They Came from Up There

Chapters

The Challenge
Stars, Stripes and Blood
A "Foalish" Rivalry
Friends and Amends
The Fox, the Witch and the Bookworm
The Look-alike Mikar
Meet the Gang
Unsatisfied Cravings

The Challenge

Chapter One: The Challenge

Mikar sat perched on the cloud wall. He was watching the clouds soar past, trying to put his mind at ease. His date with Alunia was a success, but it sure spooked him; She wanted to take it a "step further". Right now, his mind was still boggled from such a strange request, and he ruffled his wings in discomfort... He needed to relax. Relax, meditate, collect your thoughts... Relax...

"HEY THERE MIKAR!"

Mikar let out a loud screech, and practically jumped out of his fur after such an intrusion. He whipped around furiously, expecting a cousin, but instead, he saw his good friend, Jule. He let his muscles relax a bit, and greeted Jule with a short grunt. If grunting were a world sport, Mikar would be world champion by now. His defences weren't still down, though; Jule was at least twice the size of him, and he was a Dragon-type Skykin. His light blue scales glinted in the sunlight. Mikar was a Fox-type Skykin, one of the "lesser" classed. Jule still respected him enough, in the end. He perked up his ears and listened in to Jule's smooth, metallic voice.

"I had a feeling I would find you up here. You know, you're not supposed to be up here. Father says that it's dangerous to be up here during daytime," Jule said, the steel in his voice turning to silk when he saw Mikar's deadpan expression.

"Oh, puh-leez! Your father knows nothing about the daytime. Besides, all you Draggies ever do is laze around in the day..."

"Hey, I take offense to that... So, how did the date with Alunia go? Good, bad, moderate... sexy?"

"WHAT?!" Mikar roared, almost knocking Jule over with the anger in his voice. "How did you know about that?!"

"Come on, Mickey! Half the cirrus knows by now..." Jule replied, his metal tone turning into a more venomous tone. "And she's a Dragon-type, too."

Mikar let out a pained groan, knowing that Inter-species relationships would get him into serious trouble with his family, and if he was unlucky enough, the Sky Guard. He'd seen their likes before; Large horns, sharp fangs and claws. They stopped at nothing to catch their prey.

"Oh, Mickey, lighten up! At least your parents don-"

"But what if they do?!" Mikar interrupted. "What if they know, and they're on their way here togrowlmeandgroundmefortherestofmythousandyearli-" Mikar's rant was halted by a taloned hand cupping over his mouth. He wanted to bite Jule and let his venom do the talking, but he chose better against it.

"Enough, Mickey! We don't want anyone else to hear. So, here's the real reason I came up here," Jule spoke, his deep voice thundering and rocking the clouds beneath Mikar's feet. "I want to challenge you to a race."

Mikar nearly died on the spot. Jule, of all Skykin, was challenging him to a race. Everyone on the cirrus knew that Mikar was the fastest Fox in the sky. Why would Jule want to race him?

"First to the stratus wins, capiche? GO!"

Mikar was caught off-guard by Jule's words. He was too busy thinking about why Jule would race; Dragon-types were far too upper class to race. If Jule were caught, he would certainly be ridiculed... But Mikar was focusing more on catching up to Jule's scaly behind now. He leapt off the cloud with a "huff" and folded his wings, going into a straight dive towards Jule.

He felt the air rushing past him, and smiled one of those rare smiles. He usually never smiled unless he was really excited... And this time was one of those times. The air whipped him harder, and he tucked his furry ears back, greater increasing his speed. Jule was close enough that he could lick Jule's feet if he wanted. He was quickly passing, and shot a glance towards Jule's face. Jule was staring him back, inaudible words forming on his scaly lips. He was saying something to Mikar, but what was it?

"Mi- WOOOOOSH -Mikar! In front o- WOOOOOOSH"

Mikar couldn't make out the words from the sound, but he had a feeling they were important. The stratus was getting closer; They would reach it in about 30 seconds. He needed to hear these words.

"WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!"

"MIKAR, PULL UP!"

"WHAT?!"

"PULL UUU-"

Suddenly, Mikar felt a sharp pain against his chest. He let out a loud cry, and sharply banked his body to the left, unfurling his wings. Something had struck him. Was it a bird, or a sky deer? His speed slowed untilMikar flared his wings and grinded to a halt in the air, Jule stopping beside him. They both thumped down loudly onto a cloud. They were on the stratus, and Mikar had won fair and square. Jule wore a look of genuine shock, and pointed towards Mikar's chest. Mikar didn't know why Jule was so scared... He had probably only hit a bird. But now was the time to investigate this sharp pain in his chest. He glanced down - And nearly screamed.

Lodged in his chest was a creature, rather small and fluffy. It was brown, had wings, the face of an eagle, and the body of a lion. It had sharp talons in the place of paws. He had never seen the likes of it before. However, what truly scared him was that its beak was dug in under his chest. Orange blood seeped out, and the creature twitched slightly; It was regaining consciousness. Jule snapped out of his trance and rushed over to Mikar, who was starting to hyperventilate at the sight of his own blood.

"Mikar, Mikar! Are you alright? Say something!" Jule yelled at his now swooning friend.

Mikar was sweeping from side to side, losing his balance. If he fell over the edge of the stratus, he was a goner... Skykin were forbidden to go past it. Mikar tried to say something, and grabbed the creature in his chest. He gave a sharp tug, and it came out of his chest with a loud rip. More orange blood poured out of Mikar's chest. The creature was now staring at Mikar and Jule, uttering strange, foreign words. It was terrified, and it started to hyperventilate as well. It glanced at the orange blood that covered its beak and face, and began to shake violently. It started to whimper as well; It was going into shock.

"Mikar, stay on the cloud! Just keep breathing, and stay on the cloud! MIKAR!"

But it was too late, and Mikar tumbled over the edge of the cloud, plummeting into a nose-dive towards the ground. Jule watched his friend fall with shocked sadness, and glared over the edge of the cloud. He saw his gray-furred companion nearing the earth with incredible speed. 'Pull up, pull up!'He thought, as Mikar's bloody body flapped its wings harder and harder, trying to avoid hitting the green ground. He was above a forest now; If he didn't stop, maybe the trees would help him survive. He flapped harder, but his attempts were futile, and Jule watched Mikar smash into the foliage with a loud CRASH!

"MIIIKAAAAAAAAAAR!" Jule roared, startling the feathered creature beside him out of its shock and into a dart for the sky. It was soon pulled back by a large, blue hand wrapping around it. It struggled to pull free, but Jule had a vice-grip, and nothing would make him let go after witnessing his friend die.

"YOU! You did this!" He bellowed into the creature's face, watching it cower in fear. "If it weren't for you, Mikar would have survived! He would probably be here, right now, bragging about winning the race..." He saw its golden eyes focus on him with first fear, then anger. Jule didn't expect what was going to happen next.

"I ain't afraid of you, you big, blue jerk! Is this any way to handle a Griffon?!"

Jule recoiled in shock with hearing the creature's voice. It was female, and it sounded pretty mad with him grabbing her. He was expecting a wave of apologetic words to fly from its mouth, but instead he got angry words, and very angry ones at that. She continued to ramble on about how it wasn't her fault. Jule's shock turned into pure rage, however, as he remembered that this creature had speared Mikar's heart.

"You killed Mikar... My best and only friend. You pathetic little feather ball, you'll pay for this!" Jule readied his flames, and black smoke poured from his flaring nostrils. The creature pulled its head back, and struggled to break free, but Juke's grip was stronger than Celestia's grip on the sun. She readied herself for whatever come next, be it flames, pain, death... She didn't care. After losing her best friend last week, she was ready to go... When it talked again.

"Who are you, you winged buffoon?" Jule asked, his voice practically spitting venom. The creature hesitated, and realizing that she had nothing to lose, spoke.

"I'm Gilda, you blue, blundering whelp. Toughest Griffon in the sky. Now, let me go, before I tear your scales into shreds!"

Jule chuckled at this, and hurled the creature into a nearby cloud. She hit it with a thump and a "Oof!", and collapsed onto it, unconscious once again. He didn't care what happened to it. Jule peeked over the edge of the stratus, searching for Mikar. It was hard to see down this low... The air was much thicker than the air on the cirrus. He found it harder to breathe as well, but focused hard on spotting his companion. Sure enough, his friend was laying on top of a tree, twitching slightly. He was alive!

More orange blood could be seen covering a bit of the tree. Jule thought about going after him, but thought again about the consequences of going beneath the stratus. He looked up, and saw the Griffon still asleep on the cloud. The orange blood still covered her beak and face, but he didn't care. He needed to find help.

He shoved off of the stratus, pumping his wings and soaring towards Aeropolis.

Stars, Stripes and Blood

Chapter two: Stars, Stripes and Blood

Pain.

That was the first thing he could think of.

A creature, blood, falling... And now lying on the top of some tall trees, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Mikar was starting to get scared... Not that he wasn't already scared enough. He had just had half of his chest torn open by a flying lion, and now he was lying in the one place Skykin were forbidden to go... The ground. He lifted his wings, pumped them down-

And more pain coursed through him.

Mikar was even more frightened now... Not only was he in a forbidden area, he was stranded, and dying. He needed to find help. His chest felt like it was made of molten lava, and he dared a look down to it. His head poked through the leaves, and he got a nasty look at what was left of his chest.

"Ooohh... That's bad."

Mikar's chest was torn across from the left shoulder to the base of his ribs. The blood had stopped flowing, but the pain hadn't. He could see his ribs, some of which were broken. He could also see one of his lungs. It too was damaged badly. That explained why he couldn't breathe right. He needed help. He couldn't fly, could barely breathe... And now he heard something.

He perked his head up and looked around for the source of the noise. It sounded like footsteps, but broader- It sounded like bone hitting cloud. His ears were moving in all directions, doing their best to locate the location of the footsteps. First they were here, then there, and now they were just beneath him. His vision swam before his eyes, and he saw stars. He was starting to black out. His eyes shut on their own. He wanted to lift them, but lifting them was as easy as lifting a cumulonimbus with your tail.

The last thing he saw was a striped creature staring back at him.

ONE HOUR LATER

He was awakened by the sound of rhythmic humming. The smell of cooking stew was there, too. He lifted his head, which was throbbing, and took in his surroundings. He was in a clearing in the forest. This isn't where I landed, he thought as he looked around, but his vision was too blurry to make out anything important.

Oh great, He thought. Where am I now? Mikar pulled his arms up to feel his chest. He expected more pain, and a large gash, but instead, he felt something smooth. He peered down, and saw that his chest had been bandaged with some sort of thin cloth. Orange blood seeped through it. He pushed against it, and felt no pain. He remembered it as linen from the books he studied back at the cirrus. He had learned a lot about the ground world from those books- Maybe they would help him here. The humming picked up into a new song, and he heard what sounded like voices coming from inside something. He glanced to the left, and sure enough, a big tree with windows was standing there. On one of the windows was a note. Written on it were some words that he remembered as English.

Big gray creature that comes from the sky,

I brought you here so you would not die.

Do not be scared; I am not mean.

Just be glad that you are not seen.

Well, that's a good start. At least they're not gonna kill me! Mikar started to stand up, but the pain in his head stopped him. More pains? Come on! He boiled as he crashed back into the ground with a deep growl. The growl was enough to make the humming stop, and he heard more footsteps. He wanted to run, hide, do anything to get away from the filthy groundlings that lurked in this forest- But then, the creature emerged.

The creature was small, about the size of the thing that had nearly killed him in the race. Its head was decorated with a Mohawk, and black-and-white stripes adorned its body. It had calm, blue eyes, and a coy smile that offered no threat. Its body was decorated in golden rings and piercings- Mikar remembered it now, it was a Zebra.

"Hello there, my new friend from the blue. I have made for you a wonderful stew." The creature spoke in a foreign, female accent, and her words blended in rhyme.

"W-Who are you?" Mikar asked.

"My name is Zecora, winged one. May I have your name, creature of the sun?"

Mikar hesitated, unwary of whether he should give information away to a complete stranger. But she had saved his life, and now she was offering him soup. She seemed to notice the worry in his face, and laughed a sweet, silky chuckle.

"There's no need to be afraid; I offer only good aid." Zecora's grin widened into a full-fledged smile.

"Well, m-my name's Mikar. Mikar Vulpkin." Mikar was glad to have an ally on the ground.

The zebra's smile vanished, and was replaced by a look of concern. She stared at his chest, which was starting to bleed again. She rushed over and got to work on tightening the bandage. It hurt a bit, but Mikar knew it was for the best.

"Why are you helping me?" Mikar asked, confused as to why a groundling was being so nice to him. The books in the cloud library had said that all groundlings were evil beings, bent on eradicating the Skykin.

"My native land has a golden tradition; To help all the weary is a holy mission." Zecora chimed in her native tone. The rhyming was starting to irritate him.

He took the time to continue looking around. His vision was better now, and what he saw amazed him. He saw birds of many colors, and small, hopping creatures that were white and fluffy. He saw trees of all sorts, from tall, lumbering ones to tiny, colorful ones. This place was also filled with smells and sounds- He heard birds chirping, and more than once he heard what sounded like a quiet, shy voice calling out to someone named "Angel bunny". He smelled sap, sweat and blood. The sweat and blood were probably his. What really, really made him anxious was the smell of cooking meat. Cooked meat was hard to come by on the cirrus, due to the lack of air making it hard to make fire. Zecora let out a foreign curse, and Mikar shot a glance over to her. Instead, he got a nice view of her flanks. His cheeks blushed bright red, and he spoke.

"Is something wrong, Zekiba?"

"Zecora."

"Right. Is something wrong?" He queried.

"Something is surely wrong, my winged friend. The bleeding in your chest just will..." Zecora gave a sharp tug on the bandage, eliciting a yelp from Mikar. "Not..." She pulled harder, and now Mikar was stuffing a paw in his mouth to keep from screaming.

"END!" Zecora gave one final, hard yank on the bandage. Blood squirted from Mikar's mouth as he clamped down on it hard. He whimpered in pain, and Zecora gave him an apologetic look.

"Don't be a baby, it's only some pain. It feels a lot better than acid rain!"

Acid rain? What was this crazy zebra rambling on about? Mikar let go of his paw, which has some small cuts from his sharp teeth. He looked at the now super-tight bandage, which was turning bright orange with his blood. But it soon stopped, and he sighed with relief. He almost started to suffocate because of how tight it was. Ah, now I remember. Acid rain is when we dump our waste into the sky. Oops.

"Now come, Mikar. You must be empty. I have some beef stew, and I have of it plenty." Zecora chimed in. As if on cue, his stomach growled loudly. Zecora let out a melancholy laugh, and stepped into the treehouse. She returned moments later, dragging out a large kettle filled to the brim with hot soup. The smell was epic, and it was all Mikar could do to not dunk his head in.

"Oh, it smells lovely, Zecora! May I?"

"You certainly can, gray-furred Mikar. I have plenty more, so you will not starve.

"Hey, that doesn't rh-"

Zecora cut him off with a sharp wave of her hoof.

Mikar's belly bulged, full of at least four kettles of beef stew. He was filled to the brim, and now starting to become drowsy. The loss of blood had caused his vision to become slightly gray-ish around the edges, but Zecora had told him that he would be fine. The bleeding has ceased completely, and now his gash was starting to heal. The pain had become a small lull, as if someone was pressing in on his chest. The sun was starting to dip below the horizon, and the two exchanged stories about their native lands. Zecora listened in carefully, drinking in his words. He told her of his crush on Alunia, his friend Jule, and about his venomous fangs. Zecora asked to see them.

"Are you sure? I don't wanna poison you... It's quite pot... protest...?" Mikar shuddered at the thought of killing his rescuer, and becoming stranded and alone in the woods.

"Potent, my guest. And the answer is yes." Zecora was quite persistent.

"Well, I guess a quick look wouldn't hurt." Mikar thought that a quick look was harmless. He opened his mouth widely, and his venomous fangs slid from the roof of his mouth.

Zecora then did many inspections on them, prodding them with her hoof. More than once she cringed at his breath, which more than likely smelled of ozone and rotten meat. She extracted a small amount of venom, stating that it was for experiments with her potions. She stared at many parts of his body, checking out his wings and stroking behind his ears. Doing this triggered a strange reflex; It caused Mikar to giggle and wiggle his left hind leg involuntarily. It was a strange reflex, and Zecora called it a 'sweet spot'. She looked at his tail, with the long fur meant for braking mid-flight. She inspected his belly and chest, observing the hollow ribcage and groin. She paused at his groin, wearing a confused look on her face.

"What is it?" Mikar asked, worried that maybe his collision with the creature had damaged his pelvis.

"Oh, It's just a strange apall... I can see your dong, but not your-"

"WELL! Dunno about you, but I'm getting tired. I'm just gonna lay down out here, and... You know, sleep."

It was about 9:00, Mikar judged from the moon's position. He was really tired now, and he wanted to get some rest. Zecora told him that he would meet some of her 'friends' in the morning. He laid his head down on a soft pillow Zecora had brought out for him. He wrapped his tail around his body, curling up in a ball. His wings were folded neatly against his sides. Just before he fell asleep, a question rattled his brain.

Doesn't she know that I don't have any?

P.S. Skykin reproduce via their venom. There, now you know.

A "Foalish" Rivalry

Chatper 3: A "Foalish" Rivalry

"So what you're saying... Is that Mikar is... weakened?"

"Yes, my sire."

"Not dead, but weakened?"

"Yes, sire." The squire replied, shaking before his master's throne.

"Good." The beast rumbled. It let out a hearty chuckle, then got straight down to business again. "You have done well, Jule. I am glad to have you as my squire."

"Thank you, sire." Jule replied, still shaking.

"You are... friends, with this Mikar?" The beast continued.

"Correct, sire. We met at birth. We are like brothers," Jule answered.

The beast thought about Mikar, weak and defenceless on the Forbidden Green World, also known to the creatures that dwelled there as "Equestria". Mikar would be slow to heal, as all Fox-type Skykin were. He thought on about many things... Mikar's family, Mikar's wealth... Mikar. The name troubled him. He knew it well, but he hated it. It was like a mosquito in your ear... Buzzing and consistent until crushed by a greater force. That was what the beast planned to do to Mikar.

"My sire, what are you going to do with him? Will you rescue him, sire?"

"SILENCE." the beast replied angrily, upset about his thoughts being interrupted. "I will... aid him, Jule. As in, end his pain."

"Oh, you will?! Thank you, sire! You have no idea how much this means to me!" Jule replied. He didn't understand the beast's true meaning, however. The beast was soon to realize this, but made no move to make his idea more clear. He didn't care for Jule's feelings... He wanted Mikar dead. And if his Sky Guards didn't do it, he would kill Mikar himself.

"Jule... Go home, and tell Mikar's parents that they have nothing to worry about." The beast growled. His tone was evil; Jule recognized that tone, but he didn't want to intrude on his master's feelings. He nodded quickly, and prodded off, thrusting himself off of the Sky Temple and pumping his wings towards Mikar's home.

"Oh, and Jule!" The beast roared.

"Yes, sire?" Jule replied, whipping around to hear his master's words.

"Call me Draugr. Not sire. Understood?"

"Yes, s- Draugr."

"Thatta boy. Now, go!" Draugr sent the Dragon-type on his way, and laid back in his thundercloud throne. He watched Jule go with his one eye. In the other, there was emptyness. The same emptyness that Mikar had showed him many years back. His mind drifted back to that memory, and he slowly closed his eyes, remembering every last detail.

MANY YEARS EARLIER

"Come on, Draugr. It's only a little peek! Your parents won't mind at all. We'll just swoop down, take a look, and get out of there! Simple!"

Draugr was back. Back on the stratus, with his friend, Mikar. Mikar. He hated that name. Mikar wanted to go down into the Forbidden Green Land and take a closer look at a castle. It was a large castle, big enough to hold both of them easily if they wanted to go inside. But they never made it that far. Beside him was Mikar, and another friend of his, Oregam. Mikar and Oregam were trying to persuade Draugr into going down to the castle with them. He wished he hadn't followed them.

"Ooh, but Mikar, what if we're caught?" Draugr shot back. "You know what they do to Skykin that go below the stratus!"

"Stop being such a baby, Draggie. Now come on!" Mikar leapt off of the cloud and soared towards the ground. He rapidly approached the castle, and swooped into a close landing on the ruined roof of it. Mikar smiled and waved towards Oregam and Draugr.

"Come on, Draugr. He did it. We can go together!" Oregam said. Oregam was another Fox-type, but isntead of gray or white fur, hers was golden, a rare mutation. A mutation that would earn her title as Emperor. At least, would have earned her. Oregam motioned to Draugr, who reluctantly swooped off of the cloud with Oregam. They flew over the castle, the wind ruffling their wings. Draugr's draconic scales tingled; Something wasn't right. He landed on the roof anyway, Oregam swooping in beside him. The castle was huge and destroyed, with symbols of the moon and some other things on the walls. On a pedestal in the center of a large room were 6 different orbs, each of which had a different etching on them.

"See? This isn't so bad, Draggie!" Mikar boasted. He was acting foolish; This was very bad.

"Well, no I guess not," Oregam said. "But I smell something. Don't you boys?"

"Nope, not a thing!" Mikar replied. Oregam had always been a nervous Skykin... But they never listened to her. Dragur sniffed the air. She's right, something does stink, Draugr thought as he picked up the smell of sweat and rotten meat. Now his scales were really tingling. He wanted to bolt out of there in case something happened, but nothing did. Not yet.

"Okay, we did it. Can we go home now? Please?" Oregam whimpered. Her fur stood on edge at the sight of the castle. It seemed she was scared, too. Mikar, who obviously had a crush on Oregam, acted brave. Draugr had a crush on her too, but he was in no mood to act brave. He saw a large shadow creeping up behind Mikar. From that shadow emerged two giant, yellow eyes.

"Why? There's nothing to be afraid of!" Mikar said, oblivious to the lurking death behind him.

"Yes there is..." Draugr whispered. He pointed behind Mikar, whose face turned from daring to shock as he whipped around and beheld what stood behind him.

Standing behind them, on the plain in front of the castle, was a Manticore. Each of them knew what it was from school... Each of them knew what it could do. Its scorpion tail twitched angrily as it eyed the Skykin, one to another. It let out a low growl, and an eerie smile crept onto the beast's face. They knew what it wanted.

Lunch.

"RUUUUUUN!" Oregam shouted, flapping her wings and taking off into the sky.

"Oregam, no!" Draugr screamed, but it was too late. The Manticore's tail whipped forward with lightning speed and impaled Oregam through her chest. Blood flew everywhere, soaking the screaming Draugr and barely missing Mikar, who had soared away just in time to avoid the blood.

"OREGAM!" Both boys screeched, staring into huge, gaping wound of the vixen. They could see her beating heart. The Manticore pulled its tail from her chest, spewing more blood onto the ground and dropping her onto the castle floor carelessly. All of their hearts were crushed that day; Oregam's through the Manticore's tail and Mikar's by watching her get killed. Draugr screamed at the sight and feel of her blood covering him. His wonderful purple scales were now stained orange, the color of Fox-type blood. The Manticore wasn't finished, however.

The Manticore lashed out with its sharp claws and clipped Draugr on the face, who had barely dodged the attack. He hadn't escaped unscathed, though - For some reason, he could only see from one eye now. Draugr and Mikar felt a spark of bravery light inside of them as the Manticore's paw swung around and smashed into a tree. Orange blood mixed with green blood as Draugr roared and doused the Manticore with flames. They had little effect; Draugr was only a youngling back then. To the Manticore, the flames only felt like scratches. Mikar watched from above, and dove straight in towards the Manticore at full speed. He collided with its neck, and bit down. Hard.

The Manticore roared, and felt the venom of the young Skykin coarse through its veins. It forgot all about the lunch and took off into the woods, Mikar's venom spreading throughout its body. By now, it was probably watching the ground turn to magma and angry dragons chasing it. After all, the venom did have a strong hallucinogenic effect. It whimpered as it went, both boys cheering as they saw it run off into the woods. They shot mean and vile insults at the retreating beast. Then, Draugr reached up and felt his bleeding eye, expecting it to be only a small scratch. What he felt was nothing. His eye was gone. His shock turned into sadness, however, as he heard coughing and gurgling. Oregam, he remembered.

Both boys stopped their cheering and dashed over to the barely alive Oregam. Mikar grabbed hold of her paw and looked into her eyes. Draugr watched from his one eye, the other socket bleeding profusely. He didn't care. Not anymore.

"Oregam, keep breathing. We're gonna get you out of here. Please, Oregam!" Mikar shouted into her ear. He didn't want any of this. He only wanted fun.

Oregam could only blink and cough. When she tried to talk, more blood sputtered from her mouth. Mikar, regardless of her wounds, leaned forward and kissed her. She knew that he already loved her, and Draugr too. The two held their kiss for moments, until Oregam began coughing more blood up. Neither boy dared say a word. She looked into Draugr's remaining eye, and smiled. She loved him, too. Not as a lover, but as a friend who stuck by her side until the end. Her breath became shorter as death creeped in on her. Draugr and Mikar sat there, begging her to keep breathing, and comforting her the best they could. She died shortly after, both boys crying loudly and holding onto her paws tightly. No more blood gushed from her wounds, no more wheezing breaths. She was dead.

Mikar let go of her paw, and looked at Draugr with a look of sadness. Tears poured from Mikar's eyes. Blood poured from Draugr's eye socket. His other eye bore no tears, however - only hate. He looked over at Mikar and returned the gaze, but not with sadness. With anger. Remorse. Rage. His blood loss left him weak, and he was slowly collapsing onto the stone floor. He couldn't get back up. Mikar watched with concern, and he took another look at the body of Oregam. She looked peaceful, now that she felt no more pain. He looked back at Draugr, who was busily trying to flap his wings. They wouldn't budge. He stared into Mikar's eyes with a gaze that could start a fire. His weak legs kicked furiously, inching him closer and closer towards Mikar, who reversed until his tail hit the castle wall. He shot a glance back, then turned his head forward to look at Draugr.

"This is your fault," Draugr growled, his voice deeper and more steely than ever. "You killed her. You killed Oregam... You killed her with your STUPID DARE!" Draugr roared, his voice echoing off of the castle walls. Glass broke, and and animals nearby must have gone deaf. Mikar recoiled, wailing loudly.

"I d-didn't mean it! It w-w-was an accident-"

"ACCIDENT! An accident killed your crush! MY crush!" Draugr shot back. He hated Mikar. He hated him more than the pony god that moved the sun. "I don't care if it was an accident..." Draugr went on, his voice becoming weak from blood loss. "Oregam is... dead. And now I... Will be... Too."

"Draugr... I'm sorry."

"I DON'T CARE!" Draugr roared. Some Skykin were starting to show up on the clouds above, watching with concern. None of them dared go below the stratus to rescue Mikar or Draugr; They were as good as dead anyway. Mikar took one last look at Oregam, then at Draugr.

Then he flapped his wings and soared away.

"Sire? My sire, are you alright?"

"What...?" Draugr spat. Tears were starting to drip from his eye, and he looked at the guard who had hailed him. He was one of the Fox-type Skykin... The one that he now hated. But he didn't hate this guard in particular. The guard's purple armor glinted in the evening sun.

"I-I'm sorry, sire, I didn't mean to disturb you... It's just, you looked hurt, or sad. Is everything alright?" The guard said. He looked at the tears in Draugr's eye with genuine fear. Seeing a Dragon-type Skykin cry was like watching a bear shake paws with a deer... It just didn't happen.

"Yes, Gorduf. I'm... just a little tired, is all. Fetch me a leg of sky deer and... just some water."

"Yes, sire." Gorduf saluted with a paw over his left eye, and took off towards the Sky Temple's mess hall. His armor clattered as he clumsily bumped into a cloud pillar.

Draugr got off his throne, padded over to the edge of the cloud, and peered down. Beneath him was the castle where Oregam had died. He could barely make out the castle from this height. He knew what was beside it, however - The grave that he had built before he was rescued by his loving parents. He let out a sigh, and a tear fell, bound for the Forbidden Green World.

Draugr sat back on his throne and silently wept.

Friends and Amends

Chapter 4: Friends and Amends

"So you're saying you can't get rid of them?" Mikar asked.

"Not without a special potion. But to remove my stripes would be an embarassing notion!" Zecora replied.

"Why is it embarassing? Don't you have fur, like me?" Mikar said.

"I do have fur, that's a fact. But to me, my stripes are an artifact. Priceless, rare and unique as can be; These stripes are like a friend to me." Zecora replied again, in her usual rhyming tone. That rhyming is really getting on my nerves, Mikar thought, as Zecora went back towards her home to meet the mailmare. Mikar thought the mailmare was quite strange- Her eyes were crossed, and she flew haphazardly, as if she were dodging the air itself. She spoke in a queer tone, but she seemed intelligent, talking to Zecora about the many chemicals in her love potion that Zecora had given her last week. Lastly, Mikar thought she was cute... For a pony. Mikar loved the color blond... It reminded him of Oregam, a long-dead friend. Although he knew only little of the Forbidden Green World, he knew that the dominant species there were ponies, griffons, zebras and dragons.

He caught a glimpse of the mailmare's flanks as she whizzed by, looking at Mikar with a strange face, then waving and flying off. She slammed headfirst into a tree, making Mikar cringe, but she just shook her head, saying 'I just don't know what went wrong.' Mikar didn't know why, but he couldn't stop looking at pony's flanks when he saw them. He had only seen a few ponies, though, so that kind of narrowed it down. They were all female, too, by the looks of them. So far he had seen the mailmare, a few lost ponies who asked for directions, a blue mare who called herself "Great and Powerful" who screamed and ran after seeing Mikar, and a lavender pony with a purple mane who hadn't seen Mikar yet. He thought that she had nice flanks.

"Admiring the flanks of passer-by will not make you heal and fly." Zecora chimed in, interrupting Mikar's thoughts, who flushed a bright pink before looking back at Zecora with a goofy grin. All of his sharp teeth were showing. Zecora caught another whiff of his breath, and wrinkled her snout. She shut his mouth for him with her hooves and got to work removing the bandages on Mikar's chest. It hurt a lot, but Mikar held it in. After taking a look at his wound, he knew it was bad. The fur and skin around it had turned a sickly green overnight, and the stitches that Zecora put in had come undone. It was infected. Zecora took one look and went back to her hut without a word, leaving the confused Mikar to stare at her flanks as she trotted inside.

What has she got there? He wondered as Zecora returned a moment later with a red bottle and a large blanket. She walked over to Mikar and stuffed the blanket in his mouth.

"What'ff thiff fing for?" Mikar mumbled.

"It is so that no creature will hear, and so they will not run away in fear." Zecora popped the top of the bottle with her mouth and almost poured it into Mikar's wound until he stopped her with an outstretched paw. Spitting out the cloth and standing up, he turned to Zecora with fear in his eye.

"What do you mean? Will it hurt?" He asked.

"Indeed it will, but only for a trill. It will sting quite a lot, so stuff your mouth with that cot." She answered, pointing with her hoof towards the blanket. Mikar reluctantly did what he was told and laid back down on the ground, on his back. Zecora counted to three before pouring the liquid into Mikar's wound. He whined loudly, and bit down hard on the blanket. The liquid made a loud fizzing noise. Zecora poured more in, patting Mikar gently on the side, who was now roaring all-out into the blanket. After Zecora had emptied the bottle and the infection had been cured, Mikar spat the now torn blanket onto the ground and looked at Zecora with a half-angry, half-funny look.

"You didn't tell me it would hurt that much!" He whimpered.

"Don't be such a foal, it's only a sting. To a monster like you, no pain it should bring!" Zecora replied.

Just then, a loud knock could be heard from the front of Zecora's hut, and Zecora gave Mikar a 'hush' gesture with her hoof and trotted off to meet the visitor. Mikar laid his head down on the pillow Zecora lent him and waited for Zecora to come bandage his wound again. He looked down to find it bleeding slightly again, and he almost thought about calling Zecora back, until she returned. She spoke in a hushed tone.

"Mikar my friend, your new pals are here. Be sure to move slowly, so they don't run in fear."

"Gotcha," Mikar answered as Zecora ran back out to the front of her hut. She came back with three young ponies. One was orange with a maroon mane, one was light beige with a red mane and a bow, and the third was white with a light pink striped mane. Mikar noticed that none of them had their cutie marks yet. He had studied that cutie marks appeared when a pony found their special talent. They also wore red capes with blue and gold symbols on them.

They didn't notice Mikar at first. The orange one was busy arguing with the white one about not knowing the meaning of words. The beige pony with the bow was trying to break them up. Zecora gave Mikar an apologetic look, and cleared her throat loudly. They followed Zecora's gaze, and looked straight at Mikar. Straight at his open, bleeding wound.

Shock showed in all of their eyes, until Zecora whisked them off. She had forgotten all about Mikar's wound; She bandaged it up and called them back. They looked at the rest of him now, and the one with the bow spoke first.

"What'dja do ta him, Miss Zecora?" She asked in a strange accent.

"Yeah, he kinda looks like he got in a fight with a Manticore!" Said the orange one. Mikar felt tears well up in his eyes after hearing this, but he pushed them back and waited for the next speaker.

"Wooow! My sister's gonna be real upset about how ugly that big band-aid is..." Said the white one. Zecora laughed at this, and nudged the fillies closer with her snout. They seemed scared at getting close to Mikar, but Zecora kept pushing. Mikar put on his best smile, showing all of his sharp teeth. The white one fainted at this, but the one with the bow caught her just in time.

"Little fillies, this is my friend, Mikar. He comes from the sky, on a cloud up very far." Zecora told the girls about how she had found Mikar lying in a tree, and slowly, they became more accustomed to him. The white one woke up shortly after, and quickly tuned in to Zecora's stories. They laughed at nearly everything Zecora said- She was sugarcoating the story, obviously, but she probably didn't want them to know all the boring details. She told them of how he almost cried when she bandaged his gash, and about how he always stared at the flanks of mares passing by. The fillies laughed especially hard at this, and the orange one called him a "pervert", whatever that meant.

"Well little fillies, you should tell him your names. Then I can leave, and you four can play games." Zecora said, after all the stories were told and the fillies had their laughs.

"Ah'm Applebloom!" Said the one with the bow.

"My name's Scootaloo!" Said the orange one.

"And I'm Sweetie Belle!" The white one giggled.

"And we're..." All three of them said together, making Mikar brace for the worst...

"THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!" Mikar let out a small laugh at the great show the girls put on of introducing themselves. He had expected "going to kill you" from them. There was a group similar to the three fillies back on the cirrus called the Cloudscapers. The fillies reminded him so much of the group that he almost called Applebloom a Cloudscaper. Like the ponies, all of the Cloudscapers were female.

"I'm Mikar, girls. It's wonderful to me-" Mikar was cut off by a game of 20 questions coming from the girls.

"Where do you come from?"

"Is your poison real?"

"Do you really live on a cloud city?"

"Are you an alien?"

"Do you ever wear clothes?"

"Are your wings real?"

"Can you flap your ears up and down like this?"

"Can you fly?"

"Whoa! Whoa. Easy, one at a time!" Mikar almost had to shout to make himself heard over the babbling fillies. He told them more about where he came from, answered their questions and played some games with them. They played a game of Truth or Dare, in which Mikar had ended up with his lips turned pink from Sweetie Belle's lipstick. They later played 'soccer', where the fillies tried to kick a bouncy blue ball past Mikar, who blocked almost all of the shots with histail and wings. They had lots of fun late into the day, and soon, all of the fillies were sound asleep against Mikar's warm body. Eventually, he too fell asleep, his wings keeping the fillies warm from the chilly night air.

"GIRLS!" Zecora yelled from behind her home. Mikar jumped up, whacking his head against a tree limb. The fillies moaned, but quickly stood up and thanked Mikar for keeping them warm. Zecora trotted over, with an apologetic look on her face. She whispered into Mikar's ear, who nodded and shuffled slowly back behind Zecora's home. He caught a glimpse of two mares in front of the treehouse. One was white, the other was orange. Both were tapping their hooves impatiently. Zecora turned to the fillies. They were awake and bristling with excitement by now.

"Yes Miss Zecora?" All three chimed happily, putting on the sweetest smiles Mikar had ever seen.

"It's about time you go. Enough you already know. It's getting quite dark outside, my dears. Go home so your families won't fear!"

"Awwww!" All three whined in unison.

All three fillies were sad to leave, but Sweetie Belle came over and gave Mikar a little kiss on the cheek, wishing that he would get home soon. They said their goodbyes as the Dark One raised the moon. Maybe Zecora could tell him more about the princess that raises the moon?

"Well," Mikar told Zecora, "That went better than expected. They're not scared of a total stranger, or an alien for that matter." Mikar wiped the lipstick from his lips and spat loudly to get it out of his mouth.

"Indeed they are brave, I'll admit to you. However, we have important things to do." Zecora replied in her usual rhyming words. They were really getting on his nerves, but after the death of his 'girlfriend' and the supposed death of his scaly pal, he learned that patience was a virtue, and he decided to let it wait until morning. Zecora gave him some painkillers and went off to bed, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Why do they do that? Mikar thought as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

The first thing she knew was that her head hurt. a lot. It felt like someone was driving a hot nail into her forehead. Her ribcage hurt too; She felt like she was in a vice-grip. She smelled blood, and opened her eyes slowly. All over her beak was a crusty, orange liquid. She didn't know what it was, but she wanted to find out. She slowly pushed herself up, and looked around.

She was on a cloud, not too far from the ground. Darkness surrounded her. Below her was the Everfree forest, where she could hear loud snoring. In the distance was Ponyville, bright street lights and the sounds of a celebration making it hard to miss. She ruffled her wings, straightened the feathers on her head, and brushed the crusty orange stuff from her face. She gave it a lick, and then she remembered what it was. Blood. Soon, everything came back to her. All of them except her name.

Flying around Ponyville, thinking of a way to apologize to Dash.

Seeing a blue thing swoop past, then a gray thing smash her head.

Waking up with blood everywhere.

Being accused of killing someone named 'Mikar'.

Getting chucked into a cloud.

Blackness.

Now she was more disgusted than angry, and wiped her face all over the cloud. The orange stuff came off easily, and she checked herself for any injuries. A broken rib and a twisted wing were all that she found. She slouched over the edge of the cloud, seeing a giant gray mass snoring loudly on the forest floor. She thought about it for a second, then realized: That was the thing that nearly killed her.

"That gray dweeb!" She shouted loudly, and she almost dived off of the cloud after it, when her stomach growled loudly. How long was I out for? She pondered as she settled back into the cloud. She quickly put it off and lay her head on the pillow-like cloud. She let her mind overwhelm her. Why can't I remember my name? As she was drifting off, she didn't know that a sneaky pegasus was pulling her over towards a giant cluster of clouds. When she was shoved into a loud, thundering cloud, that's when she opened her eyes.

All around her were thunderheads, booming and crackling loudly. She screeched like the eagle she was, and leapt from cloud to cloud until she was on top of the large, black mass of clouds. She looked around to see that she had been moved quite far from her normal spot, and glared angrily at a pegasus who was staring her in the eye.

"Eheh, sorry about that, dude! Didn't see ya there, you were so chill."

"Ugh... Whatever." She replied grumpily.

"Say, aren't you that dude who was all, like, RAWR in Fluttershy's face?"

"Yeah, what's it to ya, dorkface?"

"Dude, that was some gnarly duff. I always hated that filly. You're Gilda, right?"

"... Oh, umm... Yeah." Now she remembered her name. Gilda.

"Ya wanna grab a late-night snack with me? I'm running on an empty tank, dude."

"Sounds good to me. And you are?"

"Dumb-bell."

"Nice to meet you... dweeb."

They both chuckled happily as they flew off towards Cloudsdale's late-night cafe. They had no idea they were being watched by a giant, blue dragon who was exacting revenge.

The Fox, the Witch and the Bookworm

Chapter 5: Six Friends, One Problem

"Oooh, Mikar... You're such a daunting fox..." Oregam whispered into Mikar's ear.

"I'm not the only one, you sexy vixen." Mikar replied, pushing Oregam closer towards the bed of clouds. He gently eased her down onto the bed. She laid down onto it, posing her body into a seductive pose. She let out a giggle as Mikar slowly caressed her golden, curvy body. They kissed a long, loving kiss that felt like it lasted for hours. Oregam moaned as Mikar's paw pressed against her cheek, making the kiss even more passionate for both of them. After breaking their kiss, they began to grind their bodies together, and readied themselves for what they were about to do... They were going to join their lives forever. Mikar readied himself, watching Oregam's warm, scaly, purple, body- wait.

"Hello again... Friend," Draugr rumbled, opening his seemingly bottomless mouth and engulfing the screaming Mikar whole.

Mikar rose from his slumber screaming bloody murder. He jumped up with breakneck speed, until roaring loudly and settling back down at the sharp pain in his chest. Ouch, he thought. Sweat covered his shaking body, and he felt the bandage around his torso. His wound hadn't re-opened, but it still hurt a lot. Less then the days before, anyway.

He turned his head and peered into a small kettle of water. The surface was rippling crazily, with little driplets of water flowing from the overflowing lip. It was then that he realized it was raining. Water drenched his entire body, not sweat. He realized this with a groan, and covered whatever he could with his feathery wings. His head and chest were covered, but his legs and lower body were getting drenched. He sighed silently and judged by the daylight that it was around six in the morning. He looked at Zecora's hut, and through a window he saw her snoozing silently in her bed. Inside her home were a number of zebraic artifacts, such as masks, vases and figurines. One of those figurines was a dragon, and Mikar thought about how Jule was coping with Mikar's disappearance. He was probably searching for him now. He knows I'm a tough fox, Mikar thought. I survived the Manticore, I can survive this. Thunder roared, and Mikar jumped. He heard a loud thump from inside Zecora's house, followed by a foreign curse. He looked back into Zecora's home, and saw Zecora picking up a large, metal mask from the floor. Her mowhawk was a tangled mess, and her tail was the same way. She re-arranged the mask on the wall, and pulled her nightgown on. She slowly cantered into the bathroom and shut the door.

Mikar stopped spying on her and turned his head back to the kettle of water in front of his now drenched pillow. He stared at his reflection; Still the same Mikar, save for the sagging fur and look of pain in his eyes. He reached his paws up and rang out his head fur, which behaved much like hair, and stood up on all fours. He took a long swig from the water kettle, and decided to move himself underneath Zecora's hut. As he was plowing his way around her home to the dryer spots, he accidentally tripped on an outstretched root and slammed into Zecora's window. His head crashed through it, and he felt blood trickle down his snout. He opened his eyes to find a small scratch.

And a very surprised Zecora just stepping out of the shower.

"What are you doing, Mikar, my friend? Did you trip on that long root again?" Zecora spoke, then somehow grabbed a towel with her hooves and wrapped herself in it. She seemed to show no anger towards the now smashed window and broken glass all over her floor, as well as a few drops of orange blood now joining the glass pieces. She only gave him a "Really?" look, which Mikar returned with a goofy grin. She shoved Mikar's face aside and toweled off right in front of him. She obviously didn't care that he saw her "naked", and after finishing, started to re-style her mowhawk. Mikar thought she looked nice with her hair down, but didn't protest as she sprayed a funny-smelling mist onto her mane, keeping it in place. She saw Mikar's now floppy head-fur, and pulled his hair straight, spraying it with the same mist. She giggled a cute laugh, seeing Mikar's surprised face. He coughed a bit, then looked at his no-longer-floppy hair. He opened his mouth to thank her, but she was already slipping on her tribal rings and walking out of the room, all while not saying a word.

Mikar pulled his head out of the window frame and yanked a giant branch down, covering Zecora's smashed window. He slowly and painfully padded his way over to the front door, trying desperately not to ruin his new hairdo. He made it to the front door and eagerly waited for Zecora. She emerged a few minutes later, carrying another giant blanket and an umbrella.

"Are you ready to come to the town with me, and see all the sights there are to see?" Zecora said, raising her voice to be heard over the loud thunder and rain.

"Do we have to go today? I mean, it's raining!" Mikar exclaimed. He gratefully took the blanket and wrapped his head and body in it, crafting a makeshift cloak from it. Zecora had torn small holes for his wings and tail.The rain pattered against the blanket uselessly, and he gave Zecora a thankful nod.

"Today is the only day that they're free. They don't work on Sundays, unlike me." Zecora yelled over the thunder. She opened her umbrella and stepped sheepishly out of the hut. She shut the door behind her and, locking it, they both set out on their journey to Ponyville. They talked along the way, Zecora about her new youth potion and Mikar about his old girlfriend, Oregam. The journey was otherwise eventless, other than an ocelot racing past them, being chased by a silent pony in a blue shirt, who was holding a fish in his mouth. By the time they reached Ponyville, both of them were mostly dry.

"Now remember, as we have rehearsed. Just try to act normal, and don't say a word." Zecora spoke in a hushed tone.

"Gotcha," Mikar replied. He was posing as a pegasus pony with gigantism, and he was already moving slowly due to his injuries, so he didn't need t opretend. He just walked normally, letting the cloak cover most of his body, other than his wings and tail, which was sticking out of the back through another hole. A shadow from the "hood" of the blanket kept his foxy face hidden. Set on their plan, they slowly entered Ponyville.

Almost immediately, they got glimpses from just about everypony in the street they were on. There weren't many, thanks to the rain storm, but Mikar's enhanced ears let him hear a pin drop from across the cirrus; Here, he heard nothing except the rain. He slowly turned his head to Zecora, who gave him a curt nod and kept walking down the street, the sound of her hoofsteps the only sound other than Mikar's pained breathing. They walked and walked, past many shops, homes and shocked ponies. Even the biggest pony, who was red and had a green apple for a cutie mark, was only half Mikar's size. Mikar felt the fear resonating from them all. He heard whispers, and felt eyes boring into his side and back, some ponies even trying to come closer to get a look at his face. Mikar let out a low growl each time, however, so they learned to keep their distance. To them, Mikar's quietest growl sounded like a doorway to death. Eventually, Zecora and Mikar reached their destination, with several curious ponies trailing them. They were at a large tree, (Large for Zecora, anyway) which had doors, windows and even a balcony. It looked like someone had hollowed out the tree and made it into their home. Tired from the pain of walking, Mikar set his haunches on the soaked ground and waited. Zecora lifted a hoof and knocked on the front door three times. Mikar braced himself for what come next- Zecora had kept it a surprise for him.

"Come on in!" Said a feminine voice from inside the tree. Mikar was sure that someone was living in there now. Zecora pushed the door open with her snout, and peered inside, careful to keep Mikar hidden. "Oh, hello, Zecora. What brings you to Ponyville this 'magnificent' day?" The voice was speaking loudly, as to be heard over the loud thunderstorm.

"I have brought a friend of mine who's lost. May we enter your home, so no more rain is cost?" Zecora spoke.

"Sure, come in. Didn't I say that earlier?"

Zecora pushed the door fully open, letting Mikar get a good glimpse of the inside, as well as letting the source of the voice, a lavender unicorn with a purple mane, get a good glimpse of him. The first thing she noticed was his sheer size. He was huge compared to a normal pony. She then noticed his large wings, and black cloak. She though she was getting a nice visit from the Grim Pony Reaper. Mikar decided it was a good time to say hello.

"Uhhh... Hey there, purple pony." Mikar's voice trembled. He didn't want her knowing that he was an alien. Zecora facehoofed, and took off her saddlebags, folding the umbrella that was neatly attached to them. The lavender pony just stared at Mikar, taken aback. She didn't know what to think. Her senses snapped back to her, however, and she put on the best fake smile she could.

"Hello, there. My name is Twilight Sparkle, but you can call me Twilight. W-what's your name?" Twilight's voice was shaking. She was as scared of Mikar as Mikar was scared of her.

"M-my name's Mikar."

"Oh, you two, you're acting so scared! Is this how a new friend has to be bared?" Zecora chimed in her still annoying rhymes. Both of them looked at Zecora, then back at each other. Twilight saw that Mikar was getting soaked in the rain.

"Y-you can come in too, Mikar. Just, uh, be careful!"

"Alright, here goes," Mikar said as he slowly lowered himself down and squeezed his body through the door. It was a tight fit, but he made it through, and he could stand up in here if he tucked his tail in. He took a look around with his head, and judged that he was inside of some kind of pony library. Books lined the shelves, and he saw a flight of stairs leading into a room that Mikar decided was the bedroom. Zecora pulled the door shut, and turned to Twilight.

"Mikar has gigantism, my dear. His size is strange, but you've no reason to fear."

"Well, it's just... ponies usually have hooves." Twilight pointed with her hoof towards Mikar's exposed front paws. He knew that there would be no talking out of this, so he pulled his wings into his sides and let the cloak fall from his body. Zecora watched with interest as Twilight's expression turned from shock, to fear, to more shock. There was an alien in her house, and it could tear her to shreds if it wanted to. Mikar smiled, then shut his mouth as Twilight gasped at the sight of his large, venomous fangs. Mikar's ears pulled back against his head in embarrasment, and felt relieved when he saw that Twilight was moving closer to him. Nobody, or pony, said a word as Twilight did a 360 around Mikar, who sat still and waited for the diagnosis from Twilight. Minutes later, she pulled back and planted her haunches into a chair, sighing heavily. Mikar spoke up, his loud voice shaking the water in a flower vase on the table.

"Uhh... Yeah, I'm not a pony... Is something wrong with that?"

"Oh no! Nononononono! Not at all!" Twilight quickly answered, afraid she had offended the poor creature. She judged that he was male be his voice, but didn't want to bother asking him. What if it was female? Boy, that would be something, Twilight thought. She looked into Mikar's large, golden eyes, and just as Mikar thought she would scream "Guards!", she squealed with delight.

"Squeeeee! They're real! They'rerealthey'rerealthey'rereaaal!" Twilight bounced up and down out of her chair, while cheering and whooping and hopping around the table. She stopped when she saw Mikar and Zecora staring at her with surprised expressions. It looked to Mikar that she already knew about Skykin. "Ahem, excuse me! It's just that, I've read books and newspapers about creatures like you before! You're a Skyfriend, right?"

"Skykin, actually."

"Thanks. The books said you were myths... Ooh, what's happened to you?" Twilight went from happy to sad as she looked at the bandage that wrapped around Mikar's entire torso, just leaving enough room for his wings. she poked the bandage, making Mikar yelp as Zecora came running over.

"Ah-ah-ah! Not touching him is best. The bandages are for a large gash in his chest!" Zecora said.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Winrar!"

"Mikar."

"Mikar, I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?" Twilight asked.

"A little, but I'll live."

"Oh, thank Celesti-" Twilight's sentence was cut short as she heard footsteps coming from the staircase. All of them looked over to see a baby, purple dragon slowly walking down the stairs. It was quite sleepy, and judging from the way its eyes were barely opened, it didn't seem to notice the 10-foot-tall fox sitting in the middle of his house. Zecora, Twilight and Mikar were silent as the dragon, which reminded Mikar of an old friend, walked over to the fridge and pulled it open, mumbling to himself about saving his maiden "Rarity" from an evil pack of Timberwolves. Mikar guessed that it was a male dragon. After all, only a male would call someone their "maiden". He mumbled more about Timberwolves as he slowly walked into the kitchen. Mikar studied about Timberwolves at school- Vicious, wolf-life predators made of tree limbs and twigs. He took a carton of milk from the fridge, took a long drink from it, and put it back into the fridge. He didn't even bother to get a glass. Twilight gagged as she pushed her glass of milk away from her. Hearing the gag, the baby dragon snapped his head over and looked Mikar right in the eye. His expression remained the same, however. He turned his head and continued walking towards the stairs. He climbed up the stairs one by one, until he finally reached the top.

"I don't even wanna know." He said, as he prodded out of sight. Mikar, Zecora and Twilight exchanged glances, then allowed themselves a little chuckle. They got down to business afterwards. They talked for hours about what a Skykin was, what they ate, how they mated, that sort of thing. Mikar started to feel tears in his eyes at the mating part, remembering his old girlfriend, Oregam. His tears vanished as Zecora patted his forearm; He had told her all about how Oregam died. Then, Mikar started asking questions. Why did ponies have horns on their heads? Did all ponies have horns, or wings? Why did they live in brick and wood houses? They talked and talked well into the night, until the lights flickered and the power went out. The storm worsened as they talked by candlelight, and when it was well past 11:00, Twilight decided to call it a day. Both parties had learned a great deal about each other.

"Say, why don't you two stay the night here? It will be hard to get home in this storm. Rainbow Dash sure outdid herself on this one!" Twilight seemed ecstatic about the idea of the two of them sleeping over.

"Are you sure we won't be a pain? We can walk home in a little rain." Zecora replied. Mikar nudged her with his wing, and she gave in. They would stay the night here and wait out the storm. Since twilight had destroyed the guest bed with one of her magical experiments, Zecora had to either sleep with Twilight or sleep on the floor with Mikar. She knew that sleeping with another mare could damage her reputation, so she chose to sleep beside Mikar. After settling in and calling out their good-nights, Mikar turned to Zecora for one last question.

"Do boy ponies really stick their dongles there?"

"It is true, it's how ponies mate. Go to sleep now, it's getting late." Zecora yawned drowsily, and nuzzled closer to Mikar, who in turn covered her with his wing, making a "blanket" for her. She nuzzled in deeper, and before long, everybody- and pony- was sound asleep.

All but one.

Somewhere, staring through Mikar's eyes using his magic ball, was an angry purple dragon seeking revenge.

The Look-alike Mikar

I'm gonna stop naming the chapters now. It's unnecessary.

He was cold, wet, muddy, and in serious danger. But he had to carry on. There was no going against King Draugr's orders. To do so was to admit death into one's life. He looked up at the sky- He could see a peek of moon through the clouds, so he judged that it was around 1:00 AM. The rain had picked up, and it looked like it was going to start striking lightning soon. Even more danger to his life, since he was in the middle of a large pasture. An attacker would see him easily with his arctic white fur. In front of him was a large barnhouse, and far behind him was an enormous orchard of apple trees. He needed to learn a lot about the Forbidden Green World in S.G.M.T., short for Sky Guard Mercenary Training. Since he was in the Merc's division, he was permitted on the ground to do whatever he pleased, if he followed some simple rules:

1. Do not let any groundlings see you. If they do, you must either kill them or persuade them to forget you.

2. Do not return to the cirrus with pursuers.

3. Follow the orders of your employer.

So far, he had followed all of them. He needed to move out and follow his orders, but he was unsure of which route to take; Take the woods and risk being jumped by bandit ponies, or take the clearing and risk being seen. He didn't want to take any more lives than he had to; He decided to take the clearing and dart straight for the house. As he was sprinting towards the house, he caught a glimpse of a dark shadow flying above. Suddenly, he crashed his front right leg into a plow, making both him yelp and the plow clooong!

He froze, and slapped himself on the forehead for not watching where he was going. The shadow quickly flew away, and he could hear what sounded like an eagle screech. He hoped it wasn't a Griffon- Their claws could tear a Skykin apart easily. He kept running for the house, and when he reached the side of it, pressed himself against the red walls to avoid any residents seeing him if they looked out. He readied his claws, and made sure it was the right window. After double-checking his mental image, he was sure of it, and poked his head towards the window. On his way up, he heard a few giggles, then a quick "ssh", making him pull back. He waited a few minutes, and began his way up again. He pressed the window open quietly, taking a good look inside. There were posters on the walls, picture frames on shelves, and various little filly's toys scattered about the room. But he was here for something else. someone else.

Taking a look down, he spotted his targets. Three shadows could be seen moving against a blanket shaped into a tent, and judging from their postures laying belly-down on the floor, they were reading something. Something funny, due to the repeated giggling. He poked his head in further, taking a good look at the blanket, then he brought a paw up, grasping the blanket, and yanking it off of the wire that it was hanging from, revealing three shocked young fillies staring into the guard's face. They almost screamed, until the one with the orange coat whispered to him.

"Mikar? What are you doing here? I thought you were hurt!" She said.

"Yeah, Mikar. Wah ain't ya back at Miss Zecora's?" Said the one with the bow.

"Umm, girls... I don't think that's Mikar."

Both girls looked at the white filly that had spoken up, and looked back at "Mikar". Then they realized- Mikar had two ears. This guy only had one ear, as well as brilliant white fur that seemed to glow in the dark. The other ear was torn off at the base. The guard growled a low, loud growl and grabbed the orange on in one paw. In the other, he took the screaming white one. With his mouth, he attempted to nab the one with the bow, until she quickly bared her flanks and bucked him square in the mouth. A tooth went flying into the wall, sticking a picture of a colt named "Hoity Toity" in the head. He roared at her loudly, and was about to bite her with his venom when a light flicked on, blinding him temporarily. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a giant, red beast standing in the doorway. It stared at him, then at the screaming fillies with a look of first shock, then pure, unfiltered rage.

"Nnnope!" The red pony said, rearing back and mashing the guard in the face with his hooves.

The blow connected with his nose, and the red pony heard a satisfying crack as bone gave way to muscle. The guard roared again, and dropped the screaming fillies back to the floor. He was about to yank his head out and abort the mission, but another hoof came flying at him. He dodged it this time, taking a big bite on the red pony's side. He let loose his venom and yanked his head out of the window frame, tearing part of it open by trying to pull his forearms out as well. He took flight and flew quickly into the safety of the darkness.

"Big Mac! Ya saved us! Thanks, big bro!" Applebloom hugged her brother tightly, who was inspecting the bite holes on his side. He hadn't felt the bite in all his rage.

"Eeyup."

"Yeah, Mac! You were all like, whoo-psh and he was all Ow ooh ow!" Scootaloo was overly excited from the commotion.

"Thanks, Mr. Apple. No wonder my sister has a crush on you." Sweetie Belle was less excited from the ordeal, but still very thankful towards Big Macintosh.

"Eeyup."

"Big bro? He bit your belly, are you alright?"

"Nnnope." Big Macintosh said as he collapsed to the floor, his blood mixing with the orange blood of the guard's.

"Oh no! Hey Mac, wake up! APPLEJAAACK!"

"Ah'm here, Ah'm here. What happened? I heard a big fight in here!"

The fillies told Applejack about the entire incident, then helped Applejack lift Big Mac into his bed. The fillies were a little shaken from what happened, but otherwise unharmed. Big Mac woke up a little later, seemingly unharmed by the venom. He said it made him see colors and hallucinate strange things, but he only fainted because of how close his little sister came to death. Applejack insisted that the three fillies sleep with her that night.

They were happy to oblige.

"WHHHAT?! What do you mean, ESCAPED?!" Draugr was furious. His voice alone woke half of the cirrus.

"M-m-my sire, the r-red one. He k-kicked me hard, I think he br-" The guard didn't have time to respond before he was attacked by another volley of vicious words from his master.

"I don't care what it did to you! I told you to get me those groundlings and you FAILED!"

"M-m-m-my sire, I'm so-"

"Don't say it. Don't even THINK of saying that word!"

"Y-yes, my lord."

"Get out of my sight before I tear you into *BLOODY RIBBONS!*" Draugr roared at the top of his lungs. He hated failures almost as much as he hated Mikar. Now not only was his mission compromised, but now the groundlings might be preparing to defend themselves. Draugr didn't want to have to face resistance when he found Mikar and tore him apart. He could have torn him apart on the cirrus, but that would break the law, forcing him from the throne and letting his heir take it while Draugr was put to death. Normally, his word was law, but those millennial-old laws outruled him by far. He may have been the ruler of the cirrus, but none could over-rule the ancient laws. His rage boiled even more at this.

Suddenly, he remembered the lack of law below the stratus clouds, and his rage resided. He knew already that he could go to the Forbidden Green World if he wanted to, but he first needed to find Mikar, and thanks to his spies, those three fillies looked like they knew him. The failure guard told him that the fillies had called him Mikar, so they must know Mikar personally. Draugr took note of this, and thought about facing Mikar himself and destroying him with his now amazing flame breath. He formulated a plan. The Forbidden Green World had dragons down there, too. Not Dragon Skykin, but dragons. He could probably pass as one of them if he tried to blend in with them. He ran the plan through his head a few times, and smiled for the first time in years.

He was finally going to have his hands on Mikar.

Meet the Gang

Mikar awoke from his nightmare, sweating feverishly. He had the same dream about Oregam, but this time, that creature, which Mikar learned was a Griffon, attacked him. Mikar tried to calm down, but the thoughts kept racing back to him. The eagle screech, the angry golden eyes, those claws. Mikar lifted his head, and saw that Zecora was still fast asleep under Mikar's wing, snoring quietly. She looked so cute, even if she was a bit creepy looking. He turned his head and peered at the clock; 2:00 AM. Mikar couldn't get back to sleep, so he sat up and watched Zecora sleep for a while. He then turned to reading books (To the best of his extent - He wasn't all too great at reading), which only bored him more. He was now wide awake at 2:30 AM with nothing to do, and he couldn't move too much or he would wake one of the ponies. So, he flipped through some picture books rather than reading them. He read a few foal's stories, and a few comic books. Most of them revolved around a brown pony named "Daring Do", who went on crazy adventures, retrieving ancient artifacts from old temples and caves. He found them quite interesting, for pony books. He later read through some picture books about medical treatment for common wounds, spells, and one interesting book on pony mating. When Zecora started to shift, he put down the mating book and nestled his head down again. Zecora opened her eyes and looked at him. She smiled, and sat up.

"My good friend, why are you awake? Your energy for tomorrow is at stake..." She whispered, then yawned. She looked at the clock on the wall, which now read 6:00 AM. Mikar looked at it too, surprised that he had read that fast. Zecora turned her neck and saw all the books lying on the floor. She looked at one closely- Your Expansive Guide on Pony Mating. She turned to Mikar, who could only grin sheepishly and shrug his shoulders. For some reason, his wings were fully outstretched, and he couldn't seem to get them back down. He gave up and looked at Zecora.

"What? I got bored."

"I see that..." Zecora yawned, not bothering to rhyme her sentence. She laid her head back against Mikar's forepaw and pulled his wing over her. She nodded to him before closing her eyes and going back to sleep. Mikar waited until he was sure she was asleep, then re-opened the mating guide. He stared at them curiously.

Do they really lick each other *down there?***

"Okay, Mr. Big and Tall, you ready to meet your new friends?" Twilight asked.

"It's now or never," Mikar mumbled. He wasn't into letting more ponies see his true form, but 5 ponies didn't seem too bad. He waited patiently for the signal to emerge from his hiding place in the attic, which was a very tight fit for him. It hurt him to get in because of his injuries, but he survived and somehow managed to turn his body around so his head could peek through the attic door. He was ready for this.

Suddenly, a loud knock was heard at the door. Twilight gave him a quick pat on the head, before descending down the attic ladder and mostly closing the door, leaving it open a sliver so Mikar could see what was going on. Twilight rushed over to the door. Zecora was nowhere to be seen; She had went back to her home for some "me time". Spike was gone too, but Twilight had already introduced him to Mikar. It went casually, as if Spike were just meeting another pony, and not an alien. He was gone shopping for the day. Twilight opened the door with her magic, and what Mikar saw made his stomach churn.

It was the Griffon.

"Hey Twilight," She said.

"Gilda?! W-what are you doing here?!" Twilight almost slammed the door. Instead, Gilda held up a picture. On it was a picture of what Mikar looked like, minus the bat wings- His wings had feathers.

"I'm looking for this dweeb. You see him anywhere? I've got a score to settle with him."

"N-no, I haven't seen anything like that in my life." Twilight answered, her voice still shaking in fear. Gilda could sense that she was lying, however, and picked up the stakes.

"Listen, hornhead, I don't wanna have to hurt you. Now tell me where he is, before I-"

"Ah-hem...." A voice said, forcing Gilda to whip around, claws ready. A huge, red pony and 5 other multicolored ponies stood there. The red one seemed to be the source of the voice, since he was the only male there. Mikar felt relieved to see another male. "Or you'll do what, feathers?" The red one rumbled in an easy, southern accent.

"Oh, uhh, I was just leaving," Gilda mumbled.

"Neigh, ya weren't. Y'all was gonna clobber her. Ah saw it." The red pony replied, his normally laid-back eyes now turning into an angry stare.

"Did you, Big Mac? Well, what're you gonna do about it, sit on me?"

"Nnnope," Big Mac said, lifting his hoof and wrapping it around the protesting Gilda. She scratched, bit and clawed, but Big Mac was tough. He ignored it all and threw her into the side of a house, watching her scramble up and fly away, shouting vile remarks about tearing everypony to shreds. After that was settled, Big Mac stepped back and let his followers enter the house. Mikar took a good look at all of them.

First off, there was Big Mac. A huge, red tank that could take on even a Griffon, and judging by the huge bite marks on his side, Mikar guessed that he could take on a Skykin as well. But what Skykin had bit him? He would learn this later. Next up was an orange Earth Pony. She bore a southern accent and a cowpony's hat, with a cutie mark depicting three apples. If Mikar was correct, she seemed related to the red one named Big Mac. She was talking to another pony, who was white with a brilliantly styled purple mane. She had a strange accent, frequently using the words "darling" and "fabulous". She was a Unicorn, and her cutie mark had three gemstones on it. Behind her followed a blue Pegasus pony with a multicolored rainbow mane. She was busy reading one of the books that Mikar had read last night- Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet. She was so busy, she almost crashed into a bookshelf. Her cutie mark was a thundercloud with a rainbow lightning bolt. Hovering beside her was another Pegasus, but this one was a pale yellow with a pinkish mane. Her cutie mark had three butterflies. She was talking to a bounding, pink Earth Pony who just couldn't stop talking. She went from cupcakes to space travel to My Little People... Whatever that was. The ponies talked amongst themselves for a bit, the orange one telling a story of how the Crusaders were attacked last night at her home. Twilight was starting to give the signal, which was swishing her tail three times, but she was interrupted by a very creepy predicament...

The pink pony's tail suddenly started twitching uncontrollably. Mikar was confused at this strange display, until everypony in the room dove for cover. He didn't quite catch what they said before running and hiding, but he heard one thing.

Crack!

The attic ceiling gave way under Mikar's giant body, sending both it and Mikar crashing to the floor. Mikar slammed into a table, making his chest wound hurt even more than when it had first happened. He screeched in pain, his wings outstretching themselves to their limit. He bit his lip hard, and moments later, he saw nothing but blackness.

"Alive? I mean, sure, he's a big ol' meanie-weanie monster and all, but he hit the ground pret-ty hard!"

"Well, that critter looks a lot like the 'un that attacked the Crusaders last night..."

"Ooh, the poor little thing..."

"Wow, this is 20% cooler than even Daring Do and the Diamond Dogs!"

"Ugh, the darling is quite cute, but his breath reeks! And what kind of perfume is he wearing? Blood?"

"Now, girls. Let's not get carried away." It was Twilight's voice. Mikar was glad to hear this.

Mikar had hid the floor and blacked out. His wound had re-opened, soaking the bandage around his chest in orange ichor. His head felt like it had been struck by lightning. His eyes refused to open. His chest felt like someone was dumping salt under his claws, His right venom fang was chipped, spilling a clear venom onto the floor. One of his wings felt like it was bent backwards, and judging by the fact that he had just fallen 20 feet, it probably was. Normally, a fall of 20 feet would feel like a bunny hop to him. But with his chest injured, his front paws couldn't keep up the pressure when his gash opened and he hit the hard, wooden floor with full force. If that wasn't bad, his wingbones were hollow, meaning they broke easily. He broke them a few times before, but they were small breaks and they healed fast. This break felt much bigger.

"His name is Mikar, and he's a Skykin. Part angel, part fox."

"Angel? ya mean, as in that little critter 'Shy keeps?" It was the orange pony's voice.

"No, as in the... ugh, well, he has wings. It's hard to explain," Twilight finished.

Mikar peeled one eye open and glared into the eyes of an adorable, pastel yellow pegasus pony. She stared back at him for a few seconds, before letting out a little "Eep!" and darting behind the cyan blue pegasus. He let the other eye open slightly, before groaning and shutting it again quickly. His head hurt too much to move, so he moved his eyes instead. In his view, he saw the cyan pegasus, the yellow one, and Twilight. The room was completely silent, save for his labored breathing. All three ponies stared at him with gawking mouths, and the poor yellow one was still hiding behind the cyan one, whose toned muscles led Mikar to thinking she was some kind of athlete. His head pain faded slowly over a period of a few minutes, all of which he spent in agony over the rest of his pain, including his chest and wing, not to mention several other bumps and bruises over his body. When the pain in his head had finally faded completely, he lifted his head and saw 3 other ponies on either side of him. The white one with the purple mane was regarding him with a look of disgust, as if she were offended of how ugly his bandage was. He finally managed the courage to speak.

"Uhhh... hi," He mumbled. He spat out a broken venom fang, which would re-grow by midnight if he was lucky.

"Hello..." They all muttered, except for Twilight and the orange one, who said "Howdy" Instead.

"Owww... Well, aren't you guys gonna help me? This kinda hurts." The ponies exchanged worried glances, before Twilight started lifting him up with her magic. He felt his chest wound starting to mend, which was probably a result of her magic. He slowly inches off the ground, and felt his paws regain strength as his gash slowly healed. Shortly after, he was standing on all fours again, and Twilight was crouching on the floor, seemingly exhausted. The yellow one immediately rushed to her side.

"Oh, Twilight, are you all right? That was a lot of work for you!" She said. Her voice was quiet, as if she were the most shy being in the Forbidden Green World.

"Y-yeah... huff... Just a bit tired. I lifted a... huff... Ursa, I can lift a Skykin," She rasped from thirst.

"Twilight, thanks! My chest, it-" Mikar tried at speak, but he was interrupted by a coughing fit. The cyan blue pegasus took this opportunity to speak up.

"Just what are you?" The blue one growled. She stood ready to bolt straight into him if needed. Mikar flopped his injured wing onto the ground, groaning at the pain. He raised his cheeks in a snarl, and readied his claws in case she decided to attack.

"I'm Mikar. I'm a Skykin. Who are you?"

"I'm Rainbow Dash... And I don't really take kindly to guys who're bullies to poor Fluttershy." Rainbow huffed, and Mikar saw steam shoot from her nostrils. The rest of the ponies watched in concern, too afraid to intervene.

"Well... I guess I scared her, but I didn't mean to." Mikar didn't want to have to hurt the brave pegasus, who was judging where would be best to mash Mikar with her hooves. "Fluttershy? Is that the yellow one?"

"Yeah, it is. Now, friend or foe?"

"Friend. I don't wanna have to bite you, now back off!"

"You back off, fox guy!"

"Um, you two..." Fluttershy's voice was barely audible over Mikar's snarling and Rainbow's snorting.

"Why are you mad at me? It's not like I wanted to scare her!"

"Well, ya did!"

"Hey, um... you two..."

"I'll beat those fangs right outta your head!"

"See if you can do that after I bite you with them!"

"HEY!" Fluttershy exploded, her voice immediately silencing the two. Mikar and Rainbow both looked over at her quickly. She gave Rainbow Dash an angry glare, then turned to Mikar. As soon as his eyes met hers, he felt something. Something deep, deep inside him. He wanted to look away, but he couldn't. Her stare felt like it was burrowing into his very soul. His expression went from surprise to fear as she slowly approached him. After about 30 seconds of that evil stare, she finally spoke.

"You should know better than that, Mr. Mikar!"

Mikar could only nod, his eyes dilating to small dots in his head.

"You may have scared me, but there's no reason to argue over me!"

Mikar nodded again, and his feral sneer turned into a frown and his snarl turned to a whimper.

"Now, will you be a good boy and stop arguing?"

Mikar nodded once more, and Fluttershy halted her evil stare. Mikar's senses returned to him, and he was now ready to proceed with the introductions Twilight had told him about. He met Applejack, who was an apple bucker on Sweet Apple Acres. Mikar had misheard her when she first said this, much to her confusion when he burst out laughing. She told him about a creature much like Mikar that had attacked her a few nights ago. She had a funny accent.

He met Rainbow Dash, who was apparently the fastest flier in Equestria. She apologized for being so cross with him earlier, and the two seemed to be wonderful friends. Mikar was right about her being an athlete, and she was more than happy to flex her wing muscles for him.

He met Fluttershy, the not-so-shy pony with the yellow coat and pink mane. She was the one whom he scared earlier, and she told him to rest assured that she wasn't scared after meeting him in person. She rubbed his belly, telling him the story of a Minotaur who had taught her to be less of a doormat. She even found his sweet spot, where if she rubbed, he would whimper and shook his left hind leg.

He met Pinkie Pie, who was the greatest partygoer in Ponyville. She wanted to throw him a party after Ponyville had been accustomed to Mikar's presence. She was a fast talker, and she somehow managed to pop into the strangest places. For example, she was babbling on about a cranky donkey named Cranky Doodle Donkey, until she somehow ended up behind Mikar, asking about why his *Squee!* was missing.

Finally, he met Rarity, the fashionista of Ponyville. She frequently referred to him as "darling" and insisted that she make him some form of fancy clothing for when he met the Mayor. He rejected all of her offers, but asked her to fashion him a leather vest. The entire pony group shivered at the mentioning of leather, and even Fluttershy almost fainted before Applejack caught her mid-fall. Rarity told him that leather was made from the skins of animals, and Mikar quickly realized what he had said. They shook it off as a carnivorous instinct.

After meeting all of the ponies, his stomach growled loudly. He was starving, and he craved for some meat. He remembered that most ponies were herbivores; they didn't eat meat. His ears drooped at this, but Applejack offered him an apple. It wasn't half bad, but his stomach greatly disagreed an hour later when he needed to "drop a bomb" in the forest. When he returned, it was starting to get late and the ponies were getting ready to leave. They said their goodbyes, and set out after Mikar had thanked them for accepting him. They promised not to tell Ponyville of his existence until the Mayor had learned, and Pinkie Pie had done some crazy charades called a "Pinkie Promise". He couldn't help but stare at Rainbow's behind as she dashed away, until Twilight gave him a sharp tap with her hoof.

"What?"

"You know what, you pervert!" Twilight giggled and blushed a bright pink before trotting upstairs and to bed. Just before bed, Spike returned and acknowledged Mikar, before belching loudly, spouting green flames. Out of those flames came a scroll, neatly tied with a red ribbon. Twilight picked it up and read it aloud.

Dear Mikar,

I cannot return for you, my dear. To be caught with you, I fear.

I was followed home last night, and it gave me quite a fright.

You can stay with Twilight for now, until I catch this spying cow.

Until then, keep healing to your best. Eat plenty of meat and get lots of rest!

-Sincerely,

Zecora

P.S. Please don't stare at my flanks any more. You're making me feel like a pony whore!

The letter ended with a drawing of a smiling pony head.

"Well, Mikar, time for bed. It's almost 11:00!"

"Alrighty then, night Twilight." Mikar gave her a little pat on the head before nestling his head down onto his forepaws.

"Goodnight, Mikar. Oh, and don't look at my flanks either!" Twilight giggled, until she hopped into her bed. Spike followed shortly after, waving to Mikar before flopping into a basket, hugging a blanket tightly. Mikar wrapped himself in his own blanket, minding his injured wing. He found out from twilight that it wasn't actually broken, only badly sprained. She had rubbed on some ointment shortly after he had returned from the woods. Getting home from the woods was a difficult enough task, but without flight meant he had to dress up as the gigantic pony again. The street ponies still stared at him as they had before, but a few didn't stare.

Mikar closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, but not before snaking his head up and getting a quick peek at Twilight's plump flanks. He pulled his head back a moment later, orange blood flowing from his nose. That was his last thought as he soared into the dream world.

Mikar had a lucid dream that night. He conjured up Oregam, perching neatly on a cloud. He was beside her, and they were both watching the sunset on the cloudy horizon. He gave her a big hug, and tears welled up in his eyes. She hugged him back.

"I miss you so much, Oregam..."

"I miss you too, Mickey. But I'm gone."

"I know." Mikar's voice lowered to a whisper as tears streaked down his furred face. "I know."

"Goodbye, Mikar," Oregam said as he felt the dream fade. Not even his lucid dream could stop her from fading, so he let her drift away sadly, sobbing freely. She blew him a kiss, and all Mikar saw was blackness.

In that blackness he saw a single, angry eye staring back at him.

Draugr.

Unsatisfied Cravings

Mikar huffed and sat straight up, taking care not to hit his head on the ceiling. It still hurt from the big fall yesterday. So far, everything had been routine - Wake up, eat, go out and use the bathroom in the forest, visit Zecora for medicine, return to Twilight's. Twilight had insisted that Mikar stay there so that she could study him more. Mikar's presence in Ponyville had caused quite a stir, and several ponies had come to Twilight's door, asking her about the huge pony in her house. Each time, Mikar hid in (the remains of) the attic.

Mikar was getting tired of waiting around in Twilight's and avoiding ponies, so Twilight had arranged to meet with Mayor Mare about introducing Mikar into Ponyville. She was to arrive in an hour. Mikar took the time to comb his head fur and groom his wings. It would still be a few weeks until he could return home, but Mikar was beginning to get accustomed to the thick air and hot temperatures. What Mikar didn't understand was why Twilight didn't just heal him. She said something about exhaustion, but Mikar didn't get it. He would ask again later. His tail swished with anxiety.

"Mikar, you'll be fine," Twilight reassured, patting Mikar's foreleg with her hoof and nuzzling the uninjured portion of his chest. "Mayor Mare's a fine equine, she won't hurt you. Do you remember the plan?"

"Yep," Mikar replied. "Sit here in my cloak, talk to the Mayor, reveal myself."

"Excellent! let's just hope she doesn't mind me having an alien in Ponyville." Twilight scratched at her mane nervously, and looked over to Spike, who was drawing on his notepad. "Spike?"

"Yeah, Twi?" Spike looked up from his drawing.

"Could you make a couple batches of hay fries? I have a feeling the Mayor's gonna stay a little longer than expected."

"Yes sir! I mean, ma'am!" Spike snapped to attention and, saluting, marched off to the kitchen. Twilight sighed nervously and turned her gaze to Mikar, who was starting to snarl and grasp at his stomach.

"Mikar? Is everything okay?" Twilight asked. She hoped he wouldn't get sick while the Mayor was in her house.

"No," He growled back. "I haven't eaten meat in days. I'm a carnivore, I can't survive off of this stuff. My stomach is killing me!" Mikar let out a quiet howl, and then lied down on the floor, being sure to leave room for Twilight.

"Ohhh, Mikar, you poor thing," Twilight said. "Can you make it to the end of the day?"

"I... I don't think so. I need meat." Mikar looked straight into Twilight's eyes.

Twilight gasped when she saw the look in Mikar's eyes. He stared at her with not pain, or sadness, but with lust. As if she had something that he wanted. Drool formed on his lips, and he lifted a paw to walk towards her. She jumped back in defense. A low growl formed in his throat.

"Mikar, what's gotten into you?!" Twilight cried. Almost instantly, Mikar snapped out of his trance and licked the saliva from his chops. The growl faded.

"Ooh, you look tasty... I'm sorry, but you do."

"What?!" Twilight shrieked. She conjured a shield in front of her to protect her should Mikar decide to snack on her.

"I mean it! I mean it, I need meat!" Mikar almost shouted, then lowered his voice, remembering that ponies as far away as Cloudsdale would probably hear him. The look of hunger in his eyes remained until there came a knock at the door.

"We'll sort this out later," Twilight whispered. Mikar nodded and put on his cloak. Twilight held the shield spell in place, not trusting a bloodthirsty fox behind her back. She trotted over to the door and slowly cracked it open. "Hello?"

In the doorway stood Mayor Mare. She looked just like mikar had imagined - Old, with glasses and a gray mane. She put on a smile and waved towards Mikar, who almost waved back, but instead stopped, remembering that her seeing his paws would blow his cover. He instead gave a curt nod. The Mayor then spoke up.

"Good evening, Twilight," She said. Her voice was surprisingly young. "Sorry I'm late. Princess Luna had to come sign a few papers for our mailmare's accident in Canterlot yesterday. You heard, didn't you?"

"Uhh, I'm afraid I haven't, Ms. Mayor." Twilight replied.

"Oh, the poor thing crashed into Luna's window. Shattered the window, and gave Derpy quite the nasty gash. She needed stitches!"

"Oh my," Twilight gasped. "Is she alright?"

"Oh, fine, darling. Fine. Just a little shaken up is all. Anyhow, shall we?" The mayor's glasses slid down her snout, and she quickly pushed them back up.

"Oh! Yes. Come on in!"

The Mayor stepped into the doorway and wiped her hooves. She then walked over to a chair near Mikar and promptly planted her rump in it. She smiled at Mikar again, who only nodded. He didn't want to reveal himself just yet.

"So, Ms. Mayor. I have something to tell you about my friend Mikar." Twilight's expression was unreadable.

"Well, whatever is it, Twilight?" The Mayor accepted a cup of coffee that Twilight had levitated over.

"You see, Mikar is... Different, from the other ponies."

"I can see that," The Mayor replied, a tint of humor in her voice. "He's a lot bigger than anypony I've seen! Haha!"

"That's the thing; He's not a pony." Twilight braced herself for whatever was to come next.

"Ohhh... I see," The Mayor quietly answered. She fixed her gaze on Mikar's swishing tail. She then heard a deep growl and noticed a pool of liquid forming around Mikar's paws. More liquid dripped from Mikar's cloaked face. She giggled when she realized he was drooling. Twilight only facehoofed and groaned. "Griffon, then? Dragon?"

"Try again, Mayor." Twilight whispered.

"Golem?"

"No."

"Druid?"

Twilight shook her head.

"Hmm... Manticore?"

"Manticores have scorpion tails and bat wings," Twilight responded. Mikar's growling was joined by his stomach.

"Oh, right... Oh my, is he growling, too? The poor thing must be starving!" The Mayor exclaimed. She extended a hoof to tap Mikar's side.

"Mayor, no!" But it was too late. The Mayor pulled back as if she had touched a rotting corpse.

"What?! What is it?!" The Mayor questioned, fearing she had hurt him somehow. Mikar's growl ascended to a snarl. His wings flared and his tail swished, but he held his ground.

"Um, now would be a good time to mention... He's a carnivore," Twilight said.

The Mayor recoiled in shock as Mikar let his hood fall. She saw sharp fangs, angry green eyes and gray fur. "W-w-what is that thing?!" The Mayor yelled. Mikar's tongue slowly licked his lips as he stared at the Mayor hungrily.

"He's a Skykin. Part angel, part fox. A.K.A., an alien," Twilight spoke. She was too scared to intervene or try to snap Mikar out of his trance; She didn't want to become his new target. She saw a greenish liquid form on his fangs - venom. Twilight re-summoned the shield spell around herself and the Mayor, who was beginning to hyperventilate.

"Ms. Sparkle, what is he doing?!"

"He's starving, that's what..." Twilight answered. Finally, she worked up the courage to speak to Mikar. "Mikar! Snap out of it! Your instincts are taking over! Stop!"

Instantly, Mikar sucked up the drool from his lips and retracted his venom fangs. His wings settled back into his sides and his pinned-back ears resumed their normal, cocked forward position. His claws retreated back into his paws. His pupils were no longer pinpricks. Now, he was back to normal.

"Sorry about that... I'm still hungry, ya know," Mikar mumbled over his blush.

Glad that the situation was over, Twilight trotted over to the Mayor, who was still staring at Mikar. "Ms. Mayor? Ms. Mayor, it's alright! He's not gonna hu-"

"I know, dear, I know," The Mayor said in a strangely calm voice. "Just... Just give me a moment to relax..."

After a few minutes, the Mayor had finally calmed down enough to talk to Mikar. He told her his life story, she told him about hers. All the while, Twilight explained to Spike what the hay had just happened. The poor dragon had been listening to his iPony and hadn't heard a thing. As the hours ticked by, the Mayor began to trust Mikar. Now she was teling him about her plan to reveal him to the public of Ponyville. Thunder and rain had started up again outside. An empty plate of hayfries sat in front of them.

"Well, that's the thing, dear. Some ponies won't like a bloodthirsty alien on the streets of Ponyville, near their homes, foals, schools... You get the idea," the Mayor explained. Mikar nodded.

"Mhmm. So you're gonna put me up there on stage, in my cloak, and just reveal me?" He asked.

"Yes."

"No speech, no warnings?"

"No, doing that could make some ponies eager, only leading to more surprise."

"Ok... When will we do this?" Mikar asked.

"In a few days. I just need to get a few things together before we do the whole introduction," The Mayor put on a frown and shivered at the thought of Mikar scaring the townsfolk. "And of course, when the rain stops." Looking at the clock, which said 10:47, the Mayor gasped and cantered over to the door.

"Okie-dokey, then, Ms. Mayor. It's been great talking to you," Mikar finished off.

"Of course, dear. Pleasure's all mine!"

The Mayor said goodbye to Twilight before heading out and galloping home through the rain. Again, Mikar's stomach was growling with hunger. He was weak with malnutrition. Twilight heard the growl and trotted over to Mikar's side.

"Hey, Feathers, don't you ever, ever, EVER pull a stunt like that again!" Twilight jokingly smacked Mikar's foreleg. Mikar lowered himself onto the library floor and eyed Twilight.

"It's not like I could control it. How would you feel if I had a hay sandwich, and you hadn't eaten in weeks?" He asked. Twilight pondered the question, before finding a simple answer.

"There's grass for a reason." She said.

Suddenly, Mikar's long tongue flew out of his mouth and smacked Twilight's side, dragging itself up to her neck before retracting. Twilight stood horrified, while Mikar chuckled softly.

"There's ponies for a reason, too!" Mikar said. His stomach grumbled, as if in agreement, before going quiet again. Twilight caught the joke and relaxed. She turned her eyes to him quickly, staring daggers.

"First, that's nasty," Twilight mumbled. "Second, time for bed."

"What? Why?" Mikar asked.

"Because, for being naughty, you're going to bed early." Twilight game him a peck on the cheek before trotting over to the staircase, followed by Mikar's angry gaze.

"You can't punish me! I'm not your kid!" He said with mock anger.

"Well, whose house are you staying in?" She cracked back. Mikar didn't respond. "That's right, Feathers. Off to bed for me and you. Nighty night!"

Twilight then clopped up the stairs, being trailed once again by the green eyes of Mikar. She trotted up and out of sight, and Mikar heard the sounds of a bed creaking and a sleepy baby dragon groaning. Knowing that he couldn't arhue now that his host was asleep, he accepted his fate and curled into a ball on the floor, accidentally knocking a few books from their shelves with his tail. He was too tired to pick them up now. He closed his eyes and was almost to Dreamland, but a mysterious, clever thought crossed his mind.

Ponyville won't be missing just one pony, will they?