>- Slazd's Flashback -
>("You see, I never had any parents. For almost all of my life, I lived off of the generosity of other dragons from my parents' tribe.")
>("But I was.. abnormal. I was the only dragon who had such hard crystal-like scales. While the elder dragons tried to make me feel like a normal wyrmling, none of the other dragons trusted my presence. According to their stupid superstitious beliefs, they all thought I was a cause of calamity; they thought that my parents' death was their punishment for bringing me, a cursed wyrmling, into this world.")
>("They avoided me, all of the other dragons.. Even the elders feared my presence in their tribe. I spent most of my time isolated, playing with rocks and twigs.")
>("Though, I never hated them for it. Instead, I stupidly tried to prove to them that I was a 'good dragon' by doing all of the things they praised the other dragons for. I tried to help during hunts, but I would always scare away the prey when I got too excited and struck too soon. I tried to clean and pack things for the other dragons when we getting ready to move to a new area, but they would throw away their things if I ever touched them. When I tried to help find gems for the tribe, I caused a cave-in caused two injuries..")
>("I ended up reinforcing their fear and belief of my curse instead of fitting in with them. I even started believing I was cursed, myself.")
>("One day, without warning, I was abandoned. The elder dragons informed me that they had a task for me, something only I could do. They said there was a phoenix that could burn all other dragons terrorizing some wyrmlings in the nearby forest. They said that my scales were the only thing that were strong enough to withstand the heat, that they NEEDED me.")
>("But, in the end, there were no wyrmlings that needed my help. By the time I had given up searching for them, the entire tribe had picked up and moved on without me.")
>("So there it was.. I was all alone. An unnwanted and frightened wyrmling trying to fend for himself.")
>("After a few days of eating only small amount of gems I could find, I collapsed from exhaustion. I thought I was done for.")
>("That was until a couple of ponies found me after I passed out from hunger. The two ponies, an older couple, brought me back to their village and tried to raise me as their own.")
>("Under their supervision, I was sent to a pony school to learn how the other ponies did. I learned a lot of things that the other dragons knew, but never allowed me to learn. How to speak properly, how to do math, how to read their pony literature.. The other wyrmling ponies, or fillies as they're called, gave me a lot of attention and always invited me to their parties. There were some less kind fillies in the class, but mostly I had finally found a place where I could fit in.")
>("For almost two whole years, I lived ignorantly in bliss of the true nature of these ponies I had come to love and trust so much. That was until my dragon nature started to re-emerge. I began to grow much larger than the 'cute little dragon' that all of those ponies were familiar with. Suddenly, many of the ponies that were once my 'friends' became frightened of me, isolating me like my old tribe did. It became worse as time went on, as the young ponies who didn't like me already started spreading rumors and lies about me.. about what I did when nopony was looking.")
>("It started with simple lies, such as when one of the ponies started hiding others' things and blaming it on me and my 'dragon greed'. It got worse and worse, though, as they started making up stories about me going around and harming other ponies. Whenever somepony got hurt, they blamed it on me.")
>("After a while, even the adults started believing the malicious rumors being spread around. When I was not being ignored or avoided, I was being hated. And for what? Nothing! The two ponies who took me in constantly told me to ignore the 'bullies', but I couldn't when I had nowhere to escape to from them. Even at 'home' I would find letters that my pony guardians would try to hide or throw away; terrible letters with many hateful words in them.")
>("Without any place to go where I would not be hated or feared, I started wandering into the outskirts of the village to be alone. Out there, I didn't have to try to be nice to ponies who hated me.. I didn't have to think about how I had finally found happiness and a place I truly belonged, only to lose it once again because I was different.")
>("One day, while I was exploring the surrounding craters for gems, I found another tribe of dragons. I found another dragon, like me, who was isolated and ganged up upon for not fitting in.")
>"Hey Flizzy, our parents are bringing us hunting later today. Why don't you ask yours if you can come?"
>A female dragon from inside of the crater, near a cluster of rocks covered in rubies, was taunting a large black adolescent dragon, who was silently chewing on a clawful of rubies
>"No way dude, she doesn't have any parents. Remember?"
>Another dragon, this one with a lower, but higher pitched and scratchier sounding, voice, joins in to tease the black dragon
>The large black dragon was surrounded by a group of other young dragons, all sneering and crowding around her
>One of the female dragons walked up to continue to taunting the silent black dragon, the rest of her group backing her
>"What's it like to not have any parents? We wouldn't know, as our parents love us enough to never abandon us. I'm just curious."
>The black dragon just continued to ignore them, gulping down another clawful of rubies while looking straight forward
>"Hey! When I ask you a question, you better answer!"
>The female dragon went over and turned the black dragon's face towards the group violently
>The black dragon seemed unconcerned, though, as she continued to chew some rubies apathetically
>The first dragon interjected
>"Forget it, I think she's stupid or something."
>Another male dragon in the group started snorting while laughing, howling out like an idiot
>"Maybe the rocks we threw at this soft scale broke her head. Heheheheh."
>The original female just growled at the males and said angrily
>"I don't care if she is stupid, broken, or anything else."
>She glanced back towards the black dragon and tries to intimidate her
>"If she doesn't answer my question, things are gonna get ugly for her."
>The black dragon picked a ruby out of her teeth and threw it on the ground, not even phased by the threats of this other dragon in front of her
>"Ya wanted me to answer your question?"
>The black dragon took the last of her rubies and placed it into her right claw, wrapping it into a fist around the ruby
>"Tell ya what. I'll answer your question if you answer mine."
>The female dragon looked stunned by her retort for a few seconds, before she angrily raised her voice at the black dragon
>"WHY would I have to answer any questions of a stupid, unloved, basta--!"
>Not allowing her to finish, the black dragon threw her balled up claw forward into the female dragon's nose, causing her to recoil back in pain
>As her fist made contact all of the other young dragons also took a step back, surprised by the sudden retaliation of the young black one
>"Argh! What are you even--"
>BAM
>The young black dragon hit her in the snout once again
>As she finished hitting her another time she nibbled on the gem in her hand, asking with a full mouth
>"Sho.. Why were ya sho indureshded in how mah fisht felt? That'sh mah ques-shun."
>As she swallowed the last of her rubies, the black dragon sat back down and went back to looking for rubies to eat
>Meanwhile, the other dragons were gathered around the young female, who was clutching her snout and whimpering
>One of the male dragons yelled over at the black dragon, noticeably startled
>"Hey! That was too mean! We're gonna tell on you!"
>"Whatever."
>The black dragon did not care at all, just continuing to search for gems to snack on while the other dragons ran away crying and yelling
>("It was amazing! You were just like me, no parents and being ganged up on by a bunch of jerks, but you were able to handle it like it was nothing.")
>("After seeing that, I rushed home and started thinking about how cool you were! You were awesome!")
>("From then on, I went out every day after school to find you. I watched you, learning how to deal with jerks the way you did. You never took anything from any dragon! No matter how many dragons teased you or tried to beat you up, you would just show them up and make them regret it.")
>("Month upon month, I watched you take what you wanted and hurt whoever got in your way. You soon enough became a dragon that no other could lay a claw upon. None of them ever tried to mess with you after that; you forced them to show you the respect you deserved.")
>("And that's why I admired you! Unlike me, who tried to create a place where I could belong by trying to fit in and do things that made others happy, you achieved your place of belonging through sheer power and ruthless determination. You didn't let any dragon stand in your way or try to take that away from you.")
>("Soon enough, I started trying to do things the way you did them. I showed my claws and teeth more often, started huffing smoke and breathing fire, started being a dragon. I thought, if I just acted like you then I could also make all of the ponies respect me.")
>("I started practicing being more aggressive, copying things you did and ways you intimidated others, but it didn't feel right.")
>("When I acted like that, the ponies would just become more distant. They wouldn't start respecting me and the rumors would just get worse. Thinking back on it, I do feel stupid for believing that it would work; that I would be able to regain my happiness by feeding their fears and acting as the rumors falsely painted me.")
>("But I never stopped trying. I would keep watching the things you did, every little detail about the way you composed yourself, the way you reacted, and kept refining myself to be just like you.")
>("The more I practiced, the better I got. Soon enough, the ponies would no longer openly bully me. Instead, I was able to track down the ponies who started the rumors and teach them a lesson 'Flizzy-style'.")
>("When word of what happened got to my guardians, they scolded me harshly and told me to 'act like a normal pony'.")
>("But I'm not a pony! I was a dragon. I was not like these ponies, they all made that very clear every single day.")
>("They were the ponies who saved my life and gave me a new one, though. I couldn't disobey my adoptive parents, I didn't want to, so I went back to acting passive. I went back to being tortured every single day by the hate-filled glares of the ponies surrounding me, just to make them happy.")
>("BUT THEY COULDN'T LEAVE IT AT THAT! I COULDN'T BE MISERABLE IN PEACE!")
>("IT'S THEIR FAULT YOU'RE IN HERE AFTER ALL!")
>("After I went back to acting like a wimp, they started trying to get more involved with my personal stuff. That originally made me happy, because I thought this meant I could spend more time with them and bond with the only two ponies in the world who didn't hate or fear me.")
>("But when I showed them where I went every afternoon, showed them you, they freaked out.")
>("I was so excited. Showing them the only other dragon who could possibly understand how I felt.")
>("I wanted to meet you finally.. I wanted to let my parents know how cool you were. Maybe then they would have understood me.")
>("BUT NO! They became afraid upon seeing you. When I tried to explain how I felt towards you, they ignored me and took matters into their own hooves!")
>("They called for the guards! Had them report you to Celestia! No matter how much I begged them not to, they wouldn't listen. I told them I would act how they wanted. That I would be who they wanted. That I would endure being the object of fear and hatred for the village, doing things their way instead of your way.")
>("But they refused to listen! They called you a violent beast! A bad influence! A nuisance!")
>("And before I knew it, you were taken away by that despicable pony princess and her guards. I watched as they took you away, trying to chase behind to save you.. I couldn't though.")
>("Those two.. I trusted them, loved them like real parents, allowed them to finally learn how I felt, showed them the only source of hope I had left for this terrible life I was forced into! And now, because of them.. because of me.. you are stuck in here..")
>("But that's alright. I'll get you out! That's why I am even here. I may have made a mistake, trusting those cruel and selfish ponies, but I am here to fix it. Then we can live happily together, doing whatever you want to do. Destroy Canterlot? Get revenge on that princess? Conquer all of Equestria? I'll follow you to the ends of Tartarus itself! I'll be the dragon you can rely on, the only one who understands who you truly are!")
>("I swear on the name my real parents gave me, Slazd, that I'll be somedragon you can rely on. Somedragon you will be proud of! Even if that means I have to sacrifice my own happiness for yours!")

---

>The expression on Slazd's face as he stares at the straight faced Flizzy, waiting for her answer, is somewhat heartbreaking
>It's almost like a child looking at his disapproving mother for a hug
>Based on his story, he really admires her; maybe even to the point of being kinda creepy or stalkerish..
>After a moment of tense silence, Flizzy finally loosens her facial expression and replies
>"Slazd."
>"Flizzy?"
>Slazd's expression starts to fill with some sort of hope as Flizzy begins speaking, but does not stay long
>Switching her sympathetic visage to one of disgust, Flizzy leans down towards Slazd and sharply announces
>"Ya know nothing about me, ya arrogant brat. Don't ya dare say anythin' like that again. Now get outta my face and never let me see ya again."
>As she says that, a sudden blast of flame erupts from her mouth and covers Slazd for a second
>The full second of scorching against his scaleless body sends Slazd flying backwards against the sheet covered concrete, as if hit by buckshot pointblank
>His entire torso is scorched, as he lays on the ground, gasping for breath while choking on the smoke coming from his chest
>At the exact same time, Flizzy gets pushed back slightly and has her chest engulfed by a scorch mark for a few moments, before disappearing as if it was never there
>"Buckin' brat."

- END OF PART XIII - Flashback -