The dragons tale

Part one

Rexorax Obsidian Heart flew over a lush field dotted with trees.

He wasn't in his own territory anymore, but he felt confident that he could take on anyone who dared challenge him. After all, he was a huge black dragon, bigger and more powerful than most species who might own territory. He had stayed in his own land for a long time- there was plenty of well grown space and all the Little Creatures had learned to obey him. But after two hundred years he'd felt that he didn't know anything about the world around his territory, and he had decided to stretch his wings and look around.

Rexorax spotted three shining white unicorns on the ground below him. They noticed him too, and one of them called out; "Hey dragon, this is our territory!"

Were they stupid? Couldn't they see that they couldn't possibly beat him in a fight?

"I fly where I like." He flew closer to them.

One of them pointed his horn at him, saying to the others, "I'll get this." A beam of white light poured from his horn and hit Rexorax with incredible force. Pain washed over him and he fell to the ground as he felt darkness swallow him.

"Is it dead?"

Shine asked his friend Float. Float regarded the tiny bird on the ground with disdain.

"I don't know, and I'm not touching it." Dancer beckoned the two away.

"Either way it's not bothering us anymore. Let's leave it."

Rexorax slowly woke up. His head felt weird and everything looked different. Something was coming rapidly toward him. His heart beat rapidly and he instinctively bolted into the air, narrowly avoiding a giant creatures claws. What could be so much bigger and scarier then him? Then he realized that he was using different motions to fly, and that meant.... He wasn't a dragon anymore.

It was too late to regret not asking the more well traveled Little Creatures about unicorns, or even just generally about the dangers that he might encounter.

He took another look at the creature below him. It was some kind of cat- small enough to be a Little Creature, but a vicious predator.

As he looked, the cat made a jump for him. He flew up higher and it missed.

Rexorax's blood boiled in rage. "I'm not some helpless little bird you can eat! I am Rexorax Obsidian Heart and when I return to my true form you'll be sorry you ever messed with me, you ugly little-" "You're fair game now," said the cat over his shoulder as he walked away.

The former dragon spluttered helplessly with rage. He was going to find those unicorns and they were going to turn him back!

Rexorax fluttered around until he found hoofprints in the soft dirt near where he'd fallen. They had stopped near him, then headed off in another direction.

As he flew toward where he thought they headed, a large shadow passed overhead and he narrowly avoided getting grabbed by a bigger bird. He flew away franticly, but it was faster and he felt sure it would catch him until it suddenly veered away, seemingly wary of him. Did it sense his true- the entire herd of unicorns appeared as he passed through a patch of trees.

Oh. Well he wouldn't have to worry about predators soon, because he was going to make those unicorns turn him back... Maybe threatening them with his Little Creatures getting revenge would work? A lot of Little Creatures was a force to reckon with. But that was a kind of lackluster plan. It had been many years since Rexorax had had to use his head to solve any problems, but he had been quite clever when he was younger and first acquired his territory.

He couldn't just stay a bird, though. It would work out, it always did.

He couldn't be sure, but he saw three unicorns gathered together and thought they looked like the ones who had transformed him.

"Hey you! Turn me back!" He fluttered close to them.

"Oh, I guess it wasn't dead," said one. "I knew it was stupid, but... wow." a second one added.

"You're the stupid one if you think there aren't going to be consequences for turning a creature with as many friends as me into this!" "Hey, that's kind of funny," said the first one with a snort.

"Funny!? You.. you..." Rexorax was speechless with rage.

He dived at the unicorn, going for the eyes. It turned its head to avoid his beak, and the third member of the group said, "Oh no, that's not funny, let's kill it."

It was the offhand way they said it that made Rexorax know they were serious. As they surrounded him and the first one knocked him to the ground, he knew he was about to die, and it was entirely his fault.

But a stir ran through the herd and the three friends were distracted.

A small, pale little creature was walking through the field quite close to the unicorns, ignoring them as if they were no threat.

"Float, Dancer, do you know what that thing is?" They said no, but Rexorax recognized the creature. There was a settlement of them living in his territory. They were harmless, so he had left them alone.

One of the unicorns called out to the creature, "Hey furless thingie, how would you like to spend your life as a frog?" They found it amusing to watch animals flounder around in bodies they were unused to.

They didn't see Rexorax as a great dragon- they saw him as just another creature, just another fun experiment. And as much as he helplessly raged and wanted them to recognize him as the great creature he was, there was nothing he could do as he was now. But maybe he could save another creature from the same fate.

Rexorax screamed- as a bird, it didn't come out as he expected it to, but it was sufficiently loud.

Everyone looked at him. The second unicorn lowered its horn, this time to use it directly, and Rexorax shouted the first words that came to mind. "I know something really important that you don't and I'm going to take it with me!" "See? It really is funny. Pity it's going to take someones eyes out if we leave it alive."

"What is that?" The unicorns turned to the new voice. It was the little pale creature. No! Even if the thing was unaware of unicorn magic, it had to see the sharp horns! What was it doing? He felt his heart sink as one of the unicorns shot a beam of light at it, and the creature started to shrink.

But then it turned liquid and grew bigger and bigger until it was a giant dragon, even bigger than Rexorax had been.

Rexorax's entire body turned to ice. There was only one creature he had ever heard of who could do that, and he was dead. Flax was dead. Wasn't he?

The monstrous dragon swatted the unicorn who had tried to transform him across the field like it was nothing, then turned to the rest of the herd. Seeing what was about to happen, Rexorax launched himself in front of its face. "No! No! Don't!" It looked at him. "Okay." As if it didn't matter to the shapeshifter.

The herd cowered, seeing clearly that their magic was useless against the giant creature and that their lives were worthless to it.

Rexorax was scared stiff of the shapeshifter, but he had to know for sure... "What is.. your name?"

The shapeshifter continued walking, and Rexorax followed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the herd gathering around the fallen unicorn.

"Flax." So it was true. "But... I heard you die- disappeared."

"I was poisoned. I was in a coma until yesterday." He was in a coma for two hundred years? I guess it's not surprising for a creature so powerful.

Rexorax realized that the herd of unicorns was gone. With his view of the fallen one unobscured, he saw that its legs were broken. He realized that the moment he moved away from Flax, a predator would be on him, and he had no idea how to hide from them.

"Flax... Can I travel with you? I'm always on the run from predators, but if I'm with you then I won't have to worry." As usual Flax took his time about answering, and the silence seemed to stretch into an eternity as Rexorax waited to see if he would live or die.

"Sure." He breathed relief. "My name is Birdy." If Flax found out who he really was, that would be the end for him.