep in this late! Was this a good or bad sign?

Though her heart and mind raced, she was scared to move. Was her mother or aunt waiting to give her a lecture? To tell her off or drop even more life bombs on her? Aether didn't think she could handle any more. She just wanted things to go back to normal. To pretend everything would be okay.

But it would never be okay, would it? She shuddered miserably, tender hide quivering. Her own mother had lied to her. All her life! And her aunt- she knew, but never said anything! A pony... A weak, pathetic pony. Mere prey for dragons, who she thought were her own kind! Who even WAS she now?? Her "family" wasn't even her own. If she didn't belong here anymore then, where did she?

Her mother- no. Smokey Haze certainly wouldn't have answers. Or even if she did, Aether couldn't believe anything she was told now. Something inclined her to trust her aunt- Chaora- over Smokey, but she still doubted any answers could be found there. Grief weighed in her heart. If she wanted answers, she would have to find them herself.

Through all this time, she hadn't heard any activity from within the cave. Daring to peek over the edge of the nest, it appeared she was alone. If she was to slip out unseen, it was now or never. 

One perk of having a brown coat, she supposed, was at least she didn't attract immediate attention creeping about. She kept pressed against the cliffside, watching out for prying eyes. By some miracle she made it out of the crater unseen. From there, she thought she would be in the clear- dragons never ventured outside the craters.

"Leaving, are we?" Aether froze. No dragon... except prying aunts. Stiffly, she turned to face Chaora. The dragoness was mounted on a large boulder, which had previously been concealed from Aether's former vantage point. Though, she didn't seem upset at all. On the contrary, she was almost... amused? Chaora, smiling down on her, casually glanced back over the craters. "Can't say I blame you. I might have done the same."

"I don't belong here," Aether stated. 

"Oh Aether, but that's the shame of it. You do belong here." With little more than a thud Chaora gracefully leapt from her rock. One talon she draped over Aether. It was rare to see Chaora so compassionate... so sincere. "When you were a babe, you didn't belong. And I tried to convince Smokey you didn't- I wanted her to get rid of you. But Aether, as you've grown, you made this place your home. You thrive here! You keep up with the other hatchlings, and can fly better than any of them. The flock accepts you- that's an accomplishment in itself. You have a family, though adoptive, that love you. Your life, Aether, is here." 

So many mixed feelings were boiling inside young Aether. Her mind raced so fast she couldn't pick what thought to vocalize, ending up silent. 

"But now, you need to leave."

"Wait, what? You just said-" Had Aether heard right?

"I don't want you to, and I know your mother wouldn't, but it's time. I can see it in you, Aether. You're torn. You are born of two worlds, and you need to learn where you came from. It's only natural." Chaora withdrew her claw, which had been wrapped around Aether this whole time. She reached behind her rock and revealed a pouch, constructed from leather with shed dragon scales stitched over the surface. It was packed full of gold coins and jewels. 

"I know you can't eat them, but ponies consider these valuable. You can use it as currency. Be sparing with it." Still stunned to silence, Aether obediently accepted the bag. Chaora raised her eyes to the horizon "There's a pony settlement directly west of here. It's the closest one to the dragon craters, but you'll still need to travel a ways. About half a day's flight, maybe more in your state. You took quite a beating last night," she chuckled.

"How do you know so much about ponies?" Aether wondered.

"When we first found you in Smokey's nest, I was determined to prove to her you weren't a dragon. I thought if I tracked down where you came from, I could make her see. For almost a year I searched out all the surrounding pony settlements and spied on them. I never did learn anything about you, but I suppose now it wasn't for nothing."

"Thank you, Chaora." The dragon concealed her pain well- that was the first time Aether had ever called her by her name rather than "aunt." It felt so distant. She hoped with all her heart this was the right thing to do. 

"When you find yourself... When you figure out who you are, you will always be welcome back in the flock." 

Smokey would be livid with her, and they had some explaining to do to Aether's siblings. Especially Ether, poor babe would be devastated. But watching Aether fly off, uncertain but ready at last to accept herself... she couldn't help but feel it was the right thing to do. She would be okay. (Chaora would check on her periodically to make sure of that.)