When I awoke this morning, I immediately smelt breakfast was done. I yawned tiredly and stretched. My tail hit something, and I tiredly looked around the nest for what I could have hit. I had managed to hit my brother, but upon closer inspection it was clear that he was still sleeping.

I decided to let him sleep. After looking around the nest a little longer I found that my sister was not in the nest. I moved my gaze over to the cave entrance, wondering if she might be outside. As I looked, I spotted mother’s tail coming in from the outside. I figured mother must be standing right outside, maybe they were having breakfast in the morning sunlight?

I made my way to the cave exit. Mother noticed me quite quickly and smiled as I approached.

“Good morning Apocalypso.”

I smiled at mom, moving closer to where they were lying. Father and Celestia were also there, and the three seemed to be gathered around a small bonfire. It looked very cozy, and it didn’t take long before I also laid myself down beside the welcoming flames with my family.

Father looked pleased at my arrival, and motioned to some deer meat that was cooking on the bonfire. “You must be hungry.” He chuckled as I immediately took a bite out of the deer meat. “What did you do yesterday, by the way?”

I licked my lips, clearing my throat slightly. “Well, I went to the neighboring human city...”

Father’s look of happiness immediately faded. Mother and he simultaneously spoke: “YOU DID WHAT!?”

I cowered a little, scared at the tone of their voice. “I-I just wanted to hear what was going on with the human army that attacked the day we were born...”

Father sighed, shaking his head slightly. “I understand your curiosity, but humans are dangerous. You could have gotten yourself hurt, or even killed!”

I dropped my head to the floor. “I know... But I’m still here, so that should be proof enough that I can handle myself, right?”

Father nodded. “I suppose you are right. Can you at least promise to tell me next time?”

I nodded my head. “Yes, I promise.”

After we were done with breakfast, I asked father to take me up to the peak of the mountain once again. I told him I believed I was ready to try to use my wings for the first time today, and he had a confused look on his face.

“So soon? I had to wait months before my first flight. Are you sure this is a good idea?”

I climbed upon father’s back, holding myself to his body with a tight grip. “Yes, I believe I am ready. If I fail, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Father looked at me with a concerned expression. “You could die.”

I took a few moments to think about what I was about to do. “Well, I could start by trying to simply get off the ground maybe? I don’t have to immediately jump off the cliff... do I?”

Father looked at me. I could see his mind was filled with thoughts, and he spoke after some time. “You’d be the first dragon to do so, as far as I know. Tradition is that we take our first flight without preparation. But you’re not exactly a normal dragon, so I don’t see the harm in breaking a few rules.”

I smiled. “Thanks dad. I’m glad you are here to guide me and share your knowledge with me.”

I thought back to my first moments as a captive dragon, destined to hatch under the supervision of that human... I'm glad I didn’t.

We had reached the mountain peak. I looked out over the horizon, spotting the human village I had visited yesterday. If this goes well, maybe my first flight could be over there? I’d really like to ask around for that Loki kid, he seemed nice.

“Well, here we are. Go ahead then, try to move your wings.”

I nodded up at father. I could feel my wings were untrained, and my muscles were tight, almost as if they were waiting for this moment.

I extended my wings a few times, getting a feel of the movements. “Okay... I can work with this.”

I experimentally kicked off the ground, trying to flap my wings in order to gain more altitude. I found that the motion fell naturally, as if the knowledge of flight was integrated within my instincts themselves.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

I managed to stay in the air for maybe 5 seconds before my muscles became sore and I had to land again. “Good job, Apocalypso!”

A grin formed on my face as I became more confident in my ability to stay airborne. “Thanks, dad! This isn’t too hard after all.”

After letting my muscles rest for a few minutes, I once again tried to kick off the ground and stay afloat. This time I was able to stay in the air much longer, almost reaching an entire minute before I became too tired to continue.

“You’re a natural. As soon as you’re ready, I'd say you could take the step and begin your first flight.”

I panted slightly, feeling exhausted after using my wings for such a long time. “Yes, just- *pant* just a sec...”

I spent a little time getting my breath back. As soon as I felt okay again, I walked over to the cliff edge, and stood right before the edge. “Okay, here goes...”

Dad was right beside me, looking down at me with excitement. “DON’T WORRY. I’LL BE RIGHT HERE IF YOU NEED ME.”

I looked down to the ground below, taking a deep breath. I gripped my feet tightly on the rock, and then jumped.

I was in the middle of the air for about a second. It almost felt like one of those cartoons where the character is mid-air for a moment, and then immediately falls down right afterward.

It didn’t take very long for gravity to begin working though. I began falling toward the ground, and I felt a little scared but mostly confident.

As I reached a faster and faster pace, I extended my wings. The air immediately took hold of my outstretched ligaments, and I immediately started gliding forward, gradually turning the downwards momentum into forward velocity.

The feeling was great.

I experimentally flapped my wings a little, gaining some more altitude. The ground below was moving at immense speeds and in that moment, I felt like I was unstoppable. I did a barrel-roll in happiness, feeling the freedom this ability gave me.

I felt awesome.

After maybe an hour of flying around in random directions, I had finally gotten off the initial cloud-nine of the moment. I decided to try and land on the ground and looked for a suitable spot.

I was flying right above the river separating the forest from the tree-less plains, and I slightly turned to the right as to get more above the grassy plateau beneath.

I brought my wings up in an airbrake-fashion, cutting my speed roughly in half but still letting me retain my control over the altitude. I started slowly falling toward the ground, and I extended my feet and arms in anticipation.

As the ground got closer, I eventually felt my tail scrape against the grass. I brought my wings up one last time, stopping completely before I grasped the earth beneath me, coming to a complete stop.

“Holy shit, that was amazing!”

In my haste I failed to notice that I had landed almost right outside the human village. A farmer had apparently spotted me, and he was standing completely paralyzed, probably in fear.

I smirked mockingly, getting down like I was about to pounce. I then suddenly jumped forward, stretching my arms out. “Boo!”

The farmer fell backwards in utter terror and then clambered to his feet and ran inside the city gates like death itself was following right behind him. I began laughing, wiping the tears of joy away from my eyes.

“Oh man, that really cracked me up.”

I eventually calmed down and after clearing my throat, I began walking toward the city gates. I guess the mayor might still be the most knowledgeable when it comes to that night, so I might as well just ask him directly again.

The guards at the gate were still just as frightened at my appearance, but they did not try to stop me. “Some guards you are.”

I walked into the city, and to my surprise the mayor was already outside, almost as if he had expected me to show up.

“Hello again, great dragon. To what do we owe the pleasure?”

I snickered in approval. “Great dragon, huh? I like that. Keep calling me that.”

The mayor smiled slightly, giving a quick bow.

“Do you remember the child I arrived here with yesterday? I’d like to know where he and the knight went.”

The mayor hummed slightly and appeared to be in thought. “Loki, was it? Hmm. I think he was picked up by his father, the two probably went back to his hometown of Valentine.”

I grit my teeth. That village was where that demon lord who sealed me away lived... I hope he isn’t there still. “Thank you for your cooperation. As a reward, I shall not eat you on this day either. Be grateful.”

The mayor bowed slightly, once again. “Much appreciated.”

I jumped off the ground and flapped my wings harshly. That village is around where the mountain of Pillan was, if I remember correctly. During our many trips up to the peak of our cave’s mountain, father showed me the various mountains around as well as their respective names. Pillan was off to the west from our cave, about a fair kilometer’s flight.

There might be creatures inhabiting Pillan. That mountain has always been a stir-pot of various dangerous beasts, but I don’t feel intimidated. Us dragons are especially well-equipped to deal with threats, and since I am a very physical-focused dragon, my survivability should be much higher than other dragons of my age.

Speaking of other creatures, I could vaguely make out a snake-like creature in the air around Pillan, but it didn’t seem to have noticed me yet. I had no plans to attack things at random, so I just kept a keen eye on the creature for now.

The snake didn’t attack. As I got closer, it became clear that it wasn’t actually a snake at all, rather it was a wyvern. Their bodies are largely the same as us dragons, they just lack forward arms like we have. Their bodies are also a lot longer, hence why I thought it was a snake at first.

I had landed on the peak of Pillan. The mountain air was a little cold, but my void powers kept me nice and temperate even at this altitude. As I was looking out over the horizon, I suddenly remembered the promise I had made to father. I was supposed to ask him if I was going to go to a human settlement again.

I quickly jumped off the peak, heading back to the mountain above our cave. To my surprise, I could still see Dad on the peak. He must have been standing there all this time, just waiting for me to return.

Shit. That must mean he saw me entering the other human village previously... I sighed, picking up speed. I’ll probably get my ears full.