Nequam

After the temple was far from our sights, we began to fly lower to the ground; as the day went on the fog grew higher, so as to block out any light that attempted to shine onto the land. There was no indication of life that either one of us could make out, and only the occasional dip of land told us that we were still traveling across the sphere of rock.

Suddenly I felt the griffin shifting beneath me; swinging its body to the side while letting out an exasperated cry. Then, before us was a giant creature one may call a dragon, but looking into its eyes one would notice it was more snake-like and more suited to slithering on its belly than gliding through the air like a dragon. It let out a hiss that echoed through my ears, pointed teeth and red eyes welcoming me to the evil that had manifested on my home land.

The griffin tumbled away from the monster, but it left just as swiftly as it appeared. That was when I noticed Jasper racing across bellow with two of the creatures I had seen at the mountain not far behind him, and a couple yards behind the monsters was Merlin and Edgar.

I just about yelled, feeling relieved to see my brother alive, when the snake-like dragon swept bellow, appearing once more, tackling right into Jasper.

"Jasper!" I cried. "We have to go down there, we have to save him!" I cried, nearly hitting the griffin's head with all my might in my desperation.

The griffin made a low cry, but still made no movement towards my friends. It didn't take the monsters long to catch up to the dragon and Jasper. The moment Jasper was thrown off his feet the two creatures leapt onto the dragon, and, ganging up on one another, began to destroy each other. Merlin and Edgar were then on the scene, but kept their distance, letting evil destroy evil. The air was full of the scent of blood and the sound of high pitch screams and hissing. Eventually the dragon had been taken down and left soaking in its blood. Slowly the two creatures turned again to Jasper, who lay on his side, breathing harshly. The griffin once again let out a cry, but it was louder this time and shook its whole body. In less then a second we were on top of the monsters, and just as we neared the ground I jumped off the griffin as it carried off one of the monsters, tossing it into a nearby crevice.

I landed on top of the second, grabbing onto the spines that grew from its back and head. It thrashed upwards, but in my anger I was not about to let go. "It's all your fault." I spat, my hands lighting on fire. "You destroyed everything!" My whole body burst into flames, and the creature bellow me writhed in pain, its shrill cry nearly knocking me blind. I released my grip, sliding to the rock bellow, and watched as a hole seemed to burn all the way through the monster, leaving it motionless beside me.

Merlin was quickly next to me, helping me to sit up. "I don't know where you have been..." he said. "but wherever it was, you seemed to have found your reason." I looked down at my hands, and they seemed to be made of the same kind of light my brother was now made of, only just under the surface it was like my body was made of a kind of fire that flowed freely throughout my whole essence, thankfully leaving my dress unharmed by its heat, what was still intact of it anyway.

I was about to tell Merlin and Edgar all about what had happened when I noticed Edgar was not by us, but rather next to Jasper. I got up quickly and rushed over to them, seeing how Jasper's breathing was still labored, and he had many cuts leaking a bright red onto his gray coloring. It wasn't so bad, until I saw the way one of his legs bended differently than the other in a way no leg should ever bend. I sat down and lifted his head onto my lap, brushing his mane from his face. "Oh, Jasper...."

Edgar sat beside me, shaking his head. "Nothing can be done for him."

I simply nodded, tired of trying to use my magic when it never helped anyone. "I'm sorry."

Jasper's eyes glanced towards me. "Do not be sorry. I lived a life no ordinary horse would ever know; a life of magic and prophecy, even if it was short."

"You deserved a longer life." I said.

Jasper was quiet, his heavy breathes filling the silence. "It is not the length of the life that makes it important, but the stories you share with others."

"Your story is one of greatest. I cannot say that there are many horses who face dragon's on other planets."

"It's not my story that I speak of." Jasper whispered. "It's yours."

"What does that mean?" I asked, but there was no response. The breathing had stopped and there was nothing but silence.

Suddenly there was a loud thump, and over by the crevice in the ground another black beast lay in a heap on the ground, and the griffin appeared from the giant crack, landing proudly next to its victim.

Standing up slowly, letting Jasper's head rest gently against the stone, I proceeded to walk over to the creature. I was furious and sick of all the death and despair this piece of rock for a planet provided. Clenching and unclenching my fists I stood in front of the monster that lay cast on its side. Its eyes flew open, a sickly yellow with red pupils peering into my soul. It let out a dark, bellowing laugh, even when it seemed to be unable to move at all.

"Oh, how wonderful." It said, its voice sounding like a thousand whispers at once. "The princess has arrived." It laughed once more, its mouth not opening in the slightest.

"Who are you?" I asked pointedly.

"We? We are the Nequam." It said. "And who are you?"

"I am Fia, and this is my story." I spat, and just like before a fiery whole burned through the hideous creature.