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Standing like a sitting duck surrounded by a bunch of strangers was not exactly something that I was comfortable with, nor was I put at ease as more equines and unicorns began to gather around us. The majority that I had seen were smaller than myself, but I knew better than to misjudge anyone simply because they were a little bit shorter. Not wishing to find myself trapped in a mysterious ambush, I crept away from the crowd as quitly as a massive dragon could, hoping that the majority would be distracted. Following the river south, I kept an ear flicked back for any sounds of being followed while I explored.
'Where am I?' The thought crossed my mind in a fleeting moment while I soaked in the sights around me, marveling at the brilliant reds of the dense leaves above and the ruby-colored waters. The land was darkened by the tightly knit trees, the sun barely able to creep through the thick canopy overhead. The warm glow of my scales lit up my path just enough to create dancing shadows around me, the burning light dancing quickly with my rush of adrenaline. My hooves clicked against river rocks and pebbles, while my talons scraped and crunched the path beneath them. Fiery yellow eyes looked to the blocked sky above, wishing that I could get a better vantage point to view this land in its entirety.
'Well, that's not going to happen here...' I wouldn't be able to stretch my wings enough to burst through the canopy, so I was stuck walking until I could find an open area. The more I looked at the foreign land, the less and less I was able to associate it with anything from the old lands I once new. All signs of Urd completely vanished, replaced by this new land that felt so...alive. Vivid colors, intense smells, the sounds of living creatures hiding in the woods. Hell, it even felt different, to the point that I was beginning to think that I was dead. But, if I was dead...Then, what happened to everyone else? The royals, the rogues, the slaves, the workers, Eva-
Evaneska.
The thought of the petite mare forced me to stop in my tracks, desperately tracing through my memories to see if her familiar face had popped up at any time in the crowd. Nothing came, not a single trace of her existence. The last that I could remember was giving her an order to run as I fought with a demonic rogue. It was not a suggestion, not an offering, it was a command to my loyal slave that I could only hope would have saved her life. It was all I could do, just hope that she made it out of Urd safely. The thought of her small figure, torn and distorted, strewn across the ground with the rest of the corpses...No. I had to imagine she was alive, along with the others that I tried to help escape. All I could do was pray that my job was successful in saving at least one other.
Otherwise, it meant that everyone was killed. It meant that I had brought them their demise. I had brought them pain, torture, even death. I was the reason for the downfall of Urd, I was the reason the rogues attacked, I was the reason...
I was the reason.
Ears firmly pinned themselves back against my horns, shutting my eyes tightly to block out this new world as though I would open them to find I had merely been in a nightmare. But as I relaxed my muscles, the new land didn't change. Everything still felt so real, everything was real. My crown hung slightly, slightly torn and bleeding wings falling limp in defeat to hit the earth with a heavy thud. Even my tail dropped to the ground as I stood, accepting the fact that I was truly alone now. And I was at fault for it all. None of the pain that I should have felt from my recent battle wounds, none of the pain from my turbulent flight, none of the pain from the crash landing could even compare to the excruciating clench of my chest.
I was the reason.
