Hooves ran while her tail crackled and thundered with its whip, ears hid beneath caramel tresses, golden scales glimmered in the firestorm that surrounded them. Golden eyes barely saw the others that were also charging this fiery fiend, as long as they did not interfere with her path, they were unimportant.

Somewhere, at the back of her mind, at the centre of her soul, Dramyrth announced that many had made it to safety, though there was blood shed, health spent and fatigue plaguing them. By some unspoken code, her knew not to fly to assist his bonded - he knew to keep using his frosty breath to cool the air above the gathered, to create a sort of artificial snow around the area.

He knew not to interfere with the enraged queen dragon that had taken over his beloved bonded (though he was very eager to know more about this phenomenon after all was said and done).

The golden dragonmare pounded her path furiously towards the creature, the feline of fire, the cheetah (though truly she cared not what it actually was, at this point, it was dead to her). Burns tickled her barrel and her legs, the flames around her tried to defend itself with a magical, terrible vengeance, yet still she carried onwards. It was almost choreographed, the way they all danced and parried and dove, each receiving their due punishment and each dealing their desired damage - though no true damage was done, for what could harm a magical fire cheetah anyway?

Still, she kept going, the queen within roaring, growing stronger, more furious with every fiery blow dealt against her. And then it happened - the creature was swallowed by the fiery depths of the Heart once more, and every else became suddenly dull as the light of its flames died with it.

It was not over for the dragonmare, who, being closest to the point where the creature was snatched back into its fiery abode, bore the brunt of the aftermath, the resulting sparks and embers showered themselves upon her. The dragonmare flinched at first, expecting more burns to result from the contact, but instead they seemed to 'harmlessly' be absorbed by her.

Blinking, breathing, the golden one turned to look back at the gathered, eyeing the glowing and smoking wounds that adorned everyone, hoping her cousin and any others who could, would be able to heal all wounds. Upon her own chest, there were four large gases, which glowed faintly. Across the right side of her barrel and up her legs, were splash-like markings that showed where the flames kissed her. She ached, and as the adrenaline, the rage, the primal queen within settled and laid dormant once more, she felt the pain, the burning, the searing agony rise.

Something else rose up within her too - but she was too fatigued, to preoccupied to recognise it now. With deep breaths and a hitched gait, she approached each in turn, checking that they were still alive, helping them where she could by offering a shoulder or a nudge to steady their tired and aching limbs.

Magic, she thought dully.

Magic and dragons, her beloved bonded, her golden king, replied smoothly, as he returned to her side. He knew better than to bring up what he had felt within her straight away - let the chaos die down, let peace resume once more within them, at least for a little while.

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Ee! Thank you <33

Daniel Schiersner @ flickr & larfsalot @ deviantart