Spooky Gallus and Smolder?
The tales of the monster lurking in the abandoned school always piqued Tenderheart’s interest. A building once filled with love and friendship plunged into darkness, the only memories of it now in the history books; even Princess Twilight refuses to speak of the cursed location. But Tenderheart was braver than many, she had read the stories, knew them by heart at this point.
The day of Graduation, a grand event meant to lead the students of friendship to start their own adventures or lives, was horrifically cut short when a dragon like creature appeared within the walls of the school. The Head-mare Starlight Glimmer tried her best to fight off the beast of during the attack while the students and families evacuated; everyone was safe, save for two lost students, presumed lost to the beast, and Starlight Glimmer having obtained significant damage to her horn, this would later require that amputation of her horn due to infection. The Princess had cast a magic field over the school within minutes of arriving, preventing the beast from being able to leave, however not preventing others from getting in.
Which is where Tenderheart currently finds herself, deep within the dark halls, on the hunt for this ‘beast’. Her talent made her naturally curious about the nature of creatures and from all written accounts this beast matched no one living creature: The head of a dragon, body of a lion, the claws and wings of an eagle, and the fangs of a snake. Now back then this would have been written off as an undiscovered species but with the recent introduction of fusion magic a theory had begun to circulate among small circles. Tenderheart being an avid studier of fusion magic, was willing to test these conspiracies; That two students under the emotional stress of graduation became the first documented case of none pony fusions ( A notoriously unstable form of fusion given most other races lack innate magic).
She furthered her way into the school, her torch held tight between her teeth as it guided her way. She hadn’t been in the castle long but already felt lost in its winding corridors and cold atmosphere, no maps of the school existed for public access. Old torn and moth eaten tapestries hung upon the walls and deep groves scared the floor, the smell of sulphur and ash clung to her nose. However what seemed the oddest to her was when her torch briefly flickered and a sudden heat hung over her, and if she held her breath for just a moment she could swear she heard the soft sound of rubbing scales and a low hiss.
Loved getting to work on this and basically took me all month! Meet Gallder and Tenderheart- you might actually end up seeing more of Tenderheart if you're lucky- for those who prefer seeing the whole fusion worry not! Here was the concept/design sketch for Gallder-