A Cog in the Machine

by ManlyDerp

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, DJ P0N-3, Human, Iron Will, Sad, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Other, Flim and Flam, Original Character
Length: 213943

The Flim Flam brothers have a secret; a live secret that breathes fire. Please, listen to my tale.

*HIATUS UPDATE 10/15/2018: There is currently no set schedule for the remake of this story, but I assure you that it still has not been canceled. I get regular comments, favorites, and emails that all point towards this being a beloved story worth finishing, so one day I will do just that. Thank you all for your time and patience!*
Ever since they were little colts, the Flim Flam brothers had a dream; a dream to make a wondrous machine to set their lives on the fast track to success. The machine, known as the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, was missing just one component to make it all complete. Just one elusive item that no sane pony or pony with values would ever consider using:

Fresh dragon's breath.

Guess what I am.

I was taken from my home, my family, and my wings were slashed. I am no longer a person, I am simply a cog; a cog in the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.

This is the beginning of my wonderful tale.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Honorary pre-reader as of chapter 10: aiovas. Official Editor: Thardoc. Thanks go to dmkamikazee of deviantart for cover art A! Thanks go to More Dakka for cover art B! A fan created art gallery for this story can be found here on my homepage!

Published 2012-05-25 11:54:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-07-12 19:55:51 UTC

Chapter 2: To Be Taught

Chapter 2, To be Taught

“Oh you’ve got opper… opper… Ugh! Line?!”

“Oh for the love of Luna’s pits, Flam! It’s, 'Well you’ve got opportunity in this very community!’ It rhymes, brother! It should be the easiest part of the slogan!”

“Well excuuuuse me, Flim, but last I checked I was the idea pony and you were the showstallion! I think it’ll work just fine if you were the only one singing, brother of mine!”

“Nonono! We’re the Flim Flam brothers, not Flim and gang! Brother, we need to do this together if we’re going to hit maximum profit margins!”

“Oh… oh your right, brother! Let’s do this together, partner! 'Well you’ve got… opportunity in this very community! He’s Flim!”

“He’s Flam!' Together now!”

“We’re the world famous Flim Flam brothers! Traveling salesponies nonpareil~!”

“You did it, Flam!”

“Yeah…I did, didn’t I, Flim?”

“No, we did it, brother!”

And then they brohoofed, followed by brohugging. Gag me with a spoon.

Actually, please do. You would need to get this fire proof muzzle off me first, but I would really appreciate it if you did.

Also, while you're up, could you get me out of this goddamn doggie carrier?

... No? Well, I tried.

Why would they need to have doggie carriers this large anyways? Also, what other creatures in Equestria breathes fire like a dragon?! This muzzle seemed to be readily available in the convenience store Flim and Flam stopped at after 'liberating' me from, bleh, Trixie.

The one pony that was working at that store didn’t even look up from his damn magazine at the sound of a dragon begging to be let go three feet away from his face!

It must have been a 'Playfilly'...

... Seriously, what the hell is wrong with Equestria?

These were the things I pondered about while being freaking bored out of my mind.

I had nothing better to do, after all... I've long since figured out how I'm going to escape. At this point I’m just biding my time...

Quick mental checklist. Still in Equestria? Check. Still a baby dragon? Check. Still have razor sharp, eye gouging claws that can tear the carrier’s lock to shreds? Check. Tore the lock to shreds when the brothers weren't looking? Check and check. This muzzle must be enforced with magic material, or something, because my babies (thinking of naming them McStabbystab and Frank) can’t even scratch it! Even with my universe breaking ability of having opposable thumbs/claws in a land of hooves, I can’t seem to get this darn thing off me. Again, probably magic.

I'm also still a girl and that’s totally the reason I’ve been crying my eyes out. Yup, totally the reason and not because I was horrifically betrayed and sold off to slavers by a pony who I considered a friend.

Yup. Totally the reason. Double check.

... Trixie... -Sniff-

Flam's voice cried out. “Phew! Let’s take five, Flim. My belly is a screaming for something to eat!”

-Sob- ... h-haha, s-screaming, like what I was doing all of last night until they bought this muzzle thing for me... Funny.

“Good idea, brother. Afterwards, let’s make some touch ups to the machine. We still need to get all the vacuums checked out, get the charms in place, and... oh, brother! I just had the most brilliant idea! Remember momma’s old fainting couch? What if we put that in the front and take it with us around Equestria?! I’m sure it would make us seem just as refined and cultured as momma and auntie Sham were!”

“Excellent idea, Flim! We’ll go pick it up later tonight. For now though, let’s try to discuss possible names again. Does it need to rhyme with anything in the song?”

“No, the slogan can take in about anything at this point and it’ll fit. I designed it with adlibbing in mind. How about we…”

And then they disappeared into the garage, which apparently had a kitchen attached to it in the back. Weird. More importantly, that machine that was under the tarp yesterday? Yeah, it's their Super Speedy Cider majigger. They're still working on it though, so I guess they haven’t actually started traveling in it yet. Since Trixie has already made her visit to Ponyville, I guess that would put me somewhere in season one, maybe early two? That doesn’t seem like a whole lot of time to become 'World Famous'.

Damn snake oil salesponies.

Even more importantly though... they're gone. Time for me to make a dash for Trottingham. Somepony there has to be able to help me…

... I hope.

Silently, I opened the doggie carrier and made a sprint for the dirt trail. I also made sure to pick up the remains of my egg, which was still left out in the open from yesterday, before I left. Trixie’s comment about it burning up a week after hatching makes me think that this might be my ticket out of here… somehow.

Yeah, I’m grasping at straws here, but it’s better than nothin-

It was at this point that I ran face first into a green forcefield.

“MHE MHUCK?!”

Still gagged, sadly. More importantly though... how the hell do they have a forcefield?! First of all, I didn’t even see it until just now! Secondly, how in the fresh hell do they have a forcefield?! I thought that was Shining Armor’s bit! Sure, Twilight can do it too, but she could also do Rarity’s gem finding spell. Twilight’s smart and magic is her talent, so it makes sense. Flim and Flam, on the other hoof, may be some definition of smart (as smart as enslaving a fire-breathing dragon can be anyways) but their talent isn’t magic! Its…

... Um…

... Apple-halves?

...

W-well it sure as hell is not forcefields, so how…?

My wandering eyes suddenly caught the sight of the smiling mug of Shining Armor, plastered to a cardboard box marked 'Easy Made Forcefields! Just add magic!'

... Faceclaw. These guys must be charm junkies. Also, Shining Armor is making a little extra money on the side, apparently...

There’s a story in and of itself.

Well, whatever. I’ve got another idea. Mr. McStabbystab? Frank? Let’s do this thing!

I began spinning my arms around wildly, mimicking what I remember Spike doing for Rarity out in the gem fields in 'A Dog and Pony Show'. The soft dirt gave way to my claws’ constant assault, forming a baby dragon sized hole as I moved further into the Eart-, er, Equestrian terra firma. I folded my wings as tightly as I could as I jumped into my hole and continued digging under the forcefield.

Yup, doesn’t go underground, just as I thought. The changelings must have exploited this flaw by using the underground diamond mines in Canterlot… or, at least their Queen did but not the soldiers.

... I’ll never figure out what the hell they were trying to do. At least it was cool to watch.

Popping out on the other side, I made a mad dash away from the camp with egg in tow.

***^***

The one good thing about my time with Trixie… besides the feeling of safety, the full belly, the place to sleep, the full belly…

... -Sigh-

... Ugh, getting off track. The one good thing about my time with Trixie was that now I knew what general direction Trottingham was in. Just following this road will take me there quickly. This path is actually a branch off of a well trotted road, apparently. Me thinks the path I’m on was created from the pushing of the Super Speedy Cider thingamajig up and down it from wherever the hell the Flim Falm brothers are from.

... With my luck they’ll be from Trottingham and it’ll be the first place they look…

One long walk/run later, I passed through the main gate of Trottingham without incident. I decided to stash the egg shards away in a nearby bush, so as not to lose them, before entering the town proper. Once I completed this chore, I took in the sights of the town for the second time in the last two days.

Trottingham… is kind of a letdown. Think Ponyville but with more black and grey. The only other noticeable difference is that more ponies wear clothes here than in Ponyville, so I guess you could describe it as a mixture of Canterlot’s culture and a dash of Ponyville’s rustic feel. I liked it at the time, as it made me feel nostalgia for my hometown… but now looking around, I quickly came to realize that everything here was now capable of conjuring up memories of my short time with Trixie.

Like, for example, over there is the restaurant where we stopped for dinner. During said dinner, we shared an order of hayfries and chatted a bit about Trixie's so called 'slaying' of an Ursa Major. Hehe, sounds familiar, doesn't it? Looks like the incident in Ponyville didn't humble her at all. Trixie also claimed that said incident was the result of her simply having an 'off' day.

Right...

It was also here at this restaurant (which was called 'The Dainty Dish') where Trixie told me about how a dragon’s immune system was resistant to, well, everything. Sure if you abuse it with, say, ice cream, of course you’re still going to get sick. But beyond that? Dragon’s don’t have 'allergic' in their vocabulary.

Hehe... I instantly ordered an extra-large milkshake after that. Yeah, a hayshake was an option too, but to hell with that! I was going for broke! Ha!

...

I… I wonder if that was rude of me? O-of course I shared it with Trixie, it was her bits after all...

... But… maybe if I had ordered a small instead she wouldn’t have-

I shook my head and sighed. No… thoughts like that aren’t going to help me here. Trixie had planned to get rid of me from the get go. I was just a… a cog in her master plan, simple as that.

I need to stop thinking about her.

… But I can’t help it when I look around. Over there is the bench that the two of us sat down on after we had gathered everything from the stores. Oh my gosh, you wouldn’t believe it, but Trixie sits just like Lyra! She sits like a human! When I asked her about it, she blushed and said it was just another habit left over from her carnie days. Apparently, she would often hang out with 'The Bipedal Pony' and she figures some of that guy's strange habits rubbed off on her. Ha.

Taking another sweep of the area, I was able to spot the stall where Trixie filled her saddle bags with apples. It's run by Apple family ponies, and now that I think about it... if worse comes to worst I could try to escape to their farm which I assume is somewhere here in Trottingham. The Apple families are supposed to be very hospitable, right? Maybe they’ll take pity on a dragon like me if she ran away from her, ugh, masters. I bet they could always use an extra pair of claws on their farms...

... Their stall was empty today though.

... Strange.

In fact, every stall seems to be closed. Yesterday this place was what I assume Ponyville’s marketplace would look like on a busy day.

But today… nothing. Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen another pony since I entered Trottingham!

... I only saw ponies yesterday too, by the way; no griffons or mules or anything non-pony really. I guess Trottingham’s supposed history with discrimination could be the cause of this. Flim’s words come to mind.

“Damn talkers…Talkers live only to serve ponies… It’s just another damn talker like the rest of them.”

Talkers… I guess that’s a derogatory term for anything that talks but isn’t a pony. Thinking about it, every non-pony creature on the show would be frowning when seen in the background, with the exception of cows. The sheep Applejack rounded up and the sheep Spike rode during 'Dragon Quest'? Frowning. The oxen pulling heavy things in 'Hearts and Hooves Day'? Frowning. The dragons that were flying overhead during the great dragon migration? Their default expression was 'frowning', and I’m starting to think it’s not because of an animation quirk...

But, I'm getting distracted again. I need to find somepony who can help me...

... Bleh. Saying 'somepony' is starting to leave a bad taste in my mouth...

I moved on. Looking around a bit more, I spotted the library Trixie and I browsed through yesterday. Before we continued on with her shopping, Trixie wanted to stop by and see if this store's magic tomes collection had improved at all since her last visit to Trottingham. I was ecstatic during this visit. 'Finally! A chance to learn some things about this new world!' I thought.

It wasn’t an awesome tree library but it would have to do, I guess.

Being short on time, I decided to only look over what could be consider the most beneficial to me as a traveler. With that in mind, I looked over some maps, some older newspapers, and a magic tome. Location, current events (and date too), and the one thing that I'm sure anyone else in my scaly shoes would be curious about: magic.

Firstly, the map was interesting, but not very helpful outside of seeing where Trottingham was in comparison to Ponyville and Canterlot. Its down south from both by a large amount of miles.

Down… south.

… I'm not even going to comment on that.

The magic tome was also… interesting, I guess... but I honestly have no freaking clue what the hell was in it. It was made up of nothing but weird symbols and graphs. I assume it makes perfect sense to unicorns... or, at least I prayed that it made sense to them. If all books were like that then I was going to be in trouble...

Thankfully though, the newspapers were written in a language I understood, and a quick glance at some normal books confirmed that this seemed to be the official language of Equestria. Phew, that was such a relief. The newspapers turned out to be much more useful to me in the long run, as it not only helped me learn what language they use here, but also the date: October 2012, the same month and year as I remember it being... also the same dating system as Earth. Strange... but, again, phew, that was another weight off my shoulders.

Outside of those two points, however, I couldn't discern where I was in the timeline, which was the main reason I picked up the newspapers in the first place. Maybe I just didn't look at the right ones (I went through them rather slowly, under fear of tearing a hole in them with my new claws), but I just couldn't spot anything in particular that told me if I was in season one, two, or three.

I did learn, however, that Prince Blueblood did something to somepony over something, making himself look like a jerk… again. Guess the thing at the gala wasn't his first time being a dumbas- ... wait, can I still use that word here, or do I have to use the word 'flank' instead? Hmmm... something to ponder about later, I suppose.

Besides those three points of interest, however, the visit was uneventful... until Trixie scared the living crap out of me, that is. She unintentionally came up from behind me in order to inform me that we were leaving, and her sudden appearance caused me to gasp out a tongue of fire and accidentally light up the newspaper. Unluckily for us, it burned into a small, black, unrecognizable crisp right in front of the head librarian.

What resulted was another appearance of the 'squeeing' soundbite, both from me and Trixie.

… I don’t think I’m going to find any help in that library, now that I think about it.

My mind returned to the present and I continued my searching/reminiscing. Over there is where that weird earth pony thought Trixie was a Canterlot student. There’s where I remember blushing after being called cute by an elderly unicorn mare. And over there is Trixie...

Trixie…

Trixie?!

I dived behind a corner and peeked out. Yup, there’s Trixie, along with everypony in Trottingham. My former companion was standing up on her newly restored wagon/stage, paid for with slavery. Ugh, I see where this is going. Two guesses about what she’s going to do, and the first one doesn’t count...

Trixie rose to her hind legs. “Come one, come all, for the return of the most magical pony in all of Equestria! The Great and Powerful Trrrrrriiiiiixxeeeeee has returned!”

Fireworks sprung up from the floorboards, and the crowd went wild. I guess if you’re not the one taking the abuse, Trixie’s shows can be quite entertaining…

... Too bad I’m one of the ones who took her abuse.

Looks like I’m not the only one who remembers that this mare can be a bitch, as a few ponies left the crowd grumbling the moment the fireworks went off. Hmm... maybe they can help me? We share a common enemy after all.

...

N-no, wait… I... I'll ask them for help, but not so I can get back at Trixie. P-purely a logical choice, I assure you! Unlike what some fiction would have you believe, dragons aren’t magic proof. If I willingly make her an enemy, it’s only going to end with me returning to the Flim Flam brothers in a pink magic aura. Until I can figured out how to properly use my new fire-breath, I shouldn't go about picking fights.

Besides… I don’t think I could honestly hurt Trixie. Sure, as soon as this muzzle is off I’m going to burn her stupid wagon to the ground, but I don’t think I have it in me to sink my claws or fangs into anypony, no matter what has happened.

Well… maybe Flim and Flam... but I still owe Trixie for the shake at least.

At least…

“Watch and be amazed by Trixie’s awesome feats of might and magic!”

… I’d better move on.

I turned to make a move in the opposite direction of the crowd. I'm planning to use the back alleys to catch up to those who left the cheering crowd.

I made to start running, but I instead ran face first into a goat and fell flat on my tail.

“Baaaahhhh,” it bleated rather mindlessly.

Um… I'm not quite sure what to make of this. I gingerly waved 'hi' to the derpy looking thing. It responded by licking my claw, removing the dirt from it.

... Ew... I'd better keep my eye on it. I don’t want it chewing on my new hai-

“Iron Will is outraged! Iron Will requested this square a week ago, yet they gave it away to a talentless hack?! OOOOOoooooh, if a pony steals your spot, then KICK THEM IN THE PLOT!”

“WHUH MHE MELL?!" I shrieked behind my muzzle.

I tore my attention away from the goat and strained my neck looking upwards at the literal giant that was peering over the corner I was just stepping away from. My vision was now full of blue, muscly, minotaur action.

Freaking Iron Will? Again, what the hell?! Firstly, how did he sneak up on me like that?! It’s impossible unless you’re Pinkie Pie! Secondly; first I met the brothers, and then I saw Pipsqueak, then the whole thing with Trixie, and now Iron Will? Is Trottingham just full of single use show characters? Is this where they all live?! Am I going to find Queen Chrysalis hanging out in a bar with Cranky Doodle Donkey?! The hell?! Fifty bucks, er, bits says that next thing I’m going to see is Gild-

I was interrupted from my thoughts by my eyes catching the sight of a griffon flying by overhead… brown wings…

…

Totally a coincidence.

“Dragon! Who did such a thing to you?”

I snapped out of my stupor and turned my head to face Iron Will, who was now on all fours in an attempt to look me in the eyes when he talked.

“Muh?” I replied.

“This is inexcusable! Little dragon, if a pony tries to block, SHOW THEM THAT YOU ROCK!”

And with that he ripped off my muzzle with his bare hands! Damn! I thought this thing was on pretty darn tight, plus magically enforced. Iron Will here just made a unicorn somewhere cry.

Initiating kissflank mode. “-Gasp- T-thank you, Mr. Minotaur! That thing was starting to chafe!”

He laughed heartily. “Hahah, no problem, little Miss! Iron Will couldn’t stand to see a little thing like yourself be put down by the man like that!”

I carefully yanked my hair out of Iron Will’s assistant’s mouth. “The man? Um, who would that be, exactly?”

Iron Will chuckled again. “Why, ponies of course! Don’t worry, little one; Iron Will was in your position long ago, back when he was a young calf like yourself. You just have to learn to stand up for yourself a bit more! Don’t be shy, look them in the eye!” He winked at me. “Consider that a free tip, on the house! Haha!”

Oh wow, Iron Will is pretty cool! Helping me out like this…

… Like Trixie did.

... Um, suddenly I’m a bit more nervous about getting his help... But wait, he’s not a pony, and he did say he was in my position long ago... M-maybe I can trust him?

But... why would he be more trusting then Trixie was? Because he’s not a pony?

... Oh man, I guess the song was right. Everyone is a little bit racist.

I decided to press for more info as adorably as this new body of mine would allow. I’m a bit too young looking to be using any womanly wiles… plus I’m not sure if I want the help of anypony who’s into that kind of thing, thus cuteness was the answer.

... What? Have a problem with me using my new sex to my advantage? Well tough. I'm desperate right now and willing to use everything at my disposal to reclaim some strand of normalcy. Man pride be damned!

Channeling my inner 'awestruck little girl', I raised an index claw to my lips to help complete my act. “Really, Mister? Big old strong you was muzzled, put in a doggie carrier, betrayed by your friend, and electrocuted by two unicorns who wanted to use your fire for their demon machine?”

Iron Will just stared blankly at me. I attempted to look as cute and innocent as I could. I swear I saw a halo appear above my head.

Cutie Mark Crusaders, eat your adorable hearts ou-

Glump

Before I could even comprehend it, the minotaur suddenly wrapped me in a surprisingly gentle hug without me even noticing it.

... Da huh? Wha...?

“… No... Iron Will did not suffer like that. Iron Will was spared such a fate thanks to his friends here.” He replied, motioning to his goat assistant with a free hand.

“Baaaahhhhh.” Replied the goat. He then put what I assume was a reassuring hoof on Iron Will’s shoulder, which was closer to the ground now that he was on his knees hugging me.

“…But that’s no reason to go hating ponies, little one.” Iron Will finished.

I stammered in place, and my cuteness shield cracked slightly because of it.

“I-I don’t hate ponies!” I answered hastily.

Iron Will finally let up on his hugging. “Don’t try to hide it from Iron Will, little Miss. Despite that cute face of yours, you spoke with such venom in your voice when you mentioned the unicorns, and even more so when spoke of this so called 'friend' of yours. She or he was a pony too, right?”

... Damn he's good. “Um, well... yes... but I d-don’t hate ponies! I’ve just had some… bad first impressions... I’m sure that not all of them are evil!”

...!

I clapped my claws over my mouth. Evil? Did I just call ponies evil?! B-but I love ponies! I love the show! I love the supposedly fictional universe it was based off of! I love the community!

I… I loved it…

… But... then what is this that I'm feeling? This... pain in my chest... This, all of this, has just been a terrible string of bad coincidences...

... Right?

Knocking me out of my sudden funk, Iron Will put a reassuring hand on my shoulder… which was a little silly, as only one of his fingers could fit on it while the others had to rest on the rest of my arm. Despite this, it was the thought that counted.

He smiled at me. “If somepony makes you frown, don’t let it keep you down.”

Our moment was interrupted by loud yelling coming from Trixie’s stage.

“Behold, as Trixie trumps your pitiful talent for dental hygienic care by showing you what a real set of teeth looks like!”

“My mouth! My mouth is full of glass!”

“Neigh foal! Trixie has simply gifted you with dragon-fangs! Surely you can care for them properly, hmm?”

I winced. I think I forgot to mention it, but dragon-fangs suck. I’m constantly biting my new tongue. Over the last two days I’ve been getting better with them, but still... ouch.

Iron Will stood up and returned his gaze to the stage. “… If ponies make you frown, don’t let it keep you down… AND IF THEY STEAL YOUR STAGE, WELL THEN THROW THEM IN A CAGE!”

Well there goes calm, reassuring Iron Will. I guess he has a bit of an anger problem.

The giant rubbed the back of his head with a hand. “Er... sorry about that. Iron Will’s got a bit of an anger problem that he’s been trying to stomp out.”

Called it. “Well, again, thank you for helping me, Mister! Both for the muzzle and, well, for the tips as well. I’ll try not to think that all ponies are out to get me anymore...”

He returned to looking down at me. “Not a problem… oh? Hehe, silly Iron Will; he has rudely forgotten to ask for your name, little dragon, and Iron Will has not given his!” He finished by holding his hand out to me.

My claw could only manage to wrap around his index finger, but he still shook it as hard as he could, sending me flying up and down.

“Iron Will’s my name and training ponies is my game!”

I attempted to answer while being flailed around in the air. “Nnnniiicceee tttooo meeeettt yyyooouuuu MMMrrrrrr IIIIrrrrooonnn Wwwiiill! Mmmmmmyyyy nnnnaaammmeeess…”

My mind blanked. Crap, I still haven’t thought up a convincing name yet! What was it that fans called genderswaped Spike? Spines? ... Yuck! No... I don’t quite like that name. Ugh, what to do…?

Iron Will suddenly let up on his shaking, releasing my poor claw from his assault.

“Iron Will is sorry, little one. He sometimes gets carried away, haha! You were say-”

“Baaaahhhh!”

His attention was suddenly directed to one of the goats, some of them having returned from whatever errand they were sent on. This one was pointing into the crowd of ponies.

Iron Will raised his hand over his eyes and peered into the audience. “You spotted the mayor? Good! Iron Will needs to have a little chat with him about this injustice to Iron Will’s show!" Taking a knee, he dropped back down to my level. "Again, sorry Miss. You were saying?”

It was at this point that I noticed how nicely Iron Will treated his goat crew. No, more importantly, I noticed that he referred to them as his friends, not his crew or his assistants.

How... nice of him...

Wish I had something like that right now.

... Maybe… I have a chance here.

... Okay, let’s try this.

I cleared my throat. “Oh, well, you see, Mr. Iron Will," I began while reinforcing my 'cuteness' act. "I don’t really have a name… o-or a home, for that matter.”

At my comment, Iron Will’s eyes grew wide for a brief second before they softened.

Iron Will's face was long with melancholy. “... Iron Will sees. You're an orphan... your mother died, didn’t she? And Iron Will’s heard that dragon fathers tend to leave after their mate's eggs are laid...”

T-they do? Wow, that… kinda hits close to home for me. I mean, mine came back for the third kid, but still… ugh, no! This is not the time for an introspective look into my mind!

I slowly nodded my head for him. “Y-yes. I’m all on my own now. I’ve been on my own for a while now, ever since I hatched. I-I was never given a name outside of being an It.”

Half-truths. I’m afraid I’m going to have to be very manipulative if I’m to survive here. I tried being truthful and look what that brought me…

“… Frank? Come here a second.” Said Iron Will suddenly.

Frank? How did Iron Will know my left claw’s nam-… oh. He’s talking to one of the goats. I see.

“Bahhh?”

Iron Will whispered into his ear. I couldn't make it out, but whatever it was it caused the goat to smile and nod his head to Iron Will before turning to look at me.

“Baaaahhh!”

The goat then lowered his head…

... And gently clanked his left horn against my left horn. He repeated the process with his right horn to my right horn.

“… Wha?” I asked, quite confused.

Iron Will laughed. “It’s a sign of trust, kid. By connecting horns, you’re proven that you trust each other enough to not be offended with the invasion of such a superficial thing like 'personal space'.”

I blinked “Oh… but why-”

He smiled at me warmly. “It’s part of a little ceremony sentient goats do to welcome someone into their family. Frank here did it for old Iron Will years ago, and now he’s done it for you.”

...

... Whoa.

...

... W-whoa!

I was completely taken aback. I mean... just... w-whoa!

I was just hoping for maybe a ride to Ponyville, or something, so I could ask Twilight for help in case the egg thing didn’t work out! I figured Iron Will would be doing a show there eventually, so why not?

But this… this is huge.

“F-family?! Does… does that mean…?”

Frank answered by taking off his ear mounted headset and attaching it to my horn, its position being roughly where a pony's ear would be so it fit like a glove. He then removed his little name tag and attached it to my chest, causing it to stay there through the power of, I don’t know, magic magnets?

Magic magnets... yeah, I can totally see Equestria having those.

“Bahhhhh.”

Iron Will slapped me on the back in a surprisingly non-painful way. “Welcome to the Iron Will Show, little dragon, where we help everypony to be the best that they can be! We know you’ll do us proud!”

... Damn emotions were running wild again. I was crying again for no good reason… other than the fact that I was really, really happy.

“Th-thank you! T-thank you so much!”

“Hehe. There’s no need to fear, so please, dry those tears... Hmmmm… that’s a good one. Think we could fit that one into a show, Frank?”

“Baaaahhhh.”

“Yeah... yeah, you're right. A bit too sappy. So what do you say, Miss?" Asked Iron Will. "My crew here will show you what to do for our show today, and then we’ll come up with a great name for you during your inauguration dinner tonight!”

As the other goats roared in agreement, I had probably the biggest, dumbest, and silliest looking smile ever on my face all at the same time. Sure, I’m not planning on staying here in Equestria; I have a life to return to, a family waiting, and aspirations to start a family of my own someday.

But... now I have the best thing ever; a safety net. If things don’t go my way and I’m forced to stay here… I won’t be lonely. I’ll have a family to ease my pain and with their help I can move on and continue living my life.

I’m aware, however, that I’d have to say goodbye to this family if I do return home. Can’t have both after all… but somehow, I’m not worried. I feel like Iron Will would understand if I told him about my situation.

I mean, he did break the fourth wall during his episode, so there’s a chance he knows about humans.

All the same... I’m going to remain optimistic about this sudden turn of events.

But first, hugs are in order.

I jumped up and used my new wings to launch myself at Iron Will’s neck, effectively hugging him as hard as I could while making sure not to ruin his tie.

“Thank you, Mr. Iron Will! Thank you so much! I promise not to let you down!”

He patted me on the head. “Heheh, it’s no problem at all! And please, just call me Iron. All my friends do anyways!”

“Baahh!”

“Oh, right. Got distracted there, haha! Iron Will needs to talk to that mayor about the show. Come on, gang!”

Iron gently removed me from his throat and placed me on the ground. He and the goats started walking towards the town square where Trixie’s show had ended and everypony was leaving. I followed at the back of the group, not being able to walk as fast as the rest of them thanks to my small legs. I’m going to need to figure out how to use my wings properly if I want to be able to pull my own weight for this group and to live up to my claim of 'not letting them down'.

It's the least I can do for him.

Suddenly, I felt something tugging on my hair. I tried to yank it back. “Oh, please stop that, Mr. Goat. I don’t like that very muc-”

The tugging increased and I was yanked off my feet and dragged around the same corner Iron Will and I had just used.

“Ow!" I screamed. "What’s the big ida-“

I was then gagged by something furry and… y-yellow?! Oh no, not again!

My screaming increased ten-fold. “MELP! MELP ME!!”

“Quiet down, damn it!” Commanded Flam.

The slaver pony was sitting down on his haunches against the wall, using one of his forelegs to constrain my arms and wings against his chest, while the other arm was busy pressing down over my mouth. His brother Flim trotted up, glared daggers at me for a second, and then trotted away towards where Iron Will went off to.

“Why hello there, Mr. Iron Will! Fancy meeting you here!” Flim called out.

I could barely make out what Iron Will was saying from behind this corner, and also over the sounds of me trying to escape.

Iron Will responded to Flim's distraction. “Oh, um, hello there, Flim. Out here by yourself today?”

Flim replied good naturally. “Oh yes. My brother, Flam, is currently putting the finishing touches to our machine! I’m happy to say that it’s almost complete!”

“Well, that’s good to hear than. It’s still running off of steam, right?” Iron Will asked.

Flim laughed. “Haha but of course! The only other thing that could work would be dragonfire, but you know that’s both hard to come by and morally unjust, yes?”

“Oh, well, yes. Just checking. Don’t take it the wrong way, Flim, but Iron Will doesn’t see you or your brother as ponies who have all their marbles together sometimes! Haha!”

Flam sputtered something under his breath. “Coming from a damn minotaur...”

I took advantage of Flam’s sudden lack of attention by opening my mouth as wide as I could...

... And then chomping down on the leg he was using to mute me with my fangs.

I think I hit a bone too. Awesome.

Flam bit his tongue and was doing his best to not scream out in pain, yet he clearly was in it. One of his hind legs was pounding on the pavement and his tail was waving around wildly. His mustache even drooped.

I tightened my jaw.

Scream, damn it.

Scream!

'Scream for me like you made me for you!' I mentally wailed.

... Oh, wow. The land of talking magical ponies, which runs off the power of friendship, has turned me into a very violent person... Go figure.

I think Iron Will was starting to catch on that something was amiss. “Hey... Flim? Speaking of dragons, have you seen a baby one around here? A young girl was just following old Iron Will here no more than a second ago.”

That bastard, Flim, hummed to himself, like we was actually thinking about it. “HHHHmmmm, nope! Can’t say that I have, my good sir! Maybe it’ll pop up later?”

Iron Will was silent for a moment before yelling at Flim. “Maybe she’ll pop up later, Flim. Not it. You and your brother best remember that we non-equines have a saying: if a somepony calls you an 'it', THEN THROW A FIT!”

With the tone of voice used, I could clearly imagine the scowl that was on Iron Will’s face when he said that. Speaking from experience, maybe?

Flim chuckled weakly. “Oh, um, o-of course, my good minotaur! Won’t make that mistake again! W-well, good luck with your show! I’ve got to get back to that brother of mine. C-ciao!”

The fibber quickly trotted back to us. Coming around the corner, Flim took in the scene of his brother being mauled by a very pissed off dragon quite well, I thought.

“Ah!" He quietly yelped. "No! That’s a bad dragon! No!”

Flim used his seemingly infinite magic unicorn powers to hit me with a… rolled up newspaper?

... Seriously?

...

Bitch please.

I stared into Flim's eyes for a brief second, giving off the illusion that I was listening...

… And then I bit down on Flam’s foreleg even harder.

Flam winced. “B-brother! Help.”

Flim was physically panicking. “Okay okay, let me think! Um… oh…”

The mustacheless one's horn flared and I was encased in a green glow. Flim was trying to yank me off of Flam.

Sorry to disappoint, but I ain’t leaving this without a souvenir, boys.

“Owowowowo! P-pry open the jaw first, you idiot!” Flam screamed.

“I’m trying, I’m trying!” Flim continued to panic.

I could feel Flim’s magic starting to seep into my mouth and my jaw starting to let go. Slowly, I was levitated away from Flam’s leg.

Flam breathed a sigh of relief.

I decided to finally put my new tongue to the test by shooting it out of my mouth and wrapping it around Flam’s foreleg like a frog. I then yanked myself back and returned to biting him.Tasted nasty as hell, but it got the job of harming-him-bodily done quite nicely.

“Hey, Frank... is Iron Will hearing a commotion back there?” Iron Will asked his assistant around the corner. Thank goodness, he's close by!

“Baaaahhh!”

“Crap!" Flim yelped. "The stupid talkers are coming back here, Flam! Retreat!”

“Get, this, stupid, thing, off, me, first, Flim!”

Flim started dancing in place. “Oh, what to do what to do?! Ohhhhh...!”

Flam was suddenly hosted up to Flim’s back via magic along with me still in his grasp. He proceeded to gallop around another corner as Iron Will came back around. It was at this point that I took notice that my headset and name tag were now gone, probably having been knocked off in the struggle.

Damn it all, not again! Don’t do this to me again!

“MRON MILL!!” I tried in vain to yell.

My voice fell on deaf ears, however, as the brothers were already galloping past the Trottingham gate, with me being dragged along in a combination of two auras. One to carry me and the other to close my lips.

The last thing I saw was of Iron Will looking around a corner, trying to find out where I went, before the brothers threw me into some kind of sack.

***^***

My life became pretty formulaic after that incident. Wake up, get tortured by Flim and Flam’s magical and steampunky techno babble, get tortured by Flim and Flam’s magic lightning as they tested out various parts of their machine, get tortured by Flim and Flam practicing singing the same song over and over again, and get tortured by my stomach as it cried out for food.

Somehow I was able to put sleep down somewhere in that obviously busy schedule.

... Did I mention that I didn’t like it here?

As soon as they returned to their camp that day, Flam gifted me with a nice shiner with his good hoof for what I did to him. To this day, the leg I bit still has bandages wrapped around it and it still caused Flam to wince in pain every time he tried to trot anywhere on it.

Good.

From the few glances I could get from the numerous reflective surfaces scattered around their 'base', my damaged eye seems to have had recovered quite quickly, and I was already able to see out of it again only a day after the fact. Quick healing… this could be both a good thing and a bad thing if it means that I can last longer before expiring.

Translation: I have lots of torture to look forward to…

... Ugh, bad thoughts. Knock that off, brain.

Getting back to the boys; to make sure his brother wouldn’t get hurt again and so I couldn’t escape again either, Flim doubled the amount of safety precautions that kept me a helpless damsel in distress. Firstly, I was back in the doggie carrier, which had its lock rejuvenated through magic. To make sure I didn’t wreck it again they chained my arms together behind my back before they tossed me in.

Secondly, to replace the muzzle, Flim and Flam instead casted a transfiguration spell on my lips, transforming them into a giant zipper which remained zipped. It was a simple fix, but the downside of the spell was that they had to come check on me every hour or so in order to reinforce it. This meant that they had to have someone awake in order to maintain the spell, or else I’d burn the cage bars open in the night and escape again...

... Or, at least they did have to do that at first, but they quickly came up with a solution.

Two nights after the Trottingham escape, I was surprised to find out that both boys went to sleep. I decided to attempt another escape as soon as the spell wore off that night. This event led to me to discovering the third and last improvement they made; they had shrunk down the forcefield charm and placed it around the doggie carrier and the podium said doggie carrier was placed on. The result was me crashing head first into the bubble shield and slowly slide down the side of it until I was resting at its base, which was off the ground slightly so digging was also out of the question.

Boy, if only you could have seen the scowls on their faces the morning when they found me…

Grumble

Oh, sorry about that. I guess providing exposition can make you hungry… that or only eating every other day. One of the two.

Yeah, they’ve been getting away with only feeding me every other day. They only noticed that they hadn’t fed me on the second day after kidnapping me from Iron Will when my cage shook with the force of my stomach growling. It turned out that they were really unprepared for caring for a dragon, as they had to consult the freaking manual in order to figure out what it was that dragons actually eat.

“Let’s see here, Flam." Flim began. "It says that dragons eat pretty much everything ponies eat along with gems, precious metals, and… -gasp-, m-meat?!”

“That’s horrible, Flim! What a monster!”

Hmmm, suddenly a pony burger sounds tasty… oh, with cheese too please!

I gave the brothers an evil grin with my zippered lips. I was worried that the motion would be lost on them, but a glance, followed by shivering, from Flim suggested otherwise. This only made me grin wider… well, as wide as zipper lips could smile, anyways.

“Well what do we do then, brother? We have to save the food for ourselves and the apples for our customers…”

“I don’t know, Flim... Wait, it said precious minerals, right? Did you ever get rid of all those used lug nuts and screws, brother of mine?”

“Oh! In fact I hadn't gotten around to throwing them out yet, Flam! I’ll go get a bucket now.”

Flim trotted back into the garage, leaving the 'manual' behind on the ground near my set up. Might as well take a glance at what they’ve been reading.

Oh, please let it be called 'How to Train your Dragon.' That would be hilarious.

Let’s take a look here… 'How to properly care for your Dragon companion for foals. By Starswirl the Bearded. Property of the Canterlot archives.'

... Meh, I guess this universe can’t be laughing at itself all the time.

“Here we go, Flam." Replied Flim as he came back outside with several items in his magic grip. "I brought some water as well. Got to keep it hydrated too if we want it to breathe fire! Oh, and I found some broken glass left over from that storm we had a few days ago, brother of mine. I figure we should give it some nutrition in its diet in order to keep it healthy.”

... How does that make any sense? Ugh, Equestria... why you no make sense?!

“Good thinking, Flim. Okay..." Flam's horn began to glow. "I’m going to lower the field and open the cage. You put in some of the bits and the bowl and then once everything’s in I’ll close it up and you’ll unzip it.”

'Well... that’s not entirely an air-tight plan they have there. I could try to breathe fire at the cage while my lips are unzipped. Then, once the bars are melted I would just have to use my back legs and tail to fling myself forward at the still melting bars, hope that my scales protect me from the burns, and then use my wings to propel myself at the point where the shield was lowered. This should get me on the other side where I would then set these two bastards on fire and make another mad dash for Trottingham….'

Yup, I had a pretty good plan set up at the time. The only problem though was that I hadn’t eaten since dinner with Trixie, four days ago! I barely understand how I’m still lucid enough to scheme after so long… also how I’m still alive.

So I just sat there, curled up in my cage, as they levitated in a small tray of nuts and bolts with some broken glass on the side for 'nutrition'. They also brought in water for me in a… a-a doggie bowl.

... I ignored the bowl at first and began devouring the nuts and bolts. I had to rely on my snakelike tongue to pick them up and put them in my mouth. I’ve become oddly adapt at manipulating this thing ever since the episode with Flam back in Trottingham. Like the fast healing, I’m not so sure if this is a good thing or not, but for now it’s the only way I can get any food in me.

Food… is such a broad term. Those nuts and bolts were nothing like hayfries; these didn’t have a hidden taste that I could never imagine them having. These tasted like nuts… and bolts. Nasty as hell, but I was so hungry at the time that I didn’t care and even afterwards I was still hungry so I started eyeing up the glass. 'Oh God, I’m actually considering eating glass!' The nuts and bolts were okay, as I just imagined eating hard candy and it made it a bit more bearable. But glass was still glass. I was not looking forward to this.

... Not like I could get at it anyways. I didn’t want to cut up my tongue. Super healing or not, I’m still eating glass.

I tried to look pleadingly at the brothers in a hopeless attempt to get them to levitate it to me. I’ve learned a while ago that these guys are immune to cuteness.

Obviously it’s because they lack souls.

I tried anyways, only to discover that they had stopped paying attention to me and instead were working on their machine again. I guess at this point the zipped lips were just there so I didn’t talk to them. There goes that idea.

So I cut up my tongue something fierce trying to eat freaking glass, followed by my mouth. Had to chew it up well enough so that it didn’t cut up my throat as well, after all. If glass had a taste I honestly couldn’t tell you… unless it tastes like copper then I could tell you that it tastes just like blood.

That just left the… doggie bowl. "Oh please no. I don’t w-want to have to sink that low..."

… But I was so very thirsty. Fire breathing is thirsty business, after all, but...

"T-this is just so…" -Sob- "H-humiliating."

After a minute, I shook away the tears that had escaped my eyes. I realized that crying wasn't going to solve my problems. If I’m going to get through this I’m going to have to swallow my pride and do what I can to keep on living. I’ve already had to put up with this kind of humiliation before, after all, when I discovered how they expected me to use the bathroom in this thing… by going to the bathroom in this thing.

Gingerly, I lapped up the cool water with my sore tongue.

Pure nirvana.

...

That was sadly two days ago, and I’m still in this cage. I’ve been with the brothers for four days now, and they captured me on my second day in Equestria, so I’ve been here for six days now in total. During this time alone I started asking myself the important questions, questions that I probably should have been asking since I got here.

Questions like... why?

Why am I here?

For what reason am I here in Equestria? And why am I a dragon?

How am I going to get home? Has my family noticed I’m gone yet?

And how am I going to get free?

I never stopped asking that last one. I prayed for the last four days that Iron Will would be able to put two and two together and figure something was seriously wrong when my headset was discarded in the path that Flim took to leave. It’s still kind of out there and unlikely, but he said that we were like family now, right?

Well… I guess it would make sense that he never finds me, after all I don’t remember seeing a dragon with him during his episode. I guess I can’t change the future…

...

... NO! No, I’m not going down that train of thought! If I do, then I’d have to accept that I’m going to be stuck in the brothers' machine until long past their visit to Ponyville. I have to keep fighting to change my fate...

… But their machine is getting closer to completion with each passing day. Outside of pondering the answers to important questions, I’ve been doing the only other thing I could do: listen.

The Super Cider Squeezy 6000 had been given its name only yesterday, and the brothers were looking at another two weeks before the last of their additions were added and they could begin traveling. Don't ask me what the 6000 is there for, I wasn't there for that conversation. Also, these so called 'additions' confused me. The machine seemed pretty much complete from what I could see in my cage. On the outside they had attached the couch like they said they would and added the podium I was on to the front of the machine along with a train’s cow catcher. Where they got that from I have no clue... or why such a thing would still have that name here.

All the tubes and wires were there, along with the giant vacuum, and a window was added so all the customers could watch the apples being sorted. The apples were sorted through the use of a magic charm of some description and said charm was powered, as was everything else in the machine, by my fire.

I also discovered why they needed my fire. Their machine was the equivalent of a gas guzzler in terms of steampunkery. The amount of steam used to move a train wouldn’t be enough to move this thing an inch let alone across Equestria. This was because, on top of moving the machine, they needed to also power the vacuum along with the internal processes that sorted and crushed the apples into cider.

They also wanted me to power their gramophone. Cause hey, why not?

Even their combined unicorn powers couldn’t do this, apparently, as it wasn’t 'pure' enough or something. The auras would conflict within the machine and cause processes to stop in mid production. Also, magic apparently has a taste and it could ruin the cider so they needed magic dragonfire, known as the only magic force in Equestria that doesn't have a distinct taste, to run it instead. They could have used steam in combination with their magic, like Iron Will suggested, but they still would have had to use a large amount of their own magic in order to keep everything moving. By the time they moved the machine to their customers they would have been too tired to sing their song, heaven forbid!

So I was being electrocuted and treated like a prisoner because they were lazy...

Figures.

Oh, but I haven’t gotten to the best part of the Super Cider Squeezy 6000, have I? I didn’t tell you about my room!

Yes, I get my own room in the damn thing, right inside the belly of the beast. There's only one way in and out of it and that way is through the trap door on the roof. Even though the room was filled with all the wires and tubes the machine needed, it was surprisingly spacious enough to fit me and another pony inside…

… Although that pony would have to duck in order to avoid the second vacuum, as it would drop down from the ceiling without warning. It would only remain long enough to suck up my fire before rising to avoid me destroying it… which I did on purpose already during the testing stages.

That act alone set the brothers back a few days! Ha!

Anyways, I will be chained up to the opposite wall across from the vacuum by my arms. All the proper measurements have already been taken to assure that it would be tight enough to hold me and high enough so that my toes will only barely scratch (literal) the floor. My tail would still drag on the floor though, and I assume that was done on purpose so the forked portion can slide under my doggie bowl and lift it up from the floor. Using the tips of my wings to adjust it, I could then raise it high enough for my tongue to lap it up. Same thing could be done with the plate that was placed there; I could use my tail to shuffle any nuts and bolts on to it, lift it up, and use my tongue again to eat. My tail could reach up high enough to put the bowl and plate within reach of my tongue, but not high enough to pick my bind’s locks. There was also a little high-rise between one side of the room and the other to prevent me from knocking either the bowl or the plate away from myself.

... I honestly think this was the most these two had thought about me in my four and a half days in their care. During this time, neither of the two had so much as looked at me outside of the tests, nor did they ever talk to me directly.

That is, until the fifth day...

***^***

"Zzzzz... W-wha? Ow!"

I was rudely interrupted from my slumber by a green aura yanking me through the bars of my carrier and violently pulling me through the forcefield. It was like being pulled through a very tight hole in the wall that was constantly shrinking around you.

In other words, it hurt like a bitch.

“Okay, you damn talker, what the hell did you do?!” Flim roared at me.

I blinked at Flim very slowly, trying to wake up fully. I decided to take advantage of being lifted off the ground by properly stretch out all seven of my limbs. That doggie carrier can sure give a gal a serious cramp. I yawned and rubbed an eye with a suddenly free claw. The bindings must have come undone when he yanked me out of the forcefield. I looked behind myself at my prison set up. Yup, there they are, laying there on the floo-

“Answer me, damn it!”

I shook my head and returned my attention to a very frantic looking Flim. His mane and tail were a mess and he wasn’t wearing his shirt or hat, which was something I found strange as he’s always wearing those things, unless he was sleeping. He must have just woken up, like me.

“Well?!”

I finally noticed that he was actually talking to me... The hell? My lips were unzipped as well, so he must have been expecting an answer. If I wasn’t so drowsy and my throat didn’t hurt so much from all the fire blasting I did for them yesterday, than I would have answered with a fireball to the face. Instead, I did my best to answer him with my patient brand of sleep based cockiness.

I mockingly smiled at him. “Oh, I’m sorry, Flim. How rude of me. You’ve seem to have caught me at a bad time. I simply haven’t done my hair yet, as you can plainly see. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this surprise meeting, darling~?”

He stomped his hoof on the ground. “None of that, you bitch! Tell us why Trottingham is on fire!”

That gave me pause, woke me up, and knocked off my cocky act all in one fell swoop.

“W-what?”

Flim continued to glare at me. “Yeah! Flam just got back from picking up a few things from our house and he told me that a fire had broken out over there! Orange dragonfire! What is Tartarus did you do, dragon?!”

I was speechless. “But I-I didn’t do anything! I’ve been here the entire time! You made sure to that you...you... flankhole!”

Facehoof… as in Flim connected his hoof to my face. Hard. Since I was still in his magic grip, I was sent flying backwards where I then bounced off the still active forcefield and was sent crashing to the ground.

Note to self: flankhole means exactly what you thought it meant. Excellent.

Flam came running up to us fully clothed, although both his shirt and hat were quite dirty and caked in mud and sweat. He must have been galloping quite a bit today...

“Brother! The flames are around the campsite too! I doubled and tripled checked the Super Cider Squeezy 6000... it’s currently empty, just like it was last night! I can’t tell what’s causing all these orange fire spots, Flim!”

“Damn it!” Flim responded before he actually stood up on his hind legs and started kicking me. “Tell, us, how, you did, it, damn, dragon!”

I’d be impressed by this if I wasn’t crying uncontrollably.

“I-I-I" -Sob- "D-did’t do a-a-anything!”

“Flim, wait… where’s the egg?” Flam suddenly asked.

“The egg?” Flim asked as well, before his eyes grew wide. “Mother of Celestia...”

He then resumed the kicking.

“Where’s, your, damn, egg, talker?!”

I was clueless. “M-my egg? Wh-why would that…?”

My mind suddenly returned to Trixie’s words from… a week ago. "Trixie thought a dragon's egg burns up on their own accord a week after hatching.”

... Oops.

I thought I was forgetting something... Wait, why did my mind translate that from past to present tense? Also, when did my mind have stereo?

I looked up from behind my claws. I was using them to shield my face from Flim's assault. I took notice that Flim had stopped kicking me and had instead returned to all fours. He was gazing out towards the main road…

... Where Trixie was standing in full garb. A smug grin was plastered on her face.

“Hello gentlecolts and dragon... Did you miss Trixie?”

Flim stepped forward. “What do you want you damn witch?! This is private property!”

As interesting as this possible conversation was going to be, I had just spent five days mentally and physically tortured in a goddamn doggie carrier. Rather than stick around I decided to flee… or at least I was going to flee, until Flam caught me at the last second in his magic field and brought me back to the camp. There, a fierce conversation was taking place between Flim and Trixie.

Flim had his mouth wide open in a look of shock. “… What did you just say?”

Trixie laughed him off. “Ha! Trixie just casually mentioned that she finds it funny that Trottingham is currently engulfed in flames the same color as the ones your little dragon spews. Trixie thinks that the guards would also find this bit of information equally as funny.”

I decided that I might as well add to the conversation while I was 'hanging' around. “S-surprise surprise. Blackmail again, Trixie? Wow... for a showmare you sure are a one trick pony.”

... Okay, truth time. I've been waiting a week to say that to her.

I didn't have anything better to do...

Trixie shot me a nasty look. I countered with the one claw salute. She shrugged it off and returned to her haughty appearance for Flim and Flam.

“Trixie is here to offer a business proposition; her silence on the matter, for your place of living. Seems fair to Trixie, does it for you? You are going to go traveling after all.”

The brothers were silent until Flim spoke up. “... Why you stupid, bucking, show horse. Here, I’ve got a business proposition of my own!”

“Flim no!” Begged Flam, but he was too late.

Flim ignited his horn in a brilliant display of green illumination. Using the magical energy forming at its tip, he shot a familiar arc of lightning (usually reserved for yours truly) at Trixie. Trixie’s horn glowed only briefly but long enough to conjure a black storm cloud as a shield in front of her. It absorbed the blast before evaporating, revealing Trixie with a fully beaming horn of light pink magic. She stood firm as the very ground around Flim shook violently.

The earth beneath Flim suddenly gave way and captured the stallion in a large sinkhole, one that trapped him up to his knee caps. Flim’s horn glowed momentarily before being struck with a small clot of dirt, destroying his concentration and ceasing the glow. Every time he tried to re-ignite the horn another clot would strike it and cease that nonsense. Trixie trotted up to Flim casually, her horn glowing only slightly.

She smiled wickedly. “Submit, foal. You are no match for Trixie.”

Flim looked so incredibly pissed. Was it sad that this brought me an endless amount of joy?

Flam sighed and stepped forward to put a hoof on Flim’s lowered shoulder. “Let it go, brother... she has us beat.” He then set me down on the ground and placed a hoof on my back in order to keep me in place. He lit up his horn again and removed a set of keys from his shirt pocket. “Here you go, Trixie, but I need to have your word that this stays between us.”

“Trixie promises. You have her word.”

I let out an audible laugh. “Whatever that’s worth.”

Flam moved his hoof up to my head and pressed down even harder, burying it in the dirt. My horns stood up above the ground, however, so I heard the rest of the conversation.

“Now get out of here and leave my brother and I alone, Trixie.”

“Oh, but you seem to be mistaken, Flam. Trixie needs you to leave now. After all, you are now on Trixie’s private property!”

I heard Flim yell. “That wasn’t part of the deal!”

“Trixie has changed her mind... pray she doesn't change it again.”

I could hear Flim growling.

Flam sighed again. “No Flim. She’s right. We’ll just gather our things and be on our way, Trixie.”

“Good. And get that ridiculous machine out of Trixie’s new garage. She needs room for her stage wagon!”

... She… she just kicked two ponies out of their own home! She’s not just a bitch, she’s pure evil!

Flam picked me up out of the dirt and held me at a distance with his magic. He helped Flim out of his hole as well and they split up; Flim going to the camp site in order get dressed and to pack up their things, while Flam took me to the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. He opened the hatch and attached my struggling form to the wall. The last I saw of the brother was when he threw in my bowl and slammed the hatch shut.

All the while, Trixie was laughing.

Laughing the entire time.

Laughing at us.

Laughing at all of us.

And thus the journey for success began

Chapter 3: To Be Seen

Chapter 3, To be Seen

“…Are we there yet? Are we there yet? How about now? Are we there yet?”

“Shut up shut up shut up!!”

“Ha! Make me!”

“Clam down, Flim... she’s just trying to get under your coat. Just ignore her like I’ve been doing, brother of mine.”

I laughed and spoke to Flam, through the walls of the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, in a singsong-y voice. “Ooooohhhh, it looks like you're starting to slip up, Flam! More ‘she’s’ and less ‘its’... you're losing your touch, old man!

"… Or is it old stallion? Old colt?" I shrugged the best I could in my prison. "I haven't a clue of which it is myself, so why don't you tell me, mustachio?”

“…” Flam returned to being mute.

I answered with a resounding "Ha!”

“Grrrrrr…" Growled Flim. "How can a hatchling talk so much, and why haven’t we changed her lips yet, Flam?!”

Flam sighed. “We need all the magic we can if we’re going to make it to Baltimare before our rations run out. We’re only just coasting on reserve dragonfire as is, and I don’t have the strength in me to zap that damn thing again...”

I was the closest one could be to 'bouncy' when chained to a wall. “Which is why I’m able to ‘chat’ with you two without repercussions!” I laughed again. “I’m so glad we can finally exchange some words! It’s too bad you’re already so set on torturing me instead of letting me work with you. We could have been the best of friends… instead, well, I really hate your guts! Ha! That reminds me… are we there yet? Are we there yet? How about now? Huh huh huh?!”

Flim continued groaning. Meanwhile, I was having the time of my life! The day after we left the campsite I discovered why the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 was considered 'incomplete'... They hadn’t soundproofed the walls yet!

I decided, right there and then, that I was going to make these twos' lives a living hell.

That's what they did to me, so it only seemed fair.

Being the eldest of five boys, I’ve had some, well, experience with the many ways a single person could be as annoying as humanly possible. I made quick work of deploying my entire arsenal on these two, save for some things that I personally felt that the Geneva convention should outlaw. I want to annoy them, not kill them!

Yeah... probably not the smartest thing to do with your wardens, but what are they going to do about it? Cut back my food supplies? They need to keep me relatively fed and healthy if they want me to breathe fire...

Outside of that… what can they do?

Torture me?

Ha!

Don’t make me laugh… no really, please don’t.

I-it hurts...

The only reason I haven’t broken out my collection of annoying songs yet is because my throat won't allow it. I’m only just barely speaking over all the noise inside this thing: inside my metal prison… but trust me when I say it’s worth it.

Exiting my dark thoughts and returning to a near Pinkie Pie state of bliss, I hummed to myself a bit as I tried to plot out my next course of action.

...!

My mind suddenly came up with a brilliant idea.

Clearing my throat, I began. “Oh, you know what I could go for right now, you two?”

Pause for dramatic effect...

“... Meat! Delicious, mouthwatering, juicy meat! Oh, I’d put cheese on it, and lettuce, and put it between two delectable wheat buns… but what animal would I slaughter to make such a wonderful meal?”

I made an audible humming sound. “…A cow? Well, that’s what I would normally do, but ponies suddenly sound really good!” I smacked my lips noisily, making sure they could hear me. “Oh, but how am I going to get everything set up? Weeellll… I guess first I’d have to rip out the vocal cord with my fangs, can’t have it screaming after all!” I let loose a loud chortle.

“Oh, and then I’d have to gut it with my claws! Ha! I call them McStabbystab and Frank, by the way! And then I have to get a fire going... ah, but how am I supposed to do that?” I hummed again before faking a gasp. “… Wait, I know! I can breathe fire! Hahah! Silly me! Oh, hey! Did I ever thank you two for teaching me how to do that? I really should... it’s quite helpful!”

Slamming my tail down as hard as I could, I finalized the ‘plan’. “Okay, it’s settled; I’m going to have a BBQ, and you’ll both be invited! Heck, we should hunt down Iron Will and invite him and the goats as well! I’m sure they’d love some meat! So guys, how does that sound?”

My answer was the sound of Flim vomiting. The noise was still quite audible despite the metal walls separating us. Yeah... totally worth the pain. Ha!

“By Celestia’s ancient beard, brother! We’re doing Equestria, neigh, the world a favor by taking this sick thing in!”

“I agree, Flim. It truly is a morbid little thing... but at least it was kind enough to draw attention to the lack of soundproofing. I would have completely forgotten about it if it hadn’t started talking! That would have been awkward at our first showing, haha!

“Haha! Indeed it would have, brother of mine! Haha!”

... Wait…

They actually forgot about soundproofing the walls?! I thought it was because they were out of time! So, if I had just kept my mouth shut until later on…

... Ah pony feathers. I am not a clever dragon... Oh well. I still stand by my earlier comment about it being totally worth it.

“Let’s rest here for the night, Flim. My magic reserves are depleted.”

“As our mine, Flam. I’ll get the tent.”

“And I’ll get the sleeping bags, brother of mine.”

I yelled out from within the machine. “And I’ll get the S’mores!”

“…”

“You know you want one~!”

“…”

“Hehe. Hey, can you blame a girl for trying?”

They spoke in unison. “Yes.”

Clipclopclipclopclipclop.

The sounds of hoofsteps grew fainter and fainter, until I was alone. Letting out a sigh of relief, I finally found myself with some time to myself and my thoughts.

This was also the perfect time to rest my voice. Despite the pain, I had managed to annoy both brothers all day long. Well, specifically I annoyed Flim all day long. Flam was a bit more reserved then his brother and didn’t respond to my comments as often as Flim would.

I’m starting to see the subtle differences between my two wardens. Flim is a bit more talkative and seems to be easily set off. I guess that explains why he tried to take down Trixie a few days back instead of thinking the encounter through logically. As Flam described it, Flim is the showstallion of this duo. He’s the one I remember putting the most work into the slogan and seems to be the one with the most 'pony skills'... Not that Flam is lacking in said skills, its just that he's a bit more aloof and allows Flim to do most of the actual selling.

Flam is, again as they described on my second day, the idea pony. He’s the business savvy one and the one who seems to have the technical and magical prowess needed to make the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 possible. Again, Flim isn’t too bad off either, but it’s Flam who wrote up the schematics and he’s the one who had the sense to keep looking through the dragon manual for relevant information. They’re both so alike yet so different... no wonder people tend to get them mixed up. I know I did before this whole… thing.

The two brothers are also quite close, and rarely did I ever see the two apart during my time in the doggie carrier. If they ever did separate it was because one of them had to grab something from their home in Trottingham while the other had to stay behind to keep an eye on me. I’m actually kinda envious of their relationship, as I’m close with my own brothers as well but not as much as I’d like.

Dylan is the closest to me in age, but he has his own life and doesn’t seem to want me in it. The other three aren’t even out of elementary school yet so there’s not much I can do for them. I try my best when I can, but I always feel like I could do better. They would rather play video games then pick up a bat and play ball with me… maybe I’m just old fashioned.

Ha, old fashioned at age 21... Oh Nathan, you are hilarious. Well... at least Caleb would play with me… although he's the middle child and thus has a serious hunger for attention, as all middle children do.

Still… I miss him. I miss all of them… -sob-, h-how much longer will I be here? I j-just want to go h-home…

Shaking away tears, I roared out a fierce, “Ugggghhhh damn it all!” at the top of my abused lungs. A bit melodramatic, I know, but it’s necessary in order to shake off these moments of weakness. Thankfully, I don’t think the brothers heard me.

I’ve been finding myself breaking down more and more with each passing day, and I don’t think I can blame the surprise sex change anymore. I guess one could assume that I’m just a weak-willed person, but I really don’t want to accept that answer just yet.

Well, whatever the reason may be, I need to knock it off. It’s not helping anypony here. If anything, save the waterworks for the eventual rescuers… whenever they decide to show up.

“Yaaaawwwnnn!” All righty then, enough with that nonsense for tonight. The boys are asleep so that means its bedtime for baby dragons. Time to go through my nightly rituals.

First, I used my forked tail to make an indent in the wall left of me. It’s probably not the smartest thing to do, but I’ve taken up the habit of keeping track of how many days I’ve been here. Sure it’ll be a constant reminder of how long it’s been since I last saw my family, but on the flipside I can view it as a hobby and lord knows I need a hobby.

It’s that or else I’d go insane.

Let’s see now: including the seven extra marks I made to include my first week in Equestria, I am now up to nine days here. I left around the first week of October, so Halloween… oh, sorry, I guess I mean Nightmare Night, is still a few weeks away. If I know her like I know her, my mom will try to call me at some point to tell me what the kids' costumes are. She’ll call my phone, think something’s amiss when I don’t pick up, and then send dad down to see what’s up. Good, I've got that sorted. Next…

I inhaled a large gulp of air, and then exhaled a large funnel of my personal orange fire, successfully completing the second step of my night time procedures. I learned this morning that the brothers won’t bother waking me up with lightning if their magic tank is already full, so by breathing out fire before going to bed the automatic vacuum within the machine will suck it up and store it for later. The machine goes through it rabidly if it’s performing any other actions outside of moving, but if it’s doing just that then filling it up beforehand (beforehoof, beforeclaw?) grants me some extra sleep time, which I desperately need.

And now for the last step: getting comfortable. It might come as a shock to you, but hanging from a wall by your arms is not that relaxing. Thankfully neither my spines nor horns have become bothersome while I'm so close to the wall, but hanging off the wall itself is still very uncomfortable. I’ve tried to make things more pleasing by wrapping my wings around myself like a blanket, but it just wasn’t enough.

I decided to try using my tail last night to see if it would relieve some of the stress off my arms. The plan was that I would stiffen it on the floor and attempt to lift myself up with it. Surprisingly it worked, although my tail slackened in the middle of the night and caused me to stir from my slumber, so the whole idea turned out to be a failure.

Tonight, I’m going to try laying my tail out like a mat and stand on it with my feet. Let’s see here; I just have to wrap it up like this, aaaannndddd, done.

Oh, wow, that feels much better… although now my tail is starting to hurt. Looks like I traded one pain in the tail for another... um, pain in the tail…

... Okay, I’m obviously way too tired to think straight anymore. I can live with this for now, I guess.

Sleepy time for Ms. Dragon.

… Hopefully I won’t wake up traded to slavers, again.

***^***

“AHHHHHHH!!!!!”

Ha, big surprise. I was woken up from my dreaming through the help of magic lightning, fire escaping my throat, and the sound of my own screaming.

You know, just an average morning.

Speaking of the screaming; at this point I think it’s the screaming that damages my throat and not the actual fire, but I can’t for the life of me stop screaming after they hit me with their magic. Maybe it’s a specifically designed torture spell? Whose the sadistic pony who came up with that one? No, more importantly... what would such a pony’s cutie mark look like?

“Did it work, Flam?” Asked Flim.

“I have no idea. Hit it again, Flim.”

“Got it.”

“Did what wo-AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” I tried to ask, before being hit by another bolt.

I could hear Flam humming to himself. “Let’s see… magic levels are increasing so it’s hitting her, yet I don’t hear a thing, brother of mine! It looks like we’re ready to go!”

“All right, Flam!” Flim responded happily.

My eyes widened. "W-what? Oh no, please tell me they didn’t soundproof the walls already!" I tried to get their attention. “Flim! You’re a smelly flankhole! Flam! Your mustache is bad and you should feel bad!”

…

Silence. It looks like they weren't lying... Well, thank goodness I can still hear them when they're close to the machine. I think I’d go crazy for sure if I had only the inner steam workings to listen to…

... Not that I really want to listen to these two all the time, but it’s still better than being completely blind to the outside world.

For instance, I thought that they needed to get to Balitmare in order to get the charms necessary to do such a thing. At least, that’s what I overheard in the few instances where I faked being asleep so I could listen in on them. Did I really just sleep through the rest of the trip there and their modifications to the machine?

Damn... I knew I was a heavy sleeper, but that’s just insane! It must be a baby dragon thing… something I’m not sure if I like.

Well… now what?

“Well… now what, brother of mine?”

Yeah, what Flim said.

“Well we can’t return home now, Flim, and it’s too late to modify the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 to use oranges, tomatoes, or any other kind of fruit like we originally planned. We would need to honker down for a while in order to make such additions... but we are now currently homeless, so the first order of business is to get into some business, brother of mine!”

“Excellent! Soooo... where should we start, Flam?”

“Hmmm… we can only make apple cider right now. That’s no good, as we would need to buy apples first before we sell it as cider. Unless we overprice the end result we’re only going to be breaking even... What we need to do is collaborate, brother of mine, with an apple farm and use their apples instead!”

Apple farm?

...

I grinned. “And thus the seeds of their downfall have been planted. Huh... I didn’t think cider season would be right before Nightmare Night, but oh well.”

I better start forming an escape plan for when they reach Ponyville. The actual day I escape matters too, as I want to be able to make it out of this machine right before they're 'run' out of town, but not before the competition. Any sooner and they'd be able to spot that I'm gone, and any later and I'll lose my chance to find somepony who can help m-

Clop!

The sound of Flim’s hoof stumping down on the wooden platform cut off my train of thought.

“Work with an apple farm, Flam?! Are you crazy?!" He roared. "The only apple farms in Equestria are owned by the Apple family! Last I checked, brother of mine, they weren’t too keen about members from our neck of the woods!”

“They still accept the Oranges so why not us, Flim?” Flam asked.

Flim stomped again. “The Oranges are earth ponies though! Same race! As soon as our branch of the tree ascended into unicorndom... BAM! Suddenl-”

“Yes yes" Flam cut him off. "suddenly we’re blacklisted and removed from the Hearts Warming Eve cards. I was there for that talk as well, Flam, when momma Shim told us about how earth ponies are stuck up and jealous of our superiority... but we still need them for their food and especially now when we need apples for our machine! We’re going to need the Apple’s help on this brother: we’re going to have to work with one of the farms in order to get off the ground.”

“... Ohhhh, your right, Flam!" Flim fumed. "But I still don’t think we should tell them we’re related! They’ll try to take our cut and say it’s for ‘the good of the family’. Bleh! Let’s just go by the Flim Flam brothers and not Apple Flim and Apple Flam, brother of mine.”

“Sounds like a plan, Flim”

I simply blinked at this revaluation. Whoa... well that was a twist! And the Apple family is racist too? As hilarious as the mental image of a racist Apple Bloom is, I’m not so sure if its true...

Racist or not, my life has surprisingly become more of a soap opera then it already was. Next thing you’re going to tell me is that I’m pregnant, and that Fluttershy is the father!

I jokingly spoke to myself to lift my spirits, and attempted to imitate a meme face. “Ugh, brain? Why you give me great fan fiction ideas while I’m not even in the same dimension as my computer?!”

The brother's continued their conversation. “Let’s take a look at the map, Flim.”

“Yes let’s…okay here. The closest apple farm is right here, Flam.”

“No no that won’t do. That’s the one in Trottingham! We can’t go there...”

“Okay, well then… there. What town is this one?”

“Well that’s, let’s see… Ah! That’s Oaklahoma! According to this, its a small unicorn town with an even smaller earth pony population. That means that it’s country enough to have the normal variety of hicks, but also sophisticated enough for the majority to appreciate our speedy service! Perfect target!”

Haha Oaklahoma. I see what you did there, universe. I’d say keep up the good work... but I’m still strung up to the wall of a machine and being treated like a battery, so you’re going to have to do better than tree puns to win me back...

“Well then, I’d say we’re set, Flam! Let’s head out!”

“Lead the way, brother of mine!”

I felt the machine rumble before it propelling itself forward. A pair of familiar whistles tweeting away.

Toot… shee… toot… shee...

***^***

The trip took us a few days. During that time, I used my new found privacy to explore my prison and consider my options.

“Okay" I spoke aloud, as had become a habit of mine. "so there’s a lot of room in here, but most of it is occupied by that giant vacuum when it comes down to suck up my flames. Let’s see how far that thing reaches… Spit-to-wee!”

I shot out a volley of fireballs toward the adjacent wall. They move pretty fast, so I was hoping I could hit either the back wall or the vacuum itself before it dropped down...

... But the vacuum dropped down almost immediately and sucked up my babies. Aww nuts. No good there then, and I was so proud of myself when I figured how to shoot fireballs in the first place!

“Okay... let’s try this.”

I turned my head slightly to the side and tried to roast the wall to my right. The hose dropped down again and sucked up my fire for the second time… but this time it took longer to drop down.

Good, the vacuum isn't perfect. Let’s try a fireball now... "Spit-to-wee!”

Ha! Pay dirt! It was too fast for the vacuum so it instead struck the wall, resulting in a sweet blast! Smoke was everywhere.

… But once the smoke cleared, I was able to see that the attack didn't even so much as warp the wall. All my hard work resulted in was a single black scorch mark... Well of course it would be fireproof. Why wouldn't it be? Didn’t hurt to try though...

So blasting and melting the walls over time is out of the question… what about the ceiling?

I lift my head up. I can see the hatch out of the room above me. It seems to be made out of a different material then the walls and floor… maybe I can reach it from here?

Let’s try…“Fwoosh!”

Aw dang it! I can hit the ceiling, but I can’t crank my head up far enough to hit the hatch! Stupid ear horn things...

I sighed. “Well that’s out too. I guess fire in general is out of the question… or is it?”

I looked up at the metal cufflinks that hold me to the wall. They're probably fireproof too… or they might not be. Seems like such a small thing: maybe the brothers forgot about it like how they forgot to soundproof the walls?

... It’s a stretch, but let’s try it. “What could possibly go wrong?”

I inhaled and blew fire at one of the bindings…“Fwoo-”

… And then proceeded to scream like the little girl I had become.

“OWOWOWOWOWO!!! I THOUGHT DRAGONS WERE FIREPROOF!! MY CLAW!! MY CLLLAAAWWWW!! I’M SORRY MR. MCSTABBYSTAB! FORGIVE MEEEEE!!!!”

Okay... so that wasn’t my brightest idea. I'm glad for the soundproofing now... but yeah, what the heck?! Spike could jump into a pool of lava and live: how is it that my own breath can hurt me?! Is it because it’s magic fire? Are my scales only strong against natural fire and lava?

“O-owie…" -Sniff-

Well whatever the case, once I blew away the flames I was able to tell that I just stupidly burned my claw up pretty badly. It hurts to move and it’s currently gone from green to a nice golden brown. I’m really grateful for that super healing now. I don't think I'll be able to use it for awhile, but its not like I was using it now anyways.

Great, so now I can officially cross fire off from my lis-... no, wait! The cufflink’s metal is slightly warped now! It’s still pretty sturdy, and I don’t think it’ll give way yet, but if I were to keep trying…

… I’d lose the ability to use my claws.

...

Um, let’s save this as a plan B.

What else do I have at my disposal? My spines are useless: the most I’ve been able to do with them is to scratch the wall behind me. Big whoop. Its the same deal with my horns: they can be regarded as useless as well.

I mean, they only let me hear. Big deal.

What else is there... wings? My wings haven’t been used much outside of helping me eat and keeping me warm at night. It’s truly a shame: I can still taste the air I got when I glided off that mountain! It was amazing… up until the tree bit. I wish I could learn how to fly sometime after all this is over, before I find a way home...

... Ugh, I'm getting distracted. On top of being unable to fly with them, my wings aren't really sharp and I can’t manipulate them in the same way I’ve seen pegasi manipulate theirs in Trottingham: I can’t treat them like hands and hold things in them. What this means is that my wings are also off the list of possible escape options.

I'm starting to run out of body parts here. My sore tongue has gotten more than enough exercise thanks to all the abuse I’ve been giving it just to eat, but I don't see it being very useful. I can reach pretty far with it, but not far enough to touch the ceiling or anything silly like that. Spike can wrap his around his body from what I remember from the show, but I don’t see mine being able to do that either. He also had pockets too, so I guess the show wasn't that accurate.

I actually tried to pick the locks with my tongue once, only to discover that these things holding me to the wall don’t have locks and are instead magically sealed. There is a visible crease where the cuff is supposed to open up, but I can’t slide my tongue in there. If I could just get one claw loose…

I groaned at what my stupid brain was cooking up. "... You're thinking about charbroiling your claw again, aren't you, Nathan? Stop it."

Stupid brain. Even if I did do that, the nerves would be too dead for me to manipulate my claw enough to open up the other cufflink. I would have to burn both claws and pray that a fireball could blow the hatch wide open for me, or else I’d be boned.

That just leaves my tail… but I'm not sure what to do with this thing. It just kinda lays there on the floor, swishing back and forth on its own. It’s only when I concentrate on it that it does what I want it to do and assists me with eating. I really wish it wouldn’t move on its own like that: it tends to knock my bowl and plate around and sometimes it goes through the pile directly under me.

My… ahem, thing pile.

I sighed. “Well, great... so I’ve got nothing. I guess all I can do is wait...”

***^***

“Well, brother of mine… we've made it.”

“We sure did, Flam. This might be the start of the rest of our lives.”

“Haha. That’s a bit unlikely, but it’ll still be good practice for future showings, Flim.”

“Oh brother of little faith: what’s stopping this from being our big break?”

“Our lack of experience, our lack of stage presence, our lack of our own source of apples...” Flam deadpanned.

Flim snorted at his brother's lack of enthusiasm. “Fine fine, whatever you say, Flam. I’m still going to remain optimistic.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, brother of mine. Make sure the dragon is awake and well feed before we head into town square.”

“Got it.” Flim replied.

Scree...

The squeaky hatch above me opened up and a small shower of rusted screws and bolts rained down on my head.

“Owowow!" I screamed. "Do you have to pour that on me every time?!”

“Hehe indeed I do! Be grateful we’re out of glass!” Flim laughed some more before engulfing the hatch door in a green glow.

I shouted up. “Hey! Flim! Wait a second…”

Cranking my head up as high as I could, I saw out of the corner of my eye that he had stopped moving.

"Spit it out." He demanded.

Surprised that he actually stopped to listen, I told him that “I-I just wanted to say, break a leg out there.”

Flim remained rooted where he was. I was unable to make out his face from the angle he was at, but his voice suggested that he was surprised by my sudden encouraging words. “That’s… surprisingly kind of you, you horrid little thing.”

I smirked. “Yeah, well, I really mean it. Go break a leg out there, Flim! All four of them! Ha!”

Flim groaned. “And there it is. Like mama always said: 'Never trust a talker'.”

He then slammed the hatch door shut again, returning me to darkness as I continued to laugh. Ohhh... what’s that expression my dad used to say? 'Don’t poke the bear?' Heh, well I tried using kindness with these two dolt colts already, so the only thing left for me to do is to poke the bear! Have to get my kicks somehow! Ha!

...

… I... have to keep on laughing and smiling somehow. I can't let them break me...

"... All I really need is a smile smile smile~"

...

-Sniff-

***^***

“Okay, I’m back, Flam.”

“Did you get the bag of apples?”

“Check.”

“Is the machine ready?”

“Check.”

“Was there a good size crowd in the center of town?”

“Check and check, brother of mine. We are good to go.”

“Then let’s go, Flim!”

I gulped. “Well… I guess it’s show time.”

I mentally prepared myself for the abuse I was about to receive.

The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 rocketed forward at a brisk pace: just a hair slower than normal traveling speeds. The whistles were blaring.

Toot… shee… toot… shee...

I started hearing the voices of other ponies as we moved further along. I assume we’re moving deeper into the center of Oaklahoma, as the voices became louder and more numerous the longer time went by. After a few more minutes I saw a stray spark of magic bounce along the ceiling and head towards somewhere out of my line of sight.

Shhhhhhhh…

The air was filled with the sound of static playing on a gramophone.

Whump.

And that, I assume, was a needle dropping on a vinyl record. My heart dropped as it began to play, releasing a very familiar tune.

Flim lead the charge. “Well, lookie what we got here, brother of mine, it’s the same in every town! Ponies with thirsty throats, dry tongues, and not a drop of cider to be found. Maybe they’re not aware that there’s really no need for this teary despair!”

Flam stepped in. “That the key that they need to solve the sad cider shortage you and I will shaaaarrreee!”

I sighed. “I used to like this song.”

Together they sang. “Well you’ve got opportunity in this very community~!”

“He’s Flim!”

“He’s Flam!”

“We’re the world famous Flim Flam brothers! Traveling salesponies nonpareil!”

… But nopony asked what nonpareil meant, so Flim went along with the rehearsed lyrics.

“Well what’s 'nonpareil' you ask and that’s exactly the reason why, you see.” Flim picked up. “No pony else in this whole place will give you such a chance to be where you need to be! And that’s a new world, with tons of cider; fresh squeezed and ready for drinking…”

“More cider than you could drink in all your days of thinking~!” Flam finished. Nopony said ‘I doubt that!’ I braced myself for the next part.

“So take this opportunity…”

There it is…wait, silence? No, ‘…in this community!’ from the crowd? I only heard it from the fake, generated crowd in the prerecorded record... That's really weird: I thought ponies liked to add in to these songs... Flim said as much when he wrote it up!

The music continued without their input, either way.

“…travelling salesponies nonpareil!”

“I suppose by now you’re wondering, about our pecu-"

“Okay. That’s enough, you two.” A scruffy voice called out from the crowd of (what I assume was) ponies surrounding the machine.

Another spark entered my room and the music stopped.

Flim cleared his throat. “Well, good day to you, my good Ox! I see that you’ve taken an interest in our wondrous machine!”

A deep voice could be heard through the walls. “Interest is such a… strong... word. I’m more interested in knowing why you’re making such a racket in front of our stalls.”

Flam answered. “Why, so we can show the good ponies of this town our Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000!”

Flim kept going. “It’s only the most highly advanced cider brewing machine this side of Equestria! We thought that a demonstration would be in order, and we specifically chose the good town of Oaklahoma to be the first place to experience such a luxury!”

There was silence from the three speakers. I could hear murmuring coming from the crowd, followed by… laughing?

“I… we… don’t see what’s so funny. Do you, brother of mine?”

“Not a clue, Flim.”

The deep voice chuckled. “Boys... I’m guessing your more of the tinkering type then the agricultural type, so let me tell you straight up... No one here is going to want to buy cider when it’s not in season.”

“N-not even one cup?” I mentally pictured Flam’s mustache drooping, despite it being Flim who said the line.

“Not a single one. Besides, where are you planning on getting all those apples, boys?” the Ox asked.

Flam spat out a response. “W-well we’re here to work with the Apple family of Oaklahoma, of course! We’ve had a deal set up with them for months now!”

“F-Flam?!” Flim sputtered out.

Flam spoke under his breath, something I’m amazed that I caught. “Just roll with it, Flim.”

The Ox spoke up. “Oh really? How’d you manage to do that then?”

Flim chuckled awkwardly. “Haha. I’m afraid that's a trade secret my good, um, stallion?”

“That’s right, brother of mine." Flam finished, before he went back to addressing the Ox. "Sorry to disappoint, Mister…?”

“They call me Blue.” The Ox answered harshly.

“Well then Mr. Blue... my brother and I need to be on our way. Lots of business with the Apples and what not, right Flim?” I imagine Flim nodded his head in response before Flam went on. “Right. So, would you be oh so kind as to point us in the direction of the Apples' farm, Mr. Blue?”

The Ox’s voice grew stern. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary, boys. After all, you’re both lying through your teeth.”

“… What did you just say you damn ta-” I imagine Flam must have put a hoof in Flim’s mouth there, as he was cut off midsentence.

Being in the dark is starting to suck...

“Haha, oh that brother of mine, always a kidder. But in all seriousness: what is it your trying to insinuate, Mr. Blue?”

I could hear Mr. Blue spiting something on the ground. “I’m sorry, boys, but only my friends get to call me Blue. You aren’t my friends, so you get to call me by my full name: Blue Apple. The farm here’s mine, and I don’t recognize you as ponies I’d like to do business with.”

“A damn Ox is an Apple?!”

Silence fell across the crowd at Flim’s comment. I pictured Flam facehoofing.

Me? I was laughing my tail off. “Hahahah! Oh this is going to be good!”

Blue Apple broke the silence. “… Is that a problem, boy?”

Flam began the backpedaling. “N-no no, Mr. Blue Apple! He was just… surprised by the revelation, you see! We were under the impression that the Apples were, well, an earth pony only kind of group!”

Pride filled Blue Apple's voice as he responded to that by saying “Well it isn’t. Anything on this soil that has the will and heart for the job can join the family. What we don’t take kindly to, however, are liars. So I suggest you take your fancy machine and your fancy singing and get out of my sight.”

I heard a collective gulp from the brothers, followed by cheering from the townsfolk. Looks like the Apples family isn't as xenophobic as the brothers thought they were! Awesome!

Also, Blue Apple is now best Ox.

I felt the machine start to push itself in the opposite direction. The voices of the citizens of Oaklahoma grew fainter with each passing second.

Toot…shee…toot…shee.

***^***

Silence reigned supreme for several hours after that…

... Well it did for the brothers, at least. In my cell, on the other claw, I was still laughing up a storm.

“Hahahaha…hahaha…ha… phew! Oh man, that was too rich!”

Oh come on: it’s a little funny, right? The whole reason their treating me like an animal is because I’m a ‘talker’, and now their first gig was ruined because of that same racism! Even better, this instance has brought to their attention the fact that their bigotry can be detrimental to their future business! I bet that’s why they’ve been so quiet: they have a lot to think about.

“… Brother of mine?”

“... Yes Flim?”

“I… we blew it pretty bad there, didn’t we?”

“... We sure did, brother of mine.”

Ha! Called it. Now then... what did they learn~?

“Oh, we were foals, Flam!”

“I know, Flim!”

I grinned widely. I spoke, uncaring if they heard or not. “Foals about what, dare I ask?”

“We should have known that cider wasn’t in season!”

“I’m still kicking myself for that too, Flim!”

My smile dropped. “... What?”

“Well that’s going to throw a wrench in our plans! What do we do now, Flam?”

“We’ll just have to try another hick town, Flim! Preferably one where they’re ignorant of the seasons!"

“It should also be a place where they have enough common sense to not hire a Celestiadamn talker as a farmhand!”

“Ha! I’ll drink to that, brother of mine! Turn on the machine!”

“After you, Flam!”

I felt an electric charge strike my body. I let loose a strong blast of bright orange fire.

“AHHHHHH!!!!”

I screamed from the pain… but I think a good chunk of it this time came from my own frustration.

***^***

The following morning the boys pulled out their map (I could hear it ruffling from here) and debated possible choices for a bit before deciding to try their hooves in a town called Horseton. Something about it being a mix of all three races was their excuse, and that this meant that there wouldn’t be that many ‘talkers’ there. I wonder how that makes any sense... would the other races feel threatened by the presence of all three pony races in a single point? Would it discourage them from living there? That might explain Ponyville a bit, I guess.

Finishing up my latest 'meal' (as well as I could in this bumpy thing, at least) I glanced at the wall to my left, which was now adorned with sixteen marks. This tally includes everyday but the days that I apparently slept through. Nightmare Night must be fast approaching, so that must mean that Halloween is almost here as well. By this point I’d assume someone must have discovered I’m gone. I didn’t have many friends in the town I moved to, but the friends I did have might have tried calling me by now to see what’s up... I hope.

I also hope this isn’t causing all of them too much stress…

...

Urg... it’s not healthy to dwell on this. I should instead center my thoughts on trying to escape. I came up with a couple new ideas last night while contemplating how stupid these brothers are. Now’s the perfect time to try them out.

Okay, lets give idea number one a shot. Should be simple enough, all I have to do is trigger a Greed Growth.

Again, simple.

Basically, the idea came from a stupid thought I was having. I was comparing myself to a Magikarp (I was thinking about how ‘When I grow up I will murder you all’) when I realized that I didn’t have forever to grow into could-eat-a-pony-in-one-bite proportions.

Well... actually I guess I do have forever, but I really don’t want to wait that long.

Anyways, it was at this point when I remembered one of the few Spike themed episodes, and about how in said episode bronies learned that baby dragons have the power to grow into the size of adult dragons in a short amount of time if they give in to their greed. The downside of the transformation is the regressing and general dumbing down of the mind… but at this point if I can just grow large enough to accidentally step on those two, I don’t really care what happens afterwards.

Great, sooooo… how do I do this then?

I glanced around my prison. “Um… this bowl is… mine?”

I gingery pick up my doggie bowl with my tail.

I took another sweep with my eyes. “... These screws are mine.”

I used my tongue to pick up the screws left in my hair and place them in the empty bowl.

“This glass is mine.”

I found a piece of glass left over on the floor and pick it up with my toes. I brought it up high enough to put it in the bowl as well.

“These scales are mine!”

I put the bowl down momentarily and picked up a few of the fallen scales that lay discarded in my… thing pile, using a combination of my toes and my tail.

“This… um… room! This room is mine!”

I gave the floor of my prison a few taps with my forked tail.

"These, are, my, things! Mine!"

Aaaannnddd…

… Nothing. Well shoot... worth a shot, I guess. I kinda figured that I would need more material possessions in order to trigger something on Spike’s scale, but I was so sure I could grow just a little bit with what little I had here. Maybe if I stockpiled ‘food’ for a week…

Gargle

Seems like my stomach doesn't like that idea...

Well, Greed Growth was a bust... heh, and that segues nicely into my second plan: causing the machine to explode.

Let’s see... I’m no magical engineer, but I don’t think this thing is structurally sound enough to hold a massive quantity of magic fire. There has to be a limit... and I’m going to find it, right now!

I took a massive breath of air, and exhaled as hard as I could towards where the vacuum drops down.

"Fwoosh!"

The vacuum quickly began its duty of sucking it up and storing it. I pushed harder for a good two minutes before I began to get lightheaded.

-Huff-… -huff-… -gulp- "A-again!”

I took another gulp of air and exhaled another funnel of fire. "F-fwoosh!" This one lasted only a minute b-before I-I… oh boy… before I had to stop again.

“I-I-I…" -Gulp- "I n-need to… to… keep going…”

Another gulp and another… another fire blast. "F-fwoosh..." Sooooo lightheaded now…

“O-One moooorrreee…" -Gulp- "One more time!"

I inhaled…

... And then proceeded to black out.

***^***

I woke up to the sound of music.

“Ugghhh… ow my head… How long was I out for?”

“Non-par what?”

“Nonpareil, you ask and that’s exactly the reason why, you see…” I heard Flim through the walls… but I didn’t recognize the girl’s voice. Oh my gosh: did they make it to Horseton while I was asleep?!

“So take this opportunity…”

“… In this community~!”

By the sound of that cheering… yes. They did make it here while I was asleep.

Daaammnn. That little stunt of mine quite literally knocked me into next week! The trip was supposed to be four days long and bumpy, so again, daaaammmmn!

Note to self: don’t fight the machine, it will kick your ass flat out.

The cheering continued. “Oh, we got opportunity in this very community! Please Flim, please Flam, help us out of this jam! With the Flim Flam brothers' Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000~!”

Looks like this town seems to be falling for the slogan and singing this time. Good for them, I guess...

... Oh no, wait… crap. I remember this part!

From Flim’s voice came “Mr. Spectrum... I would be ever so honored if you might see fit to let my brother and I borrow some of your delicious, and might I add spell-bindingly fragrant apples, for our little demonstration here?”

A voice, which I assume was Mr. Spectrum, spoke up. “I suppose I can allow that.”

The crowd went wild. “Opportunity, in our community…”

“Ready Flim?”

“Ready Flam!”

I whimpered.

I heard the twinkling of unicorn magic, then together the two sang: “Let’s bing-band zam!”

Twin arcs of lightning bounced violently throughout my room before they combined and, well, bing-band zammed me.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

When Flim zaps me, it hurts the outside of my body and makes me scream. When Flam zaps me, it hurts the inside of my body and makes me scream. When they both zap me at the same time, the pain is just… inhuman. My everything feels like it’s on fire and that feeling lasts for hours after the attack. It makes me physically ill as well, so I have that to look forward on top of the nightmares.

Speaking of sick… “Ah… ah… a-h… Umbh!”

... Please be grateful I haven’t described what it smells like in here…

There is a method to this madness, however. The brothers aren't just simply doing it to be crueler then usual. As Flam described it back at their camp, they need to hit me together during this part of the song so that they can generate enough energy to run all of the instruments for an extended period of time. It makes sense to do this if they were about to open up for business and serve a massive amount of ponies... but during the slogan song, though, I think it’s just to show off.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again. These guys are flankholes.

Flim picked up. “Now, here's where the magic happens, right here in this heaving roiling cider press boiling guts of the very machine, those apples plucked fresh are right now as we speak being turned into grade-A top-notch five-star blow-your-horses-off one-of-a-kind cider!”

Guts? What guts? I’m in the guts and even I don’t know what they’re talking about.

... Now that I think about it, where is the cider made in this thing? I don’t even remember what this thing does with the bad apples! Also... blow-your-horses-off? What the hell are horses supposed to be in this universe anyways?

Oh dearie me, I’m missing the song. For shame.

“Well Spectrum, I’m glad you brought that up, good sir, I say I’m glad you brought that up. You see that we are very picky when it comes to cider if you’ll kindly try a cup…”

I heard a sipping sound.

Flam chuckled. “Yes, sir, yes ma’am this great machine, it’s just the very best. So whaddaya say then, Spectrum? Care to step into the modern world, and put the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 to the teeeesssst?”

Mr. Spectrum laughed goodheartedly. “Hehe, okay okay, you two. I’m convinced.”

The music finally stopped.

I heard Flim’s voice. “So then, you acknowledge the wonder of our Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000?”

“Well I wouldn’t go that far yet, but I can tell you that this is one fine cup of cider! It might not be in season, but I think we can work something out for the spring when it is in season. But I have to say... this cup sure is toasty yet still pure tasting... What’s your secret?” Mr. Spectrum asked.

Flim chuckled again. “Haha. Why, it’s magic, my good stallion!”

Suddenly, the entire crowd went silent. Deathly silent. I’m starting to get a feeling of Déjà vu.

Mr. Spectrum broke the silence. “…What did you just say, boy?”

Okay, serious Déjà vu here.

Flim chuckled nervously. “Um, that it’s magic?”

“… Mr. Flim, Mr. Flam... this might sound irrelevant, but I can see that you’ve both got a fine pair of apples on your flanks, so maybe you can identify the one on mine.”

Flam decided to test his luck and answer. “Oh, well… it appears to be a, um, rainbow colored apple, sir.”

“That’s correct, Mr. Flam." Spectrum replied. "This here’s a zap apple. Do you know how one is grown?”

The boys were silent.

Spectrum chuckled again. “That’s what I thought. Flim, Flam... zap apples are grown through a magical process involving the nearby Everfree forest. My family figured out how to properly harvest such a fruit many generations back, but that’s not what I’m getting at here. What do you think my cutie mark means?”

More silence.

“Hehe, not even going to guess? It’s a magic apple sons: my talent is magic.”

“But you’re an earth pony!”

The crowd started to usher forth a stream of angry sounding protests. Boy, Flim just can’t keep his muzzle shut, can he?

Despite the anger, potentially bloodthirsty sounding mob around him, Spectrum proved to be even more intimidating. “Mr. Flim… magic isn’t just reserved for you unicorns. You’d be best not to forget that... Understood?”

Both brothers answered very timidly. “Yes sir…”

I let out a low whistle. This must be a very scary pony. Wish I could see…

Mr. Spectrum continued in a softer voice. “But, I’m not a selfish pony. I wouldn’t deny this town something that they obviously want, right Horsetonites?!”

Wild cheering broke out from the crowd. From anger to joy in the blink of an eye... this guy must have the town wrapped around his finger, hoof, whatever.

“I’m not about to let my own feelings get in the way of business." Mr. Spectrum went on. "So then, Flim Flam brothers: let’s talk business!”

Flim returned to the conversation in full force. “Oh boy, now we’re getting somewhere!”

Spectrum chuckled. “Hehe, yes we are... so let’s open up negotiations with you sharing your real secret.”

The boys were silent again.

Flam spoke up. “W-what secret?”

The Apple pony’s voice grew rough for the second time. “The secret behind your cider, boys. The laws of magic wouldn’t allow you to generate such a warm beverage with your magic without contaminating it. It can’t be from a steam process either, as that can potentially ruin the drink as well. Based on the flow of magic coming off your horns earlier, I can wager a guess and assume that you didn’t simply push your magic into your elaborate machine. Instead, I'll throw out a wild guess here and say that you casted a spell... Lord Luminaire II’s lightning spell, if I’m not mistaken: a spell used in the olden days of ponydom to squeeze information out of those deemed traitors to the crown. Residual magic energy left in the air also suggests that you weren’t just using that spell to power your machine: you were hitting something and it, I reckon, is what makes your machine tick. From here its just a guessing game, as it could be a variety of thing; a manticore on a treadmill, a decapitated hydra hatchling in the process of regenerating, a baby dragon...

"... Am I getting warmer, you two?”

The brother’s jaws effectively hit the floor, and that’s not a guess. I can state that confidently because my jaw joined them. Heck, I think I heard a small clanking noise accompanying it as well!

More chuckling came from Mr. Spectrum. “As the kids say these days: you’ve been schooled, sons. So, want to share your secret now? I’ve got a few more theories of my own, most of them are pretty morbid and last I checked illegal. I’d hate to have to summon the royal guards on you good boys but I will if something fishy is going on.” I heard Mr. Spectrum spit. “So, anything to say for yourselves?”

“…”

“…”

“… Flam?”

“... Yes Flim?”

“Next town?”

“…Next town, brother of mine.”

With that the machine rocketed away from Horseton.

The last I heard of the town was Mr. Spectrum shouting “Pleasure doing 'business' with you! Ha!”

Toot… shee… toot… shee…

***^***

“Damn it damn it damn it!!”

I know how Flim feels: why hadn’t Mr. Spectrum pushed harder?! I could have been free by now if he had just pushed a little further! Damn it damn it damn it, indeed!

“Calm down, Flim!” Ordered Flam.

Flim snapped at him. “No, Flam, we’re doomed! We should have known this wasn’t going to work…”

“Flim, it was only our second stop! You can’t expect us to be a huge hit on the first few tries!”

Flim continued to complain. “But we were so close last time, brother of mine! We would have nailed it if it wasn’t for that stupid Apple pony!”

“Well, every failure brings forth knowledge, Flim." Reassured Flam. "We just have to learn from our mistakes and move forward. Never surrender, brother!”

“... Heheh. Never surrender… You're right, Flam! We can’t give up!”

Wow... that was quick. This must have not been that big of a deal... I’ve got to admit, though, that's a good attitude to have. To remain optimistic, no matter what the situation is... Never give up… yeah. I think I’ll try to keep that attitude as well. “Never give up…”

“Hey… Flam? What’s that town over there?” Flim suddenly asked.

“Town over where, Flim? Oh... that one…? I don’t recognize it, brother. Let me just consult the map… Well I’ll be a son of a cannon. Either this map is outdated, or that town doesn’t exist!”

“That can’t be right, brother of mine! We purchased this thing in Baltimare after all! It’s current, so it’s got to be right… yet there it is... It’s pretty close to the Everfree though, Flam.”

“Yeah I see that. Real close, Flim... It’s almost like it’s in there, but that’d be crazy, brother of mine.”

“Well… what should we do?” Flim asked.

“Hmmmm… let’s try it, Flim! Third time’s the charm after all!”

“Are you sure, Flam? It seems kinda decrepit looking...”

I imagined Flam shrugging. “I can spot ponies though, brother of mine! Decrepit or not, ponies have to wet their whistles at some point!”

“Ah, good point. All right then... After you, Flam!”

“Right away, Flim!”

I could feel with my body that the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 had changed its course and was now heading off.

My mind, meanwhile, was running at sonic rainboom speeds. “A decrepit town? In the Everfree? Not on any maps, and full of ponies… Oh please don’t tell me that 'The Story of the Blanks' is canon!”

***^***

I think we entered the town, but I have no real way of knowing. The music was blaring again, and the brothers had started singing... but I wasn’t hearing anything from the citizens of this mysterious town. It was silent again like it was in Oaklahoma…

… But I could feel it in my scales. Something was different this time. This silence was too quiet, if that makes any sense.

Despite being inside the machine, it felt like everyponies’ eyes were on me... looking at me. I knew that this should probably be a good thing, but something told me it wasn’t...

“Well you’ve got opportunity in this very community...”

I could tell that the brothers were picking up on the weird vibes also. Their voices were quickly growing shakier. What was going on out there?

“H-he’s Flim…”

“H-he’s Flam…”

“We’re the w-world famous Flim Flam b-brothers. Traveling salesponies nonpareil…”

“Nonpareil? What doesss thisss word mean Missstersss?”

Finally, someone from the town spoke up… and she seems to have a bit of a lisp.

The brothers seemed to cheer up a bit and the song grew steadier. “Nonpareil, you ask and that’s exactly the reason why, you see…”

The song continued at its normal pace, but the crowd still didn’t join in, even as the song ended. I’m unsure how the song goes if nopony joins in, as I wasn't paying attention. I’m sure if I had paid attention I would have heard how they did it, but I was too enticed by a sudden low buzzing sound to care. I've heard this before somewhere, but where exactly...?

Flim finished the song. “... So? What do you say fine ponies of… um…"

The girl from earlier answered. “We call thiss place the Nurssery.”

“Oh, right." Flim chuckled nervously. "Well what do you say then, fine ponies of Nursery?”

“We sssay that thiss will nourisssh usss greatly.”

... Wait.

Nourish?

Low buzzing sound?

Extended S’s?

Nursery?!

Oh dear God! I hope my active imagination is wrong for once!

“So you like our cider then, Miss…?”

“We are Legion.”

I began sweating. Since when has that ever been a normal name, even for a pony?!

Flam finished his sentence. “Ah yes. So you liked our cider then, Ms. Legion?”

'Ms. Legion' giggled lightly. “Aahhhhh, no. We have no need for cider, but you will ssstill provide excellent nourissshment for our sssswarm.”

Swarm…?

... And now all the pieces fit.

Flim shakily asked the question that I would not have been stupid enough to ask. “A-and what, exactly, are you referring to, my good filly?”

The girl chuckled. “Why, your love of courssse! We can feel the brotherly love flowing through the both of you. Why, we dare sssay that it’ll be more than enough to lassst usss through the winter!”

Yup, just as I thought... Changelings. Gulp. “W-well, maybe it’ll be easier for me to escape once those two are shriveled up corpses...”

The girl, whom I now identified as a changeling, continued... by answering me.

“Oh, and don’t think we can’t sense you as well, little one. If you can hear me, then know that we can feel an incredible flow of hatred coming from you~! Thisss pleasssesss usss.”

Eep.

“Hmmm yessss." Legion continued. "Hatred is not asss sssweet asss love, or asss kind asss fear, but there’sss just ssso much of it here! You boysss mussst have really angered whatever it isss you’ve got locked up in your little toy.”

The buzzing sound from earlier then intensified, and I could hear popping noises accompanying it. Based on the gasps that escaped the brothers' lips, I can only assume the changelings must have just dropped their disguises.

“W-what are they, Flam?!”

“No idea, Flim..."

Twinkletwinkle

"... But I’m not sticking around to find out!”

I was then struck with a magic lightning bolt, causing me to breathe fire. The machine vacuumed it up and then rocketed forward at speeds I didn’t know it could pull off.

Legion called out "After them, my prettiesss!"

... My pretties? Really?

Ignoring the comment, I instead tried to focus on the noises around me, so that I could figure out what was going on. The sudden buzzing sound grew faint for a brief moment before it returned a hundred fold, signifying that the chase had begun. I was able to pick up the sound of magic energy flying through the air; a mixture of the brother’s sparkling unicorn magic and the changeling’s ectoblastic shots were being exchanged just above my head.

I could barely hear Flim over all the noise. “They're gaining, brother!”

“Kick the dragon into overdrive, Flim!”

Ah crap.

I was then struck by probably the hardest bolt Flim could muster.

“AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

Despite the power behind that strike, the machine continued its pace. After taking a real quick breather, and decided that I should probably do my best to continue filling up the machine by myself, as to avoid getting electrocuted that badly again.

Plus, I’m sure the brothers need to use all the magic at their disposal in order to keep themselves, and by extension me, alive.

Roughly ten minutes passed, and the buzzing was starting to grow fainter and fainter. As long as we can maintain this speed, we should be just-

“Brother, look out! Cliff!

-fine “Oh come on!”

Screw you, universe.

I felt the machine make a sharp turn to the right, and I could hear the wheels beginning to skid. All three of us spoke in unison. “Don’t drop don’t drop don’t drop oh for all that is good in this world don’t drop!”

After five grueling seconds we started to slow down, the scraping sound grew weaker, and finally we stopped all together. Crisis avoided.

We took a collective breath of air…

"We crave your love and hatred, poniesss!"

… And then continued fleeing.

During the chase I kept up my fire blasting. I did my best to pace my breathing, this time, so that I wouldn't to pass out like I did during my earlier marathon. Despite the distance we had gained earlier, the buzzing grew louder by the second. Crap, things aren't looking goo-

Boom!

All of a sudden, the wall behind the vacuum exploded in a green blast of energy. The force of the attack caused the entire machine to shake momentarily, and once the dust settled I was able to see that a massive hole had been blown into the wall. This hole granted me my first real look into the outside world in almost two weeks.

I only wish that the sight was just a tad less grim.

We were rushing, at high speeds, through a forest. The time of day was unknown to me, as the tree cover was too thick for any sort of light to make its way through. I took note that we weren’t on a path at all, and instead the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 was actually knocking down trees as it went along. In spite of this, we didn’t lose any forward momentum.

Wow. I guess I know what the cowcatcher was for now... this thing’s a power house!

I also took note of the huge black swarm of changelings that were closing in on us. They kept firing at the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, and in return a few bolts of pure magic energy were shot out in response. A few lightning bolts were also tossed out as well, from somewhere overhead, for what I can only assume was crowd control.

That was all I was able to make out, however, before my viewing hole was quickly sealed up by the black shape of a changeling flying into it. It made its way inside my room and began crawling its way forwards while speaking in a very familiar voice.

“Aaaahhhh, a baby dragon." It hissed. "Ssssuch sssstrong hatred for one sssssso young... Thissssss pleassssesss Legion!”

I 'welcomed' my new guest in the most civilized way I could...

... By shrieking at the top of my abused lungs.

"Oh sweet merciful God!"

Legion looked like a normal changeling… and changelings are freaking hideous in real life! Their more bug-like then pony-like, their eyes are freaky as hell, the holes on their bodies leak with what I can only describe as ectoplasm, and the smell! Dear lord the smell! I thought it was bad in here already, but this was just, ugh, pure volatile stank!

Legion took a step towards me, horn aglow. With each step she took, I could feel myself grow weaker. What little strength I had was quickly fading...

Obviously, I was scared out of my mind. “P-please d-don’t come any closer…”

Legion took another step.

“I-I-I’m warning you! Take another step a-and… and I’ll b-breathe fire!”

She(?) simply laughed at me. “Hahah, foalissh little one. I can sssmell your fear... You lack the focusss to perform sssuch a dark tassssk.”

She came closer. S-she can’t be right, right? I attempted to blow out a warning fireball at her hooves… but my fire wouldn’t come out! Oh nononono, not now! Oh please not now!

Before I could even register it, the changeling had closed the gap and was now l-licking my face…

“Cry ssssome more, little one.”

“P-p-please." -Sniff- "D-don’t…”

Flim's voice broke me out of my fear induced trance. “We need to go faster, Flam!”

“Kick the dragon again, Flim!”

Their words caused my eyes to widen in shock, as I realized what was about to happen. “Y-you need to b-back up, right now!”

Legion only giggled in response. “But you’re much too deliciousss, dear. I sssimply can’t resssissst! Haha!”

“B-but…” I tried in vain to squeak out a warning.

Twinkletwinkle

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the sight of the green spark of magic. I began to panic, and with the last of my courage I barked out to Legion "G-go! Run, d-damn it, before-"

My warning was cut off by the lightning bolt striking me, causing me to scream.

“AAAAHHHHHHHH!!”

... But, for once, my scream was drowned out by an even louder one...

... One that came from Legion, who had been standing right in front of me... and my open mouth.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I watched with fearful eyes as the changeling drowned in my flames. She bounced around, back and forth, between the walls of my prison, desperately trying to extinguish herself. She kept this up until her tiny wings burned up and became useless. Running out of options, she started rolling around on the metal floor, but this proved equally as futile. Finally, her horn flared green in an attempt to cast some kind of spell...

... But it was all for not. Only a second later did her horn stop glowing, her eyes darken, and her body laid still.

...

Throughout the whole ordeal, she never stopped screaming.

...

It was the most horrific thing I had ever seen in my entire life…

... And I was the one who caused it.

I had just killed someone.

“I-I-I" -Sniff- "D-didn’t m-m-mean to." -Sob- "I-I’m s-s-sorry! I’m" -Sob- "S-so sorry…”

I-I had just killed someone.

I had just killed someone…

I…

“I’m" -Sniff- "So sorry…”

… Had just killed a creature I had once wished was real…

A rock in the machine's path caused my prison to jerk upwards. Legion’s corpse bounced up as well and went tumbling out of the hole she herself had created. The swarm of changelings, that had been following us up to this point, stopped in mid-chase and went to her side. I heard a collective cry of anguish from the creatures...

... And that was the last I saw of them.

***^***

The brothers rode for hours after that. They never stopped, never looked back, and remained silent.

Hours later, my eyes were still transfixed on the hole where Legion’s body had come and gone. The brothers kept shooting me in order to get me to breathe fire, but I was numb to the world around me. I knew I screamed, and I knew I felt pain... but I just wasn’t here.

I wasn’t in Equestria, I was back on Earth.

I wasn’t a dragon, I was human.

I wasn't a girl, I was four kids’ brother and a father’s son.

I wasn’t chained to a wall, I was studying for a stupid accounting job.

And I wasn’t capable of murder…

I was just…

… I was me.

The machine finally stopped and the brothers finally spoke.

“… Is it safe now, Flam?”

“I hope so, Flim. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that before, brother of mine. I've never seen a creature like it! It was like they came from the mouth of Tartarus itself…”

“… Brother of mine?”

“…Yes, Flim?”

“In fear of having nightmares about this incident, let’s never speak of it again.”

“Couldn’t agree with you more, but we have to at least inspect the damage first before we can set all this behind us.”

Flim sighed. “I suppose you're right, Flam. We can’t let everything we’ve worked so hard for fall to pieces over something as frightful as this.”

I heard grass crunching as Flim trotted around the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. The familiar twinkling sound of magic followed him as he scanned the machine. I’m surprise that he still has anything left in him after all... that.

Twinkletwink-

When he finally came up to the hole in the back of the machine, he cut off his magic and peered inside. He looked just as badly as I assumed I looked. His hat was beat up, his shirt was ripped, and I think a section of his tail had been taken off. His mane was a mess, and he even had a few scratches along his coat.

Despite all this, I knew for a fact that I looked worse. He hadn't been crying for the last few hours, after all.

Flim looked at my crying form with an unreadable face as I weakly pleaded to him one final time.

-Sniff-… -sob-… "P-please… Flim… let me go…”

“… Flam?”

“... Yes, brother of mine?”

“... There’s a hole that needs patching up back here.”

“Oh… is the dragon in one piece?”

Flim glanced at me one last time. “... Appears to be.”

Flam trotted up along side his brother, and took a look for himself. “... Good. We’ll get this hole sorted out before our next gig. Haha, next time it’d better be in a listed town, Flim!”

Flim brohoofed Flam. “Haha! I hear that, brother!”

The brothers then trotted away and continued their scans of their 'masterpiece', and it was at this point, three hours after the fact, that I realized what the true tragedy of this event was. It wasn't the horrific loss of life, it wasn't the death of the person who was potentially the mother of many, and it wasn't my grave sin...

... It was the fact that I saved those two bastards in the process.

They live on...

Because of me.

And thus I cried myself to sleep that night

***^***

Toot…shee…toot…shee…

“Well, brother of mine, we’re all patched up but we’ve got nowhere to go...”

“I know, Flim. Oaklahoma didn’t work because they were too stuck in their old hick ways, and Horseton didn’t work because they weren’t stuck in old traditions and instead were too smart. Looks like we gained some valuable information: we now know that we have to hit a happy medium if we want to succeed!”

“… Somewhere full of stupid ponies who think they're smarter than they really are? Hmm... I think I get it now, Flam!”

“Haha! Now you’re thinking like a true businesstallion, Flim! Well then... where are we going to go now?”

Flipflipflipflipflip...

The sound of paper flowing in the wind.

Twinktwink…

The sound of a horn igniting.

“… Well lookie what we got here, Flam.”

“Hm? What is it, Flim?”

“Hehehe, I’m surprised we didn’t think of it earlier, brother of mine! Someplace full of stupid ponies who think their smarter than they really are, have lots of money to spend, have access to apples, don’t care about the season, and are about to celebrate a major holiday... This one place has all these qualities! It’s perfect!”

“Well don’t leave your brother in suspense, Flim! Tell me!”

“Heh, Flam... we’re going to the city for Nightmare Night! We’re going to Manehattan!”

Chapter 4: To Be Heard, Day 1

Chapter 4, To Be Heard, Day 1

Shwoooossshhh…

The sound of waves crashing against stone. The rhyme was soothing; like the universe itself was lulling me to a joyous sleep…

… But the universe and I are currently enemies; so I tell it to kiss my scaly, nonexistent, ass.

Sheeeeesss…

The sound of a steady stream of rain striking the surrounding water. Oh Great. Now I made the universe cry.

Jokingly, I answered the universe. “I’m sorry. Please don’t cry, Ms. Universe… Oh? You want to know how I know you're a Miss? Well I know you’re a Miss because you’re a bitch. Simple answer for a simple questio-”

Crack!

The sound of thunder. Looks like 'she' didn't like that last comment. “Oh don’t you dare try to deny it, Ms. Universe! Look... I know you're only trying to make me happy, but it’s going to take more than just a calming tune for me to get over what I’ve been doing for the last, oh, twelve hours of hell.”

Very true, self.

For you see…

This is war.

... A rather silly looking, one sided war when compared to Earth wars... but all the same, it's still war. Thanks to it, I’m now currently up to my waist in fish guts.

The trident I’m carrying is covered in green algae and blue blood.

My body is water logged beyond comprehension, and I think there’s a starfish stuck in my hair… along with a tiny, live, piranha.

And I’m so tired that I can’t even hold my dragonfire in anymore, so it’s instead going in and out of my mouth with each strained breath I take. This results in the flames scorching my lips every time. They’re pitch black now, thank you very much.

Oh, but that’s not all...

Surrounding me, on these choppy seas, are the broken boats and ships of long since dead and gone sailors. It is amongst this graveyard where I find footing for my battle, in the form of a small barge beneath my feet. Although it was filled with the remains of its former host, this does not deter me from standing here, nor does it my goal.

My goal of defending the largest ship on these seas with my very life, no matter what.

Adding a cherry to the top of this already horrific scene, some of these discarded vessels have corpses lanced through their masses… some of which I put there.

While on the topic of vessels…

“Awesome... now this boat’s sinking too.” I grunted out in annoyance. “One second, universe. I’ll be right back to finish our little talk.”

Bending my knees, I kicked myself off the sinking boat and launch into the air. I flapped my wings as hard as I could in order to maintain altitude above the raging sea of bloodstained water. Although my flight was rickety, I was able to stay in the air…

… And it was from this altitude that I could now face down the cause of all this strife; a creature that could only be described as Cthulhu’s and Freddie Cruger’s ponified hybrid baby.

It’s a creature of pure evil and malice, one whose kingdom now lies in ruins around us.

Her subjects’ blood is on my claws.

... And I have no regrets.

For you see... all of this death and destruction was done by me, and I did it so I could save the people (and ponies) I love…

… And the Flim Flam brothers too, I guess, for reasons that escape me at the moment.

Once I stabilized my hover, I continued my conversation. “Where was I, Ms. Universe...? Oh, yeah. So as I was trying to say... shut the buck up. I’ve had enough of your crap for two lifetimes.” I sighed and returned my attention to my adversary. “The things I do for love.”

Finally running out of the energy needed to stay airborne, I folded me wings up and landed roughly on the belly of a slain sea serpent. I stared up at the monstrosity that dared to cross me, who dared turn my friends into magic batteries for her own selfish goals.

Magic batteries… like what I used to be.

I laughed at the thought, and reflected on how far I’ve come since those days. “The only thing I need now is a proper and full name and I’m set. Sorry Pon-3, my friend, but I need something better then that ridiculous Dr4g0n stage name for the newspapers! Ha!”

My opponent roared viciously, the force in itself upsets the very sea around us. I dug my free claw and my trident into my ‘raft’s’ belly and tried not to think about the audible squishing sound this action made. After a full minute, the currents returned to their normal choppiness and I climbed back up onto my feet.

I gulped. “Yeah... I’m going to have one hell of a story to tell them alright… if I make it that is…”

Still, I’m proud of how far I’ve come, and nopony can take that away from me.

I breathed in, and out. “Okay... this is it.”

Before I steeled myself for the final battle, I took the moment to search my memories and reflect on the events that lead me to this pivotal moment; that lead me to become the dragon I was now instead of the crying mess of a girl that used to be strung up to the walls of Flim and Flam’s damnable machine.

It was so very long ago, on the fateful eve of Nightmare Night, when for the second time in my era my life changed forever…

… All those five days ago.

Tick... tock... tick... tock...

Silence reins, as time returns to the past

~Five Days earlier~

Tootsheetootshee…

The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 was working overtime today, as it had been for the last three days straight since the Nursery fiasco. Shortly after deciding on heading to Manehattan, the brothers traveled to what I assumed was a train station and then used their combined magic to lift up the contraption onto what I also assumed were the rails. The only indications that my theories held water were the sounds of train whistles blowing and steam chugging, along with the murmurs of ponies asking things like, “What in Celestia’s beard is that thing?”

… Okay, that’s another thing I need to put on my ‘to read about’ list; the history of Celestia’s beard. It must be an incredibly interesting story...

Moving on, from what I remembered of the map I glanced at weeks ago; Manehattan is Northeast of Trottingham by an incredibly large distance. I’m not really that good with estimates, but I think it would have been about a week’s journey if we had traveled like we normally do. Nightmare Night is fast approaching, and the brothers needed to get there as soon as possible, so I guess rails were the answer. I don’t know if it’s being pushed along the tracks by another train, or if it’s being propelled by a different energy source, but they apparently didn’t need my fire for it to move. The two hadn’t electrocuted me at all, in fact, in these last three days of traveling…

This gave me time to think.

Something I really didn’t want to do.

Legion’s death was still bothering me. I’ve grown to accept that it wasn’t entirely my fault, and if anything I was more of a tool in her demise. She was so close to my face when it happened that not even turning my head would have saved her...

Still… I’ve could have done something. Warned her sooner? Held my breath? Knocked her to the side with my tail? I’ve run the scenario over and over again in my head about a hundred times and each time would bring me with a different action I could have done to save her… but each new idea required me to not break down into a crying, frightened mess when it happened in order for it to work.

I know it wouldn’t have made a difference if I had saved her. I know that she probably would have continued trying to drain me dry even if I did save her, but if I had just been stronger… i-if I just had been b-braver…

-Sniff-

Aaaannnnddd I’m crying again. Great. I’ve lost full control of my emotions now, and I'm finding it increasingly hard to work up the will to care about it.

I mean, why should I? I’m physically and metaphorically miles away from my home, family, and friends. I haven’t seen any of them in almost a month, and at this point I don’t even know if I can get back. In addition, I've also been strapped to a freaking cider machine, of all things, and being forced to not only make two flankholes rich, but to also murder for them.

The list of horrors goes on, I'm afraid. Beyond what I've already mentioned, I’ve also exhausted every possible escape plan I could muster outside of self-mutilation.

I haven’t had a decent meal in weeks.

My wrists are starting to get really raw from hanging off a wall.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a good night’s sleep, let alone the last time I’ve woken up without screaming.

My throat feels like hell itself came dancing up through it, even after three days of resting it...

And finally; the only good I’ve gotten out of this whole ordeal is that now I know that, when all the chips are down, I’m nothing more than a scared, little, girl. Heh, it looks like my transformation was appropriate.

So yeah... I think I’ve earned the right to c-cry, -sniff-, t-thank you very much...

Flam’s voice shook me out of my self-pity fest. “Up and attum, Flim! Today's the big day!”

Flim yawned tiredly (like there’s any other way you can yawn). “Yaaawwwnnn. Thank goodness for that, Flam. I don’t know how much longer I’ve could have slept on that couch!”

Awww, it looks like the poor baby was having sleeping issues...

... I’m hanging from a wall, you bastard.

Flam responded with “Well, brother of mine, we unfortunately don’t really have the bits to ride the train anymore. It was either ride it without the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, or pay these fine stallions to pull us with it.”

A third voice called out. “Did I just hear that you twos were deadbeats?”

Flam backpedaled. “N-no no, Mr. Brickwall! We’ll be able to tip both you and your men once we get there!”

Mr. Brickwall huffed. “Good.”

Flim huffed as well “I still don’t see why we couldn’t have simply made the dragon push us, brother of mine.”

Flam sighed. “We’ve been over this. Flim. We simply don’t have enough stamina or magic to pull something like that off for seventy-two hours straight. Quit overestimating yourself. It's why that witch kicked your flank back in Trottingham.”

I heard Flim grumbling to himself. “I could have taken her…”

Flam continued. “Regardless, this next stop might be our last chance, Flim.”

Brickwall called out again. “Well I guess it’s a good thing that we’re here then, ain't it boys?!”

A heard a choir of cheers and hooting. Listening closely, I was finally able to make out the sound of rapid galloping under all the steam and chugging within the machine.

Sputtering, Flam replied “Y-yes, and not a moment too soon!” In a quitter voice, he continued speaking to Flim. “Manehatten is always busy during Nightmare Night, Flim. It would have been impossible for us to get our message out during the chaos of it all.”

“Flam!” Flim suddenly shouted.

“Huh? What is it Flim?” Asked Flam.

“You said the ‘C’ word!”

“Oh… oh no I did, brother of mine!”

“Knock on wood, Flam.”

I heard the twinkling sound of unicorn magic, followed by a wooden knocking noise.

“Knocked on wood, Flim.”

“Good. Phew!”

I simply blinked at this. Ummm… well that was weird. I don’t recall this happening before... ‘C’ word…? Chaos? They're afraid of chaos?

Oh…derp, of course they are. Discord.

If this is really Nightmare Night, then I must be in season two. Discord must have already done his little ‘eternal chaos’ thing a while ago and the brothers must have been discorded, or something, during it.

... My bits are on them having been transformed into upright, non-racist ponies who love and tolerate. You know, the complete opposite of the two I know and loathe.

Hmmm... since I wasn't around when that happened, I guess this could mean that the episodes go in chronological order, with the brother's episode taking place after winter...

I shuttered at the thought. I definitely don't want to be here that long. Still, this timeline estimation does make sense. I must have still been in my egg when Discord was up and about… or, at least this dragon’s body was still in its egg when it occurred. Meanwhile, my mind was stuck in limbo or the sun or where ever the hell it was before I hatched.

Hmmm... I wonder if I could use this to my advantage. Should I try to act like Discord next time they feed me? That might work…

... Wait, come to think of it... those two haven’t fed me in freaking forever! The hell?! They must have not wanted to risk me screaming with the hatch open, under fear that Brickwall and his men would have heard me...

Yeah, that makes sense…although, from the sound of the rushing wind going on outside these walls, I don’t think they needed to worry about that at all. I can only barely hear the brothers as is!

Soooo… that must mean that they simply forgot to feed me.

Gargle...

The sound of my stomach eating itself.

Ugh; alone, crying, and hungry. This sucks. Sure I hate those rusted bolts and screws, and I hate the glass even more, but at least it’s not dog food or something. This was at least something I could vaguely consider ‘food’…

... Food that they always seem to have a constant supply of...

... Wait, where the hell are they getting all this crap? Screws and bolts are one thing; but rusted bolts, screws, and broken glass is another!

Again, ugh! Equestria makes no sense! The randomness of it all was fun at first, but now it's headache inducing...

Crrreeeaaakkkk…

Oh joy. That’s the sound of the hatch opening up. I guess they finally remembered me and decided to feed me.

How generous of them.

Well... I suppose I can try the Discord thing now.

Clankclankclankclank!

One of the brothers unloaded the bucket of ‘food’ over my head as usual. I shook my head to dislodge a few scraps that had gotten stuck in my hair while also shaking away my tears again. I sucked in my breath as I tried to calm myself. Once I felt that I was ready, I attempted my best Discord impression…

“H-hohahoah! W-why this is delightful, my good boy! In all honesty, I prefer exploding chocolate milk and cotton candy clouds, but this works too! Such delicious, delicious, c-chaos!”

… and failed miserably. My impression was terrible; I was too shaky and my voice was too feminine (there's something a guy doesn't get to say everyday). I could probably pass as Eris, the fan created female Discord, but that’s not going to do me any good here.

The brother I was talking to (couldn’t tell which until he spoke) remained quiet. Nothing but the rushing wind could be heard between the two of us.

He finally answered, revealing himself to be Flim. “H-how did you know about those cursed cotton candy clouds, talker?”

My heart jumped. Okay, I think I’ve got something here. I can work with this.

I mentally prepared myself…

… And then proceeded to spout nonsense.

“I-I know because I saw it! In my egg, I saw it all! I saw your future as well, Flim! Thanks to the power of chaos, I saw it! You’re going to go to a town called Ponyville in the future, to a farm called Sweet Apple Acres. There, you’ll have the townsponies hanging off your every word until something goes wrong during a competition and you’re chased out like you were in Oaklahoma and Horseton! If you let me go; if you just let me work with you instead of for you, you could make it big there and have an entire apple field to work with! This I tell you not as a dragon, but as a creature called a human... a-a minion of Discord! Hail the chaos bringer!”

Yup, complete nonsense. Like I'd ever help these flankholes run Applejack out of house and home. I don't personally know her, but I do know that her and her family are much kinder ponies then these two will ever be, and that's good enough for me.

No... all I need is for Flim to start crapping himself in fear. Please work please work please work please work!

“…” Flim remained silent.

“Flim? What’s taking you so long, brother of mine?" Flam called out. "We’re almost out of the plains. You can see the buildings now!”

“… I-I’ll be right there, brother. Was j-just observing the dragon’s condition... hehe…”

I heard the hatch start to close. I’ve got to push harder! “Granny Smith, Big Macintosh, Applejack, and Apple Bloom! Sweet Apple Acres is owned and run by these four Apple Family ponies, going from oldest to youngest! They have a dog as well but you won’t get to see it! Of those four ponies, Applejack is actually an element of harmony! Honesty, specifically!”

Something changed in Flim's voice. “E-elements? Y-you know not what you say, talker! Shut your damn word hole and do not disrespect pony heritage any further!”

The hatch began to sparkle with the green glow of magic. I continued with all the strength that I had left, but it still came out in a wobbly voice. “A-apple, Flim! I-if you close this hatch right now and refuse my final offer of friendship, you'll be dooming your brother and yourself to failure! This is your last chance to redeem yourself and become an honest, and successful, businesspo-”

Slam!

Click

The hatch slammed shut and locked itself.

“…Grrrrrr…GRRRRR!”

I cried out in a draconic roar; a pillar of fire accompanied my anguished cry and scorched the ceiling black. “Ugh! Why can’t I catch a break?!”

Crrreeeaaakkkk…

The hatch reopened, and my heart soared for the briefest of seconds. “W-wha? D-did you change your mi-”

Sploosh!

The sound of water filling my bowl.

Click

The hatch closing again.

… -Sigh-

Instead of getting super pissed off or breaking down into a complete crying mess again (which sadly seems to be my only two emotions, nowadays), I opted to instead indulge in one of my last few remaining sources of joy: a drink of water.

Lifting the bowl up with my tail and steadying it with the tips of my wings, I lapped up the cool and refreshing puddle that came from God knows where.

... Pure, unadulterated, bliss.

***^***

Honkhonk!

Sheeeeeeeeeesssss…

Clipclopclipclopclipclop…

Dingdingdingding!

Twinkletwinkletwinkle…

Flapflapflap…

Holy sensory overload, Mare-Do-Well!

Okay, no doubt about it, we must have made it to the Manehattan. The silence of the plains was quickly replaced by a mindboggling amount of sound. My ears/horns did their best, but I could only hear and understand about half of the literal wall of noise that was assaulting me.

I could hear…

Trains coming and going.

Carriage wheels striking pavement.

Surprisingly, something that sounded like a car horn blaring.

The buzzing of unicorn horns glowing.

The sound of pegasus’ wings flapping.

So many hoofsteps.

And sooooo many voices.

Oh lord, the voices.

“… Train to Trottingham departs in…”

“… So she said ‘blah blah blah,’ and I said ‘blah blah blah blah!”

“… Honey, dear; what’s that machine supposed to be?”

“… While you do seem like a colt out of luck, I’m sorry to tell you but I simply do not give a…”

“…I want that one daddy! I want it now!”

“Diamond, dear, you already have one just like it.”

“But I want this one too!”

Okay; I might have only imagined those last few ones… or maybe really I did hear them. I can’t really make out anything specific in all this racket, so I’m unsure what’s real and what’s simply a figment of my imagination. I’ve never been to the actual Manhattan or any other large city back on Earth, so the sudden wave of sound and voices was a complete shock to my already fragile system.

Well, I guess you can take the boy out of the country… and the planet, and his species, and his gender… but you can’t take the country out of the boy, dragon, girl, thing.

... Understatement of the century: My life is weird.

Toot… shee… toot… shee…

Finally a noise I recognize…

Zaaaaaaapppp!

“Ahhhhhhhh!!!”

… Along with pain that I recognize as well. I guess we’re off the rails now and heading out. To where, exactly, I don’t have the slightest clue.

All I know is that we’re heading there slowly.

Reeeeaaaalllyyy slowly.

Those honking noises returned in full force.

“Watch where you're going!”

“Sunday trotter!”

“Ay?! Wha’s da big idea, ya mook?!”

“Oh thanks a lot! Now I’m late for work, you jerks!”

“Flankholes!”

I agree full heartily with that last mare.

Toot…… shee…… toot…… shee……

We moved forward with the invisible crowd… well invisible to me. To the boys, it must have been like staring into the abyss itself; nothing but a sea of hopelessness and despair.

You know, just the normal Sunday commute.

***^***

Okay. Sooooo... yeah...

Four hours later.

Yeah. Ahem. Four hours later we may have moved, maybe, three feet in the last hour alone. A rather generous estimate, I know, but hey I’m optimistic.

“We’ve. Been. Here. For. Ever. Flam!”

“Yes I know, brother of mine.”

“This is all your fault!”

“How is this my fault?!”

“If you had just kept going straight like I said then we would’ve passed this fat, lazy, cow hours ago!”

Said cow didn't seem pleased by Flim's comment, thus he voiced his opinion. “Moooooo! I heard that, you little punks!”

“Well then hurry up, you poor excuse for griffon food!” Flim retorted.

“Flim, please!” Flam begged.

Flim continued fuming. “No! I’ve had it up to here with it all, Flam! It’s not like there’s anything in front of the damn talker either! He’s just a slow, lazy, talking, steak!”

A woman’s voice rang out. “Oh moooo you did-n’t! Nopony talks to my hunky cowpie like that and gets away with it!”

Her cowpie (really?) responded. “Honey, calm down.”

“Cram it, Herald!”

“Yes honey. Moooo…”

Flam attempted to cork the coming storm. “Look! Calm down everypony and everybovine! We’re all stressed out and not thinking straight right now, so let’s all just take a deep breath,” he took a deep breath to illustrate. “… and let it go. There’s no need for this to get out of hoof...”

I heard a small clicking sound.

"Bitch has a knife, Flam!"

"Sweet, tap dancing Luna, Flim!"

The machine suddenly rocked forward. The air was filled with a loud and splintery smashing sound; presumably the cow couple’s carriage/wagon meeting the full force of this fully operational Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.

“MOOOOOOO! When I find you two, I'm going to skin you both alive!"

“Don’t look back, Flam!”

“Ohcelestiaohcelestiaohcelestiaohcelestiaohcelestia!”

Haha! Oh, I’d be lying if I said that these little moments we three shared weren’t magical.

Zaaaaaaapppp!

“AHHHHHH!!!”

And I’d also be lying if I said that that hasn’t become the bane of my existence…

***^***

"-Huff-… -huff-… -huff-… A-are… are we safe, Flim?”

"-Huff-… -huff-… -huff-… I-I… I think so, Flam.”

-Huff-… -huff-… -huff-… "Umbh!" I then puked on the floor…again. They really need to clean this hell hole up one of these days.

“Oh… look, Flim! What great fortune! An apple stand and a crowd!”

“You're right, Flam! Lady Luck must be smiling on us today, brother of mine!”

Oh God, please don’t start that crap up yet. My throat and stomach need a moment to rest...

“Let’s hit them hard and fast, Flam!”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself, Flim!”

Son of a…

“Well looky what we got here, brother of mine, it’s the same in every town!”

I upchucked on my thing pile again. I’m unsure if this was either because of all the magical abuse I've had to endure, or if it was simple because this song now makes me physically ill just by listening to it. I'd willingly except either theory as the possible answer, at this point.

To avoid losing the rest of my precious ‘lunch’, I mentally tuned the song out. The walls helped this action greatly by muffling out a good chunk of their song whenever they moved away from the machine. Unfortunately, the ever present gramophone in here kept the song alive.

That’s just another item I need to remember to add to my ‘to burn’ list. It’ll fit nicely somewhere between the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, Trixie’s wagon, and the brothers themselves.

“Oh we’ve got opportunity..."

The other thing that dampened my attempts to block off the music...

"... in this very community~!”

... Was the massive number of ponies who joined in singing it.

If my horn-ears had holes, they would be bleeding right now. So loud! I guess their slogan and singing must have worked their 'magic' on this crowd... Either that or the city of Manehatten was trying to murder them through the power of song. Normally I’d laugh at such a ridiculous thought, but then I would remember that I’m in Equestria; the land where a pink party pony could summon a town sized militia simply by singing about being awesome. Anything’s possible here, so I’m hoping death by song was also on that list of impossible possibilities.

If it is then I’m going to serenade those two to death!

... Oh wow; that sounded way better in my head.

“Please Flim, please Flam, help us out of this jam!”

Or at least I think it sounded better in my head. Can’t really tell. It’s hard to hear anything right now.

“Let’s bing-band zam~!”

Crap! I know I heard that one!

ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPP!

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

Back on Earth, I used to think that writers who used the old cliché of having their character pass out in order to cut away from a scene were lazy. I mean, it’s not that easy to just pass out, right?

Well it turns out that I was wrong; it is very easy to pass out, especially after performing your best Red Lantern Core impression all over the floor.

You know... the Lanterns who vomit acid blood? Very graphic (and obscure), I know, but hey; this is my life now.

***^***

“Wake up.”

“Ow…”

“Wake up.”

“Owww…”

“Wake up.”

“Ow.”

“Wake up.”

“Ow!”

“Wake up.”

“Quit poking me with that damn stick!”

Flam dropped his magical hold on the stick. “It’s up, Flim!”

“Good. We should get moving, brother of mine. Remember, the mayor wants us at town hall in an hour so we can discuss our plans for the Nightmare Night stall!”

“Yes, I remember, Flim. I just have to feed this damn thing again and we'll be on our way. The last meal must not have been enough or something, brother of mine. I can’t think of how else it could have just simply passed out like that, after all”

I attempted to glare up at him. “Oh, well, maybe it’s because your damn magic is ripping my insides up flan-Umbh!"

My mouth was opened through the use of magic and a handful (hooffull?) of bolts were shoved in.

“Shut up and chew.” Flam ordered.

Grudgingly I complied, but that apparently wasn’t good enough so Flam took control of my mouth again and sped up the process.

It was then that I noticed that these bolts weren’t rusted and were instead ‘fresh’. I'm not a big fan of fresh bolts; the rusted one’s at least had a flavor… a horribly bitter flavor, but still a flavor nonetheless. There wasn’t anything to these ‘fresh’ ones though, like eating a plain rice cake. Still, the fact that they were clearly new made me curious. I thought the brothers were strapped for bits...

After I finished chewing my ‘meal’, I swallowed and asked Flam about it. “Soooo… did the gig go well then, Flam?”

“More than well, dragon, it went smashingly!” Flam seemed to be in a good mood. “I still can’t believe it, Flim! What were the odds of the mayor, of all ponies, being in the park today, of all days?!" He then returned his attention to me. “We were even able to give him a sample before you broke down on us.”

“Almost made a foal of us too, you damn talker.” Flim added in.

“That she almost did Flim, but we were able to salvage the performance and now…” He started giggling madly. “We’re going to be here during all the festivities tomorrow night! In the center of Manehattan!"

“I still can’t believe it myself, brother of mine! This is going to be our big break!”

“Indeed! None of that’s going to happen, though, unless we finalize the deal with the major. Let’s get moving!”

Twinkletwinkle...

“Allow me, Flam!”

“Go right ahead, Flim!”

Zaaaaaappppp!

“AHHHHHHH!!!”

Figures. Even with the hatch open, they still preferred to zap me instead of ask me to help them. If they had just asked, I would have fired my… black cloud of smoke for them? Wha?

“… We don’t seem to be moving, Flim.”

“That we don’t, brother of mine. Let me try this again.”

Zaaaaaaaapppp!

“AAAAHHHHHH!!!”

Again, I spewed out nothing but black smoke. It simply flouted upwards and out of the hatch in the ceiling; the vacuum not even bothering with it.

-Cough cough- "O-ow, my throat…”

“Hmmmm... the dragon seems to be having troubles, Flim… bring the water jug over here.”

Twinkletwinkle

“Here you go, Flam.”

“Thank you, Flim.”

-Cough cough- "Co-umbh!”

F-flankholes! They just crammed an entire jug of water down my throat!

-Cough cough- "W-what the hell are you tw-!”

Zaaaaaaaapppp!

“AHHHHHHHHHHHFLANKHOLESHHHH!!!"

Once more, I breathed out nothing but black smoke.

“… This is bad, Flam.”

Flipflipflip

The sound of pages turning. “I’m consulting the manual as we speak, brother of mine… Ah ha! Here we go; ‘In cases where your dragon colleague cannot breathe fire properly, it is probably the result of a ruptured flame sac.’…”

“Ruptured flame sac?!” Flim and I asked in horror. Oh please don’t tell me I broke my new body already!

“Please don’t tell me we broke the dragon already, Flam!” Seems Flim shares my concerns, kinda.

... Wait, already?! They expected me to break down at some point?! W-what’s supposed to happen when they have no more use for me?!

Flam erased Flim's fears. “Calm down, Flim. It says right here that; ‘This can occur in instances where the dragon has been forced to use their breath repeatedly against their will, such as during a massive influx of scroll delivery. The dragon’s brain registers the action as an invasion of its privacy, thus the flame sac bursts on its own in order to prevent the fire from being misused any further. A dragon is greedy by nature, and so is its body. Take care to remember this in future interactions with him or her. To solve this current dilemma; please allow your companion at least a day’s rest in order for his or her body to naturally repair the damage, and then make an effort to not misuse your friend again in such a fashion.’…”

Flim considered Starswirl's ancient words. “Repeatedly against their will… oh pony feathers, brother of mine; we’ve had to rely on the dragon a lot today alone! That last combined spell must have done this to it.”

So that last strike ruptured an organ... guess that explains where that final spew of illness came from. Yeesh!

“Now what do we do?!” Flim asked in a panic.

I imagined that Flam shrugged. “We’re just going to have to be more conservative in the future, Flim.”

“No Flam, I mean now what do we do? We need to be halfway across town in half an hour!”

Flam's words were drawn out as he started mentally piecing together what the problem was here. “Oh… well… I-I guess we just need to… p-push it.”

They loudly groaned.

“I-I can help you pus-!”

Slam!

They slammed the hatch shut on me again.

… -Sigh- "Why do I even bother?”

***^***

Twin-kltwin… kl… twinkle…

Toot………. shee………. toot……….

I almost felt sorry for these two… almost. They’ve been at it for what has felt like hours now. I think its safe to assume that they were now officially late for that meeting, but this fact didn't hinder their process in the slightest. I could also tell that the both of them were very exhausted by this point, as evident by the sound of magic steadily growing weaker and weaker with each passing second.

I could tell this detail because of that...

... And by the fact that Flim made it a point to remind us that he was tired every other minute.

“Are we there yet?!”

“No, Flim!”

Much to mine, and Flam’s, abhorrence.

Suddenly, a new stallion’s voice cried out. “Well there you two are! Hehe, I was almost worried you boys weren’t going to make it!”

The magic humming stopped along with our movement.

Flam took a few gasps for air. “W-we ran into… -gasp-... some technical difficulties, sir! We assure you; it’s only the transportation portion that was affected. The cider is still 100% fresh and delicious, sir!”

“Hehe. That’s what I like to hear! Now don’t you boy’s fret. Your stand is still in place for tomorrow! I’ve even already worked out a deal with a few of the fine ponies who sell apples in this city... Thanks to yours truly, you will have plenty of produce for tomorrow, Flim Flam brothers!”

Flim took a breath before commenting. “T-thank you, Mr. Major!”

The Major (sadly, knowing this place, that’s probably his full name) continued. “Hehe, oh it’s no problem at all, boys. Now... let’s step inside and talk about… percentages.”

The brother’s gulped.

Clipclopclipclop

With that I was once again alone.

Alone… actually, this would probably be the first time I’ve been truly alone since coming here to this world. Yeah, I’m always alone in my room inside this machine, but the brothers were always a constant presence that kept me from feeling completely isolated. Even when they were asleep, their snoring would remind me that they were unfortunately nearby.

Now though… this was kind of scary. Not only am I in a new city by myself, but I’m in a new universe’s version of a new city which vaguely resembles a city from Earth that can be pretty damn scary on any given day.

To add to the fear factor, I’m currently blind to the world around me and only have my sense of hearing to rely on.

And right now, every little sound is causing me to jump as well as one could jump when chained to a wall.

Clankclankclank!

“Ah! C-calm down, Nathan. That’s probably just a can being knocked over…”

Honkhonk!

“T-there’s those carriage horns again.”

Twinkletwinkle…

“T-that’s just a unicorn.”

"Caw! Caw!"

“And that’s a crow…haha, or a griffon’s matting call.”

I allowed myself to snicker at my little joke.

Bangbang!

My head jerked forward. “Was that a gun?! N-n-no, t-that can’t be right! Must be hearing things…”

A voice cried out. “Police! Help! My husband’s been shot!”

Weeeeerrrrrrreeee!

The sound of police sirens blaring, followed by an ambulance.

“Baby! Please wake up! Please wake up!”

Clipclopclipclop!

Rattlerattlerattle…

Clipclopclipclop!

Weeeeeeeeerrrrreeee!

After hearing some quick galloping followed by metal wheels turning, the ambulance’s siren’s picked up again and disappeared into the distance.

I sat there in silence. “… No. Just… just no. That didn’t just happen. I refuse to except that I just heard any of that.”

...

... But... it did happen... didn't it?

“Ah weak, bro; another gallop-by crossbow attack. Such a crying shame.”

“Yeah, but it happens in this town more than you'd think. Makes ya wonder why parents still let their kids out during Nightmare Night, Spyke.”

“You sure said it, Sloan.”

Voices. Coming from outside the walls... I don’t recognize them, but all the same they're pretty darn close to the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000… closer then I’d like them to be.

“Well then... is this it, Sloan?”

“Sure is, Spyke. This is the piece of crap that stole our spot!”

“What the buck is the Mayor thinking, bro? Apple Cider for Nightmare Night?! Our spiked Pumpkin Juice has been a cornerstone of the festivities for years!”

“Yeah! Sure, its caused a couple, what was that word… ‘epidemics’, but it’s a cornerstone regardless! I guess that’s what this town gets for electing a pegasus instead of a down to Equestria earth pony, bro.”

“True that, bro.”

“Word.”

Clop

The sound of a mighty brohoof being initiated. Spiked pumpkin juice? Okay, ew. I’m all up for trying new things, especially if alcohol is involved, but that’s just nasty. Maybe the Major agrees? Well whatever the case; I’m starting get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach about what’s going on right now, and I don’t think it’s because of the fractured flame organ.

“You got the harnesses, Sloan my bro?”

“Got them right here, my main stallion.”

“Awsomesause. Let’s chop shop this bitch!"

“True that!”

Oh great. Another pair of brothers who have their moral compasses out of whack.

... Wait… c-chop shop?! They don’t mean what I think they mean, do they?!

The machine suddenly jerked forward.

Toot… shee… toot… shee…

Oh my God! Grand theft cider machine! Oh no oh no oh no! “Flim, Flam, help! They're stealing me away… from… you… two… flankholes…”

… Why am I screaming like this is a bad thing?

...

“Go Spyke! Go Sloan! New best ponies, yay!”

Spyke grunted. “Boy this thing sure is heavy, Sloan. I don’t think we can get it all the way to the shop to chuck it in in time.”

“Yeah, I agree, bro. Let’s just dump it at the scrap yard. Old man Jenkins will pay us for crushing it, at least.”

“Smart thinking, bro!”

C-crush?! Oh way to go Spyke and Sloan; you just lost your best pony badges!

Crapcrapcrap! I need to make it out of here while the clock is still ticking! Damn it, I’m going to have to try to melt the locks again!

I inhaled and blew slightly warm smoke at my cufflinks.

... Oh, right... the ruptured flame sac, thing. I faceclawed... which was actually quite a feat considering the position I’m currently trapped in. A lot of upper body strength was involved.

Ugh! We’re moving further away with each passing second. I need to get their attention somehow!

I started banging the walls with everything I had. I did it with my tail, my wings, and even my head until I realized that this was stupid and I subsequently knocked it off.

Yelling made more sense, anyways.

"Help! Helphelphelphelphelphelphelphelphelp! Heeeelllppp!"

…

Nothing. Darn it!

Well… what about scratching?

I began scratching the wall behind me with my forked tail, clawed toes, and me spines. Come on… come on!

“…Hey, Sloan... did you hear something?”

“Actually, yeah... I did, bro. Do you think somethings in this thing?”

The machine suddenly stopped. I heard one of the two lift himself up to the roof of the machine and begin to trot all over the ceiling of my room. Come on… warmer, warmer, hothothot!

“Yo, bro; there’s a hatch here!”

BINGO!

Clankclank

“Ah, no good, Spyke. It’s sealed with magic.”

MOTHERBU-

“Oh, no biggie. Let’s just take it into that alleyway and beat it with a rock, bro.”

I… I think I love these two.

Toot… shee… toot… sheeeeeee

The sound of the machine stopping.

Clipclop “Okay you sexy slab of steampunk-y goodness, show papa Sloan what those two fancy unicorns kept inside you.”

Bang!

The sound of the hatch being struck with something heavy. Come on…

Bang!

So close…

Bang!

Set me free!

Bang!

Let me fly away from here!

Bang!

Tears streamed down my face. “Take me home!”

Bang!

“Please, God! Let me see my home again!”

Bang!

“Dylan!”

Bang!

“Caleb!”

Bang!

“Ben!”

Bang!

“Sam! I swear to you all! I’ll get home somehow! I swear to you!”

“Hey... I think I hear a voice in this thing, br-”

“Freeze, scumbags!”

“Oh manure! Cheese it Spyke, it’s the cops!”

“Ah! Wait for me, bro!”

Clipclopclipclop!

... No.

Clipclop…

No…

Clip…

NO! “Come back! Come back!”

...

Silence…

Nothing... but silence.

“No… oh please no, not again... Not again! I finally had hope again! I was finally happy again! Why? Why?!”

I banged my head against the back wall and allowed the tears to flow freely. “Why does this world keep egging me on like this?! Every time I’m close to being free, something has to come along and take it away from me! Like this is all some kind of sick joke!”

My tail swiped against the bare wall to my right, leaving a large gash.

“My...”

I swiped the wall again.

“Life...”

... And another gash…

“Is...”

And so on…

“No...”

And so on, until only a fraction of my anger was quelled.

“Joke! My life is not a joke!”

The wall of my cell was now embellished with a pentagram, of all things, up until that final gash ruined it.

Great... I can’t even vent right...

I knocked my bowl aside in my frustration, uncaring what happened to. “Damn it! Just... d-damn it. I was so freaking convinced that this would be it too and now… now…" -Sniff- "J-just, why? I just want to go h-home. Send me back as a g-girl or a dragon or whatever. Just... take me home… please.

"I just want to g-go ho… uh oh.”

So, um, yeah... This is totally heart wrenching and all, but I failed to notice that, in my anger, I was unintentionally filling the room with black clouds of smoke. Thanks to this little slip up from my grief fueled mind, I was now quickly running out of breathable air.

Oh nuts... starting to feel a bit l-light headed now as well...

“J... j-just l-let me g-go home…”

***^***

Clipclopclipclop…

Galloping. Lots of it too. I awoke from my unplanned nap to discover that my room was now rocking a thin layer of black ash. My body seemed to be covered in it as well, which was a little annoying.

“Hey, boss! Let’s try that dumpster over there.”

“Good thinking, Smith. Come here, you birdbrain!”

“L-let me go!”

Voices. Three of them. All boys, and all of them sounding a bit young. Must be kids. The last one sounds a bit like my brother Ben, actually…

-Sniff-

And there’s that feeling of homesickness again. Lovely.

Clickclick

“It’s locked up, boss!”

“Well then open it up, ya numbskull! What else do you have a keyhole on your flank for?!”

“Oh, right. Sorry, boss. Sometimes I forget things like tha-“

“Just open it up, Smith!”

The Smith kid yelped.

Twinkletwinkle… twinkle

The sound of unicorn magic.

Click

And the sound of… the hatch unlocking?! What?! Oh my God; am going to be set fre-

Creeeeaaakkk…

The hatch door swung open, cutting off my train of thought. Moonlight quickly flooded the inside of my prison through the open hatch and illuminated a section of the floor in front of me. My body remained in darkness, however.

“Looks clean enough, boss!”

“Good.”

Two small bodies suddenly jumped down through the hole. One of them had the other in a choke hold. They stepped forward, backs towards me and into the light. It was here, in their brief moment in the moonlight, where I could make out their features more clearly.

One of the kids was a green coated, yellow mane pegasus colt with a tiny gold crown, with a lime in it, as a cutie mark. He was flapping his wings lightly so he could remain standing on his hind legs. Meanwhile, his forelegs were busy with the task of holding on to the other kid.

The kid in the choke hold seemed to be a griffon child. Interesting... you’d think that it would be the other way around, with the griffon being the dominate one in this sort of situation. I don’t know the story behind what I’m seeing, but I found it interesting, all the same.

Any ways, the child had yellow fur and wings along with a simple set of white feathers adorning the bird portion of his body, and a cute little white puffball at the end of his tail. He wore glasses and had a pair of purple feathers tucked away between where the frames would meet the left side of his head. Glasses? On a griffon? Okay, that’s check number two on the weird counter.

The kid also had... a black mark illustrating a pair of crisscrossing curved swords on his rear end.

Curved… swords…

...

… Wait, what?!

Wha?!

T-that’s a cutie mark! Griffons can get cutie marks?!

Da huh?!

The green pegasus pinned the griffon against the back wall. “Okay, you stupid pony wannabe; how dare you try to make a cutie mark that looks cooler than mine!”

The griffon tried to respond as well as he could while his lungs were being pinned down. “I-I didn’t make a cutie mark though! I was born with it! It’s just a birth mark!” He shifted around in his hold and used a free claw to point at his right ‘flank’. It was blank, as it should be. “See? It doesn’t carry over to the other side of my rear end! Cutie marks adorn both sides!”

The other kid raised an eyebrow. “Adorn? What are you, a dictionary?”

I did my best to hold in a snicker.

“Look, kid... do you have any idea who you’re talking to?” The green Pegasus asked. “I’m Key Lime of the famous Lime family! You’ve might have heard of my uncle, Mayor Lime? This is our city, and we’re the only ones who get to have cool cutie marks, so yours has to go, got it?!”

“B-but it’s part of my body! I can’t simply erase it! I-I’ve tried…” The griffon responded depressingly.

Key Lime chuckled. “Oh, but I can. Hey! Smith!”

A voice cried out from above me. Probably from the third kid I heard earlier. “Coast is still clear, boss!”

“Not that, horn boy! I need you to send down the ‘you-know-what’. And be careful with it! I don’t want you losing it in all this filth! It smells like something died in here and then took a swim in the sewer!”

“Um, wouldn’t that be the other way around, boss?”

Key Lime scowled. “Shut up, Smith.”

After observing his scowling face I noticed that, even after they had stepped out of the moonlight, I was still able to make out both kid's features in the darkness. I really haven’t had many chances to test my theory out, but I think I have night vision or something. I guess the slit pupils are more than just for show. I wonder if they can be seen in the dark like a cat’s eyes…

Twinkletwinkle

“Here you go, boss!”

Something in a brown magic aura was levitated down to Key Lime from the hatch in the ceiling. The hatch then closed; my guess was so it could muffle out the sound of whatever it is this thing was supposed to do. It took me a second to figure out what it was, exactly, but when I did both mine and the griffon’s eyes widened in shook.

It was a cheese grater.

The griffon child curled up into the back corner and started visibly shaking. “N-no…”

The Key Lime kid laughed viciously through the grater in his mouth. “Hehe. Met mis me a messon mo myou mid... mon’t mess mith a mime!”

The griffon blinked. “… Wha?”

Key Lime spat out the cheese grater. “I said let this be a lesson to you, kid... don’t mess with a Lime! Hehe!” He then proceeded to pick up the grater again and took a menacing step towards the griffon.

... Okay, I’ve seen enough kiddie horror theater for one day, thank you very much. I’m not just going to let this go on in front of me, in my ‘house,’ without my say in the matter…

... But what can I do? Blow smoke at him? Ugh, I can’t be this helpless! Come on, Nate... are you a man or a mouse?

I closed my eyes and contemplated my options and possible actions I could take. When my eyes opened again, I resigned myself to the choice I made.

I decided…

... That I was neither! I’m all dragon, baby!

... Er, or would that be all baby dragon, baby?

... Oh, whatever! I don’t have time for this silliness.

I took a deep breath…

Calmed my nerves…

… And then roared with pure, draconic, fury.

"Who dares to enter my lair?!"

Both of my guests jumped, resulting in the cheese grater dropping from Key Lime’s mouth and the griffon kid curling up even tighter into the corner.

“W-who’s there?” Asked Key Lime, who was clearly messing his metaphorical drawers.

With the hatch closed, the room was once more pitch black. My earlier question about whether or not my eyes glowed in the dark was answered by Key Lime who, after calming himself, turned around and stared right into them. The griffon caught sight of them as well and his reaction was to curl up even tighter (how is that even possible?) and hide his head in his cream colored wings.

Great. I have Key’s attention. Let’s traumatize this little punk, shall we? But how? What’s the scariest thing I’ve ever seen?

... Oh, that’s right... Legion. That lady(?) was scary as hell. Now, the question remains; do I have it in me to disrespect the grave of the woman I murdered?

"-Sniff-... -sob-..."

Despite the constant hiss of steam, creaking gears, random city sounds emanating outside these walls, and the breathing of my frighten guest... the sound of the griffon child crying softly to himself was the only noise I truly paid attention to.

He sounded exactly like my crybaby brother, Ben.

And that caused my big brother heart to snap.

...

I can totally do this now.

“Answer me!” My resolve couldn't have hardened at a better time, for it seems that Key Lime was starting to get impatient. I guess it’s time for some improv.

Despite the severity of the situation, I couldn't help but smile. This was going to be, so, awesome!

And thus I began the show.

“Mahaha! Why, hello there, little pony. What bringssss you to my humble abode?”

Ha! I'm off to a great start! I found that I could roll my S’s much more easily now thanks to my sssssnake tongue.

Key Lime jumped backwards and his wings flared up in defense. “W-why would you make a d-dumpster your home?”

I attempted another evil sounding laugh. “Why, ssso I can add to my hoard of courssse! What kind of ssself-ressspecting dragon lacksss a hoard, young one? Mahaha!”

The griffon seemed to stop shuttering, momentarily, after I used the ‘D’ word. He remained curled up, but he stayed still. Key Lime, on the otherclaw, started shivering himself.

“D-dragon?!”

I couldn’t use my fire at the moment, so I decided to start filling the room with black smoke instead. Even if he was currently blind, the kid could still see some of the clouds when they passed by my eyes or he could even feel some of them when they hit his fur, and that was good enough for me. The fact that they were warm helped as well, although now I can’t tell if he’s sweating because he’s hot or if he’s scared out of his little mind!

“Yesss, a dragon, my dear pony." I replied, still in character. "A growing one at that! Thussss I need a mighty hoard if I am to grow big and ssstrong like my kin.”

“K-k-kin?!”

“Yesss! We are a mighty family! One that hasss ruled for hundredsss of ye-”

“Um… what does kin mean?”

I blinked. Oh, right, young crowd. “Kin means…” I shook my head. Almost forgot to roll my S’s there. “Kin meansss, my little pony; fellowssship, brotherhood, friendsss!”

“-Gasp-!”

“Mahaha! Yesss, I am not alone in thisss great city. My brothersss and sssisstersss grow each day in sssecret. I do not wisssh to be left out, pony, ssso I wisssh to asssk sssomthing of you.”

The colt’s shivering calmed down slightly. He folded his wings up, but the feathers were still shaking.

“W-what?” Key Lime asked fearfully.

Now it’s time to spring my trap. As we were talking, I was slowly lowering my voice to almost a whisper. In order to hear me, Key Lime kept taking involuntary steps towards my wall. He was now within reach of my tail, which I had began to coil around one of his forelegs without his knowledge. Just a little closer now, and I’ll wrap it up as well as wrap up my performance.

Come on. Closer…

Closer…

Closer…

Aaaannnndddd…

Now!

The kid yelped as I gripped his leg and yanked him off the ground. He tried to flap his wings and escape, but I maneuvered my own in front of myself and used the tips to hug the appendages against his body. He continued staring into my eyes as his panic reached a fevered pitch.

“W-w-w-wha?!”

Chuckling again, I used my snake tongue to lick his face threateningly.

...

Oh my goodness…

He... he’s actually sour tasting! Like a lime! “Haha! Er, I mean Mahaha! What I asssk of you, pony, is for you to become a part of my hoard. Your flesssh ssshall feed me, your feathersss ssshall warm me, and your bonesss will become apart of my collection! Truly, a greater reward could never be given! Mahaha!”

I just need to blow more smoke in his face to get my point across, aanndddd... success! The victim has quite literally pissed himself, fillies and gentlecolts! Trolling successful! Celestia would be proud!

“NO! Nonononono! Lock Smith! Get me out of here, Lock Smith! AHHHHHHH!!” Key Lime struggled and struggled some more but I refused to let go of him until I was good and done with him.

After letting him panic for a few more good seconds, I released my victim back into the wild. As soon as he could move his wings again, he flew up to the ceiling and began banging on the hatch door until it opened with a brown aura.

I heard Lock try to talk to his ‘boss’. “Golly, boss! What happened?”

Key Lime answered his minion with a resounding “Mooooooooommmmyyyy!!"

Clipclopclipclopclipclop!

“… Oh the colts on the playground are going to have a field day with this one! Ha!”

Clipclopclipclopclipclop...

The third kid left as well. After a few seconds, they were both finally out of hearing distance.

Once they were gone, I let out a low sigh...

... And followed it with pure, honest, laughter.

It wasn't forced, it wasn't weak, and wasn't any of that 'laughing for the sake of laughing' crap that I've been trying to do in order to keep my spirits up.

For once, I was laughing from my very soul, and it felt good. Really good.

“Hahaha! Phew! Oh man, that was sweet! Just... that whole bit... awesome. Wow... they even left the door open! Haha! Again, awesome! Hey ki-“

Despite how good it felt to finally laugh in earnest again, I stopped laughing the moment I finally noticed that the griffon was back to shaking in the corner. His eyes were trained on me with a look of pure, honest, horror.

Ah crap... I guess that worked a little too well.

Okay, change of tactics.

Putting on my calmest voice, I attempted to lure my guest out of hiding. “Shhhhh… there there. It’s okay now. The bad ponies are gone... you can come out now.”

“S-silent, dragon! I will n-not be fooled by your l-lies!”

Oh... nuts. Guess that won’t work...

... Wait, I can see his eyes in the darkness... does that mean he can see me just as well as I can see him? “Kid... can you see me?”

“Y-yes I can, foul beast!" The frightened child sputtered. "I can see your ash covered body with your putrid scales, your monstrous wings, and your messy, callous hair!”

“Hey! Nogriffon disrespects the hair!”

“Eep!”

The child then curled up into a ball again. Mental faceclaw. Okay... let’s try this again.

I scoffed. “Whatever. Look. You can see me, right?”

“Y-yes,” he replied timidly.

“So you can see that I’m currently chained up to a wall and my so called 'hoard' is actually a pile of my own, and now your friend’s, waste?”

At the question, the griffon slowly lifted his head up and gave me a longer look about. I gingerly waved to him with one of my chained claws.

“Howdy!” I smiled goodheartedly.

“T-this is some kind of trick,” he said, almost in a whisper.

“Oh, you're right,” I sighed. “You saw right through my oh so clever plan to chain myself to the inside wall of a traveling cider machine, and to then lie in wait for over a month, just so I could scare off your friends and fake saving you. I was so sure it was going to work too, but I guess you’re just too smart for me, kid!”

The griffon continued staring at me. After a minute (where I didn't make any sudden moves), he slowly got back up on all fours and returned to gazing at me. He never took a step closer; treating the wall of moonlight separating us like a protective barrier.

He finally spoke up. “… Those guys... weren’t my friends.”

I chuckled. “I kind of figured.”

“… Why did you save me, if it wasn’t to eat me?”

I gave him the smile I usually give my brothers when they asked something obvious. “Well… last I checked that’s what friends do.”

His eyes widened in shock, almost rivaling the size they went when the cheese grater (which was still in here) was pulled out.

“F-friends?!” He squeaked.

I chuckled again. “Kid, you’re actually talking to me. That alone puts you leagues and bonds above everypony else I deal with on a daily basis. Heck, you’re not even a pony! Sadly, I haven’t really met a good pony yet, so that also puts you pretty far up there in my books.”

He was silent for a solid minute, contemplating what I had just said. He finally answered by saying “… I-I… I don’t think I can be friends with a dragon, Ms. Dragon.”

My smile dropped. “Oh. I see... c-can I ask why though?”

“… Dragons killed my mother.”

“I’m… I’m so very sorry, kid.”

“… Nathan.”

What?!

My eyes shot open. “W-what was that?”

“Nathan… m-my name’s Nathan De La Griffon, not 'kid'.”

I allowed my heart to stop beating at 16.5 wingpower. Goodness that was a shock! I almost thought he had psychic powers or something (which I wouldn’t put past anyone in this universe). Guess my name is just as common amongst griffons as it was amongst humans on Earth. “O-oh, yes, of course. I’m so very sorry, Nathan.”

“Yeah well… don’t be. It wasn’t your fault, just your kind’s. I'm not a big fan of sea serpents or landwyrms either, for your information.”

... Landwyrms? Like, as in giant, snake-like, dragons? Oh wow, that’s some seriously old-school D&D, son.

“Oh, well that’s fine then," I replied. "I've never met a sea serpent or a land-whosit anyways.”

“Y-you haven’t?”

I did my best to shrug. “Nope. In fact, I’ve never seen another dragon before either, and you’re actually the first griffon I’ve ever met.”

“R-really?”

My earlier, gentle smile returned to my face. “Really. My egg was stolen from my mother when I was still in it, so I wasn’t raised by dragons. I’m actually all alone right now, except for this minotaur named Iron Will and his goat friends, but I’ve sadly haven’t seen him in a while... There are also these two ponies that, for lack of a better word, take care of me, but they aren’t my real family and they never will be. They do nothing b-but torture me.”

“W-wow.”

I sighed. “Yes well… that whole... thing is sort of a sour subject matter for me, so let’s talk about you instead, Nate. Do you know why those two were after you?”

Nathan rubbed the back of his feathery head with an orange claw. “Um, well kind of. A nice mare complimented me on my birthmark while I was at a bakery that those two colts were also in. They must have overheard us, because afterwards they kept following me wherever I went. I tried to stay out in the open amongst the crowds as long as I could, but night quickly came and they cornered me before I could sneak off home. A-and, and… then… t-they...-Sniff-"

Using the same technique that I would usually use to pacify my baby brothers, I tried to help the poor kid calm down. “Shhhhhhhh… There there. It's okay, Nate; you can relax now. They're long gone and you're safe.”

This seemed to work, as the griffon child lifted his glasses briefly and wiped away the last of his tears. “T-thank you. I… I’m u-usually much stronger then this, Miss.”

“Hehe. Yeah, well, we all break down every now and then when stupid stuff like this happens.” I answered. Heh, I guess I'm speaking from experience.

“I-if… if I just didn’t have this stupid mark…”

And now we're back to the subject of his mysterious birth mark. I tried to inquire about it. “Have you had problems with it in the past?”

“Y-yes actually, but it mostly happened back in my homeland of the Roc-y Mountains.”

I held back another snicker. Thankfully he didn’t notice.

“I traveled across the sea to Equestria just so I could get away from it all but I… I guess I just can’t escape it.” He seems really bummed out about this little mark. I guess it makes sense though. If ponies think he’s some kind of pony wannabe, I’d hate to see what his fellow griffons think of the him.

“Well… for what it’s worth, it’s a very cool looking birth mark, Nate.”

“… Hehe. Thanks.”

“Not a problem.” I gave him another smile. Hopefully I'll be able to get one out of him, eventually. “So, do your par-, er, guardians know where you are right now?”

“My dad still lives, if that’s what you’re asking. And no, he wouldn’t know. We're currently separated from each other by the great dividing sea.”

I blinked at this. “Oh. Well then who watches you here in Manehatten?”

“H-how do you know you’re in Manehatten, Ms. Dragon, if you're stuck in here?”

“My two wardens never shut up. ‘Nuff said.” I deadpanned.

“Oh. Well... no one watches me here, I’m by myself.”

“... Really?” I asked, generally surprised that a kid this young (like CMC young) would be on his own in a place like this.

“I have my own apartment which my dad pays for.”

“Well that was really nice of him.”

Nathan finally gave me a genuine smile with his beak. “I tend to think so.”

Mission, 'give a smile and get a smile', has been a success!

Once again I chuckled “Hehe, not as nice as my place I’d bet!”

“A-are you talking about this dumpster, Ms. Dragon?”

Oh... oops. I almost bragged about my own apartment back on Earth (which was very sweet and brag worthy, thank you very much) there for a second. “Y-yes. Um, you see, this isn’t really a dumpster. Like I said, it’s actually a cider making machine, one that runs off my magic fire. I was trapped here by these two showtune ponies…”

Outside the walls, a voice cried out. “Oh thank Celestia! I found it, Flim!”

“Praise The Maker, Flam!”

Nathan and I went silent.

My voice lowered itself to a whisper. “N-no! Oh God no!”

“Y-you know about God, Ms. Dragon?”

I turned my attention back to Nate. “Not important right now, Nate! You’ve got to get out of here right now!”

“W-what’s going on?!”

My voice was getting more frantic sounding by the second. “Those two ponies are evil! They hate non-ponies, so I don’t know what they’ll do to you if you stick around! You need to fly out of here while you still have the chance!”

“B-but I can’t fly yet! I’m not strong enough!”

“Ugh! Hold on…”

Putting all my concentration into controlling my tail, I lifted it as far off the ground as I could and then held it horizontally.

“J-jump off this!” I commanded.

“Butbutbutbu-”

"Get going!"

"Ahhh!"

Unfolding his wings, Nate lept off the floor and onto my tail. I lowered it slightly before flinging it skyward, granting the kid some thrust. His wings raised themselves into the air right before they pushed down powerfully, launching his small body straight out of the open hatch.

“What was that, Flam?!”

“I think it was a tiny griffon, brother of mine! Follow it! I’ll check the machine!”

“Got it!”

Oh no! I listened closely.

Clickclickclickclickclick!

That has to be Nathan running; his claws and paws striking the ground in rapid succession.

Clipclopclipclopclipclop!

Flim chasing him.

“Get back here!”

Come on Nate! Please make it!

Clipclopclipclop… clipclopclipclop.

“… Ah pony feathers!”

“Why did you stop your chase, Flim?”

“I lost him around the corner, Flam! He must have flown off... but did you honestly expect anything less from a griffon, brother of mine?”

“Heh. You’ve got a point there, brother of mine. Well it shouldn’t matter. It was just a kid after all! Not like anyponies going to believe what a kid says!”

Yes! Go Nathan! Go and be free!

Be… free…

… Wait.

The whole point of saving him was so he could save me!

Ugh! Stupid big brother (or would it be big sister now?) instincts took over my sense of self-preservation and made me do stupid things! I should have had him use his claws to cut me loose before springing him out… not that I was sure that he even could cut through these things... but still!

I done goofed!

Now I only have the self-satisfaction of having helped out another tortured soul...

Bah! Like that’s worth anything!

Twinkletwinkle

“Ow.”

And there’s that damn poking stick again

“It’s alive, Flim!”

“Oh, now that is a relief, brother of mine! What about the rest of the machine?”

“Well, at a glance; I can tell that the wheels seemed to have been stolen, the tubes have been smashed, and it seems as though somepony tried to break down the hatch with a rock.”

“Ah shoot.”

“Nothing that can’t be repaired, brother of mine.”

“No, I'm afraid that's not it. Once again, Flam, it looks like we will be forced to rely on... pushing.”

“... -Sigh-... I guess the saying is true: there’s no rest for the successful, Fli-.”

I interrupted their argument. Might as well take advantage of an open hatch while it is open, I guess. “Actually, the saying is that there’s no rest for the wicked, something I feel fits you two much better!”

Flam groaned. “Lovely. The dragon seems to have maintained its’ 'wittiness', brother of mine.”

Zaaaaaapppp!

“AHHHHHHH!!!”

Flim spat on the ground. “But it seems that it’s still busted, Flam.”

“No point in crying over broken dragons, Flim. Let’s start moving this thing before somepony shows up.”

Sccccccccrrrrrreeeeeee!

OW MY BEEPING EARS!! It was like someone tried to rub two sticks of styrofoam together while simultaneously taking a rusty nail to a chalkboard!

And then they set everything on fire.

The whistles blared weakly as we moved along.

Toooooot….. shhhhhheeee….. t-tooooooo….

***^***

“Just… one… more… ally… way… Flim, and… we’ll… be… there!”

“Sweet… baby… Luna… in… the… cradle… Flam! Why did we make this thing so heavy?!”

Deciding to take a breather, the boys ceased moving the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 and stopped momentarily.

"-Huff-, -huff-, -huff-... A-at this rate, brother of mine, Celestia’s sun will have risen long before we get to the garage!”

Flam replied once he caught his own breath. “Well I’m sorry, Flim, but I don’t know any other unicorns in the area that could help us. Do you?!”

“Well... no... but we have other tools in our arsenal besides levitation, Flam! I think we should try winking it!”

“Flim, no. Every time you try to wink something it comes out on the other side on fire. We can't risk it... we need the dragon alive!”

What?! Did they just say something about me?! I can’t tell! I think all the noise has deafened me… which might actually be a blessing in disguise!

“Well, let’s just take the dragon out momentarily and then wink it!” Flim suggested.

I heard that bit, though! “I agree with Flim’s plan!”

I think Flam just scoffed at my offer. Wait, he can hear me now? Before I could experiment with this new found knowledge, Flam suddenly addressed Flim. “Brother of mine; I don’t think you’ve noticed, but that dragon is clearly feral and dangerous. It also seems to personally hate us for reasons that I simply can’t comprehend. I don't want to risk it being out and about for even a second."

... Simply can’t comprehend?!

I’ll agree with the ‘feral’ and ‘hate them’ bits, but; “Don’t you dare claim that you don’t know why I’m pissed off at you two!”

Flam grunted. “Oh drat, Flim; I think there’s a problem with the muting spell applied to the hatch door. I can hear that blasted talker again...”

“Well isn't that just fantastic." Complained Flim. "... Oh, wait! I have just the thing, Flam!”

Creeaaakkkk…

The sound of the hatch opening. As it did, something was levitated down in front of me through the open hole. The unidentifiable item remained flouting, mere inches away from my muzzle, in a green glow. I guess Flim wants me to take it or something? Once I gripped it with my tongue, the aura ceased, and I was able to identify it as… a wrench. Wha?

“Bon Appétit!”

Slam!

The hatch then closed, leaving me thoroughly confused. Why would they give me a wrench?

...

... Wait…

They fed me off of metal bolts and screws.

So, does that mean…?

My eyes widened when, after a few seconds, I put two and two and two together and it didn’t add up to Matilda.

They just gave me the equivalent of a freaking milk bone!

Flankholes!

Bleh... Well, food is food I gu-

Squeak!

… Wha?

The brothers started snickering.

… I bit down on the wrench again.

Squeak!

Once the wrench produced the noise for a second time, the two brothers broke down into a laughing fit.

... And I broke down into a crying mess.

They had done it.

The Flim Flam brothers had successfully broken me.

T-the wrench... it’s a squeaky toy. T-they’re trying to distract me with a b-bucking squeaky toy.

-Sniff-

I’m d-drinking out a doggie bowl, being fed off of s-scraps, have to linger in my own w-waste, and now… this. I-I’m, -sob-, I'm nothing more than a dog now…

No... I’m less than that. At least dogs are shown love.

I…

-Sniff-

... I give up.

And the moment I did, all hell broke loose outside these metal walls

“SKKKKKKKKKKKRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!”

“What in the blue blazes was that, Flam?!”

“MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! I finally found you little punks!"

“F-forget the noise, Flim. I-isn't that the cow from earlier?!"

"I... I don't know, brother of mine. They all look the same to me..."

Click

“That knife looks strangely familiar though! Run for it, Flam!"

“Get back here you two!"

Clipclopclipclopclipclop!

Voices! So many voices! The shock of it all caused me to drop the wrench, allowing it to hit the floor. “W-what’s going on?!”

BANG!

Time seemed to slow down as, in slow motion, the hatch door above me literally exploded onto a shower of a million little pieces. On instinct I closed my eyes, but I opened them just long enough to discover what had caused such a thing to happen.

The perpetrator of the door's destruction was none other then a giant rock.

Like, a Tom Jr. sized rock.

Said rock came tumbling down into my room after valiantly murdering the door. It landed about a snout's distance away from my face, thankfully not crushing me.

The toy wrench, on the other claw, wasn't as fortunate. The item in question gave out one, final, pained squeak before exiting this world.

... R.I.P. Squeaky toy. You will not be missed.

Flapflapflap… flap

The sound of wings flapping unevenly.

Plop! Clickclick

The sound of a feathery body landing harshly on the rock, and the sound of the owner’s claw’s striking its surface as he corrected himself.

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

There, standing before me with a look of determination in his eyes, was a young griffon with a fire red ruby clutched in his beak.

“N-Nate?”

Unable to answer me with the ruby in his mouth, Nathan De La Griffon instead decided to allow his actions to speak volumes higher. Raising himself to his hind legs, Nate brought his claws to the forefront. In one quick motion…

Shingshing!

His sharp, bony talons tore through the wall behind the metal cuffs…

Plop!

And I dropped to the floor…

I’m… free.

...

I'm fre- "Umbh!"

Not even giving me the second to relish in this turn of events, Nate spat out the fire ruby and stuffed it in my mouth with a free claw.

“Chew!” He commanded.

I was more willing to comply with Nate then I was with Flam, so I chewed the ruby in haste.

Huh... it’s kinda like eating a strawberry, only crunchier. I have a feeling, though, that Nate didn't bring it for taste testing. With this in mind, I hastened my pa- Whoa

And that’s when I hit the chewy, magic center.

I suddenly felt really energetic, like I had just drunk a full Redbull. The scars and pain were still present, but I felt as though I had enough energy to run or even fly if need be.

Perfect, cause I have a feeling I’m about to do both.

“Are you okay to walk?” Nate asked me hurriedly.

I raised myself to my feet and stretched out my limbs quickly. “Y-yes. Haven't been on my legs in weeks, but I think I can manage.”

Nate quickly nodded his head. “Good! We need to run for our lives! That cow isn’t going to hold them off forever! I’ve learned that she can have a bit of a, well, short attention spa-”

"-Huff-… -huff-… -gasp- Flam! The hatch is open!”

“CrapCrud!” Nate and I swore together at the same time. My new friend spoke up. “Follow me!”

The griffon then leaned down on the rock and launched himself into the air, effectively zooming out of the hatch. I quickly scaled the small boulder as well and proceeded to bend my knees. I've got no clue how to fly, but if I can just remember how I hugged Iron Will on my second day here…

Yeah, I remember now. All it took was a little hop, skip, and a...

Jump!

I pushed myself off the rock and flapped my wings once in sync. This was enough to get me well past the hatch door and high up into the air above it.

I’m out! I'm airborne! I'm free!

… But now what?

“Over here, Ms. Dragon!”

While still souring upwards, I did my best to rotate my head without screwing up my ascent. Nate was flailing his arms wildly into the air, trying to get my attention from a nearby fire escape. My momentum was starting to wane, so I panicked and flapped my wings as hard as I could until I was high enough for him to stretch out over the railing...

Clap!

... And grab my claws with his own, just in the nick of time. I lifted up my legs and placed my feet on the bars, steadying myself over the edge. Once I was good and steady, we both took a collective breath.

ZAAAAPPPP!

Green lightning struck the railing next to us.

“Get back here right now, dragon!"

“… Um, Nate? Do you think you can lift me up now?” I asked timidly.

“O-on it,” he squeaked.

Using all of his strength, Nate lifted me up over the edge just as another bolt struck the railing where my tail had been.

“N-now what?!”

Nathan took the second to catch his breath. “W-we need to climb!”

He didn't need to tell me twice.

Thus we started scaling the stairway as quickly as our limbs could carry us. More bolts of lightning and some normal magic bolts struck the side of the fire escape as we went along at top speeds. Eventually, we were too high up for their magic to reach.

“I got it, Flam!”

“Flim, no!”

Pop!

I heard a familiar magical popping sound from the alleyway now below us. Can’t quite put my finger on it, but I knew I had heard it before somewhere... but we were too high up now for it to matter, so I didn't give them a moment's thought.

Once we reached the rooftop and exited the fire escape, we both sat down to catch our breath...

Pop!

Only to jump right back up as Flim and Flam suddenly materialized in front of us in a green explosion! Teleporting?! They can freaking teleport?! How OP are these tw-

“…Umbh!”

Flim then promptly vomited and fell over face first into his own mess, while Flam just stood there with his eyes doing a perfect Derpy impression. The brothers were now covered in about as much black ash as I was and both their hats seemed to be on fire.

Okay… I guess ‘winking' isn't as easy as it looks. I’m suddenly very grateful that I didn’t come here as a unicorn...

Flam was still out of it, so Nate and I tiptoed around him and proceeded to run towards the other end of the roof.

“Glide!” Nathan called out.

“W-what?!”

Stretching both of his wings out, Nate held the two appendages out and to the sides of his body. He then leapt off the building…

… And I made it to the edge just in time to watch as he soared to the rooftop of the building next to us.

He called out. “Come on!”

-Gulp-

“O-okay!” I responded.

I took a few steps back and got on all fours. I flared my wings out and held them to the side. “Come on, it’ll be just like that cliff back in Trottingham. Just hold them there and you’ll be fine... hopefully.”

I started the countdown. “5… 4…”

Flam finally snapped out of magically induced trance. “Ugh… hey!”

“321 go!”

I rushed forward and jumped just in time to avoid another magic charge. More magic bursts flew through the air as I made my descent. After a grueling ten seconds of airtime and avoiding fire, I landed into Nathan’s waiting arms.

“Hold still.” He ordered.

“H-huh?” I asked. I suddenly felt a tug in the opposite direction. Looking backwards, I saw that my tail was now encased in a green glow. “N-Nathan!”

He grunted. “I see it. Just… hold… on!”

With a mighty yank the glow ceased and we were both sent tumbling onto the rooftop.

I got back up on all fours. “A-are we safe?”

Nathan returned to all fours as well, coming up to about eye level with me. “-Huff-… -huff-. I-if those two were normal sized ponies, I’d say yes. But with those long legs…”

“W-what?” I asked fearfully.

Flam suddenly disappeared over the corner of the other roof. He then reappeared and jumped the distance flawlessly!

“… With those long legs I’d wager a guess that he’s probably a bit of an athlete,” Nate finished.

I hissed. “Oh come on!”

“We just have to keep running! Follow me, Ms. Dragon!”

I followed him on all fours, as this was my fastest form of locomotion in my current state, and we continued our roof hopping. We still had a bit of a lead on him, but he was rapidly catching up. Come on Nathan (Nathans?), think!

We glided down to another rooftop but Flam simply jumped this distance as well. This gave me an idea…

“I-I’m going to try something, Nate! You jump first on the next edge!”

The griffon nodded in response. When we reached it, Nathan glided across and Flam prepared to jump. I took the opportunity to turn my head around quickly and blow smoke at the pony, covering his eyes in black ash before I glided across as well.

When I landed I turned around again and surveyed my handy work. Flam still jumped but his landing was horrible! He landed in a heap on the other side! This didn’t stop him for long, however, as after a single second he got back up and started rubbing the ash out of his eyes. Nathan and I kept running.

“That didn’t work!”

“Why don’t you just breathe fire at him, Ms. Dragon?!”

“I-I can’t! I don’t want to kill him… even if he is a flankhole...”

“Ponies are pretty tough though!" Nate hurriedly explained. "If anything, one fireball would simply cause him to stop long enough for us to escape!”

“Oh… well, even so, I can’t! I have a ruptured flame sac! I can only breathe black smoke right now!”

I coughed out a small cloud to illustrate.

While not letting up on our escaping, Nathan turned his head and watched as the dirty ball of fluff flouted up into the sky. “… That gives me an idea! We can do it on that next rooftop where he can’t see us! Come on!”

“G-got it!”

As we jumped the latest gap, I held my breath and remained silent.

***^***

Clipclopclipclopclipclop!

The sound of galloping horseshoes striking the hard rooftop.

Flam cried out. “Where… are… you?!”

Twinkletwinkletwinkle…

The sound of magic sweeping across the area.

“Where… are you?!”

Clipclopclipclopclipclop!

The sound of desperation. Flam had started running up to all four edges of the rooftop, peering over each in an attempt to discover where his two targets had fled to.

“… Damn it all!”

Clipclopclipclop… clip

The sound of Flam leaving, jumping down onto the fire escape and exiting the rooftop from it.

“…Phew!”

Nathan and I releasing our held breaths. I then promptly collapsed into the fluffy white cloud we were hiding from overlooking the rooftop.

Nate is a freaking genius! As soon as we were out of Flam’s sight, he asked me to breathe out as much black smoke as I could. I did as he asked and he made short work of combining all the little puffballs into one solid mass large enough for the both of us. With a quick push, we launched it into the air and then we used our wings to leap up on to it. I was initially worried that Flam would think it odd that there was a single black cloud in the night sky, but then Nathan surprised me again by striking the cloud with his claw and shaking it violently. Before my eyes the cloud went from black to white as the ashes fell over the side of the building below us.

“Nathan… that… that was amazing!”

Nathan blushed. “My father taught me some weather controlling techniques while teaching me the basics of flight. It’s no big deal.”

I was still gushing. “But that was so cool! I didn’t know you could even do that with a cloud!”

He rubbed the back of his head with his claw. “Well… pegasi use their hooves to buck clouds, and griffon’s use their claws to manipulate clouds. It’s just how it works. To my knowledge, dragons don’t have their own style of weather controlling, so I was initially worried that you wouldn’t be able to walk on clouds like me. Hehe, I’m really glad I was wrong about that!”

“Hehe, yeah... me too, Nate.”

We simple sat there in silence after that, neither one of us quite sure how to continue the conversation. I mean, what are you supposed to say after someone just did, well, that for you? Who just saved your life? Even better, what do you say to the kid who just saved your life? Who came literally swooping down, with a rose in his mouth (well, a red ruby, in Nate's case), and saved you? Ugh! My mind has been thrown into pure chaos! I can't even imagine what's going through Nate's head right now, through the head of the kid who just selfishly went out of his way to make all this happen for who knows what reason...

... I decided to be the big girl and ask him the important question.

“… Hey, Nate?”

“… Yes, Ms. Dragon?”

“W-why did you save me?”

Nathan looked away and sighed. “I… was wrong about you, Miss... and maybe about dragons as well. After I ran away, I felt really guilty about just abandoning you after you had saved me, well, twice. I decided to watch you from the shadows as you moved along, and it was from there that I watched those two ponies zap you and yell at you repeatedly. A-and I heard you scream that blood curdling cry of pain so… so I just…”

He hugged himself in order to try to calm down. “I… I just didn’t want to see that happen again; so I went back home, grabbed one of the rubies from my old church suit, sharpened my claws, and I came running back.”

He took a shaky breath. “I-I bumped into Mrs. MooMooBelle along the way, discovered that she was also looking for those two unicorns so I lead her to them, and after all that I just waited for my time to strike. I-it… it… t-that… that was probably the scariest thing I had ever done in my entire, life!”

Nathan started shivering. “B-but I’m glad I did it. Those two ponies just kept ignoring you! They zapped you yet never acknowledged you were there! Like… like how grownups ignore me sometimes…”

I placed one of my claws on Nate’s shoulder reassuringly while also giving him a warm smile.

This action seemed to calm him down quite a bit. “I’m… I’m not going to lie, I-I still fear dragons a lot. I don’t know if I’m ever going to get over what they did to my family… but I think I can at least give you a try, Ms. Dragon.”

I continued smiling. “I think I can live with that... but could you please stop calling me ‘Ms. Dragon'?”

Nathan looked away again. “Er, um actually no... I can’t. It’s considered bad luck, to my people, to know a dragon’s name. It’s like asking to be eaten. Heck, I wasn’t even supposed to give you my name either! It was something about you being able to use it to steal my soul or something ridiculous like that!” He looked down sorrowfully. “I’m sorry, but I have to hold on to some of my beliefs, Ms. Dragon. I-it’s just how I was raised.”

Ah bummer, and here I had finally come up with a good Equestria name as well! Oh well...

“I understand, Nate, but can I ask you just one last question? Do… d-does your people have any rules concerning hugging?”

Nathan blinked. “Hugging? Well, no, but I don’t se-”

The adrenaline and fear of the last half hour of hell finally left me as I gripped Nathan in the tightest hug I could muster on a worn out body and an empty stomach. We were the same size, so the hug felt natural and I had no fear of accidentally hurting him.

Thank God for that too... because I desperately needed to do this right now.

“T-thank you, Nathan. You saved me…”

Then, without the slightest hint of dignity or respect for so called 'social order', I, the adult, cried on the child's shoulder. “Thank you so much!”

After recovering from my sudden outburst, the griffon returned the hug, using his feathery wings in the embrace as well. “It was no problem at all… oh darn it, what was it that my old teacher used to say...? Ah! Now I remember… ‘Please dry those tears, I must implore, for I must ask, what else are friends for?’”

“… Heh. She sounds like she was a wonderful person, Nate.”

Nathan paused for a second. He was probably confused as to how I knew it was a she (total shot in the dark, actually), but this silent moment lasted no more than that brief second as he simply responded to my comment by hugging me even tighter. “She sure was, Ms. Dragon. She sure was…”

Celestia’s sun rose in the east, illuminating the city of Manehatten in an almost holy light.

... This was the first time I had seen the sun in almost a month.

I… was free.

Free…

… But what do I do now?

I need to get home, yes…

… But I’ve already been gone a month.

...

I-I have no idea what to do! I’ve been here a month already and it’s only now that the weight of this whole situation has struck me! I’m… I’m lost!

Shuffle

The sound of Nathan’s feathers shifting around as they brushed my scaly back.

Well… at least I’m not alone anymore.

...

I guess all I can do now then…

… Is wait.

And thus I watched the most beautiful sunrise in my entire life with a new friend by my side

…

But only four days remained to save Nathan De La Griffon

Author's Note

Fan art by More Dakka!

Chapter 5: To Be Heard, Day 2

Chapter 5, To Be Heard, Day 2

“Nathan!”

"Hm?" I replied. At the calling of my name, I lifted my head up from the gaming magazine I was currently reading in order to discern who was calling me. I'm still amazed that these types of magazines still exist, by the way, but I'm grateful that they do. Sometimes it’s better to have something solid in your hands as opposed to something digital… even if the information is months out of date.

Anyways, after cranking my head downwards I discovered who was talking to me.

“Oh... sup Caleb. Did you enjoy your baseball game with gramps?”

My little brother shifted around uncomfortably in his spot. “K-kinda.”

I gave him a stare down.

“Caleb… you don’t like baseball, do you?” I inquired.

“... N-no…” He replied timidly.

I used a stern tone of voice as I got up from my chair.

“Caleb.”

“I-I’m sorry Nathan! I-I j-just…”

In the face of his stammering; I walked across the room, got down on my knees so I could be at his eye level, watched as he started to tear up…

… And then I gave his hair a playful ruffle.

“I’m not the biggest fan either, sport.”

After realizing that he was not about to be punished for his insolence, Caleb blinked and asked “R-really?”

“Hehe, nope." I replied truthfully. "And you have gramp’s, well, 'enthusiastic' attitude towards the game to thank for that. At least you made him happy by going, kid.”

“... Heh, thanks Nathan.”

“Nathan!”

A third voice caused me to turn my head... but as soon as I did I found myself quickly assaulted by a flying hug from the youngest twerp: Sam. Even though he's seven, the little guy still packs one hell of a wallop...

“Umbh! Ugh… well howdy there, Sam. What’s new?” I asked with a smile.

“I got the high score!” He chirped happily.

“Koolio! … Um, in which game?”

Sam blinked. “Um… I forgot… but I still got the high score!”

I chuckled. As always, little bubble head Sam's smile was infectious. “Well grats all the same, bud!”

“Um…Nathan? Do you have to leave tomorrow?” Squeaked a tiny, frail voice.

Standing up, I turned my attention to sibling #4 of five; Ben. He was hanging off the railing of the stairs, holding on to his blanket and still in his Batman jammies. Poor kid was still getting over a cold...

I gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry, Ben, but I do. Even your big brother here has to go to school.”

Ben looked like he was on the verge of tears. “B-but why does it have to be so far away?!”

Caleb spat out a quick ‘ha’. “Cause that’s where his house is, stupid!”

Ben pouted. “Caleb! I’m not stupid! You’re stupid! He doesn’t live in a house, it’s an apartment!”

“An apartment is a type of house, stupid!”

Sam tried to defend Ben. “Caleb! Stop calling Benny stupid, stupid!”

“Shut up, Sammy!”

"-Sniff-, d-don’t tell me to shut up, Caleb!”

“Caleb! You made Sammy cry!”

“Shut up, crybaby Ben!”

“-Sniff-, I-I’m not a crybaby, Caleb!” Ben tried to wipe away tears from underneath his glasses.

Caleb started hopping around Ben’s crying form. “Crybaby Ben! Crybaby Ben! Cry-“

“KIDS!”

My outburst quickly knocked off that nonsense. The three children were deathly silent.

I gathered them together and gave each of them a hard look in the eyes. “Now… kids… I leave tomorrow. I’m going to be gone for a very long time this semester and I’m unsure when I’ll be back. So please, don’t let this be that last image I have of you three before I leave.”

They looked at each other before bringing their attention towards the floor.

“Sorry Nathan…”

A sinister idea then popped into my mind.

“Now… give each other a hug,” I commanded with an equally sinister smile.

They looked at each other sheepishly.

I took a deep breath…

Calmed my nerves…

... And then roared with pure, big brothonic, fury.

“I command you three to hug!"

The three of them started giggling madly as I pushed them into a forced hug.

I stepped back and observed my handiwork. “There. Now that’s a much better image to go away on!”

I smiled at Caleb. “Caleb, you really should stop picking on your brothers. You’re going to have to be the big brother while I’m gone… that is, at least until Dylan decides to show up again. Now, its bed time for kiddies.”

“Awwwww…”

“Nope, I’m afraid I'm immune to cuteness. Get to bed now, you monkeys.”

The three of them each gave me a big smile before literally hopping off to bed. Ah crap. That’s the sign of a sugar high... Ugh. This is going to be a looooong night.

“Nathan?”

I snapped out of my trance and saw that Ben was still standing on the stairs.

“Huh? What’s up kiddo?” I asked.

“... You need to wake up now, Ms. Dragon.”

“… What was that, Ben?”

“I said…”

***^***

“… You need to wake up now, Ms. Dragon.”

I jumped back in fright as Ben transformed before my eyes into a young griffon with a different pair of glasses. I landed on my tail bo- no, just my tail.

My scaly, green, forked tail.

Raising up my hands, I confirmed that yes, they were still claws. I’m still a baby dragon… so that was just a dream.

A horribly, nice, dream.

“Are you okay?” My friend asked.

I once again shook myself out of my stupor as I sat up in Nathan De La Griffon’s guest bed. I had insisted last night that I only really needed a single pillow to be happy, as my ideal sleeping position was to curl up into a ball, but Nathan told me that it was okay for me to take a bed.

Yes, a bed, as in more than one. Here’s the thing that I really didn’t except out of my new friend… he’s freaking loaded!

His ‘apartment’ was a freaking penthouse! A full-sized, fully stocked, three bedroom and two bathroom penthouse! Who the hell has enough money to send their kid overseas to the big city by himself just so he could get away from bullying… and then pay full price for a Celestiadamn penthouse?!

Obviously, Nathan wasn’t telling me everything… but I really wasn’t in the mood to snoop. I owe him at least that much for, well, saving me.

“Yeah… yeah I’m okay, Nate.” I finally answered him.

He smiled. “Good.”

He then proceeded to jump off the massive, queen-sized, guest bed. This thing was so far off the ground that he actually had to glide off it. I, myself, had to do another Iron-Will-Jump-Hug (patent pending) just to get up here!

“I’ll get breakfast set up in the kitchen! Does eggs sound good?”

I was still too tried to contemplate if this makes sense coming from a griffon or if this makes no sense coming from a griffon, so I simply nodded and returned his smile.

“Eggs sound wonderful, Nate... although I think it’s a little late for breakfast.”

Nate blinked and looked at the clock, which read 4:00 P.M.

“Oh… hehe wow. We sure were out late last night, weren’t we?”

“Boy were we,” I replied. “We were both up from when Luna’s moon took over all the way to Celestia’s sun rising. Have to say... that sunrise was an excellent way to end a first date.”

Nathan’s wings shot up into the air and his feather’s stood on end at my comment. His face was the reddest of red.

“D-date?!”

While giggling, I bounced off the massive bed and glided down next to him, where I then playfully ruffled the feathers on his head.

“Hehe. I’m just joshing you, Nate… but I’ll admit that that act of heroism would have definitely won over a normal girl; may they be griffon, pony, or what have you!”

Oh, how cute! He’s blushing wildly!

“Y-you really think so, Ms. Dragon?”

I gave him a ‘really?’ look.

“Nate... let me paint a picture for you of what you actually did last night.”

Leading him into his massive family room, I hopped up onto the massive couch (see a pattern here?) and treated it as my stage as I reenacted for him the most magical night of this man turned girl’s life.

I hugged his oversized pillow and spoke like Rar-‘BestPony’-ity. “Oh woe is me! A fair girl like me, forced to push a monstrous machine owned by two monstrous ponies. My hair is simply a mess and I’m forced to not wallow in whatever it is ponies wallow in, but filth! Oh, won’t a brave young man save me from my peril?!”

Throwing aside the pillow, I performed a back flip with my wings (I'm getting really confident with these things) and landed on my feet on the other side of the couch where a newspaper was waiting.

I rolled it up into a makeshift sword and held it valiantly at my side. I then imitated Spike during one of his more, um, interesting day dreams. “Fear not, my fair lady! For I, Nathan De La Griffon, shall free you from your torment!”

I jumped back to the other side and resumed my Rarity-ish act. “No, Nathan! It’s too dangerous!”

Back to Sir Knight Spike. “But I must, Ms. Dragon! I cannot allow such an injustice to befall somedragon as lovely as you!”

Back to Rarity. “Ooooh Nathan~”

Knight Spike. “Have at you, Flim and Flam! Feel the fury of my really heavy rock!”

I made a few swishing motions with my ‘sword,’ jumped up into the air, made a Link-like ‘Hiya!’ sound for my own amusement, and then performed a downward thrust. This resulted in the successful impaling of the pillow.

I whipped back my hair with my claw. “... You are free now, Ms. Dragon. Please, allow me to offer my home to you; complete with warm food, a warm shower, a warm bed, and the warmth of friendship.”

I swooned over my own performance. “Oh! Just the exact four things that have been missing from my life! My hero~!”

I ended the tale for the ages by hugging and kissing myself. Nathan, meanwhile, was on his back, laughing is birthmarked ass off.

“Hahaha! Oh it was so not like that and you know it!”

I gave him a cheeky smile. “Don’t sell yourself short, Nate. What you did could very well be the text book definition of ‘romantic’ for some gals out there. Trust me... you’re going to have to beat fillies off you with a stick when you grow up.”

He stopped laughing after that joke.

“B-but I don’t want to hit fillies with a stick!”

I slapped my knee. Yes, some people still do that. “Haha! It’s just a figure of speech, Nate…” I stopped laughing when I thought about my own statement. “… Or at least I hope it is. I'm not really sure how things work around here yet…”

“Ummm... around where, Ms. Dragon?”

“Oh, well, Equestria, I guess. It’s so very, er, different from what I usually see back on Ea-Badlands!”

I quickly glanced back at Nathan who had raised an eyebrow.

“Badlands?”

“Y-yes. It’s different from what I remember from the Badlands!”

Crap! Almost mentioned Earth back there. Badlands was the fan name for the area Spike went to in Dragon Quest, right? That name will work here too… right?!

“… Are you talking about that rocky, volcanic area on the Southeast section of Equestria, which is said to house dragons?”

I couldn’t shake my head any harder if I tried.

“Yes!”

“… But you said you weren’t raised by dragons, Ms. Dragon.”

“Yes… yes this is correct. B-but I saw things through my egg before I was eggnapped!”

Nathan’s eyebrow appeared again and raised itself.

“Really?”

The crap has been doubled! I’m just digging myself deeper and deeper! Man, this kid is really freaking smart for how young he looks… although, I kind of figured that out already yesterday...

I started sweating bullets. “Y-yup! My mother’s name was Crackle and she, um, t-taught me some things before I was taken away from her and raised by, um, Iron Will! Yes! I was raised by a minotaur named Iron Will! I think I mentioned him last night to you, Nate!”

Nathan gave me a long stare before his face softened.

“… Oh, well, I guess that would explain it then. Minotaurs usually roam outside of Equestria, so that must be why everything seems so strange to you!”

I bobbed my head up and down as fast as I could. “Yupyupyup! Right on the bits, my friend!”

Phew! Possible crisis averted.

Gargle

The sound of a pair of stomachs eating themselves. I guess spewing baloney can make a gal hungry. Nathan and I blushed.

“… Um… hehe… c-can we go get some food now, Ms. Dragon?”

“Hehe, yes. Let’s do just that.”

***^***

Tears…

Not tears of sorrow or tears of pain… heck, not even manly tears (which I don’t think I’m allowed to shed anymore).

Just… tears.

Tears of joy.

“This… this is soooooo good, Nate! Just… wow!”

Ugh! It seems like I can’t stop making this kid blush!

“Y-you really need to stop being so impressed with everything, Miss. I don’t know how much more praise I can take!”

I swallowed my mouthful before responding. “Well then; if you can’t take the heat then stop being so amazing!”

“But, what’s so amazing about eggs though?” Nathan asked.

I halted my progress on my latest piece of egg at the question.

I put my fork down. “Oh… well…”

Looking away, I started playing with my glass of apple juice. I brought it up to my short muzzle and stared into my reflection.

I was washed up and clean now and my hair was finally looking nice and orderly. Some scales were still missing, but it wasn’t that noticeable unless you were looking for it.

They’ll grow back… I think.

The only possible long lasting scars were the ones around me wrists. Both arms had bare skin showing where the cuffs had held me to the wall, and the skin looked very raw. They slightly stung me every now and then, but it wasn’t anything unbearable. Thankfully, strenuous activity doesn’t seem to agitate it, so it shouldn’t be anything serious. I haven’t found anything to cover these up yet, but I really hope I do. I don't like looking at them...

As I continued to stare at myself, my mind began to wander. I thought about how I haven’t had a chance to look at myself since coming here and how the only time I had actually seen what I looked like was when I found that little mirror fragment back in Trottingham…

… Back before all this crap went down and my life went to hell in a hand/claw basket.

...

After letting out a little sigh, I answered Nathan’s question about how eggs could be so ‘amazing’.

“… This is the first real meal I’ve had in a long time, Nate…”

From his stool, Nathan stopped flipping eggs and turned around to look at me.

“…D-do... do you want to talk about it, Ms. Dragon?”

I looked up from my drink. “What?”

He returned to flipping his eggs. “Well… yeah, why not? You stopped to listen to me cry about my little problems, so why shouldn’t I listen to your problems as well? It’s what friends do, right?”

“… Hehe. There you go again, Nate.”

He turned around again. “Huh? What did I say?”

Once more, I smiled at the kindhearted griffon. “It was nothing you said, and it was nothing new. It was just you again, being awesome.”

Uh oh. I think I just permanently dyed this kid's white face feathers red with that last comment. He returned to giving his eggs his full attention while also trying to hide his bright red face.

Damn it, girl! Turn off the swag! He’s just a kid!

Also… you’re a guy… and 21. I know a lot of what has happened has made you forget these facts, but they’re still true. Seriously, knock it off, it’s creepy... self.

Finally finishing making his own meal, Nate sat down at the table. “Sooo… when did it all start then?”

Humming a little bit, I thought about how I should do this. “Well…”

I organized my thoughts together before I began my tale. I’ll have to keep things in order so that in this retelling I say that I met Iron Will first before Flim and Flam. I can't just flat out say that I was hatched a month ago! It wouldn't make sense! So I'm going to have to modify it while telling it... This is going to be one heck of a balancing act.

I should be fine though.

...

... Hopefully I can keep my emotions in check…

“… All my problems started a month ago, Nate, when I ran into three ponies. Flim, his brother Flam, and a traveling magician known as the Great and Powerful Trixie…”

***^***

“… A-and… and then..." -Sniff- "S-she started licking my f-face! I heard the brother’s magic lightning coursing through the machine, and I knew what was going to happen, b-but I couldn’t move her away in time! S-so even though she was e-evil and wanted to k-kill me I… I… I killed her! I didn’t mean to! I didn’t want to… but I-I still murdered her! I…I…" -Sob- "I’m a murdere-!”

My retelling was cut off by Nathan hugging me tightly.

"Shhhhhhh… It’s okay, Ms. Dragon. The monsters are gone now.”

Blinking away the tears, I didn’t immediately return the hug. “… Hehe; I think I remember this happening yesterday as well, Nate, but I was the one calming you down… but this doesn’t excuse what I did… I still took a life.”

Nathan held me at a distance and looked me in the eyes. His own eyes showed a wisdom far beyond his years.

“Ms. Dragon… I was taught that while yes, all life is sacred; if a life is lived through the deaths of others, then it is not a life worth living.” He returned to hugging me. “It was not your fault, Miss, and even if it was this, Legion, obviously didn't lead a very good life if it meant to live through draining others dry. I refuse to ever look at the girl who saved me twice as anything less than my friend.”

I considered what Nathan had just told me…

… Then I finally returned his hug. I used my wings in the embrace as well, mimicking what he had done for me last night.

“…Thank you for listening, Nate. You’re a good friend.”

He smiled warmly. “Anytime, Miss.”

Ding-dong!

The sound of a door bell ringing. We both remained quiet.

“Um… expecting someone?” I asked.

“N-no, I wasn’t.”

“… Should I hide in the bathroom?”

Nate slowly nodded his head. “T-that might be a good idea.”

I slipped away into the fully stocked bathroom (I'm never going to get over that) and closed the door behind me. I placed an ear/horn on the door and listened carefully.

“… Oh, hello there, Mr. Landlord." Nathan greeted his 'guest'. "How can I help you?”

“Hello there, Nathan. Have you been in contact with your father lately?”

“What? W-well, no. I sent him a letter a couple weeks ago, but I haven’t received the response yet.”

“Oh. I see.”

“I-is there a problem?”

“Well... I’d hate to break it to you, kid, but I haven’t received this month’s rent yet.”

“W-what?! B-but it usually comes in by the first of each month!”

“Yeah, it does, but it hasn’t this month. Your family has been very trustworthy when it comes to paying the bills on time, and you yourself haven’t done anything to earn my mistrust, so I decided to give you some leeway. I waited it out this month, waiting to see if it was just late or something. Now though... I was hoping to get an answer out of you as to why it hasn’t appeared yet.”

“Well… I-I just don’t know, sir!”

I heard a sigh. “I was afraid of that. Kid, I’m afraid that I’m supposed to evict you.”

“Gasp! B-butbutbut!”

“Hey hey! Calm down, kid. Look... I understand your situation, what with you being alone here and all, so I’m going to be lenient. I’m supposed to evict you tonight… but come on, it’s Nightmare Night! A kid like you should be out trick-or-treating, not starving in a gutter. So, here’s the deal: I’m giving you one week to get things sorted, sounds fair?”

“… Sounds very fair, Mr. Landlord. Thank you very much.”

“No problem, kid. Have a fun Nightmare Night.”

Clipclopclipclopclipclop…

The sound of the Landlord leaving.

“… You can come out now, Ms. Dragon.”

I opened the bathroom door and walked up to Nathan who looked absolutely crestfallen on the floor. I placed a claw on his shoulder.

“Nathan? Are you okay?”

“… My father never misses a deadline… Never. Something must be wrong back home.”

“Do you have any way to contact him right away?”

“… Just through letters which take two weeks to get there and back.”

Yuck. That’s not going to do. Come on girl, think…

“… Nate? Have you ever heard of dragonfire delivery?” I asked.

Nathan lifted his head off from the floor briefly to look at me before allowing it to drop again.

“…Yes I have, Ms. Dragon, and I thank you for the offer... but something like that requires a mage recipient in order for it to work.

“The Roc-y Mountains is griffon territory and we have a bit of an, ugly, history when it comes to magic users. The only chance my father would receive the letter is if there just so happened to be a traveling unicorn, a non-swarm bound changeling, or a giraffe in the area that he personally knew. Even then, we would need their magical imprint for the sending to work.”

I blinked. “A giraffe?”

Nathan blinked as well. “Yes a giraffe.”

I blinked again.

“…You know, Miss... a giraffe? The race that created the telekinesis spell all unicorns use today?”

I blinked a third time

“…The creatures with the long necks, long legs? Usually have a pair of horns on their heads?”

A faked look of realization dawned on my face. “Oh, those giraffes. Got it.”

Yeah I knew what a giraffe was, but the way he described them, as magic users, made me a little confused. Huh, fun fact: giraffe’s exist here and they can use magic. Interesting… I wonder if that means there’s another trifecta of races out there. Like... Equestria has earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi while then the other side of the world has zebras, giraffes, and griffons? Earth, magic, flight? Could make sense, I guess…

... But then what would the alicorn look like?

My mind was suddenly imagining a long necked, stripped, griffon king sitting on a thrown and drinking expensive wine. Why? Why not?

“Anyways…” Nathan continued, knocking my train of thought back on track. “Even if one such mage just so happened to be in the area, last I checked you were unable to breathe fire.”

Oh… that’s right…

Experimentally, I coughed out a small black cloud and quickly evaporated it before it could dirty something other then my claw. I used a nearby tissue from a near by tissue box to clean off my claw. “Looks like that sac hasn’t healed up yet…”

“Don’t worry about it, Ms. Dragon. Now that you’re actually treating your body properly and eating real food again, I’m sure it’ll heal up on its own soon.”

“T-thanks, but let’s not get distracted here.”

Says the gal who was just trying to think up a theme song for her new evil OC giraffinbra (patent pending).

“What are you going to do now, Nate?” I asked.

“Well, I guess I’m just going to do the only thing I can do… go home.”

“Go home? As in, across the sea, home?”

“Yeah. I should have enough bits to cover a trip across, but I would need to leave tonight if I’m to make it back in time to save this place. You’re free to lay low here until I return, Ms. Dra-”

“How much?” I interrupted him.

“… What?”

“How much bits do you actually have, Nate?”

“Oh, well, I have this emergency stash that I was told never to touch except for…”

“Yeahyeahyeah, just cut to the chase please: do you have enough for two tickets?”

“Two? Well… I suppose I do. But wh-”

“Good! I’m coming with you.”

“What?!" Nathan finally got off the floor and onto his feet at my sudden declaration.

“You heard me, Nate. I’m going with you.” I gave him a determined look; a look that roughly translates into ‘try to say no to me’. I then asked him a question that I already knew the answer to. “You didn’t come here by yourself to Manehatten, did you, Nate?”

Nathan looked away. “Um, well, n-no. My father came over with me originally to make sure I got to this place safely before heading home...”

Ha! Just as I thought. Nate’s dad cares way too much about his boy to simply let him come here alone. I can tell at least that much about him from the evidence I’ve received so far.

“Nathan,” I continued. “you’re really mature for your age, but you’re still a kid and kids shouldn’t be traveling by themselves. You need adult supervision, something I’m willing to give you.”

“B-but we’re like the same age!” He argued.

...

… Wait, what? That can’t be right.

“What? But I’m a 21 year old dragon...”

Nathan cocked his head to the side. “No… you look like a normal, 11 year old baby dragon… who told you that you looked like your 21?”

“… A hack of a traveling magician whose knowledge of dragons has now been brought into question... B-but Flim and Flam also had this book about dragons! It listed me as a dragon," I tried to imitate Flam's voice "18 years older" then returned to my normal voice "than what they needed!”

Nate asked me “Was the book called ‘How to properly care for your Dragon companion for foals; By Starswirl the Bearded’?”

I bit my tongue. “Y-yeah.”

Nathan chuckled, finally allowing himself to smile again. “Miss... Starswirl the Bearded is known as Starswirl the CooCoo to us griffons. We agree that his magic theories were all top notch, but we also agree that his knowledge of dragons was vastly inaccurate. A lot of what he wrote in his book was actually about landwyrms with only common knowledge about dragons, like fire breathing and how only baby dragonesses have wings, being correct. Heck, there’s even a section about dragon magic! Out of the trifecta of large lizards; dragons, sea serpents, and landwyrms, only landwyrms can breathe pure magic and use it in spells! That’s common knowledge nowadays, even to ponies!”

My mind was effectively blown. I must have had this fact written on my face because Nate gave out another chuckle.

“Trust me purely for being a griffon; I know a thing or two about dragons and you are definitely 11 years old, like me.”

“I… but…”

“How do you not know your own age, Ms. Dragon?”

Oh no. Looks like it’s time for more BS.

“I... spent a lot of time in the woods when I hatched. I was on my own until Iron Will, um, found me. Yeah…” Quick, need a distraction! “… Wait, if we’re the same age then why have you been calling me ‘Miss'?”

Nate shrugged. “Because calling you just ‘Dragon’ seems rude. It sounds like I’m about to slay you.”

I laughed at the thought. “Hehe, really? Like this?”

I picked up the discarded newspaper and re-rolled it up into a sword before pointing it at him.

“Drrrrrrrrraaaaaagggggooooonnnnn!”

I then gave him a small tap on the beak with the ‘sword’ and I made a ‘boop’ sound effect. This caused him to fall over laughing again.

“Hahahah!”

“…Heheh. Now there’s that smile again!”

And there’s that blushing face again. I’ll knock it off as soon as that stops being cute. Good, crisis number two has been smothered. Time to return to the matter at claw (I'm sorry, but its just too easy to make puns here).

“Anyhow, yes, Nate: I’m going with you on this trip and that’s that. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you overseas while I was just chilling in your apartment. I owe you my life, after all.”

Nathan stopped laughing. “N-no you don’t, Miss! I saved you because you saved me! That makes us even!”

“Heh. Friends don’t keep track of such things, Nate!”

“T-they don’t?”

“Nope… or at least I don’t think they do. It’s not like there’s written rules about friendship… oh, wait, there is. Written by Twilight Sparkle... Bah! Whatever! I’m going and that’s that!”

I have a bit of an alternative motive with this trip. I have no clue how I got here from Earth (I don't even know this planet's name yet!) or how I’m going to get back home, so all I can do is wait. I might as well spend my time here on an adventure to a section of this world that wasn’t shown in the show. Maybe I’ll find some answers while I’m there as well? Might as well go with the flow...

Plus, I really couldn’t live with myself if something happened to Nate. His resemblance to Ben was really uncanny, if a bit more cosmetic then personality wise. On top of that, he’s my friend now, and I don’t leave my friends hanging.

Finally giving up the fight, Nathan reluctantly agreed.

“O-okay then, but what are you going to do about Flim and Flam? They’re bound to be looking for you out there.”

My smile dropped. Oh, right, them. I almost forgot about them… which would have been amazing as they had quite literally been my whole life for the last month.

“Well… I’m just going to have to disguise myself in public or something. Let me think... what would make the most sense? I need to be able to move through the crowd undetected…”

“Miss.”

“I have to be something common and not out of the ordinary…”

“Miss.”

“Okay, here's a thought: if I walk on all fours and wear some feathers, maybe I can pass as a young griffon too…”

“Miss!”

“Huh? What is it, Nate?”

He returned my ‘really?’ look from earlier flawlessly.

“It’s Nightmare Night, Miss. Noponies going to think a dragon is out of the ordinary amongst mummies, weretimberwolves, and thousands of Daring Do look-alikes.”

Oh… derp. That makes sense.

“Right… well then, Nate... I guess it’s time to go trick-or-treating!”

Nate laughed at my weak joke, finally getting into the spirit of things. “Hehe, and I think I have just the thing!”

He started heading off to his massive closet before I cut him off.

“Oh, Nate? One last thing…”

“Huh? What is it, Miss?”

“Call me Cog.”

“Gasp!”

Shuffle...

...

Oh. My. God.

He… he just pulled a total Fluttershy! He jumped up in fright and hid himself under a pile of discarded pillows!

Sooooo cute~!

He finally poked his head out again after a few seconds.

“M-ms. Dragon! I’m not supposed to know you name, remember?!”

I wagged my 'finger' at him. “And you don’t. It’s a nickname. That works, right?”

He looked down in thought from his pillow 'fortress'. “W-well, yes, I suppose it does...”

“Good! It’s better than being called ‘Ms. Dragon’ all the time. Makes me feel old, haha.” ‘Which I was okay with until I learned that the universe did a number on my biological clock.’ I mentally added.

“Also,” I continued. “it’s a horrible nickname. I’m hoping that you’ll eventually get sick of calling me it and finally work up the courage to ask for my real one. Sounds fair, Nate?”

“S-sounds fair, Ms. Dra-... Cog.”

“Good. Now, let’s suit up!”

***^***

“… Hey, Nate?”

“… Yes, Cog?”

“You’re still afraid of dragons, right?”

“W-well yes, most of them... but not you anymore.”

That brought a smile to my face. “Thanks Nate… but that doesn’t answer my question.”

“Oh… what question would that be?”

“My question about why you had a purple dragon costume just lying around in your home.”

Yeah, I should probably explain what’s going on.

Before we left, Nathan pulled out a very familiar looking costume for me to cover up my green scales with. It was the same purple dragon costume Spike wore during Nightmare Night… or, what I guess I should say he’s currently wearing tonight.

Damn hipster.

This costume, however, was modified to have these two little sleeves in the back for Nate’s wings that would make them look like purple bat wings. I can’t fly with my own wings while they're stuck in these things, but that hopefully shouldn’t be a problem…

… Knock on wood.

Overall, the costume covered up all the important parts of my body except the face. It went over my hair but that was probably for the best. Just another thing they could identify me with...

In conclusion, this whole set up looked very nice and it made me look damn cute, if I do say so myself… But yeah, why did Nate have this thing just lying around?

“That’s the costume I wore last Nightmare Night, Cog.” Nate answered.

“I kind of figured, but why did you dress up as a dragon of all things?” I asked.

“Oh… well last year was my first Nightmare Night and I was unsure what I was supposed to dress up as, so I took Mrs. MooMooBelle’s advice and dressed up as something the ‘Nightmare’ wouldn’t expect.”

“So you dressed up as a dragon because you were afraid of them?”

“Exactly.”

Hmmm. I guess that makes sense. At least I feel a bit safer now out here in the costumed crowd. Just to be extra careful though, I had started walking on all fours so I could pretend to be a griffon pretending to be a dragon… when in reality I was a man trapped as a girl hiding as a green baby dragon pretending to be a griffon who was pretending to be a purple dragon…

…Okay, I have to say it. We must go deeper!

This just left one question though…

“Okay, let me run this by you again, Nate; so you dressed up as a dragon because you were afraid of dragons so dressing as one would be the last thing the ‘Nightmare’ would have expected.”

“Correct.”

“And now you’re dressed up as a tinfoil robot, because…?”

Nathan shifted around in his makeshift robot costume, which covered his entire body, covered his wings up, and came with a little helmet with a coat hanger on top. He still kept those purple feathers in his glasses even though they were covered up by the helmet.

I have to remember to ask him about those sometime. They're probably his mother’s feathers or something grim like that… yeesh.

“Well… I think robots are cool, that’s all.”

“… Hehe. I'm not going to argue there, Nate!”

Nathan is best biological life form. Note to self: get him to say ‘set phasers to hug’ the next chance I get.

“Also, I didn’t want those two brother’s recognizing me either. I'm not sure if they got a good look at me last time or not...”

“Smart thinking. So you were here last Nightmare Night, Nate. Tell me... was it this crowded last year as well?”

Crowded was an understatement. Manehatten was packed. There were stalls lining up the streets as far as the eye could see and not a single carriage was in the streets. Kids were running every which way, having a good time and enjoying their sugar highs, as their parents slowly trotted behind them (usually wearing a costume that matched whatever their kids were wearing). Festive music filled the air along with the smell of baked goods. If one listened carefully, they could hear the tapping noise of every front door in Manehatten being assaulted by trick-or-treaters.

I was honestly surprised by it all. This kind of atmosphere better suits a smaller town then it does a large city like this. Maybe the small time feel is part of the holiday? If it is, then I think I like Nightmare Night a lot better than Halloween.

All these festivities brought a smile to my face as I remembered Halloween back home and how hallow, no pun intended, the whole holiday had become there. There were parents too afraid to step outside their homes, even in a small community, teenagers going door to door without costumes, and all those sickos… not that this place doesn’t have its own brand of sickos, but you know what I mean.

Long story short, my kid brothers never really had as much fun during Halloween as these colts and fillies were having right now, so hearing their laughter and frolicking… well it’s just hard for a guy/gal/whatever like me not to smile.

“Oh how adorable! A little robot boy and a little dragon girl!”

I looked up from my reminiscing to see a tan colored unicorn with a charcoal mane, which was obviously dyed, dressed as Daring Do (probably why it was dyed) looking down at Nate and me with a big goofy smile.

Twinkletwinkle

A small pumpkin shaped bucket was suddenly shoved into my mouth with a pink magic aura.

“Don’t forget your buckets, you two!”

Clingclingcling!

A small hoard of candy was then dumped into said bucket.

“And there you go! Now you’re all set to have a fun, and safe, Nightmare Night!” Then the unicorn trotted away. “Too-da-loo!”

Clipclopclipclop…

“… Spit-to-wee!” I spat out the bucket. “… Um, Nate? What the heck just happened?”

Nathan lifted his own bucket out of his beak with one of his claws. “She was probably just some party pony who wanted to see everypony smiling; who thought it was just an odd sight to see two kids who didn’t have their buckets with them tonight, that's all.”

Nathan's words caused a revelation to suddenly strike me, and this revelation caused my smile to drop.

Crap... I’m a ‘kid’ now.

Sigh... Joy.

I think I was happier thinking that I only looked like a baby dragon instead of actually being one. I guess I should have seen the flaw in Trixie’s explanation of dragon years when she tried to say that a teenage dragon was fifty years of age.

... No one could deal with fifty plus years of hormonal hell and remain sane… no one.

So I’m as old as Nate here and he looks like he’d be able to go to the same school as the CMC... Am I still older then Spike though, because of the wings, or are we also about the same age, difference being that I’m a girl? If so, is this why I was brought here like this? Just so I could have wings? If it’s the only real deciding factor between male and female baby dragons, then I think I just discovered why I needed a double X chromosome.

Now… if only I could figure out why I also needed to be a dragon and why I was needed here in the first place I’d be set to go.

“Is there something wrong, Cog?”

“Huh? Oh… no. I’m fine, Nate. I was just thinking, that’s all.”

“Oh… ooohhh right, this is probably your first Nightmare Night, isn’t it?”

“Well… yes, I guess it is.” Better rely on the ‘Badlands’ shtick. “Hehe, not a whole lot of holidays out there in them Badlands!”

“Well then,” Nate pulled out a lemon drop from his bucket and offered it to me. “Happy Nightmare Night, Cog.”

“… Hehe, thanks Nate.” I reached out my claw to take the surgery treat. I do like lemon drops after-

Toot… shee… toot… shee…

My mind went blank and my grip on the confection slackened as I heard a sound that I was once sickeningly accustomed to.

Toot… shee… toot… shee…

“N-no.”

Toot… shee… toot… shee…

I felt myself fall back onto my tail and my legs lift up into a fetal position, my mind remaining blank outside of one humble mantra… No.

“No, no, no, no, no, no…”

Toot… shee… toot… shee…

I pressed my claws against my horns, trying to block out the damnable noise.

“Nonononononononononon!”

“Cog! Cog, snap out of it!”

Nathan’s voice called out, but I couldn’t process the words.

I heard nothing… but… it.

Toot…… shee…… TOOT…… SHEE……

“Don’t put my back in it don’t put me back in it don’t put me back in it don-”

Just then, my muzzle was slammed into my pumpkin bucket and an arm rapped itself around my neck. I was then dragged backwards into an alleyway.

The moment my eyes caught the slightest hint of yellow coloring from my assailant, I did the most productive thing I could do and began to freak the buck out. “DON’T TAKE ME AWAY! DON’T TAKE ME AWAY AGAIN! NO! NO! NOOOOOOO-”

Slap!

A claw suddenly slapped me across the face, sending the bucket flying.

“Cog! Wake, up!"

Its amazing how one little slap can help you regain your senses...

“I… I… w-wha… N-Nathan?”

My 'yellow assailant', Nathan, breathed a sigh of relief and wiped away the sweat from his brow before returning his attention to me. “It’s okay. Everything's okay now.”

“W-what happened?” I asked, still shaking madly.

“You broke down in the middle of the road and started screaming!" Nathan replied quickly. "I didn’t know what to do! Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, you started breathing out black smoke in your panic! See? Look.”

He walked over, picked up the discarded candy pail, and brought it over to show me. The inside of it, and all the candy within, were pitch black now. Some were even burning with a small orange light.

I smothered the tiny spark with a sweat covered index claw. Looks like my flame sac is starting to heal itself. That’s good.

It also looks like I was crying.

That’s bad.

“I-I, I'm sorry, Nate. I," -Sniff- "T-thought I heard Flim and Flam’s machine, and that brought back some... bad, memories. G-good thing it was only my imagination... right?”

"..."

"... I-it, was all in my head, right, Nate?"

Nathan looked away.

This caused my eyes to widen in shook.

No... oh please no!

“N-nate?! Did you s-see it?!”

He nodded his head. “Y-yes. I saw it in the crowd. B-but I pulled you into the alleyway before your screaming and accidental fire breathing alerted them to you being here! We should be fine!”

"Y-you sure?"

"Positive!"

I finally let go of the breath I was apparently holding.

“T-thanks Nate.” I let my smile return to my face. “Heh, guess I do owe you this trip now.”

He gave me a cheeky smile. “I thought you said friends don’t keep track of such things.”

“Ha ha. Very funny.” My smile dropped. “D-did you see which way they were going?”

“Don’t worry. They made a right turn into the central park just as we dived into this alleyway. It’s full of stands, so maybe they’re just checking them out?”

“Phew… w-we don’t have to cross this park to get to the docks, do we?”

“No but it is a shortcut. Thankfully we’re not strapped on time or anything. Let’s just walk around it, shall we?”

“Heh. Yes, lets. Lead the way, Mr. Roboto.”

***^***

We walked in silence as we moved through the crowd of costumed ponies, cows, and other Equestrian (as in creatures in the land of Equestria) creatures. It was mostly ponies, but I was surprised by the variety of other animals that I actually saw walking and talking... although it was really hard to confirm what was real and what was just a costume. I thought that I saw a zebra at one point, but then only a second later did I realize that is was just an earth pony pulling off a rather racist costume.

I also saw some bat and butterfly-winged ponies flying by overhead a couple times during our walk. I was super excited at the thought of there being special winged ponies in this universe, but I had my hopes smashed when we turned a corner and discovered a line of pegasi waiting to have their wings charmed by a unicorn. Ah man, no secret bat pony or flutter pony society… that I know of yet.

What was weird for me to see was the large number of kids dressed up as the same purple dragon as me. It must be a popular costume... maybe some kind of mascot? I wonder what in the world it could be for...

Heh. Probably car, er, carriage insurance. ‘Carriage got smashed by a dragon? Let ours beat him up and use his hoard to fix it up in a jiffy!’

Yeah... my brain likes to come up with stupid thoughts like that. Keeps things from getting dull, I suppose.

Out of all the strange creatures that I saw tonight, however; one stood out the most amongst the crowd of Daring Dos, pirates, and enough alien looking things to fill up a bar in the Star War’s universe.

It was a young filly that had caught my attention. There was nothing too special about her outside of the fact that she was in a wheelchair. I never saw her from the show, she didn’t have a cutie mark, and her color scheme wasn’t anything too radical or noteworthy, so under normal circumstances I would have simply overlooked her.

No, what caused this little filly to catch my attention and to hold it there was her costume. It complimented that wheelchair so well that I didn’t even notice it until after my mind registered what the costume was supposed to be.

It was a simple little thing, really, and an obviously cheap costume to boot. All the little filly had on was a plastic starfish in her mane, a little clam shell bikini (I’m surprised that they have the concept of a bathing suit here) around her chest, and then there was the cherry on top which was a sleeping bag that was wrapped around her hind legs. A normal little filly wouldn't have been able to pull such a thing off, but years (I assume) of having to put up with that chair of hers must have granted this little filly with special sitting powers. It's the only way to explain how she could sit like Lyra Heartstrings, thus completing the costume's overall look.

And boy, what a look it was.

The intent behind this costume was crystal clear: this filly was a dressed up as a seapony. That must mean that seaponies exist in Equestria! Whether they're real or just a fairy tale still remains to be seen... but I’m honestly hoping on the latter. If changelings are supposed to be this universe's version of flutter ponies, then I have a feeling that a real seapony might look and act a bit less song and dance-y and a bit more gore and rend-y.

My body shuddered at the thought, and my mind played a terrifying rendition of their theme song. ‘Shoo be doo. Shoo shoo be doo… Rawr!’

“… Oh my God.”

I jumped at Nate’s sudden remark. He had stopped moving and was staring at something in his claw.

I decided to yank my attention away from the seapony costume (also ignored the fact that Nate had just said 'God' instead of 'Celestia') and instead focused on what was wrong.

“What’s up, Nate?”

“… You asked me earlier if Manehatten was this crowded last year, but then we got distracted by that party pony.”

“Yes, and?”

“… It wasn’t this crowded last year, Cog. Not by a long shot.”

“Oh. So, what? Is there something going on tonight then?”

“You could say so, yes, and it’s going to be a problem.”

“Well… don’t leave me in the dark here, Nate. What’s the ‘sitch?”

“… There’s only going to be one ship taking passengers tonight and it’s a luxury liner for rich Canterlot ponies.”

Nathan handed over the flier that he was looking at.

“… ‘Come one, come all, to the maiden voyage of the S.S. Luna Returner.’” I read out loud. “Luna Returner?”

“It’s a ship dedicated to the return of the princess of the moon: Celestia’s younger sister Luna. Apparently she and Nightmare Moon were once one in the same.”

“You don’t say.” I pretended to be shocked.

“Weird I know, but she was finally released from her torment last year. I read about this ship last week but I forgot about it until just now! It’s supposed to set sail during Nightmare Night and take a three day journey to Prance…”

Snicker

“... What's so funny?”

I snorted. “N-nothing. Nothing at all! P-please continue..." -Snort-

“… Ooookaaay, then?” Nate responded quizzingly. “I-it’s supposed to head to Prance where it’ll be graced by Luna’s presence just in time for star gazing.”

“Wouldn’t she want to watch it as it left Manehatten?” I asked.

“She apparently wanted to celebrate Nightmare Night ‘in her own way’, or at least that’s what the paper described what she was doing.”

“Ah. I see. She’s probably just going to hang out in a small bumpkin town and scream at people or something.”

“… You have a very vivid imagination, Cog.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“You’re oddly… calm, about all this.”

“I suppose I am, aren’t I?” I lightly chuckled.

“Do you… not understand what the matter here is?”

I waved him off passingly, which was quite a feat seeing as how I was still walking on all fours.

“No no I do, Nate. There’s only one ship leaving Manehatten tonight but it’s a rich people’s boat so we can’t afford to get on… even though you have a freaking penthouse. So then, it seems the only logical course of action is to sneak on board.”

“Sneak on board?”

“Yes sneak on board. We’re kids after all, aren’t we? Kids sneak around all the time and, for better or worse, rarely are they ever caught. All we have to do is make sure we stay hidden until it starts sailing. That way, even if they do catch us within those three days they won’t be able to do anything about it! It’s not like they’re going to throw children overboard or make us fly home. They’ll just make us clean the deck or wait on the guests before depositing us at a police station in..." -Snicker- "P-prance or something.”

“You… seem to have a lot of experience on the subject.”

“Well… no personal experience, mind you, just a lot of babysitting experience.”

Nathan blinked. “Babysitting? How…?”

“Um, er… Iron Will’s goats! Yeah, I watched the younger ones every now and then. Hehe, oh those silly goats…”

“Oh… I guess that makes sen-” Nathan suddenly shook his head violently. “Ahhhh! Quit sidetracking me, please!”

I jumped backwards at Nate’s sudden explosion and drastic shift in tone.

He took a breather before continuing. “Okay! The boat itself is no longer a problem, I understand that now, but we have a bigger problem than that!”

I raised an eyebrow… which I wasn’t even sure if I had or not. “We do? What would that be?”

“Flim and Flam turned right!”

My heart skipped a beat at the mentioning of those two flankholes.

“W-what was that about them, Nate?”

“Flim and Flam turned right into central park earlier! That’s a shortcut to the docks!”

“W-well that’s just a coincidence!" I answered frantically. "I overheard them talking to the Mayor yesterday, they have a stand tonight! T-they were probably just going to it, that’s all…”

“How?”

“... Huh?”

“How are they going to make apple cider without your fire, Cog?”

Uh oh. T-that makes sense…

“… Okay, you have a point there, Nate. B-but why the docks? Why would they think to look at the docks of all places?”

“The S.S. Luna Returner.”

“What about it?”

“It’s the only ship leaving tonight.”

“Well, yes, that’s true. B-but maybe they’re just watching it like everpony else! Who’s to say that they’re going there to look for us specifically?”

“Cog…” Nathan gave me a hard stare. “…There’s no other way out of Manehatten tonight except for that ship.”

Suddenly, all the pieces were starting to fall into place, painting a very grim picture. “Butbutbut…”

“The trains aren’t running, the cab services are closed for the night, the blimps are shutting down for the coming winter, and the streets are being flooded by tourists.”

“S-so…”

“So Flim and Flam cut through the park so that they could be first in line to see the S.S. Luna Returner… and also so they could spot you if you tried to sneak aboard.”

“I… I… n-no…”

I collapsed to the ground as my world collapsed in on itself around me.

I… I’m trapped here. A giant city, with infinite possibilities… and those two bastards had trapped me here.

No... they had trapped us here.

“W-what are we going to do, Nate?”

“Y-you’re going to go back to my apartment and hide there until I return from the Roc-y Mountains...”

“But they’ll be looking for you too, Nate!”

I looked at him through tearstained eyes. I've known this kid for less then a day and already I screwed up his life! “T-they saw you with me, you know they did! They’re going to be looking for you as well!” -Sniff- “I-I ruined your chances of making it home…" -Sob- "I-I’m so sorry Nate!”

Nathan tried to wave it off, but I could tell that he was just as scared as I was right now. “I-I’ll be fine Cog, don’t worry. It’ll be harder for them to spot one body then it will be to spot two. I-I’m sure I can figure something out on my ow-”

Slamming my foot didn’t make sense while I was quadrupedal, so I put my claw down instead. “N-no! No I’m not going to let you board that ship by yourself! I’m not going to just leave you there to fend for yourself against those, those, monsters!”

“B-but…”

I sniffed my nose one last time before standing up fully on two legs. I did this so that I could look down at Nate as opposed to being at eye level. Even if it was only a slight height advantage (hardly an inch, actually) I needed to do this to get my point across.

“I’m. Not. Leaving. You. Nate! You didn’t leave me when I needed help, so I won’t leave you. End of discussion!”

Nathan made a motion like he was about to say something, but he finally closed his beak in defeat.

“…Okay, you win. B-but please promise me that you’ll be safe. I don’t know what I’ll do if something happened to you. I-I really don’t have that many friends here or back home…”

Nate then looked over at a group of colts and fillies chasing each other and laughing. He gazed at them with a sorrowful expression, one that looked like it belonged on an old man and not a kid as young as him.

“… You might be my only one, actually.” He admitted.

He gave out a quick sigh before returning his attention to me, standing up tall on all fours and puffing out his tiny chest in a bid to counter my slight height advantage. I’d say it was awfully cute if this situation wasn’t so deathly serious.

“Please, Cog… promise me that we’ll make it on that ship together and in one piece. Promise me that whatever happens on that ship, it happens to the both of us. And…” His eyes finally softened and a sad smile graced his face. “… Promise me you’ll let me show you to my family when we do make it there. I made a promise to introduce them to all my friends, after all.”

I wiped away the last of my tears as I traced a cross across my chest with my claw, flapped both my ‘hands’ together like wings, and then finished off by placing one of my claws over my left eye.

“C-cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Nathan looked thoroughly confused. “W-what did you just do?”

I looked at the ground and softly laughed at myself. “I just performed a ritual that binds me to a cosmic entity capable of tearing the universe asunder with a single laugh. If I break my promise to you, Nate, well... I don’t know what will happen to me, but I can promise you that it won’t be pretty.”

“… Dragons are weird, Cog.”

“That we are, Nate. That we are...”

***^***

“Well Nate… looks like you were right.”

“Yeah… but I really wish I wasn’t.”

Nathan and I were now standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the harbor. We had exited the crowds a while ago and went through the trees until we reached this point. Below us was a massive crowd of ponies gazing in awe at an even bigger boat. Easily the biggest damn thing I had ever seen in my entire life: the S.S. Luna Returner was worthy of being called holybucktonenormous. So it’s full of Canterlot ponies, huh? Yeah right. More like it’s full of Canterlot, period!

It’s so big that sneaking aboard and staying hidden shouldn’t be a problem…

… That is, if it wasn’t for the two self-appointed bouncers circling the only entrance like sharks.

It was hard to tell right away, but the two of them had dressed similarly to each other so as soon as one of them stepped towards their demon machine, I was able to make out the both of them in the crowd in record time. There they were: Flim and Flam…

... Dressed as ghosts.

...

Um…

Two racist ponies…

… From the south…

… Dressed in white bed sheets…

... Okay! I ain’t going to let that train of thought chug along any further now, thank you very much.

…

… Kind of like th-

NOPE. NOT AN INCH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

“What are they doing done there?”

I exited my not thought and observed what Nate was talking about. Flim and Flam now seemed to be just standing stationary at both ends of the loading ramp. Not exactly side to side, mind you, but actually separated by a great distance. One of them was standing by the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 (which was parked at one end of the crowd), and the other was actually facing the crowd, for some reason.

“Good question... what are they doing, Nate?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Well… this might seem a bit racist, but I always kinda figured that griffons had super vision or something. Can you tell if their horns are glowing or not?”

“…”

“… A bit racist then?”

“Yeah, just a bit… although you are right. My eyes aren’t the best in griffon terms, but I can still tell from here that both their horns are glowing under those sheets.”

“Good job, Nate. Let me think now… I know that they can use lightning, wink, telekinesis, a small amount of rejuvenation magic on inanimate objects, and they can seal things off with magic… although, as you've proven, that last power can be easily defeated through the mystical use of a giant rock.”

Nate nodded his head. “Naturally.”

“Okay, what else do they have…? Wait, I remember them using some kind of scanning spell on the machine a couple times before. They would scan it to check for internal damage done to their charms and junk.”

While humming, Nathan contemplated that last bit of information. “Scanning…”

Ours eyes widened as we made the (in retrospect, obvious) connection.

“Scanning!”

“They're trying to scan for your magic imprint!”

“I have a magic imprint?!”

“... You breathe magic fire.” Nathan deadpanned.

Oh… derp again.

“Right… wait! My flame sac is still busted! Maybe it won’t register right away?”

“That’s… a possibility, but I don’t know…”

“It’s too high up for us to glide to it from here, so our only option is that ramp.” I pointed out.

Nathan sighed. “I guess you’re right. Flying wouldn’t have worked either way though. Manehatten has an, well, interesting defense mechanism to prevent such things from happening.”

Nate then pointed his index claw towards a seagull that had just flown by overhead. The feathered creature came about within a foot of the ship before blue bolts of lightning jumped out of floating medal rods (which were floating in the sea at the time) and struck the seagull in the wings. The bird gave out one frightened squawk before all of the feathers on its wings suddenly disintegrated, causing it to fall. It fell into the sea and was quickly scooped up in a out-of-sight unicorn’s magic glow.

“… Harsh." I remarked. "T-that wouldn’t…”

“No, I think the webbing on your wings would be just fine, Cog.”

“Phew.”

Nate started absentmindedly rubbing the area where his costume covered up his own wings.

“Mine, however… well let’s just say that I’m glad I chose to wear this tinfoil robot costume. I always wondered if those rumors about tinfoil deflecting magic were true… but I don’t really want to find out tonight.”

-Gulp-... Again, harsh. “W-well, I guess flying and gliding are doubly crossed off now. What else is there… oh!" I snapped my claws. "We’re small enough to fit into somepony’s luggage. Let’s try that, Nate.”

“But that would just make us easier to spot once we do make it onboard!”

“Ugh. You're right. Darn it, there has to be something...”

“Maybe we could try to hide in the stuff they bring on for the kitchens?”

I waved him off. “Nah. Something this big, they probably already have all the staff stuff loaded onboard. That rules that out… we could try to use your bits to bribe a pony to say we’re his kids. Hehe, how does that sound, bro?”

“Hehe, it’s a nice thought, sis, but you’re just forgetting one thing.”

“And what’s that, Nate?”

“It’s a rich peoples’ boat. They already have enough bits.” Nate deadpanned... again.

Oh… third derps the charm. Man, this is just not my day.

“Argh! This is starting to look hopeless...”

Nate suddenly gave me a pat on the back. “It only looks hopeless if you make it look hopeless. That’s what my father usually says anyways and he’s a man that I look up to.”

“… Hehe.”

“Huh? What’s so funny?”

“Oh… nothing, Nate. I was just thinking how I could have really used that advice back when I was just a cog in the machine.”

"What's up everypony?! Are you ready to step it up this Nightmare Night?!"

“Yyyyyeeeeaaahhhh!"

Nathan and I’s latest moment was interrupted by a loud cheer coming from the crowd below us. From our cliff we looked down and saw that the crowd had parted around a single pony who was wearing what appeared to be a Nightmare costume.

Not a Nightmare Night costume, mind you, but a costume of the Nightmare. It was pretty darn accurate too; complete with little black wings and a blue flowing cloth for hair. Talk about over the top...

One thing I noted was that this pony had a large line of equally costumed ponies ahead of her and a large line of trunks behind her. Said trunks were being pushed by giant earth ponies (like Big Macintosh big). Loud music was emanating from a mobile speaker next to this same pony.

The pony spoke again. Her voice was amplified through magic. Whether she was a unicorn or the spell came from somepony else's horn, I couldn’t tell from this distance. Thankfully, she was loud enough for us to hear her.

“I’m sorry, my pretties,” she cackled evilly. “but this filly has to party with these stuck up, bossy, soulless…”

The ponies in front of the mare stopped boarding the ship so that they could turn around and glare at her.

“… N-nice bunch of ponies tonight! Don’t you worry though...” she then returned to using an evil sounding voice. “I’ll be back for you soon! Mahaha!”

And then the crowd went wild with cheering.

It was through this event that I discovered a neat trick that I could do with my dragon-eyes. I discovered that if I were to concentrate hard enough on a single point, my eyes would zoom in and focus the image to a fascinating degree. I guess this is for later on in my dragon ‘life’ when I’m as big as a house and I need to observe the details of my individual gems… or while I’m eating a victim or something. I also guess it could just be the beginning of their development to becoming as strong as they need to be to assist me in flight.

Well whatever it was, I was able to see who this pony was more clearly after a few seconds. I was able to make out her fur color and mane color under her costume along with a certain accessory that made her very easy to identify. When I did discover who she was… well, I squealed like a total fangirl.

I have no shame.

“Are you okay, Cog?!” Asked Nate, fearing that I was having another Flim Flam panic attack.

I was literally hopping up and down at this point. Again, no shame. “Eeeeeeee! I think we’re in luck, Nate! We can hide in that pony’s luggage!”

“W-what makes her so different from the other guests?”

“Because she’s not a guest! She’s the entertainment!”

“W-what makes you say that?”

“You’re just going to have to trust me on this!” I started literally skipping away down the path. “Come on!”

“C-coming!”

Nathan ran after me as I continued on my way. I was able to hear the pony’s voice one last time before we rounded the bend and started heading downwards.

“Look out Luna Returner! You're about to get you figurative mind blown by DJ Pon-3!”

***^***

“… How about this one?” Nathan asked me.

“He’s much too flashy.”

“… He might do.”

“If he weren’t so splashy.”

“Splashy? What are you talking about?”

Wasn’t listening, was too busy finishing my song. “Too short, too tall, too clean, too smelly! He’s strangely obsessed with tubs of jellllyyy~!”

Nathan lifted up a claw and did the most hilarious ‘wtf is this?’ face I had ever seen. This sent me into a laughing fit, confusing him even more.

“… I’m not even going to ask. Are you done yet so we can decide on which stallion to bribe, Cog?”

-Snort- “Yeah yeah. Keep your feathers on, Nate. I spotted our..." -Snort- "P-perfect stallion awhile ago.”

“You did? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!”

I replied to Nate's totally justified question by saying “Because one of the brothers was way too close to him for comfort.”

“... Oh.”

We were now down from the cliff and amongst the crowd of ponies. Everypony was too busy watching all the celebrities to notice two kids at their ankles, nor could they hear what we were saying to each other. Neither of the brothers seems to have spotted us yet. Good. I guess the theory about my broken flame sac screwing up my magic imprint seems to have been spot on...

Knowing my luck, it’ll repair itself while we’re here and they’ll spot us right away.

Assuming by the fact that only one of them seems to be actively scanning, I’m guessing the other brother is more or less a sort of get-away driver. That's sort of a relief: one less brother to worry about.

Anyways, right now Nathan and I are just waiting for our time to strike. There was still a huge line of ponies in front of Vinyl Scratch (I think that’s her name. Its hard to remember whats canon and what was just fan theory these days) and her equipment seems to take up the entirety of the line behind her, so there was thankfully still some time to hitch a ride. We also have quite the selection to choose from... there's a ton of luggage here! I bet there's more than just turntables and speakers in all those boxes...

Oh, but getting back on topic: why I'm singing. All the earth ponies pushing these boxes looked like they were stallions, so yeah... a certain song happened to pop into my head as we tried to cherry-pick which one would be perfect for our plan. As soon as it did materialize in my head, I just had to sing it. So sue me.

“Which one are you referring to, Cog?”

I shook my head and returned to the present. I pointed my index claw forward. “That third one from the end: the one whose coat is the same color as my scales. The red pony in front of him can’t see behind himself thanks to that large trunk, and the purple guy behind our guy has been dozing off every other minute. I can guarantee you that he'll be asleep while we talk to this guy. I mean, come on! He has a bunch of ‘Z’s’ as a cutie mark, for God’s sake! If he isn't asleep while we make this transaction, then he'd be failing his 'special talent'! Ha!”

“... I’ll never understand what ponies see in those stupid marks.” Nate commented.

“... Weeelllll, not all of them are lame like his, Nate." I reassured him. "Someponies out there have really cool marks, like rainbow lightning bolts, or an array of diamonds, or…” I glanced over my shoulder at Nate. “… a pair of crisscrossing swords.” I ended my sentence with a cheeky smile.

“... Heh.” He glanced at his covered hindquarter, where his mark was, and smiled. “If only it represented my special talent like it does for ponies.”

I feigned shock. “What? It doesn’t? Hah! You could have fooled me! I thought your talent was being awesome.”

“S-stop trying to give me a big head, Cog!”

“Well then stop blushing so much and maybe I’ll stop~”

“S-shut up!” He gave a little huff. Cuuuuuttteee. Why is everything so much cuter here then it would be on Earth?

“Why is this green guy our guy anyways?” Nate, with cheeks still red, tried to change the subject.

“Oh." I shrugged "Because he has a cutie mark of three bit pieces on his flank, yet he’s doing manual labor.”

“Oh… yeah, that makes sense, I guess.”

“Doesn’t it though? Oh! It’s time, Nate! He’s moved on so let’s move out!”

“G-got it.”

Moving stealthily through the crowd, we came up to the lime green stallion unnoticed. I wonder if this is Key Lime’s dad? Small world, if it is.

I tried to get his attention.

“Phist! Hey! Buddy!”

The pony looked up and followed the sound until he was looking directly at me.

“Eh? Wha do yah want, kid?”

“Want to make a quick bit?” I asked quickly.

“… Go home, kid. Ah ain’t gonna fall fer tha’ agin from anotha’ fillie. Yah don’ ave any bits.”

“Ohhh, but I’m no normal kid!”

I gave a quick look around before I went from four to two legs. I flexed my claws a bit and wiggled my wings.

“See? Not a costume.” I blew a little bit of smoke out, just enough for him to see, and then quickly smothered it. Don’t want to let those brothers spot it now, do we?

“… K, so yahs a babe dragon. Wha of it?”

I pulled out one of Nathan’s bag of bits (we had brought one for each of us), took a bit out, and started flipping it up and down.

“All I’m saying is, my good stallion, is that I can assure you that I do have the bits. What kind of dragon doesn’t have a hoard? This is only half of a small portion of it, and both bags can be yours if you simply let my friend and I hide inside that crate you’re pushing. Here. Have a couple, just for listening!”

I tossed two bits his way and the stallion quickly snatched it up in his teeth. He spat them out into his outstretched hoof, looked at them, and then placed them inside his green saddle bag.

“... Wel’ I’ll be darned. Yah weren’t lying. Okay kid…” He glanced around and quickly opened up a small side door on the box. “Toss me that bag right there and yah and yahr friend can gt’ a free ride. I’ll be expecting da other bag once we’re aboard, or else I’m tossing you overboard, got it?”

I nodded in agreement. “Got it. Pleasure doing business with you. Come on, Nate.”

Nate nervously followed me as we entered the box. We were pushed up against each other, with very little breathing room between the two of us, before the lid closed behind us, leaving us in darkness. The box slowly moved along.

“… Hehe. Looks like I can’t avoid being shoved into small dark place, can I Nate?”

“Hehe. At least it smells nicer than your last residence, Cog.”

I winced at the memory of that smelly hell hole. “Good point... softer to, now that I think about it. What is this thing full of?”

“Um… it looks like… dresses?”

I blinked in the darkness. “What? Really?”

I lifted up one of the fabrics that the box was full of and brought it closer to my eyes. It was a very lovely looking saddle; one with a lot of little frills on it, that sparkled in the darkness, and was a bright shade of blue. It was so pretty! If only I were a pony…

… Wow. I don't think I can blame the magic sex change for that last thought. That was all me...

I have no excuse for myself.

Nathan spoke up. “Some of these fabrics have holes in them for wings… they must be for a pegasus mare.”

I rotated around the saddle and confirmed that this was true. “Interesting… but irrelevant. I’m sorry, Nate...”

“Huh? What for?”

I sighed. “I have a feeling that we’re going to have to quickly reveal ourselves to the crew the moment we get onboard. I don’t think we can trust this guy to not throw us off the boat the moment we shell out the bits.”

“Oh… well I don’t have any gripes with doing a few chores.”

“Me neither. Man, we’re pretty weird for kids.”

True that. I have an excuse because I’m not really a kid, but Nate almost acts like an adult sometimes. Did losing his mother really affect him this much? He seems pretty stable, but I’m starting to worry about him. Kids should be kids, and what I’m doing with him right now isn’t helping.

Well… I guess I’ll just have to lead by example and get him to loosen up a bit. I've been doing well so far tonight, so I guess I’ll just keep being myself. So what if I'm now ten years younger? Age is all in the mind.

“Next!” Cried a voice outside of the box.

At the shouting, the box halted.

“Name?”

“The one, the only, Vinyl Scratch, baby! Number one party pony in the world… if you don’t count Ponyville, that is. That place is scar-y!”

Truer words have never been spoken.

The mare at the door replied in a monotone. “Okay, you check out. Move along ma’am. Next!”

The box moved again.

“Looks like this is it.” Nate ended the silence.

“Yup." I nodded. "And it looks like the brothers… ugh…”

“Huh? What’s wrong, Cog?”

My stomach felt like it was about to come out and greet the world through my mouth. I felt it gargle in resistance.

“My… stomach… hurts…”

“It does?”

I could see in the darkness that Nate's eyes suddenly widened. “Does it feel like its rumbling?!”

“Y-yes…”

“Do you smell smoke?!”

“Actually… yes. How…?”

My eyes widened as well as I figured it out for myself.

“My flame sacs healed… is this what being scanned feels like?!”

Nate quickly shook his head. “No. Scanning would feel like an itching on your fur, er, scales. I’ve felt scanning before. I don’t think they’ve spotted us yet. No... what I do remember though is what a gargling belly means for a dragon.”

“A-and what does it mea-Burp!”

A tongue of orange flame suddenly escaped my mouth and began swirling in the air in front of us. Sparks bounced around and started lighting the dresses in here on fire. Nate’s robot helmet caught on fire as well, so he quickly removed it and tossed it aside.

Nate glared at me and I looked at him sheepishly.

“Um… excuse me?” I chuckled nervously.

Suddenly, the mass of orange flames still left in the air disappeared into purple smoke. This smoke combined with itself and a small item started taking shape.

After a full five seconds, a scroll dropped out of the air and landed in my outstretched claw.

“W-who…?”

Nathan yelled at me. “No time for that, Cog! We need to get out of here!”

Oh. Right. Trapped in a box that I just filled with fire.

That’s bad.

I pushed aside the dresses in front of me and helped Nate in trying to open the door. The room was quickly filling up with smoke. Damn it! I will not be the cause of this kid’s death! Come on! Push!

Creeeeeaaaakkkk…

Oh thank goodness. We managed to get it open just enough so that the smoke can get out. I don’t think anypony has noticed it yet. That's good... but the fire in here is still spreading!

“We need to abandon the box, Nate!”

“How?! We’re on the loading ramp!”

I looked over the edge and saw that we were moving up the ramp and over the water.

I called to Nate. “We’re going to have to glide off it!”

“M-my wings are stuck in this costume! And what about the brothers?”

“We’ll worry about them after we avoid being turned into a cooked chicken and a dragon steak!”

I reached my claw backwards and tried to feel up the cloth restricting my own wings. “H-help me rip these stupid sleeves off!”

“On it!”

Shinkshink!

My wings stretched themselves as soon as they were no longer trapped. Oh man did that feel better.

“Ahhhhh… thanks Nate. Okay! Now, grab my waist!”

“What?!”

I got on all fours and stretched my wings out. “Grab on to my waist and hang off my back! I’m going to try to glide us back to shore!”

“But that’s stupid! You can’t glide with that much weight holding you down!”

“Do you have a better idea? I’m all ears… horns… whatever! Just get on!”

“O-okay.”

As soon as I felt that Nate had a good grip on me; I pushed off the edge of the box, bashed right through the box’s door, and then glided down off the side of the ramp. I could see our shadow being cast over the water as we sailed along above it. I think some ponies yelled at us, I think some unicorns tried to grab us with spells, and I think one of those poles actually hit us with lightning but I didn’t feel or hear anything.

No. I didn’t feel or hear anything… but pain.

“Owowowowowowowowowowo!”

It was a constant battle just to keep my wings level! My body wanted to go downwards and my wings wanted to slack and go upwards, but I mentally told both my appendages to shut the hell up and keep steady. I could feel the skin between the two green fingers being assaulted by the wind and boy did that sting like hell. I had this mental image of the flesh being all stretched out and baggy once this was over. God, I hope not. I'm wincing just thinking about it!

Crash! Bang, topple topple!

The sound of our crash landing into an alleyway made out of a pair of towering, stacked crates. They were probably cargo waiting to be loaded on to other ships come tomorrow.

“Ow, my head… Cog! Cog, are you okay?!”

Wow... Suddenly everything looks so s-spin-y… So this is how Derpy sees the world. It’s so… magical and muffin-tastic.

“Cog! Answer me Cog!”

“Bubbles… bubbles everywhere Nate…”

“… Wha?”

“Hi I’m a princess! Are you a princess? Let’s fly to the castle~!”

Nathan started shaking me violently. “Darn it Cog! Snap out of it!”

“Ugh… wha? Nate?” I hit the side of my head with my claw until my vision sorted itself out. “Did we make it?”

Nathan groaned. “Yeah, but we were about as subtle as a fireworks display. Where the heck did that scroll come from?”

I looked down at the scroll that was still being held in my claw.

“No clue. This has never happened to me before.” I started rotating the scroll around until I could see the seal. “How did you say this worked again? I needed somepony’s magic imprint or som-… Ah crap in a hat. I think I know who this is from.”

I held the scroll out to Nate so that he could see what was written on the seal.

“... F.F.? Whose tha-… Uh oh.”

A voice called out from behind us…a very familiar voice. “It says that we’re going to find you two talkers and when we do… well let’s just say that neither of you are going to be doing a whole lot of talking anymore.”

Oh dear lord, no.

We turned around and saw Flim and Flam standing at the end of the alleyway with their machine to their backs, effectively cutting off that direction as a possible escape route.

Flim step forward in his ghost costume. “We sent that baby out this morning as a warning. No matter how far you try to run, talker, we’ll find you with that traceable paper. Shame it took so long to deliver itself though. Must be a time lag issue or something, brother of mi-”

“Spit-to-wee!”

Flim’s little rant was cut off by me launching a fireball at him and setting him ablaze.

I sneered at the two. “Or it could be that my flame sac finally healed itself up, flankholes. What? Gone a day and you already forgot what you did to me? I’m hurt.”

“Ahhhhhh!”

Flam yanked the sheet off Flim with his magic and threw it somewhere beyond the machine, presumably in the sea. I took the second to look over my shoulder for a possible exit, only to see that there was a dead-end behind me. Of course there was. Terrific.

“You little bitch.” Flam called out, removing his own costume just to be safe. “This was our big chance to make it in this world and you ruined it! Do you have any idea how upset the mayor was that we couldn’t make him any money tonight?!”

“The mayor?! Do you two have any idea how upset you made Cog when you stole her away from Iron Will?! From her family?!” Nathan stepped forward to defend me, puffing out his tiny chest again and flaring his wings up.

Flim slammed a hoof down. “Shut up, you damn bird! You’re the cause of all this! If it weren’t for you we would be swimming in bits right now! I ought to tear those damn wings off and feed them to you!”

Nathan stood firm, but his wings drooped and his legs went wobbly as Flim took a step forward.

I took a step forward as well, between Flim and Nate, and growled at the former. I could feel this... fire, in my belly that I couldn’t explain. It didn’t feel like mine and in fact it almost felt sinister, but I could feel it giving me strength as it continued to burn. I spat out a warning to Flim, one filled with pure venom and malice. I wasn’t even aware I was capable of such a thing, but if it means protecting those I care about, I will become evil incarnate in order to safeguard what is mine.

I roared. “You touch one feather on his head and I will end you, Flim. End you!” I finished by baring my fangs.

Flim flinched for a second but he held his position. His horn began to glow.

“Try and stop me, you damn talk-”

“Spit-to-wee!”

Flim was cut off again by me launching another fireball at him; this time directly at his horn, turning his green glow a brilliantly bright orange.

"Ahhhhhh! Why does this keep happening?!"

As I once more laughed inside at Flim’s troubles and felt relief as Nate relaxed slightly, I could feel the sinister flame start to slowly die off within me. Well that’s a relief in itself. I'm not sure where the hell that thing came from, and I’m unsure if it was even a good thing, but at least it’s gone now and I can think clearly again.

I turned to Nathan. “Nate! We’re going to have to fight our way out of this! Do you know any self defen-”

This time, I was cut off by Nathan ripping off the top half of his costume and launching himself at Flam with his newly unbound wings.

Shinkshink!

In the blink of an eye, Nate was behind Flam, and Flam’s mustache was nothing more then a torn collection of shredded hairs.

...

... My body was not ready for that display of pure awesome.

Despite the badflankery, Nathan called out in a shaky voice. “D-dad always said that a good offense was a good defense!”

“… Hehe. Nate, I’m liking the sound of your dad more and more! I can’t wait to meet him!”

“Damn you brats!"

Flam’s horn began glowing fiercely as a green glow surrounded Nate.

Oh hell no. Not on my watch!

“Spit-to-wee!”

I shot out a series of fireballs at Flam, but he dodged them all with slight ease. This, however, caused him to lose his grip on Nate for a brief moment. This was just long enough for the kid to slip out and come running back to my side.

“Any ideas, Cog?” Nathan asked between breaths.

“Yeah. Beat the living daylights out of them and run! I’ve got a lot of anxiety that I need to work out, and the best medicine seems to be a fist to the face! Ha! As long as we make sure they can’t use their magic, we should be able to do this. Flim’s still on fire, so you distract him while I curbstomp Flam.”

“G-got it!”

Using his wing again, Nate launched himself at Flim, who was still trying to extinguish his horn. Nate then sliced him across the face and sent him falling to the ground. I saw Flam try to assist, but I made to intercept. I need to hit him with something hard… my Iron-Will-Jump-Hug (patent still pending) is pretty darn hard, so let’s give that a try!

I bent my knees and spread out my sore wings. I pushed off the ground in a similar fashion to Nate and sent myself hurtling towards Flam. During the journey, I curled up my claw into a fist and began winding it up. When I made it there…

… I really wish I could call it a Falcon Punch, but sadly from the angle I swung my fist at, it was more like Captain Falcon’s air Raptor Boost. Ugh. Oh well. The point is that he was sent spiraling to the ground after this hit. The strike caused his hat to go flying off to parts unknown, and his shirt actually caught on fire as well. I really wish I could say that I punched him so hard that he caught on fire, but the reality again was that I accidentally spat up some fire during my moment of epicness, thus resulting in this.

Again, oh well. It still got the job done, but Flam seems to still be conscious. Guy can sure take a punch!

“C-cog! Help!”

I turned my attention to Nate who was desperately trying to hang on to Flim’s back as he was aiming to buck him off. Flim’s horn was finally cooling off and I could see some a light green glow starting to take place amongst the orange flames. Not good! I tried to aim another fireball at the horn, but I never fired it. I was too afraid of hitting Nate.

I swore under my breath and extinguished the fireball already forming in my mouth. “Hold on, Nate! I’m com-”

Flam suddenly jumped up and used his horn to flip me up onto his back. I gripped his horn with one claw and his mane with another as he started trying to buck me off as well. Well… time to see how well I’d perform at a rodeo.

“Get off me, you damn talker!"

"Whoa there, Betsy!"

I then promptly discovered that I would suck at a rodeo. Nate was still holding on to Flim, but Flam had managed to already send me sailing. I gripped his tail at the last moment and breathed out a stream of fire on instinct.

“Fwoosh!”

It was only by pure luck that his hair caught a stray spark and burst into flames. Heh, hairspray, got to love it.

Flam did not like this. “Damn it all!”

Finally losing my grip on his tail, I dropped to the ground and was immediately bucked in the face, halfway across the alleyway.

I would have made a football joke if I wasn’t in so, much, pain.

Bang!

Nathan shortly joined me face down on the ground.

Not even getting up, Nate turned his head and faced me on his side. “F-fancy meeting you here, hehe- ow...”

I didn’t even bother getting up. “A-are you okay, Nate?”

“... M-my wing feels funny.”

“…Damn it. I’m sor-”

“Don’t say it. I already know, and it’s not your fault.”

Flam yelled out. “Quit horsing around, Flim, and wink her inside already! Leave the damn griffon kid behind!”

Twinkletwinkle

“On it, brother of mine.”

Feeling a tingly sensation, I lifted up my claw and saw that it was glowing green. “N-no…”

Nathan suddenly gripped my claw with his own, and it too started to glow with the green light.

He yelled at the brothers with tears in his eyes. “L-leave her alone!”

Flim winced, his horn continuing to glow. “Ugh... h-have to readjust it for two, Flam. Keep them separated…”

“Just wink both of them! We don’t have any more time to linger here!”

... Have to readjust for two…?

...!

That’s (possibly) it! I may (or may not) be a genius!”

I got to me knees and took a quick breath before turning to Nate.

“Nate…”

“Y-yes Cog?”

“... Hold on tight.”

“Wha-”

I stood up and gripped Nathan in a tight hug and then flared my wings out. Before the brothers could react, I took off towards them with Nate in tow at speeds that would make Rainbow Dash… well not jealous, but she would at least give me a second look.

“Hurry it up, Flim!”

“I’m trying, Flam!”

I felt the magic around us start to constrict. Come on…

10 feet…

Come on!

5 Feet…

Come on!

1…

I finally made it between the two. While in midair, I stretched out my wings a bit more and gently touched the two of them on the snouts with my wingtips. Flim and Flam’s muzzles started glowing green…

Pop!

… Just as the world disappeared from vision.

***^***

“Cog! Wake up!”

“... Ugh… okay... one of these days I have to be the one who wakes you up, Nate.”

Nathan laughed as he got off my body. “Well you know what they say about the early bird.”

“Um… that he gets the worm?”

Nathan blinked. “Oh. Is that how that saying goes? Wow... I’ve been doing it wrong for years.”

I laughed goodheartedly as I sat up. “Oh Nate: you’re so random.”

Nathan beamed at me. “Coming from the girl who just saved our behinds in the most random way possible.”

I finally took note of where we were. We were back amongst the trees where we had overlooked the S.S. Luna Returner only hours ago.

“How did we get back here?”

Nathan tilted his head. “What? You mean you don’t know? It was your plan after all.”

I brushed off some ash that somehow managed to cover up my body without my knowledge. I only then realized that Nate was covered in ash as well.

That's when I started to remember. “... Oh… right, the winking thing. Well, I actually didn't have a plan, Nate. When Flim mentioned something about having to readjust to incorporate two, I figured that if I were to add one or two more to the spell, their calculations would have been too screwed up for it to work properly. In all honesty, I was hoping for a spell backlash or something. Teleporting works too, I guess.”

“So…” Nathan titled his head back in contemplation before jerking it forward when he realized what I had just told him. “You threw us into an unstable teleport spell not knowing what would happen?!”

I shrank away from Nathan’s suddenly fierce glare. This kid can be pretty damn scary when he wants to be! “I-I figured the best case scenario would be that we would end up someplace else or that the spell wouldn’t work… and the worst case scenario would be our molecules fussing together into an unholy hellspawn that spits in the face of God himself.”

“Herself.”

“Wha? But I thought you didn’t worship Celestia.”

“We don’t. Griffons believe in our own, unseen, goddess of the earth.”

“Oh… w-well it would have been a sinful thing regardless. But hey! All our limbs and internal organs seem to have stayed on their own sides, so I think everything turned out alright!”

Nathan sure looked angry after realizing that I may or may not have almost accidentally killed him, but then his face lightened up: probably figuring that ‘well, at least we’re safe.’

“Well, at least we’re safe now.”

Called it.

A question suddenly came to me. “What happened to the brothers?”

Nathan smiled again and started snickering. “Oh, you could say that they’re a little... ‘hung up’, at the moment.”

He pointed a claw at a tree somewhere behind me. I turned around and saw the still out cold bodies of Flim and Flam, somehow piercing a tree trunk.

“… Hehe. Maybe they’ll ‘leaf’ us alone now.” I snickered as well.

We permitted ourselves a moment of rest to just sit back and enjoy our stupid jokes. Sadly though, life quickly came storming back as I realized something.

“The ship…”

HOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKK!!!!!!

The sound of a large ship horn filled the night air. The leaves around us shook from the sheer force of it.

Nathan’s eyes widened and a single word escaped his beak. “No.”

We scurried to the cliff's edge just in time to watch the S.S. Luna Returner set sail.

Nathan collapsed to his knees and elbows. “N-no. We missed it. We… ow!”

He suddenly winced and shot his left claw to his right wing.

“Nate! Your wing!”

“I-I must have broke it in the fight.”

“Here, let’s try this.”

Tearing off the remains of my costume, I wrapped his wing up in a makeshift bracer using the fabric and some nearby sticks from the trees.

“There, that should do until we get some proper medical equipment… Nate?”

Nathan remained quiet, simply staring at the Luna Returner as it slowly sailed away.

“… Nathan, I’m so sorry. If I had just stayed behind…”

“We’re not going to talk about that. I would have failed even if you weren’t here. Heck, I probably would have never made it to that crate! I-I’m not that good when it comes to talking to grownups.”

“… Well, nevertheless: I’m sorry you’re going to lose your apartment. M-maybe if we both get jobs, and sell some things, we could afford this month’s rent?”

“… Excuse my language, Cog, but I don’t give a flying feather about my apartment.”

“Y-you don’t? Then why…?”

“… I think I know why my father was unable to pay the bill, and if I’m right…”

Nathan started shaking. I gripped the left side, his good side, of his body in a tight hug as he tried to calm down.

“I-if I’m right… then I need to get home as soon as possible. Every day I wait…”

He lifted his head up and looked at me with tearstained eyes.

“Every day I wait... -Sniff- T-the odds of me becoming an orphan increases.”

...

...

... I was fully awake now after that little comment.

“What?! Nathan! What’s going on?! Tell me!”

“I-I’m not supposed to tell anyone, it’s family business. I-I was planning on telling you everything once we were in Prance and I had confirmed that what I think is going on was what was actually going on. I-I’m… I’m sorry for lying to you! I-I should have told you the truth! P-please don’t stop being my friend, Cog! Please!”

“Nathan… I…”

I let go of the hug and took a step backwards. I turned around and started pacing myself, not looking at Nate. I need to organize my thoughts.

“Nathan…” I used a stern ton of voice as I quit my pacing.

“I-I’m sorry, Cog! I-I j-just…”

I walked across the grass, got down to my knees so I could be at his eye level, watched as he started to tear up…

… And then I gave him the hug he so desperately needed.

“What kind of friend would I be if I abandoned you in your time of need?”

“C-cog…”

“I’m not really happy that you weren’t honest to me… but I understand why you did it. Hehe, you’re new to this whole ‘friendship’ thing and unsure what’s okay to share and what isn’t, right?”

“Y-yeah…”

I broke off the hug again as I walked up to the edge of the cliff. “You were in the right to not share your family details with me, and I understand if you still don’t want to tell me everything, but none of that matters right now. What matters is finding a way to get on that boat before it’s too far away to do anything about it.”

Nathan looked away. “But we still can’t glide that distance, and flying is even more out of the question now that I busted up my wing. Let’s just get out of here while the brothers are still out cold and wait a couple days for the normal ships to start taking passengers again.”

“But we gave away half our bits to that green stallion! And, like you said, ‘everyday’ you wait is another day that you could become an orphan. No... we have to find a way on tonight.” I started scanning the crowd of ponies below. “If only there was something we could use. Somethi-”

My mind suddenly went blank again for the second time that night when my eyes caught sight of a small flashing in the night sky. I traced it to the crowd and then bared witness to the most… gorgeous thing I had ever seen in my entire life.

More amazing then the sun itself, more beautiful than yesterday’s sunrise, and about as likely as Scootaloo getting a cutie mark in Pedology: this could only be described as a gift fit for the gods.

My eyes started shedding tears.

“A-are you okay, Cog?”

I replied with a dreamy voice. “More than okay, Nate… I'm wonderful. Look.”

I pointed a claw at the celestial gift below.

“… What is it?”

“That, my avian companion, is divine intervention... whether it be from your god, mine, or Celestia herself it matters not. What matters is that it’s our ticket onto that boat.”

“H-how?”

“All will be revealed in good time, my friend. For now though, rip off the tinfoil around your hind legs and cover up your wings. You’re going to need the protection.”

“O-okay.”

Nate did as he was told. Meanwhile, I started eying up the distance between us, the prize, and the ship before then making a few calculations in my head. I’m not the best with numbers, but even I can make a few estimates.

I talked over my shoulder to Nate. “Now… hold on to my waist and try to hold me down.”

“W-what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to try a trick that I figured out when I learned how to shoot fireballs. It’s a dangerous little thing, one that I didn’t want to experiment with while I was within such short corners. I was afraid that it would blow up in my face and kill me, so I never tried to use it to escape. Now though…”

I smiled at Nate wickedly.

He shrank back. “N-now?”

“Now… a little lady called ‘Karma’ has given me a wonderful gift. It would be improper of me if I disrespected her with anything less but the best!”

I got on all fours and stared down at the docks where the ‘package’ was waiting in anticipation.

I chuckled to myself. “I think I’ll call this move ‘The Payback’, because boy is it a bitch.”

~Down at the docks; only a minute earlier~

HOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKK!!!!!!

The sound of the S.S. Luna Returner’s whistles blaring.

“Whooooo!”

The sound of the crowd cheering. Many ponies are amazed by the spectacle, and many more were soaking in the festive atmosphere.

Wrinklewrinklewrinkle…

The sound of wheels turning. The crowd falls silent as they trace the sound that has so rudely interrupted their fun. All eyes turn to a young mare, dressed in blue, with silver mane shining in the night. Her well-worn hat flies off with the assistance of pink magic, and her horn lights up what little darkness remained in the night. She takes a bow as her wagon moves by itself into the forefront of where the crowd had, only moments ago, wished the Returner a safe voyage. The wagon blocks off the view for some, angering many.

Before the crowd could object, the stage suddenly transforms before their very eyes. What was once a simple wagon has become a grand stage, fit for any traveling magician. Fireworks fire forth from the floorboards, lighting up the night sky, and pinwheels span on stage, spreading magical sparks in every direction. It was quite the sight to behold.

What topped it off, however, was the mage.

A unicorn who stood tall and proud.

A unicorn with an untold amount of power, and who held herself equally as strong.

She did not lack confidence.

Once silence reigned supreme, the unicorn spoke.

“… Fillies and gentlecolts of Manehatten: prepare to be amazed by feats of magic and cunning unseen in this modern age! The S.S. Luna Returner as gone into the night... what better way to honor such a magnificent sight then to send her off with an even grander one?”

The unicorn raised herself to her hind legs as more fireworks blasted forth. “Manehatten! Prepared to be shocked and awed by the one, the only, the Great and Powerful Tri-”

“SPIT-TO-WEE!”

The air of silence was interrupted by a mighty cry, one that shook the surrounding area. It was a feminine voice which pierced the silence: a voice so young yet powerful in its own right.

The magician’s head twists and turns as she tries to locate the strangely, familiar, voice. “W-who dares to interrupt the Great and Powerful Tr- oh sweet Celestia!”

The mage suddenly dives into the crowd: for what reason nopony knew...

... That is, until they looked up and saw… it.

Those who had witnessed the event would come to describe it as Celestia’s very own sun coming to Equestria and rocketing through the air at speeds that would rival a seasoned Wonderbolt. Some would claim to having felt the heat, and others would call them a liar: the mere idea that a mortal could withstand even a fraction of Celestia’s fury was ludicrous. Children would come to give this event a name, one that would stick with it for the rest of time itself...

It was simply called ‘The Moment’.

Nopony knew where the ball of flame came from but all would come to know its purpose, for only a split second later did it fulfill its destiny. That destiny…

BOOM!

… Was to burn Trixie’s wagon to the ground in a mighty explosion.

The magician dropped to her four knees. Her grand stage was gone along with what little she took with her. He bits were gone, her books were gone, and her much used bed was now nothing more than ashes on the wind. There was no time to mourn, however, as only a second later did another sound resonate through the air, knocking the magician out of her catatonic state.

“SKKKKKKRRRRREEEEEE!!”

The cry was a griffon’s war screech: a cry bred through generations of bloodshed. All ponies knew this dreaded cry, for the feeling of dread and fear still lingered in their very DNA, passed on through cowering forefathers still cowering in their graves. These reckless spirits would be able to rest easy, however, knowing that this cry was different, for it sounded like it belonged to a young child, and it was not crying out a mighty war cry.

It was simply… crying.

Crying in fear.

All eyes turned skyward and witnessed another curious sight; what appeared to be a young griffon, covered in tinfoil, riding the back of an equally young dragon. Its’ wings sliced through the air in a mighty glide.

The mage’s eyes widened in recognition. “D-dragon?!”

The dragon called out in a mighty roar, its words carefully chosen and lased with deep inner meaning. Nopony who heard these would ever know their true meaning…

“Suck on it, Trixie! Suck on it!”

… And neither would the Great and Powerful Trixie. She would never get the chance to ask either, for as soon as the words were uttered the dragon’s wings caught the rising smoke of the burning wagon and rose even further into the night sky.

And that was the event simply known as ‘The Moment': a point in time now forever lost to the bowels of pony history.

***^***

“Owowowowowowowowowowo!”

“SKKKKKKRRRRRREEEEEE!!”

“K-knock that off, Nate! I’m trying to concentrate here!”

The ship was within sight now and thanks to that little boost from Trixie’s wagon, we were now flying higher than ever before. I could actually see what Nate told me was called the ‘Statue of Harmony’ from up here, but we had no time for sightseeing. Just a little further now...

Closer…

Closer…

Annnnndddd…

Crash! Bang, toppletopple!

Nathan and I crashed on the back end of the S.S. Luna Returner. We skid across the deck, narrowly dodging chairs and tables, and almost taking an accidental dip in the pool, before we finally stopped sliding and remained still.

We had made it, safe and sound.

…

Suddenly, Nathan started laughing.

“… Hehehehehehehehe.”

And after a few moments I joined in as well.

“… Hehehehehehehehe.”

“Heheheheheheheheh!!

“Hehehehehehehehehe!!”

“HAHAHAH!!”

“HAHAHAH!!”

We finally got up from the floor and hugged each other.

“You did it, Cog!”

“No. We did it, Nate!”

He waved me off with a free arm. “Nonono, that was all you. I don’t remember it being me who blew up a wagon and flew us across the sea, after all!”

“Well I don’t remember it being me who cushioned the dragon’s fall after the recoil of that darn thing sent her flying backwards!”

Nathan blushed. “I-I just didn’t want to see you get hurt, that’s all.”

I smiled at him. “Hehe. Thanks Nate.”

“Now kiss her.”

Nathan and I turned our heads left and right, respectively, to see where that third voice came from.

“W-what?!” I asked our sudden guest.

Vinyl Scratch ignored me, however, and instead turned her head to talk to Nate. “You heard me! Come on, kid, be a stallion and kiss your fillyfriend already! She’s totally putty in your claws right now!”

Nathan’s face went beet red. He quickly disengaged the hug in order to yell at the no longer costumed pony.

“S-she’s not my fillyfriend!”

My face did pretty much the same thing as Nate’s, if not a shade darker. “H-hes not my boy, er, coltfriend either! And I’m not putty in anypony’s claws, hooves, w-whatever!”

The DJ ignored my protests and began singing to herself. “Griffon and a dragon, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G~!”

Nathan and I spoke as one. “S-shut up!”

This, sadly, didn’t help our case much, as it only sent Vinyl into a laughing fit on the deck floor.

Nate hid his red face under his one good wing and my own wings started to fold inward in an attempt to hide my own, but I pushed them aside so I could continue talking to Vinyl.

“W-whatever. We’re just friends and that’s all that matters to us! Listen, Miss, we really need you to keep our being here a secret.”

“Got it.”

“As you’ve probably noticed, we aren’t ponies so… wait, what did you say?”

“I said your secret is safe with me, Cog… that’s your name, right? That’s what your coltfriend called you anyways...”

“He's not my… Oh, whatever! Sure, call me Cog. It’s just a nickname, so whatever. Why are you so ready to keep this secret, though?”

“Oh, well because it’s not really a secret.”

“… What?"

Viny then pointed a hoof backwards towards the three floors of guests that were staring at our scene. Those not looking at us were instead looking across the sea at the giant inferno that we caused. I could hear whispering from all the way down here.

This time, I let my wings try to hide my face. “Eep!”

“Ms. Vinyl Scratch, please return to your cabin. My men and I will deal with the intruders.”

Vinyl got back to her hooves and looked at something behind my head. “Awwww… can’t I play with them a bit more, Old Grey Horse?”

A dark grey pegasus with a white mane and beard fluttered down next to me, causing me to jump. Turning my head, I could see that he had a ship wheel as a cutie mark.

He spoke to Vinyl again. “Ms. Vinyl Scratch... while on my ship you will address me as 'Captain Grey' just like everpony else. Do I make myself clear?”

The DJ waved him off. “Sure sure, whateves. Don’t be such a downer, Old man.” Vinyl waved goodbye to us before trotting off. “See you around, Cog! I’ll be expecting you and your coltfriend to liven up the rest of this slow-flank cruise like you did tonight! Ha!”

And with that she was gone. Suddenly, my earlier fangirl moment seems totally unjustified...

Captain Grey raised his voice. “Please! Return to your cabins everpony! Nothing to see here!”

With little to no resistance, all the ponies returned to their rooms and the deck was once more empty outside of Nate, myself, Captain Grey, and ten burley earth ponies. A certain green one was glaring daggers at me. -Gulp-

Captain Grey used a hoof to gently remove a wing from my face. “Hello there, children.”

I jokingly replied “H-hey chef.”

He didn’t find my interdimensional joke funny. “Why are you on my ship, dragon?”

Double Gulp. “I-I, w-we needed to get out of Manehatten tonight before two ponies caught us.” I replied.

“Oh? And who might these two ponies be? The police? The guards?”

I shook my head. “N-no no, sir! They were slaver ponies! They were forcing me to work for them until my friend here bailed me out. See? I still have the scars...”

I lifted both my claws up in a sign of surrendering. Captain Grey observed the scars around my wrists.

“Hmmmm… Where’s your parents, children?”

Nathan was still hiding under his wing, so I had to continue answering for the both us. “I-I was stolen from my mother as an egg and those two ponies stole me from my adoptive family. My friend here has a father in the Roc-y Mountains that we’re trying to see right now. T-that’s why we snuck aboard your ship, sir.”

Grey started stroking his beard. “Hmmmm… was it so important that you left tonight that you had to blow up some poor pony’s wagon just to sneak on?”

“H-how can you tell that that’s a wagon burning over there, sir?”

“I sent one of my fliers to investigate after we heard the explosion. I assume that was your handiwork, firebrand?”

“Y-yes sir.”

“Tell me why you blew up that pony’s wagon, dragon.”

“W-with all due respect, sir, that was no pony: she was a monster in pony garb.”

The earth ponies laughed at my remark, but Grey didn’t seem to like it as much, as he continued scowling at me. “Watch your tongue, dragon. Monster though she may be in your eyes, she’s still a pony, more than what I can say about the both of you. I sent out a flier to check out the damage... I could easily send him out to take you two back.”

I was not having any of that. “N-no! You can’t! Those two will take me away, and they might kill Nathan here! Please! Don’t let them hurt my friend, Captain Grey, sir!”

“… This griffon here,” The captain motioned a hoof at Nate, causing him to shrink down even further into a little ball of feathers. “… is your friend, dragon?”

I stopped my shivering and held myself firm in the face of Grey’s stare.

“My best friend, sir!”

Nathan stopped shivering as well at my statement.

“… Is that so, dragon? Well then…”

He trotted over to one of his waiting stallions and whispered something into his ear. The pony nodded and waved a hoof at six of the other nine earth ponies there. All of them left except for two. Thankfully the green guy left as well, but not before raising a hoof at his eyes and then pointing it at me.

Grey returned his attention to me. “These two will be assisting you tonight. Mr. Bo will be leading you to your sleeping quarters, and Mr. Jangles will take your friend here to see the ship’s doctor about that bandaged wing.”

“Y-you mean we get to stay, sir?!” My heart nearly jumped out of my throat.

“If there’s anything we ponies care about it’s the ties that bind us to each other called friendship.” He returned to scowling at me. “But understand now, girly: this isn’t a free ride. You and your friend are going to have to work for your stay here. Do I make myself clear?”

“C-crystal, sir! We won’t let you down, sir!”

“You’d better not, dragon.”

And with that Grey fluttered away towards the top of the ship, presumably where the captain’s quarters were kept. I walked over to Nate who had finally come out from under his good wing.

“A-are we safe now, Cog?”

“Yeah... we’re safe now, Nate.”

“… Did you really mean it?”

“Huh?”

Nathan stood up and was quickly lifted up to Mr. Jangle’s back with Mr. Bo’s and mine’s help.

From Jangle’s back, Nathan continued his question. “D-did you really mean that when you said that I was your best friend?”

I offered him a warm smile. I had plenty of friends back home, even a few that I labeled as ‘best’, but none of them had shared the kind of experience Nathan and I had just gone through. I had a feeling as well that this would probably be the start of even more anxiety to come... A normal person would have said that this kid was more trouble than he’s worth: that the secrets he withholds and his reckless actions were likely going to get someone killed.

I, however, would say…

“The best, Nate. The best.”

And thus Nathan De La Griffon shed tears of joy as he smiled at me and was taken away

…

Only three days remained to save Vinyl Scratch, Captain Grey, and the all the guests aboard the S.S. Luna Returner

Chapter 6: To Be Heard, Day 3

Chapter 6, To be Heard, Day 3

This…

… This will be my hardest battle.

I have faced many trials in my life, both before and after becoming a baby dragon.

But this...

I let a sigh escape my lips as I faced down my adversary. The upcoming battle will be fierce, and much will be lost… but it will be for the greater good.

... At least, that’s what I told myself.

Nate stood by my side: ever faithful despite his injuries. He looked forward with an infallible gaze, almost as if he was unaware of the weight of our actions… which might actually be correct.

He stepped forward before me, leading the charge. The griffon strutted onwards without a care in the world; the fool having no reason to fear what was to come, not like me who might as well be staring into the face of death.

This would be my greatest test. Greater than my enslavement to Flim and Flam, greater than my repeat escape attempts, greater than every exam I took on Earth. This would be the event that shaped my future.

Nathan De La Griffon stepped forward…

… And entered the door with a picture of a pony on it.

After a few moments, I sighed again and entered the door next to it. The one with the picture of a pony wearing a skirt...

The little filly’s room.

Lord help me.

***^***

It was the morning after we had failed to sneak aboard the S.S. Luna Returner undetected. The crew had given us our own room in the staffs' quarters, but I think it was supposed to be a broom closet. It had no windows and was quite cramped. It even had an actual broom, but it also had one bed as well, so that was good enough for us.

I stayed up late last night waiting for Nate to be returned me. The kid kept mentioning how he’s nervous around adults, so I was worried that he’d be too afraid to get to sleep by himself. Again, probably just big brother/sister instincts taking over my sense of self-preservation. It was only later, when they brought him in with a proper bandage around his damaged wing (thankfully nothing serious) did we both finally get some sleep. Nate took up the actual bed while I curled up at the foot of it; him needing the full length so his wing wouldn’t bother him and myself only needing the end because this position is really freaking comfortable. Sure I was once again imitating a dog, but I was way too tired by this point to really care.

After we woke up, cleaned up, and used the… restrooms… we were introduced to our ‘handlers’ over a breakfast of oat pancakes. They were a pegasus and a unicorn, so I guess Grey’s crew is pretty diverse… well when it comes to ponies, that is.

The pegasus, a cyan blue mare with a dark blue mane, approached the table with a plate in her muzzle. She spat it out on her spot before greeting us affectionately.

“So, you two must be our little stowaways!”

Nathan shrank under her friendly smile. I finished chewing my food and answered for the both of us… again.

“Yup, that's right. We flew onboard last night, ma’am.”

A voice spoke from behind the mare. “Yes, after blowing up a wagon! That was sick!”

A crimson coat, fire red mane, unicorn stallion actually came hopping up to the table. His meal was trapped in a red magic aura of his own making and it seemed to be bouncing up and down along with him.

“Hi there! I’m Red, and this lovely lady here is Blue!”

Grey, Blue, Red… I’m sensing a pattern here. ‘Blue’ blushed at ‘Red’s’ remark. Red paid no attention though, as he was looking straight at me with a creepily huge smile on his face.

“Hey! Can I see… it?”

I blinked at Red’s sudden question. “It?”

He entered into full on fanboy mode and started gushing. “Yeah! It! Your dragonfire! I've always wanted to see some real fire from a real dragon!”

The stallion stood up and showed off his cutie mark; a pair of fireballs, one blue and another green, clashing together. “I’m a bit of a fire fanatic! I got this baby by ‘accidentally’ burning down my neighbor’s fence when I was a little colt. Sooooo yeah…” he started jumping up and down again. “Showmeshowmeshowme!”

Why does it feel like I’ve seen this before…?

... Oh, right! I remember now!

“Mr. Red? You wouldn’t happen to be related to a 'Lyra Heartstrings', would you?” I asked him. This is straight up Lyra right here. The smiling, the bouncing... the only thing missing is…

Red answered my question by jumping up onto his hind legs (Ha!) and gasping. “Gasp! That’s my cousin’s name!” He squinted his eyes. “Are you a wizard?”

I think I’m going to like working with Red.

I laughed his theory off. “Ha, I wish! Oh the things I would do if I could use magic… but I suppose flying and fire breathing are fair tradeoffs.” I grinned at him slyly. “Speaking of fire breathing…”

I don’t think he could have smiled any wider if he tried.

Lifting my head up towards the ceiling, I blew out a small stream of orange fire for him. Blue went wide-eyed and gave me little hoof claps while Red started jumping even faster in place. He had the exact same smile on that Lyra usually wears! Seems being overly cheerful runs in the family (along with human tendencies. Nothing screams ‘human’ like watching things burn… or maybe that’s just me).

“Ohohohohoh! My turn, my turn!” Red replied, stopping his hopping and getting into a safe position.

Red’s horn glowed bright crimson as an even brighter red fire shot out of its tip. Magically, he formed these flames into a small stream like how mine usually comes out, but unlike mine his stream started changing colors. It went from red, to blue, to green, and he even tried to imitate my orange flame with moderate success. Heh. Just can’t beat the real thing, I guess. I clapped my claws together all the same and cheered as he finished up his act.

He gave a little bow. “Thank you thank you, you’re too kind! But mine’s nothing compared to that totally amazing baby you pulled off last night! You just have to show me that one!”

I took a sip of my orange juice before continuing. “Oh, what, that little old thing? Little old ‘Revenge’?”

Yup, I named the big-old-ball-of -death ‘Revenge’ instead of 'Payback'. Easily three times the size of my tiny body, ‘Revenge’ is going to be my new ace in the hole for now on… as soon as I figure out how to launch the darn thing without the recoil sending me flying halfway to Canterlot and back, that is. When I used it last night I was sent flying into the freaking treetops! We almost lost our window of chance, but thankfully Nate caught me in time and we made it. That mini sun sure is a dual edged sword…

Totally won’t stop me from abusing it either way. “Hehe, I believe I could show you someti-”

“Okay, that’s enough; Red, Blue. They’re here to work, not play.”

Red and Blue jumped to attention as Captain Grey entered the room. He was now wearing his uniform; a deep blue navy shirt decorated in an assortment of metals and a clean white navy hat. Huh, why wasn’t he wearing this last night at the launching? Did we catch him by surprise or something? Quite odd... maybe he was doing something dirty last night or something that didn’t need loose fitting clothing?

Maybe he was buck-

It was at this point that I realized that Grey was glaring at me. It took a second to realize that Nate and I were still sitting at the table.

Opps.

We attempted to jump to attention as well, but Nate was still very nervous so he shook where he stood. Meanwhile, I accidentally tripped over my own tail and tumbled to the floor. Guess I got too used to walking on all fours last night. Boy do I feel silly. I gave the captain a nervous grin.

Squee!

And there’s that adorable squeeing sound effect again. Always when you least expect it...

Grey shook his head disappointingly before turning to face Red and Blue.

“Red, I told you none of that Fire magic indoors. When you signed up for this job, you agreed to only use it for ship to ship communication and nothing else. Understood?”

Red’s head drooped. “S-sorry sir.”

“And Blue…” Grey turned his head to Blue.

Oh come on, she hasn’t said a word to us since she sat down! What did she do wrong? Saying hi?

The captain’s gaze was fierce. “I thought I told you to stop spying on the guests while they're sleeping. If I get one more complaint because of you, missy…”

Blue’s head drooped as well. “S-sorry, sir. It won’t happen again, sir.”

...

Spying… while they're sleeping…?

... What?

Suddenly Blue’s earlier glances at Nate and I seem a bit more… creepy. I was wondering why her cutie mark was a pair of night vision goggles...

-Shudder-

The Captain’s wings fluttered slightly in a bid to gain our attention. It worked. “It’s the big day, fillies. This is the first of the three days this ship will be sailing and entertaining hundreds of ponies. You four will be the last ones to hit the deck. All of you will be on lookout: your jobs will be switching around in accordance to what other ponies need you to do. Do I need to repeat myself?”

Red and Blue raised their respective hooves and saluted a response. “Sir, no sir!”

“Understood, Captain!” I gave me own salute with a claw. I also lightly kicked Nathan in the side so he’d do the same.

“U-understood, Mr. Grey…” Nathan replied in a timid voice.

Grey eyed up Nathan slowly, causing him to sweat, before taking a step back and observing the group as a whole. “Mr. Red, you’ll be taking the griffon kid here and teaching him the ropes. Mrs. Blue; you’ll be taking the dragoness under your wing. Both of you will make sure that they’re earning their keep and report to me if they don’t.”

With that he left us to carry out his instructions. No goodbyes, no ‘good lucks’, he just got up and left. Rude much?

Anyways, so the creepy stalker is a Misses...

... And I’m her charge.

Grand.

Red seems a little down about this arrangement.

“Awwwww, but I wanted the dragon…”

Blue blew a raspberry at Red as he started to trot away with Nate by his side.

I waved bye to him “Take care, Nate.”

He stopped and did the same before leaving. “You too, Cog.”

And then he was gone. I hope he’ll be okay…

… Now I’m here alone with Mrs. Blue...

...

I hope I’ll be okay.

“Um… so, Mrs. Blue...?”

“Don’t worry, dear. I’m not a creeper.” She replied.

I don’t buy it. “Then, why’s you-”

“Why’s my cutie mark the way it is?" She cut me off. "Because I’m a superb night flier. I can see clearly in the darkness and I can navigate the sky using only the stars as my guide. Before this I was an overnight mailmare and I would travel amongst all the major cities. I took up this job because it paid a little better and gave me a chance to see something new: the sea.”

Interesting, but… “That… doesn’t explain the creeping around at night, ma’am.”

She smiled sadly. “No it doesn’t, but my cutie mark looks like it belongs to a creeper, doesn’t it?”

“I… er…”

Mrs. Blue fluttered her wings gently as she laughed softly. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You can say it.”

I blushed. “It… j-just makes me nervous, Mrs. Blue.”

“It makes the captain nervous as well, dear, so when we started getting these creeper reports, he started pinning them all on me.”

I was taken aback. “T-that’s, that’s horrible!”

She used her wings to shrug. “Thankfully nopony actually believes I did it. I’m a wife and the mother of two: the only creeping I do is when I sneak in at night to tuck my colts to bed.”

My face heated up as I felt embarrassment for my earlier accusations. “I-I’m sorry for judging you before I got to know you, Mrs. Blue. Heh, you’d think me of all people should know by now not to judge a book by its cover.”

“Hm? And why would that be, dear?”

Well I am a man trapped as a baby dragon girl. If ever there was a more misleading cover for a book, it would be this one.

... Heh. I say that like this is a book, like all of this is just some written story.

Funny, when you think about it.

However, I can't really tell her these things, so I instead used a better example.

“Oh… I was just referring to my friend Nate. Shy and a little shaky on the outside, but once you get to know him he can be quite courageous and kind.”

She kept up her gentle smile. “I could say the same for Red, dear… well I’d have to change ‘shy’ for ‘energetic’ and ‘a little shaky’ for ‘drinks way to much coffee in the morning’. Maybe you’ll get the chance to see what I mean during this trip. Oh! Look at the time! We should probably get moving.”

I nodded my head and followed behind her.

***^***

“Okay, dear, let’s try this one.”

I groaned but I tried to not make it audible. “I’m telling you, Mrs. Blue, I don’t think we’re going to find one in my size.”

“Nonsense! If we had one just laying around for a baby minotaur, I’m sure we can find one for… aha! Here we go!’

I folded my wings inwards as I tried on the thirteenth butler uniform. All of them were designed for ponies, thus we weren’t having much luck. There were some odd balls in the bunch, like for diamond dogs, minotaurs, and griffons, so Blue was hoping for one in my size. But I still don’t thin-

Oh. It looks like we have a winner this time.

“Looks good!”

“Yeah, but what about my wings?” I scratched the spot where my wings should be. Ow... constraining these things hurts like a mother.

Blue remained in good spirits and kept up her smiling. “Oh no problem at all! I have some experience in modifying clothing, all pegasi do… even if some don’t like to admit it. Have to keep up that ‘macho’ warrior look for the griffons, I suppose. Although... heh, your little friend doesn’t seem to match the usual griffon stereotype himself, dear.”

“Hehe. Yeah, well; Nate’s an original, I’ll give him that.”

Yeah, an original who just so happens to look like a feathery version of one of my little brothers… but personality wise yes, Nate sure is an original and I couldn’t be more grateful.

In my deep contemplation, Blue pulled out a pair of scissors and brought them to her mouth. She tried to speak around the item. “Must mne mecond, mear.”

With one quick motion…

Shinkshink!

I could move my wings again. That’s much better.

“There we go!”

I chuckled lightly. “Yeah. It seems like the 13th time was the charm.”

Blue put away her scissors into her own uniform’s pocket. “Sorry that took so long, sweetheart, but if you didn’t have those scars we wouldn’t need hunt down a version of the suit with sleeves long enough for you to cover them up.”

I gently rubbed my wrists, now hidden under my sleeves. I guess it feels good to be wearing clothes again, even if I am still pantless. Not a big deal, I guess... not like these scars, that is. I really hope these things don't remain when I do make it home…

They’re… really an eyesore. A hideous eyesore that only brings back horrible memories.

... -Sigh-"I didn’t ask for these...”

Blue’s smile went from warm to sad. “We never do. I didn’t ask for mine either.”

As we started to enter the giant (and empty) ballroom, Blue lifted up her right wing and revealed a deep scar cutting through her fur.

Yeesh! That looks painful. “H-how?”

Blue tilted her head towards the scar, her smile going from sad to joyful again. “A diamond dog tried to steal a ruby I was wearing one night. It was given to me by my future husband to be, and I was going to show it off to some of my friends. When the dog attacked me, my hubby came swooping down from the clouds and, after seeing that I was bleeding, bucked the guy so hard that all his teeth shattered!” She held a hoof to her muzzle in an attempt to hide a very ladylike chortle. “There’s a dog out there right now that has to drink his rubies through a straw!”

Using one of my claws, I mimicked her actions and stifled my own chortle. Whether it was a ladylike one or not I’ll never know... nor do I want to know.

“What about you, dear? Do you want to talk about yours, or is it too hard for you?”

“Oh… I, er.” I fluttered my wings lightly at the question. It must be some kind of body reaction that happens when I’m nervous...

... I don’t like repeating this story, but the more I talk about it the easier it gets…

Hmmmm... might as well. She did share her own story with me, after all. “I… was strung up to the wall of a machine designed to make dragon roasted cider. They held me there for a month before Nate fought his fears and saved me.”

“Ah! So that’s how you met your coltfriend. Interesting first date, Cogy!”

... Okay. I was not expecting that kind of response out of the motherly Mrs. Blue. Guess she really is a creeper. I turned my head towards her, “He's not my colt-” only to discover that I wasn’t talking to her anymore, but instead to a different pony.

A white unicorn with a pair of purple shades, to be precise.

... Ah nuts.

Turning my head again, I saw that Blue had been summoned by another staff member, leaving me to fight off my guest alone.

... -Sigh-...

I straightened myself before finally answering. “Hello Ms. Vinyl Scratch.”

DJ Pon-3 waved wildly at me despite us being almost within inches of each other. “Hi Cogy! Whatcha doin’?”

Cogy? A nickname of a nickname... Nickception.

“I’m ‘earning my keep’ around here, according to Captain Grey.” I made air quotation marks with my claws, a motion that didn’t seem to be as lost on Vinyl as it was on Trixie. She gave me a quick ‘ha!’ in response.

I smirked at this. Maybe this won’t be as headache inducing as I originally believed it to be. “So, what are you doing here, Scratch?”

Vinyl lifted up one hoof and waved it around as she spoke, animating what she said. “Oh trying not to die of boredom, Cogy! This place is stealing my soul! So I saw you across the room, thought to myself ‘Hey Vinyl! There’s your BDFF over there! Let’s go bug her!’ and now here I am!”

“... BDFF?” I asked fearfully.

“Best Dragon Friend Forever, duh! I’ll admit, you’re my only dragon friend, but who gives a phooey about the facts anyways?! Not this party filly, I’ll tell ya! Well… maybe sometimes when it’s the fine print of something my BPFF, Octy, wants me to look over, but there’s not much after that! … Okay, I lied again. I care about the facts when it comes to what my manager says. Like when he tells me,” she then comically deepened her voice. “‘Vinyl! You need to do community service on this boring flank boat for burning down that hospital or else blah blah blah.’” She returned to her normal voice seamlessly. “Talk about a buzz killer, am I right? He’s kind of a stick in the mud, but if I want to keep my sweet job I have to listen to the old fart. Oh and then there’s ‘Captain’ Grey here. Girl, I’ll tell ya…”

“Wait wait wait wait...” I tried in vain to slow down the MicroMachine Man of ponies (she could give Pinkie Pie a run for her bits!) and also tried to piece together what she had just said. “I’m… your friend? When did that happen?”

Vinyl ruffled my hair with a free hoof. “Why, when you blew up a freaking wagon, silly filly! I even heard it belonged to the Great and Obnoxious Trixie! Ha! I’ve been trying to get back at that showmare for months now after she tricked me into burning down a hospital!”

Um… suddenly the DJ’s mental stability has been brought into question. I carefully removed Vinyl’s hoof out of fear that she would crush me with it. “How… did she trick you into burning down a hospital, dare I ask?”

She gave another little ‘ha!’ before answering. “Two words, Cogy. Drinking, Contest.” The DJ shuddered where she stood. “The strongest magic known to ponydom.”

“That… doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, Vinyl.”

“It did after thirty Rainboom Screwdrivers!”

And thus I used my ‘really?’ stare on her; both because the name was silly and because “Really? Thirty?”

“… Okay, maybe it was only fifteen screwdrivers.” Vinyl started sweating.

My stare intensified.

“… Okay, maybe only five…” Sweat was now soaking the floor, leaving a good sized puddle.

I lightened my stare. That sounds a little bet-

“… Okay, maybe I only had one.”

… What?

“What? Then, how…?”

All of a sudden, Vinyl rose up to her hind legs and covered her crying face with her front ones: an unnecessary motion as her shades already did a good enough job of this.

“Okay okay! I only sniffed one, Cogy! I’m a freaking lightweight! Waahhhh!”

Um… oooookkkkkaaayyy then. Questionable mental stability is still questionable. I gently patted her on the back. “Um… there, there… Scratchy?”

She swiftly snapped back to her cheerful disposition. “Thanks Cogy! I needed that!”

Brain… hurting. I then asked Scratch the question that I was starting to fear I knew the answer to.

“… Ms. Vinyl, please don’t take this as rude… but are you on something right now?”

Vinyl quickly burst into tears again… but this time she was laughing as well.

I’m… confused. So very, very confused.

“... I, er, fail to see what was so funny about what I said, Vinyl. So does that mean I’m right or…?”

She waved me off with one hoof, the other was clenched around her splitting sides. How is she still stan- you know what? Never mind. I don’t care. I now know how Twilight feels about Pinkie Pie...

“Hahaha!" -Snort- "Oh, it was nothing you said, Cogy! It’s just I was remembering how I met Octy and how her and I had the exact same conversation that we’re having right now!”

There goes my eyebrow again: magically appearing only when I need to raise it. “You mean about burning down hospitals and having a poor tolerance to alcohol?”

Vinyl finally let up on her laughing. “Hehe… okay maybe not the exact same conversation, but close enough! She even asked me the same question you just did! I swear, you’re like a dragon version of her or something... except you seem a bit more willing to have fun!”

My nonexistent eyebrow remained raised. “Really? More willing to have fun? What have I done to make you think that?”

“Girl, you blew up a freaking wagon and flew across the harbor with a griffon on your back.” The pony deadpanned. “There had to have been, like, fifty better ways to sneak on! But nope, you said,” She then lightened her voice in order to mimic what I assume mine sounds like to others. “‘Sneaking is for chumps! Let’s get on in the flashiest and nosiest way possible just because I can! If it doesn’t cause at least a thousand bits worth of property damage then it’s not worth doing!’”

...

...Okay. I'll admit... I laughed out loud at the impression.

This caused Vinyl to grin even harder. “Cogy, if that doesn’t scream ‘wild party filly’ I don’t know what does!”

I felt my face blush at what I can only assume was Vinyl’s version of a compliment. This made her start laughing hard, complete with snorting and wheezing.

She held her sides again. “Oh, my, Celestia! You and Octy even react the same way!" -Snort- "That’s it: I’m so introducing you two the next chance I get! Ugh! If only she didn’t have that gig in Fillydelphia this weekend…”

I slapped my face a couple times in order to stop the blushing. This caused Vinyl to snicker madly... must be another trait I share with Octavia (who I assume is who ‘Octy’ is. I mean, who else could it be, really?).

“Come along, dear. It’s time we get this place set up for lunch!”

I jumped as Blue unexpectedly materialized behind me and almost literally scared the fire out of me. Ah! Maybe there is something to that sneaking rumor after all...

Vinyl pouted. “Awwww! Does that means I have to clear out too?” Her bottom lip started quivering. I think she was trying to pull off the puppy dog look, but the shades prevented it from working properly.

“We’d appreciate it, Ms. Scratch.” Replied Blue, unfazed.

The DJ’s face went back to normal. “Ah pony feathers. Guess I’ll get my gig for tomorrow set up or something. Sigh~ See you later, Cogy.”

Vinyl Scratch then started trotting away. She got as far as the halfway point of the room before she suddenly zooming back to us. “Oh! Almost forgot! I don’t know what they’ll be having you do tomorrow, but try to get them to send you my way! I would really like the help of somedragon who isn’t a soulless machine! No offense, Blue.”

Blue grumbled to herself as Vinyl trotted off again. I… really have no idea what the hell just happened, at all.

***^***

Several hours of hard work later, the ballroom was at long last looking nice and orderly for the supposed buffet they were about to serve here. Blue had me setting up tables and having me run back into the kitchen every now and then to ask the cooks a question about placement. I had a question of my own that I wanted answered as well, so I waited for my chance to ask Blue once everything was set.

“Mrs. Blue?

“Yes dear?”

“Why is there a single cloud in the ceiling?”

One of the first things that caught my eye about this room the moment DJ Pon-3 left was that in the center of the black ceiling there stood a solitary fluffy white cloud. I had at first thought it was fake and just for decoration, but as I moved under it I could actually feel drops of moister. This made me very curious so I waited and watched it as I did my chores, in the hopes that I could solve this puzzle on my own. Sadly, after a couple hours I had finally given up the ghost. This led me to asking this question now.

Blue looked at the cloud in the ceiling before returning her attention to me with a smile.

“That, dear, is called the ‘Crow’s Nest’. It’s a section of the ship that only pegasi have access to. During this trip it will be used as a spare ballroom in the case that we get everypony on the ship involved in one event. In future trips, however, it may just be used as the private eating quarters of one of the many national flight teams out there, like the Wonderbolts or the Crimson Eagles.”

“Huh. Interesting...”

I was referring to both the pegasus only room and the Crimson Eagles remark. Sounds like the name of a griffon flight team to me... I wonder if it belongs to some royal family like how the Wonderbolts are Celestia’s? I’d like to see one of these teams while I’m here someday... after solving Nate’s problem, that is… and also after finding a way home.

Speaking of Nate, I haven’t seen him since we were split up earlier. I guess they have him working elsewhere. Hope he’s okay…

A mischievous smile suddenly crossed Blue’s face and knocked me out of my thoughts. Blue hasn’t done anything to earn my mistrust yet, but that stalker comment from earlier still has me a bit on edge around her, despite her motherly ways. Yeah she says her talent is night flying, but then why is her cutie mark night goggles?

Excuse me for being paranoid of ponies after all the crap I've been through...

“Want to check it out, dear?” she asked me.

Oh. So that's what was on her mind. Good.

“Hmmmm.” I hummed to myself as I considered the offer. I would like to check it out, because I’m curious, but wouldn’t the captain get mad at me for slacking off like this? Well… I don’t think Mrs. Blue would try to get me in trouble, so I guess its fine…

...!

Suddenly, an idea came to mind. I laughed at myself for my own brilliance. Pretty vain, I know, but hey, cut me some slack.

I answered Blue innocently, making sure I was as cute and precious as this body would allow me to look. “I sure would, Mrs. Blue! But… I don’t really know how to fly yet.” I gave her an equally innocent looking smile.

Any more innocence up in this bitch and we might accidentally break out the CMC halo again! Ha!

Blue laughed my reply off. “Oh, it’s no big deal, dear! Here, I’ll show you a little bit while we’re up there. Just hop on my back for now.”

“Okay! Thank you Mrs. Blue!” And cuteness wins the day again. After years of suffering it at the hands of my little brothers, it’s about time I had my own chance to try it out. It works surprisingly well on creatures with souls.

I hopped up on Blue’s back as she took to the ceiling. She didn’t slow down as we neared the cloud.

“Um… Mrs. Blue?”

“Hold on tight, sweetheart!”

I shrieked. “Jesus Cr-”

She then burst through the cloud at top speed, blowing the cloud apart into water droplets. We came out into a new large room, probably the ‘Crow’s Nest’, and I came out of this incident with a fear for pegasusback riding. I looked behind us just in time to see the cloud repair itself and cover up the hole we had made into the… cloud cover?

It was a good thing I looked behind me when I did, because I don’t think I could have identified our cloud again amongst the literal sea of clouds that was up here. It was quite a curious sight, as I had recalled that the ceiling below us was very much solid last I checked. One side of this new room had a lovely painted vista of the clear blue sky along the ceiling and the walls, giving off the illusion that we were flying. The other side had the starry night sky painted to a scary realistic degree. There were quite possibly thousands of painted stars in this single corner of the room alone; made of whites and reds, blues, and a plethora of other appropriate colors. There were even a few shooting stars! The centerpiece of the night sky was this giant moon that took up the entirety of the back wall; painted full and lacking the mare in the moon herself in what I assume was symbolism of Luna’s redemption.

It... was amazing.

Blue saw me gawking at it all and chuckled a little before letting me off on a solitary cloud.

“Pretty neat, huh?” she asked me casually.

“More than neat, its’ amazing!” I spoke honestly. I'm not making this up, it really was amazing. The walls looked so real that it was hard to point out where the actual corners of the room were. Every wall looked like it could go on forever.

Blue laughed again at my enthusiasm. “Hehe, it sure is. No expense was spared to make every room on this ship look amazing.” She turned her head and gazed longingly at the blue sky portion of the room. “… I love this room the most. I don’t know about you, my little dragon, but to a pegasus like me this room fills me with a sense of nostalgia and longing. It makes me feel like I did when I was your age, looking up at the sky and dreaming of the day when I could take to it. It also makes me think of Cloudsdale, where my children are currently attending their first year of Flight School. I want to see them flying, and I want to soar amongst those clouds freely myself so badly... maybe I’ll do just that when I have my next day off.”

She returned her attention to me, soft smile still plastered to her face. “Fun fact, dear: originally they tried to make a room for earth ponies that was full of dirt and artificially grown trees. No matter how hard they tried, however, they couldn’t get the ‘feel’ right, or something like that. I feel sorry for earth ponies and the unicorns: they don’t get to experience something like this, or the actual sky in all its glory...”

I gazed up at the ‘starry sky’. “Hehe. ‘Always respect what you have, but don’t pity what others do not, for they have what it is that you wish for but can never have yourself’. This was an odd saying that my grandmother used to tell me, one that was a bit of a mouthful yet oddly memorable. It always reminded me to be grateful for what I have and to always cherish it. Mrs. Blue... we don’t get to feel that special connection to the earth that earth ponies feel every day, nor do we have a spiritual connection to the magic around us like the unicorns. In the end, it seems fair that we get the sky while they receive the benefits of the land, doesn’t it?”

“… Hehe. You’re a lot more mature and thoughtful then your age would suggest, sweetheart.”

I smiled sincerely. “Thank you Mrs. Blue. I had a great teacher.”

“Was your grandmother a dragon too, or was she a part of your adopted family?”

“Huma- er, dra-…part of the adopted family, ma’am. A minotaur.” Phew. Almost slipped up there again. Have to keep up the ‘not raised by dragons’ story and make sure not to deviate from it to avoid suspicion. I don’t think it’d be wise to tell everypony that I’m not of this world yet. Need to wait until my life is stable again before I begin my search for a way home.

It’d be hard to search in a padded cell.

Mrs. Blue stood up from her cloud and started stretching out her four legs, along with her wings. “Come on now, dear, let me teach you a few things before they need us to start setting up the food.”

“Okay!” I jumped up and started stretching my own appendages.

I’m really excited for this! I mean, who wouldn’t be? Flying, man. Flying! This is pretty much all I’ve been thinking about since I came to Equestira. I would dream about it in my prison as a way to avoid thinking about home. I’ve glided, I’ve launched myself, and I’ve made a few crash landings... but never have I truly flown. Hopefully, my wings being bat wings shouldn’t affect Blue’s trai-

“Okay, dear, this is going to be tricky thanks to your wings not being feathery.”

…ning. Well this is off to a great start.

“I-it’s not that different, is it Mrs. Blue?” I asked her worriedly.

“Oh boy is it!” She lifted one of her wings to illustrate. “I’ve had my own wings turned into bat wings last Nightmare Night when I went as a Lunar Guard. This was back before Luna’s return, when the Lunar Guards were just the stuff of legends. Now it’s considered ‘rude’ and ‘potentially confusing to city guards’ to go as one. Bah! But I’m getting off track. So I had my wings changed last year and they were very different from what I’m used to. It was like having to learn how to fly all over again!”

I gulped.

Blue continued. “I eventually figured it out, nonetheless, so I can at least give you a few pointers, dear. Like…”

She jumped up into the air and started fluttering in place.

“This right here is easier to do with feathery wings. Bat wings tend to slice through the air instead of push it like mine does. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it might drain you a lot quicker.”

I was mentally taking notes. “O-okay.”

“On the other hoof…”

Blue landed on a cloud and quickly fluttered her wings in place while maintaining a runner’s starting position. I remembered seeing this position from the Hurricane Fluttershy episode.

My then teacher let go of her hold and rocketed forward, quickly did a complete circle around the ballroom in little under a minute, and landed an inch away from me. I gave her a little clap with my claws.

She smiled lovingly. “Thanks dear, but that’s nothing compared to an actual athletes’ time. My point of showing you it was so I can illustrate how your wings can produce more wingpower than normal pegasus wings.”

Whoa. Well that’s a surprise. “Really?”

“Oh heck yeah!” She’s seems very energetic about this. “I felt like a Wonderbolt when I was zooming around on those black wings last year! I was twice as fast as I usually am and I was able to pull off these tricks that I could never get right before! I was even able to pull off the cloud-wake technique the Wonderbolts always use!”

Haha! Without her knowledge, Mrs. Blue had started bouncing up and down in place like Red did earlier. She even had the same smile on! She must have a real passion for flying... it seems that I picked a good teacher!

“Those things were amazing, dear! If only they were just a bit more practical and a lot less hideous I would have considered keeping them.”

I… didn’t really like that last comment. I guess this feeling transferred to my face, as Blue suddenly stopped bouncing and started backpedalling.

“H-hey hey! I was talking about those ugly, black, fake bat wings, dear, not yours!” Her voice then took a sympathetic and softer tone. “Yours are beautiful. The green fingers stand out nicely and compliment your scales wonderfully, and you obviously take good care of the skin! Dragons I get to see in the newspapers always seem to have holes or tears in their own, like they don’t care... but you do care and that’s why yours look lovely. Don’t let anypony ever tell you otherwise, sweetheart.”

I felt my face heat up again. R-really not used to getting compliments, and especially not used to being called beautiful. “T-thank you Mrs. Blue.”

She beamed back at me. “Not a problem, dear. I speak the truth. Okay, let’s get back to the lessons! So now I want you to try to launch yourself like I just did. Don’t worry about turning, just focus on going straight ahead towards that back wall, okay? Use the moon as a target.”

I nodded willingly and turned to face the moon. I got on all fours and started fluttering my wings as hard as I could. I gripped the cloud with my claws.

“Hold please.”

My wings stopped fluttering as I complied with Blue’s request.

“Hmmmm…” She started running a hoof through my wings as I stayed still. “You don’t seem to have your flapping very will synced, and your technique is messy and unorganized. Is it rude of me to assume you were never taught how?”

“N-no, you’d be right. I wasn’t taught how to use these things properly.” I felt shame, even though I really shouldn’t. Not like I had control of my life here until now...

“Ah. I see. It’s a shame the Cloudsdale Flight School only takes in pegasi and griffons. At your age you’d be attending your first year next fall, maybe become friends with my own little ones... For now though, let me teach you a little trick my mother taught me for proper wing flapping.”

Blue stretched out her wings to her side, then bended them downwards and inwards...

“Monkey scratches arms…” she began to say.

… Followed by upwards…

“The tree’s branches grow wide and tall...”

… And finally straight down to her sides again, but this time they were unfolded.

“And the soldier stands tall and firm, ready for duty. Monkey, tree, soldier. Monkey tree solider. Just remember that and you should be doing some basic flying in no time!”

Monkey, tree, soldier… weird way of remembering how to flap, but at least it’s memorable. I returned to all fours and started slowly flapping. I concentrated on how the wings were moving.

‘Lefts too fast, rights too slow… now rights too fast and lefts too slow… okay. Think I’ve got it. Now… monkey, tree, soldier. Monkey…’

I could feel my tiny body start to lift itself off the ground the faster I flapped. I tightened my grip on the cloud.

“Great! Great!” Blue praised my performance. “Now… let go and try to stop yourself before you get to that wall.”

I gritted my teeth as I did my best to nod. Once I felt that I was flapping fast enough, I let go…

… And left an imprint on the far wall, denting the moon. Hehe, the ‘man in the moon’… or would it be the dragon girl in the- you know what? My head hurts too much to care right now...

Flapflapflapflap…

Blue fluttered down next to me and rolled me onto my back. “Haha… see what I mean about you having a bit more wingpower then me, dear?”

I weakly nodded in response.

“That was still very good though! Let’s just try to work on some wing control with the time we have left here. Maybe we’ll get you to fly around this ‘track’ tomorrow! How does that sound?”

Shakily, I gave her a thumbs up with the appropriate claw. Blue stared at it for a second before rubbing her blue mane in confusion.

“Does… that mean a good thing or a bad thing, dear…? Sweetheart?”

I didn’t hear her, was too busy watching the world spin.

***^***

Blue finished her flight lessons with me a little bit after that and we fluttered down into the main ballroom together. I actually did a little fluttering myself! It was a hard landing but I still felt proud. We helped set up the buffet as soon as we landed and it was here that we stayed for the next three hours. My job was to act as a makeshift waiter and get everyponies’ drinks. I would also keep their tables clean and make sure they were satisfied. It was normal catering work, something I was somewhat familiar and used to, so I couldn’t complain.

“Oh honey look! It’s that little dragon girl from last night!”

“What a dreadful eyesore.”

“Mommy mommy! Why is there a little filly working here?”

“Now now. It’s not nice to point.”

“I better not find any ashes in my food…”

“I better not find any scales in mine.”

What I wasn’t used to, however, was that.

Guess I can’t blame them. ‘Oh hey! Remember that giant fiery explosion last night? The dragon that caused it is going to be serving you your drinks. K, thanks, bye.’

Ugh.

The smaller colts and fillies were (regrettably) the most annoying of the bunch, always staring at me and laughing about me behind my back. ‘I wonder if it farts fire too (thankfully no). Is it a boy or a girl (no clue myself)? I wonder if it’s going to eat us (seriously considering it)!’

Again, ugh!

A voice caused me to exit my thoughts and return to the waking world. “Excuse me, Ms. Dragon? Would you do the honors of lighting up our candelabra? I brought it myself for our table.”

An earnest smile creased my lips. At least some of the ponies here were nice to me. Heck, I even knew some of them!

I gave a quick bow to the mustached stallion. “It would love to, Mr. Fancypants!”

Fanypants smiled as well as he lowered the item down to my level with his golden magic. With a quick, “Fwoosh!” the candles were now glowing with an orange light. Fancypant’s date, Fleur de Lis, clapped as Fancy placed the item back on the table. After quickly refilling their water glasses, I moved on to the next table.

Fancy called out one last time before I left. “Wait just one more moment please, Miss!”

I turned around just in time for a small sapphire, about the size of my eye (the new cartoonishly big ones, not the old realistically portioned ones), to be levitated into my cupped claws.

Fancy beamed at me. “Consider this a tip for the excellent service, my dear. Keep up the good work!”

I really like Fancypants. Putting my wings into it, I gave him a grand bow before exiting towards the kitchen to enjoy my quick snack. Oh, I hope it tastes like blueberries!

“Ahem!”

Sadly, it looks like I’ll have to wait to enjoy my treat. I quickly stashed the gem away in my shirt pocket before approaching the table that had just tried to get my attention.

“Is there something else I can do for you today, Mr. Hoity Toity?”

The fashion earth pony lowered his head, and his shades, in order to glare at me. “Yes you can, dragon. My hay steak is dreadfully cold. I believe you know what I need done.”

I shuttered at the thought. Hay steak? Yuck! It might have a hidden taste like hayfries did, but just the thought of a meat substitute makes me cringe. I'm really glad I’m still a meat eater, even if I don’t get to enjoy it as often anymore. “Would you like me to heat it up for you with my fire, sir?”

Hoity Toity shuddered himself, like I had just slapped him across the face (something I’ve been trying really hard not to do for a select few ponies here). “H-heavens no! I don’t want one inch of your filthy flame on my plate, you damn lizard! Take this back to the cook and tell him to give me a new one.” He then placed his shades back over his eyes and performed a little clap with his hooves twice. “Chop chop~!”

“Ugh. Right away, sir.” Great, another one of these ponies. This isn’t even the dinner meal where we do custom orders! It’s a damn buffet! I’m not quite sure where he got the steak in the first place. Even better, this isn’t the first time I’ve been disappointed by celebrities today. Just an f.y.i., Sapphire Shores is a b-i-t-c-h.

Well… at least I’ve had the aid of a guardian angel during my rounds.

“Hey! Hoity Trotty!”

Ah, speaking of which.

Hoity turned his head to defend himself. “That’s Hoity Toity you insolent twa-”

Wham!

And then he was bucked in the face by a DJ.

I sighed, allowing steam to exit my nostrils. Soooo calming. “Vinyl, I appreciate the gesture; but this is like, what, the third pony you’ve knocked out today? How have you not been kicked out yet?”

Vinyl Scratch played around with Hoity’s now broken shades. “Trust me Cogy, I’ve tried. I want nothing more than to inject some excitement into this slow-flank cruise, but I think the staff is just ignoring me now.”

Mrs. Blue walked by us with two trays of food in her outstretched wings. She glanced at me, the unconscious Hoity Toity, and then at Vinyl. After a brief moment Blue shrugged the scene off and went on her way.

I shrugged as well. I’ve seen stranger things since I came to Equestria… I think. “I see... but I have to ask: do you have a table or something? I can’t recall if I’ve seen you eating or not, Vinyl.”

She dropped the ba- I mean Hoity’s glasses. “Oh, I ate at the other ballroom earlier. They had these really good salads and desserts and these little veggie cocktail thingys… plus the atmosphere was way less uptight over there. Also... I wanted to keep an eye on your coltfriend for ya girl!”

“Nate is not my coltfrie- oh whatever! Why were you spying on him… a-and how’s he doing?”

Vinyl was suddenly at my side with one of her front legs draped over my shoulders. “Sigh. I hate to brake this to you, Cogy, but your colts a bit of a wimp. They have him working over in the other ballroom right now and he’s shaking like a leaf! A lot of ponies were yelling at him, so I gave them a little ‘chat’ with my two back legs. Hoity here is actually, like, my tenth casualty today! Ha!”

She then kicked Hoity again with her back leg. Just for giggles, I guess.

Glad to hear Nate’s doing relatively okay by himself. “I… er… t-thanks Vinyl. Nate’s a lot braver then he acts. He’s just nervous around grownups. Why exactly I’m not that really sure... Again, thanks for looking after him for me.”

“Heh. Anytime Cogy! I think I’ll go check on him now! You seem to have everything under control here... Take care now, scaly!”

She then trotted away… but not before coming back again, just so she could kick Hoity one last time. Her antics make me laugh sometimes. Must be part of the ‘party filly’ job title...

Another table calls for me. “Miss! Over here please! We would like a refill!”

“C-coming ma’am!” I sputtered.

***^***

Music fills the empty ballroom. It comes through a combination of humming and singing, both from the same young girl.

“I dig my hole you build a wall… I dig my hole you build a wall… One day that wall is gonna fall~ Gon’ build that city on a hill… Gon’ build that city on a hill… Some day those tears are gonna spill~ So build that wall and build it strong cause we’ll be there before too lo-“

Clapclapclapclap…

I ended my song and drew my attention away from my broom: my faithful and unwilling slow dance partner. I apparently had an audience.

Blue stopped her horsy clapping. “Oh, sorry to interrupt you, dear. You have a very lovely singing voice though, and whatever it was you were singing was equally as lovely. Is it some kind of dragon folksong?”

I smiled as the scales around my cheeks turned bright red. “Y-you could say that, Mrs. Blue… thank you for the compliment.”

I did always enjoy singing back home, but a disastrous incident with a solo in middle school ended my public singing days (it involved one microphone, a fat chick, and The Little Mermaid... Don’t ask). Besides flying, the other thing I wanted to do here more than anything was to try out my new voice with some songs I couldn’t quite pull off before with my old masculine one. Like flying, the brothers took away my chance to try it out right away. They would always make sure my throat was too raw to do any kind of singing...

Now though, I get to enjoy a small pleasure that was once taken away from me, and I couldn't be happier.

Blue’s face suddenly changed to one of concern as something crossed her mind. “Dear, have you eaten yet today?”

I stopped my cleaning again as I thought about the question. “Um… well, no. All I’ve had was breakfast and a few gems that ponies gave me as tips.” Guess my stomach is still set to ‘only eat scraps every other day’ mode. Again, thanks Flim and Flam...

Real quick note while we’re on the subject of gems. Sapphires were blueberries, rubies were strawberries, and emeralds were pickles, of all things. I swore I tasted the juices as well! I see why Spike likes to eat nothing but gems now!

Returning to the present, Blue looked shocked at my statement. “Well then! Before we start to get dinner set up for the other ponies, how about we grab some food ourselves, sweetheart?”

I like the sound of that! Putting the broom down where I had found it, I followed Blue to the kitchen. Once there, I reunited with a very worn down Nathan De La Griffon.

“Yikes! What happened to you, Nate?” I asked my avian friend.

He answered me between ravenous bites of some kind of sandwich. “Ponies, rude, busy, sweating, crying, yelling..." He swallowed before finishing. “B-but then this white pony helped me out and the shift went a lot better!”

Red turned the corner and patted Nate on the back. “Ah it wasn’t all bad, sport. You did a great job!”

“T-thanks Mr. Red.” Nathan replied before returning to his sandwich.

“Was it that blue mane, white fur unicorn mare from last night, Nate?” I asked him. I already knew the answer, but I wanted to be sure.

Nate swallowed again. “Y-yeah. I don’t think I got her name a-and I don’t think she got mine. She kept calling me Natedog...”

I snickered under my breath. That used to be my nickname back on Earth. No freaking clue how such a thing could still works here in Equestria, but it’s still amusing. “Heh. Don’t sweat it, Nate. She kept calling me Cogy! It’s just Vinyl’s way of addressing her friends.”

Nathan cocked his head to the side. “We’re her friends? How did that happen?”

I shrugged. “I guess blowing up a wagon earns you serious street cred. Anyways, I’m starving! What are you eating?”

“A grill cheese made by yours truly!” Red flared his horn for show. “Want one, Cog?”

An old section of my mind brain told me ‘no, you can’t have that. It has cheese in it’.

But… now I could tell that section to shove it squarely up its metaphorical hole. “I… I would love one, Mr. Red.”

“Cog… are you crying?” Nate asked while giving me a look.

Carefully, I placed a claw on my eye to confirm that yes, I was crying. Can you blame me though? I still can’t believe that all it took was for me to turn into a female green baby dragon for me to finally become a normal boy.

It’s ironic when you think about it.

“Yes Nate… yes I’m crying. Maybe someday I can tell you why.”

Nate lifted a claw up and gave me the ‘wtf is this’ look from yesterday before shrugging it off and continuing his meal.

“One grilled cheese coming up, Cog!” Red returned to the grill. I guess he doesn’t use his own fire to make them... which makes sense because the whole reason the Flim Flam brothers hatched me was so that they could use my ‘magic’ instead of their own in their product. I assume magic unicorn fire must taste nasty.

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to make that ‘to go’, Mr. Red.”

The four of us jumped to attention as Captain Grey entered the kitchen. Blue addressed him first.

“Hello there, sir. To what do we owe the pleasure of this surprise inspection?”

Grey waved her off with a hoof. “Calm down, Mrs. Blue. If you’re still sneaking around I haven’t spotted it… yet. No... I came here for the dragon.”

I dropped my salute. “M-me sir? What can I do to be of assistance?”

The black Mr. Bo and the white Mr. Jangles entered the room behind Captain Grey. Oh… oh man do I feel dumb. Almost a day after meeting these two and its only now that I get their names.

… Mr. Bo wears a Bow and Mr. Jangles wears these little bells around his ankles.

Duh.

Grey’s voice snapped me out of my observation. “Well, dragon, I need you to help us with some navigational equipment up in the bridge. Take your dinner with you. You’re going to be with us for a while.”

I slowly nodded my head in agreement. “Um... okay, sir?”

Red levitated my sandwich to me in a takeout bag as I waved bye to the three. “I, um, guess I’ll see you later then. Bye Nate, Mrs. Blue, Mr. Red.”

They waved bye as well as Mr. Bo lifted me up to his back and took me out of the room.

***^***

After fifteen minutes of trotting we were finally there. Not much to this room. Just a wheel and a dashboard full of buttons that I can only assume do magic things, as I’ve seen no evidence so far as to whether they have actual electricity in Equestria or not. There were a few tables in here as well with some maps laid out on them and a giant window pan that let the captain see where he was steering the darn thing.

During the trotting, I kept racking my brain as to what it could be that they needed me for. I’ve never been on a boat before, so I don’t really know what I could do to help. Once we were there, I decided to ask.

“Um, excuse me, Captain Grey? Can I ask what it is you need me for here?”

Grey stroked his beard as he looked out at the sea. He didn’t turn his head when he answered me. “Well, missy, it’s not you we need, it’s your fire. Here...” He turned to me and presented a pair of scrolls with his wings. “Burn these, if you would.”

Ah, I see. “Oh... sure, captain, but don’t I need a pony’s magic signature, or something, for this to be sent to him or her?”

The captain raised an eyebrow at the question. “Ah, so you know about dragonfire delivery. That makes this easier to explain. No, you don’t need to know it, but we do. The seals around these scrolls have the ponies who we want to send them to's imprints on them already. All you need to do is burn it and they’ll receive it. They’ll be able to cast a ‘return-to-sender’ spell on the letter once they receive it so they can send their reply through you, which is why we need you up here with us. Sorry, miss. This will take awhile, unfortunately.”

Funny... he doesn’t look sorry. Eh, whatever.

I took the two scrolls in my claws and looked at them. The seals had the same moon symbol on it as the side of this ship. I guess when they send it to somepony else they mark who it’s from in this way, like how Flim and Flam used ‘F.F.’ on their warning scroll.

I nodded my head. “I understand, sir, but I think I need an open window for this to work.”

At least, I think I do. That’s how Spike always did it and he has sadly become the whole basis of what I figure my new body can or cannot do.

Grey nodded to Mr. Jangles who opened one of the windows a crack. With a deep breath…

“Fwoosh!”

I watched the two scrolls burn into purple smoke and escape through the window. Well that was kind of fun.

“And now we wait.” Replied Captain Grey, as he took up the helm of the S.S. Luna Returner in his hooves. Mr. Bo and Mr. Jangles went back to their maps and charts, leaving me alone with just my sandwich.

“… Nomnomnom…”

***^***

Bored.

Soooooo bored.

I’m starting to empathize with Vinyl. This place will steal your soul! Two hours have past and I’ve long since slain the sandwich with pure draconic fury (it was that good). I’ve just been staring at the ceiling for the better part of the last full hour! I actually hunted down a broom at one point and started sweeping in here until it was spotless. That in itself killed a good hour and a half... How can something this new be so dusty? Must be all the magic equipment in here generating it...

As I swept, one thought kept crossing my mind. I'm aware how stupid this is going to sound, but forget the last month: now I know how Spike feels. Strange, I know; but it was only now, after getting locked in a room with nothing to do but sweep, that I truly got inside the psyche of my fellow baby dragon.

My fellow tortured baby dragon.

Seriously. I feel for that kid now. That poor, poor thing...

Once the sweeping was done I had nothing else to do, and it didn't help that none of the ponies in here would give me the time of day! I even tried to ask them interesting, conversation starting questions like: "Where did you go to school? How’d you get your cutie mark? So how about them Nicks?!"

Still they ignored me and still this stupid scroll would not show up! We were slowly running out of daylight with each passing second, and still this stupid piece of crap won't show u-“Burp!”

Well, speak of the pony devil.

“It’s about time!”

The rest of the crew didn’t seem to share my enthusiasm.

Mr. Bo came over and picked up the two scrolls with his teeth. He quickly unrolled one of them and read through it before giving it to Mr. Jangles who read it as well. This followed until both scrolls were read by the three of them. Not a word was muttered between them. Captain Grey made a few alterations with the wheel before taking out some ink and another scroll and started writing up a new one, using his wing like a hand. After a moment he presented it to me.

“This one too.”

I blinked. “… How man-”

“About twenty tonight alone. Burn it, dragon.”

“Ugh!”

***^***

I… I don’t even know where to begin.

Its night time now and I’m still trapped in this room. I've missed the dinner and I've missed my chance to help set up the onboard play they had for the guests to enjoy. God, it feels like I’m back in the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 all over again: just hanging around (thankfully not literally this time), doing nothing. At least the brother’s would talk.

Well... thank goodness I’m not bored anymore, and I have Vinyl and Nate to thank for that.

They are sooooo awesome~

A couple hours ago, Nate came in with another sandwich for me along with a book. When I asked him where he got the book, he said that Vinyl somehow caught wind of my 'torment' and decided that I needed something to do. Apparently, she had this book on hoof but she’s already read it a ‘bazillion’ times and had no more need for it.

So, while making sure not to accidentally set it on fire, I enjoyed what was apparently the most popular book in all of Equestria at the time. It was the first installment of a book series about a character that still captures the hearts and minds of colts and fillies today.

That’s right folks, I’m currently reading…

… Harry Trotter and the Unicorn’s Stone.

Ugh, Harry Trotter, Y U No Daring Do?!

Oh well... at least it got the job done.

“Burp!”

Speaking of getting the job done…

I handed the latest scroll to Grey. “Here you go, captain. Am I done now?”

Grey grunted. “Yes you’re done. Thank you kindly for your help.”

Wow. I think it would actually kill this guy if he tried to smile. He’s like anti Pinkie Pie.

Ugh, oh well. At least I’m done. “No problem, I guess. But can I ask you a question before I leave here?”

He didn’t look up from his steering. “Yes, what?”

“How did you used to send these back and forth without me? Did you make Red do it or something?”

Grey stroked his beard again, something I’ve noticed he does whenever he’s thinking. “Well, no... unicorn fire doesn’t work like dragonfire. It’s not 'pure' enough. We used to… hmmmm.” He stopped again to contemplate something. “I guess… it would do you some good to see ‘it’.”

Grey actually turned to look at me. “… This is what is known as a D class ship, dragon. Head to kitchen #1 right now and tell one of the cooks there that you’re going to take care of ‘it’. He’ll know what it means and you’ll soon understand why it’s called a D class ship. Consider taking off your cloths.”

...

... Oookkkkaaayyy then...

Not ominous at all.

Nope, not at all.

I nodded nervously to Grey before leaving through the door. I sighed. “Well… crap. What did I just sign myself up for? Aw Cog, what a silly filly you’re turning out to be…”

***^***

I was currently yanking the apron of a cook to get his attention. I’m below the eye level of normal ponies, but I’m still standing by my belief that I’m taller than Spike. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

“Eh? What do you want, kid?” Asked the cream colored earth pony cook.

“Um, I was told to take care of ‘it’, whatever that is.” I replied nervously.

“Oh… ooohhhhh… oh, oh… Oh?!”

I… I have no idea what the hell this guy is doing. Some of those 'ohs' sound bored, some sound shocked, and others sound almost sexual. What the hell is 'it'?!

A single tiny pill was suddenly pushed into my claw by the cook.

“Here you go, kid. Just take those stairs next to the fridge.”

“… Thanks? I guess. Um, do I need to know anything or...?” I attempted to ask, but the cook had already resumed his cleaning.

“… Nuts. Well…” I looked at the door and gulped. “Here goes… something.”

***^***

Okay… these stairs go on forever. I'm calling it now: this was just an elaborate joke by Mr. 'Serious business' Captain Grey. He’s probably just as big of a troll as Celestia! Still… what’s with these stairs? It feels like they go under the ship! Deeper than what I thought the ship was capable of...

Clickclick

The sound of my clawed toes hitting the final step. I guess this is it… but it’s so dark in here that even I can’t see properly. Good for nothing night vision... It’s like there’s just piles and piles of, things down here reaching up all the way to the ceiling and blocking my vision.

Also a lot of smoke.

Lots and lots of smoke.

It’s very smoky down here.

I probably should have listened to the bit about removing my clothes...

...

... Maybe… maybe if I blew a little fire, I can light this place up and see what’s going on?

Worth a shot, I guess.

... But what if I hit something?

...

... Okay. I’m going to try it. Won't know what will happen unless I try.

With my mind made up, I inhaled…

… And then nearly chocked on my own flames when a giant yellow eyeball opened up in the darkness.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh crap...

I gingerly waved to the monstrosity that was most likely going to kill me. “Um… er… hehe, h-hi there?”

The yellow eye kept staring at me with its slit pupil.

… Wait? Slit pupil?!

Oh dear sweet baby back Jebus no.

I quickly scanned my surroundings and was able to finally identify what the giant piles that had confused my eyes earlier were made of.

Gems.

Gems everywhere.

Giant gem piles reaching all the way up to the freakishly tall ceiling.

Piles… fit for any adult dragon’s hoard.

Well… this is it: The End, my Friend. “Gulp. D Class ship… I guess it makes sense now. Hehe. W-well I had a good run here in Equestria. Wished I spent less time being tortured and crying though…”

A booming voice nearly knocked me off my shaking feet. “Another hatchling dares to disturb what is rightfully mine? How quaint.”

Don’tpissyourselfdon’tpissyourselfdon’tpiss-. “Oh… h-hello there, Mr. Giant-green-could-eat-me-in-a-single-bite Dragon. H-how are you doing?”

I quickly slapped myself for being so stupid.

The dragon was truly a fully grown, adult, monster. It was hard to make out in the darkness, but I think his scales were dark green. He was about the size of the back end of this ship… heck, he probably is the back side of the ship! His long neck could reach the ceiling easily. What the hell is it doing down here?!

The giant cranked his neck and lowered his head so he was relatively eye level with me. He twisted his head slightly so he could gaze at me with one of his eyes.

The room gently vibrated with the force of his voice. “…Tell me, little one. How will the princess of ponies punish me this time for my folly?”

I blinked blankly. “… Wha?”

The dragon’s eyes narrowed and his voice took on a more casual (but still harsh) tone. “The princess of ponies banished me from my own cave the last time I dared to defend what was rightfully mine from one of her domesticated dragon whelps. So again, I must ask you little one…”

He then roared in my bucking face.

“WHAT WILL SHE STEAL FROM ME THIS TIME?!”

Oh merciful lord of backpedalling, grant me strength.

“I-I-I-I-I-I-I…”

I took a deep breath and straightened myself. “I w-was just told to give ‘it’ this pill! I didn’t know this was your territory!”

“THIS IS NOT MY LAND, WHELP! MY LAND IS MIGHTY! THIS IS SIMPLY MY LAIR AND NOTHING MORE!”

"Eep!" Shouldn’t have used the T word!

“THIS IS MY PRISON! IT IS HERE WHERE MY BREATH IS ENSLAVED AND USED FOR THE SAKE OF…”

I…I didn’t think his voice could get any louder, but somehow it did. Every pile in here rumbled and bounced around with the force of his roar.

“PONIES!”

Where’s Fluttershy when you need her?!

... Wait… enslaved?

Breath used for ponies?

Oh dear lord: he’s me! Or, at least he’s being used like I was. I guess this is where the brothers got the idea for their machine. Maybe… maybe he’ll sympathize with me?

“WHICH GEMS WILL YOU STEAL FROM ME, WHELP?! TELL ME SO THAT I MAY STRIKE YOU DOWN IN THEIR NAME!”

Or maybe he’s a blood thirsty death machine.

Doing my best not to piss myself, I actually replied to his question.

“I-I have no need for g-gems or your hoard! I-I already have my own!”

I held the pill out to him with shaky claws. Oh please let this be the Deus ex Machina that saves me!

... But the dragon kept staring at me.

“… Tell me.” He then demanded, finally laying off the Royal Canterlot caps lock.

I took a breath before asking. “T-tell you what?”

The dragon straightened up his back before sitting casually on his tail. He pointed his sharp muzzle downwards so he could look at me.

“Tell me… about your hoard, little one. One as young as you should not have a hoard as mighty as the one I feel from you right now.”

Feel? “Y-you can feel such a thing?”

The dragon actually chuckled goodheartedly. I guess I’ve gone from a potential threat to an amusing oddity... I’m perfectly okay with this.

“You must be another hatching raised by ponies. It is such a shame how much of our lore is lost on the young. Yes, we dragons can feel each others' hoard and it is from this that we gain our inner strength.” He gripped a clawful of gems from one of his piles and allowed it to slip away from his grasp. This action seemed to please him, but his face grew hard again as he turned to look at me. “Yours… seems to rival even mine, little one. So again I demand… tell me of this hoard which rivals my piles of gems and riches.”

Oh dragon dung. “I… I honestly don’t know, M-mr. Dragon! I-I actually lied about having one in fear that you’d think I was going to steal yours! Don’t worry, I still don’t plan to steal yours! I’m not that stupid!”

At least… I hope I’m not.

The adult dragon was taken aback. “You… don’t know your own hoard? You lack the knowledge of what drives the second flame within your heart?”

“S-second flame?”

I could see the pupil in his yellow eye magnify and zoom in on my own. Okay, so I guess that theory I had about dragoneyes was correct. Something’s going right at least. Once he was sure I was paying attention to him, he continued in a rather dramatic fashion. It’d be kind of funny if I wasn’t so sure that he was being dead serious.

“I speak not of the flame of which you breathe. That flame is nothing but a tool; a play thing for hatchlings and a sword for hunters. No... I speak of the flame which burns differently for all dragons; the one that gives you strength, the mightiest flame you’ll ever know… the flame of greed.”

I’m… not sure if I like where this is going.

“Have you never felt it burn within you, whelp? Have you never felt the need to go beyond yourself for the sake of what’s rightfully yours? Nodragon is without a hoard, so tell me of yours.”

“Oh… w-what is mine… mine...”

I…I don’t think I have anything to my name here besides the shirt off my back, and even that belongs to the staff! How can I possibly have a hoard? Also... inner strength? I’ve been nothing but a crying mess ever since I turned into a dragoness! When have I ever felt stro-

...!

My eyes widened as the events of yesterday replayed in my mind.

‘I spat out a warning to Flim, one filled with pure venom and malice. I wasn’t even aware I was capable of such a thing, but if it means protecting those I care about, I will become evil incarnate in order to safeguard what is mine’

...

Crrrrraaaaapppp.

That sinister… fire I felt yesterday within my chest… that has to be it.

Well great. Looks like I can be a killing machine if I put my actual heart in to it.

Lovely...

... But, wait… does that mean…?

“I…I think I have felt it, Mr. Dragon.”

“Then tell me of your hoard, whelp. Tell me so that it might sate my appetite for knowledge.”

“M-my hoard is…”

Oh I can’t believe I’m about to say this to a massive, greed filled, death machine.

“My… friends. They are the hoard that I wish to defend with my very being… at least, that’s what I’m lead to believe from the one time I’ve felt it burn: while standing up for my griffon friend.”

The dragon did not seem to like this totally Kingdom Hearts-ish answer. ‘My friends are my strength!’ Unfortunately it makes sense. Tried as I might, I couldn’t trigger a greed growth by myself. It wasn’t until I met Nate that I felt this fire start to grow within myself and I gained the strength to live my life again.

So, okay, I’ll say it. Despite how cliché, tripe, and overused it is: it seems like something totally acceptable to say here in Equestria.

“My friends are my strength!”

Mr. Dragon looked like he was on the verge of an aneurysm.

“Friends?! Is this what the princess of ponies teaches you whelps?! That in order to feel your greed flame, you must give of yourself to others?!” He banged the floor with a fist, causing the pile and my body to jump up. “Others are only there to either be apart of your hunting pack or to take from your hunting pack! That has been our way for centuries! Bah! You are no longer dragons. You are ponies in stolen scales!” His head drooped. “If this is the future, where hatchlings follow such nonsense and dare to call it their creed, then my kind is as good as dead.”

Oh no… I… I think I can feel that sinister flame, that greed flame, burning again. My mind takes a backseat as my instincts take over and a voice starts to overtake what is left.

This… this oversized lizard is smack talking my beliefs. Mine! I will not let this stand!

I roared at the behemoth. “You will respect my hoard or I will make you respect it, you bastard!”

Aaaaannnnndddd suddenly the flame disappears on me and I’m left with a very pissed off adult dragon and a brain telling me that that was probably the dumbest thing I could have ever done. Note to self, greed flame is not unlimited like my normal flame. Plus, it also makes me do stupid, stupid things.

Wish I knew that before I sealed my fate. “Um… hehe… i-if you don’t mind, that is, M-mr. Dragon...”

He started lowering his head.

“I-I-I’m not a-afraid of you!”

My wings said otherwise as they snapped around myself in an attempt to hide me. This totally startled me.

“Eep!”

And this display of weakness/adorableness did not help my case one bit. I think I’m more of a dragon version of Fluttershy at this point, Vinyl... minus the badassery. Sorry I’ll never get to meet Octavia now... Nate, Mrs. Blue, Mr. Red, my brothers… I’m sorry.

The dragon’s head dropped to the floor, obviously preparing to eat me.

His head grew closer to my shaking body.

I could smell the brimstone, hear his growling, swore I heard a twinkling sound almost like magic…

… And then he sniffed me.

... Da huh?

He lifted his head back up. “… Ah. I see now.”

“Y-you do, Mr. Dragon?” I asked, silently praising the lord for these precious few extra seconds of life.

“You are… the spawn of Lady Crackle.”

Lady Crackle? Really?

... No, wait: more important question to ask here. “H-how did you kno-Burp!”

Before I could finish my question, the dragon’s claw moved at speeds I didn’t know it could pull off and pushed against my belly. This caused me to burp out my orange flames, which he observed closely.

He scratched his chin with his claw. “Hmmmm… you were given her flames and lungs. So bright does your fire burn, and so numerous its forms...”

“I… I was? Umbh!”

I was suddenly flicked across my back by his finger. Ow...

“W-what’s the big ide-”

I stopped my rant, however, when I noticed that the dragon suddenly had a look upon his face: a look like he was reflecting fondly on past memories. He even cracked a smile before his face hardened again and he returned to gazing at me. “Your scales…”

“Y-yes?”

“Your scales…”

He smiled again.

“… Are mine. Strong yet mobile, they are perfect for hunting. Perfect for a warrior... Hehe. It seems you have received the best of both of us, yet gifted with your own colors, my daughter.”

“I… er…”

I’m… I’m sorry folks, but it seems brain.exe has stopped working.

… And has caught on fire.

… And blew up twice.

… And then Derpy came along and…

Eh, you get the point. This will only take a second, please use this time to get some more popcorn. This should be good.

“Y-y-y-y-you're my… my…” Brain.exe is still in the rebooting stage.

“Hmmmm… has eleven winters already passed since I left her? Since I left that…thing?”

I suddenly felt that greed flame acting up again. “T-thing?!”

“Yes… truly a curious creature, your mother. She lacks the proper wings to fly, yet she does. She lacks the knowledge to speak, yet she does. She lacks the brain to think…”

I felt a fireball start to form in my throat. I spoke before it could reach my mouth. “I’d be very careful about those next set of words, daddy.”

He gave me a hard look, before softening it and laughing again.

I don’t find this funny.

I began the countdown until I whipped out good old ‘Revenge’.

Recoil be damned, that’s my mother.

… Kinda.

“3…”

“She lacks the brains to think, hatchling…”

“2…”

“… Yet she held such strong beliefs about the lost art known as ‘family’. Truly a noble trait.”

The flame within me died out again. Once my mind was lucid, I quickly cut off the ‘Revenge’ before I actually launched the darn thing. That would have been stupid. My greed flame seems to make me very stupid. “Families are a ‘lost art’?”

“Yes. Long has it been lost to our kind. We breed for pleasure, not out of love. Lady Crackle was different; she wished to hold on to these bonds between drake and dame long after laying her eggs. A mother dragon is not uncommon, but a father is unheard of.”

Finally some answers. “Really? Why?” This has been bothering me since Iron Will mentioned it to me. Why do male dragons leave their eggs? Like I said that day, it hits close to home so I’m curious.

The dragon answered. “It is because our greed has, and shall forever be, greater than a woman’s. You will share what is yours with your children one day, whelp, willingly growing weaker for their sakes. But they will squander your gift, mother to be, and use it for games. They will eat it and play ‘King of the Hoard’, constantly disrespecting what it yours. This sickens me.”

He shot out a tongue of red flames in anger, lighting the place up and illuminating his entire, giant, hoard. “We do not share what is ours with anydragon, spawn of Crackle! This is the way of man: the proper way. Your way will forever be lost on me.”

The flame of greed ignited for a third time this night, turning this conflict from a simple observation to a personal one for me.

“You don’t… share? That’s the reason?! That’s the stupid reason you left her?!” I balled my claws into fists. “That… is not the way of man! The way of man is to be there for others, to be strong where others are weak! To be so, so selfish, and to only think of yourself is to be a lonely hermit! Your way will forever be lost on me!”

Crapcrapcrapcrap! Come on, brain! Get your lazy flank into gear! Start working again before I take this too far! Crackle is not my mother! I have no need to fight this thing morally!

She is not my mother, this is not my father… yet this is my battle. Mine.

Crap.

My feelings and emotions mixed with rage as I stared up at the creature easily twenty times my size. Size did not matter to my heart, even though it did in my mind. I growled at the beast. He simply laughed back.

“Hehe. Even a domesticated whelp cannot escape her greed. Maybe my kind has hope after all… Tell me, what is your name, spawn?”

My voice was shaky as the flame tried to die off again. This time, I tried to hold it so I could at least speak with some semblance of courage. “I… have none to give you. My egg was stolen long ago by ponies who ponies themselves would claim to be the scum of the earth.”

He actually looked like he cared. I’m unsure if I’m just imagining this or not. “I see… is this how you gained your scars?”

I looked down at myself. My scars were still being covered up by my now dirtied suit’s sleeves. I had ignored Grey’s advice to take it off and I was paying for it.

“How…?”

The room vibrated with another of his chuckles. “The eyes of a dragon see much, whelp, and your scales are my scales. I can tell when they have been abused. Even if I cannot see them clearly, I can still spot the noticeable shifts in formation and the cracks that will remain invisible to your eyes for another hundred years. Your scars lie along your wrists... were you a prisoner like myself?”

I held my glare. My mind started to return to me. “Y-yes. I was.”

“Enslaved for your fire?”

“… Yes.”

“… Hehe. Like father like spawn, it would seem, except you are now free while my chains remain.”

I finally took a hard look around this dragon’s lair… and I saw no chains. I told him as much. “I see no chains… father.”

“Ah. This is because it is not a chain of steel or magic that holds me, it is a chain of fear. We are on the sea, are we not?”

“Y-yes. On a ship called the S.S. Luna Returner.”

A low growling emanated from the mighty dragon. “Then I am within the domain of them: the sea serpents and their masters. Both their kinds do not take kindly to ours. We breathe fire, they breathe water. We claim the mountains and sky as ours, they take the sea and all within it. We have no masters, they bow to their mortal gods... As long as I am on the sea, even in the docks I am not safe. Thus I remain here, by orders of the princess of ponies, eating… this.”

His tongue shot out of his mouth and licked up the pill that was still in my claw. He flung it into the air and snapped his jaw around it. I heard an audible swallowing noise.

It almost sounded like he was purring… evilly purring. “This… nourishes me like a full meal, but it lacks taste. I would eat my own hoard, but then I would grow weaker. It is a dangerous balancing act that I play, whelp, if I wish to live for another hundred years.”

I started piecing this puzzle together. “So… you either comply and get to eat, or you rebel and you’re left to literally swim with the fishes.”

He nodded his head. “Yes. I am left here to wait until those charged as my wardens die of old age or the princess deems me fit to return to my kind, who will not take me back because of my imprisonment. Truly, this is a fate worst then death. Leave me now, whelp; I do not wish for another dragon, let alone my own spawn, to see me as such.”

... Why won’t this stupid flame go out?! I felt the need to rebel once more against my father, all for the sake of greed. If my mind was still my own, I would have guessed that family was also a part of my hoard, not just friends.

“Oh, so now you wish to acknowledge me as your own! Should I be touched and honored, father?!”

Once again he only chuckled. “It seems you still lack the control of your own flame, spawn of Crackle. I will allow you this victory, however. Not because I am beaten, but because I find your greed flame amusing. It burns so much like your mother’s. Willing to die for the sake of what’s yours, yours will burns for as long as you need it to burn.

"Yet… I feel some of my own mixed in as well. Your flame doesn’t merely give you strength and courage, it gives you size and presence. Many will come to fear you, in time, so I would like a name now. Tell me, what should I call you if not as a whelp or spawn?”

Nuts. Will this be a good thing or a bad thing? The flame of greed is still burning within me, so I’m talking from the heart instead of logically. I named myself Cog sort of as a spur of the moment thing. It’s just a word that kept popping up as I thought back on how Flim and Flam treated me. I was nothing more than a tool to them, after all. There was no real meaning behind it other than as a hurtful nickname that I’d hope Nate would eventually get sick of calling me once he realized that it was kinda hurtful. As for my official name... well I still have no clue! I have, like, ten different ideas! I’m so indecisive!

Again, maybe speaking from the heart will help me finally decide.

“… Cogwill.”

“Cog… will?”

I’m… just as confused as the big guy here. Cog I understand, but Will? Weird… but it feels right, somehow.

I continued. My voice was honest and no longer shaky. Greed fire is good for something, it seems.

“Yes, Cogwill. It is my last name, my first being dedicated to whatever it is my mother Crackle wanted it to be. Someday I will find her so that I may ease her pain. For now, Cogwill. Cog so that I may never forget the hardships I’ve endured, and Will so that I may honor the man who wanted me to become a part of his family: Iron Will. I still hope that someday we will be reunited.”

My heart... is oddly poetic. So Will for Iron Will… okay. I think my mind is saying that it likes this, but I can’t really tell at the moment. The first name thing is odd though... do I really want to hunt down Crackle?

Ugh. I need my mind to take charge again so I can sort this out for myself.

“Ah, a name dedicated to your hoard. We are much more alike than you think, Cogwill. The name of your father is Emeraldgrey of the Everfree. Do not forget this, whelp. Now... LEAVE MY DOMAIN!”

“Eep!”

With that I scurried back up the steps; the last of my greed flame going out as well as the last of my resolve.

***^***

Slam!

The sound of the cellar door closing, leaving all that lives down there where it belongs. I panted madly, completely out of breath after my encounter with Emeraldgrey. My mind finally returned to me as well so I was able to think clearly again.

The Crackle comment came totally out of left field. Why did I say that I would ‘ease her pain’?

Maybe… maybe I accidentally combined my feelings of home, with my own mother who’s missing me, with Crackle? That could make sense… but right now, even though I can think again, I don’t want to think! I just talked to a giant freaking dragon and avoided getting eaten, twice! If I start thinking about it anymore I think I’m going to have a nervous breakdown!

I allowed myself to slide down onto my tail, my legs finally giving up the juice.

“I… I…”

“Wow. Daddy issues much?”

"Oh sweet merciful God!"

I jumped backwards as Vinyl Scratch popped out of nowhere and nearly caused me to finally loss control over my precious bladder.

My poor, poor brain. “W-where, when, how?!”

Vinyl seemed just as laidback and calm as ever. “Whoa! Chill, girl. Relaaaxx! You’re safe now. Have to say... pretty awesome how you stuck it to your old man like that!”

“You… you saw all that?!”

“Yup yup, sure did Cogwill! Hey, I’ve actually been to one of Iron Will’s shows! Guys pretty cool... Not as cool as me, obviously, but him and his goats sure do know how to party! You say you’re part of that family? Neato!”

Cogwill… yup, she heard us alright. Does that mean she heard about the…?

-Gulp-

“How… how much did you actually hear, Vinyl?”

“The whole darn thing, filly! Hoards, greed, fire! Totally metal, girl! But man, you’re such a softy, Cogy! ‘My friends are my strength!’ Seriously? Haha! Looks like you’re finally setting yourself apart from Octy… but not by much! Don’t worry, you're still cool in my books! But I have to say though, it’s not nice to lie to your daddy like that~”

I wiped away some sweat as I tried to recover from all the back to back shocks. After a moment I realized what Vinyl had just said.

“Lied? When did I lie?”

“Oh you know, the ponies enslaving you bit? Look, I know I tried to squeeze some sympathy out of my folks when I was a filly by telling a couple white lies, but come on, evil ponies? That right there is an oxymoron. It just doesn’t happen! Now, if you had said it was diamond dogs…”

“Doesn’t happen?!” I snapped at the DJ.

She stopped her rant in mid-sentence and looked at me. Her ever present smile remained. “Yeah… doesn’t happen, Cogy. It’s, like, physically impossible for ponies to be that evil or something. We’re a bit different from you dragons after all... which stinks because I would totally breathe fire all the time if I could! Late to work? Fire breath! Long line? Fire breath! Bad date? Magically fling a table at him like I do… but not before setting it on fire with your fire breath! Oh and if your parole officer shows up-”

“Vinyl, please!” I yelled at her again, causing her to stop. “Vinyl… I wasn’t lying. Earlier you overheard me telling Mrs. Blue how Nate saved me from imprisonment. That was done to me by two ponies known as the Flim Flam brothers. T-they tortured me and treated me like nothing more than an animal..." -Sniff- "W-why would you think I would lie about something so horrible?!”

Vinyl stared as the stress finally got to me and I started crying in front of her.

J-just... just no more, please... I've had enough crap already...

“… But Cogy, it doesn’t happen. Ponies aren’t evil, nuff said. So again, you were lying, simple as that.”

I gave Vinyl a hard stare, tears still falling freely. “L-lying… would I lie about these?!” I rolled up my sleeves in order to show off the scars around my wrists.

The DJ looked at them for a second and then scoffed them off.

“Fake.”

My blood pressure was steadily rising.

“F-fake?!”

She cocked her head to the side. “Yeah… fake. Trust me, I’ve seen fake scars before, girl. Heck, when I was your age I made plenty of them to get back at my folks! I even faked losing a hoof! I’ll admit, these are pretty good ones though. You just have to share your secre-”

I yanked my wrists away from Vinyl and rolled my sleeves back down.

I’ve… had enough.

“Vinyl… I just…" -Sigh- "Thank you for looking after Nate tonight, and thank you for the book… but I’m afraid I can’t be friends with somepony as flippant as you.”

After wearing it all day and seemingly being incapable of losing it, Vinyl finally dropped her smile. A look of pure hurt crossed her face, even with the glasses blocking her eyes.

“But… Cogy…”

I was standing by my actions. “Real friends do more than buck a few ponies in the face for you, they give you the benefit of the doubt at least. If you refuse to believe my story, i-if you refuse..." -Sniff- "T-to even so much as consider that ponies hurt me and that my pain was real…" -Sob- "T-then this is goodbye, Scratch.”

Vinyl reached her hoof out in an attempt to say something, but I didn’t give her a chance as I bolted out of the room.

A line of teardrops followed in my wake.

***^***

As I left the kitchen and started running through the hallways, I felt this… pain in my chest. I guess one could say that it was the pain of a broken heart, but this pain was very much physical and real. I… I guess this is how it feels to lose a piece of your hoard, to lose a piece of yourself. I suddenly feel really angry towards Rarity and Spike for trying to steal from those red and green drag-

My pace abruptly stopped. I both needed a rest from the running and a sit down to take in the revelation that just hit me.

‘The princess of ponies banished me from my own cave the last time I dared to defend what was rightfully mine from one of her domesticated dragon whelps… the name of your father is Emeraldgrey of the Everfree.’

Emeraldgrey... my ‘father’, was the green dragon in Owl’s Well That Ends Well. Celestia banished him for settling in the Everfree Forest, a place away from her ponies.

Does… does that mean I’m not welcomed in Equestria?

...

I… I think I’m too high-strung right now to think about this. I just lost a friend after all.

What I need, right now, is to be with a true friend. I need to see Nathan right away… so that I can hug him tightly.

It didn’t take long to find him, however, as just as I got up and turned the corner…

“Ow!”

Nathan crashed into me, causing the both of us to tumble to the floor.

“Cog!” He quickly tried to get me back on my feet and drag me off somewhere.

“Nate? What’s wrong, Nate?”

“I-it’s, it’s. itsitsitsitsits!”

“Nate! Nathan calm, down!”

Nate held himself as he finally took a breath. I used this time to wipe away some tears and to steady myself out. This must be important. I’ll break down later.

I crossed my arms in an attempt to look fine, when I’m clearly not. “Good. N-now… tell me what’s wrong.”

“T-they’re here, Cog! They found us! F-f-f-f…”

F?

… Oh dear God, no. Not now!

“H-how? How did those two make it here?!”

“T-the captain wants you to see him about that, Co-”

“Hide in the staffs' quarters, Nate.”

I didn’t even let him finish before I dashed away again.

***^***

I had ran all the way to the bridge only for Mr. Bo, who was currently watching the wheel, to tell me that the captain was waiting for me in the second kitchen. If I had just waited for Nate… bah!

The other kitchen is on the complete opposite side of the ship, on the first floor. I stepped outside in order to take a short cut.

This was the first time I had stepped outside all day.

Everything was so calm and peaceful. The ocean stretched out in all directions and the moon reflected so beautifully on the still surface. The smell of seawater drifted in on ocean airs, and not a single other pony was out to enjoy this sight.

I really wish I had the time to enjoy all this myself... but, if those two flankholes are on this ship, then I will never have another peaceful moment until I find out why.

So I jumped off the railing of the fourth story bridge; it being the highest point of the ship. I stretched my wings out and glided around the edge until I was on the main deck. Flying seems to be easier if you’re in a hurry or have a goal on your mind when performing it...

Once I landed I ran to the closest door I could find and then through the ship. Eventually I reached kitchen #2 and found standing outside the door…

“Hello there, dragon.”

“H... hello there, Grey… I heard you wanted to talk to me.”

“Yes... but first, how did Emeraldgrey treat you?”

“… He turned out to be my father, sir.”

Grey cocked an eyebrow. “Really now? Small world. I hope you’re not planning on letting him go, girly. We need his fire to run this ship. He’s a prisoner of the state, after all, for trespassing on a pony settle-”

I stomped my foot. “Frankly, sir, I don’t give a damn about him. I wonder what purpose you had in showing me him, but I can find that out later one way or another. What I do care about, however, are the bastards who gave me my scars. I heard they were here…”

Grey stroked his blasted beard again. “Such a feisty tongue on one so young… I see the resemblance to Emerald now.” He knocked off the stroking and stood firm. “Yes, dragon; we have a Mr. Apple Flim and a Mr. Apple Flam here onboard right now. They tried to sneak on under the cover of darkness using a small, two stallion boat only a couple of hours ago.”

Apple Flim, Apple Flam... He got their real names out of them... He’s telling the truth. “How did they know where to go, if I may ask, sir?”

Grey held out a scroll to me with a wing. “They used this.”

I took it from him and looked at the seal. ‘F.F.’

“Where did this come from, sir?”

“From you, dragon.”

I dropped the scroll in shock.

“What?! When?!”

“You were with us for about seven hours today, dragon. It came in the same way every other scroll came in... through your mouth.”

I was absolutely furious. “W-why didn’t you tell me?! They have a tracking spell on this damn thing!”

Grey, that bastard, shrugged me off! “Because I wanted to meet these two ponies for myself. From the sound of it, they're using a similar system to us. Maybe we could strike up a deal; share some secrets, make both our techs top of the line. Mutual exchange and all that.”

Damn it all! Damn it damn it damn it all! He’s another racist pony! He doesn’t care whose getting hurt as long as it’s not a pony! Where’s that freaking greed flame when I need it?! When I finally do need the damn thing it doesn’t want to burn! Guess I’ll just have to rely on my own strength... good thing I’ve got plenty of anger to back it up.

I grabbed Grey by the collar of his uniform and dragged him down to my eye level. “Strike up a deal?! A deal for what, slavery?! Emeraldgrey is a criminal; he shouldn’t have tried to attack a citizen of Equestria. Using him is a reasonable punishment for someone as dangerous as him… but what about me, sir? What the hell did I do to deserve being strung up to a wall and electrocuted…”

I barked out, and each time my mouth opened flames escaped my throat and threatening to scorch Grey.

“Over!”

More flame.

“And over!”

And one last mighty tongue, almost hitting his hat.

“And over again?! What the hell did I do to deserve that, sir?!”

He stood there stone-faced. I was unable to squeeze out even the tiniest spec of emotion from the bucking robot. “… Dragon, I suggest you get your filthy claws off me right now if you don’t want to get tossed overboard.”

I tightened my grip.

“… Your griffon friend will be joining you.”

I let go. D-damn it all.

“Just… just tell me where those two are… sir. I need to have a little… chat, with them.”

“They're working in this kitchen as we speak.”

... He just can’t seem to stop pissing me off.

“What?! Why aren’t they being detained or something?! Why?!”

“Because that’s not how I run my ship, dragon. They aren’t criminals, they're stowaways. They have to work off their debt just the same as you. I’ll be expecting you to work with them tomorrow.”

N-no. Why… why is this happening?

“You… you’re a bastard, sir.”

“That’s captain to you, whelp.”

And with that he fluttered away, leaving me at the kitchen door... the only thing separating me from… them.

What… what do I do now?

…

I… I need to see them.

Carefully, I opened the door and peaked inside.

“Lousy dishes. Why are we being forced to clean all these without magic, brother of mine?”

“Because we were foalish enough to get caught, Flim.”

There they were; Flim and Flam, cleaning dishes. I slowly let myself in and snuck up behind them, being extra careful care not to scratch the floor or do anything else that would alert them to me being here.

Flim kept talking while cleaning. “If we had just waited a bit longer, we could have grabbed her and left with enough time to sail home!”

Flam didn’t take his eyes off his dish. His mustache seems to have been restored to its former ‘glory’ since I last saw him. “Well we didn’t, Flim, so now we just have to put up with this humiliation for now. At least we can try to figure out where the dragon sleeps in the meantime.”

“Ah yes! Then all we need to do is secure a life boat and enough food and we can make it back to Equestria in time for the running of the leaves! That will surely be our next big break, Flam!”

“Indeed it will, but only after we get all our pieces back together, brother of mine.”

“Yes, we can’t have a machine missing a cog or two, can we boys?” I added.

Flim turned his head to the side to answer me, not really paying attention to who he was talking to. “That’s right, my good filly. We need every piece in place if we are to make it bi-”

That’s when I jumped onto this back, gripped his head with my two claws, and smashed it against the side of the sink. I jumped off and fluttered in place as his body collapsed and hit the floor. The sink had a nice dent in it now. Good. Flam heard the noise and quickly turned his head to face me with horn glowing bright green.

Landing, I lifted Flim's unconscious body up by the horn with one claw and held my other claw to his throat.

I growled. “Ah-ah-ah; one false move and it’ll become the Flam solo show, flankhole.”

Flam’s horn stopped glowing. “Damn… dragon.”

I tightened my grip on the horn. “The name’s Cogwill now, not 'dragon'. You will address me as such for now on… well go on…” I pressed my claws closer along the flesh of Flim’s neck. “Say it.”

“…”

“Aww, what’s the matter, Flam? Dragon got your brother’s throat?”

“… I refuse to call you by that name, dragon.”

I pressed even harder against the flesh. I felt as the tips pierced the skin and started drawing blood. “And why not, Flam?”

Flam stood firm in the face of my threat. His face didn’t show any trace of fear. “… We don’t speak to our seat cushions nor do we name our tubes. We don’t grow our apples and we don’t kiss our gramophone goodnight.” His eyes narrowed as he leaned down and looked me in the eyes. “Don’t think of yourself as any more important than any other piece of our machine, dragon. You're our battery and will never be anything more or less than that.”

“…”

“…”

My claw started to shake. D-damn it all, I just blew my act. I… I just can’t kill.

“…” I tossed Flim at Flam, he didn’t even attempt to catch his brother. I turned my back to them. “… You’re not worthy of my time either, you flankholes. Stay the hell away from me, o-or else.”

With that I started to walk away from the two and out the door. I’ve had enough crap tonight.

Flam called out one more time though, causing me to stop my retreat. “Don’t think you can hide behind talkers forever, dragon! When we find that griffon kid of yours…”

And thus the flame of greed erupted into a mighty sun within my heart

My mind was gone

All that remained was pure rage

I used its strength to launch myself at Flam and lift him off the ground. Was I flying, or was I standing? My brain couldn’t process what was happening… just that it was. My body felt heavier and everything seemed smaller... It mattered not… all that mattered was protecting what was mine. I wrapped one claw around Flam’s scrawny neck and used the other to steady myself against the back wall. His horn scrapped the ceiling as he started to panic.

I roared in Flam’s face with a voice that was not my own. It was instead a mixture of many thing; my own, my old one from earth, and a primal beast’s war cry. “If you so much as look at Nate the wrong way, if I find out that you laid one hoof on him or made him cry…”

The other two voices suddenly vanished, leaving only the beast’s behind. “I will feast on your flesh and use your damn horns as toothpicks. I will make you bare witness to your brother's end as I burn him alive.

"Do no try to hide. Do not try to run: I, will, KILL, YOU, FLAM! I WILL REND YOUR BODY, I WILL MELT YOUR HIDE, I WILL LEAVE NOTHING BEHIND OF YOU IN THIS WORLD!! AND THEN, ONCE YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THEN A MEMORY, I WILL ENTER TARTARUS ITSELF IN ORDER TO EXTINGUISH YOUR DAMN SOUL!!!"

With his heart finally reaching its limit, Flam passed out in my grip. He was so frail and weak... Just one small motion… just one small push... and I could snap his neck and end all his evil.

Just one small squeeze…

I tightened my grip.

One tiny push…

His still form started turning blue.

… And I’ll kill him.

Kill him…

K-kill…

That one little thought made it through to my brain and caused me to let go of Flam, allowing him to fall to the floor in a heap next to his equally damaged brother. I looked at my claws.

They… were colossal.

Well over three times the size they normally were, my claws look like they could slice through solid rock. I took a step back, only to discover that my legs weren’t on the ground anymore. I wasn’t flying either, instead I was standing on my now stretched out tail. The forked portion was pushing the door on the opposite side of the room open. With much effort; I managed to jump off the scaly, spiny monster and to my thankfully normal sized legs. I turned to the right and looked at myself in the reflection of the kitchen fridge.

I… did not like what I saw.

No doubt about it… this was Greed Growth.

My once puny horns were now fully matured; no longer did they only barely poke out from my hair, they now resembled Iron Will’s horns more than anything. They stood perpendicular to each other as they stretched out of the back of my head. It looked natural on my new face, which came complete with a new muzzle that looked full-grown and sharp. I looked like Emeraldgrey with hair, I even grew fins at the sides of my head.

D-damn it... I guess we are related.

My tail was almost a yard and a half long, explaining how I was able to lift Flam up so easily.

Although my legs were moments ago dangling uselessly up in the air, they weren't completely untouched. Even now, they were leaving scratch marks on the cold, metal floor.

Finally, my wings now draped on the floor as well. The fingers felt so heavy, like they were carrying over two tons worth of weight. The membrane was so massive that, if I tried, I bet I could wrap them around myself twice over…

… But I didn’t want to try.

I didn’t want any of this.

The dragon in the mirror wasn’t me.

This dragon looked like she could kill.

The blood on her claws made it look like she did kill.

T-that’s not me.

That’s just not me.

I’m… not a monster.

… Am I?

Pop!

As if to answer me, my form suddenly reverted back to its original configuration. The flame within me disappeared once again and the remains of my dirtied suit fell to the wayside. My new fins even disappeared. My brain was mine again… and I hated it.

I looked in the mirror, saw the little dragon girl I had become again, and cried.

T-this isn’t me either.

It once was, -sniff-, b-but now I don’t know!

Nothing feels normal anymore! I have no status quo in my life now…

I’m… w-who am I supposed to be?

I…

-Sniff-

… I think I need to go see Nate.

Yes… I need to go see my friend right now more than anything.

He’s… the one bit of normalcy I have left.

I stepped out of the kitchen and headed back to our sleeping quarters. I walked in silence and was dead to the world. I didn’t even bother to clean up the dried blood left on my claws that came from Flim’s throat.

I entered the staff’s quarters after a half hour of wondering mindlessly. Mrs. Blue cried out apologies and Mr. Red looked somber for reasons I couldn’t comprehend.

... I didn’t care about them though. I needed one thing and one thing only right now.

I needed my friend.

The first thing I did when I finally found Nate was hug him as tightly as I could and cry on his shoulder like I had during that beautiful sunrise when he saved me for the first time.

... A voice in the back of my mind gave me a single warning before I gripped him…

… Be careful not to crush him.

Nate suddenly looked so fragile.

So incredibly fragile.

This only made me cry even harder.

***^***

“Cog? Cog deary? You need to get up, we have at least one more hour to work here before we can sleep.”

I lifted my head up from my pillow, its casing had long been soaked completely thanks to my tears.

“Just… just five more minutes, please Mrs. Blue?”

Blue smiled gloomily as she fluttered to the bed and started slowly stroking my hair. “I’m sorry dear. I’m so, so sorry, but we already gave you your five minutes. Any more and Grey will throw a fit and make things worse for you. Just handle this one room service order, this tiny easy order, and you’ll be done for the night. Okay, sweetheart?”

“… Okay. I’m coming.”

I got up from the bed slowly and left the room. Mrs. Blue had a new suit for me and had thankfully not asked what had happened to the last one. Nate sat with me for a full hour when I came back and listened to what happened. I did my best to tell him as much as I was comfortable with, but I got as far as ‘talked to Flim and Flam’ before I broke down again. P-please don’t make me ever have to tell Nate about my greed growth. Please… c-can't I just ask for this much?

Anyways... he stayed with me as long as he could, but Grey came in again and made him get back to work. Nate tried his best to fight back against him, but I told him it was okay and he left reluctantly after that.

I’m… still not feeling so hot... but I guess I just have to truck on.

Hehe. Oh what a joke I am. Given the once in a lifetime chance to come to a land filled with magic and mystical creatures, and the only thing I actually do here is cry and cry and cry some more.

I’m so… pathetic.

After dipping my head under a sink and doing my best to clean up the tears, I put on the suit and approached Mrs. Blue.

“Okay Blue... what do you need me to do?”

She handed me a bucket with her teeth. I took it out of her grip so she could talk to me. “Just deliver this fresh bucket of water and hot towel to room 661, dear. Poor mare in there has been sick this whole cruise and hasn’t come out... She says this is her first time on a ship and was unaware that she would get seasick this badly.”

“Okay… okay, I’ll deliver it.”

Blue patted me on the head. “There there, dear. Even if the captain is a bit of a jerk, rest assured that you’ve got a friend in Red and me…” she chuckled weakly. “Even if that lazy pyromaniac fell asleep already.”

“You also have me, Cog.”

I turned to Nate who had just returned with a bucket being draped over his one good outstretched wing.

Yeah… at least I have him.

He dropped the bucket he was carrying in order to give me one last encouraging hug before I exited the room.

***^***

Even singing couldn’t help me to leave this funk. In fact, I think it made it worse.

“This day has been just awful, the kind of day that I will dread for days to come~ I lost a good friend (that’s sad), met my deadbeat dad (that’s bad); oh how could this day get annnny woooorse~?”

... -Sniff-

Sighing, I tried to calm myself. I was about to reach the room, after all. “659, 660, 661... Here we go.”

I ignored the name plate as I knocked on the door. Seen one celebrity’s over exaggerated title for him or herself, you’ve seen them all.

“W-who is it?”

“Room service, ma’am. I’ve come to bring you a new towel and bucket, along with the staffs' wishes for you to feel better.”

At this point I’m just going through the motions. I’m sure I sounded monotone-ish, but I couldn’t care less. Even better, I know I heard this voice somewhere before, but I just don’t feel like placing a voice to a pony right now.

“O-oh, yes, of course. Please come in, darling. The doors unlocked.”

I jiggled the handle and stepped inside. Unsure how doorknobs still exist here, but again, at this point I don’t really give a fu-

...

... And that’s when my brain shut down again, but this time it wasn’t from another greed flame spark... it was because I entered the room and saw who it was I was assisting.

And I just couldn't believe my eyes.

“Oh, how curious, a baby dragon… dear? Are you okay?”

“I… I, er, w-was just absolutely blown away by you lovely hat, ma’am.”

The pony chuckled. “Oh, I see. Well even if I’m unable to move about the ship, I still must look my best for passersby and for helpful room service workers, such as yourself.”

“I… appreciate the gesture, ma’am. I’m so sorry you were unable to attend today’s festivities onboard the ship.”

“Oh yes, and I’m sorry as well. Because of my own weakness I have been unable to meet any of the famous ponies onboard! I am truly squandering a precious gift here, and that does nopony any good!”

I laughed at her outburst. “I’m sure you’ll get another chance someday, Miss. Just keep trying!”

She laughed at my remark. “I thank you, dear. Such a kind thing to say...”

I could feel my face start to heat up again, so I decided that I should really try to wrap this up before I do something stupid in front of her of all ponies.

“Well, here you go, ma’am. I’m afraid I must run along now. Again, I hope that you feel better again soon!”

I turned to leave, but I suddenly felt a tug on my tail.

“Oh… oh I’m sorry, darling, but I simply must do something with that lovely mane of yours. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t thank you in some way!”

“I, er, t-thank you again, ma’am, but I really…”

“Dear, I must insist... something has brought you to tears this night, hasn’t it?”

“I… I..." -Sniff- "Y-yeah. I’ve just… been having a bad day, ma’am.”

“Would you like to talk abo-umbh... That was close. Oh I’m dreadfully sorry. This boat rocks so much, it’s hard for a lady to keep her lunch down!”

“I-its okay ma’am. Please, just rest. Worry about yourself a bit more.” I offered her the first non-forced smile I had given out in a long time this day. “It makes me happy to see others happy.”

“Haha, oh darling, that’s a lovely motto to live by. Oh, but just a quick spell, please? It won’t take more than a second.”

“B-but won’t that just make you si-”

Pop!

She… wasn’t lying about it taking only a second. She seems fine though, so that's a relief.

Twinkletwinkle

A mirror was levitated down to me. My hair, which usually lies limply on my spiny back, had been tied up into a ponytail with a green scrunchie. It rested on the upper half of my head; high enough so that it wouldn’t interfere with my flapping wings even when on all fours. The front of my hair was left the way it had been, except brushed down and matted this time to give off an innocent look when combined with the ponytail.

The pony scoffed. “Oh dear... Not my most amazing creation, that's for sure. I guess I’m more under the weather then I thought... I’m sorry for taking up you time, darling.”

“N-no no, ma’am! It’s practical yet stylish… I, I love it! Thank you!”

“Oh, thank you, dear! That is such a relief... I don’t think I could have lived with myself if I had left you with something you hated! I just wish I could have added a bit more pizzazz… wait! I have just the thing~”

A bright red bow was suddenly tied to my right horn, completing the look. It was encrusted with emeralds.

“I… I… t-this is too much for me to take, ma’a-”

But she held up her hoof. “Think nothing of it, darling. A lady should look their best and you look like a lady who desperately needed a makeover this day.” She returned my earlier smile. “Please, keep the bow, dear. It brings out your eyes so nicely. Now, I’m sorry for keeping you. I’m sure you must be ever so busy with the rest of the guests this night... Please try to have a good rest of the evening, dear, and try to prevent anymore tears from tarnishing your lovely face!”

I gave her the biggest smile I could muster. “I-I will! Thank you so much, ma’am! I hope you feel better soon!”

And with that I skipped out of the room, making sure not to mess up my new look. I turned around one final time, as the door closed behind me, to look at the name plate that I had so foolishly ignored earlier.

I sighed and smiled dreamily. “Ms. Lady Rarity of Ponyville. Thank you… thank you so much for just being yourself.”

And thus I walked back to my room with a spring in my step: my spirit returned and my faith in this world restored. The future seemed brighter

…

But only two days remained to save the Element of Generosity

Author's Note

Artwork by More Dakka!

(Very minor discolor on the spines on this next one... but who honestly gives a flying feather? Not me, THAT's for sure XD)

Chapter 7: To Be Heard, Day 4

Chapter 7, To be Heard, Day 4

~Day 4: In Kitchen #1 of the S.S. Luna Returner, close to midnight~

Scrubscrubscrub…

The sound of dishes being scrubbed clean.

Brushbrushbrush…

The sound of dishes being dried.

…

The silence that hangs heavily over the three stowaways. Two cream colored unicorn stallions, one wearing a pair of black eyes and the other shaking madly. A young girl stands between them, her emerald scales shine in the artificial lighting.

The girl turns her head towards the shaking one. He cowers in fear. This causes the dragon to smile wickedly.

She then turns to the one who lacks a mustache, the one with the black eyes. It’s easy for him to fake it with his damaged face, but he too is fearful of the girl; fearful of the one who scared his brother so and who claimed to be a minion of Discord. “That becomes more and more plausible with each passing day,” he ponders.

Snap!

Time freezes as the three remain frozen in place.

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

A clock ticks away as our performance continues; its pace remaining steadfast and unchanging as we draw closer to a pivotal moment. An event is about to take place that will change the fate of many a creature; dragon, griffon, and pony alike. Cogwill has come far since she escaped… how far she will go remains to be seen.

But…

She is just one of the players on this stage. Hers is the tale we follow, but a single story can be told through the eyes of many.

So… let us turn back the clock once more, but only briefly, as we join our second participant in this grand play.

***^***

~Day 3: In Kitchen #1 of the S.S. Luna Returner, close to ten at night~

“Vinyl… I just… sigh. Thank you for looking after Nate tonight and thank you for the book… but I’m afraid I can’t be friends with somepony as flippant as you.”

...

F... f-flippant?! Did she just call me flippant?! B-but that’s the exact word Octy used right before she…

… No.

No! Oh please tell me this isn’t happening again!

“But… Cogy…” I croaked, my voice losing strength as I feared for the worse.

But Cogwill straightened herself up and fought back her tears in response. Oh no, she’s… she’s being serious!

Though she was shaking, her words were fierce. “Real friends do more than buck a few ponies in the face for you; they give you the benefit of the doubt at least. If you refuse to believe my story, i-if you refuse, -sniff-, t-to even so much as consider that ponies hurt me and that my pain was real, -sob-, t-then this is goodbye, Scratch.”

“No! Cogy, wait!”

Slam!

But she had already ran out the door, leaving me to myself and my thoughts.

“I’m… alone again.”

Snap!

The scene freezes as time stops once more. The DJ’s hoof remains outstretch in a desperate attempt to recall the runaway dragon.

The Great DJ Pon-3: party filly extraordinaire. One of Equestria’s most famous faces, one of her ‘national landmarks’ according to Music Weekly Magazine. Where ever she goes, she leads a crowd. Whenever she raises a hoof, it starts a riot. When she hits the stage, everypony listens.

Truly a gifted pony.

Truly a lonely pony.

This is her story as well, one of growing up and redemption. Her meeting with Cogwill will be the turning point of her life and, in time, their friendship will be the beginning of something far greater than themselves. They will both come to touch many lives in their own unique ways, together.

But for now, the young bond has been severed…

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

The passage of time flows freely again as we return once more to the eyes of the DJ

…

This… this can’t be happening. This can’t be happening again! I’m Vinyl Scratch, the most popular DJ in Equestria! I’m loved the world over and I have a legion of loyal fans! I can’t take one step outside my front door without somepony asking for my autograph!

...

But… now I have no real friends to my name…

… Again…

… For like the sixth time this month.

... Ugh! So pissed at myself!

I give myself a piece of my mind, uncaring if anypony hears me or not. “Well way to go, Scratchy! You finally meet a new girl who doesn’t instantly have a fangasm the moment you say hi and you…!”

I quickly slapped myself across the face with my eggshell white hoof, being careful not to mess up my signature shades.

I yelled at myself some more. “Come on, Vinyl, keep it together! Y-you didn’t cause this! Cogy is just… overreacting, that’s all! She’s just so caught up in making her little lie real and getting pity from everypony that she overplayed herself! Ha! You can do better than her, filly! I mean, if those were real scars then her fur would totally…”

I stopped my self-rant when something dawned on me.

“… Wait. Cogy… Cogy doesn’t have fur. She has scales… S-scars on scales would look different, wouldn’t they? Like… more shiny and dent-y… and like maybe… maybe a little plastic-y. Like… plastic scars for ponies…”

Silence filled the kitchen.

A revelation strikes me. “T-those scars might have been real, now that I think about it…”

And then the revelation strikes me hard. I took a step back as the pieces started falling into place, painting a very disturbing image.

“Oh my Celestia. She… she might have been telling the truth! A-and I… I…”

Another slap across the face from yours truly knocked that weaksauce off. Really glad I didn’t wear horseshoes today...

“Snap out of it, girl! Okay, so she might have been telling me the truth! Maybe! B-but that doesn’t excuse the fact that she yelled at me! I bucked those ponies in the face for her and her coltfriend, hooked her up with a book, and went down into that scary flank cellar without her knowing! I was so ready to stealth kill a freaking dragon for her, had my horn trained on it and glowing and everything! Cogy is just being ungrateful! Bah, I don’t want to think about this anymore! Screw Cogy, I don’t need her…”

…

Cogy’s words echoed in the resulting silence.

‘Real friends do more than buck a few ponies in the face for you…’

I cringed. “… No, conscience, not cool bro.”

‘… They give you the benefit of the doubt at least.’

“Shut up, conscience! I’m not listening! Blah blah blah blah!”

‘… I-if you refuse, -sniff-, to even so much as consider...’

I covered my ears in an attempt to block off what I knew was to come. “Shut up shut up shut up! Don’t take me back there! I don’t need to go back there!”

‘… t-then this is goodbye, Scratch.’

…

A new voice fills in the blank.

‘This is goodbye, Vinyl. I’m sorry, but I can no longer be friends with somepony as flippant as you.’

Lifting my head, I yelled at the phantom. “Octy! Don’t leave me! D-don’t go… Cogy…”

I’m… still talking to myself…

I groaned, however my lips produced a sad grin. “Those two girls… so amazingly similar, like they share the same soul or something… Heh, they even left me the same way."

Thinking back to this afternoon, I remembered what I had told Cogy when we first really met, when I told her she reminded me of Octy. “Hehe, ‘if only she didn’t have that gig in Flillydelphia’, I said... I forgot to add ‘and also if she didn’t hate my guts’...”

This… is totally uncool. I’m the registered party filly of this ship! I’m not supposed to cry or be making somedragon cry!

… But I did just that. I made her leave me like I made my BPFF, Octy, leave me.

Why… why do I keep chasing off my friends? I’ve blamed Octy for so long, thinking that it was her own fault for ending our friendship…

… Yet, here I meet another girl just like her. I find her bored out of her mind in a ballroom like I did with Octy, she speaks politely, civilized, yet slightly snarky like Octy, her mane flows freely like Octy’s, and she laughs and blushes like Octy does whenever I’m just being myself! Perfect friend material, I thought!

… And now she hates me just like Octy hates me.

I did so much for her tonight, yet I was so wrapped up in being full of myself that I wasn’t there when she actually needed me; when she needed a shoulder to cry on, not a fake’s.

And I wasn’t there for Octy when she needed me the most, when she needed somepony to stand by her side and help her not lose hope during what she considered the darkest point in her career.

… And I simply ignored her…

I ignored them both like I did with everypony else who I called my ‘friend’.

I…

I guess I just wasn’t meant to be a good friend…

…

No.

No, I’m… going to put an end to that. I’m going to put an end to this right now. No more Ms. Jerky Pon-3!

I stood up tall and waved my balled up hoof epically in the air. “Cogy, we only just met. Our friendship was young and therefore easily breakable. Logically it shouldn’t be easily repairable as well, but screw logic! Even if it kills me, I’m going to do just that! No more ‘the next one will be different’ excuses!”

Readjusting my shades, I turned towards the door. “I’m not going to loss anypony else. As Celestia is my awesome witness; I’m going to be yours and Octy’s friend again, Cogy, and stay your friend this time. No more lonely nights, no more crying faces, and no more talking to myself. This… I promise!”

A perfect epic life changing vow from a perfe-,er, well awesomely epic mare. With that I galloped out of the kitchen and into the hallways.

I’ve got a friendship to save and a life to finally turn around.

Snap!

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

With the first step taken, we move from DJ to Dragon once more as time returns to the present

***^***

~Day 4: In the hallway connecting to rooms 300-350, in the afternoon~

I…

I don’t even know what to say.

It's day two of the S.S. Luna Returner’s maiden voyage and I’m still running errands for the ship’s crew along with Nate and, disappointingly, Flim and Flam as well. Thankfully, Nate and I have Blue and Red’s friendship protecting us from them both. After seeing for themselves how unbearable these guys are, the two of them vowed to do their all to make sure us ‘kids’ weren’t in any danger while on this ship. Blue has been doing her best to keep me on the opposite side of the ship as those two, and Red has promised me that if they so much as look at Nate funny he’s going to ‘accidentally’ burn off their tails, manes, and fur… in that order.

So besides the harsh break up with Vinyl Scratch (who I’ve thankfully not seen today), things were going well for me for once…

… That is, until I got this room service request for a Mr. Factory. Odd name for a pony, and he had an even odder request. He wanted liquid rainbow to drink.

Da huh?

Well, okay, whatever I thought. Weird named pony has weird tastes. Big deal…

... But then I got to his room and read his name plate. I’ve made it a habit to read these now after the pleasant surprise I got last night with Rarity. This guy, however… well his name plate made me very, very scared. It was a bone chilling fear that coursed through my very soul and it was far worse than anything the Flim Flam bastards could have ever of hoped to conjure in me.

Here’s how it goes. Mr. Factory is the head of the Cloudsdale Rainbow Factory. Makes sense I suppose, I mean, the Cake’s own a bakery and the Apples run farms; factory owning just runs in this guy’s family, I figured. Nothing wrong there… but then there’s the little title he wrote for himself on the door.

‘Keeper of the Secret Ingredient’

Shudder

Even then, that’s not the worst part. The worst part is his last name…

… Dash.

Mr. Factory Dash…

Um.

Er…

L-last’s names have no real meaning here, right? There’s no way these two are related… right?

‘… In the rainbow factory, where the fears and horrors come true~’

…

I decided to leave the drink at the door, knock with my claw, and run for my life.

***^***

Awwww that’s better. Flying helps you take your mind off the stupid things in life.

I kept up the mantra that Blue taught me yesterday in my head as I flew along the imaginary track. ‘Monkey, tree, soldier, monkey, tree, soldier…’

Blue herself was shouting words of encouragement as she flew alongside me. “That’s it, sweetheart! Keep those wings steady; keep up your pace, a little higher… a little lower, tilt you head forward… aaaannnnddd now!”

That was my signal to take off. I stopped holding back and allowed myself to hit top speeds. This let me easily over take Mrs. Blue who, despite going top speed herself, couldn’t keep up. Wasn’t quite Rainbow Dash speeds, but it had to be close to 10 wingpower, at least. This felt amazing! The wind whipping through my hair, the sense of boundless freedom, the speed…

Oh God, the speed.

All to die for.

Sure, I’ve felt all these before during the few instances where I glided, but nothing beats feeling like you’re in control of it all, feeling like you have actual power. That seems to be something I’ve been lacking in my life these days… no not power. I’m a freaking fire breathing dragon who can grow massi-… j-just a fire breathing dragon. If that doesn’t qualify as being ‘powerful’ then I don’t know what does. No, what I’ve been missing in my life is control. I’m very grateful to have some control over my actions now and that I have a choice in what happens to me… even if it is still limited. I’ve so missed the feeling of being in charge of my own destiny and I’m enjoying being in full control of my wings now…

… That is, until I lost control on a tight turn and almost wiped out. I really wish there was some automation when it comes to soaring. A quick midair loop-d-loop righted me out just in time and I avoided another cartoonish imprint in the painted moon.

Clapclapclapclap!

Mrs. Blue landed on one of the many clouds here in the ‘Crow’s Nest’ and applauded me. She was beaming. “Wow! You sure got it down, dear! Only the second lesson and you’re already flying splendidly! If we can sneak one last lesson in tomorrow, we could turn you into a magnificent racer yet!”

Blushing in midair, I slowly fluttered down next to her. I quickly felt up my ponytail and my bow with my claws. Both were still in place, despite the abuse I had just put them through. They must have been enchanted, or the likes, to stay on during flight. Maybe they were intended as gifts for Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash? Nah; I don’t think green emeralds would look good on either of them… or on a red bow, for that matter. Color-coding is weird here...

My face was still quite red when I landed. I didn’t think I was that good after all. “T-thank you very much, Mrs. Blue… for everything. I… I guess flying comes more naturally to me when I’m trying to focus my mind on other thin-”

Before I could finish, Blue quickly wrapped me in a tight hug. “Now, dear, stay strong. We’ll be docking tomorrow night in Prance. Princess Luna will be arriving there via royal guard chariot as well, so all the ponies will be too busy trying to get her attention to notice two kids sneaking off. You’ll make it through this, I know you will.”

“I hope you’re not giving the dragon ideas, Mrs. Blue.”

We both jumped as Captain Grey suddenly made himself known to us. He was standing on a cloud and glaring. Mrs. Blue started sweating while I glared right back at him. While moving to the whim of what I assume was either draconic or greed filled instinct, I allowed steam to exit my nostrils and my wings to flare up in a bid to appear more intimidating. I don’t think the wing flare thing works real well on pegasi but I did it anyways, even got on all fours to improve the effectiveness.

Grey repeated himself. “I hope you’re not giving her any ideas, Mrs. Blue. Once we dock, the griffon child will be brought to the authorities so that he can get sorted out, and the dragon here will be returned to her legal guardians.”

Growling at him, I spat out a retort. “Let me guess; by ‘legal guardians’ you mean those two flankholes and not the one who actually called me family, Iron Will, right sir?”

Iron Will had the freaking balls to adopt a potentially dangerous, fire breathing, baby dragon only ten minutes after meeting her. I think that’s reason enough to defend him and call him my… father, brother, uncle? I’ll need to ask him next time I see him… unless he was faking the whole family thing. Not sure what he would have gained in doing so but… meh, can’t think about that at the moment. I have to deal with the captain for now.

I continued my assault. “Hell, sir, I’ll even take Emeraldgrey over those two!”

The bastard captain went and stroked his damn beard again. Note to self: burn it later. “Mr. Apple Flim and Mr. Apple Flam have legal custody of you, whelp. They apparently hatched you from what I've heard? By the Older Order of Unicorns, this marks you as their property.”

Blue spoke up. “I highly doubt, sir, that Celestia would enforce that law if she saw how poorly those two treated her. One look at her wrists and she-”

Grey shot Blue a warning stare, causing her to resume being quiet. I began hissing, allowing my forked tongue to stick out of my mouth while he continued. “Mrs. Blue, it is not your place to say what is to be done with the dragon, and I have already told you that the girl is not here for play. Get back to work, both of you, before I put you on latrine duty for the entire ship.”

I flipped him the bird as he left the ‘Crow’s Nest’ through the exit cloud. Always pleasant talking to that one, it is. I think I can wager a guess as to why he had me meet Emeraldgrey yesterday, it was a warning to not mess with him while on his ship. If it was done so that I might fear him, then I’m sorry to disappoint. I also learned that Blue and Red had no clue that he was even down there! It’s apparently a secret kept by the cooks and the captain’s top men! How can that be allowed?! There are children on this ship being put in danger! I have a feeling that I might have something to share with Luna if I so happen to bump into her tomorrow…

Sighing, I returned to Mrs. Blue. “I’m sorry you got yelled at, Blue.”

Blue waved me off. “Oh he yells at everypony, dear. No reason getting worked up over it now.

“So, like I was saying.” She resumed, somewhat casually. “All the ponies will be too busy trying to get Princess Luna’s attention to notice two kids sneaking off…” She suddenly grinned. “Or, a pegasus and a unicorn sneaking off with two kids in their luggage.”

I gasped, completely surprised by the out of nowhere suggestion. “W-what are you saying, Mrs. Blue?”

Her wings began fluttering as she jumped up and hovered in the air. “What I’m saying, dear, and please excuse the language, is that I’m sick and tired of Captain Grey’s horsecrap! Red and I have been working under him for two years now, on different ships, and both years have been miserable! Red’s been talking about quitting for awhile now...” Blue smacked her chest a couple times with a hoof. “And I’ve decided to quit as well!”

This… this is too good to be true. “B-but what about your job, Mrs. Blue? What about your kids in Cloudsdale?”

She kept up her motherly smile. “Oh don’t you fret about me, dear. I’ll be heading back to Equestria first chance I get and picking up a new job, preferably one closer to home this time. Red’s going to stay in Prance though, something about becoming a cook or the likes… Between you and me, his sandwiches are good, but he still has a long way to go before he should try anything harder!”

I snickered with her. Personally, I thought those sandwiches were the food of the gods! Although I never had grilled cheese before, so I might be a bit biased...

Blue continued. “So, yes dear; forget the adult dragon under our hooves, the way Grey treated you last night was the final straw for the both of us. Yelling at lazy ponies is one thing, but to do that to a little girl like you?! I don’t care if you’re a pony, dragon, or diamond dog, sweetheart, that’s just monstrous!”

I stopped smiling at the ‘monstrous’ remark. I did my best not to show it… but that word hurts me now… a lot.

I’ve kept the growth and flame a secret from everypony so far, as I still don’t know what to think about them. On the one claw, it could turn out to be my new ‘hidden blade’ as I go on this adventure with Nate. The moment somepony tries to touch him, bam! Suddenly they have Godzilla breathing down their necks.

But… I don’t want Nate to see me like that… like a monster. I might hurt him while not in my right mind. I might kill him without realizing it…

I think I’ll just rely on my normal fire, my claws, and my new ability to fly to protect what’s mine for now on… I-I mean my friends! To protect my friends!

… Right?

“So, what do you say, dear?” Blue asked.

I replied by hugging her tightly, both as a show of thanks and to assure myself that I see Blue as the wonderful pony she is, not a thing.

“T-thank you Mrs. Blue! I can never thank you enough for how much you’ve gone out of your way for a complete stranger like me.”

Blue tilted her head and included it in the hug. “Oh you’re no stranger to me, dear. You’re Cog the Baby Dragon and that’s all I need. Like I said, sweetheart, you have a friend in Red and me. Just make sure you write every now and then once we do split up. Heh, shouldn’t be a problem with that breath of yours! Oh, we should probably head back now though... any longer and old Grey Horse might actually follow through with that latrine threat.”

Ah the kindness and generosity of ponies. I had long ago given up hope for finding these elusive beasts while in their realm. I hope I get to meet more ponies like her during the rest of my stay. Nodding to her in acknowledgment, we fluttered back down into the main ballroom. I picked up a broom as soon as we landed and started singing to myself again as I swept. We had our work cut out for us; we needed to get this place set up again for another buff-

Twinkletwinkletwink-

“Tears are gon-~… H-huh?”

I turned my head and the noise vanished. Weird... sounded like a unicorn’s horn glowing, but we should be the only ones here… Are the brothers s-spying on me?!

My question was answered by a cook walking out of the kitchen with a tray in his grey magic grip. Phew, it was nothing, apparently. Guess I’m still a bit twitchy when it comes to unicorn magic. Every time I hear it, I get the sinking feeling that I’m about to get zapped... I hope that feeling disappears in time…

Tick... tock... tick... tock...

With that, the baby dragon and the pegasus resumed their chores; unaware that from the shadows, they were being watched.

Tick... tock... tick... tock...

The DJ watched the dragon closely, keeping track of everything she did. One action in particular caused her to giggle as a plan began hatching within her mind. The events of yesterday lingered in the pony’s mind as well, reminding her of her self-imposed mission.

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

From Dragon to DJ, time returns to the past

***^***

~Day 3: In the hallway connecting to rooms 300-350, past ten at night~

Ugh! Where is this girl?! I’ve been lucky so far in spotting her today, so why can’t I find her when I need to?! With about a thousand different rooms on this ship, it’s going to be impossible to find her unless I can find…

Ah! Speak of the griffon-y devil.

I called out to him. “Natedog, my griff’! How are you doing, ya little stallion?”

The yellow griffon kid with the weird birthmark turned his head while running and tripped over himself, sending him tumbling to the ground. Kid’s kinda klutzy, I’ve noticed. I trot over and give him a helping hoof.

He replies nervously, as he always does. “T-thank you, Ms. Scratch.”

Giving him a hardy smile, I set him standing up right with my magic. “No prob, dude!”

Finally, somepony, griffon, whatever to talk to. I don’t like being by myself. It makes me all introspective and junk.

… Which I actually think I need to do more of. I probably could have avoided this whole mess in the first place if I had thought about these things more.

Speaking of… “Hey, have you seen your fillyfriend around here recently? I’m trying to find her.”

Nate blushes at the ‘fillyfriend’ comment, as he also always does. Kid denied it the first time while in front of Cogy, but he never tries to defend himself when it’s just the two of us! Ha! Oh when will that girl stop being so oblivious?

The kid looks like he’s about to fly the coop… Ah! Vinyl! You promised yourself no bird jokes! “S-she’s going to go speak with the captain, Ms. Scratch.” He replied while shaking. “The two ponies that hurt her somehow made it onboard! She told me to go hide before she ran off in that direction…”

He pointed what I think is called his ‘index’ claw down a hallway. Man claws are awesome! Oh the sweet beats I could make with a pair of those babies on the turntables…

... No! Concentrate, Vinyl! Kid just told you something important. So important, in fact, that he’s starting to shake more than usual.

“I-I-I have to b-b-be strong and try to help her s-somehow!” Gripping himself by the shoulders, he tried to calm down. “I… I just don’t want to h-hear her scream again…”

That… sounds ominous.

“S-scream? What… what exactly happened to her, Nate?”

Kid’s face went somber at the question. I don’t think I’m going to like what I’m about to hear… heck, I didn’t like what I did hear! That’s why I didn’t think it was real at first!

“These… these two unicorns kidnapped her from her adopted family and chained her up to the inside of a traveling cider machine. They w-would shock her with magic so she would breathe fire for them and yell at her when she tried to talk. She was fed o-off... -Sniff-, o-off of rusted bolts, screws, and p-pieces of broken glass. W-when I found her she was missing a lot of scales a-and I could see her ribs and there was filth everywhere and… and…-Sniff-"

Nope nope; don’t want to see anymore waterworks today, thank you very much! Looks like it’s time to pull out what I consider to be the ultimate weapon in a party filly’s arsenal: the ursabear hug.

I gripped him in a full on hug while being careful of his bandaged wing. “Hey hey! Take it easy, kid.”

He tried to push me aside. “B-but I can’t! If those two are here t-than they might take her away again! S-she’s done so much...-Sniff-, f-for me; she saved me from bullies, swore to help me despite me lying to her, and she called me her best friend! I… I…”

Initiating ursabear hug level two. “Nate… Cogy doesn’t know how lucky she is to have a colt like you by her side.”

“T-t-thank y-y-y…”

I ruffled the feathers on his head. “Okay, that’s enough, kid, you can relax now. You’re obviously waaaayyyy too out of it to be of any help to anypony tonight. You just leave this to Auntie Pon-3!”

As soon as I let go, he griped his little chest and finally started breathing again. Poor kid must have been run ragged today and this little incident isn’t helping any. For something to scare a griffon kid so badly… m-maybe evil ponies are a thing?

I mean yeah sure I may have accidentally burned down a hospital, but it was apparently in self-defense according to my hazy memories! I’m not even quite sure how one gets all the way to Canterlot from Manehatten in less than three hours, but somehow that happened to! Obviously I was set up. So sue me… again.

In my awesome little world, the only real evil ponies were Nightmare Moon and maybe Prince Blueblood. Even then, Moony wasn’t evil! She was just misunderstood… at least, that’s what I’ve believed since I was a little filly. I mean, just look at the night sky! How can something that constantly amazing be made by a villain?

Oh, and Blue-ys not evil either! He’s just a major flankhole… and possibly mentally unsound… and possibly raised by timberwolfs… and possibly the spawn of Discord himself.

Regardless, I can’t really picture a truly cackling-madly-demonic-morally-screwed-up evil pony! An evil diamond dog? Not hard to believe. An evil dragon? Sorry Cogy, but those two words go hoof and hoof sometimes. An evil griffon? According to the Daring Do books, they're all evil!

-Gulp-, guess I’m about to find out whose right. Me... or her.

“W-which way did she run off to again, Nate?”

“You d-don’t have to do this, Scratch.”

I ruffled his head feathers even harder, almost knocking off those weird purple feathers in his glasses. “Nate, you should listen to your friends more. Cogy wanted you to go hide, so you should listen to her and wait for her to return. If those guys are the flankholes you say they are, then she’s going to need a shoulder to cry on when she gets back. I, on the other hoof, need to start listening to my friends. I can do that by being there for her starting right now!”

“Ms. Scratch… w-why…?”

I brushed him off with a hoof. “Hard to explain, just know that even though she doesn’t like me right now, I need to do this for her and that’s that.” I pointed my hoof in the direction I think he pointed earlier. “You said this way, right?”

“Y-yes, but she left before I could tell her that the captain was waiting for her in kitchen #2. W-why doesn’t she lik-”

Cutting him off before he could ask, I galloped away. “Alright, thanks! I’ve got to start galloping, Natedog! You go wait for Cogy for me!”

Kid yelled out a quick ‘t-thank you!’ as I raced away. I need to get to the kitchen asap and see what the hay is going on here.

Just one question…

… Where the hay is kitchen #2 anyways?

***^***

-Huff-… -huff-… -huff-… "I… I really need to lay off the hayfries!”

Oh what I wouldn’t give to have an earth pony's stamina right now.

I heard screaming. “… Slavery?! Emeraldgray is a criminal, he shouldn’t have tried to…”

Hey! That’s Cogy’s voice! Phew! I finally found her… and she’s yelling? What?

“What the hell did I do to deserve being strung up to a wall and electrocuted…”

Before I could round the corner and get a good look at who she was yelling at, there was a bright flash that illuminated the hallway and created a group of shadows on the wall in front of me. I could tell that one was Cogy (hard to miss that girl’s silhouette) and she appeared to have a pegasus in her grasp. I thought Nate said that they were unicorns? Hmmm…

“Over!” she screamed.

The shadow set appeared again, illustrating Cogy as she moved closer to the pegasus.

Her voice grew in strength. “And over!”

This time the shadows stayed for longer and I could now make out individual features. I think Cogy is breathing fire or something and… so is the pegasus? No, that must be facial hair, like a beard or something...

“And over again!" What the hell did I do to deserve that, sir?!”

Wow. She sounded really pissed off while adding that ‘sir’ title, almost like she was spiting it out in disgust. Why would she call her torturers ‘sir’? No, wait… Nate said that they didn’t let her talk. Sooo, what? Is this some other pony she knows or something?

The other guy finally spoke. “… Dragon, I suggest you get your filthy claws off me if you don’t want to get tossed overboard.”

Oh.

I see now.

Old Grey Horse.

I poked my head around the corner just in time to see Cogy let go of the ‘good’ captain’s shirt. Yeah… I understand perfectly her desire to choke and set this guy on fire, because I share that desire!

Yours truly has had the great displeasure of sailing with this guy before, and every time I would dread it. He’s a control freak, sucks the fun out of everything, micromanages everything to death, is a control freak… oh wait, I already mentioned that. Well… he just doesn’t know how to have fun! End of story! Not evil, just Major Captain Flankhole the Third. I wonder what he did this time to get her to scream like that... I heard him say something about ‘tossing overboard’... maybe he’s on the unicorn’s side? Yikes. So not only does Cogy have to deal with those two, but Grey as well after meeting her rather uptight father... Girl is not having a good night, is she?

“What?!” Yelled Cogy.

Crap! I’m missing what’s going on! Ugh, they’ve stopped yelling and I can’t hear it now. Okay cutie mark! Do your groove thang!

I love this thing~ It represents my talent for music but more importantly, because I’m a unicorn, it represents the range of magic I can use confidently. Sounds my specialty and it’s just mindboggling the amount of spells that you can get out of that field!

Let’s do this.

I started muttering to myself. “Step one…”

Twinkletwinkletwinkle…

Great. I've got the horn ignited. Now, let’s silence it.

Twinkletwinkletw-

Ha! Good. Can’t have a noisy horn ruining… how did that one pony I bucked in the head today say it? We can’t have a noisy horn ruining… The magics! Ah! There we go. Now…

“Step two…” I added quietly.

Time to weave some spells, baby! Let me think, how did that one go? Something like nahdahnahwahcah… no no, that’s that stupid memory spell I can never get right. Maybe it was nahnahdahnahcahwah… yup! There we go! One eavesdropping spell coming right up!

Need to do some more silent twinkling to get the proper magic output going, aaaaannnnddd done! Now I’ve got the sound patched directly to my horn, allowing me to hear everything through my mind. I love this spell so much! I’ve abused it soooo often in the past that it’s not even funny!

“… Same as you. I’ll be expecting you to work with them tomorrow.” There’s the old captain’s voice.

“You… you’re a bastard, sir.” And there’s Cogy. Yeesh, bastard? Harsh, girl... though well earned.

“That’s captain to you, whelp.”

Flapflapflapflap…

With that last, lovely, remark the captain left through the opposite hallway to me. Nice, but I’m very confused now. What was Cogy yelling at him about? And where are these two unicorns who tortured her? Well she’s just standing there right now... maybe I should ask her?

But… will she want to talk to me again?

I wasn’t given the chance to answer that, as Cogy suddenly approached the kitchen door, peaked inside, and then walked through it. Wha? What’s in there?

Silently, I crept up to the entrance and peaked through the door as well.

Snap!

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

As the DJ peers inside, the Dragon takes center stage once more as time corrects itself yet again

***^***

~Day 4: Guest #200’s room, past lunch~

“No, no, no! Wear the pink one, Ms. Cog! The pink one!”

I sighed. “Yes ma’am. Right away, ma’am.”

This… is the most frustrating and humiliating thing I have ever done in my entire life. I’m the eldest of five brothers... Brothers! I have no experience in dealing with little girls, let alone spoiled little girls! Yet, that’s exactly what I’m being forced to do right now with surprise Ponyville cameo number two.

“Diamond, dear, don’t abuse the help. She’s the same age as you after all.” Remarked Filthy Rich.

Diamond Tiara continued pouting. “But she’s not wearing the right tiara, daddy! I want her to be perfect like me!”

Yes, Diamond Tiara is here as well on this boat. I guess if there was somepony you didn’t see in the Nightmare Night episode, it was because they were either out of town or on this stinking ship.

Sigh. This room service request should have been the easiest one given to me today. All it said was ‘Entertain my daughter while I write up a tax report’. I ignored the obvious BS of why somepony would be working during a vacation and instead focused on taking on what appeared to be a relatively lax and potentially fun request.

Then I reached the room, read the nameplate, and realized how wrong I was.

Without Silver Spoon by her side, Diamond doesn’t really know what to do with herself. She was awfully quiet when I entered the room earlier and kept looking at me curiously. I guess she just didn’t know what to make of me until Filthy told her that I was going to be playing with her for an hour or two. As soon as she discovered that she was getting a little dragon girl as her playmate, this room suddenly transformed into tea party central.

My masculinity slips away from me with each passing day. Let me set this straight for you, I was perfectly fine with having a bow in my hair and rocking a ponytail. Sure, both were girly accessories but they were also gifts from my favorite pony and made me feel more comfortable in my own scales, which was something I really needed to feel at the time. Nate even said he liked it! That was good enough for me to keep the look.

Diamond’s loaning of a play dress, tiara, and lipstick, however, was seriously pushing it. Why did she even bring a green play dress and ten multicolored tiaras on a trip anyways?! Is this what little girls bring on trips?! I wouldn’t know! My brothers would pack toy swords, toy guns, and knight helmets whenever they went somewhere, but that made sense because they were little boys.

That and they were also preparing for the zombie apocalypse.

Duh.

Returning to the present, I did my best to try not to seem like I was dying inside to the little filly. “More tea, ma’am?”

She coughed. “Ahem.”

I sighed again. “More tea, Lady Tiara?”

Diamond pouted again. “I’m still drinking my first cup, Ms. Cog! See?”

She pointed a hoof at the empty tea cup that was filled with imaginary tea.

“Ah, I see. Truly sorry, milady.” I replied as politely as I could muster.

She pounded her hooves on the table. “No, no, no! Only boys get to say ‘milady’! Don’t they teach you anything in dragon school?”

I blinked. “I was unaware there was such a thing.”

She blinked as well. “I… I actually don’t know if there is. Daddy~? Is there such a thing as dragon school?”

“Hm? Oh... yeah. Sure, dear.” Replied Filthy, not taking his eyes away from whatever it was he was reading. Best father ever!

“Ah! Well there you have it blank flan-, er, Ms. Cog.”

I had to remind her earlier that dragons don’t get cutie marks, so calling me a blank flank wouldn’t make sense. She kept slipping up every now and then though. My mind played a sick and twisted scenario each time; one where I waited until Filthy wasn’t looking, took Diamond by the head, and then whispered something along the lines of ‘I know enough not to piss off a dragon, bland flank’ into her ear.

Then I would burn everything and leave like a Faust.

Unfortunately, I don’t have it in me to scare this kid. Key Lime deserved the mental scaring I gave him, but Diamond is just lonely. I imagine that it’ll still be a few months before she’s the complete bitch she was in Family Appreciation Day and Ponyville Confidential, where she gets her somewhat lackluster commuffins. I might as well just let the universe/karma work itself out for now.

In the meantime, disappointingly…

I took the tea pot in my claws and ‘refilled’ the glass of the doll next to me. A Miss Smarty Pants doll. Why did she have one? Why was it here? I don’t know or really care anymore. Just go with the flow, man.

Knock knock!

Filthy Rich raised his head up from his (not) tax report. “Come in.”

I swore I heard a chorus of angels singing as Nate strutted into the room. He gave me a queer look as I worded to him ‘help me!’

“Is there something I can do for you, young man?” Asked Filthy.

“Um, yes…” Nate turned away from my horrid sight. I don’t blame him. “I was asked to pick up Cog here. There’s another room service order that specifically requested her aid.”

“Ah, I see. Diamond, dear, please say goodbye to your little friend. She has to go now.”

“B-but…”

“I’m sorry, but you have to share her with the rest of the ship, dear.”

Diamond looked genuinely sad. “Yes daddy.” She then… hugged me and gave me an equally genuine smile without the slightest hint of deceitfulness in her eyes?! “Thank you for playing with me, Ms. Cog! This was fun!”

Brain.exe has exploded twice again and the fire is raging throughout the land. Running on auto-pilot, I returned the hug. “It… was no problem at all, Lady Tiara. Um, p-please enjoy the rest of your vacation!”

With that I returned her dress and tiara, returned her friendly wave goodbye, and left with Nate. Huh. For once this world has gifted me with a pleasant curveball instead of the normal demented ones. Sure she might have been faking it, but then why didn’t she keep up that ‘act’ the entire time? I feel really guilty now; was she like that the whole time and I was too absorbed in who I thought she was that I didn’t notice it? I can’t really recall now… well in the end, I’m just glad I wasn’t a complete jerk/bitch to her.

Nate blushed as he walked with me. “S-sorry. Did you want to play a bit longer, Cog?”

“N-no, it’s alright, Nate. I, heh, had more than my fill of pretend tea for today. I’m not a normal little girl after all, as you’ve noticed.”

He muttered something under his breath that I couldn’t quite make out. “That’s what I like about you.”

“What was that, Nate?”

“N-nothing.”

Odd… but whatever. I haven’t had enough chances to talk to Nate lately, so I’m not going to blow this chance by pushing further. I was really starting to miss him…

“So…” I began to ask. “A room order specifically requested me? What’s up with that?”

He turned to look at me while we walked through the hallway. “Well, it requested the both of us, actually.”

I tilted my head. “Really? Did Red or Blue have anything to do with this?

“N-not that I know of. Red is busy in the kitchen…”

“And last I saw of Blue she was cleaning out the ship’s latrines.” I finished for him while looking down in shame. “I… I think that was her punishment for teaching me how to fly…”

“Y-you think it could be the brothers, Cog?”

I waved him off with a claw. “Nah. They’re still working on this ship, the same as us. They don’t have the power to order room servic-… well speak of the pony devil.”

A voice was laughing. “And I said, brother of mine, oatmeal?! Are you cra-”

The hallway went silent as we turned the corner and came face to face with the Flim Flam brothers. They stopped their conversation as well as they brought their attention to us. It was a good old fashioned stare down between the four of us, except Flam was shaking just as badly as Nate usually does. I guess he’s scared of me now.

I’m perfectly okay with this.

Great, the greed flame kicked in. It must be sensing that Nate might be in danger… or I’m sensing it or something. I'm still unsure how this thing actually works. At least my thoughts are still my own right now, and I actually agree with the flame for once. I'm perfectly okay with this.

While skimming over their forms with my eyes, I noticed that Flim was sporting one black eye. It’s probably from when he was forced to head-butt a sink. Again, good. That’s payback for giving me one back in Trottingham, flankhole.

The tension could be cut with a butter knife. Flim was glaring at me and Flam was trying to avoid looking at me. I flared my wings out and he shrank down into a little shaking ball. This brought me oh so much joy while pissing Flim off even more. Nate actually rose to his hind legs and cracked his knuckles. His face still showed that he was scared, but damn was that cool! Slowly, this kid seems to be starting to get over his fear of those bigger than him. I was worried for the longest time that I was being nothing but a bad influence on him, but I guess I’m doing the complete opposite of that and giving him confidence in himself. Good. No kid should have to live in fear of his own shadow.

After a full three minutes of staring at each other, Flim and I took the first steps forward at the same time, followed by Flam and Nate. We made it to the halfway point of the hallway before passing each other. After exchanging nasty looks, both of our groups went their separate ways and the conversations picked up again.

“You okay, Nate?” I asked.

Nate took a second to catch his breath. “Y-yeah. Better than the first time we ran into them back in Manehatten...”

“Hehe, but each time we bump into them you keep surprising me by being a complete flank kicker! The knuckle thing you just pulled off? Awesome~”

Aw, I’m glad I get to make this kid blush again. Two days without seeing it was starting to make me nervous! He’s cute when he’s all flustered.

“M-my father used to do that whenever somegriffon talked badly about him and it would usually shut him up. I was only imitating what he does…” Nate suddenly went quiet.

“… Nate? Are you still worried about your dad?”

“… I worry everyday, Cog. Everyday…”

I patted him on the back, making sure not to disturb the still healing wing. Hopefully he’ll be back up and gliding in a couple more days. “Don’t be, Nate. We’re going to make it to Prance, Red and Blue will help us escape the brothers and Grey Horse, and from there you can tell me what’s going on so that we can help you. Even if Red and Blue can’t help, I promised you that I would.”

He wiped away a tear. “T-thank you. Thank you so much for being there for me, Cog.”

“It’s what friends do, Nate. Hehe, how many more times do I need to say this before it starts clicking for you?”

“… I… I think I owe you the chance to tell me your full name, Cog, when we make it there. It’ll… it’ll be as a show of thanks for teaching me so much.”

I smiled. “I would love that, Nate. For now though, we should probably get this request done. Which room do we need to be in?”

“Oh, this one coming up here.”

“… Nate? Are you talking about the door with the very familiar looking earth pony in front of it?”

We were reunited with the green stallion earth pony who we had attempted to bribe a couple days ago. Crrrraaaapppp…

“Cog… is tha-” Nate started to ask.

“Yes Nate… yes it is.” I replied. “Hehe, um, h-hello, Mister…?”

The stallion only glared at us.

“… Er… spent those bits on anything ni-?”

“Shut up, girly, an’ git inside.” He spat.

-Gulp- “Y-yes sir.”

We entered into what most certainly wasn’t a normal room. This one looked like it was one of the staff rooms scattered throughout the ship, yet covered in music equipment and something that vaguely looked like a bed in the corner. There was enough room here for a large group of ponies to stand around and not bump into each other despite the mess. It was currently empty outside of Nate and I, a pair of familiar looking chests, and two ponies. One of which…

“Hello Cog.”

“… Hi Vinyl.”

DJ Pon-3 was leaning against the back wall while standing on her back legs. Her front hooves were crossed over each other and her glasses once again hid her emotions. For once, she wasn’t smiling… and I don’t blame her. Nate was aware that I wasn’t talking to Vinyl at the moment so he remained quiet. I’m sad that she’s no longer calling me Cogy, but I’m glad she didn’t call me Cogwill either and ruin Nate’s chance of becoming brave enough to ask me himself. I had to be careful not to give him my ‘father’s’ name as well yesterday during my retelling…

The other pony in the room was a light blue pegasus mare with a pink mane and five pink whistles as a cutie mark. Pegasus mare… nuts, this is probably about the dresses I accidentally burned. Oh please don’t let Rarity find out about this!

“… Do you think this is funny, dragon?” asked the mare.

Standing at attention, I did my best to remain oblivious and calm. “Do I find what funny, Miss…?”

The mare stomped her hoof. “Don’t pretend you don’t know me! I...” She flared her wings out and held her head high. “Am Wind Whistler; top singer in Equestria and the pony whose dresses you ruined!”

Wind Whistler? That sounds familiar but I can’t place my claw on it. I shrugged it off and rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. “Yeah… sorry about that, Ms. Whistler. I may have burped and maaay have accidentally breathed fire while inside it. You see, this was during one of our early sneaking attempts an-”

“Why were you in it in the first place?!” She interrupted.

Lovely, she has no patience. This should be fun. I groaned. “… Like I was trying to say, it was during one of our early sneak attempts. We bribed the green guy you’ve got guarding the door to let us chill in one of them an-”

“You haven’t answered my question!” She interrupted… again.

My eye twitched as Nate actually snapped and yelled at her. Kid’s full of surprises today. “Ugh! Yes she did, Miss! We tried to sneak aboard…”

She stomped her hoof over and over again against the ground. “I understand that, you stupid kid! I want to know why she burned two of my chests?!”

Nate and I answered together. “Two?!”

Vinyl snickered before returning to her new ‘serious business’ attitude. Why do I have the sudden feeling that she has something to do with this… oh, that’s right, she’s already known for being an arsonist like Red.

Wind Whistler roared. “Yes two you twats! These dresses were made by some of the most famous ponies around the world and you ruined them! Now my collection is dented and I can’t salvage any of it and now I have nothing to wear for the show and… and! Ahhhhhhhhhhh…”

After that little tantrum, Whistler suddenly became mute. It looked like she was trying to yell some more, but nothing came out. Silently, she continued her fit by stomping the ground a bit more, bucking the air, and flapping her wings violently.

Scratch looked like she was holding back a giggle as she returned to all fours and approached the wild mare. She spoke to her in a lazy and droll manner. “Ah no Windy, it looks like you threw out your voice again. What have I told you about your tantrums, young lady? Now I need to do something else for my totally-against-my-will-and-forced show.”

Whistler looked as though she was trying to kill Vinyl with her stare before she stomped her hoofs one last time and exited the room. She shot me one last glare before slamming the door.

Vinyl laughed her off and returned to her normal peppy disposition. “Ah, Windy Windy Windy: so predictable!” She finally turned to us. “Yo! Room service! I’m in need of a singer! Any of you want to hit up the mic tonight?”

I looked away and Nate did as well while rubbing his arm with one of his claws.

The DJ made a buzzing sound and crossed her hooves into an X while somehow remaining standing. “Eh! Wrong answer! Sorry Cogy, but you need to pay off this damage somehow. It’s not like you can’t sing either!”

Wha? She’s calling me Cogy again? I guess that’s nice… but I’m still angry about her shrugging me off like that yesterday and calling my scars fake. I wanted to be her friend, but I’m in no mood for a passive friendship like she wanted. I really don’t have time to hangout or to play around with her while I have Nate’s more pressing matter to attend to.

It bothers me a little that Vinyl’s calling me Cogy again. It’s like she’s trying to sweep the whole incident from yesterday under the rug. Before I could ask her what right she had in being friendly with me again she started humming the tune I was singing earlier today.

“I dig my hole you build a wall… I dig my hole you build a wall… One day that wall is going to fall~! Pretty sick jingle you’ve got there, Cogy! You’ve got to teach me that one sometime, girl!” She smiled coyly at me.

Damn it, Bastion. Why did your soundtrack have to be so addictive?! I grumbled. “God, how much have you actually watched of me so far, Vinyl?”

Vinyl's face suddenly went all gloomy. “I… I’ve watched you the whole trip, Cogy… and seen quite a bit, actually…”

My eyes widened in shock as Nate raised an eyebrow at the statement. He turned to look at me. “What’s she talking about, Cog?”

Gulping, I tried to appear unfazed but I failed miserably. “T-that’s a good question… w-what do you mean by that, Vinyl?”

Scratch turned away. “N-nothing. Nothing at all…” She then took a deep breath before becoming cheerful again. “W-well enough diddle-daddling! I need to get you hooked up and ready to go for tonight’s concert, Cogy, and I know just the pony to help!”

Vinyl’s comment was still lingering in my mind. W-what did she mean by seeing ‘quite a bit’? Did… did she see me when I…-gulp-, oh please no... please don't tell me she saw my greed growth! That's prime blackmail material right there...

Before I could worry about it any further, I was lifted up to Vinyl’s back with her magic and taken out the door. Nate followed on foot, er, on claw and paw.

The DJ turned her head as she trotted. “Huh. This strangely feels cool, having somedragon on your back... I wonder why that is...?”

I know she’s only trying to be friendly to win me back, but I’m still too hurt to be won over by her act that easily. “Probably because in another dimension, ponies are nothing more than domesticated wild animals.”

She laughed. “Oh Cogy. You’re so random!”

“Hehe, right, random…”

***^***

As we trotted along, Vinyl kept talking to Nate over random junk that didn’t concern me. It was mostly stuff I already knew like where he’s from and what he was doing in Manehatten. Honestly, I think Vinyl was just doing all she could to avoid talking to me or avoid letting me push any further into her ‘seen quite a bit’ comment. Well, if she was really super pissed at me for breaking up with her she would have used that information on Nate already in order for him to hate me as much as she would have to hate me now. She doesn’t look like she hates me, though... although it’s hard to tell with her. She’s just, well, being Vinyl.

“Here we go!” She suddenly chirped. “Room 661. Here’s where I’ll drop you off for now, Cogy! I hope you don’t mind, but I need to borrow your coltfriend for a while to help set things up. Don’t worry, I won’t steal him from you, girl!”

“Nate is not…!”

But she was already gone, having taken Nate away from me again. Ugh. Let’s just get this over with. Room 661, right? That should be this one right in front of me, the one marked… R-rarity?! W-why am I here?!

The door suddenly swung open with the aid of icy blue magic.

“Come on in, darling~!” Rarity called.

I nervously stepped inside and the door closed behind me.

“It’s so nice to see you again, dear.”

“S-same.” I replied weakly. “A-are you feeling any better today, ma’am?”

She gave me a warm smile. “There’s still a little nausea, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. Oh, and please call me Rarity... it’s what my friends call me anyways!”

Oh sweet lord of all that is holy, please tell me I’m not dreaming.

“F-friends? You consider me a friend? B-but this is only the second time we’ve met!”

She suppressed a giggle with her hoof. “And yet you kept the hairstyle and the bow I gave you in perfect condition. I’m actually quite surprised about the former; believe it or not but I have another little dragon friend back home and when I gave him a similar bow, he treated it like a snack only a couple hours later! So again, my little guest, simply keeping good care of my gifts to you is reason enough to call you a friend.”

And now the scales on my cheeks are officially red. Thanks Rarity, just... thanks.

“T-thank you Rarity. That means a lot to me to know that I have a good number of friends on this ship with me.”

“Think nothing of it… oh. Oh dear... I don’t believe I’ve ever received your name, darling.”

“It’s Cogwill.” I replied happily, returning her smile.

“Cogwill… what an interesting name. Well Ms. Cogwill, let’s get down to business, shall we?”

I blinked, realizing that I actually had no idea why I was brought to her. “Um, yes, lets… but could you tell me why I’m here, exactly?”

“Why, so you can look smashing for your concert tonight, of course! You’re singing on stage in the ballroom later, correct?”

“Er, well yes... b-but that was only now decided, like, fifteen minutes ago!”

Rarity titled her head. “Really? But Ms. Vinyl Scratch requested my aid a couple hours ago. I owe her a favor, after all, for playing music at my mock runway. Thankfully I brought enough of my materials to make something on such short notice! I had originally planned to show off my wares to the Canterlot ponies on this ship but, well, you can see how well that’s worked out for me, dear.”

I was still stuck on her earlier statement. “She… she asked for your help hours ago? But Wind Whistler only now lost her voice!” I was curious about it earlier, but now I know for sure that I’ve been set up. What is Vinyl planning…?

“Oh my… do you not want to sing then, dear?”

Blushing, I pressed my clawed fingers together shyly. “Well… I don’t have any gripes with it, I guess.”

She huffed a little. “Then I see no reason as to why you should object to it any longer! I’m sure you’ll do grand… unfortunately, I don’t know if I’ll be able to leave this room long enough to see it myself.” She kicked up some dust with a hoof. “I'm truly sorry.”

Finding a chair, I sat down in it. “It’s okay, Rarity. It’s the thought that counts.”

“Oh, but why have the thought when you can do so much more, darling? I think that’s quite enough idle chatter now, Ms. Cogwill. Let’s get down to business and make you look marvelous~! Take off your little shirt, please!”

My smile dropped as I realized what this would entitle. I looked down at my sleeves... or, more specifically, at my wrists.

“… Cog? Are you okay, dear?” Rarity asked.

“I'm f-fine, Rarity, I just…”

I quickly asked myself if showing her my scars would be a good thing or not. She’s bound to notice them and I’m bound to say that two unicorns named Flim and Flam hurt me… but if I tell her that what will happen during apple cider season? Will the episode change because she’ll now have prior knowledge of them being slavers? Am I at risk of changing the future just by talking to my favorite pony?

Wait… I’ve already changed the future. I’m not a part of those bastards’ machine anymore. Unless they hatch another baby dragon (which I really hope they never do) they’re no longer heading to Ponyville. That episode might not even take place anymore and Applejack might not learn nothing about ‘anything’!

...

I made my choice.

“… Okay. I’ll take it off for you, Rarity.”

... Please don’t let this be a bad decision.

Rarity gasped as the uniform came off and my wrists were laid bare for the world to see.

“D-dear! What happened to your arms?!”

I looked down at them. I hate these things so much. J-just looking at them opens up a floodgate of emotions as it brings me back to that damnable room in that damnable machine with those d-damnable brothers and their damnable song and… and…

-Sniff-

Yes Spike, dragons do cry. In my case, they cry a lot.

“P-p-ponies hurt me, Miss… they..." -Sniff- "H-hurt me a lot. I’m… I’m so sorry you had to see t-these…" -Sniff- "These hideous things. I’ll j-just put the shirt back o-”

Glomp

... I must be very huggable.

First Iron Will, then Nate, a half one from Vinyl, Mrs. Blue, Mr. Red when I woke up this morning as sorry for sleeping early, and even Diamond Tiara... Now I can add Rarity to my ever growing ‘hugged by’ list.

“Now, that’s enough tears out of you, Ms. Cogwill. I refuse to see one more drop ruin that pretty face of yours.” She warmly smiled at me. “I thought I gave you the bow to stop all that nonsense, but I guess we’re going to need some heavy duty fashion to turn that frown upside down permanently!”

Being careful not to dirty her with my claws (she’d be tolerant of them, but I know she would appreciate me being watchful) I returned the hug. “T-thank you. Thank you Ms. Rarity. Heh, you seem to have a gift for cheering me up.” ‘Same as when you were just a fictional character.’ I added silently.

“Oh, think nothing of it, dear. A lady can always use a good shoulder to cry on when things get dark. Tell me all about your woes while I make you as pretty as can be.”

Getting down from my chair, I began retelling the tale I had told Nate; Trixie, Iron Will, and changelings in all. The future be damned, this is my world now.

***^***

Okay, let me break this down for you again.

Ponytail and Bow? Only slightly girly.

Dress, tiara, and lipstick? Very girly.

Long braided hair combined with my bow, a flowing pink dress with yellow flowers stitched into it, a pair of rubies hanging from my horns like earrings, flowery wristbands covering my scars, curled eyelashes, and about a bucket's full of glitter?

Fabulous~!

Rarity said as much. “Fabulous~! Oh, I’m so glad I was given this chance to work on a dragoness for once! You can only make so many tiny tuxedos before you run out of ideas and the whole process becomes dreary, you see. Well, what do you think?”

Nathan, the guy inside me and not the griffon, was absolutely pissed. If anyone I knew from Earth saw me right now there would be no way in hell that I could ever live this down, even if I lived for over the hundreds of dragon years I’ve been gifted with.

But, you know what? Screw Nathan (again me, not Nate)! I feel pretty! His argument is invalid.

“I-I love it, Rarity! Thank you so much!” I replied honestly.

“Oh I’m so glad, Ms. Cogwill! In all honesty, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to hold back my illness any lon-umbh! … Oh dear, I really should lay down now. You take care, dear, and have fun!”

I nodded to her. “I will, Rarity! Thank you for listening to me… and for not judging me.”

I had told her everything. With Trixie she said, “Humph! Seems like just the thing that showmare would do. She changed my mane green you know! Green! Oh I’m so very sorry she tricked you, dear…”

With Iron Will, “My! This minotaur sounds like a true gentlecolt! I do hope you get to see him again, darling.”

And, with my murdering of Legion she stopped her work and hugged me tightly once again. She didn’t even ask what a changeling was as we sat in silence. It was awhile before I heard her start sniffing back tears. Not wanting to see her cry, I lightened the mood by talking fondly about how Nate saved me. “He sounds like a wonderful friend, Cog.” She stated, to which I replied. “The best.”

About the brothers themselves, though…

“Ohhh! If I ever see those Flim Flam Cretans myself, dear, well... I can assure you that will not be graced by ‘nice’ Rarity! Slaver ponies? Abusing magic?! Tacky fashion sense and show tunes?! Unthinkable, unacceptable, and inexcusable!!”

And with that I’ve changed the future... for better or worst remains to be seen. I lifted my dress up slightly as I bowed to her politely and then lifted it up again over my feet as I exited the room. That was actually very fun. I wonder how those episodes are going to play out now…?

Not even given the time to think about it, I was suddenly lifted up with magic and dropped off on Vinyl’s back while she was in mid-gallop.

DJ Pon-3 sputtered out a quick greeting. “Hey Cogy! Looking good! No time to chat though! You're almost late for your grand entrance!”

I readjusted myself on her back and gripped her fur so I could stay on. “M-my entrance?! But I don’t even know what I’m singing yet!”

Vinyl laughed me off. “Oh don’t you fret! I’ve got everything under control!”

“Yeah… and that’s what worries me.” I deadpanned.

“Oh ha ha! Are you sure you’re not Octy’s long lost dragon sister or something? Seriously; word for word, girl!

"... Word for word…”

Scratch suddenly went silent as we continued to zoom through the hallways. She must have been thinking about something…

***^***

When we finally made it, I could clearly see a packed ballroom! Crap... this is who I have to sing to? I-I’m starting to get very nervous…

“Cog!”

Nate came running up to me, but stopped halfway when he got a better look at me.

His face was pure red. “W-whoa…”

I’m sure my face was doing the same thing. “Y-yeah. It’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

“I-its… its great, Cog. You look great!”

“T-thank-”

“Now kiss her.”

Oh for the love of “Damn it, Vinyl!”

Vinyl fell over laughing as she ruined our (totally just friendship) moment. Steam exited my nostrils and Nate buried his face in his claws and good wing.

Out of nowhere, Red came trotting up with a clipboard in his magic grip. “Hey Cog! Looking nice, girl! Ready for your debut?”

I gulped. “N-not really, Red.”

“Oh you’ll do fine!” He reassured me. “Blue’s out there, waiting on the audience, if that makes you feel any better, and I’m going to be watching it as well with Nate! We’ll be cheering you every step of the way!”

“B-but I don’t even know what I’m singing!” I argued.

Vinyl finally got back up on her hooves. “Oh don’t worry, Cogy. Just get into position and you’ll understand soon enough!”

With that she moved me magically onto the stage in front of a box and the still closed curtains.

-Gulp-... I guess this is it.

The white pony walked between the drape and received a few cheers and a tame applause. It was nowhere near as wild as the one she got in Manehatten.

She began the show. “Hello fillies and gentlecolts! Are you ready for some Wind Whistler?!”

Those enthusiastic in the audience shouted “Yes!”

“Well then it sucks to be you!” Replied Scratch cheekily.

I heard grumbling from the same audience.

This didn’t seem to bother Vinyl. “Sorry folks, but Windy blew out her voice… again. They’ll be no concert, but instead they’ll be something even better! Who’s up for a little karaoke?!”

The crowd started murmuring to themselves before they started a slow clap. I turned to look at the box next to me, which had a microphone resting on it. It started glowing with red magic as Red charged it. I picked up the mic just as words began appearing on the screen. Ookkkkaaayyy... they have magic karaoke machines but no telephones.... That makes sense in that it makes no sense.

Vinyl churned the crowd into a frenzy. “That’s right, folks! This is your night to shine above your snooty peers! Even better, we’re kicking this thing off with something incredibly awesome and unique! So, without further ado, please stomp your hooves for the premier showing of Equestria’s newest music star! Let’s hear it for Mic Mama Dr4g0n!”

Mic… what?!

Before I could object, the curtains opened and the spotlights shined on me. Murmurs started circulating in the audience as I started to sweat. Okay okay okay… calm down, Cog. You’ve sung in front of an audience before back when you were Nathan… and failed miserably. No no! That was in the past, don’t need to think about it anymore… so why can’t I stop sweating?!

All of a sudden, I heard a low whistle in the audience. I looked and saw that Mrs. Blue was waving at me with a plate in her wing. She motioned her head towards something behind me. I turned and saw Nate and Red smiling as well. One final turn and my eyes fell on Vinyl trotting up to her turntable set up. Her face was soft and her smile sincere as she started to lift up the needle. She waited for my command, something I was very grateful for.

After a full ten seconds, my sweating stopped and I nodded for her to begin. The music started playing… oh crap, I recognize this song! Oh please not that one! How do they even have that here?! The heavily modified lyrics started flashing on the screen… -gulp-... I guess I don't have a choice now.

I took one final breath…

Gripped the mic in my sweaty claw…

Flared out my wings…

Took a step forward…

... And kissed the last of my manhood goodbye.

“Equestria girls, we’re kinda magical~!”

The DJ watches as the Dragon sings her heart out. Her joy brings herself joy... Vinyl’s plan has gone off flawlessly

***^***

“Equestria girls, we’re pony-fabulous~”

Damn~! The crowd is eating Cogy up! And she looks so happy doing something she loves… I’m glad I caught her singing when I did!

I'm also glad this plan went off without a hitch! I was a little worried about burning one of Windy’s chests and blaming it on Cogy… but then I discovered that she had already burned one! Ha! Sure, I discovered it beforehoof… but I felt that the other chest needed to be burned as well. Windy had it coming, that spoiled flank…

Oh, here comes the finale… and the crowd goes wild! Hehe! Oh boy, can this girl’s face turn any redder?! Again, ha!

As she bowed and took her leave of the stage, I motioned for one of my hired stallions to take over the turntable. Now that I’ve got her happy again, I need to apologize.

She was chatting with Nate, the kid is probably praising her. I waited for them to finish before I called out to her. “Great job, Cogy! Way to knock them dead!”

Her face was still bright red. “T-thanks Vinyl.”

“Did you have fun out there?”

The green dragoness slowly nodded her head 'yes'.

“Ha! That’s great! Can’t wait to see who else is going to hit up the mic tonight. I heard, that Fancypants actually sings hardcore gangster rap in his spare time!”

Cogy's eyes widened. “Really?!”

“I know, right?! Guess you can’t judge a book by its sparkly and well-mannered gold cover…”

“…”

“…”

We both remained quiet. I’m… not quite sure how to move this forward. Nate was looking back and forth between us and that Red guy had just left to help organize who would be singing when and what.

“… Vinyl?” Cogy finally asked.

“… Yes Cogy?”

“W-what did you mean earlier that you had seen… ‘quite a bit’?”

My smile fell faster than a drunken Wonderbolt (Spitfires crazy man!). Crap… I was hoping she wouldn’t ask about that. Really wish I didn’t let that slip earlier…

I sighed. Looks like I can’t avoid this. “Hey… Nate? Do you mind leaving us for a sec? We need to talk about… girly stuff… yeah.”

After giving Cog a quick glance, to which she nodded her head, he grudgingly agreed to leave. He left to help that Red guy with his work. Cogy crossed her arms as soon as he disappeared. I think she’s just trying to look strong and controlling, but I know she’s just as nervous as I am about this.

“W-well… what did you see, Scratch?”

Gulp. “I saw… everything, Cogy. Everything.”

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

***^***

~Day 3: Outside Kitchen #2, close to midnight~

Opening the door only a tiny crack with my silent magic, I placed my head against the frame and peeked inside.

Cogy was slowly tiptoeing up behind these two cream colored unicorns. Both were wearing their own clothes and hats instead of those official staff uniforms I see all the help wearing. Despite not wearing them, the two seemed to be cleaning up dishes… without their magic. Odd… maybe they're being punished?

I can pick up what the one with the sick ‘stache (as in it makes me sick just by looking at it) is saying. “Well we didn’t, Flim, so now we just have to put up with this humiliation for now. At least we can try to figure out where the dragon sleeps in the meantime.”

Flim? Okay, so the one on the left is Flim, and the mustached one must be his brother, Flam. These two are the ones who hurt Cogy, apparently. They don’t seem bad, but that comment about finding out where she sleeps is giving me bad vibes… I mean, yeah sure I tried to figure out where she slept myself on the first night by sneaking into rooms, but that was only because I had just met her and wanted to talk to her some more! So I potentially mentally scarred a few snooty ponies and their kids... big whoop.

Flim answered Flam. “Ah yes! Than all we need to do is secure a lifeboat and enough food and we can make it back to Equestria in time for the running of the leaves!”

Secure a lifeboat and get enough food? They want to return to Equestria… after finding out where Cogy sleeps… and before we make it to shore… okay, I'm getting major bad vibes now. The evil ponies thing is starting to seem realer and realer by the second.

Unexpectedly, I heard Cogy’s voice add to the conversation. “Yes, we can’t have a machine missing a cog or two, can we boys?”

What? Why is she talking to them? I thought she hated their guts! The Flim guy doesn’t seem to be paying any attention to her either. Everything’s calm in there for now… well good. I guess this means the whole torture thing really was just a li-

Sweet, Merciful, Celestia!

C-Cogy… Cogy just bashed Flim’s head into the sink! Daaammmnn! I did not think she could pull something like that off!

… Just another thing that makes her similar to Octy, it seems. Calm, polite, and possibly crying one moment, the next she pulls something like this off on somepony’s (mostly Blueblood’s) face! S-scary…

The one named Flam turned to fight Cogy, but he stopped as she lifted Flim up by his horn and placed her claw at his throat! D-damn! She’s not messing around! Girls not going to kill him… is she?

Flam’s horn stopped glowing. “Damn… dragon.”

Cogy readjusted her hold on Flim. “The name’s Cogwill now, not 'dragon'. You will address me as such for now on… well go on… say it.”

D-d-damn! Cogy’s scary! I used humor to try to calm myself. “A-a fierce showdown is taking place in the kitchen, folks! P-place your bets!”

Flam remained silent. “…”

“Aww, what’s the matter, Flam? Dragon got your brother’s throat?” Cogy snarled.

I… I think Cogy is just faking it though. Yeah… I can see it now... her legs are shaking wildly and she’s sweating a literal river. Her voice remains strong, but her body is breaking down on her. I think Flam sees this too.

“… I refuse to call you by that name, dragon.” he responded.

She pressed her claw against the skin a little harder. I think she drew blood. “And why not, Flam?”

Flam’s face was doing a perfect impression of ‘captain’ Grey’s usual stoneface-ness. “… We don’t speak to our seat cushions nor do we name our tubes. We don’t grow our apples and we don’t kiss our gramophone goodnight. Don’t think of yourself as any more important than any other piece of our machine, dragon. You are our battery and will never be anything more or less than that.”

...

I…

I can’t believe I just heard that.

T-that came from a pony’s mouth?!

B-b-but what about love and tolerance?! T-the fire of friendship that lives in our hearts? All of Celestia’s teachings and lessons that were grinded (sometimes literally in my case) into us as foals?! How… how can something so soul crushing and, and malicious come from another unicorn?!

It seems Cogy lost the last of her courage after that little heartfelt speech. “… You’re not worthy of my time either, you flankholes. Stay the hell away from me, o-or else.”

Poor Cogy… this is what she had to deal with? To be treated like a thing... I… I think I can see these two being as evil as she claims they are now. I know I sure as hell don’t want to hang with them, at least! I can’t even imagine what she must have had to put up with. Well, at least she stood up for herself, even if it looks like she didn’t get through to them.

... Oh no! She’s heading my way now. Better…

My horn picked up Flam talking again. “Don’t think you can hide behind talkers forever, dragon! When we find that griffon kid of yours…”

Talkers?! Did he seriously just drop the T word?! Noponies used that term for centuries! And… and did they just threaten Nate?! W-what the hell are they going to do-

Slam!

“Ah!” Whoa! That caused me to jump! Something just knocked the door I was peeking through wide open! Good thing I stepped to the side when I did or else I would have been smacked in the face! What the hell caused that?

The thing in the doorway looks like… something long and green… and scaly… with red spines, a-and it’s forked… T-this is Cogy’s tail! H-how…?

Being careful not to touch the thing, I peeked through the door again…

And did not like what I saw.

“What in the name wub is that?!” I shrieked, secretly enjoying the beast of pure metal that laid before me.

***^***

~Day 4: Behind the curtain, after the show~

Cogy halted my retelling. “Vinyl, p-please stop.”

The ballroom was empty now as the show had ended a while ago. It was just me and Cogy talking now.

“But I haven’t got to th-” I started to say, but I stopped when I saw that she was crying. “Cogy…”

She tried to wipe away her tears. “T-t-that’s not me… that monster wasn’t me! P-p-please... -Sniff-... D-don’t tell a soul, Vinyl… please…”

Oh… oh wow! I can use this to be friends with her again! I didn’t even need to go through with my pla-

…

No… that would have been underhoofeded. I can’t base an entire friendship around keeping somedragon’s secret. It’s because of junk like that that most of my relationships crumble within the first month. No… what this girl needs right now is assurance that I’m not going to hurt her again.

I crossed my heart with a hoof, flapped my arms like wings, and then magically raised my shades sideways so I could place a hoof over my eye.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Your secret’s safe with me, girl!”

She blinked blankly at my odd ceremony. Yeah, that’s the usual response I get when I do that.

“Hehe, that was a super powerful promise thingy this other party filly taught me once. It’s called a ‘Pinkie Promise’, I think, and its super-duper intense, filly! Don’t you fret… I, I don’t want to hurt you again, Cogy.”

Cogy was just as surprised at my show of weakness as my Pinkie Promise. I sighed again and removed my glasses, showing off my purple irises. The few ponies who know me personally know that when the shades come off, it’s time to get serious. Oddly, Cogy looked a little disappointed when I took them off, almost like she was expecting something else. Weird.

I placed my shades on a nearby table. “Cogy… I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I know now that your weren’t lying. Your scars… are real. Your pain was real. And boy, were you right about evil ponies! If last night didn’t convince me that those two were evil, then that Flim guy hitting on me, like, an hour ago sure did!”

“He… he hit on you?!” Cogy asked, fairly surprised.

I puffed out my chest proudly. “Hehe, yup! Poor guy thought he stood a chance with the Pon-3! Even if he wasn’t rockin' a shiner, guy wouldn’t have lasted ten seconds with me! He has the manners of an Ursa Major! Let’s just say I ‘hit’ him back after his act of pretending to be a gentlecolt involved calling me ‘babe’.”

We shared a laugh. This is going well so far, but I can’t give up yet.

“So… Cogy." I resumed. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry again. I stupidly didn’t listen to your cries for help and ignored you… like I ignored Octy.”

“Like… Octavia?” Cogy asked.

At first I was surprised that she knew her full name, as I wasn’t sure if I told her what Octy stood for or not, but then I figured that she had simply heard about her like everypony else does. Girl is just as famous as me, after all! I nodded my head. “Yeah, like Octavia. She was my BPFF, and I chased her away as well with my showboating and my damn big head… we haven’t talked to each other in months and I don’t think that that’s going to change anytime soon.”

“I’m… sorry, Vinyl.”

“No… no it was all my fault. She was given a once in a lifetime offer that I thought she wanted, but it turned out she didn’t as it would prevent her from playing her music her way: professionally but fun. Even though she begged me to ignore it, I thought it was all she wanted so I signed the contract behind her back. She accused me of never listening to her… and she was right. Heh. I guess I was a monster in my own right, wasn’t I, Cogy?”

Cogy cringed at the word ‘monster’. Oh horseapples, poor word choice.

I quickly backpedaled. “S-sorry… but you know, you weren’t that bad of a monster. If I was still acting all cool and amazing, well like myself really, then I would have told you by now that you looked really bucking awesome… but that’s not what you want to hear, is it?”

She slowly shook her head from side to side. Her tears were still falling.

“… You did the same thing back then too.”

Her head rose at my comment. “W-wha?”

I placed a hoof on her shoulder. “When you transformed, you cried the entire time, Cogy. The entire time. Even when you were threatening to turn those two flankholes into your dinner, your eyes were moist. Heh... my little dragon was shining through that monster in the end and it was her who avoided doing something stupid. If this makes any sense, I know how you felt; to be stuck behind a, oh how did Octy describe it? To be stuck behind… a ‘mask’ that hides who you really are."

"... That doesn't really make sense, Scratch."

"Heh, give me a break! I'm not used to being all thinky and junk... anyways, where my ‘mask’ is my Celestia-may-care-attitude, yours is an actual monster… but you overcame yourself while I didn’t. I respect you for that, girl.”

“R-really, Vinyl?”

“Really, Cogy. I need to start focusing on others instead of just myself... I never listen to anypony but myself! I’ve been like this for years, which explains why I didn't have any real friends until Octy came along and stayed with me for so long. The ones I would make after her were always so artificial...

"Losing you made me realize… that I really need to clean up my act. Sure I could have easily tried again with some other filly, but then I wouldn't be learning anything and the results would have, without a doubt, been the same. So,” I sat on my haunches so I could at least attempt to be at her eye level. “Please... can we please be friends again? Its, heh, very lonely at the top.”

Cogy was silent. I started sweating. Oh no, did I ask too soon? Too late? Oh please oh please oh please say…

She suddenly hugged me tightly. “… Yes Vinyl, we can be friends again. Despite your claims of being egotistical and self-absorbed, you cared about me enough tonight to do everything in your power to make me happy. Let me guess; after my little transformation you followed me and saw how happy I was after meeting Rarity, right?”

“Hehe, guilty as charged. Didn’t really picture you as the makeover type, Cogy!”

The little dragon blushed a second time. “Y-yeah, neither did I. Still... thank you for taking me back to her and thank you for letting me sing. This was really fun. Heh, but seriously... Mic Mama Dragon?”

“Hey! It’s dragon plus 40, and I thought it was cool!”

“Dragon plus… so Mic Mama Dr4g0n?”

“There you go!”

“… Heh, okay, it is kinda cool, Pon-3. I’ll give you that... can’t say the same about the song choice though!”

I rubbed a hoof behind my head. “Okay, yeah, I’ll admit that I probably should have gone with something a bit better from my backcatalogue, but you sang it better then Windy herself! That girl always sounds like she’s in a wind tunnel to me…”

We laughed again before Cogy looked down depressingly.

“… A-and, and I want to thank you, Vinyl, for another thing.”

“Hm? What would that be, Cogy?”

She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “T-thank you. Thank you for seeing me at my worst, as that monster, and still treating me as, well, me. Everyday I have to question if I still am me anymore... and everyday I become a little less sure...”

I finally returned her hug. “Not a problem. I promise you that I'll never see that monster and the awesome little dragon I know as the same person. Never. You have my word on my honor as a party filly. We never make you frown… except in that one instance where I was a flankhole and made you cry, that is. W-we can forget that ever happened now, right?”

She tightened her hold on me, wrinkling her dress. She seems to have about as much experience with those things as I do. “It never did, BPFF. It never did…”

***^***

I gripped her tightly, probably wrinkling this dress. Sorry Rare, I just don’t have enough experience to keep this thing looking nice. “It never did, BPFF. It never did…”

With that I felt a... a glowing in my chest, along with this warm fuzzy feeling. I think it’s my greed fire, but it doesn’t feel as sinister as it normally does. I’ll wager a guess and state that this is how it feels when a piece of one’s ‘hoard’ returns to them. When she left I felt pain, when she returned I felt… love. I… I love it. I love the feeling of being complete, and I no longer have this sickly feeling in the back of my mind that I’m missing something. I never felt like this on Earth… and I never did have this many real friends there either.

Red…

Mrs. Blue…

Vinyl…

Rarity…

Nathan De La Griffon…

I can even feel Iron Will and his goats in my, for lack of a better term, heart. Although his presence feels faint, when I think about him it seems to shimmer and glow again slightly. It’s… really hard to explain. It’s like I can feel the ties that bind us all together and it makes me feel warm inside.

... But, I can feel ties connecting me to Earth as well... to my family.

Dylan, Caleb, Ben, Sam… just like Iron Will, I can feel them as well but only faintly. It doesn’t feed my flame like the friends currently around me do.

... My God. Is this what it feels like to be a changeling? Have I become some sort of Changeling/Dragon hybrid?!

No… that would be stupid. You’re stupid. I just have a weird hoard...

Anyhow, yes; I can feel my Earth friends and family alongside my Equestria friends and ‘family’ inside my tiny body. Hazarding another guess, I think the ties that connect me to those not with me only appears if I have someone near me in person. Like… my hoard can’t be empty if I want to include certain people in it, or something else totally contrived and stupid that would explain why Nate was the kickstarter to the flame's birth.

My thoughts keep running one question by me though...

... What happens when I go back home?

...

... Please… oh please, God, never make me have to choose. I’ve wanted nothing more than to go home since I made it here and had to deal with Flim and Flam... But, in the span of four days I’ve been gifted with so many reasons to stay.

What… what will happen to my brothers if I stay, and what will happen to me if I do? I’m not like normal dragons, my hoard isn't not going to last forever…

… Yet I can.

I gripped Vinyl a tad harder as the subject I’ve been trying to avoid for so long suddenly struck me. I’ve joked about it and made jabs at it, but it’s nonetheless true and scary.

Dragons can live for a long time… a loooonnnggg time...

B-but I don’t want a life that lasts for centuries! Who the hell wants to live forever?!

To stand over your friend’s graves.

To watch as the land changes before your eyes.

To watch as the world moves on without you.

To be so very lonely forever.

Celestia and Luna (Maybe Cadence) have each other at least... but who will I have?

… I have a goal now.

I’ve used him as an example, never really enjoyed him in the show, and thought he was a bit of a wimp until one episode highlighted how much he reveres family and friends. I can’t believe I’m saying this but…

I will do my best to become Spike’s friend.

Bleh! That left a bad taste in my mental mouth… but it’s still a good idea. If I am forced to stay here, if I can’t return home for some reason, I will stand by someone like me. I will stand by someone who can stay with me through the generations as everyone around us crumbles away. He may be young now, but if worse comes to worst we can be there for each other when the inevitable happens.

This idea makes me nervous though. Now that I have experience being around normal sized ponies (and especially Rarity), I can confidently state that despite me being thinner, Spike and I are the same size and the same age.

Same race.

Same species.

Different genders.

Whatever the hell brought me here, or whoever brought me here, seems to have made me a perfect square block for the square hole that is Spike. I’d actually hazard a guess and say that we’re, -gulp-, m-made for each other.

If that’s true, then I think I need to have some words with the universe.

Clipclop...

Two ponies suddenly trotted awkwardly into the ballroom, reminding me of another thing this universe did to tick me off.

He or she made these two flankholes hatch me.

Flim and Flam were silently standing away from us, yet they were clearly glaring. Vinyl instantly started proving her loyalty to me by trying to get in between us, but I found the strength to defend myself.

“Let me guess,“ I began. “Grey Horse is pissed that we haven’t done any work together yet today, right?”

Flim (now with two black eyes) glared at me the best he could while Flam nodded slowly.

“Beat it, you two!” Demanded Vinyl. “We had a good thing going for us right now until you ruined it!”

Flam shrank under Vinyl glasses-less glare. Flim took a step back as well. Despite her having these two on the ropes by herself, I had a better idea.

“… Vinyl? It’s okay. I’m going with them.”

She was taken aback and the brother’s looked equally confused.

I explained. “If I don’t work with them now, then Grey’s going to punish Mrs. Blue again…” I winked at Vinyl before shooting the boys a mischievously evil smile. “She’s part of my ‘hoard’, boys. Do you know what that means?”

I jumped down from the stage and approached Flam. He started cowering.

“G-get back!” He squeaked.

Flim stepped in between us. I allowed my tongue to slither about as I actually started purring. Finally, sweet sweet revenge.

I jabbed the center of Flim’s chest with a claw as I continued. “It means, flankholes, that if somepony messes with her…” I tilted my head so I could glare at Flam. “Well… it’ll result in the same thing that happened to you, Flam...”

To seal the deal, I brought my Legion impression back from the grave.

“It releasesss the beassst!”

Flam started hyperventilating as I walked away, my point being made.

Vinyl was stomping her hooves in applause. “Whoo! You go girl! Who’s a badflank?”

I laughed embarrassingly. “I guess that would be me, wouldn’t it?”

She raised a hoof towards me expectantly. “You know it!”

Oh

My

God

Shaking with anticipation, I balled up my claw and completed my first brohoof in Equestria with the Vinyl Scratch.

... Okay, that’s it, the adventures over. There’s no way in hell anything’s going to top what I’m feeling right now.

Carefully, I removed my dress and earrings (they were clip-ons) and fixed my hair up into my ponytail and bow combo. “Can you return these to Rarity, Vinyl? I don’t want to damage them while scaring the crap out of these two some more.”

“Hehe. Sure thing, Cogy! You have fun now! Take care!”

I waved to her as well. “You too! Don’t worry... I’ll leave Flam’s face clean for you!”

Flam yelped as Vinyl trotted off in a laughing fit. Her smile seemed more genuine then anything I had seen so far. Looks like she got just what she wanted today... I hope she’ll be able to help Nate and me in Prance. I'd hate for her to return to being as lonely as she said she was.

With Vinyl’s departure I was left with my two former tormenters. I cracked my knuckles threateningly. “Okay, boys... let’s have some fun.”

The looks on their faces were priceless.

***^***

~Day 4: In Kitchen #1 of the S.S. Luna Returner, close to midnight~

Scrubscrubscrub…

The sound of dishes being scrubbed clean.

Brushbrushbrush…

The sound of dishes being dried.

…

The silence that hangs heavily over the three of us. Flims still fuming while Flams shaking madly. I stood in-between them, with my emerald scales shining in the artificial lighting.

I turned my head towards Flam. As I did he cowered in fear. This caused me to smile wickedly.

I then turned to Flim. It’s easy for him to fake it with his damaged face, but I can tell that he’s also scared of me. Maybe he’s thinking that the ‘Minion of Discord’ comment was starting to make sense. Man, I hope so! Oh the fun I can have if I get to talk like Discord!

I started humming to myself as we cleaned. “Chocolate rain~”

They cringed. Ah, psychological torture. My Favorite!

"Yawn~"

I also hope I get to go to sleep soon... How is it that I had to deal with a dragon, a break up, Captain Grey’s flankholery, and becoming a monster yesterday, yet just singing and hugging has worn me out twice as badly?

“Hello you three.”

We jumped at the voice. Probably Grey again... has that guy showed up yet without causing me to jump? I turned around and saw the pony himself and Red standing in the doorway. Grey’s face was just as stony as ever, but Red looked on edge. What’s going on?

I didn’t have time to ask, as I was suddenly brought to his back via magic and taken out the door.

“R-red?” I tried to ask. “What’s going on?”

Red kept focusing on galloping. The captain was flying next to us as we zoomed through the hallways. He was the one who answered me.

“Keep quiet until we’re outside, whelp. Something has come up that’s highly confidential. All the guests have been ordered to stay in their rooms and not leave under any circumstances until we get this sorted.”

It was then that I noticed that the captain was sweating madly, so I decided to comply. W-what the hell is going on?

As we exited the hallway and went out onto the main deck, I quickly discovered what was wrong.

“T-the water. Why’s it so choppy?” I asked fearfully.

The weather was clear yet powerful waves were crashing against out hull. Even in the dead of night, I could make out an assortment of crew members running around, trying to get things under control as things went flying every which way in the abnormal winds. Windows were also being covered up in order to keep whatever was going on a secret. I couldn’t spot Nate or Blue in this mess and Red was still not talking to me. Come on; we may have not talked as much but he said he was my friend, why can’t he tell me anythin-

Suddenly, something in the distance caught my attention, and I quickly understood the severity of the situation.

“Grey… Red… i-is that…?”

“Yes whelp, it is... sea serpents...” The captain replied grimly. “At least three massive ones in the front, three teen sized ones in the back, and children on the sides. Unsure how many there are in all... They popped up out of nowhere and started silently leading the ship off course. We don’t have any record of there being a nest around here so they must have traveled a long way for this.”

Sea serpents... sworn enemies of dragons, according to Emeraldgrey. What… what does the captain need me for?

“W-why did you bring me here, Grey?”

He took his gaze off the distant trio of adults and looked at me. “We need you to talk to them.”

... What?! “What?! B-but sea serpents hate dragons!

"… So I’m told.”

Grey returned to glaring ahead. “I’m aware, but you're still apart of the same race ‘family’ as them. They’ll be more willing to talk to a dragon then a pony, at least. Emeraldgrey is out of the question so that just leaves you.”

“You can do it, Cog.” Red finally started talking again, but his normal cheeriness was gone. What remained was a very scared pony. -Gulp-, w-well, at least Rarity is on this ship. That alone proves that they can’t be hostile… doesn’t mean I can’t die, but at least Nate should be okay if he stays on the ship. Heh, maybe these guys will turn out to be related to the one in the Everfree, and that all this is just for a mustache convention or something else ridiculous and silly like that.

Grey continued. “I’ve already sent a flier out in an attempt to form a dialogue with them. In a few moments, I’ll be expecting you to make use of those flight lessons you were given and mee-”

Sploosh!

Before he could finish, something came crashed down on the deck, hard. It was something solid, heavy, and made a squishing sound on impact. It also made Red let go of his magic grip on me. He took a fearful step forward, his eyes twitching rapidly. Regaining my footing, I walked around him in order to get a better look at the object. What is this thi-?

Then I started recognizing features.

A pair of hooves.

Broken wings.

A snapped neck.

And the whole thing was boiled beyond recognition. That’s right, boiled, not burned. There was no color left on this creature... only boiled, red, flesh.

It was a corpse.

I fell backwards on to my tail. N-no. Oh please no, n-not again. “W-why… why would the-?!”

That’s when I took notice of two features that had escaped me on my first fearful scan.

... A single scar... and a feather.

A long since healed scar, running through the side of her body, and a single cyan blue colored feather.

...

It was Mrs. Blue.

Mrs. Blue… was dead.

She was dead…

My friend was dead…

…

White.

Nothing but white.

A land of white as far as I could comprehend.

Buzzing.

A sterile buzzing engulfed my world.

It went on.

And on.

And on…

Just as the world went on.

And on.

And on…

Forever.

The world went on.

I went on.

… But she didn’t, and never will.

...

I felt twin fires burn within me. The flame of greed roared out in pain I could never hope to describe in words. The voice within my head was nothing but the snarling of a beast... its words unrecognizable. I returned to the waking world, but it was like a dream, no, a nightmare. From this nightmare I felt the second flame burn. It was a fire I knew too well, for it was the flame I breathed. Every pained breath I took caused it to escape my throat in my ever growing anger.

Only one word echoed throughout my shattered, grief filled mind. One single word drove me forward past the brink.

Mine.

Miiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!

I dropped to all fours and started charging ‘Revenge’, it would once more live up to its name. My anger overtook my shock and lead me to take up mindless action. Pain escaped me and my tears were blinding.

Red roared in anger; his pain I shared and his words my own if my mouth was not preoccupied with justice. “T-those bastards… you bastards!”

His horn began glowing bright crimson, a giant mini-sun formed above his head. The heat from his blaze was unbearable, but bare it I did as an even hotter inferno formed in my throat.

I trained my eyes on the largest serpent in front of us, most likely the leader.

The thief.

The murderer.

My target.

Throughout my charge, my greed flame flickered images into my minds eyes, feeding my rage. It was Mrs. Blue in her entirety. Every little moment we shared, from the large to the insignificant. Working with her, laughing with her, flying with her, hugging her.

Not getting to thank her.

Bones began to snap and pop as my muzzle grew with the heat of my greed, it becoming long enough to launch my ‘Revenge’ in succession. My claws dug into the deck of the ship as they too grew in length and held me in place. My form had become like that of a cannon: soulless and destructive.

I’ll kill them.

I will kill them.

I will kill them all.

Mrs. Blue…

Mrs. Bl-

My flame was abruptly cut off as a grey colored wing wrapped around my face and dragged me backwards. My greed flame flickered and my form returned to normal, muzzle snapping back into place and my claws retracting. Eight holes remained in the deck of the ship.

I kicked and scream. “Let me go, Grey! They killed Blue! They killed-”

“Stand down, whelp!” He bellowed. “Mr. Red! Cut off that flame now! That’s a direct order!”

“Cram it ‘captain’!” Retorted Red with tear stained eyes. “They killed my sister! I'm going to bucking kill them all!”

"Stand down, damn it!”

“Buck you Captain,” and with that Red launched his giant ball of mad flames. It swirled with a mixture of colors and almost rivaled ‘Revenge’ in size. Time slowed down as the ball of death flew through the air towards the trio ahead of us. After what felt like an eternity, the strike made contact against the back of the one next to the center’s head and engulfed it in fire. The creature screamed out in pain and floundered around, trying to shake off the blaze, but he dropped dead into the sea before he could properly douse it. The other two wailed out in soul crushing sorrow.

“Take that, you bastard!” Red continued to roar. I kept up my struggle; I have no gripes with killing monsters.

“Let me go, damn it!” I demanded.

Grey’s eyes were wide in shock as he watched the scene unfold. “Mother of Celestia… Mr. Red! Get back inside right now!”

Red didn’t listen as he began forming another ball. “Screw off, Grey. I’m not stopping until they're all de-”

But Grey only roared in response. “GET BACK INSIDE, FOAL, BEFORE-”

Red never got the rest of Grey’s warning.

Just as the words escaped the captains lips, a torrent of steaming water exited the lead serpent’s mouth. The boiling funnel traveled such a great distance just to strike down Red. I heard a gargled cry of pain before… nothing. When the stream ended, the only thing that made Red distinguishable from Blue was the charred and smoking horn.

My greed flame burst into a mighty blaze as my voice boomed. “RRREEEEEEEDDDDDD!!!”

“Damn it damn it damn it!” Screamed Grey, the situation getting more out of hoof by the second. “Whelp, calm down!”

My voice warped on its own. “@#$% you, sir! @#$% you to hell and back! I’m going to kill them with my own damn claws! LET ME GO!!”

“Damn it! Ugh! Cog! Calm yourself before you end up like Red and Blue! You’ll do nopony good being a corpse as well, so calm yourself before you get yourself killed!”

...

They have taken what is mine. They have no more right to their lives.

... M-mrs. Blue, Red…

They were mine and they stole them from me.

W-why is this happening...?

My hoard has been tampered with. Kill all who oppose you, starting with Captain Grey. He stands between you and your kill, what is rightfully m-

S-shut up, damn it. Shut up. M-my friends are gone... my friends, not my things!

...

With that the greed flame froze over and my mind returned to me. Just as it did, the reality around me finally sank in.

The first thing I did with my restored mind was to break down into tears and mourn the loss of the mother of two and the aspiring cook. Captain Grey, however, didn’t give me the chance as he quickly scooped me up with a wing and deposited me on his back. He rocketed inside the ship.

I tried to stop him through my tears. “W-w-we need to go back! They could still be…”

“They’re dead, whelp, get over it. We’ll all be dead too unless we send out an emergency scroll to the coast guards this instant.”

... How…?

How can this be happening?

T-those things could kill us all.

They might kill us all.

But that can’t be right, right?

Rarity, Vinyl Scratch, Filthy Rich, Diamond Tiara, Fancypants, and all the other celebrities on this ship were alive in the future! I saw it! Especially Rarity... she can’t die, she’s a main character! There are still so many episodes that haven’t taken place yet! How…?

‘My! This minotaur sounds like a true gentlecolt! I do hope you get to see him again, darling… Ohhh! If I ever see those Flim Flam Cretans myself, dear, well... I can assure you that will not be graced by ‘nice’ Rarity!’

!!!

...

… I...

I changed the future.

I-I caused all of this.

I… I killed Red and Blue…

Before that train of thought could chug along any further, Grey stopped in midflight. The stop was so abrupt that is caused me to fall off. I quickly correct myself with my own wings and hovered right up next to him.

“W-why did you stop, Grey?… Grey…!”

W-what…?!

What the hell is going on now?!

Grey’s pupils were missing, leaving behind nothing but white. I waved a shaking claw in front of this face. “G-g-grey Horse?”

He muttered something in a monotone voice. “… The… the music…”

He remained flapping in midair, not moving from his spot. It took me a second to realize but I noticed something else; his cutie mark was flashing in and out of existence with a strong light. I… I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this befor-

“The music.”

I surged upwards in mid-hover as Vinyl, of all ponies, appeared out of nowhere like she normally does.

Landing next to her, I gripped her in an embrace. “Vinyl! V-vinyl, Blue and Red are… Vinyl? C-can you hear me?”

Was unable to see right away, but her mark was glowing as well. Fearfully, I took her shades off... her eyes were pure white, the same as Grey's. What… what the hell?! Why is this happening?!

“The music… the music…”

Ponies… there were ponies everywhere. Leaving their rooms and standing outside of them. Pegasi were flouting in midair and unicorn horns were beaming. All their marks were glowing, and even the children who lacked marks were chanting as well.

It was the same thing every time.

“The music. The music. The music.”

Taking a step back, I almost bumped into the Flim Flam brothers. They too were caught in this spell. A-all the ponies were being controlled by something… Nate!

Unfolding my wings I flew through the hallways, being careful not to bump into anypony. I did my best to remember the mantra without thinking about how I learned it. ‘M-m-monkey, t-tree…’

Once I made it, I practically knocked the staff room’s door off its hinges and spotted…

“Nate!”

Nate was holding his head with a claw and wincing in pain. His eye’s iris kept appearing and disappearing… and his ‘birthmark’ was glowing as well.

“C-cog…”

I quickly hugged him. “Nate! Oh Nate, please tell me you're still you! I-I can’t lose anyone else after... a-after..." -Sniff- "O-oh G-god, please just be you!”

Nate did his best to talk, but he was obviously in pain. “Lose? Who… never mind. I… I t-think I’m still me, but all the ponies have gone into some kind of trance and…”

I finished for him. “A-and they're chanting about some music. Y-you seem fine though.”

“Yeah. L-looks like it only affects ponies. Heh, lucky me.”

“Y-yeah. L-l-lucky y-y-o…" -Sniff-

I gripped the young griffon harder than ever before as everything finally started plummeting around me. I-it all happened so quickly! Nate, ever loyal, returned the hug without question. I-I’ll have to tell him soon, but please just grant me these few moments of normalcy, universe… please... thank you.

It wasn’t to be, as Nate started humming a tune.

“N-nate? That’s… kinda inappropriate right now.”

His voice was raspy. “I’m sorry Cog, but I can’t control it… t-the music…”

I gulped. “Can… can you hear it, Nate?”

Nate slowly shook his head ‘yes’.

This might be the key. “C-can you repeat it for me?”

He nodded again and closed his eyes.

“… Shoo, be doo. Shoo shoo, be doo~”

...

... I take it back.

I take it aaaaaallllll back.

This universe has never done anything for me and it never will. It does nothing but hurt me and throw weirder and weirder curveballs my way.

Emeraldgrey’s words echoed in my mind. ‘The serpents serve their mortal gods…’

I uttered the most powerful three syllable word I had ever uttered in my entire life. My words were worn down and my voice brittle as I spoke the name of the ones who had taken my friends away from me and threatened to take away everything else.

“Seaponies.”

And thus the S.S. Luna Returner sailed into parts unknown for reasons shrouded in mystery

…

Tomorrow, I’ll go against fate

Chapter 8: To Be Heard, Dawn of the Final Day

Chapter 8, To be Heard, Dawn of the Final Day

For those who it may concern… I ask you…

… What shapes a person?

His actions?

Her past?

His luck?

Her gifts?

What makes you… you?

What makes me, me?

Man… Woman… Boy… Girl… I care not. Becoming a girl didn’t change me, if anything it made me stronger.

Becoming a dragon didn’t change me, if anything it made my tougher.

Becoming a child again didn’t change me, if anything it has allowed me to enjoy this world to its fullest.

… This world of which I was gifted to roam, as well as cursed.

… Why am I here?

What was it about me that made me… special?

Was I good in another life? Bad?

Was I destined to change this world… or ruin it?

Was I a fallen angel or a redeemed demon?

What have I done to deserve this twisted fairy tale? What have I done to earn such love, only for it to be taken away so harshly? To make friends only to lose them? To be gifted with a ‘hoard’ worth fighting for, yet given a life long enough to watch it wither away?

Man and Girl.

Adult and Child.

Human and Dragon.

I am Nathan and Cogwill. My entire being has become a duality of many things. I am strong yet weak all at the same time.

And this hell hole is just as much my world now as it is for everyone else.

“… As it was for you; Mrs. Blue Night, Mr. Crimson Red.”

With my thoughts fulfilled, I released a single cyan blue feather (all that remained of the late Mrs. Blue) and watched it fly away over the railing on a gentle sea breeze. At least it was night time; this meant that Blue was able to perform her special talent one last time, both in her final hour and in spirit. If nothing else, this at least gave me some closure… well as much as I’m going to get this horrible night, that is.

... Now for Mr. Red.

As soon as the feather was out of sight and I was sure the sea serpents weren’t looking, I fired off a series of fireballs directly into the air, reminiscent of a three-volley salute. I did this in remembrance of the pyromaniac whose ‘brave and courageous’ side I was not fortunate enough to see... not like Nate did, at least.

It was with red, tear stained eyes that my avian friend threw his own fire-related trinket into the sea, a simple broken zippo lighter which had somehow been gifted with one last green flame. It was marked with Red’s cutie mark and its overall meaning was lost on me... yet I could see in Nate’s eyes that tossing it meant the world to him.

Mr. Red… I’m so sorry I didn’t get to know you like Nate got to know you…

After we offered up a prayer to our respective gods, Nate and I returned to our search for the illusive coast guard’s magic sending seal, as well as our search for any pony strong enough to resist ‘The Music’.

There was no time left to mourn.

No time left to be scared.

And no time left for me to be a child.

I finished my final act of childishness when I performed the dark task of making sure Red and Blue’s bodies were safe. Dragging them both inside the ship wasn’t childish, and neither was closing their eyes and covering them both in a blanket…

… But giving them both one final hug goodbye through the blankets with free flowing tears unquestionably was.

… Sadly, there’s no time left to cry.

No time left to run away either. Even if there was, I wouldn’t dare to take the easy way out… because all of this was my fault.

In my foolishness I’ve altered history, and the end result dragged almost a thousand ponies, a young griffon, and an element of harmony into a potential massacre.

It’s my duty to fix this. I got my friends into this mess…

And I intend to get them out of it.

***^***

There’s no time to beat around the bush this night. Long story short, we found the seal and made quick work of writing up the S.O.S. message… but some work needed to be done first before I could send it. To begin, I needed to figure out our new coordinates on the ocean map.

That only took, like, an hour.

After that a half hour was dedicated to reading through protocols. Didn’t want the guards to think that our cry for help was a prank, after all.

The other detriment was that, well, I wasn’t used to writing with claws. Missing a finger is quite a pain!

One final problem was that Nate told me that he never heard of seaponies before. I know I saw a little filly dressed as one in Manehatten, but that could just mean that it’s some kind of pony only mythological creature that griffons aren’t aware of. Either way, I had to rewrite the entire message at least once in order to erase all mentioning of them. Don’t want anypony thinking we’re crazy…

Once that was all sorted though, I was able to write up the actual meat of the message. It requested immediate aid, listed how Captain Grey had become incapacitated, reported how we were heading north now instead of our original course of east, contained a warning/cry for help to the inbound Princess Luna (I don’t want to drag anypony else into this hell… but Luna’s help would be appreciated), included the names of the serpents’ kills (with requested honors), and I finished it by signing my name as ‘Temporary Captain Cogwill the Dragon, age 11’.

I was hoping that that last bit would highlight how boned we actually are. The whole report took several hours to research, draft, and finalize…

… But it was only after I did all that hard work that we discovered that there was a little snag in our plan…

“Damn it!” I roared. “Why can’t I send this stupid thing?!”

Gripping the scroll in my claw, I burned it once more and turned it into purple smoke. After a full three seconds it rematerialized and dropped at my feet.

Looks like twentieth time is not the charm.

Ugh!

I kicked the stupid thing, bouncing it off the captain’s wheel and sending it rebounding towards my face. Of course, as is the norm of this universe, it hit me squarely in the eye. Mother fu-

“C-c-cog, please calm down…”

I turned to look at Nate… and let up on my anger when I saw that he was cowering in one of the bridge’s corners, holding his head in his claws in a bid to rid himself of the ever growing music. I fear that it will take him eventually…

… Leaving me all alone.

While I was completing this scroll, Nate bravely did a complete search of the ship and discovered we’re the only two left that’s not being controlled… outside of my ‘daddy’ downstairs, that is. I haven’t gone down there yet to request his aid, and truthfully I don’t know how much I could trust his ‘aid’, but I know I’ll have to eventually. I’m quickly running out of options here...

Priority number one was to send off this stupid emergency scroll but whatever power the seaponies have to control the ponies and steer the ship seems to also block magic scroll sending. They must possess magic as well… or it could be the power of their ‘pet’ sea serpents... I just don’t know!

Ugh! The amount of crap I don’t know is starting to piss me off…

Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to be angry at a time like this. I need a clear head if we’re going to make it out of here alive, and Nate knows this just as well as I do. The only thing my angry yelling accomplishes is to make Nate scared for the future he may or may not have.

I hardened my emotions as I tried to reassure Nate; I’m just as afraid as he is but as I said, I no longer have time to give in to my fear.

I… I have to be brave for him, and I have to start acting like the adult I actually am.

“We’re going to be okay, Nate… I promise you.”

“B-b-but the scrolls not working.” Nate replied, his voice wobbly and his eyes close to tears. “W-who’s going to save us?”

Looking past his glasses, I stared directly into Nate's bright blue eyes. The resemblance to my brother Ben was unmistakable now, both in terms of form and actions. My mind briefly returned to happier days, where little Ben would be shaking and crying his own blue eyes out in the corner of the basement whenever a bad storm raged outside. He would be joined by Sam, who would share in his fright, and Caleb, who would be scared as well, but would try to hide it. I’d be standing over them, assuring them it would be okay and that they had nothing to fear.

Despite the change in relationship, species, and dimensions: this time was no different.

Gripping his shoulders with my claws (forcing him to look at me) I got down on my knee and told him that “I will, Nate. I will. I swear this on my long draconic life, on the flames that burn within me, and on my very soul... you’ll get out of this safe and sound.” I tried to lighten the mood by smiling weakly. “We’ll just add this to the earlier promise. C-cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye…”

Nate remained silent until something occurred to him.

“… Y-you… you didn’t include yourself in that vow, Cog.”

“…”

“C-cog?”

“… You’ll be okay. I promise. Sigh. Nate... follow me. I’m going to need you to stand watch while I have a little chat with my ‘father’.”

“… Okay.”

Reluctantly, he agreed and we exited the bridge. The wheel kept spinning and turning of its own accord as the door closed behind us.

***^***

Silence…

Nothing… but silence.

As we walked slowly through the halls of the S.S. Luna Returner, a feeling of pure dread gripped my heart.

Where once there was chatter, there was silence.

Where children ran and laughed and squealed with joy at seeing the sea, there was an unsettling hush.

The hiss of the kitchens and the aroma of cooking in the air were both gone.

The ballrooms were twice as empty, still having been left clean from after dinner.

Water dripped from the ‘Crow’s Nest’ as well. With no ponies left to maintain it, the clouds were starting to leak.

And the staff rooms full of happy smiles and lighthearted laughter; where Nate and I slept, ate, and felt at home…

… Empty.

It didn’t dawn on me until this moment… but we were truly on our own here.

It… it was like I was back in the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 all over again.

Darkness.

Coldness.

Emptiness.

The ever looming feeling that something outside these walls was about hurt you without a moment’s notice...

And… that soul crushing feeling of being completely alone.

All these feelings I associated with that demon machine, and now with this Ghost Ship.

Shuffle

… But at least this time I have somegriffon to share my anxiety with.

Nate limped alongside me while I helped him along. One of his claws was firmly glued to his head, as if keeping it there would lessen the screeching of the seaponies’ song.

All the ponies were gone now. They had left their rooms, in a herd, just so they could stand outside along the edge of the northern deck. I guess ‘The Music’ is stronger there or something. I wouldn’t know... I thankfully still couldn’t hear it.

Also thankfully, the pegasi had enough sense left in them to not fly the expanse and the unicorns haven’t tried to ‘wink’ the distance either. Their horns still glowed and their wings still flapped, yet neither of them took advantage of it. Earth ponies would simply stand around along the edge of the railing, appearing to not be all that affected, but if you tried to move them… well… then you get bucked in the head by Diamond Tiara.

Hey, don’t judge me! Shes small and I was worried she’d slip through the protective railing! Big brother/big sister instincts took over, okay?!

Speaking of cameos; during Nate’s search I was half praying for freaking Gustave le Grand, of all griffons, to magically show up, just so there would be one more person by our side. Griffons seem resistant to it, at least...

Alas, there’s no one else on this ship capable of fighting off the music. Nomules, nosheep, nobovine, nobull, nobuffalo…

But… not nodragon.

***^***

Clickclick

My toes hit the cold surface of the ship’s ‘basement’ as I finished my descent from the staircase. By the sounds of snoring echoing throughout the room, it was easy to figure out that ‘Mr. Dragon’ was sleeping. He’s probably unaware of what’s going on around him right now.

... Sigh. I wish for some rest myself, but I know that’s not going to happen any time soon. Even if I did get some, I fear I would have nightmares…

Seeing Emeraldgrey smiling while he slept caused something inside of me to finally snap. No one deserves to be happy right now. No one. That smile is seriously starting to tick me off... looks like I have a decent sized target for all this pent up stress now. Thank goodness Nate can’t hear me through these giant walls…

“WAKE UP YOU LOUSY SACK OF CRAP!” I bellowed, not caring what the response would be. I have no time to be afraid anymore. I need him up and that’s that.

… But Emeraldgrey kept on sleeping.

Damn it, I don’t have time for this either. Eyeing up his gem piles, the solution became clear.

I yanked out one of his rubies, a nice big one (I haven’t eaten in a while, after all), and bit into it with my tiny fangs.

Chomp!

That woke him up.

The room quaked with the force of his voice. “WHO DARES TO TAKE WHAT IS MINE?!”

I yelled right back at him. “YOU’RE DAMN DAUGHTER, THAT’S WHO!”

He jerked his head down as I threw the remains of the gem back into the pile. Losing Vinyl, and later Blue and Red, made me understand the pain a dragon goes through when their hoard is messed with. I will never be able to imagine feeling the same pain I felt for Blue over an inanimate object, but I’ll still respect my 'father's' hoard by not damaging it any further than this.

Emeraldgrey did not look happy about his rude awakening. “What is it, Cogwill the Free? Why have you disturbed the best slumber I have had since I was taken from my lair?”

I scoffed at this. “Cogwill the Free? What, is that my ‘dragon title’ for being a traveler instead of a cave dweller like yourself?”

He narrowed his eyes. “You have quite the tongue on you today, whelp… and your hoard seems a tad smaller as well… you have suffered a loss, yes?”

I narrowed my eyes in return. “That is correct. The ship is under attack…” At this point I realized that I needed to start trying to win this guy over before I tell him the threat. Using titles as well should work. “We are in danger, father Emeraldgrey… of the Everfree.”

At my statement, Emerald drew his head backwards. He closed his eyes briefly in deep meditation before opening them again.

I could tell that he was starting get the hint that something was up. He scratched his chin. “… It is the dead of night, and the captain has not yet sent someone to feed me… nor has he used his machine to take my fire. The captain… is indisposed?”

I nodded. “Yes. I am the current acting captain of this ship.” Thinking about it, I decided to add “Captain Grey isn’t dead, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Emerald stopped scratching his chin at this. “Not dead, yet indisposed? Then… this is not the work of our fellow draconics, the sea serpents. The flames within their hearts burns with as much blood thirst as ours, and they never leave a target alive. They also take sick pleasure in feasting on captains and those who dare to sail their seas, so to leave Grey alive… that must mean…”

He once again lowered his head and turned it so that only one of his eyes was focused on me. “Seaponies…” he hissed. “They are singing their demonic hymn, correct? We are the only ones left in the world of the waking, are we not?”

I nodded again. I’ll avoid mentioning Nate for now. “You have a good grasp on the situation, Emeraldgrey of the Everfree.”

“That I do, ‘Captain’ Cogwill the Free. Sea serpents surround us as well, obeying the word of their gods, yes?”

Having no time to gush over the captain title, I nodded a third time. “Yes. Why is this happening? Do you know?”

A low rumble emanated from Emerald's throat as he let out an even lower growl. “I know all too well, my daughter, for our kind has shared the stories of the eternal Queen of the watery damned, Ambrosine, for generations. According to legend; she and her spawn want nothing more than to drown this world in an eternal ocean, returning it to the state it once was when her kind ruled. Luckily for the creatures of the land, she has always lacked the power to complete her selfish task.”

I scratched the top of my head with a claw. Not even five minutes in and I already have a lot to think about... First of all, I finally have a name for Blue and Red’s murderer: Queen Ambrosine of the Seaponies. She wishes for an eternal ocean? Sounds like something a crazed fish lady would want. Great, so this is bigger than just targeting one ship. With the whole world in danger, hopefully somepony will notice us.

… Wait? Eternal Queen? So she’s like Celestia then, like a god. That raises a question…

“How can a Queen lack power, father?” I asked. “Is she not like Celestia, or Chrysalis, or any of the other goddesses that roam this planet?”

The big guy looked impressed. “Hmmmm… you are well read, my daughter. Not many hatchlings of your age would know the name of the Queen of the Changelings.”

I looked away. “I… er, h-had a run in with them several weeks back. I… murdered one known as Legion.”

“An excellent first kill then. My compliments.” The giant praised.

“… Thanks.” I replied quite grumpily. That was not something I’ll ever be proud of.

… I pray I won’t have to do it again today. “Enough about me. What is it that the seaponies lack, father?”

Emerald replied with “What they lack, spawn of Crackle, is a true goddess. Ambrosine thinks of herself as the first of all beings, that she is the true ruler or all… yet she does not rule her seaponies as she does control them. The last our kind heard of her was centuries ago, back when her race was a dying one; dying because of her own foolishness... Not much is known about the Queen except that she is not all powerful. She is not like the sun controlling Celestia or the motherly Chrysalis…”

I did my best to avoid breaking out the ‘really?’ look out of storage… but come on; motherly?

Really?

Emerald went on. “… Or like the Draconic Goddess Lyssa, who watches over all dragons, sea serpents, and landwyrms alike from the pit of Abaddom in Tartarus.”

My eyes widened at this. Okay… that right there was three words I didn’t want name dropped right now, especially together! The goddess of madness is watching over me from her pit of destruction in the pony version of hell?!

That’s… admittedly pretty hardcore. I’ll have to remember to tell Vinyl about this sometime in the hopefully foreseeable future.

But still… what the hell is wrong with Equestria?!

Emeraldgrey didn’t notice my shocked stupor as he finished his tale. “… Their Queen must take magic from others in order to keep herself alive. As long as she lives, so too does her seaponies. That is all our kind knows about this ancient race, the rest having been lost to an antiquity older then ourselves.”

“So…” I said, still trying to unravel the mystery about how my simply being here caused history to go so far off a tangent. “They’re trying to attack us because of the large number of ponies onboard?”

My ‘father’ shook his head. “No… the seaponies are not dumb nor are they hunters. In the final years of their supposed life they were said to only target smaller, weaker boats that wandered aimlessly into their realm. To strike such a large ship, one that even bares the ancient princess of the moon’s names...” The adult dragon suddenly displayed a large grin. “Then there must be an extraordinary source of magic onboard; enough to overthrow the legendary alicorns, I’d wager…”

With that he stood up as tall as he could within his ‘cage’ and raised his arms up into the air. “This is the start of glorious war, whelp! We should be honored to be part of such grand history in the making! Oh, I have not experienced such bloodshed in over a century! Praise Lyssa!” Lowering his head to my level, he gave me a toothy smirk. “My flames burn in anticipation, doesn’t yours?”

But I ignored his invitation to be merry with him. I was too busy racking my brain, trying to figure out how my actions here knocked history so far outta whack.

If I wasn’t here, then this ship would have made it across without a hitch. My being here did… what? He said extraordinary magic attracts them… but I don’t have any magic that I know of outside of my twin flames. Even if it was just me, this ship already had a good number of unicorns onboard, including an element of harmony! By that logic, it was already overflowing with magic before my arrival, so what’s different?

… Maybe the Flim Flam brothers? Two additional unicorns, plus a griffon that has an obviously magic birthmark (its glowing like all the other cutie marks right now), and lastly myself might have been just enough to tip the scales and make this place a tempting target? Hmmm, there’s still more holes in my theory then a changeling's forearm, and it’s still only a theory based off of what little I actually know about magic… but it’ll have to do for now.

Returning my attention to my ‘father’, I scowled at him and told him exactly what I thought about this upcoming war.

“No.” I stated plainly. “No I am not looking forward to what’s to come. My… ‘hoard’ is in danger. Our hoards are in danger! How can you see any good in losing a piece of yourself?!”

Emeraldgrey reared his head back in disgust. Growling a bit to himself, he shared what he thought was so repulsive with me.

“Bleh. Just what I should have expected from a woman. You’re kind is always so concerned in what you have now that you fail to think ahead. From war come’s riches, do you not understand that? Our hoards will only grow in this conflict as we rend and slaughter across the land!”

His giant claw was offered to me in a show of kinship. “Stay by my side, my daughter. I will teach you how to become a proper dragon in ways Lady Crackle never could. Allow me to become the first, and mightiest, father in dragon history.”

Rearing back myself, I bared my fangs as I shot down his attempt at forming a hollow relationship with me. “Sorry, but I’m not interested in becoming a mindless beast, 'daddy'.” It was only after I said that that I realized the more important thing to get mad over: the sexist comment. “Wait, no! You’re the one who doesn’t think ahead, dumbass! How are you going to teach me how to be a ‘proper’ dragon if we’re both going to die here?”

The dragon’s eyes narrowed as steam left his nostrils. The force threatened to knock me off my feet as I quickly folded my wings in. I held my ground until Emerald’s eyes suddenly widened as a realization struck him.

“… By Lyssa’s eternal flame of greed and knowledge; we are still upon the sea, aren’t we?” He asked in shock.

I stomped a foot, allowing my clawed toes to make an echo. “Yes!”

“We… are miles away from land.”

I stomped it again. “Yes!”

“I… lack the strength to fly aimlessly for such a great distance.”

I banged my foot against the ground in rapid succession mockingly. “Ding ding ding ding ding! We have a bucking winner! My God… or Lyssa, or whatever; for being centuries old you’re sure not that bright, old man.”

Emerald shot me one final angry look before sighing and bowing his head in defeat.

“Yes… yes I understand my error now whe-… Cogwill.” He quickly corrected. I must have earned his respect by not being stupid like him.

“My own flame of greed got the better of me” he admitted “but now I can think clearly, and now I can see that this will certainly be our final resting place. I am… truly sorry that you will not experience the joys of being fully grown, my daughter.”

... No.

No…

No; I am not having any of that horsecrap/dragondung today, especially from a freaking giant!

I stomped my foot one final time. “Oh don’t you dare quit on me now you bastard! What the hell happened to all that talk about bloodshed and rending?! I… I know I’m going to need to do some unsavory things in order to protect my own ‘hoard’ this day.”

I looked down at my feet as I contemplated what I just admitted to, but then I clenched my fist in determination as I continued.

There’s no time left to be weak.

I pointed a clawed thumb at myself. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not going out without a fight! One unicorn’s fireball was enough to kill a fully grown serpent and if even little old me can produce something bigger then that, then what’s stopping you from fighting back?!”

The ancient being turned his head away in shame, unable to face me. “I… must protect my hoard.”

Steam left my nostrils in my growing anger. “You can protect it better if you fight!”

“Their… numbers are too great.” He added weakly.

“I haven’t even told you how many there are yet!” I yelled, reaching my boiling point.

He turned his head once more away from me. Bringing his attention to one of his hoard piles, he allowed a clawfull of riches to fall from his grasp. He did this while exhaling sorrowfully; the action did not seem as pleasing to him as it had been when I met him two days ago.

“I must… remain here in hiding with my hoard.” He concluded, as if the conversation was over.

Finally having enough, I flew up and landed on his muzzle hard. Imitating the actions of another young lady who stood up to a dragon for her friends, I looked him in the eye and gave him the ‘stare’.

May Fluttershy grant me strength.

My words were harsh and lased with venom as my stare intensive. “…You coward. You stupid, freaking, coward. They’re undoubtedly going to sink the ship when they're done with it... you know that just as well as I do. You have nowhere to hide, so stop being a quitter and fight alongside me! Come on, ‘dad’, my real father had more balls then you and he was a monkey!”

Emerald’s eyes were sad and his voice weak as whatever fear and presence he once held over me disappeared, leaving behind the wretched little thing that now wilted under my gaze.

The beaten monster sighed. “… You remind me so much of myself at your age; burning with the passion of youth and desiring greater and greater game… but those days are behind me, Cogwill. I know when the odds are against me. In the words of the ponies, I am afraid I must ‘throw in the towel’. As Lyssa is our witness; we will die here, spawn of Crackle, and there is no denying that. Leave me be… as the broken drake you see before you.”

I gripped down harder on his muzzle as he tried to shake me off. “Coward! You @#$%ing coward! Stand and fight damn it… STAND AND FI-”

It was then that I finally lost my grip and was sent flying away. Correcting myself in midair, I gave Emeraldgrey one last look of irate disappointment before fluttering back up the stairs.

***^***

My tears of anger were blinding as I slammed the door shut behind me. “Damn it all!”

“C-cog?” Asked Nate fearfully.

I pounded the door with a claw. “That bastard… that stupid, cowardly, bastard!!”

Nate shrank away at my outburst. Damn it… just, -sniff-, d-damn it.

Finally relenting, I tried to dry my tears and remain looking strong for Nate, even if it was becoming increasingly harder with each passing second. “… I’m sorry Nate, but we’re on our own. Heh, I guess my father isn’t anywhere near as cool as yours.”

“W-what… what do we do now?” My friend asked.

“…” I remained silent as I digested the information I had gathered.

Emerald didn’t provide me with his aid, but he did provide me with some answers. My assumption that the song originated from seaponies was correct, and it sounds like there’s an army coming up that we’re going to have to deal with. My even earlier assumption that seaponies were evil creatures like the changelings was also correct. Looks like I’m on a roll today, but not in a good way. I still don’t know what they're looking for… information is power and I need more information, but where else can I get some? There were no other nonponies on this stupid flank ship besides myself, the cowardly Emeraldgrey, and Nathan De La Griffon…

My face answered Nate’s question as it dropped when I realized that I had no clue what to do now. This sucked the last light of hope out of my feathery friend and forced him to the ground in defeat.

Nate allowed his tears to dampen his glasses. “H-how… how..." -Sniff- "C-can this be happening?”

I wrapped Nate in a side hug as I took up a spot next to him on the floor. “I… don’t know, Nate. I just don’t know what…" -Sigh-

... I couldn’t bring myself to finish my joke. There was no time left to laugh…

None at all…

“… Five days.” Nate suddenly remarked somberly.

“… What?”

He turned to look at me. His face was neutral and devoid of emotions. “Five… or more like four days ago, we sat on a cloud and watched the sunrise just like this. Four days… that’s all it took to change my life forever.” He sighed. “A week ago, I was trying to finish homework while drying my feathers off from a bully’s swirly. Not only couldn’t I solve my math problems, but I couldn’t solve my bully problems either. I thought my life was going to stay like that forever… but three days later I was running and gliding off rooftops, dodging slaver ponies, spraining a wing, sneaking on a ship, playing waiter for a bunch of rich ponies, m-mourning... -Sniff-, a-another loved one’s death, and now… this.”

Nate returned to his staring contest with the floor as his quiet weeping picked up again.

Wiping off one of his tears for him, I told Nate that “… You forgot a couple things, champ.”

“… What?” he asked, not looking up.

I gripped him tightly. “You forgot to mention becoming a hero, becoming brave, and becoming my friend. Even if our whole world crumbles away, please promise me that you’ll remember that you were my hero, Nate… I know I’ll never forget. Never.”

“…”

“… Please? P-please tell me that I didn’t completely ruin your life, Nate…”

“N-no you didn’t ruin…” Nate started to say but he slowly went silent again.

After a few moments in deep though, Nate closed his eyes and nodded slowly in agreement.

“Okay, Cog. I’ll remember… I’ll remember how these have, despite all the ups and downs, been the best days of my life. Four days filled with terror, four days full of fear… but four days where I wasn’t bullied, wasn’t completely afraid, and wasn’t… alone.”

He removed his glasses so he could wipe away his latest tears, causing the feathers he kept on the side of his head to fall to the floor.

Nate looked at the purple items with a sad smile. “… I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

Turning to look at me, he gave me not the smile of kid, but the smile of a man who had resigned himself to his own death. “No, you didn’t ruin my life, Cog... you improved it. I… I can be happy now knowing that my final day was spent with my best friend.”

Nate…

… Somehow…

Somehow you always know the right thing to say to me.

A fire began to burn within my chest. Not the flame I breathed and not the flame of greed, but a much more powerful blaze: the flame of resolve. My grasp on my young friend tightened as the fire grew within me.

My fist clenched and shook as I spoke. “This… this will not be our final day, Nate. I promised you this, and I intend to keep my promises. We can’t give up yet, we just can’t.”

“… B-but… but what can a couple of kids like us do, Cog?” Nate asked uncertainly.

…

… Kids?

…!

Kids! That's it!

I gripped Nate in a strong squeeze and smooched him on the forehead. Oops, did I just break this kid’s brain? You know what, I don’t care! We have hope now! “Nate! You beautiful hunk of a griffon you! That’s it! Follow me!”

Turning bright red, Nate stuttered a quick ‘w-what?’ as I flapped my wings and flew away.

***^***

While almost knocking the door down, I exited the ship and out on to the western deck. I’m sure there’s a proper nautical term (like port, or something) for it but I don’t give a fudge right now. The choppy sea awaited me along with the darkness of night. On the eastern part (starboard, I think) of the ship the sun was rising in what I could consider a fitting metaphor.

“With the sun to our backs…” I mumbled to myself.

Nate quickly came up behind me, panting and still blushing madly.

“C-cog! -Huff-, W-why are we here?”

I paid Nate little to no mind as I scanned the edge of the ship. Ponies were pushing up even closer to the railing bars now, making me very nervous that the children might accidentally fall overboard. Heh, if you had told me a month ago that I would be scared for Diamond Tiara’s life, I’d call you a liar. Even in what little I was able to catch of season three before I left, she was still kind of a bitch…

Anyways, Nate seems to still be able to fight the music but I could tell from his gradual slips into humming that it’s becoming harder for him to fight it the closer we get to wherever the hell those monsters are. Being out here isn’t helping him much but I’m afraid I’m going to need him for what I have planned.

Looking over the sea, I finally spotted my small and speedy targets.

The sea serpents' children… here’s where I’ll get some answers. A small group of them were swimming together a ways away from the ship as the adults and teen serpents continued to swim in the north and south, hopefully out of seeing distance.

“Nate…” I began.

“Y-yes Cog?”

“Quickly run to the southern deck and get some kind of weapon and maybe a net from the pool area.” I gave him a cheeky smile as I fluttered my wings slightly. “I hope you’re in the mood for seafood, my friend, because we’re about to go fishing.”

With that (totally lame) riposte I took to the air. I flapped my wings until I reached the third story deck platform, and then up again until I landed on the roof of the bridge. This is the highest point of the ship, so it should hopefully be high enough for what I need to do.

My normal fireballs aren’t strong enough to reach that far out, so I’m going to need to launch the ‘Revenge’ if I want to get these kids' attention. If they're anywhere near as hostile as their parents, this should cause them to head our way. My only concern would be alerting the two elder groups, but hopefully this shouldn’t be a problem due to the distance between all four groups.

This wasn’t the only reason why I flew up here and left Nate down below. I flew up here because I’m deathly afraid of what I’m about to do.

Please understand this; I’m quite prepared to fire off a mini-sun at the offspring of the monsters that killed my friends. Attacking these hell spawns isn’t what’s scaring me. No… what I’m afraid of is the requirements asked of me for firing ‘Revenge’ properly.

You see, ‘Revenge’s’ recoil is a mother loving bitch. I said I would abuse the hell out of it, but in a sensitive situation like this I need to think rationally. If I fire ‘Revenge’ now; it’ll either send me flying all the way out to sea and leave Nate vulnerable, or simply cause me to hit something and black out, again leaving Nate vulnerable. I can’t leave that kid alone here. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I did!

Getting back on subject; if I want to use ‘Revenge’ as my ace in the hole, then I need to prepare myself better for when I launch it. The one good thing that came out of last night’s bloodbath was that now I have the knowledge of what I need to do to fire this baby off properly…

… Too bad it’s not the nicest option I have.

...

... -Sigh-

Okay... so to fire off ‘Revenge’ correctly, I need a longer muzzle for the flames to grow in and sharper claws so that I can better anchor myself to the ground. Both these can be obtained easily through the use of… -gulp-, greed growth.

Yes, I flew all the way up here so I could have a little ‘chat’ with my greed flame. As horrible and foul as that damn thing is, I need all the strength I can get if I’m going to protect everpony like I said I would. If that means I must turn into something I’m not… well, so be it.

I figure there’s no time to worry about becoming a monster when even nastier monsters are on the way.

Quickly stretching out all of my limps and sitting down bowlegged, I allowed my tail to swish around and for my wings to lightly flutter in place as I tried to calm my nerves. I need to focus on the goal of staying sane and concentrate on keeping my mind sharp if I want this crazy plan of mine to work.

-Gulp- "Well, here goes… something.”

With that I closed my eyes…

… And thought about Mrs. Blue.

…

I remembered… her smelling of flowers. Bluebells, if I’m not mistaken.

…

I remembered her warm, motherly smile.

The warmth of her feathery wings.

Her words of encouragement.

Her talk of friendship.

Her love…

I remembered everything that made Mrs. Blue Mrs. Blue; my ‘handler’, my flight teacher, my friend. I did everything I could to bring ou-

And suddenly, there it was; the warmth of my greed flame along with the warmth of a single tear running down my cheek. -Sniff-, Mrs. Blue… thank you for everything.

... -Sigh-, I can’t get distracted now. I need to kick my mind into overdrive before the flames consume it like it did yesterday.

The way of the greed flame remains a mystery to me, but a mystery I’m slowly starting to solve. It’s a part of me, yet not. That much I know. At the cost of my mind it gives me strength and false courage. The flame consumes my thoughts, replaces them, and leaves me nothing more than a prisoner in my own body, fighting desperately to regain control. My actions are not my own, yet they feel like it at the time, and the words I speak come from the heart instead of my mind. I lack the power to lie or to avoid saying whatever the hell is on my greed filled mind in this state, thus resulting in me doing very stupid things (yelling at Emeraldgrey over ‘mother’ Crackle, almost killing the brothers, etc).

Depending on how much danger I sense my ‘hoard’ to be in (or generally how pissed somepony makes me), it can either burn a long time or for only a brief moment. The more danger I sense, the easier it is to trigger the greed growth and the more I grow, the harder it is to regain my mind…

... But it’s not impossible to break out of a full greed growth, as Spike and I have proven. I was able to break out of it the day before when I realized that I was about to kill Flam and again the next day when I realized that I was thinking about Blue and Red’s murderer as a thief instead of just that: a murderer. In both instances, I told the voice in my head to shut up and that caused the flame to freeze over and slowly fizzle out. This also caused the same voice to stop whispering into my ear.

And that’s the other little ‘quirk’ that makes this flame different from my normal one. The voice.

My theory is that this ‘voice’ is just an expression of myself; one who has been corrupted by the flame to protect our friends through any means necessary. He (if it’s me, then it’s probably a guy like my own thoughts) just wants to safeguard them just as much as I do, but the difference is that he relies more on actions I’d normally be too afraid to do (senseless murder comes to mind). Maybe in understanding this, it’ll make it easier for me to break out of his control and attempt to reason with him. Perhaps I can even try to convince him to give me the power to grow without turning me into a complete monster. Controlled greed growth would definitely come in handy in the near future…

They have taken what is mine.

There’s that voice again. Guess it’s time to find out if my theories hold any water… flame… whatever. I now lack the brain power to be witty. I simply nodded in response to the voice.

Kill.

I shook my head ‘no’.

… Why do you hesitate?

… Did… did I just pose myself a question? Wasn’t expecting this…

…

Hello?

…

It can’t hear my thoughts? How… I lack the mental prowess to think about it right now.

I did my best to reply to the voice with my own words and not the ones being fed to me through the flame (all of which wanted me to submit). “I… am not… monster. They are. I… need power… protect, not kill.”

Killing would be more effective.

“Not… monster…”

Give in.

“No…”

... Very well. Your will is my will, human.

With that my mind became my own again.

… And I realized that this thing was not me at all! It’s completely foreign, clearly beastly and bloodthirsty, and now that I’m specifically listening to it I can tell that it has a completely different voice then me! That includes both my new feminine and old masculine one! It’s not even like a combination of the two, it's completely new! W-what the hell?!

Also… something about what he said is rubbing me the wrong way, but I can’t put my finger/claw on it. My mind is still slowly coming back online, so maybe it’ll come to me in a sec-

… Wait... wait, what?!

What?!

D-did he just say what I think he just said?! “W-wait! Hey wait!”

…

“S-speak to me, damn it! You… you’re not me, I understand that now! B-but you said human! You know what I am! Who the hell are you?!”

…

“… You… you’re the one who brought me here, aren’t you?! You're the cause of all of this!"

…

W-what the hell is this thing?! Who the hell is it?! How long has it been watching me?! W-was it there when I was trapped and alone in the brother’s machine?! Was it there when I cried myself to sleep at night?! It only started to burn when I met Nate… but it’s a part of my body! It could have been with me since the very beginning for all I know!

It… could have even been with me on Earth…

I… I think I just stumbled upon something even more worrisome then the upcoming army... but I can feel the flame still burning so it must be complying with me for now. I tried to move it like my orange flame…

Thunk!

And with a mental command my claw grew to massive proportions. Lacking the muscles to keep it up, I allowed it to hit the deck with a bang before it shrank back down again.

“... They look like big, good, strong hands. Don’t they?” I chuckled weakly.

Unsure if he (it definitely sounded like a he) could even hear me, I tried to speak to the voice again.

“I… grant you the name ‘Greed’, whoever you are. Heh, think of it as my gift to you for having a hand in naming me ‘Cogwill’…” My eyes narrowed, despite me not looking at anything in particular. “But know this, we are not friends. If you turn out to be the cause for bringing me to this sick world… if you’re the one who caused me and my friends so much pain, then I will personally rip you out of my body with my own, damn, claws.

“But, for now, I thank you for your aid.”

Whether it was the result of my speech or the result of having only a little bit to work with, I felt the flame starting to weaken inside myself. Deciding not to waste any more time, I made quick work of changing my form into the cannon shape it had taken in my earlier rage. As my muzzle elongated (Slightly bigger then what I wanted) and my claws dug into the floorboards (Slightly shorter than what I wanted), ‘Revenge’ began to charge…

… And my breath took on a rusty brown hue for the briefest of seconds, but I no longer have time to worry about such things. This was not the time for worrying.

This was the time for action.

“Spit-TOWEEE!”

***^***

Okay… in retrospect… not my brightest idea.

I shouted an order. “Nate! Duck!”

Nate did as commanded as he narrowly dodged a funnel of multicolored boiling water. The baby sea serpents were about the same size as me and some even had the same scale coloring as well… but the difference was that they lacked legs and instead possessed powerful tails. These allowed them to swim at amazing speeds in the water. Nate and I were chased up and down the port deck as we tried to dodge their assault. I fired orange fireballs in response, only for the creatures to duck underwater to avoid them.

It was frustrating to say the least, like trying to hit that last guy in Space Invaders. Things initially looked dark, but one thing evened the odds between us and it had come, yet again, in the form of the amazing Nathan De La Griffon…

Fling!

… And his amazing crossbow wielding skills.

I received the answer as to where he found that beauty in tiny chunks as we crossed each others' paths on the deck. My little talk with Greed had taken longer than I thought. In that time, Nate found the captain’s personal room and discovered his stash of confiscated equipment. Apparently, weapons weren’t allowed on his ship so he took ownership of somepony’s recreational archery set (which included a freaking crossbow?!) and sadly nothing else. Nate had grabbed it as a ‘security blanket’, as he called it, and had no real intention of using it, but once the action started kicking in the kid made short work of turning the ‘recreational’ set into his weapon of choice.

Adding to his ever growing list of amazingness, Nate seems to have been given combat training and some point in his young life…

… Yet he’s constantly bullied.

... Should I be more worried about the former, or the latter?

Sploosh!

Dodging another funnel of water with a non-ironic barrel role, I decided that I shouldn’t be worrying about either thing as I had literally bigger fish to fry. I can figure it out when we make it to Prance.

Yes, when, not if. If I can just get one of these bastards to spill the beans, I can form a better plan and maybe even crack the code behind the seaponies’ song. I’m going to remain faithful in the idea that we will see tomorrow, that we will see Prance…

And that I won’t lose anyone else.

With a quick “Fwoosh!” I lit one of Nate’s arrows on fire and with a “Fling!” we struck one of the little bastards in the arm and set it ablaze. The arrow remained lodged in the child’s arm as he/she flailed it around. This caused the other seven to retreat in a panic, the one we hit to dip down underwater to extinguish itself, and Nate and I to high-fiv-, er, high-four. Once completed, I speedily eyed up the serpents, mentally picked out the slowest one retreating…

… And then I jumped off the boat.

My wings were forced into a slow glide as I descended as close to the water as I was comfortable with. Stretching my claws out, I grabbed the straggler up by the arms and lifted it up out of the sea. It struggled as I performed a quick loop-d-loop and crashed back on the ship’s deck. Nate fought his fears yet again as he pinned it face down.

Quickly getting up, I assisted him as we dragged the creature backwards into the ship. I’m unsure how far that tail allows it to jump and Nate has no real idea either, but hopefully bringing him inside should limit the possible escape options. Better safe than sorry.

Taking the struggling creature away from Nate, I pinned it against the hallway wall by its throat. “Talk, damn it! I know you can!” I demanded as the creature struggled some more under my grip.

I took this time to identify its features. It had dark green scales like my father, had a tuff of white hair on the top of his head that reminded me of Thunderlane’s mane-do, and it appeared to be a boy according to the make of his face and according to his grunts of pain. He also had a small white goatee which helped identify him as a him just a little bit better. It appears facial hair is a big thing for these guys…

I feel sorry for the women.

“T-t-t-…” The creature whimpered.

Hissing, I pushed harder. “What was that?”

“T-t-trying… c-can’t… breathe... bitch!”

I let go and allowed him to drop to the ground. He appeared to be unable to stand up straight while on dry land, as he only flopped around on the floor once I dropped him. While on the ground, I noticed his two accessories; the arrow we shot at him (guess that makes sense why he was the straggler) and a pair of orange flouters around his arms. The arrow was sticking out of a deflated flouter, not appearing to have pierced the arm in anyway outside of a tiny dent to his scales.

... Why do I have this feeling that Nate was skilled enough with his weapon to assure that the shot would hit him but not harm him? I mentioned it in Manehatten and I’ll mention it again here... Nate can be really bucking scary when he wants to be.

Also… hehe… hehehe! -Snort-... Phew... okay, this is too ridicules not to point out.

Finding it hard to keep a straight face, I asked what we were all thinking. “What..." -Snort- "W-what’s with the water wings, kid?”

The baby sea serpent’s face turned bright red as he looked away. “I-I can’t swim that well yet.”

Nate snickered with me, finally smiling again. This raised my spirits immensely.

The serpent kid yelled at us for this. “S-shut up, you dumb bird and you stupid fire breather! Your ponies killed Big Bob!”

Nate’s smile didn’t last nearly as long as I wished it had. This pissed me off greatly.

I growled at the serpent. “Yeah? Well you were trying to kill us not two minutes ago, kid. And...” I added. “Your ‘Big Bob’ already claimed two kills on us. I’d start talking before we even the score.”

Kid stopped flopping around after that remark. I want to avoid becoming a monster, but I still need to do seedy things if I’m to make it out of here alive with Vinyl, Rarity, and Nate. Speaking of, Nate hasn’t said anything about my behavior yet… maybe he figures I won’t do it and that it’s an empty threat?

… I’m starting to forget if it is or not. In response to my ‘threat’ the serpent started opening his mouth…

And I quickly recognized that he wasn’t about to speak.

I quickly opened my own mouth…

SpooshFwoosh!!

Orange fire and green water met each other only inches away from my face and filled the hallway with steam. The serpent kid started to panic as I burst through the vapor (my scales protected me from the steam) and pinned him to the wall again, this time face forward with arms held behind his back.

“Okokokok! Sorry! J-just don’t hurt me, man!” He pleaded.

“Name!” I commanded.

“C-caleb.”

Oh… oh low blow, universe. @#$% you.

“Fine… Caleb. Tell me what the hell is going on here before I start ripping your scales off one at a time.”

He was quiet for a moment before laughing me off. “… Hehe, you won’t do it.”

I tightened my hold. “What makes you say that, kid?”

Despite facing the wall, I could tell that he rolled his eyes. “Because you’re a chick! You don’t have it in yo-AHHHHHHHH!!!”

I allowed a clawful of dark green scales to hit the floor. “That’s one, two, three, fourfivesix seven down... hundreds more to go.”

“Okokok! I’ll talk!”

“Heh, thought so. Nate?”

Nate, who had only been watching until now, replied “Y-yes Cog?”

I couldn’t bare to look at him. “Go guard the door, please. I’m about to be a bully in my own right and I don’t want you to see me at my worst." I sighed. "Tell me if something happens or if those serpents come around again.”

“R-right… please be careful.”

“Always am, Nate.”

With that he left me with ‘Caleb’, closing the door behind him.

Tightening my grip on the serpent as soon as the door closed, I stepped on the kid’s tail forcefully as I continued our conversation. “Alright, kid, why is your entire nest leading this ship off course?”

“I-it was the seaponies’ orders!”

“Okay… why are they leading this ship off course and how?”

“M-m-magic! They're moving the currents towards themselves with their own magic! A-and they're targeting this ship because of magic as well! I don’t know what they're looking for specifically, but it sounds like something big like elements or something!”

I pushed harder. “And your part in all of this, kid?”

“M-m-my nest is only here as chaperons and to make sure it makes the journey to their kingdom safe and sound, t-that’s all!”

So they're bodyguards… maybe the seaponies are frail and weak, relying on others to do things for them? Hmmm, weak theory is weak. Important information gathered; he said ‘elements’, as in plural, and the seaponies can use magic themselves. I haven’t seen any other members of the mane six on this ship outside of Rarity, and logically they should still be in Ponyville around this time, so that’s just another curveball I need to deal with.

... But, I care more about another comment the kid just made.

Fire escaped my throat as I yelled at him, nearly roasting the side of his face and turning the back wall black. “Safe and sound?! How is killing my friends making them safe and sound?!”

Caleb's breathing started rising steeply, the gills along the side of his neck started opening and closing rapidly, and his pulse skyrocketed. It must be a nervous reaction, like how my wings twitch or try to cover my blushing face when I’m embarrassed.

“S-s-sorry!” He spat out hastily. “We’re j-just not allowed to talk to any of you, that’s all! T-the big guys to the north have been bred to be more or less mindless drones! They’re just doing what the music tells them to do like the p-ponies!”

I’m suddenly in the mood for calamari… no, can’t let anger cloud my judgment. I still need more info.

I rolled my own eyes. “… Whatever. You said elements; give me more information on them, Caleb.”

Caleb started crying. “I-I-I don’t... -sniff-, h-have any! T-the only kind of magic that would interest them would have to be elements! T-t-that’s the only reason I mentioned them!”

“I need more than that, kid,” I stated coldly while slowly peeling back another one of his scales.

“T-t-t-the P-princess said something about the two major sources h-harmonizing well with each other and a bunch of minor blinking! S-she also said that the two huge energies are both aboard this ship! T-that’s a little bit of info I got from a friend of my bro so I don’t know how accurate it is… b-but it’s all I’ve got! C-can I, -sniff-, g-go now, Ms. Dragon?”

I paid little attention to his begging, or the reuse of the old name Nate used to call me coming out another kid’s mouth. My mind was too preoccupied with piecing everything together.

First, there’s a Princess as well as a Queen. I need to make note of this. Second, kid said two signatures and that the only magic the seaponies would be interested in would be elements... the strongest magic known to ponydom. That helps narrow it down a bit. One of these signatures is obviously Rarity with the element of Generosity. Simply being a bearer must be enough to attract them… but what’s the other signature?

Harmonizes… that could mean that there’s another element aboard, but as I’ve already said that’s unlikely. Could it be Luna? No, he said it was on the ship, not near it. She might already be in Prance right now for all I know…

… I’m not ruling her out though. If their plan is to flood the world, what better way is there to do that than to use the Princess of the ocean-controlling moon? If anything, they’re going to try to use the magic on this ship to attempt to overpower her… but they didn’t do this during the original timeline of season two for unknown reasons. Maybe they didn’t sense Rarity initially and were too afraid to attempt to overthrow Luna with just straight up unicorn magic?

Ugh. I’m going too far out there with wild theories. I need to start making more solid guesses.

That just brings us back to the original question, who else ‘harmonizes’ with Rarity? What else could harmonize mean anyways…?

… Could… could it mean another pony that represents Generosity? Maybe… Mrs. Blue, with her motherly ways?

“Kid…” I asked. “Do you know if there’s still two signatures onboard, because I think your ‘Bob’ may have killed one of the bearers.”

“N-no, they would never kill somepony who the Princess or Queen specifically asked for! T-they wouldn’t kill at all unless someaquatic said okay to it!”

“Okay… so do you know who to avoid killing, Caleb?”

"-Sniff-, w-well… n-no…”

“So it could have been me or my friend for all you know, yet you still attacked us…”

“...Y... y-yes?”

As I huffed at his complete lack of decency, the back of Caleb’s head was assaulted with hot steam exiting from my nostrils.

He started to shake some more at this. “P-p-please, -sniff-, d-don’t hurt me again!”

Once more, I ignored him as I dived into my mind. Okay, so it wasn’t the late Mrs. Blue. Who else here could be a bearer… Vinyl? No, now that I think about it, it just wouldn’t make sense. Even if they’re referring to Luna, both she and Rarity were destined to take this trip to Prance at the same time. I have to remember that me simply being here altered the flow of events and somehow caused Rarity to become a target. This ‘harmonize’ bit has to be the key to how they were able to detect her in this timeline but not the other. By herself she was fine, but with one other pony she started to shine out like a beacon. It has to be someone who wasn’t supposed to be here and whose inclusion altered fate.

... Well it’s for sure not me. After all I’m a dragon, a creature of pure greed and selfishness. Even if I wasn’t born as one, and even if my hoard involves me selflessly defending others, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m greedy by nature.

Sure I… er, don’t really have any evidence to prove this… and I have done quite a bit for others these past five days…

… Still… I can feel it in my gut. I know that my words are true when I say that I’m a horrible person.

I… I just know it. I mean, I’m not the type of person who can be Loyal… except for Nate, and Vinyl and Rarity and…

… Er…

W-well I’m not Honest, that’s for sure! It’s not like I have a fire in my belly that inspires/forces me to speak the truth…

… Oh, wait… I do.

Okay! Well… um… I-I’m not Kind! Look, I’m torturing somesperpent right now for information!

… Information that I’ll use to save my friends…

…

… I’m, not funny?

…

Y-yeah that’s it. See? I don’t represent a single element of harmony! Not Laughter or Loyalty or Honesty or Kindness; not Magic as well and for sure not Generosity. The only act of generosity I’ve done was to pull all these ponies and my friends into this mess. Do you really need any more proof then that? I mean, how could a bearer of harmony unleash this kind of hell upon others?!

So again I’ll say it... I’m a horrible person.

All of this… i-it’s all my fault… that’s why I’m standing here between these innocent ponies and these aquatic horrors; because I’m not special and because I’m not generous. I’m not like Mrs. Blue, or Mr. Red, or…

“M-ms. Dragon?” sputtered Caleb, unsure why I stopped talking to him.

…

That’s when something started to make scary sense in my mind.

“… Oh my God!” I yelped.

‘My home is your home.'

‘That was the scariest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life!'

‘I-I couldn’t just watch you scream again.'

‘D-do you want to talk about it Ms. Dragon?'

‘And you have me too, Cog.'

‘I’ll remember these as the best days of my life.’

… Nate.

Nate’s been nothing but generous with me! No, more than that, he’s done nothing but give of himself since we met!

His home.

His food.

His time.

His money.

And, on multiple occasions, his very life!

He… he gave them all to me without question, all for the sake of friendship…

… And I lead him to this ship and I helped him sneak aboard.

He wouldn’t have been able to get on without me…

... -Gulp-

I-I don’t know if this means Nate is an element, but it does mark him as a possible targ-

“SKKKKKKKKKRRRRRREEEEEEEEE!!!”

“Nate!” I shrieked, pushing the very confused baby serpent over and dashing outside the door.

***^***

What I saw on the other side of the door… I did not like.

And thus I stared into the face of the ponies of the sea, and knew now what the face of death looked like

Their manes resembled seaweed; dry, filthy, and sickly green.

Their bodies were skeletal with skin hugging against the bones… what little skin, that is, that wasn’t decaying before my eyes.

Their fins were piercing out of the sides of their hourglass-like bodies and were long and finger-y with bones poking through the webbing.

On their backs they bared a single pair of flailing tentacles. Long and clearly powerful, these appendages would poke out of flaps of protective skin and would return to them without a moment’s notice. These special limbs produced what appeared to be electricity that pulsated and shined in various colors and hews, as well as spark out randomly.

Unlike the baby sea serpent, these creatures stood up tall with their coiled tails. These tails were covered in an innumerable amount of scales, each varying in dark colors and sizes.

They barred golden tridents; those carrying these weapons held them in their tiny fins, while others held them against their backs in a makeshift sheathe of pulsating organs.

Similarly to the changelings, holes were present throughout their bodies and from these holes they leaked blue blood.

Their skulls resembled that of ponies, but were sharper and barred ever sharper fangs. Upon second glance, their craniums appeared to be more dragon-like then pony-like in shape, for they didn’t so much as have ears as they had horns like mine. Two were present on the sides of their head and pointed backwards away from themselves, again like mine. Unlike mine, however, their horns were a lot longer and a lot sharper.

And lastly, the most haunting feature of all: their eyes…

Those soulless, white, eyes.

These were the eyes of mindless beasts. These were the eyes of mindless killers.

Those eyes pierced my very soul, freezing it into a solid block of mind-numbing fear.

The seaponies worked their foul magic as they moved silently across the deck on a carpet of magic flowing water, the liquid having originating from their staffs. Their blue blood mixed in with the water as they moved along, staining it until it was an unnatural azure color.

A low humming rhythm emanated from their open mouths as they scanned the faces of all the ponies on board. Each pony stood at attention, as if they were soldiers awaiting orders, (with even the children standing deathly still) as they were scanned with those pure white eyes.

“N-no” I uttered weakly. In only a matter of minutes the ship had been overrun with these monsters...

… And Nate had been captured.

In front of me, twin seaponies were ‘singing’ loudly and flailing their fins around in conjunction to the movement of a pulsating ball of flouting water. This makeshift cage contained a certain griffon child who was quickly running out of air…

Shinkshink!

… That is, until I slit the monsters’ throats with my claws.

Both of the creatures cried out in pain as their ‘singing’ ceased along with their spell.

Splash!

The sound of Nate falling out of his cage and collapsing into its watery remains. He gasped for air as I tried to help him up with my blue, blood stained, claws.

It was only then, when Nate stopped gasping and looked at the blood, that I realized what I had just done.

I… just took another life… I just took two lives without even realizing it…

A-and… and I don’t even know if it was because of my greed flame, my own actions…

… Or if I even cared.

“… Nate? Are you okay?” I asked, trying to avoid thinking about it.

Nate looked away as he picked up his crossbow. “Y-yeah…”

The flame within my heart cringed in minor pain as I feared what Nate thought of me now. I shook my head to rid myself of these thoughts as I tried to focus on what really mattered: getting the kid to safety. “W-we… you should get back in-”

Before I could finish, I was cut off by a hidden assailant. This seapony snuck up behind me and wrapped his own pair of tentacles around my neck. Nate screeched again as he tried to aim his weapon, but his claws quivered too much for him to get an accurate shot.

He’s… not as willing to take life as I apparently am…

Fearing that he would hit me and unable to strike the seapony in the head (which was a clear target), Nate lowered his weapon and brought out his claws instead. He lunged forward in an attempt to slice up the tentacles, but he was knocked back by a funnel of water that had conjured itself from the tip of the seapony’s staff. As Nate tried to stand again and dry himself off, a second seapony came up behind him and held him in place against its chest in a fashion similar to the way my guy was holding me. I attempted to breathe fire in response, but that only earned me a makeshift muzzle, made out of water, wrapping itself around my mouth and drowning out the flames. Thankfully, it didn’t drown me along with it.

All further attempts to shake out of my captor’s hold were quickly thwarted by a steady stream of electrified magic surging through my body, sucking the energy right out of me. It wasn’t as strong as the Flim Flam brother’s magic lightning, but it was just enough to pacify me. D-damn it, not good…

Having been successfully subdued, our seapony kidnappers carried us off to the main deck. It was here where all the hypnotized ponies awaited us, as well as more seaponies. Our wardens stood stock still as the rest of the armada of about twenty of the bastards converged on our position. I eyed them up while making sure to continue breathing through my nose, which had thankfully not been covered up.

I took note that all of the seaponies here were identical in form. Not a single one stood out or looked like an individual among this throng, making it hard to spot a possible leader.

… No, wait, I lied. One had a defining feature; a pair of slit, blue, irises. This one was sniffing the air in search for something when I noticed that, unlike the rest of his/her (I can’t tell genders with this race) kind, she/he wasn’t humming. It’s pretty obvious that their somewhat silent chanting (which even our captors never ceased doing) is what allows them to move that carpet of water from under them as they move around. It must act as their ‘horn’ when it comes to casting spells. In any future combat situations with them, I need to remember to try to mute these guys before proceeding to strike.

Slit their throats, melt their lips together, burn them to ashes… so many choices to defend what is mine.

Greed seems to be slowly gaining control as the situation worsens. His words are starting to sound like my own… oh God, please don’t let me do something monstrous in front of Nate right now…

As soon as Nate and I were brought forward, the special seapony stopped sniffing and turned to look at us. Its face illustrated a cold and calculating nature with the slightest hint of playfulness according to the way the eyes flickered. This tiny spec of humanity disappeared as quickly as it came as he/she approached us.

The creature finally spoke. Its voice was like a combination of two voices fighting each other for control of the mouth. One was like a deep, beastly man while the other was an intelligent and threatening woman.

“… Bring the griffon forward.” It commanded.

The seapony holding Nate complied and approached her. Nate started to shake, and at seeing this the water muzzling me began to heat up and boil over as my flames burned on from inside my closed off mouth. Greed had become a beast again within my mind and his quiet whispers to kill quickly become unintelligent growls. She dares to take what is mine.

At seeing my display, the special seapony held up a fin. This caused Nate’s steward to halt and for the apparent blue-eyed leader to sniff the air once again.

“… You confuse me, dragon.” replied the leader.

I only glared in response.

The seapony continued. “… I see no gems here. I see no riches… so what causes Lyssa’s gifted flame to burn so brightly within you? What have we done to earn your greed rage, beast?”

I maintained my angry glare. ‘I could name a few things for ya, lady/guy/thing.’

Greed spoke over my thoughts. Talk is unimportant. Kill now.

After observing my ever growing glare with a look of interest, the leader turned its head towards Nate again. One of the blue-eyed seapony’s tentacles gripped his/her trident off of his/her back and brought it to the forefront. Charged with electric magic, it was aimed at Nate’s head…

Splash! Clankclank!

… Only for it to be knocked out of its master’s grip with the aid of a well-aimed, brown, fireball.

My greed flame had kicked in to full force the moment the weapon was whipped out. I used its strength to elongate my nose just enough for my watery silencer to burst open. I still have some control over myself, it seem, as I mercifully haven’t gone into full on adult dragon mode yet.

The flames I breathe also apparently darken when I’m under Greed’s influence. I’ll be sure to make note of this little quirk after I’m done ripping this flankhole’s head clean off.

“If you try that again, I will charbroil you dead you damn heshe fish.” I threatened as my snout slowly snapped back to its proper size. In reply to my actions, a series of tridents were quickly aimed at my head, but they were just as quickly dropped when the leader held up his/her fin again.

While slowly shaking away a brown flame from his/her tentacle, the creature spoke to me once more. “… I’d watch your tongue, lizard. You have been graced an audience with Princess Diamrem, daughter of Queen Ambrosine. I demand respect.”

I scoffed at the princess; Greed’s flame forcing me to speak honestly (no matter what the situation) from the heart instead of from my silenced mind. “If you demand respect then give respect. I don’t talk to murderers.”

The creature, now known as Diamrem, rubbed her chin with her non-golden brown tentacle. “Hmmmm… why do you care, beast? What is one life to a creature that lives as long as you do?”

“All life is sacred.” I responded solemnly.

“Then what of my own kin of which you slaughtered this day?” She asked.

“… A life lived through the deaths of others is not a life worth living.”

A fragment of my still active mind remembered these as the words Nate spoke to me days ago. It had given me so much joy to not be blamed for Legion’s death… yet, now I feel as though I am using his words as an excuse for my actions. Greed didn’t allow me to think about this any further, as it began to snarl even louder over me.

… But one final thought made it through the noise. This same fragment of my mind told me to look at Nate this instant. I complied, only to discover that he was looking at me strangely. What was this look? I know I know it…

… Fear? Fear of… me? I think that’s correct.

… My mind is too fractured to process this right now.

Greed, or maybe myself, insisted that I return my attention to Diamrem, who was equally deep in thought.

Diamrem returned to the conversation in her usual cold manner “…That is not a creed your kind is known to fight for…”

The water beneath her tail began to spin and churn wildly as that hint of playfulness, as well as new found anger, rang out in her twin voices. In a similar manner to Greed’s flame, her entire personality pulled a 180 flip right in front of my eyes. Where once she was calm and cold, now she was animated and angry. She used her own tentacles to shake me wildly from within my warden’s grasp, causing my own seapony to shake as well but he remained unfazed as he continued to hum out loudly.

The Princess yelled at me as the water raged. “I, do, not like not knowing something, lizard! Tell me how you’re different! Tell me tell me tell me!! You’ve been tainted by the sun goddess, haven’t you?! That has to be it! You sicken me you damn, green...”

As if it was never there, the princess’s spoiled brat attitude subsided (along with the raging water) as she returned to her mature and threatening mask. I now know her true nature... I can use this to end her.

“… You must consider ponies as your hoard, don’t you, lizard?” Diamrem questioned yet not.

“I care only for the true riches of this world.” I retorted proudly. I forgot how poetic my heart’s words are. I must make note to listen to it more often in the future.

Diamrem once more looked cross. “A hoard that burns with the strength of others…” She sniffed the air again. “… Yes, I see it now. Your hoard possesses the very essence of the elements of harmony, the very ties that binds one to another.” Her face tightened into a look of held back rage. “This is not the magic we seek or can use. You have led us astray, lizard.”

I boldly smirked at her, having felt proud for screwing up whatever her or her mother’s plan was. “Good.”

Princess Diamrem was not amused. She sniffed the air once again before returning her attention to me. “… I know there are elements on board, lizard, for I sensed three upon the waters and another upon the winds. Pure magical Generosity… that is not a smell one forgets…”

Something clicked in my shattered mind. One upon the winds? That must mean… “Luna.”

“… What was that, lizard?”

My face was just as stony as hers as I held my ground. Greed’s flame granted me the courage to speak. “That’s Princess Luna you’re sensing, or smelling, or whatever. She was scheduled to fly across the ocean this very day so she could watch the arrival of this ship in Prance. When it doesn’t arrive there on time… well… I think you’ll find it very hard to hide what you’ve done in the face of the moon god-”

“She is not the goddess of the moon, you philistine!” Roared Diamrem, suddenly snapping at my remark. “Nightmare Moon was the true bearer of the moon and Luna is nothing but a shell of her former glory!” In the blink of an eye, her personality flipped again and her voice reached subzero temperatures once more as she finished her speech. “Do not disrespect our fallen god, dragon.”

Greed’s flame not only gave me the courage to argue with her, but also the courage to laugh at her. I gave a quick ‘ha!’ in response to her outburst. I’m unsure if it was I, my heart, or Greed who found her dropping of that ‘holier than thou’ act hilarious, but either way, I continued to laugh at what I had done.

I continued to chuckle to myself until Diamrem suddenly shot a tentacle out and shocked me with it. Oww…

She stuck out her forked tongue and allowed it to slither about. “What is it that you find so amusing, lizard?”

While still in pain, I kept on giggling weakly. “Hehe… I was just laughing at how easily I found the big-bad-seapony's sour point. What’s the matter, your highness? Are you saddened that the eternal night didn’t happen? That the oceans didn’t rise up and swallow a good chunk of the land in response?”

The witch was taken aback, her mask faltering as she seemed generally surprised. “H-how did you know this, lizard?”

At first I was confused myself, how did I know to attack this subject? Why was I attacking this subject?

But then I figured that, with my mind taking a backseat, my heart was just telling it as it is. Every little theory I had cooked up in my mind so far had turned out to be correct, so I guess Greed’s just letting me speak my mind/heart. I suppose I’m okay with this; the less time given to Greed’s cries for war and dismemberment the better.

I used my knowledge from the show and what little I had gathered from Trixie, Nate, and others about Luna in my attack. “Because it’s common knowledge that Princess Luna was purified of Nightmare Moon earlier this year. With her mind restored, she no longer views it necessary to blacken the world in darkness in order to receive respect and love: she just needs to be herself. Even if she wasn’t purified by the elements of harmony, Nightmare Moon never showed any special connection to your kind. Now, why is that, Princess Diamrem?"

“…” Diamrem remained silent.

I smiled at this, savoring this tiny feeling of being in control after everything that’s happened today. “Let me guess; you only worship Nightmare Moon because she’s a true goddesses, unlike your mother, Ambrosine.”

The princess’s face proved my theories correct. “… I don’t expect a child such as yourself to understand our pain, lizard.”

Her show of weakness caused my greed flame to dwindle slightly. I used this chance (and my current warm fuzzy feelings) to regain control of my mind…

… And I hastily quit badgering her. W-what the hell was I thinking?!

Oh, wait, that’s right, I wasn’t thinking. That was the problem!

Talking to her was just another one of my ‘heart’s’ dumb ‘ideas’ and, although it has yielded the possibility of ending this thing peacefully, I’d rather like to start using my noggin again instead of my ass. Greed kept trying to whisper into my ear to return to my rage, but I was able to tune him out for now. Thank goodness for that, and thank goodness that I haven’t maimed anyone yet…

With my new found sense of clarity, I quickly looked back at Nate who had once again remained quiet during an important conversation. Frankly, I don’t blame him; I know that I would have shut my flapping lips if I was in this kind of situation when I was his age. Nate rewarded my concern for him by turning his own head away, unable to look at me.

W-what? Why’s he… ow! My heart! It feels like a smaller version of the pain I felt when I left Vinyl! Ow… if I were a pony, my ears would be flat against my head right now. W-why can’t Nate face m-

Oh… oh crap! I used my greed growth in front of him without even realizing it! Even worse, he’s a griffon, which I’ve learned is part of the same race trinity as zebras. If Zecora knew about greed growth when ponies didn’t…

-Gulp-. I think Nate recognizes what I did… what I can do.

He’s… scared of me.

… And now I’m ‘poking the bear’ with the woman who just pointed a trident at his head.

He… he must h-hate me!

Oh no oh no oh no, I can’t loss him too! P-please don’t leave me alone here…

… Although… I did say that it only felt like a minor version of the pain I felt earlier. I had only been friends with Vinyl for a day when I broke up with her…

… If Nate ever truly left me, I’d imagine that the pain would be a lot more intense then this tiny little stab. I’ve known him for almost a week and we’ve already done so much together… if he ever really left me, my ‘heart’ would be devastated. Under that train of thought, this means that my actions so far have caused Nate to mistrust me, but not hate me.

Phew~, that’s somewhat of a relief… but now I’m walking on thin ice. I have to remain brave and in control of the situation if I want to earn back his trust. No more greed flame, no more pushing Diamrem’s buttons, and no more rage. Guess it’s time for some diplomacy…

“I’m all ears.” I finally told the Princess, hoping for answers and maybe a possible solution that doesn’t involve any more deaths. I owe it to Nate to at least try his non-killing route, especially since I believe in it as well.

Despite the sincerity of my voice, Diamrem looked at me angrily. “Do not try to sympathize with me, dragon. Your kind was nothing but mere hatchlings when our kingdom began to falter.”

“Okay…” I nodded in acknowledgement. “Well then, explain to me what caused this to happen. Maybe we can work on an answer to your problem toge-”

“We have tried to solve it for centuries, fool!” roared the Princess.

Eep! So much for solving this thing peacefully. I’m starting to think this was a bad idea...

“Our problem...” she went on “was apparent since the dawn of time! Every race that spawned from us could see it clear as day! Earth Ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns. Zebras, Griffons, Giraffes. Diamond Dogs, Gargoyles, Minotaurs. Sea Serpents, Dragons, Landwyrms… even the kinless Changelings and Crystal Ponies could see it happening yet they did nothing! Only your fellow draconic kin, the sea serpents, stayed by our side, but they proved to be equally worthless and unhelpful as the rest of the planet!” She slithered towards me and lowered her head until it was merely inches away from my face. “Our problem. child, is that my mother is an immortal!”

I blinked. “Um… well it’s kinda in the name, Princess. You know, the Eternal Queen Ambrosine? Well… in truth that’s just what my father calls her, but even so: Ambrosine stands fo-”

“Yes and that is the problem.” Diamrem cut me off in her growing rage.

“You're… not making sens-owowowowow!” I wailed as the princess pulled back on my ponytail.

Again, owowowowo! B-bitch!

“C-cog!” Nate sputtered, finally paying attention to me again. That repaired some of the cracks that had started forming in my heart but did nothing to stop this crazy lady from pulling my hair! Owowowow!

“Cog?” Questioned Diamrem. “So that is your title, lizard. Well then, I ask you this, ‘Cog’: what is my own title?”

“P…” I tried to answer through the pain. “P-princess?”

Princess Diamrem let go of my ponytail. “That is correct. So now, think about it, little Cog: what is our problem?”

“I… I just don’t know! P-please stop beating around the bush and just tell me! I want to help you! Please!” I begged. Greed’s going to take control again at this rate if she keeps acting so hostile towards us!

The seapony’s mask of seriousness returned as she said “… Very well. Little Cog... what use is there in having a princess if there will always be a Queen?”

...

… Looks like I no longer have to fear Greed’s return… because he’s here.

It took all my own courage to break out of Greed’s flame in the first place and even more courage to try to speak to this lady without the flame’s aid, and this is the thanks I get?! A generic 'overthrow my mother' villain?! Screw off, universe, I’ve had enough of your crap!

“So, your problem is that you’re selfish!” I snarled.

Her mask held as she told me that “You are wrong, little Cog. Our Queen needs to fall. It’s as simple as that.”

Greed’s flame began to burn brightly as it quickly became apparent that there was no hope of ending this peacefully. If it was getting out of obscurity, or forming a dialogue with the Princesses, or literally anything else I would have given her my aid in exchange for letting these ponies and Nate go. But, from the sound of it, solving her ‘problem’ isn’t going to be that simple. I will not kill for her.

Kill her then.

And with that Greed was now fully back up to snuff. His flame gave me the liquid courage needed to continue yelling at Diamrem. My last hope of ending this without bloodshed (besides Luna magically showing up) is to maybe convince the other seaponies here (who had remained just as quiet as Nate) that this coup wasn’t worth it. "All I’m hearing here, Princess, is a little girl whose jealous of her mommy!”

“… Shoo, be doo~” Diamrem uttered. This quick incantation caused several watery ‘fists’ to strike me across the face in rapid succession. Scales and blood flew off my body as the blows increased in size and power. Rarity’s gifted bow to me went flying off my bruised horn and flew over the edge of the ship. If my hoard possessed material things in it, this would have caused a full on transformation in and of itself. I liked that bow!

I also liked my blood.

It was only after I became unable to see out of my right eye did the pain cease. Nate watched me with tears in his eyes as our bond returned to its original strength and as this situation became bleaker.

The Princess’s face remained stony, as if nothing had happened. She even continued to speak to me casually. “… I am not jealous. Who would be jealous of a body that doesn’t die, yet lacks the true magic of the goddesses to prevent it from aging? ”

“-Huff-… -huff-… -huff-!” I replied simply. I was still recovering from my assault and unable to respond properly. Despite this, I had a feeling I knew where this was going. Eternal life but not eternal youth…that must mean…

-Gulp-

Hell on Earth.

The princess told me as much. “Mother has not been the same for a very long time, little Cog. All I could do was sit back and watch as her mind began to decay over the centuries. The true horror, however, was watching her people decay along with her…” She held her fins to the sides in a grand sweep. “Look around you, lizard! Where once we were mighty, we are now small. Where once we were a rainbow of colors, we are now uniform grey. Where once our songs were known throughout the world, we are now nothing more than a fairy tale for foals! These things at my side are not seaponies; they are dogs, and we have mother dearest to thank for this.”

At first I wasn’t sure what she meant, and I blamed this on Greed’s flame blocking off my higher brain functions…

… But then I started thinking about it…

Really thinking about it.

Has any other seapony talked to us so far?

Have I spotted any sort of slip up or sign of a soul from this group?

Have I seen even the tiniest speck of individuality among these ranks?

The answer?

No… they’ve done nothing but hum and stand perfectly still this whole time. At first I assumed they were just a well-trained militia…

… But then I remembered their soulless eyes.

Their decaying flesh.

Their messy hair.

All the scales that lay discarded along the floor of the deck…

And, most importantly, their eyes again. I can’t get over those eyes…

They're… beasts.

Literally mindless beasts!

Even the changeling foot soldiers had more soul then these guys! H-how does something like this happen to an entire race?

Diamrem went on as I considered her words. “First her decay claimed the children, then the elderly, and finally… all that remained. We were once gifted with a link to her through the flesh in the same way Lyssa gifted you your greed or Celestia gifted these ponies with their marks. However, since mother wasn’t a true goddesses, her gift quickly became a curse. Her people suffered along with her… and so did I.” She looked down sadly at her own flippers. “… I escaped my own decay through ancient magic, little Cog. Forbidden magic from another realm. I was thankfully spared the curse of immortality, unlike my mother, but the magic I used could very well be considered the same thing. Regardless, it came at a terrible cost, for you see…”

As she held her final word, her eyes went solid white and she remained motionless. The water beneath her splashed around unevenly as she started to fall over. She quickly opened her mouth and began to hum like the rest of her mindless kin and that saved her from the fall. This act thoroughly confused me…

… Until the seapony holding me stopped humming and lowered his head next to mine. I turned my own and was greeted by a pair of slit blue eyes. My seapony started talking to me in Diamrem’s twin voices.

“D-diamrem?” I tried to interrupt my once silent captor.

But the Princess continued on our conversation as if nothing had happened. “… I live on through the bodies of her people. In a way, I have achieved eternal life like mother, yet it comes at the cost of stealing our precious few followers’ bodies. What kind of life do I lead, dragon, where I do not have flesh to call my own?” The new Diamrem tightened her grip on me. “Not a pleasant one, that’s for sure.”

She… can live on through others?! I-is it only restricted to seaponies? Oh please only be restricted to seaponies!

… She will be hard to kil-

At this moment, I discovered another way to exit Greed’s control: fear. More specifically, fear of what I don’t know. My breath quickened as everything started to not make as much sense as it once had. She’s here for magic, wants to obtain an element, and wants to overthrow her own mother… but is that really all there is to this? Emeraldgrey said that the Queen wanted to flood and rule the world and Diamrem herself admitted to wanting Nightmare Moon to flood the world as well… so what’s the overall plan here?

-Gulp-. Only one way to find out. “O-okay, so you seaponies kinda got the short end of the stick here. I understand that now… but what will overthrowing your own mother do for you, Diamrem?”

Diamrem used her new host body’s flippers to start playing with my wings, treating me like a stuffed animal. “It will allow me to rule and nothing more.”

“Rule?!” I asked, completely stunned. “That’s it?! Killing her doesn’t end the decay or something?”

“How do you kill an immortal, little Cog?”

Oh… right. “W-well then why do you even care?”

“Because her people deserve me as their proper ruler. Again, simple as that.”

It was about time for me to snap today. It was hard to pull off without Greed’s fire flowing through me, but the stupidity of Diamrem’s words floored me forward. “No it’s not as simple as that! Why are you trying to take all these ponies, just so you can rule over a dead race?!”

“My race is not dead!” She roared into my hearing horn as her grip on me tightened.

“Yes it is!” I roared right back into her lowered face. “You said so yourself that these guys were nothing more than dogs! Are you planning to rule over dogs?!”

Despite me just yelling into it, Diamrem's face beamed with an unhealthy smile. “No little Cog. I plan to rule over all. Although her mind is gone, mother’s dream of returning this world to its natural beauty lives on through me. I will become the one true god of this world, just as mother wanted me to be. I wish to harm her so that I may honor her! Once I have an element, I can fight against the false god Luna and steal her moon away from her…”

“… And thus begins the eternal ocean.” I finished for her grimly. “Well… then what, Princess? Become the Queen of the land of magical flooding corpses? Hate to break it to you, fishy, but not everypony can breathe underwater!”

Her grin intensified. “Not yet they can’t.”

I surprised myself by being able to joke at a time like this. “… How the hell do you plan to go all ‘Waterworld’ on us?”

The evil princess startled me by finally letting me go. As soon as I hit the ground, I about-faced and glared her down, er, up. It was only now that I noticed that seaponies were kinda tall… like about where a normal pony would be standing straight up on hind legs, if not a couple of inches higher.

Diamrem’s evil smile remained plastered to her face. “I expected better of you, little Cog. Weren’t you paying attention? I said that all the races of this land spawned from us. Inside even your inferior body lies the genes necessary to become the majestic creature all life was destined to be.”

I got on all fours and growled at her; my wings flaring upwards and my claws ready to strike as soon as her monologue was over. “Sorry, Diamy, but I’m afraid a good number of us prefer the dirt and sky to your filthy ocean. Besides, what about Ambrosine’s gift? Changing everyone into seaponies is only going to give you a planet of dogs to rule over, right?”

Despite everything else I had asked, this question seemed to be the one that delighted Diamrem the most. “Well… I guess it’s all up to The Maker after that. The elements have the power to do many great things, little Cog, but they are the magic of ponies. I, being of the race that spawned ponies, should be able to do whatever I wish with them.”

My claws dug into the wooden deck’s flooring. She’s making it very hard for me to fight Greed. “But you have no way of knowing that!”

Her mask completely gone, Diamrem laughed at me. “Mahaha, well then… let’s find out, shall we?”

With a wave of her fin, two seapony guards came slithering up to us…

… With Vinyl Scratch and Rarity following them. The two were still under the influence of ‘The Music’ and were unable to do anything but mutter about it and obey the trained seaponies’ commands. My face tried to betray me by falling, but I quickly straightened myself out. I can’t let her know that I know these two.

Unfortunately, Diamrem saw right through my act. “Oh do not try to hide it, dragon; I can smell your magic upon these two, as well as on this griffon and a little filly. The filly was of no importance to me, but this griffon is quite interesting. He possesses much more magic then his kind is known for, something that resembles Celestia’s magic brandings, and he stinks of the smell of magical Generosity.”

Oh crap, I called it!

“Sadly, this is not as impressive as it should be, for this aroma emanates from these two unicorns as well. The filly stinks of it as well, but it is only minor in comparison. Because of this, I'm lead to believe that one of these two is the bearer."

... What? “W-what?”

Diamrem elaborated as she purred evilly. “It’s quite simple, little Cog. Your hoard is powerful. Too powerful. Not even an elder amongst your kind possesses a greed flame as powerful as yours. Not only that, but it shines with the light of the elements as well! That’s not something you can easily duplicate, especially the smell. The only way any of this could be possible is if you were connected to an element in some way, such as being his or her friend."

Her tongue slithered about some more. "You've already admitted to having a hoard made of ponies, lizard, so it's not that unbelievable that you are the bearer's friend. Just as you added her to your hoard, so too did the bearer of the element take advantage of you, dragon. One of these two ponies funneled their power into those connected to you and successfully cloaked themselves. Quite clever, I'll admit."

W-what?!

In an action that mimicked Emeraldgrey's 'clawfull of riches' technique, Diamrem turned her head to the side and used her fin to play with a tiny geyser of water coming off of her new staff. "Whether it was intentional or not it does not matter; what matters is that, without your knowledge, your hoard became one with the element of Generosity, little one, and led us here.”

N-no! I… I...

...

… I was right.

This, -sniff-, r-really is all my fault…

The princess, uncaring about my fresh tears, coldly stated that “We owe you a debt, Cog... simply point out the true element of Generosity amongst these two, and you get to keep her.”

No… oh dear God, why?! “W-what happens to the oth-”

The Princess’s raised fin halted my sputtered question. “Do not play dumb, child. You know the answer to that. We have plenty of ponies to work with here, missing one won’t matter. Be grateful the little filly isn't on the chopping block as well.”

…

Greed became silent. Having to choose… that seems to be another one of its weaknesses. I… I should be thankful that I have a clear head to think this through… -sniff-, b-but why has it come to this?! Why it this happening to me?! D-don’t make me choose…oh God, please don’t m-make me choose! -Sniff-, i-it’s not fair… it’s not fair!

Shinkshink!

The sound of tridents being lifted up and aimed at Vinyl and Rarity’s heads.

“The clock is ticking~” The princess stated playfully. Her mask had completely shattered now, leaving behind the true monster she really was. That cold and calculating side was still there, but she allowed herself to enjoy the chaos she had created in my mind. Nate’s once again turned away, unable to help me.

… -Sniff-

My tears soaked the floorboards beneath me.

“Three!” Diamrem shouted happily.

“N-no…”

“Two!”

“I… I can’t!”

“One~!”

“Please don't!”

The princess's icy voice returned as she ordered her seaponies to “Kill them both.”

“VINYL!!”

“… What was that, little Cog~?” The monster asked me nonchalantly.

I stood up on my two legs only to then collapse to my knees. “T-the one with the blue mane… she’s the element.”

Diamrem smiled. “And this one with the array of diamonds as a cutie mark?”

“… My… f-friend…”

“I see… toss the one with the spectacles off the ship.” She commanded to the seapony guard.

My eyes widened. “No! I said she was the element! She's the element!”

“Why?” asked Diamrem.

“W-what?” I questioned, unsure what her sudden query meant.

“Why would a dragon willingly put a single ruby in front of a pile of diamonds?”

My heart was pounding so unbearably hard in my chest that I couldn’t think straight. “I…" -Sniff- "D-don’t understand.”

As the demon slithered over and watched as her seaponies started to lift Vinyl up with their magic water, the Princess stated coldly that “So little of your greed fire flows off the other pony. This, ‘Vinyl’, is just as drenched in your magic as the griffon child is. Therefore, I asked you why you put such a large piece of your hoard at risk while throwing away this other pony. Little Cog, it is quite apparent that this one with the purple mane is the element, and that this Vinyl is your true friend. Once more… I thank you for you aid.”

With that the carpet of water holding Vinyl lifted up…

… And tossed her off the ship.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!”

Nate's shaking reached a fever pitch as I launched forward in frantic flight. A volley of water ‘shots’ threatened to knock me out of the air but I remained strong and flying until the Princess herself gripped me with her electrified tentacle. As the magic coursed through me, I came crashing back down and near the edge of the railing.

Using every ounce of the last of my strength I peered over the side…

… And saw nothing but the crashing waves.

…

Diamrem laughed at my misfortune. “So close, little one. This is why you shouldn’t listen to the words of the sun goddess: it only makes you weak.” She then turned her attention away from me and began giving orders to her troops. “Shoo, be doo… shoo shoo-”

... The princess made one mistake this day... one fatal mistake that I prayed would later cost her dearly.

Her mistake was that she turned her back on me…

… And Greed.

She has taken, what, is, miiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeee!!!!

Things became foggy after that… but I do remember a few things. One of which was me making good on my personal promise of ripping Diamrem’s head off.

I accomplished this dark task with my teeth.

Blue blood leaked from my mouth as my muzzle snapped back into place. As soon as those blue eyes reappeared on another seaponies’ face…

Shink!

… I used my forked tail to reduce the seapony population by one more.

Seven lives have been taken so far this day.

All of them, my fault.

And many more to come.

“RRRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!” I thundered loudly; Greed’s flame turning me into the beast capable of murdering these abominations.

Kill. Kiiiiiiiiiiilllllllllll…

I complied as I scanned the army. Diamrem’s eyes appeared on Nate’s imprisoner’s face…

“Spit-to-wee!!”

And once it did I used my breath to take the shot Nate was too scared to take earlier. The rest of the seaponies began to approach me, snarling in between their magic chanting and ready to take action. Nate tried to stand up feebly once he hit the deck but I didn’t give him the chance as I lifted him up in a single, massive, claw.

My body was fluctuating and changing rapidly, but it hadn’t gone into full on greed growth yet. I was not ready to fight after all... the first thing on my damaged mind was to make sure my hoard wasn’t reduced any further.

Thus I yanked Nate off his feet with the aid of this giant claw and carried him back inside the ship. I slammed the door shut behind me with the help of my slowly shrinking tail.

***^***

Adrenalin still coursed through my veins as I slowly started shrinking back to normal in the hallway.

Sweat rained down from my head and drenched the carpet below me as I breathed in air and flames rapidly.

Greed’s voice had once again become nothing more than a collection of snarls and growls within my grief filled mind.

Caleb the baby sea serpent, having still been left inside, saw the blood dripping out of my mouth and did his best to scurry off fearfully using only his claws.

The world around me was spinning as I allowed my rage to settle for the briefest of seconds…

… And Nate looked at me as the girl I didn’t want to become, as the creature capable of taking life without care.

“C-c-cog, your t-tail…” Nate stuttered.

Breaking out of my momentary cooling down trance, I looked at it.

… It was still covered in the gore and brain matter of the fallen seapony’s head as it finished shrinking back down. Blood still dripped from it along with my claws. As my mind slowly became my own once more (a-and the pain of Vinyl’s l-loss started to, -sniff-, s-sink in) I noticed a nasty… taste.

My mouth… tasted like death.

I had not only killed five seaponies in total, b-but I ate one! W-what the hell kind of monster have I become?! I turned away, trying not to think about it… but it was so damn hard. So incredibly hard!

-Sniff-

W-why... oh God why... why is this happening?! Now I have all the proof I need to prove my ultimate theory correct...

I am a horrible person.

“I’m… I’m sorry Nate. P-please don’t hate me! I just wanted to keep you safe! V-vinyl… I… I can’t loss anyone else! Please! I-I did it for you!”

Nate took a fearful step back from me. Greed suddenly became silent as the final remnants of his flame disappeared.

“N-nate…” I tried to approach him.

He shuffled back. “D-don’t, please… j-just don’t…”

“B-b-but you said… t-this isn’t the same as Legion! They were going to kill you! Y-you promised! You s-said that you’d… you’d… p-please don’t leave me…”

My pleading did nothing as Nate only curled up into a ball, and tried to cover his head with his arms, in response.

I… didn’t try to push any further than that.

I figured that Nate's had more then his fill of monsters for one day…

... For the rest of his days...

With the loss of my final friend here in Equestria, my heart shriveled up and died; the pain was too much for it, so it simply stopped hurting…

… And remained still.

I was as good as dead to him… and to this world.

...

Once again, I couldn’t bear to look at Nate as I turned away. “… Nate…p-please…" -Sniff- "P-please just go hide. T-that’s all I ask of you… then you never have to see me again.”

Walking the walk of a man heading down death row, I left Nate cowering in the corner and returned to the main deck. Tears dotted my path as I suddenly knew how Vinyl felt yesterday…

Vinyl… I’m so, so sorry…

Your only crime was trying to become friends with a demon, and pretending that she was an angel.

***^***

As I exited the door, I half expected all the tridents onboard this ship to be aimed at my head… for the entire force of the ‘mighty’ seapony army to be ready to strike me down.

What I saw, however, made all those choices seem heavenly in comparison.

It made everything that happened to me today look like a meager flesh wound.

It made the pain in my heart seem like a child’s paper cut.

The second step in Diamrem’s apparent grand plan had come to fruition in the single minute I gave to her.

Not only did she now have Rarity…

… But Luna as well.

She had arrived here not in a grand flying chariot and ready for battle, but unconscious in the mouth of a sea serpent. A smirk crossed Diamrem’s new face as she slowly stroked Luna’s flowing mane with a fin.

Our… my last saving grace… was gone.

The seapony Princess turned around, saw my absolutely crestfallen face, and laughed at me. She laughed out in a haunting cry that crushed my heart into a state of pure dismay. Just when I thought it couldn’t get worst… she started singing. It was not the song of the seaponies she sang, but an even more threatening and familiar tune.

… ‘This day Aria’.

“This day has been just perfect; the kind of day of which I’ve dreamed since I was small~” Diamrem’s grin grew even larger. “I’ve always admired the Queen Chrysalis’s music. She was the one person in this world who could sing better than even my people… I must remember to honor her and her changelings with our form first.”

That evil grin of Diamrem’s did the impossible and grew even larger. “I must give thanks to you as well, little Cog! Thank you for alerting us to Luna’s presence! The information that she was the one upon the winds helped my sea serpent armada to be better prepared for the extraction! All I had to do was quickly pop into another seapony’s body during our own conversation… and the deed was done. Long range possession… almost as useful as your dragonbreath, wouldn’t you agree? Again, thank you for your aid!"

“… Thanks for the salt in my wounds.” I replied drearily.

Diamrem’s smile was the closest to ‘warm’ as she could manage. “It’s such a shame. If you hadn’t attacked me just now, I would have considered granting you the honor of being the first creature transformed. But now, well, I’m afraid this is our goodbye, child.”

She approached the railing where Vinyl had been tossed. “Farewell, my little dragon! I am truly sorry you will not get to enjoy this new world to its fullest!”

Impishly waving goodbye to me, Diamrem sucked her tentacles into her body and jumping off the ship. She swam away with the sea serpent and left the remaining seaponies to take care of securing Rarity and ending me…

… And I’m kind of grateful for that.

Not in ending me... I still have one last task to complete before I… I... well I don’t know what, but I’ll figure that out once my heart stops crying.

No, I’m glad she left. I don’t want to talk to that bitch any longer. I… have someone much more important to talk to right now anyways.

As the remaining Seaponies began to circle me, I cried out this person’s name.

“… Greed.”

…

“Greed, I know you can hear me… let me ask you something.

“… What shapes a person?”

…

“… His actions?

“Her past?

“His luck?

“Her gifts?

“What makes you… you?

“What makes me, me?”

…

“… Becoming a girl didn’t change me, it made me stronger.

“Becoming a dragon didn’t change me, it made me tougher.

“Becoming a child again didn’t change me, it only made it easier for this world to break me.

“This world… of which I was cursed to roam.”

…

“… Why am I here?

“What was it about me that made me special?

“Was I good in another life? Bad?

“Was I destined to change this world… or ruin it?

“Was I a fallen angel or a redeemed demon?”

…

“… What have I done to deserve this twisted fairy tale?!

“What have I done to earn such love, only for it to be taken away so harshly?!

“To make friends only to lose them?!

“To be gifted with a ‘hoard’ worth fighting for, yet given a life long enough to watch it wither away?!"

…

“… Man and Girl.

“Adult and Child.

“Human and Dragon.

“… Who am I supposed to be, Greed?! Who the hell am I to you?!”

…

“… I was not meant to have any of these wonderful things, this I now know.

“I was not meant to have these perfect friends... nor was I meant for this world at all.

“... I’ve ruined everything that made this place special to me and others…”

I looked at my claws... their slowly greying scales shined in the rising sun.

“… Okay, Greed... I’ll kill for you. If I’m not supposed to be here, then I will use these claws to rend and slaughter across this land until its back to the way it was.”

…

“… Please, Greed... burn. Burn my pain away in your demonic flames. Take it all away from me!!”

…Your will is my will, human.

And thus I wished myself away from this nightmare

Splash!!

The mighty ship was shaken to its very core under the added weight of all that remained of Cogwill the baby dragon.

The adult, white eyed, grey scaled dragon roared out in a blood curdling scream of pure draconic fury. The force of its anguished cry caused the very ocean to tremble before her.

Her tears threatened to drown even the ponies of the sea.

“RRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Your will is mine, human… mine.

The flames of deep inner greed lit up the morning sky in a brilliant hellfire of blinding white light as the scene fades to black.

...

From the darkness, a pair of magenta colored eyes opened

Author's Note

Fanart by More Dakka!

Chapter 9: To Be Heard, The Day that Never Was

Chapter 9, To be Heard, The Day that Never Was

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

Cogwill is gone. All that remains is a grief fueled monster.

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

Princess Diamrem has succeeded. Her seaponies are ready for war and the planet itself is threatened with change. Not even Luna was capable of defending herself against the army of sea serpents.

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

Nathan De La Griffon’s fate, as well as the fate of the S.S. Luna Returner, remains a mystery.

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

And Vinyl Scratch, our second participant in this ‘play’…

Tick… tock…… tick…… tock……

Well…

Tick…… tock……… tick......... tooocccckk………

They say that death...

Tiiiiiicccccckkkk……… tooooo-

… Is only the beginning.

As Cogwill turns her eyes away from the world, fighting desperately to keep her tears from falling, the DJ opens her own to the world behind the curtain

***^***

“Next! Name?”

“Q-quicksilver, sir.”

... -Sigh-. I was a simple mare… a modestly epic mare… but a simple mare, nonetheless.

“Accepted. Next! Name?”

“Silver Wheel, sir.”

I had simple pleasures. I only really needed four (okay, maybe five) meals a day, some rocking music, and the warmth of friendship in order to be happy. Sure, I might have been lacking in that last department for awhile now, but I was reasonably happy with what I had going for me!

I had Cogy, I had her obvious coltfriend, Natedog, and I was reasonably sure I could win back Octy now as well! After that concert, I felt like I could do anything! Nothing could stop me!

But…I wasn’t prepared for this~

“Accepted. Next! Name?”

“Elliot of Whitetail Woods, sir.”

…Sigh. You know what I hate the most in all of Equestria and beyond?

“Accepted. Next! Name?”

"-Sniff-, L-little Squirt, sir.”

Lines. I freaking hate lines. Lines can kiss my blue tail and my white, music noted, flank. They’re so looooooonnnnnggg and booooorrrrriiiinnnggg! Ugh!

“Accepted. Next! Name?”

“Dutch Applepie, sir.”

Lines were the bane of my life…

“Accepted. Next! Name?”

A red furred stallion with a fire red mane and a pair of fireballs as a cutie mark stepped forward from his position in front of me and another mare. With his face stern yet fierce, he approached the endlessly tall gate before us and stared up at the pony addressing the questions.

This pony finally answered the ‘bouncer’. “… Crimson Red, sir.”

“… And they appear to be the bane of my afterlife as well…” I muttered to myself, completing my ‘bored-out-of-my-gourd’ thoughts.

As I once more stared out at the blank, colorless, and cloud filled world around me, a single question crossed my mind…

… Why? Why didn’t I just wake up like I usually do?

On some strange pony’s couch?

Or on top of some national landmark?

… Or in prison?

Heck, I would have preferred prison to this… this…

I turned around and asked the pony behind me “Hey… where are we again?”

“The Pearly Gates.” She replied simply yet kindly.

“Ah, I see…” I responded as I turned forward.

…

… Oh, that’s right; I was asking myself a question, wasn’t I? Ah yes… ahem... it started with ‘why’ didn’t it?

Yeah that sounds right.

…

Why…?

Why in Celestia's name am I at the Pearly bucking gates?!

Why why why why WHY?!

One moment I was hitting the hay after my show, the next I’m in limbo! How the hay does that work?! More importantly, how the hay did I die?! I don’t remember dying, that’s for sure!

Sadly, that’s the only explanation for how and why I’m suddenly in a line, waiting to enter the most exclusive club in existence.

… Heaven.

The Valhalla, the ultimate dance floor, the grand finish line… call it what you will, it all means the same thing to me…

…Game Over, filly. Game Over.

“This freaking sucks!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, once more reminding my fellow spirits about how screwy this whole thing is. While grumbling to myself over how unfair all this was, the cyan blue pegasus in front of me finally turned her head around to face me. Her muzzle was drenched in tears, just like a lot of the other mares around her (and totally not my) age in this line.

“Please, dear, c-calm down. This is, -sniff-, h-hard enough as it is…”

I stomped my hoof down angrily on the surprisingly solid cloud beneath me. When I first woke up here, I thought I had simply wound up in Cloudsdale…

… Again.

Wouldn’t be the first time I ended up there after a gig, after all. Heck, it happened to me just last week! Twice! I’ll never understand how I can cast the cloud walking spell while I’m the closest I can get to intoxicated, yet completely suck at it while I’m sober!

Anyways, it seemed logical at the time that that’s where I was, until I noticed how many earth ponies and unicorns were here along with an army of elderly old farts. That was the first warning sign that I wasn’t quite in Equestria anymore. What really tipped me off, however, was the giant blue sun that hung over us in the air. It generated no heat, wasn’t blinding, and it was actually spitting people out of it! I guess that explains how I got here… but not how I died.

“But I don’t remember dying, lady, do you?!” I asked the mare crossly. I really shouldn’t snap at her at a time like this, but, come on; I woke up to somepony telling me ‘Congratulations! You’re dead!’

The greatest injustice I’ve faced so far, however, was when I woke up dead in an unfamiliar world at the back of a massive line… without my shades! I loved those things more than life itself!

I cringed at that last thought. Ouch... poor word choice, Vinyl.

The mare (who I now recognized as that Mrs. Blue lady from the ship) turned her head forward, unable to face me. “I… I actually do, Ms. Vinyl.”

“What?!” I shrieked. We’ve been in line for quite literally freaking forever and she only now tells me this?! “Well spill the beans then, pony! If you and that Red guy are here, that must mean something happened to the ship, right? What happened to us… and why don’t I see Cogy around here? Is she… gulp, in the other place?”

The pony at the front of the line interrupted my question by yelling out once more from his podium. “Accepted. Next!”

Mrs. Blue sniffed one final time. “… I hope not. K-kids like you and her should be allowed to…to... -sniff-, l-l-live your lives..."

The unicorn stallion that had just been ‘judged’ by Gate Keeper (the awesome name I gave the guy guarding the gate in my mind) came floating up to us and down low enough so Mrs. Blue could have a shoulder to cry on.

Yes, I said floating… as in flying.

This seems to be the norm of what I’ve observed so far (and by ‘observed’ I mean ‘had literally nothing better to do’). A pony would approach Gate Keeper (who's this really old looking white earth pony with a beard that reminds me of the one Captain ‘Buzzkill’ Grey refuses to shave), they would get ‘accepted’ and then poof; suddenly they're rocking a new set of wings, a new horn, or a new both along with a shiny halo thingy.

Well, despite how completely messed up all this is, maybe getting wings will make it worth it. Even the halo thingy is kinda tight looking, I guess…

… But I never got to say sorry to Octy for being a flankhole.

… And I didn’t get to hang out with Cogy some more after becoming her friend again.

… And I didn’t get around to composing the masterpiece that would allow me to live on forever in the hearts and minds of ponies everywhere!

… And… a-and…

-Sniff-

Ah dang it. Now I’m doing it too! There… there was just so much left for me to do, ya know?! I’m too young to die! Oh please tell me that all of this is just one big mistake!

Blue finally obeyed the Gate Keeper’s voice and approached him with the brand new alicorn, Mr. Red, by her side.

“Name?” Asked the Gate Keeper in monotone. Doing the same thing for an actual eternity… yuck. I don’t blame him for his lack of interest.

“B-blue Night, sir.” Replied the pegasus mare.

Looks like I’m next after this… gulp. I don’t even want to think about it. Instead, I decided to hear Mrs. Blue’s judging. Apparently, everpony’s lives are re-observed here and all their sins are weighted against their good deeps and that’s what decides where you go. It doesn’t even seem like you really need to follow Celestia in order to get here either, as there’s a literal ton of different creatures in this line with us. Griffons and diamond dogs and a bunch of things I’ve never even seen before! This one guy in front of us earlier was some kind of thing with these really sweet looking antlers sticking out of his head. I think he’s called a ‘Deer’, or something…

But I didn’t rack my brain any harder than that trying to remember. Instead, I tried to listen in on Blue’s ‘trial’. I haven’t been able to hear any of these testimonials until now, because I was so far back, so I might as well enjoy one before it’s my-

In less than a heartbeat, Mr. Gate Keeper said “Accepted.”

… Turn. Well that’s good. It looks like they have low standards here… either that or Mrs. Blue was a saint. Might explain why Cogy liked her so much...

“Next!”

Yikes! Guess it’s time to face the (slightly bland) music.

Before I could take a step forward, the newly alicorned Mrs. Blue held up a hoof to the Gate Keeper. “W-wait, please! I have a question!”

The white pony stroked his beard. “Hmmm… I will allow it. State it please.”

Tears were soaking the cloud under Mrs. Blue as she tried to stutter out her question. “M-my children…”

The stallion didn’t even look up from the giant book as he answered her. “Both become fine pegasi under the tutelage of your husband. You have no need to fear for them, creature of The Maker and child of Celestia.”

“B-but…”

Gate Keeper actually showed some emotion as a smile creased his stony face. He even looked up! “Please child, trust in Soarin... he will never leave your children’s side. Never. He will be there for them in this dark hour and, in return, they will be there for him as he comes to terms with becoming a widower. The only thing that will test his faith will be not getting to eat Mr. Red’s pies anymore.” The old stallion’s face dropped again as he returned to the book. “I’m afraid that’s all I’m allowed to give you, ma’am… was there anything else you two wanted to ask?”

Despite me not being the second pony who he was referring to, Mrs. Blue somehow read my mind as she asked the question I was quite curious about myself. “A-about the ship we were on, w-with the little dragon girl…?”

The Gate Keeper’s voice returned to his ‘business’ drone. “I’m afraid all matters concerning the S.S. Luna Returner cannot be discussed at this time. All I can tell you is that you were in the ‘eye of the storm’, as it were, with a historically important event that’s still in progress. Even I lack the vision to peer into it at this time… is there anything else I can do for you two?”

Mrs. Blue slowly nodded her head ‘no’ as she stared miserably at the ‘floor’. Mr. Red looked away as well, like he was too afraid to ask whatever it was that was on his mind.

The elderly, bearded stallion saw right through him regardless. “… Young man, I’ve been doing this job for centuries. I can recognize the face of a child with regret. Although you may fear that you didn’t leave your mark on the world, take heart in this: in your final days you inspired a young griffon to be himself and to become more assertive.” His voice suddenly took on a much softer and sincere tone. “Do not be afraid. That boy will become a fine man using the words you left for him and, in time, he will use those same words to trump the words of his own father. Now; Red, Blue... you two have held up the line long enough. Go now, both of you. Your work in this world is done.”

With that, the two former ship employees slowly nodded their heads in agreement right before they gave me one final smile. They then flew towards the golden gates behind the Keeper as it, little by little, opened up for them. Golden light poured out of the gate, and I witnessed an assortment of flying creatures (I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of a winged diamond dog before!) right before it shut behind them.

I stood there in silence as they left, simply digesting it all. The bits about the griffon kid (which sounds like Natedog) were unimportant to me. What I cared about was the part about the ship. We were in the epicenter of an important event? What the hay could that be? And… what the hay is going on back there right now?

Is… is Cogy okay? If Nate is still alive…

The stallion’s voice knocked me out of my stupor. “Next!”

“Eep!” I jumped. Well, looks like there’s no time left to worry about it... this is it. I calmed myself as I took the all-important step forward.

“Name?” Asked the Gate Keeper.

“T-the one and only DJ Pon-3, dude!” I answered timidly. I’m desperately trying to cling to my ‘awesome mare’ image, but I found it very hard to do that while all four of my knees were shaking.

The Gate Keeper looked through the giant book that rested on the equally giant podium in front of him. “… I don’t see you in here, child.”

I rubbed the back of my head with a hoof. “O-oh… s-sorry, I meant Vinyl Scratch… sir. Heh. You go by one name long enough it kinda takes over, ya know?”

He nodded his head in a show of understanding of what I meant. “Ah yes, I do know what that feels like. I’ve gone by ‘Gate Keeper’ for so long that I’ve forgotten my own name.”

I blinked at this. “Oh… so I guess I’m not the first one to call you that, huh?”

“Nor the first and far from the last, young one. Let us see here… aha, here you are. Vinyl Scratch; born in Lower Canterlot nineteen years prior to death… world famous musician… cutie mark represents talent for music… death by drowning…”

That almost caused my shaky legs to collapse in on themselves. “W-what?! I-I’ve done some crazy things in my sleep before, but how the heck did I pull that off?!”

The guy ignored my question as he went on. It was almost like he was reading from a checklist! “… Murderer: Princess Diamrem…”

…

… Again, what?!

This just keeps getting weirder and weirder! “Who the hay is that?!” I tried to ask, unsure if I’d even get an answer. I was killed by a Princess?!

I…

… I can’t decide whether that’s really cool or really sad!

“She is the Princess of the seaponies, Ms. Vinyl.” He actually replied, although he did it nonchalantly.

...

Okay… this is just too weird to be real. Seaponies? Really? What am I? A five year old?

I found it hard to keep a straight face over the ridiculous mental image that was forming in my head. -Snort- "Are… are you pulling my leg, dude? Yeah… that’s it, isn’t it? This is just one big joke!

“… Right?”

According to his face, however, he was dead serious (ugh, again; poor word choice, filly). “I’m afraid not, Celestia’s little pony. Seaponies are very much real and their Princess very much killed you during her current bid for power. It was through her servant’s magic that you fell into a deep trance and it was while in this trance that you were thrown overboard. From there you sank like a rock until your body became lodged in the ship’s inactive turbines and… well… ran out of air.

“You died peacefully in slumber, child… I’m truly sorry.”

My face dropped… but not before I grimaced at the surprisingly graphic description. Oh Celestia, I think I’m going to be sick! There goes any hope of this turning out to be one big mistake and any hope of me coming back as a zombie pony.

Admittedly, the latter would have been pretty neat.

Also, ‘Death by Seapony’… -shudder-, definitely not the thing I wanted on my tombstone....

…

… Ah crap. Now I’m starting to think about the one thing I didn’t want to think about right now…

… My funeral.

…

I’m… sure ma and dad will be there. That much is guaranteed. My legion of loyal fans will try to get in, but I’m sure my family would want it to be just that: family only. Maybe a few friends but that’s it.

Maybe my manager will get his lazy flank out of that crummy old office of his and show up, just so he can spit on the soil. That colt never did like me, but Celestia knows that if I were to ever die (like… now) he’d have nopony to replace me. So, with that said, let him spit! Not like I can care anymore…

… But beside those ponies, who else would show up?

…

… Octy?

…

… I’m… sure she’ll show up…

Yeah… no doubt about it. She’ll show up, I just know it. She’ll be there, with her cello, just so she can play my final song. I’d want nopony to do it but her… and maybe Cogy, if she’s still alive. Heh. Maybe in a sick twist of fate, she and Octy will meet over my grave and become friends themselves. Maybe they’ll even do a duet together. Octy always did have a nice singing voice, after all…

… I wish I could hear it one final time…

...

-Sniff-

“… Once more, I’m very sorry, child.”

“… Yeah… I bet you are.” I replied grumpily to the Gate Keeper.

Despite my gloomy face, Gate Keeper returned to reading his book. It was then that his eyes shot open in shock. “… Forty-four counts of theft?!”

My eyes widened as well. “Seaponies steal?!”

His eyes narrowed. “No… this is for you, Vinyl.”

“…” Sweat starting falling from my face as his gaze caused my self-pity session to abruptly stop. I laughed nervously. “Oh, h-hehehe, that. W-well, you know how it is… I was young and so very, very stupid at the time…”

“This report is from last month.” He deadpanned.

More sweat began to fall. “Hehehe, yeah, well… one month can really make a difference!”

“…”

His silence turned my face into a literal waterfall of sweat. “…Okokok!! I’m a bit of a klepto! I’ll admit it! It was bred into me by my thieving folks, okay?! It’s just in my blood!”

He raised an eyebrow. “But… you’re a musician. A famous one at that, apparently. Why would you stoop so low as petty theft?”

I turned my head away. “B-because I love donuts soooo much, yet I hate Donut Joe’s guts even more! I refuse to support the business of a stupidly proud dubstep hater… but I have no choice if I want the food of the gods! Stealing was the only option…” I pointed an accusing hoof at Gate Keeper. “You try to find a better donut in Equestria! I dare you!”

“…”

My hoof, along with my face, fell. “… I-I’m going to the other place, aren’t I?”

At my scared question, GK (Gate Keeper’s new name. Have to be somewhat original) simply laughed me off. “Hohohoh. Have no fear, little one. You are a student of Celestia, are you not?”

Once again I looked away. “Um, well not really. I didn’t do that hot in Magic Kindergarten…”

He waved me off casually. “Not that kind of student. I meant to ask if you paid attention to her teachings of friendship and unity at all.”

“Oh… um, er, y-yes?”

GK’s smile returned to him. “Then there’s nothing to worry about! We have not denied a pony into this magical land for many centuries. Here, allow me to simply skip the book and instead join you in the past.”

… I’ve had stallions give me cheesier pick-up lines before, I’ll admit; but that might now be in my top ten.

... Although, something tells me that’s not what the old fart meant. “… Huh?”

As the earth pony got down from his podium, he gripped the giant book easily with his coiled up tail and approached me. “It’s quite simple. Just allow me to enter your mind and relive with you the most important moment of your life. As is the case for all ponies, I will see you at your very best and it is from here that I will allow you entry.”

Oh… oh sweet! I just have to show him last night (or at least I think it was last night. It’s hard to tell time here), where I won back Cogy, and I’ll be set! I did make a life changing vow that day, after all, so it has to at least be in my top ten important moments track… somewhere between earning my cutie mark and tricking Prince Blueblood into eating a cowpie on camera.

I allowed my relieve to overtake me as I told him happily “Okay, that sounds like a plan! What are you waiting for? Fire away!”

The white stallion nodded his head as he opened his book once more with his hoofs…

… And everything went to black.

***^***

GK stuttered at the scene in front of us. “Oh… oh my.”

My face was as red as could be. “Um… yeah… I can explain.”

We both took a collective step back as the mental manifestation of a flaming ‘H’ came crashing down next to us. I looked up and saw that the giant (mental) sign attached to the equally flaming (mental) building before us now read ‘Canterlot ospital’.

The old stallion was absolutely flabbergasted. “I… I’ve never seen so much evil before… ever! Even dragons and changelings have more decency! H-how could you do something so vile?!”

I tried in vain to defend myself. “I-I swear to you, sir, I was not in my right mind that/this night! I was drinking… kinda, and I was forced to do this against my will!”

“The book recorded you as being a lightweight when it came to alcohol! How could you possibly get drunk enough to do this, Ms. Vinyl?!”

“Er… magic?” I smiled sheepishly.

The Gate guy used Cogy’s patent ‘really?’ look on me. “…”

…What is it about that look that stops me every time, no matter who it’s on?

“Well… I can at least assure you that I didn’t enjoy one second of this carnage, sir!”

GK’s stolen ‘look’ intensified as he simply pointed a hoof upwards. I followed it…

… And saw my past self (shades and all), standing on her hind legs on top of the burning hospital. Wind whipped through my mane and tail as my front legs remained crossed over my chest.

Oh crap… I think I actually remember this part. Yeah, it’s all coming back to me now… I was thinking something like ‘Octy’s standing lessons are serving me well this night’ in my head. I also remember my mouth tasting like an ashtray, for some reason. I only remember that last little detail because I shouted something at this time.

What was it? I think it went something like…

Past me helped jog my memory. “Mahahahaha!! Kneel before the DJ Queen, simpletons! You will be baptised through my flames! Burn... buuuuuuuuuuuurrrrnnnnnnn, mahahahahaha!!”

… As horrific as all this looks, I have to acknowledge that the lightning flashing behind myself was a nice touch. How did I do that, anyways? Jeez… I really wish I could remember this night now…

Slam!

The sound of a book slamming shut. At the sound, the illusion faded and I found myself back in front of the Pearly gates.

Gate Keeper did not look happy.

I laughed weakly. “It… um… w-was in self-defense?”

“…”

“S-sir?”

“… Denied.”

With the uttering of those words, the cloud beneath me began to part. All of my legs were stretched out as I hung on for dear li-… er, afterlife. “D-denied?! W-what does that mean?!”

GK returned to his podium. “It means, sinner, that you will be given an eternity to think about what you’ve done in Tartarus. I’m truly sorry.”

“N-no! I’m not evil! L-look again! Look at what I did yesterday with Cogy!”

“… Cogy?”

As the floor beneath me started to disappear rapidly, I began to panic. “I-I mean Cogwill! Cogwill the Dragon! Look her up! She can totally vouch for me if she’s here somewhere!”

GK raised up a hoof, halting the cloud’s process of disappearing under me. As I stood there, stock-still, the stallion flipped through his book.

“… There is nodragon in here with that name, child.”

What? Did Cogy not give me her real name?

… No time to worry about that. “W-well, okay, maybe that wasn’t her real name then... but she was on the ship with me yesterday! She sang for the guests last night for crying out loud!”

“I need more information than that, Ms. Vinyl.”

I felt my knees start to give out. “H-her father’s name is Emeraldgrey the Dragon of the Everfree, or, something! Look him up, please, for the love of Celestia!”

Flipflipflip.

The sound of pages turning rapidly as GK tore his book apart. “Emeraldgrey… Emeraldgrey… ah, here we go. Is this who you're referring to? The daughter of Emeraldgrey of the Everfree and Lady Crackle of the Crystal Palace: a Ms. Fang? Named by her mother while still in her egg?”

I shook my head as hard as I could. “Yup yup! I remember her saying something about not knowing her first name when she met her father a couple days back! I overheard the conversation! T-that means her full name is Fang Cogwill of, like, Equestria… sir!”

GK’s face was scrunched up into a look of confusion as he stared at his book. “… Yes, that would be her full name… if she wasn’t killed during her hatching a month ago.”

I blinked. “… Wha?”

Using magic I didn’t know the earth pony guard possessed, the book was levitated towards me with the pages turned forward for my benefit. The words ‘Death through forced hatching’ shined out in golden letters. After a second the words disappeared and the new words ‘Murderers; Apple Flim, Apple Flam’, appeared.

I repeated my question and my blank blinking. “… Wha?”

“What this means, Ms. Vinyl, is that this ‘Cogy’ of yours doesn’t exist, and that you are a liar.” His face looked sad as he finished our banter. “I’m so sorry, but this is the end of the road for you, former child of The Maker.”

With those words spoken, the book in front of me was closed, lifted up…

… And then used as a pommelling weapon as he bashed me across the top of my head. My horn lanced through the book momentarily before he shook me off, sending me falling through the cloud cover.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”

I heard the Gate Keeper utter out one final “Next!” right before everything went to black once more.

***^***

Sizzle…

My eyes remained shut as I sniffed the air from my perfectly comfortable position on the ground. I have no clue when I woke up or how long I’ve been laying here... all I know is that something smells good.

-Sniffsniff- "Hmmmm… that smells like eggs… is Octy making breakfast? Ahhhh… thank you Octy~”

…

… Wait... Octy currently hates me. That can’t mean she’s cooking…

Also… I think my tail is on fire.

…

… My tail is on fire?!

At this startling revelation, I took the only logical course of action…

… Freaking the buck out.

I jumped up and flailed around, desperately trying to shake off the flame that had engulfed my blue tail. “Notthetailnotthetailohfortheloveofallthatisholypleasenotthesweettail!”

After, like, an hour, I managed to shake it out before it could make it to the fleshy part of my flank. “Phew… that would have ruined…” My words started to trail off as I took stock of my new surroundings. “… my… daaaaayyyy?!”

Well… its official… I’m in Hell.

Literally, in, Hell.

The land before me looked like a dragon’s day spa; full of red brimstone and lava pits everywhere. Multicolored flames erupted out of every hole imaginable. There was no sky. In its place was blackness. The only light source came from these hellish (oh the irony) blue candles that dotted the walls and the glow of the magma. For the second time today, my eyes were assaulted with a plethora of different creatures; creatures with giant ears and hose like snouts, creatures with insect wings and bug eyes, creatures that were snake or fish like in some shape or form, and creatures with crystals for eyes!

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t super jealous of those last guy… gal… things.

Anyways; the heat in here was Celestia awful, in my humble opinion, and the entire place looked like it went on forever...

Oh, and holy (or should I say unholy?) crap, was there a lot of dragons here! So many colors and shapes and sizes…

… And fires!

“Ahhh!” I once again shirked as I rounded a corner and narrowly dodged a funnel of green flames. OhCelestiaohCelestiaohCelestia why is this happening why is this happening?!

Okokokok… calm down Vinyl, chiiiiiillllll... let’s do something you’ve only dared to try before…

Think rationally.

I shuttered at the thought.

Great. Now… let’s see here. So this is Tartarus, the ‘Land of the Dead’. Now… what do you actually know about this place?

Well, one thing I know is that I’ve actually been here before… or, at least as far as the gate. Let me think... that was back during my ‘metal’ phase (which some ponies would argue that I’m still in) where I was looking for inspiration. I took a little trip down here as part of a tour which let us go as far as the gate. I remember there being this sweet three headed dog thingy called Cerberus and that he was ‘guarding’ this gate… or, as much as one could ‘guard’ a door that went nowhere, that is.

Yeah, I remember that detail now. When opened, the gate would only take you to a stone wall. There was nothing on the other side of it in life and the whole ‘guarding it so evil wouldn’t escape’ thing was more symbolic than an actual defense.

Still, the gate does exist in Equestria, so maybe I could just walk out of here? Sounds simple enough…

… But I’m supposed to be dead, right? I can’t just trot up to the gate and leave… right?

I turned my head backwards, and was surprised when I saw a giant door directly behind me. The words ‘Exit’ flashed above it in a sign made of flames.

… My brain is telling me that I really shouldn’t try to use this door…

… But my heart is telling me that I really don’t want to stay here any longer either. As admittedly metal as all this is, the allure of seeing my only two friends again was even more, er, alluring.

So I tried the door…

~Two seconds later~

“Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapmanurecrap!!"

“ARRRRROOOOOOOOO!!!” Bellowed the mighty Cerberus as he chased me across this barren wasteland of rock and flames. I rounded a corner and was fortunate enough to dodge the gaze of all three heads. Phew!

Okay! So I guess leaving is not an option… like, at all.

I actually saw Equestria on the other side of that exit, but the moment the door opened wide enough for me to trot on out, that big old puppy jumped through from the other side and started chasing me! So he can move between the two realms… that sounds promising. I need to make note of this discovery. I might be able to use this information some time, but for now… what else is there for me to do?

… I can’t believe I’m trying to figure my way out of Hell. This has got to be, like, the second weirdest thing I’ve ever done on a day off-

“Lookie here, Rover… a pony.”

I jumped again (I’m going to be doing this a lot today, aren’t I?) as a voice almost scared the cutie mark right off of me. I turned around and was greeted by three diamond dogs…

… Also a horrendous stench.

I tried unsuccessfully to cover the smell by covering my snout, but it was no use. Please tell me I don’t have to put up with this for the rest of eternity.

The dark blue furred diamond dog on the right leaned towards me, increasing the smell. “Rover... pony look like pony that yelled at us in life… think it’s same one?”

Rover, the center diamond dog with a red vest, replied with a voice that would have shattered even my gem-glass shades if I still had them. “No, Fido! That pony had purple hair and was clean! This one is blue and dirty!”

I took great offense to that. “Dirty?! I…” Out of curiosity I sniffed myself, and then winced. “… I actually have to agree with you on that one, dude. Thus is the life of a busy musician, it seems… unless you’re a pony named Octavia, that is! Heh, I can’t even remember the last time I got to take a shower… unless drowning in the ocean counts!”

The smallest dog chipped in. “Heh, puny death for puny pony.”

I dropped my (totally fake) friendly attitude as I shot him a glare. “Yeah? Well how did you die then, shrimp?”

He looked away. “C-cave in got us while digging out a gem…”

The red vested one gave him the back hand. “Quiet, Spot! No need to talk to dinner!”

…

… What?! I took a fearful step back. “H-heheh, r-real funny there, guys, but you dogs only eat gems… r-right?”

The three took a step towards me. Rover answered. “We eat all kinds of things! Gems are just the most important part of our diets… but there’s no gems here, pony! We’ve dug, and dug, and dug for months now, but we can’t find any! We’re hungry damn it!”

My back pushed up against a stalactite pillar as I was forced to stand up. “T-they don’t feed us here?”

“No!” The three replied.

Despite the pits of fire and dragons and lava, this was the thing that finally broke me. “T-then how do we live?!”

Rover roared. “We don’t! We die of hunger then wind up here again! Starve and die, starve and die, starve and die!”

Fido barked as he finished his ‘leader’s speech. “This truly is our hell... but now… we get to eat you, then you come back, then we eat you again. This will make us happy…”

I started chanting a simple mantra in my head, one that went along the lines of ‘D-don’t piss yourself!’

While repeating my new motivational slogan to myself, I desperately tried feeling around for my magic in an attempt to defend myself… only to discover that my magic was gone! Nonononono! “S-stay back, you creeps! W-why don’t you just eat each other?!”

“We’ve tried.” they answered while speaking at the same time again.

“Rover’s too spicy.” Replied the small one

“Spot is too scrawny.” Replied the red vested one.

“Fido is too tough.” Replied… the one who I was pretty sure was Fido.

My body was squished up against the wall as far as it could manage. “Oh… oh Celestia. You’ve tried?! I-I was only kidding about that!”

They took a collective step forward. Fido growled. “Being here for so long… you’re willing to try anything.”

How… how is this possible? Even though I’m dead, my life just flashed before my very eyes! A million little moments of my short life started flashing sporadically for me as time slowed down.

I re-watched the event that lead to me to earning my cutie mark. It was a dark and stormy night (all good stories start that way, after all), and my dad had left out one of his old records. After seeing it, I decided to end my boredom by placing it on the equally old gramophone. This action caused my horn to ignite for the very first time, not counting when I was a foal. With my new found powers, I turned on the machine and started playing around with the disk, treating the gramophone like a turntable.

Can you say ‘Best rendition of ‘The Music Mare’ ever’?! Upon hearing my mother applauding my hard work, my cutie mark appeared in a flash and my life was never quite the same again.

I then saw myself during my first day of Magic Kindergarten. My mom wasn’t happy with me for accidentally burning my teacher’s tie… but she forgave me when I gave her his bit purse. We had ice cream later that day, at his expense.

The next scenes I witnessed through the aid of impending death were all dedicated to my time in ‘Celestia’s Band Camp for Gifted Musicians’. It was within this sacred land where many of my first adventures were had; all of which I would later start with ‘This one time…’ as was tradition. I made many friends that summer...

Sadly, all those so called ‘friends’ left me once it was over. Thanks a lot ‘life-flashing-before-eyes-cliché. I really needed to be reminded about that…

Next, I enjoyed seeing my first real concert at a seedy night club in Lower Canterlot, my home turf. Although only two ponies showed up for it, one of them was a talent agent who I would later come to call ‘that one fat flank who sits around and eats donuts all day’, or Toffwsaaedad for short.

Yeah… not the catchiest thing, I know. But all the same; thanks to him, this was the day I became a star.

And finally, the slow motion retelling of my existence came to the part of my life Mr. Gate Keeper should have seen, the most important day of my life…

… The day I met Octy.

Heh, I didn’t need this flashback. I could recall this day better than my own cutie mark story. I remembered every little detail of that dusty old ballroom, I remembered every single word we shared, and I remembered how she, fearing for my sanity, asked me if I was ‘on’ something, just like Cogy did!

Ha!

I also remembered how I chased her across Canterlot and back, just so we could ‘hang out’ some more. At first she was adverse to it and tried to run away, but I pushed harder and harder until she finally relented.

Okay, I’ll admit that was kinda ‘stalker-y’ of me, but I thought she was a really cool mare who needed cheering up! It’s my duty as a party filly, after all!

While I didn’t need the flashback to help me remember our meeting, I was grateful that it replayed for me the best years of my life as the two of us literally did everything together. Concerts, vacations, dinners... you name it! Rumors even started circulation about us dating!

Again, ha!

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. All these wonderful, happy moments quickly disappeared and were just as quickly replaced with one single moment, the worst moment of my life…

…The day she left me.

…

A-as soon as that was up, however, my mind took me straight into meeting Cogy (maybe to cheer me up?). Seeing my meeting with her right after seeing my meeting with Octy made me realize something… Now that I’ve been given this once in a lifetime (or, at least I hope this only happens once while I’m here) chance to see both of these events flank-to-flank, I can now truly appreciate how similar they were to each other.

Like… really freaking similar. Almost in a cosmic sort of way…

Cogy… if given the chance, I think ours could have been the friendship that carried me to my true final days.

… As I thought my friendship with Octy could have.

…

I… sigh, I guess all I can do now is be grateful that my final days were spent with a close friend…

…

… I guess I can also be grateful for the three dead dogs I suddenly find at my hooves.

… Wha?

When in the seven stripes of Celestia's mane did that happen?!

Finally leaving memory lane, I took note of a new arrival to this neck of the rocky wasteland. She was a blue furred unicorn mare that appeared to be about my age. Her mane was purple with twin pink stripes going through it and she wore a grey cape which covered her flank…

… But these details weren’t important.

What was important was the fact that her horn was covered in gore.

The mare used her orange magic to levitate some kind of cloth to her horn in order to clean it from said gore. As she returned the cloth to a saddlebag hidden under her cape, she turned to look at me. I fell backwards on my flank and again started scooting back up against the wall.

Never before had I felt more defenseless then I did right now. All these shocks to my system I’ve had to suffer today are starting to take their toll on my willpower. “D-don’t hurt me! I’ve had more than enough crap for one day, thank you very much!”

The rather young looking unicorn simple smiled as she offered me her hoof. Her eyes betrayed her age, as they appeared to belong to a very old mare instead of a young adult like me. “Do not be afraid, child. I will not hurt you.”

I attempted to reach for my magic again, in an effort to grip a rock or something, but once again I received nothing. “I-I’m not going to trust somepony who just killed three dogs right in front of me!”

The blue mare tilted her head to the side, allowing her purple and pink mane to fall to the side as well. “But… they were already dead, child. We all are. This is actually the third time I’ve had to discipline them since they arrived here. Do not worry... they’ll be up and about within a day or so with only a slight headache for their troubles.”

The fact that she just made death seem not that big a deal horrified me. I fought desperately to appear unfazed and still in control of myself, but it was becoming increasingly harder by the second. “W-well… I’m still not going to trust somepony who can use magic while I can’t! How are you doing that anyways? I can’t even feel my own right now!”

Once more, she continued to smile warmly at me. “The walls of this land are made of what is known as ‘Arcana, Llepson, Obsidian’. It is a magic draining substance that keeps all us restless spirits in check. If you want to use your spells again, I’m afraid you will simply have to allow your inner mana pool to grow. Have no fear: it only takes an average spell caster one hundred years to build the power necessary to use levitation magic again.”

“B-but… but…”

-Sniff-

And that’s when I finally burst into tears, totally ruining my image… but I simply didn’t care anymore.

And that’s what shocked me the most.

I, didn’t, care!

My image used to mean everything to me! Everything! I would sooner kiss Blueblood’s flank instead of denting it! I used to only do cool things with cool ponies! I used to only eat at awesome restaurants with awesome music…

… But to hell with my ‘awesome mare’ attitude and to hell with my ‘mask’! It didn’t bring me happiness in life and it sure as hell (ugh, why do I keep using that word?) won’t in the afterlife! Everything was collapsing around me. My ‘life’ is over. No more parties, no more screaming fans, no more phat beats…

… No more DJ Pon-3.

She’s as dead as me.

… This is all I have to look forward to for the rest of my eternity.

“I…I..." -Sniff- "D-don’t want to be here that long though…”

The mare’s smile faltered for a brief second. “None rarely do, child… come with me please.”

“W-" -Sniff- "W-why? Please… I just want to be left alone.”

But I didn’t have a choice in the matter, as I was suddenly lifted up to her back with the aid of her magic. Despite us appearing to be the same age, the mare seemed as strong as an adult earth pony and as powerful as one of those snobbish elderly unicorns that run Celestia’s magic school.

“Child…” The mare began to say. “Sitting here crying isn’t going to help you out one bit. Please, come to what I call ‘home’... You look like a pony in desperate need of some conjured tea.”

-Sniff- "W-why…?”

She continued our conversation as she trotted along. “Because you and I are a rare breed amongst the ranks of the damned. Ponies rarely make it here thanks to Celestia’s guidance. Our punishment for being different is that many here will try to harm us for one reason or another. Again I implore you; please allow me to at least impart my wisdom of this realm to you so that the rest of your stay won’t be as disastrous as what you’ve just experienced.”

“… Thank you.” I replied simply. My head was swimming, so much happened so quickly… do I count this pony as my friend? Do I have to be suspicious of her? I… I just don’t know anymore! What’s good and what’s evil now?! I’m in the place where bad ponies go, yet this mare is being nice to me! W-what am I supposed to do?!

Despite my inner turmoil, the mare kept on talking. “It’s my sworn duty to make sure new arrivals here are made comfortable, child. Under my care, this land has slowly done away with the ‘realm of torture and eternal punishment’ image it once was known for.”

“R-really?”

Again her smile faltered. “Well… there is still only so much a single pony can do… but I can at least assure you that I mean you no harm and that I only have your best interest in mind.”

Her smile returned as she turned her head in order to look at me while I was draped on her back. “From what I understand, Celestia now teaches lessons about the joys of friendship along with leading a good life? If that’s true, then I wish to be your friend. Would you allow that, Miss…?” She tried to fish for my name.

-Sniff- "M-my name’s Vinyl Scratch… and sure, we can be friends. I… I think that’s what I badly need right now. I want to start acting like myself again… I’m… heh, usually a lot stronger then," -Sniff- "T-this, ma'am.”

The mare turned her head forward and continued trotting. “Then it’s settled. My name is Starswirl the Bearded. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Vinyl Scratch.”

***^***

“Whoa.” I remarked.

My new friend (who I nicknamed Swirly) beamed. “It’s quite nice, isn’t it? It took several hundred years in order to generate enough magic to permanently summon the wood needed to make it, but it was worth it.”

“… And you shaped it like a bar? Sweet!”

As we trotted through the swinging doors of Tartarus’ largest (and only) building, I was once more assaulted with a mindboggling amount of new creatures. The only one I recognized was the zebra playing on a piano, and that’s only because I used to have a zebra roommate in band camp. I forgot his name… Zerebro, or something. Heh, maybe that’s actually him, being punished for being sexist…

… Either that or for the whole murder robbery thing he attempted a year back… either one would make sense to me.

Anyhow, outside of him I didn’t recognize anything here! I noticed right away that there was some kind of awesome yellow cat thing with black spots playing bartender behind the main stall. He was literally zooming back and forth between customers, to the point where he was nothing more than a blur. Dang! I don’t even think Wonderbolts can move that fast!

Outside of him, there was also a bunch of other neat looking creatures scattered around in their own little groups. There were these black insect/pony looking things buzzing around like flies, these small scaly snake things levitating around glasses with their glowing tails, and these really tall necked and long legged things that took up most of the room. Those guys were interesting, as they weren’t technically in the building. They would either be sitting outside with their necks poking through a window, or their heads would be chilling on the second floor thanks to a hole in that floor’s floor… floor. They seemed to be able to use magic as well… I think they're called giraffes, now that I think about it. Yeah… that sounds right.

Swirly kept smiling. “Yes, like a bar. It makes me feel nostalgic. In my youth…”

“We’re, like, the same age, Swirly.” I interrupted.

She only winked at me in response. “Looks can be deceiving here, child. As I was saying; in my youth, I used to work in my father’s salt saloon in order to fund my early educational pursuits. It was in that same bar where I came up with my ridiculous ‘Starswirl the Bearded’ pen name that I used as my real name for the rest of my life. It was the name of a special drink that we served there at the time.”

I tilted my head. “Why did you want to have ‘Bearded’ in your name?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t, but I needed a stallion-ish sounding name if I wanted my scientific and magical studies publicized. I even had to wear a fake beard the few times I went into public, just to keep the act up! I don’t think even the Princesses knew the truth!" Swirly sighed. "It was a very different world back then, child…” A smirked crossed her face. “Heh. Do they still talk about me up there, Vinyl? I know it’s kind of a vain question, but it’s been awhile since I’ve been able to ask somebody about it.”

“Some… body?” I asked.

“Well… do you see anypony besides us in this bar?”

“Er… no, I guess not.”

My ‘teacher’ nodded her head as she educated me some more. “Well then, the proper term would be somebody. But anyways, yes… do they still talk about me? The griffons around here tell me that I’m still called ‘Starswirl the CooCoo’ thanks to my little slip up with my first, and only, book about dragons. Ugh. The book about training your dragon companion was my greatest failure… Besides them though, no other creature can give me a straight answer. So…” She looked at me hopefully. “Did I live forever like I was aiming to do? Are my feats of magical ingenuity still researched to this very day?”

I was unable to face her. “I’m… sorry, but I wouldn’t know. I wasn’t the best student in school…”

Her motherly smile returned to her. “Oh, I’m sure you weren’t that bad, child.”

“It’s hard to be a good student when you were kicked out of school for using forbidden magic.” I deadpanned. “Teacher was even tempted to place something called a ‘deadlock’ spell on my horn to prevent me from accidentally ripping the fabric of space and time a sunder… again.”

The blue mare only blinked in response, so I kept going. “Yeah... long story short; the jury is still out on whether or not I’m my own grandmother, and whether the captain of the royal guard is actually clone me sent back in time with his/her chromosomes and memories messed up.”

Again, the mare simply blinked in response… right before bursting into a laughing fit.

I snapped at her for this. “Hey, I don’t find it that funny! That last bit still keeps me up at night! Even worst, there are rumblings that he’s engaged! To a mare! What does that say about me, Swirly?!”

Swirly kept laughing. “Hahaha! N-no no, child. I’m not laughing at you, I’m laughing because you answered my question!”

“I… did?”

She gasped for air as she let up on the laughing. “You sure did, child, for no other pony in my time was capable of time travel! Not even Celestia was able to crack it, so that leads me to believe that those were my spells that you were using.” She looked up into the air dreamily. “The single use time travel spell and its many alterations… hehe. Oh the good times I had with those…” She waved off her own conversation with a hoof. “Enough about that. Let me tell you about this place. This ‘bar’ is an excellent way to meet the few civilized creatures that inhabit this land. Consider it your new home as everyone else here does. Come, let us take a seat.”

Thus we trotted up to the bar stools. The second I sat down, the yellow cat thing from earlier came rushing up to us.

“HeyhowareyoudoingmynameisCheatorwhatcanIgetforyou?”

I blinked but Swirly was unfazed. “Two teas, please. Crushed and purified poison joke, if it’s still in stock.”

“Comingrightupbosslady!”

He zoomed off and reappeared with two glasses full of sloshing blue liquid in his tail. He set them down gently before rushing off again.

I blinked for a second time. “… I want whatever it is he’s having!”

My friend giggled lightly. “I’m afraid that’s impossible, Ms. Vinyl. Cheator is a cheetah, and even though our forms are now more energy based than flesh based, we cannot simply become something we’re not. No…” She took a sip from her drink. “… You have to work for it.”

Okay… that was totally ominous.

… But I was more concerned over something else. Too concerned, actually, to worry about my new friend’s cryptic words.

“Soo… Swirly…”

She cut me off. “I really wish you had picked a better nickname for me, Vinyl.”

I shrugged. “Sorry, but I’ve got to work with what I’ve got. I have a question. If this is a bar…”

Her head drooped. “There’s no alcohol here, child. I’m sorry. It’s much harder to conjure then it is to conjure simple things like water and a leaf for tea. We’ve tried to make it homebrew, but it always turns out horrid. The same thing happens to conjured salt: it just doesn’t have the same effect here as it normally would! I blame the ‘Arcana, Llepson, Obsidian’s’ draining qualities. Again, I’m sorry, Vinyl.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. This confused Swirly.

“Strange…” She went on. “Usually when I break the news to someone they see it as the end of the world.”

I waved her off with a hoof. “Yeah, well, alcohol is the whole reason I’m here in the first place. If you want to keep this place standing, don’t let me even sniff some of that funky homebrew stuff.”

Swirly nodded her head in acknowledgement. “Ah, I see. Hehe, it would appear that we are both being punished for our addictions.”

I waited until I was done with my sip of tea (I normally don’t drink the stuff, but this was surprisingly good) before I replied. “Well, I wouldn’t really call it an ‘addiction’, so much as I would call it the ‘thing-I-do-every-now-and-then-that-usually-ends-with-things-on-fire’. Out of curiosity, what was your addiction?”

Swirly grinned.

… Something about that smile is giving me the creeps. She answered by simply stating…

“Knowledge.”

It seems I’m doing a lot of blank-face blinking today. “… What? That's it? What’s wrong with that?”

She took a sip from her own tea before replying. “I asked the Gate Keeper the same thing during my judging, only to receive no clear answer.”

Weird. How is knowledge bad? “That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, Swirly. It’s not like you did anything evil... right?”

“… Evil… is such a broad concept, child.”

“…”

“…”

“… You know what? Forget I asked.”

With that I returned to giving my tea my full attention. After taking another sip from her own drink, Swirly placed a hoof on my shoulder. “Child, something is bothering you, isn’t it?”

I sighed. “How can you tell?”

That warm smile of hers replaced my mental image of her earlier creepy one. “When you see as many faces as I do on a daily basis, you start to get a feel for these kinds of things. Vinyl, you will find it easier to endure the coming centuries if you get everything off your chest right now. Please, I’ve been doing this for others for a very long time, so I know what I’m saying... get it off your chest right now before the hell hole known as Tartarus turns it against you.”

At the comment, I turned around and observed all the happy faces and the lighthearted laughter emanating from the inhabitants of this bar. “It… doesn’t seem that bad actually, Swirly.”

Swirly’s smile dropped. “No… it doesn’t at first, does it? You have me to blame for that. So great was my drive to better this place, I built this bar without thinking about the consequences of my actions. Heh, that was a key problem of mine in life as well…

“Trust me, this ‘bar’ only gives you a false sense of security of what’s to come. This place will get inside your head at some point, and once it does… it will drive you mad. If anything, in exchange for slowing going crazy over the course of centuries, I have instead made it easier for those unprepared to go insane over the course of months. Just ask the changeling known as Legion. She now thinks of herself as the Queen of a pile of rocks, yet she hasn't even been here for a fortnight.”

-Gulp- “H-how are you still sane then, Swirly?” I asked fearfully.

“… Sane… is such a broad concept, child.”

“… You know what? I think I’ll just get this problem off my chest like you said I should, and then I’m going to forget we ever had either of these conversations.”

“That would be for the best.” She nodded.

After taking a deep breath, I dug deep inside myself in order to find the root of what was bothering me. I thought about it for a bit before I started talking again. “I… guess my only real problem is that I’m kinda pissed that I didn’t get to hang out with this new friend of mine some more.”

Swirly motioned for some refills to the cheetah. “Ah, regrets... such a common ailment for those who end up here. I understand your pain, for I too have many regrets myself. Please, tell me about this friend of yours, child. Sharing your pain with others lessens it.”

I stared down into my new glass of tea. “… Okay. Well, at first I was looking at her as a replacement for this older pony friend I had. I... 'accidentally' made my pony friend really mad at me over something stupid I did. She left me because of it and I haven’t been the same since. I hid my pain for months behind my ‘mask’ of being this awesome party pony… but inside it was tearing me apart. I was dying… but then I met this dragon…”

Her eyes flickered a bit, but otherwise my new friend seemed unfazed by the fact that Cogy was a dragon, so I went on.

“… I met this dragon who was just like her in a bunch of different ways, so I tried to treat her like the ‘new’ Octy… the name for my old pony friend. This made me really happy, made me feel like myself again! But… then I ended up getting her to hate me just like I got Octy to hate me. Even better, I did it within the same day as meeting her!”

“I’m… sorry.”

I waved my hoof passingly at her. “Oh, don’t worry. I made it up to her the next day once I finally realized what kind of flankhole I was being. I discovered that she liked singing so I used my connections to give her this chance to show off her talent in front of an audience. Afterwards, while she was still having fun and having a good time, I begged for her forgiveness along with promising her I wouldn’t hurt her again. She thankfully agreed and we became friends again…” I looked down. “… But then I apparently died that same night.”

“… Heh. You know, it’s funny.”

After placing me cup back down with my teeth, I raised my head up in order to look at Swirly. “Huh? What is?”

Her eyes sparkled as she raised her head as well, but towards the ceiling, not really looking at me. “I just find it funny that it’s possible, in your time, for a pony to be friends with a dragon. It was unheard of in my time.”

I chuckled weakly. “Yeah, well, it’s still kinda rare in my time, actually.”

“Still.” Swirly continued. “The fact that you two were friends amuses me. Quite the odd combination; the monster and the musician… how did such a lovely singer, such as herself, ever put up with you? Ha!”

Her completely out-of-nowhere zinger almost caused tea to come shooting out of my nose. I pounded the counter with a hoof a couple of times until I swallowed my mouthful and gasped for air. Once I appeared calm and collective again, I replied by saying “Heh, well what’s so funny about that, Swirly? I’m friends with you after all!”

She softly laughed at my joke as well. Thanks Swirly... I needed that.

Swirly placed her cup down before continuing. “Heheh… in all honesty though; what I truly find funny is that, in my time, we ponies didn’t really know anything about dragons while creatures like the zebras, giraffes, and griffons knew almost everything. Since coming here, however, I’ve discovered history long since forgotten to ponykind... history about a time where ponies and dragons fought alongside each other as allies.”

My mind played around with how awesome that sounded. “Wow… really?”

She downed the last of her drink. “Yes. Our two races, the ponies and the draconics, used to be allies in arms against the ancient evils that once plagued both our lands. Draconequis, centaurs, the raging false gods... we stood together to defend what was dearest to both our hearts.”

As awe-inspiring as this sounded, something didn’t make sense to me. “... Heh. As amazing and totally awesome as that sounds, Swirly, I can’t really picture anydragon acting like that, like a totally boss knight thingy. Maybe my friend, but even that’s pushing it!”

Swirly looked downcast for a brief moment. “Yes… well… this was before a Queen was born… and a war of the goddesses was fought... but that is a tale for another time.”

… Swirly seems to have bad habit of dropping cryptic messages on me.

As I pondered this, she went on. “But what I find the most interesting, in my opinion, is that there were once ponies who could tune their gifted talents with the gifted greed flame within a dragon’s heart in order to achieve great things.”

“… Okay, Swirly? You remember how I said I was a poor student? Yeah… I’m a poor student. Please slow down for me.”

She simply rolled her eyes in response to my plead for help. “Sorry. By ‘gifted talent’ I mean the cutie marks every pony is gifted with during our youth… like your lovely music note mark, Vinyl.”

Out of habit, I gave the mark a couple jabs with a hoof. “Yup yup, pretty sweet huh? My special talent is being awesome.” I then blushed after I realized what I had just said. “Er… sorry about that. Force of habit, hehe.” I then realized another thing. “Say… I don’t think I’ve gotten to see the one you’ve got hidden under that wicked cape yet, Swirly.”

I smirked cheekily at her. Whenever somepony wears a cape like that, it usually means they don’t want ponies looking at their mark. “Want to share with the class~?”

Unfortunately, it was only now that I noticed that she wasn’t paying attention to me anymore. One of those scaly snake things I saw earlier had interrupted our conversation in order to talk to her about something I couldn’t quite pick up. I miss my eavesdropping spell…

By the way... these snake things are really weird looking. This one, at least, was the same size as Cogy… but it was nothing but a tail! At the tip of said tail was something that looked like a unicorn’s horn. It even glowed like one!

The thing that caught my eye, however, was the fact that this guy was flying.

Actually, on further inspection, I discovered that he wasn’t so much as flying as he was levitating himself like a unicorn foal does during a magic influx. That’s pretty tight… wish I could do that… or any kind of magic for that matter.

My thoughts were interrupted by Swirly's yelling voice. She shouted something angrily at the creature in a different language and then pointed her hoof towards the exit. Looking crestfallen, the creature scurried away with tears dropping from his (at least I think it was a dude's) face. My friend turned around so she could speak to me again.

“Sorry about that.” She apologized. “That guy has been nothing but a clingy little snake since the moment he got here.” She then huffed. “Landwyrms: the bane of my life and afterlife, it seems. So… where were we?”

That was weird… but I was more interested in the epic dragon/pony war conversation that we were just talking about to inquire. I even dropped the cutie mark thing so we could get straight back into it. “You were telling me that you found it funny that a dragon and a pony could be friends?”

Placing one hoof on the counter and another over it, she brought down the hovering hoof into the cupped hoof in order to make a small clopping sound. “Ah, yes. Thank you. As I was saying, what I find fascinating is that, in ancient times, there were ponies who could tune their cutie marks with a draconic’s greed flame in order to achieve a bond that I can only dare to imagine. It was as if they fused their very souls together in order to become one complete being…”

With the flare of her horn, Swirly transformed our empty cups into tiny figurines of various sizes and shapes.

One figurine illustrated that snake thing from earlier with a rather tiny unicorn riding on its head. The unicorn’s horn, as well as the landwyrm’s (as my friend had called it) tail were glowing orange with the aid of Swirly’s magic.

Another model showed off what I think is called a sea serpent being ridden by an earth pony. Like the landwyrm, this pony rode atop the giant’s head. Illusionary water flowed around the sea serpent’s long tail as he ‘swam’ along, and the tiny spear being held in the earth pony’s mouth shined and glowed as it reflected the light from the bar’s blue candles.

The final figure was of the one creature I did recognize, a dragon. It was flying through the ‘air’ while a pegasus rode on its back. Both the dragon and the pegasus figurines had their wings flared out and teeth bared, as if ready to strike the ‘evil’ forces of the counter’s pepper shakers.

“These ponies…” Swirly went on as she changed the toys back to their original forms. “… were known as Dragoons: the first recorded warriors of ponydom.”

My eyes were glittering. Whoa… that sounds really cool! As I usually do when I hear something awesome, I instantly started picturing myself as the pony riding that dragon. Sure, the unicorn figure was shown as riding the landwyrm, but come on. Boooorrrriiinnnggg! I want to fly, baby!

As Swirly began stacking the empty cups for the bartender, she finished up her tale by saying “The reason the Dragoons died out remains a mystery. I can’t even find a former rider or a former steed to talk to about it! It’s highly likely that this is due to the dangers associated with interfering with a dragon’s greed flame... it’s very easy for the flame to overtake a pony and turn him or her into a mindless abomination or for the flame to accidentally get snuffed out, killing the dragon by extinguishing its soul.”

Thanks to that little addition to the story, I quickly disengaged my daydream of becoming DJ Dr4g00n.

“Who knows, child... maybe in another life the two of you were once Rider and Steed.”

I laughed her off. “Ha! Nice try there, Swirly, but I already know what I was in another life… nothing. You said it yourself, we can’t die here! Since this is the afterlife, that must mean that the whole ‘reincarnation’ thing the zebras like to flaunt on about doesn’t exist!”

At my comment, the zebra playing the piano stopped momentarily before the music picked up again.

Swirly looked down gloomily. “…I wouldn’t be so sure, child… There is a limit to how long these magical bodies of ours can last here. Eventually, you’ll get to a point where there won’t be enough left of you to regenerate after an accidental dip in the lava pools or the boiling sea. When that happens, you’ll simply… be gone.”

... Double Gulp. “W-what happens after that?”

“That… is the final mystery I’ve yet to unravel. So, again, maybe in another life you and this dragon were once one in the same, so to speak.”

“… Hehe, yeah… maybe Cogy and I were badflank god slayers.”

The blue furred mare’s latest drink remained floating in front of her. She had stopped its command to come closer to so she could think about something. “Cogy… I do not recognize this dragon’s name, Vinyl.”

I tried to summon that Cheetah guy with a hoof so I could get a refill. I wonder what the currency around here is… -shudder-, probably something unpleasant. “Yeah, well neither did that Gate Keeper guy up at the Pearly Gates. I don’t really expect you to know her, but you’d think the guy whose job is to know everypony, er, everyone would recognize a simple nickname. Guy even said she’s been dead for a month now! Ha! How wrong can one colt be?!”

“… Child... what was this dragon’s full name?”

I stared sadly at my empty cup. “Oh, Fang Cogwill, apparently. Kinda lame if you ask me. I mean, her last name is cool but that first name sounds really generic.”

“… I believe she must been named in honor of the mortal Princess Fang of the dragons, who once ruled over them three hundred years ago… but that is not what interests me right now. Vinyl, I think I have something to show you. Please, follow me.”

With that she got up from her stool, threw what looked like golden bits on the counter, and started trotting to a side door. Confused, I jumped down myself and started following her.

“Yo, Swirly?” I tried to stop her. “What’s up? You’ve already dropped way too many cryptic messages to me today! I’d like some clarity, please.”

Starswirl stopped right before reaching the door and turned to me. “Please, Vinyl, this isn’t something I can discuss out in the open… but trust me…”

… My eyes must be playing tricks on me, because I swore her pink eyes just turned into slit dragon eyes for a brief second.

That creepy grin of hers returned with avengeance. “… I’ll make it worth your while, child.”

-Gulp-

***^***

Books!

Books!

And, surprise, more books!

Swirly took me down into her private library, conveniently located right under the bar. There were literally thousands of books down here covering every wall and table and bed!

… But Swirly ignored all of them as she went to the furthest book case and started looking for something.

Heh, probably the secret book that opens a hidden door or something.

Jeez... I read way too many adventure novels.

Having been quiet the whole trip down here, I tried to start up another conversation with her. “So… where did all these books come from, Swirly?”

She continued to look through the bookcase as she replied. “I wrote all these myself.”

“Oh… neat.”

“… You know a normal pony would be shocked at that revelation, Vinyl.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I know, but I remembered that you said that you’ve been here for, what, hundreds of years?”

She started tracing her hoof over the titles of the tomes. “Yes, that sounds about right. I died of old age right around Princess Luna’s ‘moody’ phase. I heard that didn’t end very well, correct?”

I stretched out my limbs. “From what little I remember from school, yes.”

“Ah… aha! Here we go.” She shouted as she pulled back one of the books…

… Opening up a hidden door.

I quickly trotted through it. “Haha! Oh wow! Ponies actually do the whole ‘hidden book equals secret door’ thing? I thought that was just an old mare’s taaaaaaaaalllllllllllee!”

That’s when I discovered that the ‘secret passage’ was lacking in stairs… and a floor. Swirly quickly caught me with her magic and dragged me back up before I died… again.

She smiled at me knowingly. “Yes, but I like to add a little twist to everything I do.”

I smiled as well from my position in her magic field. “Nothing wrong with that! But how do you get down there?”

“Heh. I’m afraid one doesn’t simply ‘go down’ into Abaddon, Vinyl.”

“… You named your creepy basement?” I asked while still floating in the air.

Swirly closed her eyes and chuckled. “No no no, I’m afraid this hole was named long before I got here. It’s the whole reason why I built this bar here, so that I could be closer to... it.”

Thanks to my upside down floating, blood was starting to rush to my head and prevented me from thinking straight. “Oh… but how do we get down there then? Some kind of magic… thingy?”

That question was the one that caused Swirly's creepy grin to get even creepier. After placing me on her back again (really glad nopony I know can see me being carried around like a little filly) she started taking a few steps back. “Like... this.”

She then took a running start and jumped into the bottomless pit.

“Not again!” I screamed as I found myself, for the second time today, falling.

Swirly laughed during the entire fall at my expense. This was just a trick, wasn’t it?! Yeah... I bet this is how they get their kicks here! By re-killing you! OhCelestiaohCelestiaoh… huh?

After easing myself out of my latest panic attack (it feels so weird to be on the receiving end of these kinds of things. Looks like I have more to apologize to Octy about) I noticed that our fall wasn’t nearly as fast as it once was… in fact, I’d dare to say that we were now gliding. Swirly’s horn wasn’t glowing, so I have no idea what could be slowing u-

And that’s when we landed on some solid surface (guess it wasn’t ‘bottomless’ after all) and I was sent tumbling off of her back. I quickly got back on my hooves just in time to see Swirly without her cape.

The first thing I noticed was that she was a blank-flank. Wha? How does that work? She’s way older than me!

The second thing I noticed was that she had a pair of pink-skinned, blue fingered, bat wings.

… I probably should have noticed that first.

… What?!

I pointed a shaking hoof at her. “W-wha wha what?!”

Despite my obviously frantic (yet totally justified) question, Swirly simply folded her wings back up under her cape and replied to my question with another question. “… Tell me, Ms. Vinyl... do you know what purpose the goddesses serve?”

I took a step back as she approached me, feeling unsure about my new ‘friend’s’ intentions. “Um… y-yeah? Celestia raises the sun and the moon, er, or Luna actually raises the moon now and Celestia only takes care of the sun… I think.”

Swirly smiled warmly again. “Yes, that is but one of the tasks those two are destined to perform… but what about the others?”

“O-others?”

She started circling the dark cavern we were in. “Oh, surely you must know of some of the others that inhabit this planet? Queen Gaia of the Zebras, Griffons, and Giraffes? The one who keeps our planet from growing against our control and whose sister, Princess Silphe, controls the winds?”

“N-not really, actually.”

She blinked. “Well… what about Lord Asterion of the Diamond Dogs, Gargoyles, and Minotaurs? Surly they still teach you how he keeps the likes of the Ursas, and all the other ancient constellation creatures, at bay?”

“N-not ringing a bell.”

I could tell by her tone of voice that my lack of knowledge was starting to annoy Swirly. “Well what about Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings or Queen Ambrosine of the Seaponies? Do they not teach ponies anymore about how the changelings’ very existence controls where the population of the world flourishes and where it falters? And do they not teach you how the seaponies control the very sea, making sure it never floods and that all travel across it is safe?!”

For the second time today, I found myself up against a wall. “H-hey, look, Swirly; I’ve only discovered that seaponies were real after one killed me! I-I’m sorry if ponies of my time aren’t as smart as we used to be! It’s not my fault!”

Starswirl blinked at this and took a step back when she discovered that she was scaring me. “Seaponies… killed you? Hmmm…” she started mumbling to herself, as if I wasn’t here. “That coincides with that. And… if they have become violent, that could mean that the seas are not as safe to travel on as they used to be. This could result in the exchange of information, news, and knowledge between the two major continents to slow down considerably… maybe to the point where seeing a zebra is a rare sight to a pony…”

I felt safe enough to take a step towards her again. “Um… in Equestrian English, please?”

She blinked. “Oh… oh I’m sorry. I was just piecing together a long running puzzle that’s been plaguing my mind as of late. I must apologize again, Ms. Vinyl. It seems I’ve gone a bit off topic. Now… I asked you if you knew what other purpose the goddesses of this world had. Please, look at your cutie mark for me.”

I did as commanded. “Y-yeah? What about it?”

“Would you be surprised if I told you that it is a piece of Celestia?”

My eyes widened at this. “Wow… really?”

Her smile intensified. Maybe she thinks I’m finally starting to understand what she’s getting at (when in truth I’ve got no freaking clue)? “Yes Vinyl, ‘really’. The goddesses’ other task is to gift their subjects with a piece of themselves in some form or another. This links us to them and thus links us with the afterlife; their, as well as Celestia’s and Luna’s, homeland.”

I did my best to wrap my shortly frying brain around it all. “But… only ponies and zebras have cutie marks. All those other creatures up there were markless! How did they get here?”

“Well…” Swirly began. “First of all, the marks upon a zebra’s flank are artificial. They are known as ‘tattoos’ and, in the zebra culture, their purpose is to show whose family they belong to. It is a right of adulthood for them!

“But yes, you would be correct in stating that only ponies receive these marks, but that does not mean the other races have been forsaken. Zebras, griffons, and giraffes were, at least in my time, gifted by Gaia with a connection to the planet stronger than even that of an earth pony. Whether it was a gift for using magical plants, a gift for hunting down prey, or a gift for medical magic; it all depended on the individual, as it does for us ponies.

“Asterion’s gift was an instinctive connection to others, the ties that bind one to another. This manifested itself into the pack mentality for diamond dogs, the shared-pain blood pack for gargoyles, and a minotaur’s’ ability to ‘feel’ their way through a maze in order to quickly reach someone. All of these were gifted to them by Asterion so that even strangers among their kind could become closer than family. Heh, I remember Celestia always being jealous of Asterion’s gift to his subjects; she even went as far as to emulate it with our own brandings, or so the legend goes. I wouldn't know for sure. I wasn’t fortunate enough to become her student in my life as other unicorns did…" She spat out angrily before moving on.

“Ambrosine’s gift to her seaponies was always a mystery to me, but I knew Chrysalis’ gift all to well… the hive mind… truly a horrible gift…”

As fascinating as all this was, I was not picking up on what the point of it all was. “Um… okay, that’s pretty neat and all... but why did you bring me down here? Just to give me a history lesson? Need I remind you that I am not a good student and that most of what you are trying to tell me is going straight into one ear and coming out the other on fire?”

Swirly sighed. “Oh dear. It seems I have gone off track once more. Let me simply cut to the chase then. I’m telling you all of this because there was one gift amongst the many that I always admired, one that I felt better suited a pony of my tastes more than any silly mark could. Now that I have become a spirit, removing Celestia’s gifted cutie mark from my flesh was a simple task… replacing it was even simpler.”

The creepy meter just went to one hundred. “A-and what would that be?”

Her grin strengthened as her eyes turned into pink slits. “A flame, my dear Vinyl. The flame of greed. I simply traded the brand that once represented my gift for gaining knowledge with a flame that feeds my greed for knowledge. All those books ‘upstairs’? Well… they are but a fraction of my hoard.”

Oooohhhh crap, I’m starting to get flashbacks to the conversation I snuck in on involving Cogy and her daddy. Both those two were adamant about their hoards!

… Wait… does that mean...?

“S-so you're part dragon now then, S-swirly?”

A forked tongue slithered out of Swirly's mouth, freaking me the buck out. “More than part, I am whole.”

Suddenly I find myself against the back wall again. “Oh… t-that’s cool, Swirly, real cool. C-can we go now?”

Swirly allowed her wings to stretch out as she stood up on her hind legs. She rested her head on one of her front knees. “Why? Now you have all the knowledge you need for your meeting.”

... Damn it Swirly, why do you have to be so cryptic? “M-meeting? Meeting with who?”

As soon as the words left my lips, flames irrupted all around us. The pit we found ourselves in was suddenly illuminated fully so that I could make out every little rock that made up the walls…

… And also so I could discover that we weren’t alone.

I stared up at the giant… thing that reared up behind Swirly. As I fell on my haunches, Swirly simple stood on the opposite side of the room and grinned at me.

“W-w-w-what is that thing?!” I yelped. Just when I thought this day couldn’t get any more demented…

Swirly finally turned around and beamed at it. “Fascinating, isn’t it? Her body is that of a sea serpent; long and legless with shimmering blood red scales. She possesses the wings of a dragon instead of arms, yet she can manipulate her fingers like a pegasus can his feathers. The tip of her tail is made of the same ivory material that makes up a landwyrm’s magic conducting tail, yet these ‘horns’ are also present on her head, in a formation that makes it appear as though it were a crown. Finally, she neither breathes a dragon’s fire, a sea serpent’s water, or a landwyrm’s magic. Instead, this creature breathes the one thing this land lacks: life.

“She possesses many names in many cultures, Vinyl. The plain’s creatures call her a chimera, the creatures of the Crystal Wastes call her a wyvern, our kind would call her an alicorn… but to the draconics, she is simply known as God.” Swirly then faced me and gave me a grand bow. “Child... please allow me to introduce you to my master, the lord of all dragons and of this realm, The All Seeing One: Queen Lyssa.”

I gingerly waved ‘hi’ at the giant monstrosity. “Hehehe… h-hi?”

“RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!”

“Eep!” I jumped back, eternally grateful that this thing seems to be chained to the wall. Why? I have no clue, nor do I care!

“I highly advise you not to talk to her again, child.” Replied Swirly.

“S-swirly?! What the hell?!” I asked her frantically.

“We prefer saying ‘what the hay’ around here.” She answered nonchalantly.

“W-whatever! Why did you bring me here?! Why would you think I’d want to see this… this… thing?!”

Swirly’s face was a mask of clearly held back rage. “Queen… Lyssa. Do not refer to her as a thing, child.”

The last of my courage left me after that. “S-sure… um… c-can you please tell me why I’m here now? I’d really like to go back to the bar now, Swirly…”

She huffed. “Well, first of all, it’s in my humble opinion that all new residents to Tartarus should be given a chance to see their Queen. Those in the other realm get to see The Maker, so it is only fair.”

That angered me so I shot her a glare. “Dude... are you seriously comparing her to God?”

Swirly tilted her head. “Oh course. Haven’t you noticed yet, child? Tell me... which creature have you seen the most of since coming here?”

I seriously thought about it, but I was drawing a blank. Swirly helped me a bit. “Think about the first thing you compared this realm to when you entered it.”

“I…” I attempted to answer. “Said that it kinda looked like a day spa…” My eyes widened as I started connecting the dots. “… for dragons”

The round of ‘applause’ coming from Swirly must have meant that I got it right. “Very good, Vinyl! A lot of newbies say the same thing. See? You’re not that horrid of a student after all!”

“… I said I was a bad student, not horrid...”

She waved me off. “Regardless... the major population of Tartarus is draconics. The Queen’s presence attracts them and drags them down here… and they come willingly.”

This shocked me. “What?! How could anyone want this kind of place, Swirly?”

She lightly flapped her wings in place. “Because they long for it in their hearts… their greed filled hearts. Now, I will finally answer your question about why you are down here, Vinyl, but first… Lyssa is a goddess as well. Care to hazard a guess as to what her purpose is?”

I stared up and the mindless beast that kept bashing itself against the wall behind itself. The chains keeping her in place seemed to be holding. Well that’s a relief… but right now, I’m more afraid of Swirly!

-Gulp-

M-might as well do my best to play along.

“Um… t-to… to give all the good little dragons greed flames?”

Swirly's almost motherly smile reappeared on her face, but the events of the past couple of minutes have tarnished that smile’s effect on me.

“So close Vinyl. So very, very, close. The greed flames are her gift to her subjects. They are what drives a dragon to defend and protect that which is dearest to their hearts…”

As the archmage held her final word, a column of red fire erupted between us. I jumped back but Swirly casually fluttered around it and to my side. With the flare of her horn, an image started to appear within the flame. It was of an orange-scaled, adult sea serpent cuddling a pile of stuffed animals.

Despite the seriousness of this whole exchange, I found it hard to keep a straight face while looking at, snort, t-that.

While I laughed, Swirly continued. “Lyssa cares not for what her subjects fight for, only that they do care for something. Whether it be useless things…”

The flames flickered and the image changed. Now, a purple-scaled, teen dragon could be seen trying to yank a scooter out of some poor filly’s grip. Her two friends tried to help her reclaim the toy, but it seemed that the orange pegasus was losing the battle.

“… Things with sentimental value…”

With another spark, the image changed again… but this time I recognized the dragon in the fire. It was Cogy’s daddy, Emeraldgrey, hugging one of his piles of gems as it bounced around the inside of his ‘lair’ onboard the S.S. Luna Returner. He was looking up fearfully at the ceiling as the entire room quaked and his other piles were knocked over. Although it was faint, I swore I heard a blood curtailing roar emanating from outside his walls…

… Cogy…

“… Or things that last forever, the Queen cares not.” Swirly finished.

I was suddenly verily interested in what Swirly had to tell me. She just showed me a glimpse of where Cogy is at! Maybe… just maybe… there’s a way to send her a message?

“So what does she care about then, Swirly?” I asked, as I finally found the courage to look her in the eyes.

Swirly smiled at this. “Finally interested now, hmmm? Well, Vinyl... Lyssa only cares about her subject’s happiness, that is all. When one of her precious little dragons is truly happy, their ‘heart’ becomes one with her flame, and this allows her to see. That is her purpose: to watch the world.”

My brain felt like it was about to fall out of my ears thanks to all the vagueness, but I pushed on regardless. “See? See what? Watch what? Equestrian English, do you speak it?!”

The pony with the purple mane feigned shock. “Why, Vinyl! Have you not noticed the Queen’s most important feature?”

Her sudden change into playfulness angered me, and the fact that it angered me surprised me even more. I’m usually all for being silly and having a good time, but this seems more like villain playfulness then good friend playfulness.

Trust me. A party pony always knows the difference.

I spoke through gritted teeth. “No, I haven’t. Please enlighten me.”

“Lyssa is looking at you.”

“… So?”

“Child… Lyssa has no eyes.”

… What?

I fought my fears as I took another hard look at Lyssa… and discovered that, oh sweet Celestia, Swirly’s right! Lyssa has eye sockets… b-but no eyeballs!

That’s… pretty darn hardcore, actually.

Deciding to test it out, I moved from one end of the pit to another…

… And Lyssa's head followed me every time, as if she could see me. “H-how...?”

Using a hoof, Swirly pointed to her own eyes. “Lyssa sees the world through my eyes, child… and 'Cogy’s' as well.”

“J-just you two?”

Starswirl shook her head. “No no... Lyssa sees this world, and the world of the living, through all her subject’s eyes... but only if they give in to their flames. Now… it is finally time to shed light on your purpose here, Vinyl.”

I stomped a hoof angrily. “About time! Please stop beating around the bush, Swirly. That poor bush can’t take it any longer!”

In a flash, the column of flame appeared again and an image reformed. The image was of a simple little dragon girl... my dragon girl.

“Is this Cogwill, Vinyl?”

I beamed proudly. “The one and on-”

“RRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRHHHH!!!!”

The flames began to dance about as the entire cavern trembled with the force of Lyssa’s cry.

I got back on my hooves. “W-what was that about?”

Swirly got back to her hooves as well. “That is why you are here. I am a servant of the Queen now, Vinyl. Her well-being is my priority. About a month back, Lyssa started whispering into my ear about a new addition to her hoard: a baby dragon who she simple referred to as ‘the nameless one’. The Queen could not see through this child's eyes, yet she knew she was there. A few days back, this ‘Cogy’s’ greed flame began to glow and we started getting glimpses… but nothing more.”

Unlike her earlier conversation, this one was the one I paid the most attention to. “A month ago… that’s when Cogy said she was kidnapped from her foster family! She was then forced into labor by these two unicorns!”

The blue mare’s head nodded in agreement. “From the sound of it, Tartarus will be receiving two more additions in the future. Enough about that though... a month ago was also when you said the Gate Keeper claimed she died?”

I nodded my head as well. “Yeah… something about those two flankholes killing her by ‘hatching’ her. That doesn’t make any sense though! She’s, like, eleven years old or something! Kid can’t be any younger then that!”

“… Don’t be so sure. Lyssa watches over all hatchlings, Vinyl, because hatchlings are instinctively greedy. She has no memory of this particular dragon ever being a true babe... it’s as if she simply appeared out of thin air!”

What?! “H-how can that be? Cogy said she was part of this dude named Iron Will’s family! S-she even met her father! She… she wasn’t lying… was she?”

Swirly shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t give you a clear answer. The father comment interests me though, as Lyssa was able to see into parts of this meeting. This ‘Emeraldgrey’ recognized the scales and the breath, and he also felt the many ways her greed flame was similar to his own and her mother’s: Lady Crackle. If she simply appeared out of the ether, it wouldn’t make sense that she was their biological spawn. I do have a theory though…”

The bat-winged pony's words seemed to be stuck on her lips. I rolled my hoof around in an attempt to ‘keep the wheel turning’ “And that theory would be…?”

My questionable friend turned away. “Well… I don’t like throwing baseless theories out there! Never have, never will! If only I had access to Cogwill's memories like I do with every other draconics'…”

I raised an eyebrow. “Access to memories? How does that work?”

Starswirl blinked a couple times, then blushed. “O-oh, right... I forgot to mention that during the ‘sees’ speech, didn’t I? Blast... that’s always the part I forget to mention.” Swirly lowered her hoof, which she was using to scratch her chin, back down to the floor. “Lyssa not only sees the world through her subject’s eyes, but also their minds. Along with their own hoards, every little thought a draconic possesses is part of the Queen’s collection as well. Since I am Lyssa's right-claw mare, I also have access to these memories, as well as the information locked within them. It’s the whole reason I discarded my cutie mark in the first place! All that knowledge… it’s delicious.”

Deciding to creep me out (as that’s the only reason I can see in her doing what she did) Swirly smacked her lips a bit with her freaky tongue.

I shuttered where I stood.

“That’s the reason why the Queen is so upset right now, Vinyl... because this little dragon might know something interesting, but we can’t ‘reach’ her right now to find out.”

I’m slowly getting a huge headache here. “And why can’t you reach her like a normal dragon?”

As the archmage's horn glowed, the image of Cogy began to rewind itself until it reached a part where the girl was sitting bowlegged on top of the ship. The image was very static-y and would keep flashing from on to off... she also seemed to be talking to herself about something, but I couldn’t make out the words until the light from Swirly’s horn intensified.

Cogy’s words were slow and drawn out, like she was fighting something. “I… am not… monster. They are. I… need power… protect, not kill.”

My heart rejuvenated as soon as I heard her voice. Oh thank goodness, she’s okay!

Swirly’s face, sadly, told me a different story.

“… This is a past image, isn’t it?” I asked.

She nodded her head. “I’m sorry, child, but it is. This is one of the rare instances where Cogwill's greed flame burned bright enough for us to see her like this. It is now forever recorded in the Queen’s mind and can be called upon at any time. Cogwill’s thoughts, however, are still out of reach.”

Hmmm… I have to know… “C-can…can you show me how she’s doing right now, Swirly?”

Swirly looked away. “I… cannot. Unlike a normal dragon, Cogy seems to be fighting against the flame in her heart. That should not be possible, Vinyl. The Queen’s words are supposed to be indistinguishable from a draconic’s own thoughts… yet here she is, yelling at the Queen! She even has the gall to call her by such a filthy name as ‘Greed’!”

“W-why would she be fighting her?” I questioned.

My friend stomped a hoof. “Because she refuses to share. Her hoard should be the Queen’s, her thoughts should be the Queen’s... yet she is being selfish.”

…Really? What is Lyssa? A five year old? I returned my attention to the flame, where the image of Cogy was now yelling at the sky.

“S-speak to me damn it! You… you’re not me, I understand that now!”

Even though she couldn’t hear me, I cheered the girl on for standing up for herself. “Whoo! You go girl! Tell that Queen off!”

Swirly shot a glare at me and I blew a raspberry right back at her. Oh, lighten up, Swirly; if she doesn’t want to become a monster, then don’t make her become a monster! So she’s a bit different and slightly mysterious... good for Cogy for being unique! I’m sure Queeny over here can put up with one trouble maker…

The image of Cogy continued her speech. “B-but you said human!”

Suddenly the image froze as Swirly stepped forward. “And here is where my theory begins.”

I was very confused. Like, really really confused. Guess I might as well start off with what should hopefully be the easiest question for Miss ‘Knowledge Eater’ over here to answer. “… What’s a human?”

Swirly beamed. “I don’t know.”

“… You… don’t know?”

She continued to smile. “Yes! I don’t know! How wonderful is that? New knowledge to consume! My inner flame burns so brightly... I want to know! I must know! Queen Lyssa apparently knows, but certain parts of her knowledge is off limits to me. She refuses to tell me herself as well, so I don’t have the foggiest idea.”

I looked up at the giant, still roaring, monster. “… She actually talks?”

“Oh yes, and her words are beautiful, Vinyl. Her voice can even take on whatever tone the listener wishes, easily melding with a dragon’s mental one and becoming unrecognizable. Hmmm… aha!” Swirly suddenly shouted. “There’s a theory! I can tell the slight difference in Lyssa’s voice and my own, so maybe a human mage can as well!”

I tilted my head at her sudden shift from ‘serious business’ to ‘skipping about like a schoolfilly’ mode. “Um… yeah… there’s a thought… but what makes you think a ‘human’ is a creature? It could be a place, a food, or, I don’t know, a thing?”

My question caused Swirly to stop jumping and return to a more casual tone of voice. “Well, my dear Vinyl, it’s because my other theory is that this Cogy of yours is one of them. It makes logical sense when compared to the other evidence I’ve gathered.”

… -S-snort- "Heh... H-hahahah!”

The blue mare simply watched in silence as I fell over and started laughing my flank off.

“… What is so amusing, child?”

“Haha… haha…" -Snort- "H-ha. Are… are you seriously trying to convince me that Cogy is some kind of alien?" -Snort- "I-I’m sorry, but I find that very hard to beli-”

The unicorn quickly shut me up by un-pausing Cogy’s image, allowing the dragoness to shout “You know what I am! Who the hell are you?! … You… you’re the one who brought me here, aren’t you?! You're the cause of all of this!"

It was my turn to be quiet.

I sat there in silence, from my position on the floor, as the image was fast forwarded to another bout of Cogy seemingly talking to herself. “… If you turn out to be the cause for bringing me to this sick world… if you’re the one who caused me and my friends so much pain, I will personally rip you out of my body with my own, damn, claws.”

With that the image paused again, and Swirly gave me a knowing smile.

“Well…” she started to say. “What do you think now, child?”

“… Dude.”

Despite her obviously not quite understanding modern day pony lingo, Swirly dropped her smile and placed a hoof on my shoulder. “Vinyl… I know it’s a lot to take in…”

“Dude.”

“… I know it was quite the shock to me as well. A creature from another world… how intriguing.”

I slowly turned my head and allowed my widened magenta eyes to do the talking for me. She smiled, thinking that I was on the same page as her…

… That is, until I actually talked and proved her wrong.

Well… I didn’t so much as ‘talk’ as I did fangasm.

“Dude… I’m friends with an alien! How cool is that?!” I shouted excitedly.

The Great Starswirl the Bearded, who had seen many things in her life and in her death, simply facehoofed in response.

I couldn’t understand why. “What?! It’s, like, every little filly’s dream to be friends with a space pony!”

“…”

“… Okay, it was only this filly’s dream to be friends with a space pony.” I admitted. I then groaned annoyingly. “Ohhhhhh, why didn’t Cogy tell me?! I could have learned so much about her people’s music! Gasp! I could have remixed some of it! That would have been so cool, Swirly! … Swirly?”

I didn’t notice it during my fangasam, but Swirly was drooling.

I jumped back in disgust as it almost hit my tail. “Ew! Swirly! What the hay?!”

Starswirl blinked, discovered her mistake, and then quickly wiped her mouth off. “S-sorry. I was just thinking about all the…” She sighed dreamily. “ Knowledge I could gain if only I had access to her memories like I do with the other dragons.”

I sighed as well. “Yeah, well, looks like both of us got the short end of the stick here. Guess all there is to do is to wait for her to die in, like, five hundred years. Honestly, though? I’m kind of hoping that she goes to the other place.”

Swirly looked down at the ground. “Actually… we only have to wait twenty four hours.”

…No.

“…N-no. You’re… you’re kidding, right?” I laughed weakly. “H-haha, v-very funny, Swirly. K-knock it off now.”

The blue mare continued looking at the ground.

“N-not funny, Swirly! She… she can’t die! S-she might be an alien, b-but she’s just a kid! S-she’s so young! She’s too young!”

“… Two eyes.”

I was taken aback by the sudden random comment. “W-what, Swirly?”

She looked at me with a stony face. “Two eyes… Lyssa possesses two eyes; one that sees through the eyes and minds of her subjects… and the other that sees into their futures.”

Once more the flame flickered as an older image, the one of the purple dragon, reappeared. He was still fighting over the little filly’s toy, but the image didn’t stay on him for too long and instead started moving to the lower left. Eventually, it settled on a discarded newspaper.

“Read it.” Swirly commanded me.

“I… I d-don’t…”

“Read it.” She ordered again, this time with more force.

Silently, I complied. “M-march 17th… 2013. T-that’s…”

“Through Lyssa’s eyes, I can see that we are in November, and that the year is 2012, correct?”

I slowly nodded my head ‘yes’ as Swirly proved that she was capable of seeing the future. “H-how…?”

Raising her hooves into the air and using her wings to steady herself, Swirly made her words seem grand and majestic. “When a dragon’s greed burns, it sets off a chain reaction that causes echoes across time and space. From these echoes, Lyssa receives shattered images of future instances where the flame burns again. This is her true purpose, Vinyl: to watch the world and to safeguard the future. She accomplishes this by watching it through these tiny windows, and by paying attention to the two points in a dragon’s life where their greed flame burns brightest, giving her the clearest of pictures. These two events take place when a dragon is born… and when they die.”

“So… C-cogy…”

It was with sad eyes that Swirly returned her gaze to the flame. Her horn altered it once more, bringing up a new image. I gasped as the picture became clearer and cleared…

… And I bared witness to a warzone.

***^***

The sea had been dyed red and blue: the force of two kinds of blood clashing within it.

The great and mighty S.S. Luna Returner, one of ponykind’s largest vessels in history, had been torn in half. White, blue, orange, and red flames continued to burn on what little debris remained above water.

Luggage, empty life boats, and other discarded pieces of the ship could be seen floating amongst the wreckage…

… But these were not the only things that could float.

I fought back desperately to prevent myself from puking as I looked at… them.

… The bodies.

Bodies could be seen floating on the bloodied sea.

Bodies of what I could only guess were seaponies.

Bodies of slain sea serpents.

Bodies of griffons in red flight suits, and pegasi in blue.

Bodies of ponies.

Bodies of foals.

And two titanic bodies remained still as well, one being of a creature I could not clearly make out… but I recognized the other all too well.

... It was Emeraldgrey.

What little scales remained on his flesh had been roasted pitch black, and he was missing an arm. His wings were slashed and his tail had been used to impale himself through the chest. His long neck had been twisted and bent into an unnatural shape, even for a dragon, and blue flames danced along his burnt flesh.

The most shocking thing, however, wasn’t his scars, it wasn’t his blood, and it wasn’t his corpse either.

… It was what was in his claw that shocked me.

At first I paid it no mind, thinking that he was probably just holding on to a piece of his hoard…

… But it was not a material good that he held on to at the end of his life, but a much greater treasure, one that caused me to finally collapse to my knees.

In his final moments of life, Emeraldgrey of the Everfree tried in vain to protect his daughter…

… But Cogy remained motionless in his grip as blue flames consumed her as well.

***^***

I wept uncontrollably.

Swirly gripped me in a tight hug as I continued to weep. “It is okay, child... this event has not yet happened.”

-Sob-

“Yes… but when it does happen, it will truly it be a great loss.”

-Sniff-... -sob-...

“All that knowledge… gone.”

I quickly stopped weeping. “… What?”

Starswirl sighed. “I have never seen a human here before, Vinyl, but no creature is completely without sin. Cogy will most likely go to whatever form of purgatory her kind possesses. With her death, she will take all that knowledge away from us; the knowledge of how she will come to taint one of Lyssa’s subjects.”

“...”

She tightened her arm’s ‘grip’ on me. “She is an enigma, child: one that I do not understand. Her flame can corrupt other dragon’s greed, making them look at their hoards differently over time. They feel inspired to defend her hoard instead of their own! This sickens Lyssa and, as her faithful student, this sickens me as well.”

My eyes narrowed from within Swirly's embrace. “…”

She went on, unable to see my face. “It will be a great tragedy when she dies, as we will lose the chance to arm ourselves with facts about her people. This could happen again one day after all! Lyssa forbid, maybe more of her kind will start to pop up! So then, Ms. Vinyl, here is where you-”

WHAM!

After breaking free of her ‘hug’, I sent Swirly flying with a good buck to the head. Lyssa roared as her servant flew through the air unnaturally, and responded by breathing a funnel of green… stuff at me. The Queen’s breath wasn’t hot, nor was it cold... it just felt draining.

Pure life… the one thing Tartarus lacks… it looks like its poisonous to spirits.

Swirly returned to her hooves as I collapsed to the floor. “… That wasn’t necessary.” She replied coldly. The black eye I gave her quickly healed up: whether it was a spirit thing or a dragon thing I wasn’t sure.

I gasped for air as my body felt the weakest its ever been. “-Huff-… -huff-… -huff-! Y-you were treating my friend like a thing! She, -huff-, h-hates that!”

Swirly raised her muzzle in the air in an act that reminded me of another blue coated mare: the Great Obnoxious Trixie. “I was not speaking to you, child.” She then addressed the Queen. “Oh Queen Lyssa, please forgive this sinner. She knows not what she does.” The monster then dared to give me that ‘motherly’ smile again. “Have no fear... Lyssa only slightly corroded your soul. It will heal in time.”

I attempted to stand, but I lacked the strength to stay standing. “Y-you… -huff-, you demon! You actual, literal, demon! Y-you don’t care about Cogy at all, do you?! You just want what’s in her head! How can you talk about her death so evilly?!”

The bitch smirked at me. “Again, ‘evil’ is such a broad term. Was it evil of me to save you from diamond dogs? Was it evil of me to offer you a safe haven? Was it evil of me to grant you a shoulder to cry o-”

“No! You were evil when you started treating Cogy like a freaking book that needed to be read!” I retorted. “What did she ever do to you?!”

Lyssa’s henchmare shrugged. “She’s done nothing to me personally, but she will hurt the Queen in the future by stealing one of her subjects away from her. Emeraldgrey will most likely meet The Maker for his ‘just’ sacrifice! That’s unacceptable.”

My eyes were fierce as I repeated my question. “What did she do to you?”

As if going off a checklist, Swirly went on by listing another one of Cogy’s ‘mistakes’. “She’s hogging her hoard for herself! The Queen cried for bloodshed when she lost two large pieces last night, but the child did nothing but cry!”

“… What did she do to you, Swirly?” I once more asked angrily.

“She holds the knowledge of an entire civilization in her head, but she won’t share it with-”

“Starswirl!” I roared. “What, did, she, do, to, you?! Answer me! What did a little, crying, kid do to you to earn such venom?!”

“… She’s hogging knowledge away from the Queen.”

“And?!”

“… She will hurt the Queen by stealing-”

My patience was wearing thin. “I’m still not hearing what she did to you, Starswirl!”

“… She has done nothing to me, child.” The bitch formally known as Swirly finally answered.

“Then why are you only interested in her mind?! Why did you show no emotion over a little girl dying?!”

“… Because I have no use for her.”

“… What?”

She went on. “Yes… because I have no use for her. If her very existence hurts the Queen, then her leaving this world should not be my problem.”

“… She’s unimportant to you?”

“That is correct, Vinyl.”

“… A little girl… is unimportant.”

“Yes.”

“… I’m… unimportant as well.”

“Yes that is also…” Starswirl stopped herself as she realized what she had just said. “Vinyl… I didn’t…”

I spat at her. “You're evil!”

She only sighed. “Child, we’ve been over this before. I’m not-”

I cut her off. “Yes you are! You’re evil for being emotionless over a little girl dying! You’re evil for looking at her father’s sacrifice and saying that it was a mistake! And you were evil when you..." -Sniff- "T-tricked me into think that you were my friend!”

“I thought we were friends, Vinyl.” Starswirl replied emotionlessly.

My rage was blinding. “You… are not my friend! I should know, I’ve spent a good chunk of my life being a poor friend myself. More importantly, I’ve spend a good chunk of it being around artificial friends! You never cared about me, did you?! Yeah… I see it now. If I didn’t know Cogy, then this would have been the last we ever saw of each other! You would be out there tomorrow, doing the same thing you did for me with another ‘newbie’. The landwyrm from the bar… he was just like me, wasn’t he?! Scared and alone... but you turned him away!” I started to rise to my hooves. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. The smiling, the long speeches, the hidden room… you don’t trust others, do you? When you meet someone new, you simply go through the motions! That’s why it was so hard for you to get to your point earlier! You were going through a rehearsed speech! Well, here’s newsflash for you, ‘Swirly’: I don’t care anymore about whatever it is you're selling, so you can take your plan and shove it!!”

Starswirl's eye began to twitch. “… Well, Ms. Vinyl…” She stated slowly, with each word carefully thought out. “It seems you pay more attention then I gave you credit for. You could have been an excellent student if you had only used that ‘talent’ differently in life. Since I now acknowledge you as a decent scholar, I will impart one snipped of my knowledge to you…”

The winged demon rose to the air and landed harshly only an inch away from my face. Our eyes met as she coldly stated “It’s not wise to tick off the mare offering you a second chance at life.”

Her words cut through me like a razor’s edge as my earlier resolve wavered. “W-what… what was that?”

I couldn’t tell which of Starswirl's grins meant what anymore: all of them now looked evil. “It’s why I’ve brought you here today, Ms. Vinyl. There is very little I know about your little Cogy, but I do know what drives her greed flame… you.”

“… My friends are my strength.” I muttered Cogy’s words to myself. Suddenly, that lame declaration makes a lot more sense.

The evil mage kept flapping her lips. “Yes, she seems to follow Celestia’s new school of thought... the one about friendship. Bleh! In my time, Celestia was more concerned about improving the range and diversity of our nation’s magic. We needed to be prepared for the so called ‘False Elements’ the other goddesses were conjuring! During the great arms race of my generation, ‘friends’ didn’t matter. The ponies of your time have no idea-”

I cut her off. “You're rambling again, ‘teach’! Stop following your stupid script and tell me what the hay you need me for!”

She hissed. “Impatient as well... today’s ponies sicken me more and more. How could I have ever followed such a flimsy goddess as Celestia? Queen Lyssa truly is the mightiest.”

I cracked my neck. “Yeah? Well why is she chained up then?!”

Before my eyes, Starswirl’s rage caused her own form to flicker and change. Wrinkles and grey hair began to appear as her voice grew louder and louder. “Because the other gods couldn’t see that she was the true one! That she was the only goddess that should have existed! She sees all, she knows all! She-”

Using a hoof, I cut the villain off by stomping it on the ground. “Enough! ‘Sane is such a broad concept’... I think I understand your words now, ya nutcase. Spit out your stupid ‘grand plan’ for me already before I lose my patience!”

Our earlier conversation about Cogy picked up again after that, but not before some silent glaring took place between the two of us (and Lyssa). During this stare off, the colors of Starswirl’s coat and mane returned to her and the wrinkles disappeared as well. “… When one of Cogwill’s precious little ‘friends’ gets in trouble, she allows Lyssa’s flame to burn. When one of you dies, she allows the flame to consume her completely like a good little dragon.”

I continued to stare down Starswirl. “Is that why she can turn into a monster?”

She folded her wings back up. “No… that is why she can turn into a true dragon. That massacre you just witnessed? Half of it was done by her in her rage… and it was all thanks to you dying, Ms. Vinyl.”

I stood my ground. “You… you knew about me beforehoof, didn’t you?!”

Starswirl tried to use her motherly smile again, but it no longer worked on me. “You give me too much credit, child. I knew not of the ponies the ‘nameless one’ had in her hoard, only that her hoard was made of ponies. Queen Lyssa and I were only able to see glimpses of her as her flame began to grow and flicker in and out of existence, after all. It was only this morning that we were able to secure a line strong enough to glimpse into her future and witness the events leading to her and Emeraldgrey’s demise. If you hadn’t talked about her fondly back at the bar, I would have never known that you had a connection to her. We did see you once through her eyes, but it was not enough to convince us to add you to our plan.

"But... now you have the opportunity to be part of it willingly... or so I was aiming to do before you decided to rebel.”

I lowered my horn and kicked up some dirt. “Like I’d want to be a part of anything a cultist like you cooked up!”

“So you don’t want to see your friends again?”

My devotion faltered briefly, but I continued to hold my ground. “N-not if it lets you steal her mind!”

She laughed me off. “Oh, nothing of the sort, child. I just want knowledge, that’s all! Meanwhile, Queen Lyssa just wants to see her children live on! Can’t you grant a mother her wish, Vinyl?”

I glanced up at Queen 'Eyesore', who kept barking at the image of Cogy’s corpse in the fire. I then returned my hardened gaze at Starswirl. “… So her only goal is to see her live on?”

Starswirl looked at Lyssa as well. “Not her. Emeraldgrey. Lyssa wants to see her true child live on and return to her in death. All she wants from Cogy is for her to leave her children alone. She doesn’t want her dead, she just doesn’t want her to be a nuisance anymore.

“What we’re asking of you, Vinyl, is for you to make sure Cogwill stops fighting Lyssa’s flame, and instead embrace it. Whatever happens after that is up to you. There, simple enough, yes? You’ll even be rewarded with something I can never have: a second chance at life! Isn’t it wonderful, child? To be reunited with loved ones?”

...

... I-I can see Octy and Cogy again?

…

‘T—t-that’s not me… that monster wasn’t me! P-p-please, -sniff-, don’t tell a soul Vinyl… please…’

…

Greed flame… they want me to make sure Cogy's greed flame burns so that they can get her knowledge.

… But that’ll turn Cogy into that monster again...

… The monster that made her cry.

...

My hoof quivered. “You… you can take your offer and stick it where the sun don’t shine! I’m not going to hurt my friends ever again!”

Flames erupted around me, trapping me in a makeshift cage. Starswirl approached it and laughed at me through the bars.

“Hehehe. You have no real choice, child! You're our only chance to set things right here.”

I roared through my cage. “Fine! Send me back! I still won’t do what you want me to do! My manager has been trying to do just that for years now, so what makes you think that you’d be any different?!”

Starswirl seems to have had plenty of practice at pulling off evil grins. “What will be different, child, is that you’ll need her to embrace her flame in order to survive the hell we’re sending you back into.”

The Princess of cryptic messages (aka, Starswirl the Bitch) changed the image within the fire again, this time to a completely devastated looking Cogy yelling into the sky. Her scales were slowly turning grey before my eyes.

G-gray? Why… why do I have this sick feeling, in the pit of my stomach, that I’ve seen this before? It’s, like, in the back of my mind, there’s this little voice telling me that something inherently wrong is taking place, but I can’t comprehend what exactly it is. I tried to ask the one mare who might have an answer. “W-why’s her scales…?”

The image of Cogy roared. “Take it all away from me!!"

“C-cogy!” I screeched as, with a mighty roar, my baby dragon friend transformed before my eyes into that monster that made her cry two days ago. Once again, tears dotted her face while fully transformed.

“This…” That bitch, Starswirl, went on. “Is what we need you to fix. We should be able to read her mind while the greed flame consumes her, but we can’t for some reason. It’s as if a second power is interfering. Once again, Lyssa is silent on the subject so I’m left with only speculations.”

I continued to rebel. “I told you, I’m not going to hurt her for you!”

She sighed. “Stop trying to fight us, Vinyl. You can’t prevent what’s to come. Although I do not understand her current affliction, my theory is that simply seeing you again will help Cogwill to leave this trance, and then after seeing you in danger she will trigger her greed flame once again to protect you. You see, Ms. Vinyl? You don’t have to do anything! We get her knowledge, you get the chance to stay alive... everypony wins.

“Now… let us ready you for your journey.”

The flames around me began to burn brighter as I felt magic start to form at the tip of my horn… but it wasn’t my magic.

“W-what are you doing to me?!” I yelled, trying to regain control of my own horn.

With horn burning brightly, Starswirl the bitch replied “Teaching you how to perform my so called ‘one-use’ time traveling spell. It doesn’t work here in this constantly moving land, but that hasn’t stopped me from improving it.”

“Y-your sending me back in time?! Nononono! I don’t want any more clone me-s running around! Last time was weird enough!”

Starswirl raised an eyebrow, but she didn’t push any further. “… Yes and no, child. I will only be sending you back to the exact moment in time that you died. Lyssa is the one capable of sending you back to the land of the living.”

“RRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!!” Bellowed Lyssa, as she heard her name called.

“I-I don’t think I trust my designated driver!” I replied.

Not finding my joke funny, Starswirl kept fiddling around with the room’s flames as well as her spells; obviously preparing the requirements of whatever this ritual needed. “The Queen’s goal is to make sure her subjects are happy, and the mightiest ability she possesses in order to make this happen is her own greed flame. When it burns within the Queen herself, the opposite effect happens. Instead of greedy, she becomes generous. You were a part of Cogwill’s hoard, Vinyl: now that you’re dead, you belong to the Queen whose willing to share you.” Starswirl finally looked at me again. “You’re about to witness a miracle, my little pony. You should be grateful.”

I squirmed around in my fiery cage, but the bars were as solid as a normal prison’s bars (trust me, I would know). “I-I told you I won’t do it! I’ll just r-run away!”

“Do not kid yourself, child. There is nowhere to run on the sea, and even so, you won’t abandon a friend.”

“B-but I won’t let you use her either!”

In true villain fashion, Starswirl laughed. “And there’s the beauty of it! This improved spell is actually a charm! A constantly working charm that will reset the moment you die and return to me. Even Lyssa lacks the power to bring you back twice, but if you do fail to give us what we want, I’ll simply activate your charm. You’ll be sent back in order to suffer all over again! You’re only escape from this hell is to complete your given task.”

“…” I remained silent as the walls of my prison, as well as the figurative walls around me, began to shrink.

Starswirl beamed. “I see we are at an agreement, child. Glad to see your coop-”

“I won’t die.”

“… What was that?”

The one good thing about my death was that it left my shades behind. I whined about it at first, but now I’m grateful I’m not wearing them. This allowed Starswirl to see how serious I am. “I… won’t… die this time. I’ll live on instead. You want to send me back? Fine, I’ll go… and I’ll make sure Cogy never listens to Lyssa again. For my next trick, I’ll save that ship by myself! All that’ll be left after that is for me to reform and make sure that when I do die, I’ll be walking through the Pearly Gates: the one place you can’t touch me!!”

“…Mahahah… mahahahahah!!!”

Damn... I don’t think I’ve ever heard such malicious laughter before. Even Donut Joe’s laugh is tamer then this!

“Hahahah! Don’t, make, me, laugh! Trust me, Ms. Vinyl: you don’t want to live through this. The promise I gave you about getting a second chance at life? It was a lie I used to try to convince you to cooperate. The truth is that Lyssa’s miracle will come at a price…”

With what little magic Starswirl could spare, my mane was gripped and I was yanked out of the cage. The witch looked into my eyes.

“Lyssa’s about to bind your very soul to your precious Cogy, child! Every pain she endures, you’ll endure as well. Every scar will become your scar. If she dies, so do you. You’d only be free of magical injuries, but they are nothing compared to injuries of the heart.”

“…”

“Nothing to say to that, my little musician?”

My eyes remained fierce. “Well then… I’ll just have to make sure she never cries again as well! Ha! All in a day’s work for a party pony like me!”

Once again, the blue mare simply laughed. “Your devotion to a child you only met recently is admirable, Vinyl, but… you never got the chance to see her future like I have! Even if she does survive this incident, they’ll be plenty more like it in her future. That girl is doomed to suffer…”

With the wave of her horn, I was dropped back into my cage and the image within the fire changed again. This time it illustrated Cogy, hanging from the wall of some dark room…

… With tattered wings at her side.

I shivered at the image, but Starswirl went on. “… And suffer...”

The image changed again. The scene this time took place outdoors… in a cemetery. Cogy, while wearing some kind of poncho that covered her wings and possessed a diamond design on it, stood watch over a tombstone. I couldn’t make out the name, but I could make out her tears.

Starswirl concluded her slideshow of the damned by showing me one final image. “…And suffer again.”

The final image of Cogy took place in a pitch black room. The image wasn’t as clear as the others, so clearly it took place in the far off future. Cogy was on her knees, weeping loudly as she hugged what appeared to be a strand of some filly’s mulberry mane. The color looked familiar, but I couldn’t put my hoof on it. On her back, Cogy wore a red cape this time, again obscuring my view of her wings. This cape had a blue emblem on the back, but one I didn’t understand the meaning behind.

It was simply of a pony, rearing up on her hind legs.

Starswirl continued to beam. “You see, child? She is destined for much heart break… and so will you. It will eventually overtake you and bring you right back to me. I will then send you back to suffer through it all over again, and again, and again. Do you understand now, Vinyl? There is no hope of escape.”

She began to chuckle to herself at her own brilliance…

… And, after a bit, I chuckled as well. This confused the witch.

“… Again you laugh at a joke I have missed. Speak.” She demanded.

“How did you get these images?” I asked with a smile.

“These are the glances I have witnessed from the brief instant the flame consumed Cogwill's heart. These are the shadows of future instances of the flame igniting.” She replied, not sensing what the problem here was.

“So these images are glimpses of a future, where she survives?” I asked cheekily.

“Well… yes…”

“And you saw these this morning?”

“… Yes.”

“Before you met me?”

I think she was starting to piece it together. “… Are you trying to insinuate that things will be different if you survive as well?”

I laughed at her. “Oh heck yeah it will! They don’t call me the best DJ in the land for nothing! Trust me, ya witch; I’ll remix the hell out of this girl's life until she’s ripe and happy!”

As Starswirl stared at me in confusion, unsure what my words meant, the image behind her began to flicker and change again. I don’t think she was aware of this change, as she jumped back in fright when she turned around once it fully formed.

The image, this time, was of Cogy sitting in a rocking chair. She didn’t look a day older then when I last saw her, but her eyes sure did. Those were the eyes of a girl who had seen a lot. The simple pair of reading glasses resting on her snout helped improve her ‘I’m older’ image. In her lap, while she rocked back and forth, laid a baby diamond dog, sucking away on a bottle. As she held the bottle for the little pup, Cogy smiled and sang softly in order to lull the tiny thing to sleep.

“Hush now quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head~”

With what little I could make out in the image, I took note that (in the background) there were a good number of cribs besides the one empty one next to her.

Like ten of them in total.

Other little children (not all of them ponies) were gathered around her chair as well as she continued her song. So she works with kids... guess this explains her new outfit.

“… Is she…?” Starswirl started to ask.

I beamed. “Dressed as a nun? Oh yeah… 'Mother Cogwill’... it has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

But Starswirl looked on at the scene with even more confusion. “I… do not understand. H-how can such a drastic change take place?!”

I laughed at her good naturally. “Well, my Mama Scratch always had this saying: ‘Life is like a record player, and ponies are the records’. Each of us has our own little tune that’s nice on its own, but when a second pony steps up, the music either gets more complex or, as I like to think of it, remixed. Sometimes, all you need is somepony by your side to encourage you to do great things in order to actually do great thing! Heh. That last bit was from my BPFF, Octy!”

Starswirl was fuming, and her mane started to grey out again as wrinkles reappeared. “But I was great on my own! My spells are still used to this very, day! This is preposterous! This kind of change, even if it’s all because of you, shouldn’t be scientifically possible!”

I continued to laugh at her. “Says the dead pony about to send another dead pony back in time. Face it Starswirl: the future isn’t set in stone! Heck, and I’m going to say heck because I know it’ll piss you off, I’m willing to bet that this is just one of thousands of possible futures for that girl! She can do anything, even leave Equestria if she wanted! Didn't think about that, did ya?

"You said you only see the future if it involves a dragon being greedy? Well, this one looks like it’s from a future where Cogy's hoard grows to gigantic proportions! Pretty darn sweet, am I right?”

Her body was starting to look more like a skeleton of a pony then an actual pony by this point. “Do you dare suggest that my knowledge is faulty, child?!”

I gave her a hard stare. “No, yes, maybe... I don’t care! What I am saying is that we’re in need of a compromise. Look, I care about Cogy, unlike you. You want knowledge? Fine... I’ll ask Cogy herself if it’s okay for you to use i-”

Starswirl cut me off. “Queen Lyssa doesn’t need to ask! It is her right to own it!”

I groaned. “You’re not going to make this whole ‘negotiating’ thing pleasant for me, are ya?”

“There is no need to ‘negotiate’! Every moment Cogwill fights against her greed flame, the Queen suffers! Every instant I do not get my knowledge, I suffer!”

“… So you’re willing to put yourself and your Queen’s desires first over the life of a little girl. A girl, I might add, who has the potential to be a ray of light in the eyes of sad and lonely children… Are you still pretending you’re not evil, Starswirl?! What’s next? Burning an orphanage down?! Kicking a puppy?! Flooding the world?!”

Lyssa’s servant was now literally nothing more the skin and bones… and the skin was quickly falling off. Her words boomed throughout the room as she used what sounded like to be an ancient dialect. “THE QUEEN HAS COMMANDED FOR HER TO BE NEUTRALIZED! IF SHE DARES TO DENY HER WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY HERS AND MINE, I WILL DO WHAT IS NECESSARY, CHILD!!”

I’m… staring down evil incarnate… so cool! Despite my inner joy, my eyes remained hardened. “… Then I’ll stand by my word… heck, I’ll go even higher than that!”

In my cramp prison, I crossed my heart, flapped my arms, and placed my hoof over my eye. “I will make sure Cogy will never give in to her greed, just to spite you! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my bucking eye!”

“…”

As Starswirl silently fumed I attempted to put the final nail in it. “Face it, I’m not going to cooperate with you. There’s… nothing in Tartarus keeping me here, so you can just leave me to rot in this hole if you want. Eventually, I’ll just disappear like you said I would… and maybe that’s for the best…”

“… The future can be changed.”

Momentarily getting out of my funk, I nodded my head happily. “That it can.”

“… But that door swings both ways, Ms. Vinyl. I’m still sending you back.”

My eyes shot open. “B-but I said I wasn’t going t-”

She held up a hoof, silencing me. Her body began to youth-in up right before my eyes as her flesh and fur regrew and hugged her skeletal form. Her purple mane returned, piece by piece, as she explained herself. “Yes yes, I am aware that you just made a Chancellor Puddinghead vow, child. I’m quite surprised that that still exists in your time, for it was only briefly referenced in a book to which I thought I owned the only copy of in life. No… I’m sending you back with the hope of saving Cogwill now, because you have proven that the future can be changed in the blink of an eye. My hope is for you to, sooner or later, slip up.”

With those final words, the cage around me began to swirl and spin around. The floor beneath me stayed in place as the blue mare’s face only became visible through the spinning cracks. “She will be ours, Vinyl, I assure you that. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“… Oh thanks a lot, ‘Swirly’. Now you ruined that promise system for me! Again, thanks a lot.” I complained.

My final words were ignored. “This is goodbye, Ms. Vinyl. I hope to see you again real soon.”

Despite me not having claws, I attempted to give her a griffon’s ‘salute’, if you know what I mean.

“Oh… and one last thing.” Starswirl began to say. “You said seaponies killed you, right?”

I groaned. “Yeah yeah, laugh it up, ya dragon wannabe.”

She chuckled. “No no, you misunderstand. I’m only interested in making sure you succeed right now... for whose goal, it doesn’t matter. I ask this because I know how seaponies operate: they use their music to drag ponies into a trance… but, only ponies.”

I blinked, unsure what she was getting at. “I… heard bits and pieces of this from the Gate Keeper already, Starswirl. I have to admit, that’s kinda really freaking cheap.”

Starswirl wiped back her mane as it finally returned to its original ‘glory’. “Yes… cheap indeed... I have one final question for you, Vinyl… do unicorns of your time know what a polymorph spell is?”

I shrugged. “Well… yeah. It’s still taught as one of the basic spells next to levitation and how to set things on fire. Why do you ca-”

...

My eyes turned into pinpricks as the pieces fell into place.

‘… but, only ponies...’

“No…oh hay no!” I tried to rattle the bars of my ‘cage’, but I forgot they were spinning rapidly so I was sent twirling backwards. I was too dizzy to stand up, so I continued to yell from the floor. “Don’t you dare touch one hair on my head you dragon loving, flank kissing, hoard worshiping, knowledge snorting, blank flanking, egg heading, puppy kicking, skin flaking, dog impaling, black and white lying, bat-winged crazy, piece of horse sh-”

But my words fell on deaf ears as, for the third time today, the world around me disappeared into blackness. Lyssa’s ‘flames’ aided in my exiting of this world, thus ending the most bizarre day of my life... so far.

The last I heard was of Starswirl cackling madly.

***^***

From the Darkness, a pair of magenta colored eyes opened. Heatless blue flames erupted from the owner’s mouth as she burst forth from the water’s surface...

… Alive

Author's Note

Howdy howdy~

There used to be a message here but it is no longer relevant. Instead of what I thought would happen, I received nothing but love. It is now permanently deleted so that I can move on with my life. Hope you enjoyed the chapter ^_^

Villain Chapter: To Be Reminded

Villain Chapter, To Be Reminded.

Hi! Long time no see! An author’s note is present at the end of this page relating to the hiatus as well as some special shout outs! But for now… please enjoy this surprise villain(?) chapter!

“… I have one final question for you, Vinyl… do unicorns of your time know what a polymorph spell is?” I asked my captive with the slightest hint of thrill in my voice.

The white mare simply shrugged the question off; her blind hatred for me was preventing her from seeing what it was that I was trying to tell her.

Her ignorance has provided me with so much joy these past few hours… -sigh-, but I suppose all good things must come to an end. It truly is a shame; with no new books for me to read, no students willing to learn in the afterlife, and Lyssa being mute on a subject I’m quite interested in, Ms. Vinyl Scratch’s leaving of this pit will signify the end of my brief respite and the return of my boredom…

…But soon I’ll have Cogwill’s mind to pick. Soon I will have access to the knowledge of an entire civilization. Soon I, Starswirl the Bearded, will possess knowledge equal to that of a god! My hoard will grow large enough to rival even an elder dragon’s, and once that happens… mehehe… well, that’s when the fun begins.

Oh… I’m getting quite ahead of my silly little self, aren’t I? I’m missing out on the bard’s reply!

“Well… yeah. It’s still taught as one of the basic spells next to levitation and how to set things on fire.” The youngling answered to the best of her pitiful abilities. “Why do you ca-”

And there it was. The ‘I just figured it out’ look.

Lyssa do I love that look.

It has been far too long since I’ve seen such a wondrous expression! The mix of shock and surprise! The pulsating of inner magic growing! The knowledge in the air… divine~

Too bad the young bard, merely a filly in my eyes, did not share in my joy. -Sigh-, thus is the way of the young and (soon to be) living. Too engrossed in the here and now to see the bigger picture… how I pity them.

The filly even had the gall to roar at me!

The nerve!

“Don’t you dare touch one hair on my head you dragon loving, flank kissing, hoard worshiping, knowledge snorting, blank flanking, egg heading, puppy kicking, skin flaking, dog impaling, black and white lying, bat-winged crazy, piece of horse sh-”

But her petty insults fell on deaf ears as I completed my spell and as my glorious god released her mighty flames. Combined, these two bursts were enough to aid young Vinyl Scratch in her goal of exiting this world, and aid in my goal of setting the gears in motion for my glorious future.

At the sight of it all, I began to laugh.

I laughed at Vinyl’s futile attempts to run away from the magic cage.

I laughed at her adamancy over ‘spiting’ me.

I laughed as I thought about all the marvelous knowledge I was about to receive.

And I laughed simply for the sake of laughing.

It felt wondrous.

Thank goodness too, because I really needed a good laugh after that! My Lyssa are ponies of this time rebellious! I made one little slip up by showing her how Cogwill dies and bam! Suddenly the whole plan crumbles! In retrospect I should have structured my presentation better… bah, it wouldn’t have mattered. I’m horrible at social events, especially ones that I myself started!

Ugh! If I had more time I bet I could have kept her on my side… but I guess I shouldn’t keep kicking myself like this. What’s done is done. If I had waited things would have gone smoother, but then the odds of Lyssa’s flame working would have shrank with each passing second… so, again, it wasn’t like I really had the time to work on something better.

Still… I’m so incredibly angry at myself.

I only had one chance here! One! I’ve used the time lapse between the land of the living and the land of the dead to my advantage by sending Vinyl only twenty four hours into the past… but now the odds of her success are minimal! I needed her cooperation on the first try for my own sake, because if she dies now… well then some other Starswirl will get to read Cogwill’s mind, and not me!

… -Sigh-

But I guess that’s the inherited problem with time travel. You’re always creating parallel universes.

If she dies now, Ms. Vinyl will be cast down into Tartarus again and run into a Starswirl who hasn’t met her yet. I have full confidence that this Starswirl will be brilliant enough to decipher the message I left for her in the bard’s inner magic network and brilliant enough to activate the reanimation time travel charm as well… but that doesn’t benefit me in the slightest!

Once more, I found that I could only sigh in response. “Oh well… at least I’ve appropriately punished that little filly for speaking out against me. That ungrateful little punk angered me so…”

… Still, she gave me something to think about. The images I showed her of Cogwill were from paralleled worlds Lyssa glimpsed at… yet the scene Vinyl showed me was from this timeline, same as the image of Cogwill’s death. How is that possible?

“What is that filly capable of doing?” I asked myself aloud. “Cogwill is destined to die this day, in this timeline, no matter what. Vinyl’s purpose is to simply change events slightly so that Cogwill’s greed flame burns before she dies, as that is all the change the laws of time travel allows without creating paradoxes… yet her presence in the land of the living can change destiny that much?! That’s just not scientifically possible!”

“Obviously, friendship is the key”

Flaring my wings out and igniting my horn, I turned around and came face to face with a bright green alicorn.

I glared at the intruder. “You would say that, you stupid bleeding heart.”

The stallion with the black mane snorted in response. “Yeah, I would. What are you going to do about it, you dragon loving bitch?”

I kicked up dust as I prepared myself to charge. “I’m going to teach you respect, that’s what, you dolt colt.”

He mimicked my actions as his feathery wings flexed. “Bring it, you intolerable mare.”

With that we lowered our heads and aimed out horns towards each other. Silence rained as we stretched out our wings…

… And then launched ourselves at each other at high speeds.

In midair, the forces of Heaven and Hell clashed as the two of us…

… Hugged~

“Clover!” I squealed as the stallion returned my embrace. “My faithful student! It’s been ever so long!”

The ancient stallion smiled back at me and chuckled. “It’s only been a month, Master Starswirl.”

I chuckled as well. “Ah yes, but while a month passes quickly with your presence, it might as well be an eternity when you’re gone!”

He returned my chuckle with an even louder chortle. “That would not be the case if you would simply try to make a friend here!”

“Oh, but I do have one!” I pouted.

Again, the stallion laughed hardily. “I mean besides Lyssa. You need someone in your afterlife to teach or to share stories with or something! I fear at this rate you will grow nuttier then you are now!”

One final time, we laughed as one before the two of us promptly separated and got down to business. As always, I allowed Clover to begin the conversation. Always clever that one; always knows the most important things to ask and when to ask them. His title in life was most fitting.

“So” My former student began. “Who was that just now?”

The obvious first question. With his connections, he probably already knows, but he asked it so he could transition the conversation towards other things. Only two steps ahead as opposed to four… I’m disappointed in him for not keeping his skills sharp.

Regardless, I answered him truthfully. “A Ms. Vinyl Scratch, Clover. She was a new resident here in Tartarus who turned out to have been an associate of Fang Cogwill’s. I assume you know who that is?”

Clover smirked. “I do now, Master. It was the whole reason you sent me on that trip to Heaven’s archives in the first place.”

I smirked right back at him, and it seemed as though the corners of Lyssa’s lips tried to do the same. “Excellent. I expected no less from you.”

Reaching into his four leaf clover branded saddle bag, Clover pulled out a small notebook which I could clearly see was full of notes. Again, I expect no less from my star pupil.

“This information was not easy to obtain.” He replied. “Her files were only just made publically accessible to ponies of my tier a few days ago, and even then a good chunk of it was either altered or removed outright and placed within the archive’s vault…”

I turned away disappointed. “I see…”

Clover trotted up to me. “Oh don’t be like that. You already know that I snuck in and got this information as well.”

I smiled warmly at him. “Ahhh… thank you, my faithful student. You surprise me again and again with your willingness to risk your spot in The Maker’s paradise for little old me.”

Clover the Clever beamed proudly. “I said I would follow you to the ends of existence and I plan to follow through with that promise until the day my spirit gives out. I wasn’t the first bearer of the element of loyalty for nothing.”

My inner greed flame flickered briefly as the knowledge of Clover’s faithfulness entered my collection. I purred as its warmth filled me with a sense of completeness. “I thank you once more, Clover… Oh, speaking of the elements; you wouldn’t believe it but I discovered that your little friend Pudding-Head’s vow is still used to this very day! Heh, I even received the chance to use it on Vinyl Scratch a moment ago!”

“Really?” Clover asked excitedly. “I don’t believe it! I thought that promise system was gone forever!”

“I did as well, but I guess my old journal must have survived all these years somehow… that’s the only explanation I have for it! It’s not like that old fat bastard ever so much as looked at a book in his life, let alone wrote anything down for future generations!”

“Hehe, well I’ll be sure to tell him this when I go back up and see him in a couple days. Oh! Speaking of my friends, how is Princess Platinum doing? Has she…?”

My head drooped as I looked away, unable to face the child. “I’m afraid her soul expired in your absence. Not that surprising, I’m afraid. She was showing signs of inner decay for the last decade or so, after all.”

This news saddened Clover greatly. “I… see. That’s truly a shame… I can only wish her good fortune in the beyond then.”

At the mere mentioning of this little tidbit of information, I leaned in expectedly towards Clover, hoping for more.

“Well… why would she need good fortune, Clover? What is ‘the beyond’? Is it another plane of existence beyond this one? Is it simply reincarnation? Come on… you can tell me, right?”

With the flare of purple magic, Clover pushed my form off himself. Without realizing it, I had clung to him during my inquiry. Using a cloth from his bag, he wiped a thick layer of my drool off his coat.

“Master…” My student replied sternly as he put away the cloth. “You know what happens once a spirit dies is strictly knowledge reserved for the angels of Heaven, such as myself. I know your whole... dragon-ism… thing makes you hungry for learning new things, but could you at least restrain yourself from interrogating me while I’m mourning?”

As we had been through this song and dance four times already, I simply shrugged off his latest attempt to ‘discipline’ me. “You can’t blame me for being curious. If I wasn’t curious then I wouldn’t have become the mightiest archmage not under Celestia’s rule. If I wasn’t curious then the field of time magic wouldn’t exist and certain feats of unicorn medical science wouldn’t be possible…”

My student finished for me. “And if you weren’t curious, then you wouldn’t have delved into black magic and wound up as what is essentially a super market level greeter for the pit of hell.”

I shot the child a glare. “I like to think of myself as an administrative assistant, thank you very much.”

Clover rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I don’t know why you make me go through this conversation every time, Master… but getting back to the subject at hoof; I have gathered all currently available information relating to this ‘Fang Cogwill’ during my stay up above. I’ve combined everything I have on her into a detailed summary that chronicles her entire life from her arrival in Equestria all the way up to her current predicament… along with a few other snippets.

“I hate to say it… but your theory about her being from another world might be correct.”

“Meheh… oh, it’s much more than a simple theory now, Clover. Enough with speculation though; please share with me what you do have.”

Together the two of us approached Lyssa’s bright burning flame just as its inner image flickered to the subject in question: Ms. Fang Cogwill, the human turned dragoness.

Using his purple magic, Clover levitated his notebook forward. “Allow me to cover a few minor points before we start in earnest. To begin, her future was not on record. As I’ve explained to you, Master, the Maker’s angels have a power similar to Lyssa’s, and with it they can see into an individual’s future.”

My horn glowed bright orange as I concentrated my attention on manipulating the flame’s image. “Yes yes, you’ve told me this already. From a creature’s point of birth, their entire life is recorded at once and put on file. Their predictions are famously wrong though, so I take little stock in them.”

I looked up at Lyssa in all her glory. “Only Lyssa can truly see what is to come, Clover, and actually make a difference.”

Clover sighed at my affection towards Lyssa, as he always does. To this day I still do not know whether his sigh is one of envy or pity; whether it be one that envies my close connection to the true god or sees it as something sick and wrong. For the sake of our friendship, however, I choose to ignore it.

“Yes, I’m aware.” My student continued. “Their predictions are not as accurate as Lyssa’s, but the point is that this ‘Cogwill’ lacks one. She simply appeared one day, and her very existence has caused many fates’ to go completely off track. Some lives have ended prematurely, some have lengthened, and a massive amount of souls have been deemed ‘unknown’ thanks to her influence.”

I mused over this data. “Quite the amazing feat for one so young, wouldn’t you agree?”

Clover grinned.

Oh no.

That’s the ‘I know more then you’ look.

Lyssa do I hate that look. That twat, Vinyl, used that same look on me not ten minutes ago.

Well… she will pay soon enough for her insolence…

… Once she is finished regenerating, that is.

“Actually” Clover began. “It is believed that hers’ is an old soul.”

“Hmmmm…” I digested this information. “Interesting… an old soul in a youthful body… the chaotic energy generated from such an inner clash would be enormous. This must be how she was able to fight Lyssa’s voice for so long…”

Clover cocked an eyebrow. “She has fought off Lyssa’s voice? When did this take place? Also, while we’re on the subject, did I overhear you correctly in that Cogwill is destined to die this day?! Please, tell me what you know, Master. There are still so many events from her life that are missing in Heaven’s archives…”

I nodded my head. “And there are many things that Lyssa was unable to see… I say that a recap is necessary for the both of us.”

Clover nodded as well. “I agree. Only a single month of her life has been recorded, yet there is still so much we do not know… let us compare notes. It will be just like old times!”

I laughed at my pupil’s enthusiasm. Despite all these years, he is still the adorable little colt I remember him being.

“Very well, let us begin!” With the flare of my horn, Lyssa’s flame became our chalkboard as we gathered what we knew.

I initiated the review. “One month ago, Lyssa summoned me away from my normal Tartarus greeting task in order to warn me about a new addition to her hoard in the form of a baby dragon. This girl was referred to as the ‘nameless one’.”

I replayed for Clover the blurred image of Cogwill: the first actual image my Queen and I had on the dragoness until recently.

Clover’s purple magic overtook my own as my student acquired control of the flame. “I remember that day all too clearly. You and the Queen were quite furious over this development, as it caused the latter discomfort, and thus you sent me to gather information in Heaven. Here is what I have.”

The flame’s image grew more and more focused until I could clearly make out the creature in question. Cogwill sat dazed in the remaining fragments of what I could only assume was her egg. Quite curious; her body is young but not as young as a hatchling’s, so some force must have aged her to this point. It aged her to the stature of a child yet Clover claims her soul is not that of a child’s… again, curious.

My student went on. “The information I am about to share it purely theoretical based off of firsthoof experiences and through gazing at estimations of certain individuals’ futures. Those who work in the archives have been desperately trying to gather as much data on this ‘Cogwill’ as they can, but their normal means of viewing an individual’s life have failed them on this subject.”

With a quick spark of magic, I summoned my own notebook and began to take notes. “Fascinating. So she is so far removed from this world that not even the powers of Heaven work properly on her… she is truly a frightening individual.”

A frown graced my apprentice’s face. “From what I’ve seen, Starswirl… she is not one to be envied.”

I took little stock in Clover’s emotional response, but I was interested in his words. “What do you mean?”

Sighing, Clover replied “From what I’ve seen, it is as though this very world has conspired against her. If your original theory holds water…”

“Which it does.” I cut him off. “But I will explain this to you later. Go on.”

“Right.” He answered. “If your original theory holds water, Master, then we can imagine that she is being treated as a foreign entity to this planet. Various creatures have unwittingly taken the role of ‘white blood cells’ and have attempted to take her life on multiple occasions in order to cleanse the ‘sickness’.”

Lyssa grunted loudly.

“Their failure angers the Queen.” I translated for Clover.

He granted Lyssa a quick glance before moving forward. “I believe it would be for the best if I started at the beginning.

“On the 27th of September, a pair of unicorn brothers, known as the Flim Flam brothers, stole the egg of a dragoness who goes by the name of Lady Crackle. The rather deformed, yet endearing mother is still unaware to this very day that the egg she currently possesses is not the one containing her future daughter, but instead a simple colored rock.”

Lyssa whimpered sadly. Her subject’s pain is her own pain, thus this Crackle’s future sorrow is also her sorrow. It brings a small tear to my own eye to see her beat herself up like this. Queen Lyssa is truly a noble creature.

“On the 1st of October” My pupil went on. “The Flim Flam brother’s returned to their home in a town called Trottingham and forcefully hatched their stolen egg.”

The scene within the fire warped and changed until the first few moments of Cogwill’s ‘life’, from the brothers’ perspective, played for us. It was a violent scene, filled with angry shouts and dreadful magic. Despite my hatred of the one Lyssa herself fears, I couldn’t help but wince every time the two unicorns electrocuted the child… they were casting that spell in the completely wrong fashion! Fools! You are supposed to aim directly at her flame sac in order to achieve the proper results, as that is the source of her magical energy!

Argh. Lord Luminaire must be rolling in his grave… or still drinking at my bar. One of the two.

“The brother’s purpose in doing this, Master, was so they could use Cogwill’s flame to power their ‘Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000’; a supposed cider machine, crafted by their hooves, that was intended to make the two rich and famous.”

“Did they succeed?” I asked.

“Not from what I’ve seen.” Clover said. “This past month only garnished them with bad luck, and their future image on record hasn’t been relevant for the past ten years. It lists them as being hard working apple farmers around this point in their lives, but this is obviously not the case. And now, both of their souls’ fates have been deemed as ‘unknown’, so I haven’t the foggiest idea as to what will happen to them.”

I scribbled a few more notes. “Duly noted. Let us move on then. So the two wished to use Cogwill, and I assume this didn’t bode well for her?”

Clover nodded his head. “Correct. She attempted to run away the first chance she received, but was instead captured by a pony by the name of Trixie Lulamoon.”

The image within Lyssa’s flame changed to that of a blue unicorn with a silver mane. We share the same coat, and her cutie mark resembles a lesser version of the one I cast aside centuries ago… she must be one of my decedents. From the moon clan or the star clan, I do not know nor care. My bloodline has long since stopped producing unicorns of interest, so why should this generation be any different?

My student went on heedlessly. “She is nothing more than a showpony who uses her magic to make meager bits. Her role in Cogwill’s life is both minor yet significant at the same time. The ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie…”

“The Great and Powerful?” I asked with a snort. “Is she an archmage worthy of a title then, Clover ‘the Clever’?” I added cheekily.

He laughed me off. “Ha! By no stretch of the imagination, Starswirl ‘the Bearded’. As I said, she is only a meager showpony barely capable of performing the spells foals of our time were trained to perform before entering formal education.”

I scoffed at this. “And she makes money off of performing basic ‘feats’? By Lyssa do I weep for the future…”

The kind stallion at my side placed a reassuring hoof on my shoulder. “Do not fear, Master: the giraffes are still making magical progress!”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, like that’s encouraging.”

Rolling his own eyes, Clover resumed. “The ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie offered Cogwill food and shelter from the Flim Flam brothers, but then later went on to sell the dragoness back to the two in exchange for a wagon for her traveling talent show. This event was recorded in the unicorn’s personal file as a strike against her possible future residence in Heaven, and from my knowledge it would take a lifetime of good deeds to rectify such a black mark… something I doubt this mare is capable of. More importantly, however, this event also devastated Cogwil greatly, as she viewed Trixie as a friend up until this point. She spent the rest of that night crying…”

“How strange.” I thought aloud.

Clover shot me a look. “I don’t see anything strange in a young lady crying, Master.”

Cursing under my breath, I fought back the urge to berate my former student for his passionate response. After all these years he still lets his sentiments get in the way of seeing the bigger picture. Still so naïve, this one.

“I am not refereeing to that, Clover. Consider this: why was Lyssa unable to see this scene?”

The colt considered my words. “Hmmmm… Lyssa sees events through a dragon’s greed flame, which burns when they are born and when they die, along with when they try to build and protect their hoards… what am I missing here, Starswirl? This event took place hours after her birth, and she was nowhere near dying, and I have no real clue what her hoard is…”

I questioned his last point. “You don’t? Is that information not kept on record up there in the archives?”

He shook his head. “It’s not something they deem as important knowledge.”

Lyssa grunted angrily at this.

Equally as angry, I shouted “Bah, a dragon’s hoard is just as important as a pony’s cutie mark or a griffon’s game preference! To not give it its proper respect is to spit in Lyssa’s face! Oooohhhh… when the day comes when Lyssa reclaims her divine kingdom, so help me there will be some changes to how those archives are kept.”

Taking a step back, my little scholar tried to keep a straight face but I could tell that my words concerned him. I’ve assured him again and again that he and his scattered friends will be warned ahead of time, but he still fears the change that will come in the far flung future… Oh well.

“Cogwill’s hoard is made of friends and family, Clover.” I told him. “If Trixie was truly her friend, then her loss would have triggered her greed flame, yet it didn’t. I wonder why this is…”

Regaining his footing, Clover suggested that “Maybe her flame didn’t develop yet? You did say that her first few images were foggy at best, despite coming from when she was born. In the same sense to how a child only discovers his or her cutie mark when they discover their talent for themselves, maybe Cogwill didn’t realize what it was she wanted to hoard until later on?”

I beamed proudly. “An excellent assumption, my faithful student! That might very well be the reasoning… yet, her soul is supposed to be older than what her body would suggest… if she were an adult, then wouldn’t she have discovered this long ago?”

Clover shrugged. “Maybe her original race lacks such a system. Maybe they lack magic in general?”

“Ha!” I laughed. “A completely magic devoid race? Oh Clover; you and your imagination… although, such a race would certainly be an interesting subject to study… Regardless, we have spent too much time on mere theories. Continue, please.”

“Of course. On her second day of life, Cogwill succeeded in running away from the Flim Flam brothers and took up shelter in Trottingham. Here, she ran into a minotaur known as Iron Will.”

My eyebrow rose. “A minotaur? In Equestria? Even before the country was named as such, such a thing was deemed a rare sight.”

My student chuckled. “It gets better. He’s apparently a motivational speaker.”

“My word!” I yelled. “H-he craves to have his voice heard? For money?! A minotaur that craves money?! Surely you’re pulling my leg, Clover?”

He laughed at my confusion. “I’m guessing you don’t get a lot of minotaurs down here then, Master? This is not a new trend: for the past 500 years the minotaur race has taken to traveling more populated stretches of land then they have in the past. It is still a rare sight, but not incredibly so anymore.”

I was still completely dazed. “Fascinating… is Lord Asterion running things differently then? Is he the cause behind such a drastic change?”

“I haven’t the slightest clue, Master. The matters of the gods remain unknown to even residents of Heaven such as me.”

I looked towards Lyssa for answers… only to receive none. She gives me so much, but remains quiet on subjects pertaining to the false gods as well as humans… it can be quite frustrating at times, but I push on through.

Stretching out my leathery wings and cracking my neck, I took a seat and asked for my student to continue.

“Certainly.” He replied. “Iron Will offered to add Cogwill to his family of goats, out of the goodness of his heart, as she claimed to have been an orphan.”

“A fact that’s not all together untrue…” I added.

“Right. She agreed, but the Flim Flam brother’s kidnapped her away again from right under Iron Will’s nose.”

“Stealing from a minotaur… these two brothers must be incredibly brave or incredibly foolish.” I noted. “Tell me more about this ‘Iron Will’, Clover.”

“Yes, Master.”

Lyssa’s flame warped and changed until the image of Cogwill and Trixie disappeared, and a baby minotaur took their place.

“Iron Will was orphaned at a young age.” Clover went on. “He was constantly bounced around from foster home to foster home until he reached his teen years. Most of his adopted families were ponies who didn’t know how to properly raise a minotaur, so they constantly tried to force the young calf to go against his very nature. Some families abused him, some smothered him with love… all were inadequate parenting techniques for raising such a creature. He is famously known for having an anger problem, which is theorized to have originated from such an upbringing.”

The flame’s image changed to that of a dark blue, teen minotaur with a horrendously bad case of acne.

“… When he reached his teen years, Iron Will left his current foster family and took to doing what all minotaurs do at such an age: travel. He roamed the countryside for many years in solitude, and what little interactions he had with others only served to fuel his short temper…”

Changing one final time, the flame displayed the image of a tall, adult minotaur with fully grown horns. This man was surrounded by a large collection of goats.

“… After ten years of travel, a rather complex event took place that resulted in the minotaur finally settling down and becoming one of the many sons of a sentient goat named Amalthea. Together with his new sisters and brothers, Iron Will continued his travels in order to impart his wisdom of how ‘To be Heard’ to both young minotaurs and ponies alike.”

Bah… hearing such a remarkable feat always makes me envious of the living. The world has changed so much in my absence… I would love to see it someday with my own eyes.

But I’m rambling. “What is this minotaur’s current status then?”

“Oh, well after Cogwill’s kidnapping, Iron Will looked for the dragoness nonstop for three days before giving up the search and moving on to the next town over. To this day he still performs his shows…” Clover then grinned. “But he ends each show by asking the crowd if any of them just so happened to have spotted a certain green scaled hatchling. With his adamancy over it and the range at which he travels, I’d find it surprising if the two of them weren’t reunited at some point!”

I quickly shot down Clover’s zest. “If she survives, that is.”

Clover’s face drooped. “Ah… yes, that’s true. The Seapony War… it’s a curious event that has been prophesied for many years now, yet Heaven’s sages never knew when it would take place; how it would start, and what would be the ultimate result. I wonder if it was simply bad luck on our part or destiny that dragged Cogwill into this event… but nonetheless, from what I’ve seen of her character, I pray for the dragoness’ continued existence.”

“And I pray for her to give into her greed before her life is extinguished.” I stated bluntly. “Despite what I told to that filly earlier, I’m not a betting mare. The odds of her success are minimal at best, thus I wish to have access to her mind before it is too late.”

The stallion looked frustrated. “I remember you being a bit more caring then this, Starswirl.”

Huffing, I replied “Oh, I’m still the caring master of the arcana as you remember me being, Clover… but when something bothers Lyssa it bothers me… Surely you understand?”

He looked away. “Yeah yeah… I suppose I understand… but while we’re on the subject what did you tell that filly from earlier? More importantly, where is Ms. Vinyl Scratch now?”

Lyssa’s face twisted itself into a grand grin, and I felt my own face twist to match hers.

“We sent her back to the land of the living!” I stated proudly.

Understandably, my former apprentice was shocked.

“I-I was unaware that Lyssa possessed such a power.”

“Clover, Clover, Clover…” I chimed happily. “What was one of the first lessons of magic that I ever taught you? ‘Loopholes are your greatest weapon!’ Lyssa has the power to return pieces of a dragon’s hoard to them in times of crisis, have I not told you of this?”

Clover shuffled in place. “Y-yes, you did… but I was unaware the same could be done to, well, ponies.”

Using my wings, I shrugged. “I can only assume that the process is unbearably painful, but it still gets the job done. Ms. Vinyl Scratch should be approximately twenty-four hours into the past by now; right where her corpse originally fell.”

“I assume this was not done out of the goodness of your heart.” Clover questioned yet not.

“Hehe, no. Of course not. I did it so…”

Gargle

…Well, that turned my face red. Stupid spirit body with its need for food…

I blushed. “Hehe… c-care to join me upstairs in the bar? We can continue this over lunch.”

Clover only smirked. “I think I’ll just stick to that lovely tea you serve up there. I haven’t had the need to eat for a long time.”

I groaned. “Yeah, rub it in some more why don’t you, my ‘faithful’ student…”

***^***

Smacking my lips expectantly, my mouth couldn’t help but water as I looked at the feast laid out before me. Without a moment’s hesitation, I dug in.

My student couldn’t seem to stop shaking his head in response. “Must you eat meat in front of me, Starswirl?”

With a quick spell, I cleaned my face and answered while making sure my fangs were clearly on display. “I’m telling you, Clover, it is something you should try someday… once you let Lyssa ‘fix’ your insides, that is.”

The stallion continued to shake his head. “I don’t think I could look at my bovine friends again if I did such a thing.”

I grumbled. “The odds of this particular bovine being related to and or an acquaintance of one of your friends is astronomical, my student. Even if he was, he should have known better then to demand free service in my bar.”

Clover still seemed disappointed in my actions. Tiredly, I sighed and added “I give him the chance to apologize every time his respawns, yet he hasn’t accepted it yet. Once he does, I’ll send him on his way. Happy?”

Groaning loudly, Clover was most certainly not happy. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore! Why did you send Vinyl Scratch back to both the land of the living and back in time? Sending her back in time isn’t that crazy to believe, due to the time lapse between the two realms... hay, even I get sent back in time during my sanctioned visits to that realm!

“So, again, the time travel bits aren’t that crazy, Master... the ‘resurrecting the dead’ parts, however, most certainly are. Care to explain?”

I took another bite of my meal before replying “I’m afraid it will be hard to explain without using Lyssa’s flame. In the meantime, please keep filling me in on what has transpired up to this point and I’ll share my half later.”

“… -Sigh-. Fine fine. Let me think... Cogwill had just been recaptured by the Flim Flam brothers, correct?”

“Yes, sounds about right.”

“Good. That means we are at the point where the three of them started traveling together. The dragoness was chained and bound to the inside of the twos’ contraption, thus she was unable to interact with anyone else during this time. This made things easier for me research-wise, as it meant I only had to keep tabs on the two unicorn brothers.”

“Are the two of any worth knowing?” I asked around my latest bite.

“Not in the slightest on any realm to which a soul might be judged.” Clover responded quickly and potently. He’s letting his emotions control him again. I’d criticize him, but that would mean I’d have to acknowledge my behavior towards the young bard from earlier. The further I can keep the conversation away from her, the better.

“They’re despicable ponies unfit for further research, Starswirl. I am not speaking from the heart on this either; I am simply relating the thoughts and feelings those ‘graced’ with their presence have shared on the subject. A one ‘Mrs. Blue Night’ was quite adamant about speaking negatively about them during the interview I had with her earlier this morning.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine fine; they’re terrible ponies. Please move along.”

Clover blushed before moving on. “R-right. The two of them, with dragon in tow, traveled across Equestria in search for quick success and profits. However, they were turned down at every corner. It is currently fall in the land of the living, you see, thus cider is not in season and thus nopony was interested in their machine. They might experience more success in the spring or summer… but I digress. Only two stops during their travels were significant…”

“A trip to The Nursery and Manehatten.” I interrupted.

I took a swig of my drink as Clover stood surprised. “Well… yes. How did you know this, Master?”

“Cogwill’s flame burned during the trip to The Nursery.” I answered as I set my cup back down. “A changeling known as Legion attacked her and threatened to kill her. She was close to death, thus her flame burned. It was the very first time we were able to clearly see her… yet her mind was too full of fear, and later grief, for us to properly make use of the moment.”

The stallion across the table made a couple notes in his own journal. “I… see. Well yes, The Nursery fiasco presented an interesting opportunity for Heaven’s sages. Through Legion’s judging, we received the first clear image of Cogwill’s character ourselves… and to this day we still don’t know what to make of it. She murdered a changeling; a race famously known for being literal Tartarus spawn. They are incapable of being anything more than mindless killing machines and those who break away from the mold, such as this ‘Legion’, rarely go on to becoming upstanding souls… yet Cogwill wept for Legion. She wept for the woman who was about to kill her without a moment’s hesitation. The verdict keeps changing on a daily basis… but for now Cogwill’s newly created file marks this incident as simply ‘an accident’.”

“Next.”

“What? But Master…”

“Next, Clover.” I demanded a bit more forcefully. “Her ‘character’ is irrelevant. What I need is a clue; anything at all that seems out of the ordinary that could give me a hint as to how her race works. Need I remind you that this was the point of your little fieldtrip, not whether or not she is a good or bad dragon?”

“… Ms. Vinyl Scratch did something that upset you, didn’t she?”

Clover’s sudden question caught me off guard and nearly caused me to chock on my latest morsel. Maybe he’s not as out of practice as I originally thought…

“…” I sighed. “You’re just as astute as ever, Clover. I grant you this victory.”

He bowed to me. “Thank you, Master.”

“Yes… Ms. Vinyl Scratch proved to be a frustrating pony. She went on about wanting to ‘protect’ her friend from me! The nerve!”

“… You told her that you didn’t care about the dragoness, didn’t you?”

“… Possibly, but I fail to see why that would be relevant.”

Once more, I found the stallion’s hoof on my shoulder. “And this is why my friends and I were capable of defeating the Windigos while you were not. You always were clueless on how to act around others. Heh, let me guess: you still rely on that dusty old checklist when you go about your ‘greeting’ job, right?”

“… Part 1: Greet Pony. Part 2: Take Pony to Bar. Part 3: Zone out Pony’s sob story. Part 4: Bid them farewell and never speak to them again… its worked out so far for me, Clover, so I don’t see any reason in deviating from it.”

“… Hehe, Master? I know that nopony has said this to you for centuries… but you’re kind of a silly filly.”

As I felt my cheeks heat up, I huffed and turned away. “W-whatever. So yes, Ms. Vinyl Scratch said and showed me some things that I did not agree with. With that out of the way, let us move on to the Manehatten incident.”

Fighting dreadfully hard not to start laughing there and then, Clover replied “Sure thing Starswi-… wait, showed? She showed you something? Like, with Lyssa’s flame? Master… may I ask what this wa-”

“No you may not!” I roared.

He reared back. “Okay okay! J-just lay off the scary-as-all-get-out-skeletal-face thingy, please. You know how much that thing creeps me out…”

I felt the skin reapply itself to my face as I calmed myself. Sometimes this colt infuriates me…

Clearing his throat, Clover once more continued. “The day before Nightmare Night, the event that replaced Terror Night one thousand years ago, the brothers and dragon attempted to ‘hit it big’ in Manehatten: the current third largest city on the planet after Canterlot and Prance. Nothing of interest happened until later that day, when the brothers left the machine unguarded for a couple of minutes. During this time, the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 was stolen by a pair of delinquents with Cogwill still inside. Eventually being chased off by a police officer, the machine and Cogwill were both left abandoned in an alleyway as the thieves galloped off. Cogwill was left alone for hours after that, so not much is known about what happened during this time.

“The significant event happened around the evening of that day, Master, when the machine was discovered by three children; a pegasus colt named Key Lime, a unicorn colt named Lock Smith, and, most importantly, a young griffon named Nathan De La Griffon. The griffon was forced into this situation against his will, and was in fact kidnapped off the street by the two other children.”

“Goodness… I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: Lyssa do I weep for the future.”

Using his wing instead of his horn, Clover took a sip of his herbal tea. Just one of his many odd habits. “Yes, I agree that the two colts were most certainly little bastards, but the griffon child is surprisingly well behaved and most certainly a kind soul.”

This surprised me. “You gathered information on a random griffon child? Why? Is he someone of interest relating to Cogwill?"

“If her hoard is truly made of friends and family…” Clover answered. “Then Nathan De La Griffon could be considered one of the crown jewels of her collection. I’m quite surprise that you don’t know him, actually.”

At the comment, I stopped my gorging and sat back in order to think. “Hmmmm… I don’t know who is a part of Cogwill’s hoard. I didn’t even know Ms. Vinyl was her friend until she told me herself! I can’t recall seeing a griffon in any of the few instances where Cogwill’s flame burned… but those few cases only lasted for a brief second or were too blurry to make anything out… I do recall two instances where she used Lyssa’s strength to threaten others not to mess with her hoard… oh! Wait! Now I remember! She shouted something about this Nathan while partially under the influence of greed growth! So this griffon was this ‘Nathan’ then?”

“Yes… but, interestingly enough, before meeting this child in Manehattan, Cogwill actually referred to herself aloud as ‘Nathan’ at one point.”

“… What?”

“I was confused myself, Master. It was earlier on, on the day she hatched. Flim heard her speaking to herself in passing a couple of times before him and his brother levitated her towards themselves. The foolish unicorn ignored every syllable he heard; mentally filing it as simply ‘noise’, but nonetheless this was still one of the extremely rare instances where Heaven’s sages were able to hear Cogwill talking to herself. As I’ve said, it’s currently impossible to watch her directly, and the brother’s preferred to keep her behind a soundproof wall for most of her life, so for the longest time the sage’s and I took to re-watching old events, such as this, in order to find anything we could use.”

“Soooo…” I questioned as I mentally tried to piece together what Clover was trying to tell me myself. “She called herself Nathan? That’s a rather masculine name for a someone, even a supposed alien, to have… are you sure she was not simply speaking about someone el-”

Clover cut me off. “Yes. I’m quite sure, because the conversation she was having involved her asking herself what the female variations of the name in question were.”

“And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean, Clover?”

Clover grinned. “It means that she was trying to give herself a new name. She even specifically started asking herself ‘what would a good female dragon name be?’ The final juicy bit, however, took place only a minute earlier when Flim asked aloud ‘why does the dragon have wings’ to which his brother answered ‘because it’s a girl.’

“Cogwill’s response was shock at the discovery that she was a she. Shock, Master, that I can only assume stemmed from the fact that she was not a she.”

“… Are you seriously trying to tell me that she is a he, Clover? Please tell me you’re joking.”

Using his hooves, Clover tried to ‘wave’ the accusation away. “Nothing of the sort! I’m simply telling you what it is that I discovered. I even have this recording from Trixie Lulumoon’s memories that backs this theory up. During their night together, Cogwill told Trixie about her day up to that point, along with her thoughts and feelings on certain events. Some of it was heavily modified to mute out certain things she said… but during her retelling, Cogwill referred to herself as a boy.”

“Wait… she herself said that she was a boy?! Well that changes everything!”

“No, she was lying, Master. I was simply sharing these odd tidbits with you, not trying to convince you that her words were true.”

“What? How do you know that she’s lying? We know so little about this dragoness as is… what form of insanity drives you to claim that what little she admits of herself is false, Clover?”

“Simple.” My student replied nonchalantly. “Because it was a lie.”

Clover then directed my attention to his chestnut eyes. “I, along with all the sages, have seen the truth.”

With a quick blink Clover’s eyes went from chestnut to bright red, and I then instantly knew the meaning behind his words.

“… Oh. I see. So her soul is pink then?”

Clover nodded his head. “Her soul is pink, and that’s all we can really tell. She hasn’t come across anyone capable of seeing her soul’s true form yet, and the odds of her doing so, let alone anypony else’s odds, are laughably low, so we’re not holding our breaths on receiving a better reading anytime soon.”

With another blink the color of Clover’s eyes returned to their chestnut hue as he dismissed his celestial vision. Quite an interesting gift to have; the power to see souls. It’s reserved for the goddesses and those who live in Heaven, but cases have popped up over the centuries of mortals possessing these eyes as well. I once conducted research on the subject in life and concluded that the only way one could ever truly hope to obtain these eyes was from an overexposure to spiritual energy.

... It was amazing how many ponies relocated their homes over the gate to Tartarus after I made that information public.

Sadly though, their efforts were for not, as even being so close to the gate was not enough to trigger such a thing. Residents of Tartarus, such as myself, are not capable of acquiring those eyes either. Only a mortal or an angel is capable of gaining that power…

… Or a filly that was once dead but now is alive again…

… Oh dear.

“Starswirl?” My faithful student called out. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

I shook my head to clear my mind of the haze it had just entered. “Oh… oh nothing, Clover. I was just realizing that I may or may not have granted a filly super powers, that’s all.”

Clover laughed good heartedly. “Don’t you just hate it when that happens? Let me guess: Ms. Vinyl Scratch again?”

“But of course… but it’s only a theory. It would be interesting if she did gain the power in question though, as then she would be able to confirm the state of Cogwill’s soul for us. Lyssa lacks eyes, so the gift of celestial vision is lost on her…”

The stallion raised an eyebrow. “You’re… speaking about when Vinyl dies again, right? She’ll be able to share with us what she saw once she dies again… right? Please tell me this is what you’re referring to…”

I replied with the toothiest of grins. “Maybe… maybe not~”

“… Master… please at least tell me that Ms. Vinyl is still a pony.”

“Well… I won’t tell you that she’s not a pony. Will that work?”

“… Master… -sigh-. Never mind. So, this Nathan De La Griffon then…”

As Clover returned to the main subject of discussion, I lifted my drink to my lips. “Yes, what about him?”

“His files are god tier.”

And thus my tea was sent jettisoning out of my mouth at high speeds as I performed a quite impressive spit take.

“WHAT?!” I yelled at the top of my lungs, drawing attention from the other tables around us. “He’s… I… w-WHAT?!”

Wiping away his now tea drenched face, Clover elaborated. “Yes… I reacted much the same way. From what I’ve gathered he’s not a god by any definition… yet his files are treated as such. I don’t know the reasoning behind this, but nevertheless it made keeping track of what happened to Cogwill during her time in Manehatten extremely hard. I had to rely on a second source in order to continue my research.”

I was still in complete shock. “A god tier file for a young griffon… Who in Lyssa’s name is this boy?”

“He’s Nathan De La Griffon, Master. He’s part of the ‘De La Griffon’ blood line, which contains only two notable members as of this time period; Triiodide De La Griffon and Frostwing De La Griffon, both of whom are loyal subjects to Princess Silphe. Triiodid is the boy’s father as well as a weapons scientist for the Plaines Empire, and Frostwing is the boy’s aunt as well as captain of Princess Silphe’s Crimson Eagles. Both are remarkable griffons, both have a fair amount of enemies, and both have had their files in Heaven tampered with.”

Well… there’s a feeling I haven’t experience in centuries: my head spinning. “I was unaware it was even possible to tamper with Heaven’s archives.”

“It’s not, Master. Only a goddess is capable of doing such a thing, thus I’m lead to believe that Silphe herself is responsible for this. She’s been known to visit Heaven frequently ever since Queen Gaia disappeared nine hundred years ago, so it’s not too farfetched. That one always was paranoid that the other celestial beings were out to get her…”

“You’re getting off topic.” I had to remind Clover. “Please return to the subject of this griffon child. He has piqued my interests.”

“Oh… certainly, Master. As I was saying the child is part of an interesting, if almost dead, blood line which has had a long standing tradition of serving the royal family of plains’ creatures.”

“And the child, the latest in this line, was in Celestia’s kingdom of Equestria instead of the Silphe’s kingdom of Lemuria?” I asked. “That does not make sense.”

“His father relocated him in order to solve a bullying problem… with mixed results.” Clover admitted.

“And… how, exactly, do you know this, Clover? I thought you said his files were god tier.”

“Oh, they are, and his father’s files are currently under inspection due to the aforementioned tampering… but Zhar-Pititsa De La Griffon is one of the few residents of Heaven who has access to his files, so I simply interviewed her for the information.”

“And she is…?”

“The boy’s mother, long since dead. From Heaven she continues to watch over her son, thus she is knowledgeable about his current activities. It was through her that I continued to learn about Cogwill’s exploits, starting with her fated meeting with Nathan.”

Hmmm… so the boy lost his mother… a sad, yet all too common, occurrence. It’s one of the rare few cases of suffering that I can relate with, even though I didn’t even know my own mother… but that is irrelevant.

“Well then, tell me about this ‘fated meeting’, Clover.”

“Of course. The boy’s mother provided me with the status of both Cogwill and Nathan at the same time, as the former was responsible for saving her son, thus she felt compelled to watch over her as well. The two colts I mentioned earlier shoved the griffon into the brothers’ machine, which they thought was a dumpster at the time, in order to forcefully remove a birthmark from the griffon’s ‘flank’ as they, in their boyish youth, felt that it looked like a cutie mark thus ‘improper’ in their eyes.

“Cogwill, while still hanging from the wall, felt it necessary to intervene during this exchange and stop the event from happening outright. Her actions saved the griffon from harm and, after much convincing from her side, the two became fast friends.

“Destiny was a cruel mistress, however, as the Flim Flam brothers found the machine only moments later. With Cogwill’s aid, the griffon escaped harm a second time, but had to leave the dragoness behind as a result.”

“I assume he came back then.” I guessed. “It would match up with the timeline, after all.”

“Yes he did return, Master, and brought hell with him.”

I groaned. “I rather hate that expression. Why must it always be ‘hell’? Why must Tartarus always be considered the worst possible place in existence? I’ve worked hard make this place civil, damn it!”

Clover laughed. “Fine fine. How about vengeance? Can we say that he brought vengeance with him?”

“That would be much better.”

“Okay then. So, bringing vengeance with him, the griffon returned in order to save Cogwill. Mrs. Pititsa went on and on over how brave he was, so I don’t know the exact details of what transpired. All I really gathered from the brothers’ memories is that Flam chased the two of them over rooftops, but I’m unsure how exactly they escaped. The point though is that, for the first time in over four weeks, Cogwill was free.

“… But that’s when her true trials started.”

“It’s also when her greed flame began to develop.” I added. “I guess this marks Nathan as her first true friend, as he was the first thing she collected.”

“She doesn’t view people as things though, Starswirl.” Clover was quick to remind.

I disregarded his statement. “How she views them doesn’t matter. What does matter is that Lyssa and I were now able to see her more often thanks to this.”

“Right… anyways, after the rescuing, Nathan opened his home to Cogwill and the two promptly recuperated. They shared stories, ate, and Nathan offered an ear for Cogwill’s pain, similarly to how she lent an ear for him. Beyond breaking down into tears again over killing Legion, she also told the child a fabricated story about having lived with Iron Will for years before being kidnapped by the Flim Flam brothers.”

Finally finishing my meal, I began to stack my numerous plates with my orange magic. “So even with her first friend, Cogwill resorted to lying in order to hide her true origins. Clover, you’re more of an expert in the field of ‘friendship’ then me, so tell me, is this behavior unusual at all?”

“Not at all.” The first expert of the ‘magic’ (and I use that term loosely) of friendship responded. “It’s quite common for one to lie about themselves in order to prevent hurting others, and this is equally as true in friend making. Princess Platinum did it all the time to me, and you tend to slip up every now and then yourself, Starswirl.”

I was offended. “I do not! I have been nothing but honest and truthful since the day we’ve met!”

“Then what about Ms. Vinyl Scratch then?”

“I didn’t lie to her! I was honest and truthful with her the entire time.”

“I was referring to how your words and actions tend to contradict each other, Master. That in itself is another form of lying.”

“… Hmmmm… I guess I never thought of it like that… I’m not going to change anytime soon, however. Continue, please.”

“Sure… the two children’s’ rest was cut short by the arrival of Nathan’s landlord, who came demanding rent. Upon learning that his father had not paid his apartment’s rent for that month, the griffon feared for the worst. He feared that something was about to, or had already, happened to his father, thus the griffon started making plans to travel. He was planning on taking a boat to Prance, the largest city in Lemuria, in order to then get in contact with his aunt over the situation.

“Even though she didn’t fully understand the situation, Cogwill was adamant about following Nathan to Prance. She said she wanted to thank him in some way for saving him, so making sure he arrived in Prance safe and soundly seemed logical to her. Something to note; her original reason for following along was due to the fact that Nathan was a child, and she was an ‘adult’. She apparently thought of herself as a dragon of twenty one years of life instead of eleven, and apparently this misconception was brought about by a book titled…”

“How to properly care for your Dragon companion for foals.” I finished for Clover. “Oh please don’t tell me the blackest scar on my record is still in existence…”

“I’m afraid so, Master.”

I banged my head on the table. “Ugh! How was I supposed to know that landwyrms had limbs up until their teen years, which doesn't start until their thirty?! Argh! Stupid landwyrms…”

Biting back an obvious laugh, Clover tried to return to the topic.

“H-heh..." -Snort- "A-anyways; this could be her true age then, unless she was lying again, but I don’t see the purpose in doing such a thing. Back to the event: reluctantly, Nathan agreed to Cogwill accompanying him and the two went about preparing for the trip.

“It was also during these preparations where Cogwill told Nathan to call her ‘Cog’. This was the first time she shared her name with anyone and the first time I, along with Heaven’s sages, could refer to her by a name instead of just as ‘that anomaly’… although we’re the only ones who call her by her name. Most of the lower tiers of angels still don’t even know she exists, which I personally find deplorable. One the greatest anomalies in our soul cycle and only a dozen or so of us even know about it?! Ridiculous!”

“Hahah!” I chimed. “I thought you were used to that feeling by now, Clover! It took you years to convince the high councils that your method for exterminating Windigos was legitimate, remember?”

Banging his own head on the table, Clover groaned. “Why did you have to remind me of that? I still get a migraine every time I think about it. If Celestia didn’t have that change of heart when she did…”

This time, it was my hoof that found purchase on Clover’s shoulder. “The past is the past, my faithful student. Unless you’re considering studying my ancient time travel school of magic, I suggest that let what happened happen and move on.”

“Well then stop bringing it up then!” He retorted.

“Hehe, I’ll stop when you stop being adorable when flustered~”

Blushing wildly, Clover tried to change the subject by getting back on track. “T-the rest of Cogwill’s stay in Manehatten was spent at Nathan’s side. The two of them helped each other out at every turn until they made it to the Manehatten docks… where the Flim Flam brothers were waiting for them.

“Thankfully, because it was Nightmare Night, the two children were disguised and thus safe from the brothers’ wandering eyes. Using their bits, Cogwill and Nathan managed to bribe a stallion in exchange for safe passage aboard the only ship leaving the docks that night: the S.S. Luna Returner. Due to a series of unlucky occurrences, however, the two were forced to retreat from their purchased hiding spot. During their retreat they were spotted by the brothers and trapped into an alleyway.”

I nodded my head. “Yes, I actually recall a bit of this. Cogwill’s greed flame burned with the desire of protecting her hoard during the resulting fight. It only lasted a second, but it was enough for the Queen and I to see where she was and enough for us to read the overlaying thoughts on her mind; thoughts that simply designated where she was and what she was currently doing… but nothing else. It was truly disappointing, as this was the last time she was ignorant of what the flame in her heart actually was. Once Emeraldgrey explained the nature of the flame to her the next day, she somehow gained the power to block her mind from Lyssa’s eyes…”

Clover looked confused. “Emeraldgrey? Crackle’s former mate? At what point did Cogwill meet her father, Master?”

“On the S.S. Luna Returner, my good stallion. Please tell me you researched him along with everyone else…”

He looked away. “N-no, I didn’t actually. I didn’t know that they met! When could that have taken plac-… wait. There was a point in which she went into the ship’s basement where the sages and I couldn’t watch her anymore… are you telling me that Emeraldgrey was down there?!”

I clicked my tongue in disapproval. “Clover… I’m disappointed in you. You seem to be slipping in your ‘old’ age. Ms. Vinyl Scratch was down in the basement during that conversation as well, I saw this in from Emeraldgrey’s eyes. You could have simply looked through her eyes as well in order to see what took place for yourself.”

Clover groaned loudly. “Ugh! I used that filly’s memories three times in my research and I didn’t think to look any further then the kitchen incident?!” Our table was then assaulted with Clover’s ancient head banging against the equally ancient conjured wood. “Stupid, stupid stupid!”

Lifting a hoof to my mouth, I held back a chuckle. “I hate to make things worse, Clover, but you just admitted to knowing about Ms. Vinyl Scratch ahead of time.”

Stopping his assault for a brief second, Clover’s eyes widened before he dived back into his attack. “Argh! Stupid…”

“Hehe… don’t worry. I frankly don’t care if you knew her or not, only that you give me any research you conducted on her while you were in Heaven.”

“… -Sigh-. I suppose that is only fair. Should we continue this back in Abaddom, where we can use Lyssa’s flame?”

“Yes, that sounds like an excellent plan… after desert.”

“What? But, Master…”

I wagged my hoof. “Uh uh uh. Remember the second rule of magic, Clover. Don’t get in between a mare and her pie.”

“…”

“… Okay, I’ll admit it’s more of the rule of the world then it is of magic, but that doesn’t make it any less true.”

***^***

I patted my belly contently as I fluttered down into Lyssa’s pit with Clover by my side.

“I can’t believe I ate the whole thing…”

“You’re a pig.” Clover commented.

I smacked my lips noisily. “Hmmm… pig… maybe I should have some ham next time…”

Clover facehoofed. “Oh for the love of…”

My fangs were once more put on display as I smirked towards my student. “I’m telling you, Clover, the griffons have the right idea.”

An angry grunt from Clover shut me up. Rude… but I guess there’s only so much a namby-pamby angel can take. Ignoring my pupil’s growing annoyance, I quickly fluttered up to Lyssa’s giant mouth and reached into my saddle bag with my magic.

I levitated the remaining slice of my pie towards her. “Her you go, my Queen. Sorry it’s not cake.”

Hurriedly, the mighty Queen of Draconics devoured the treat and roared happily. This brought a smile to my face as I flapped back down to Clover’s side.

Once again, Clover only stared at Lyssa for a brief second before shaking his head, thus ridding himself of whatever thoughts he was preoccupied with.

“Master, I’m sorry for being rude but I’d like for us to hurry this up. It has been almost an hour and so far I’ve been the only one sharing anything. I don’t know when I’ll be suddenly summoned back to Heaven in preparation for the outcome of the Seapony War…”

With the swish of my horn, I brought forth a variety of red flames into existence for the two of us to use.

“I agree; this is not fair for you, Clover. You’re just as interested in Cogwill as I am, and it’s not fair that you have not had the chance to learn as much as I have so far. Please, use Lyssa’s flame here to finish retelling the Manehatten incident. From there, I should be able to share my fair share of what happened for your benefit.”

With the flash of purple magic, the ball of flame between my student and myself warped and changed until it became large enough for the both of us to peer into it.

“There’s not much else to say about her time in Manehatten, Starswirl. The result of the fight was Cogwill and Nathan being victorious over the brothers, and after that they were successful in getting aboard the S.S. Luna Returner as well. Once the two landed on the ship, however, they were instantly discovered by Ms. Vinyl Scratch, and from there by the whole ship. They were quickly put to work after their discovery, in order to work off the debt of their trip. Quite against the norm, the two children agreed to go through the hard labor. This is just another little tidbit that points towards the possibility of Cogwill’s soul being older and wiser than one would think.

“During her time on this ship, Cogwill made four friends.”

Twinkletwinkle

With the use of magic, Lyssa’s flame displayed the images of four ponies; Ms. Vinyl Scratch, a blue furred pegasus (who I can only assume was this ‘Mrs. Blue Night’ mentioned earlier) mare, a red furred unicorn stallion, and lastly a second white furred unicorn mare.

This last mare looked incredibly familiar.

“My word.” I remarked. “The one with the diamond array cutie mark looks a lot like the late Princess Platinum. Is she her descendent?”

There was a pause before Clover answered. I made sure to make note of this.

“… It’s… a possibility.” He finally admitted. He then stared at the mare’s image longingly before sighing and continuing. I made sure to make note of this as well. “… Anyways, this unicorn, this ‘Rarity’, is actually one of the current bearers of harmony; Generosity specifically.”

“Generosity…” I muttered to myself.

Something then clicked in my mind.

“Wait…”

This time with my own magic, I brought forth my own ball of flame and lengthened it into a decent size. Once it was finished shifting, I closed my eyes and searched through Lyssa’s massive memory library with my mind.

Peering into Lyssa’s mind is like peering into the sun itself. It burns the unprepared, destroying their very soul in the process. However, as her faithful student, I have the Queen’s permission to be here and thus protection against the horrors that lie within. Once one is protected against the blinding walls and intense spiritual pressure, they then run into the second obstacle that's designed to challenge fellow seekers of knowledge, such as myself…

… It’s too bloody big!

Without the gentle push of Lyssa’s magic guiding me, I’d fear to be lost within this labyrinth until the end of time itself. Not even a minotaur would be able to navigate this endless realm… which is truly a shame. Lyssa’s knowledge of humans must be in here somewhere, but to travel off the beaten path would be suicide.

Thus I followed along loyally as I was directed to the memory I was seeking. Once I found what I was looking for, a quick spark of magic returned me to the land of the waking, and from there I made quick work of displaying the scene trapped within the memory for my student’s benefit.

The image was quite fuzzy, due to the nature of Cogwill’s flame during its recording, but one could make out the blurred images of a fish-like pony and two white unicorns, so it got the job done.

“… Oh do not try to hide it, dragon; I can smell your magic upon these two, as well as on this griffon and a little filly. The filly was of no importance to me, but this griffon is quite interesting. He possesses much more magic then his kind is known for, something that resembles Celestia’s magic brandings, and he stinks of the smell of magical Generosity… Sadly, this is not as impressive as it should be, for this aroma emanates from these two unicorns as well. The filly stinks of it as well, but it is only minor in comparison. Because of this, I'm lead to believe that one of these two is the bearer… It’s quite simple, little Cog. Your hoard is powerful. Too powerful. Not even an elder among your kind possesses a greed flame as powerful as yours. Not only that, but it shines with the light of the elements as well! That’s not something you can easily duplicate, especially the smell. The only way any of this could be possible is if you were connected to an element in some way, such as being his or her friend… You've already admitted to having a hoard made of ponies, lizard, so it's not that unbelievable that you are the bearer's friend. Just as you added her to your hoard, so too did the bearer of the element take advantage of you, dragon. One of these two ponies funneled their power into those connected to you and successfully cloaked themselves. Quite clever, I'll admit… Whether it was intentional or not it does not matter; what matters is that, without your knowledge, your hoard became one with the element of Generosity, little one, and led us here… We owe you a debt, Cog; simply point out the true element of Generosity amongst these two, and you get to keep her."

As I mused over this scene and glanced back at Clover’s own image, the stallion by my side stared into the flame with a look of shock.

“Was… was that the seapony Princess’s voice, Starswirl?”

I paid Clover’s question little mind as I kept fiddling around with my own image. I made slight adjustments until the two white smears (presumably the unicorns) were centered in the middle of the flame. I compared my image with Clover’s back to back… and confirmed that these were, in fact, the same ponies, minus the pegasus and the stallion.

“Hmmm… that would explain why her greed flame died during this conversation… Clover? Is Cogwill friends with any other griffon, or was the Princess referring to Nathan?”

Caught completely off guard, my faithful student had to once again shake himself out of his stupor before he could respond.

“Huh? Wha? Oh… no, Master. I believe that Nathan is her only griffon friend, so this woman’s words are probably referring to him… You haven’t answered me. Is this woman the seapony Princess, Starswirl?”

I shrugged. “Possibly… I don’t really know nor care. I believe she called herself ‘Diamrem’ or the likes, but I don’t recall seaponies ever having a Princess; only a Queen. Is this information relevant to you?”

“I’d say it’s relevant!” Clover suddenly bellowed. “Heaven’s sages have been going absolutely nuts trying to find a way to look into this event, yet here you are showing it to me as if it’s no big deal! If Lyssa would only share these memories with me, we cou-”

“RRRRRRROOOOOAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

“AHHH!”

Quickly springing to action, I launched myself into the air and between Lyssa and the cowering Clover. I gave the former a sympathetic look.

“Lyssa… please forgive this sinner. He knows not what he does.”

Lyssa grunted loudly before allowing the chains that bind her to go slack. I then fluttered next to Clover’s shaking form.

I sat down beside him and began to stroke his mane. “Oh Clover. Silly, silly Clover. How many times must I tell you that the Queen doesn’t share? Besides, what would the sages actually do if they were to receive these images?”

Clover remained silent.

I beamed at him as I patted him on the head with a hoof. “That’s correct! Absolutely nothing! Those stupid bureaucrats would simply file the information away and use it only when the event is good and over with. You know what Lyssa would do though, Clover? Using their flames, she would drive her people forward in glorious war in order to change destiny! So, do you still think that Lyssa should share?”

The stallion honestly thought about it for the briefest of seconds before Lyssa snorted loudly, thus releasing a thick stream of black smoke. Clover cringed at the sight and hurriedly replied. “Okay okay! I get it! I won’t ask anymore…”

I beamed at him proudly. “Good boy. Now… was there anything else important you needed to share with me then concerning Cogwill?”

Getting back to his hooves, Clover scratched his chin. “Hmmmm… well, not that I can really think of. Cogwill spent most of her time on the ship either with herself or with Mrs. Blue night… but nothing of interest really took place between the two. She taught her how to fly, but that was about it. That is not to say that Mrs. Blue wasn’t important to her, however. Quite the opposite, actually; Mrs. Blue was very near and dear to Cogwill’s heart, and her resulting anger over her death was understandable. Interestingly enough, ever since she died a thick blanket of spiritual fog has covered the entire ship, making it impossible for even the sages and myself to see what’s going on. I guess one could say that her death was what started the Seapony War…”

Stretching out her massive wings, Lyssa roared mightily as a result of Clover’s words.

“She is furious over Cogwill’s inability to protect her hoard.” I once again translated for the still shivering stallion.

“That’s… rather cruel, Master.”

…

… This foolish child.

This stupid foolish child.

“No, it’s not cruel.” I spat as my voice grew with my anger. “What is cruel, my naïve student, is that Lyssa is being denied something. The Queen, who has done more for this world then you and I could ever hope to comprehend, is being denied what is rightfully hers. She has changed unfavorable fates, she has foreseen disastrous futures, and she has ended the lives of dictators before they even began, with Celestia being the only notable exception… And yet, after all she’s done, after all the love she gives, she is chained up for her ‘crimes’?! No, Clover, I do not view Lyssa’s treatment of Cogwill as ‘cruel’; I view Cogwill’s treatment of Lyssa as cruel! Why must she deny the Queen her proper dues?! Why must she hog her hoard for herself and fail to defend it properly?!

“Why must her mind be so delectable, yet so far out of reach?!”

“… I’m done here.”

At the sudden change of tone, my anger all but ceased. “I-I’m sorry, what?”

Clover stretched out his wings. “I said I’m done. I’m sorry, Master, but your behavior on the subject has been less then appropriate. This has gone way beyond simple curiosity to full blown obsession, and I swore to you I would never aid you in your obsessions under fear for your soul. I already lost you once; I’m not going to lose you again.”

I remained quiet.

“Starswirl… you know I love you like a mother, but you have a habit of being easily obsessed over things, and once you become obsessed with something you quickly disregard your morals in order to better pursue whatever the hay it is. It’s the whole reason you’re here in Tartarus in the first place; to be punished for the horrible crimes you committed while under the influence of obsession. You were never supposed to discover Lyssa, nor intended to make this place livable, and certainly not supposed to turn half dragon. You were supposed to learn from your mistakes, Starswirl, so that when your soul dies…”

Suddenly, Clover’s lips became sealed with the glow of yellow magic. After struggling for a moment or two, the magic subsided and Clover was once more able to speak.

“…”

… But he chose not to.

I answered for him. “The beyond?

He nodded. “The beyond. I am physically incapable of speaking about it, but please trust me when I tell you that the path you’re currently on will only lead you to despair.”

I snorted, finding his accusation laughable. “The only despair I’m going to feel is when Cogwill dies and the mysteries of the human race are forever lost with her.”

“Master! Take what I’m saying seriousl- … wait. What was that about humans?”

My eyes sparkled, momentarily forgetting Clover’s earlier claims. “Cogwill revealed her race only this morning, and its one I’ve never even heard of! Isn’t that wonderful? New knowledge to consume!

“Unless… they are a secret kept by Heaven’s sages, such as the beyond.” I accused my student.

He groaned loudly. “Quit trying to derail my speech, Master! I’m being serious here! Also, no, humans aren’t some big secret. They aren’t anything to my knowledge, as this is the first I’ve ever heard of them myself.”

“Oh but they are something, my faithful student.” I smiled happily. “Lyssa herself refuses to talk about them. She’s hiding them from me, thus I am led to believe that they are real.”

“But I’ve never even seen a human before, Starswirl.” Clover shouted angrily. “Thus there is no possible way they can be real! I’ve seen every race on this planet, and beyond, during my afterlife, and so have you!”

“… Do you dare second guess me, colt?”

Still shouting angrily, Clover pointed an accusing hoof at me.

“See?! This is what I’m talking about! You blame me for being emotional, yet here you are with a bee in your bonnet over me simply pointing out the facts!”

“DO YOU NOT SEE WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT?!” I roared with the very power of Lyssa coursing through me. He was threatening my theories! Mine. “NEED I REMIND YOU WHO IS MASTER AND WHO IS STUDENT HERE?!”

He dares to question my knowledge. Mine… strike him dow-

Clover’s voice snapped me out of my greed rage. “There! You see?! You’re listening to Lyssa’s voice right now, aren’t you?! Told you to strike me down again, didn’t she?!”

Despite the blaze of my inner greed flame consuming my very being, I couldn’t help but blush. “M-MAYBE…”

“Don’t try to deny it! You’re eyes are all split and dragon-y; that’s your tell right there! Here…”

On the ground between us, Clover threw down his notebook.

“Read this if you want any more information on Cogwill. I’ll just wait and watch as things unfold from Heaven like everypony else. But before I go, tell me what you did with Vinyl Scratch. Don't think you can hide anything from The Maker's eyes simply because you're trapped here, Master.”

My glare intensified. “You want to know? Fine, I’ll tell you. I trapped her in a spatial loop and warped her body beyond recognition. I doomed her to relive this event over and over again until the end of time. I sentenced her to hell. There! That’s what you wanted me to say, right?! RIGHT?!”

“… Someday, Starswirl… you’re going to wake up, and not like who you see in the mirror.”

He then took to the air…

“Good bye, Master…”

And left me with Lyssa.

…

I reached out for the notebook with a skeletal hoof, just as the skin started reapplying itself.

…

… Stupid Clover. My knowledge is not faulty. Lyssa is not false. My actions are just…

…

… Let’s see what else that dolt colt kept in this thing.

With the twinkling of my orange magic, I sat down and began to read through his report.

An encounter with Ms. Vinyl Scratch… playing dress up with Rarity… singing… all of this is irrelevant. It appears as though Clover only truly paid attention to the moments Cogwill’s life where she was happy… I can’t use any of this.

The Cogwill Lyssa and I watched through her greed flame, the one filled with draconic rage and such righteous passion, is the one we need. Happy Cogwill doesn’t tell us anything, but devastated Cogwill tells us everything. Her race, her goals, her future... but the most ‘happy’ Cogwill has ever given us is indigestion.

A nun… a stupid nun. A black dress, white coif, glasses wearing nun: commonly known to steward orphanages created and funded by Celestia herself.

… Lyssa I hate nuns.

Only more reason to hate Cogwill as well.

Hate the one who’s going to steal Lyssa’s subjects from her. Hate the one who argues with Lyssa. Hate the one who Lyssa fears…

… I cannot possibly fathom Clover’s defense of this creature.

…

Bah. Enough with this. I need to get down to business.

I know exactly where she is now, and thanks to Clover I now know how she got to this point. Two days on a boat was enough to convince her to defend it with her life on the third day, where she came face to face with ‘Princess Diamrem’ and her goal to flood the world for her supposed army of seaponies.

With greed flame flickering on and off, Cogwill showed us everything but her mind told us nothing. She used Lyssa’s strength to slaughter and rend in the name of her hoard, but refused to give us her mind. And then finally, with her hoard completely devoid of anything for her Queen, Cogwill used her flame to greed growth into a true dragon and continue her rage…

… While still blocking her mind from us, somehow.

Grrrrr…

Now… I can only rely on Vinyl Scratch. I have to rely on that stupid bard to give me the answers I seek…

… Oh, speaking of, it should be about that time.

Show time.

“Lyssa…” I called for my Queen. “I believe it is time for us to watch the fireworks~” I remarked with a genuine smile.

“RRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOAAAARRRRRHHHHHHH!!!!!”

As happy as can be, Lyssa, in her infinite wisdom, summoned for me five orbs of fire to my side. Personal flames from my Master… truly I am blessed.

Burning brightly in a red flame, the five mirrors into the land of the living began to glow and change their hues for me in a glorious display.

One ball of red turned into a bright orange flame. Within, I could clearly see one of Lyssa’s true children: Emeraldgrey of the Everfree. His greed flame is burning as he draws closer to death.

The second ball of flame transitioned from red to emerald green as a young hatchling appeared. Not a dragon but instead a sea serpent, I looked as the child struggled as he found himself on dry land. How curious… but Lyssa knows best so I chose to not question it.

The third flame turned dark brown, and within its blaze stood the treacherous Cogwill. Unlike the others, her flame’s image stood stock-still and lacked the illusion of motion. This is the last image we have of her before she allowed the greed flame to consume her and before the second, unknown power stole our ability to see her away. Once this image moves again, Lyssa and I shall be in business.

Purple became the color of the fourth red flame. Inside, an equally purple dragon child sat sick in bed as his green flames escaped his every breath.

“Odd… why this one, Lyssa?” I bravely questioned the Queen.

“RRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!”

Though it may sound like noise to a lesser being, Lyssa has just assured me that this child’s mind will be just as important in the coming times. I nodded my head. “I understand, my Queen.”

As the four flames spun around me, I looked towards the fifth and final ball of fire expectantly. This one must belong to none other than…

Flapflapflap

The sound of feathery wings flapping. Its sound distracted me, and drew my attention away from the flame. Clover had returned.

“What is it now?” I spat. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”

Clover’s face drooped. “That’s just the greed flame talking, Starswirl… but I guess you honestly don’t care anymore. I’ve come back to say goodbye.”

“Ha!” I shouted. “It’s a bit redundant to return in order to say goodbye, Clover. Wouldn’t you agree?”

As he landed, Clover kept his wings unfolded and ready, as if ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. “Yes, it is, but I have no choice. I thought I would be here for at least a couple of days… but I’ve already been called back to Heaven. I wanted to stick around, in order to speak with you again once you had calmed down, but I guess I will have to wait until the next full moon in order to make the transit between the two realms again. Hopefully, you can find it in your heart to forgive me for my outburst.”

“Bah!” I cried. “Like I even care anymore. Off with you! Leave me to my future studies… not that you truly care.”

Angrily, I brought my attention back to the fifth flame as its color began to change.

“… Okay.” Clover finally answered. “I’ll go now. But please understand, Master, I do care about your theories, I just don’t care for your methods.”

Narrowing my eyes, I gave the fifth flame my full attention as it took on a shade of dark blue.

“… -Sigh-. Goodbye, Starswirl.

Shuffleshuffle

The sound of wings preparing to take off.

Shizzle.

The sound of the fifth flame settling, and the inner image taking shape.

Clover spoke one final time. “Oh… and one last thing, Master?”

“… Yes? What is it?” I replied quickly, still not looking at him.

“… There is one other race that acts similarly to humans.”

My head turned around so fast that it threatened to spin right off my neck. Damn it Clover… you always know how to catch my attention.

Despite this, I tried to maintain me posture. “Well… go on. Spit it out.”

Clover looked me in the eyes. “There is one other race that lacks a presence in both Heaven and Hell; whose existence has systematically been erased from the archives by various goddesses for as long as I can remember.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I witnessed the complete transformation of the fifth flame into a dark blue window. I turned my head to look at it fully as I asked Clover. “And that race would be…?”

I could tell from his tone of voice that he was smiling.

“The Draconequis.”

I turned back to Clover, confirmed that he was smiling…

… And then sat forward once more, smiling myself.

“Interesting…” I admitted as I stared at the creature within the flame.

…The white dragoness within the flame.

“How very interesting.”

And thus A Cog in the Machine continued

Author's Note

Aiovas is now an honorary pre-reader!

Outside of that, let me give a shout out to dmkamikazee of deviantART for the images of Cogwill and the new cover art!

Also, please give some love to my friend Sorrow872 for the cute picture of baby landwyrm Vinyl Scratch (Oops. Um... spoiler?)! Make sure to visit his tumblr, Ask Straight Jacket, as well and remember to bombard his mailbox with follows. I COMMAND YOU!

That said… I hope to see you all again soon!

-ManlyDerp Out.

P.S. Oh, and one final point that wasn’t covered that well in the story: Starswirl was born, raised, and died during a point in pony history where Equestria wasn’t named as such until around her hay days (no pun intended). During her life, the three races still lived in disharmony and were still ruled over by their separate leaders (Clover’s future friends and future element bearers) … but Celestia and Luna were ALSO in a position of power during this time as well. How, you many ask? Well that isn’t relevant to the current storyline, so it wasn’t covered. In the future we will cover this more in depth, and explain why Starswirl hates Celestia so much (and why she still has her own wing in Canterlot, despite this hatred) but, again, it’s not important right now. Patience, young grasshopper. You’ve been good for almost three months, so you can at least wait a bit longer… right?

… Right?

… I love you.

Chapter 10: To Be Heard... Part 1 of ???

…

…

…

“… I dig my hole, you build a wall.”

…

“… I dig my hole, you build a wall.”

…

“… One day that wall is gonna fall~

“Gon’ build that city on a hill.”

...

“… Gon’ build that city on a hill.”

…

“…Some day those tears are gonna spill~

“So build that wall and build it strong ‘cause we’ll be there before too long.

“… Gon’ build that wall up to the sky…”

Within a land of perpetual white, a young girl continues to weep

***^***

…

…

…

... Okay… it’s time for me to finally admit something about myself… something so horrific yet such an integral part of who I am as a pony that I’ve refused to even acknowledge it until now.

I really don’t want to say it… but I need to get this secret off my chest right now if I’m to move forward and become a better mare. It's holding me back… but I can’t let this secret control me anymore!

And that secret…

Is the fact…

That I’m… I’m…

… Wow… this is going to be harder than I thought.

… But I can’t back down now. I need to do this for myself.

Okay… deep breath…

-Inhale-

I’m…

I’m…

… an out of control party animal.

There! I said it! Shocking, I know! I, Vinyl Prudence Scratch; the friendless DJ star who has poor table manners and a habit of being impulsive, am not perfect! There’s your plot twist for today, folks. You can go home now.

…

… Anyways, I have a partying problem. I seriously need help. I don’t really drink, even though I try to, but regardless of what I do during the party I still wake up the next morning in a weird situation! Only rarely do I actually remember what happens! I’ve woken everywhere from Cloudsdale to Prince Blueblood’s couch… I even woke up at the bottom of a well once!

I’ve woken up in weird situations so many times that I’ve made up a little game for it. It’s nothing special, just a point tracking game. Using some guidelines, I tally up the stuff that’s going on around me and see if I’ve broken my ‘high score’ or not.

Now you’d think the whole waking up dead thing would be number one (or waking up on fire in Tartarus… whatever your definition of ‘incredibly weird’ is), but, newsflash, its only number two on my score sheet!

Number one is reserved for this one time I woke up in a fancy hotel in Neighpon dressed up like a schoolfilly and decked out with, like, ten katanas. None of them looked used, thank goodness, but they did still have price tags on them. Octy was still my friend at the time and somehow she got roped into the ‘party’ as well, although she was dressed up like a schoolcolt instead of a filly and instead of swords she had scythes. The room we wound up in was a wreck, with scratch marks everywhere (all of which were caused by Octy’s ‘toys’, not mine), and the only other thing worth mentioning is the fact that the five heads of the diamond dog yakuza were bound and tied to chairs in that very same room.

… My one wish in the entire world is to one day be able to remember what happened that night in its entirety. I can only imagine that it was really freaking sweet.

‘I can take a look into your mind and tell you what exactly transpired myself, Vinyl… if you want, that is.’

…

…

… So, anyhow, I think it’s only fitting to rate my current situation like I did those. Speaking honestly, I think it’s safe to say that we may have a new champion here.

‘… So was that a yes or a no?’

…

…

… Let’s see now. Waking up underwater? That’s worth fifty points.

‘Bard…’

Discovered that my knees were bending the wrong way? That’s worth ten points.

‘Ms. Scratch…’

Started the ‘morning’ by panicking and flailing around for a bit? Humph, nothing special there. Five points.

‘Vinyl, Scratch…’

Learned that my hooves were now claws? That’s a new one… twenty points seems appropriate.

‘Quit ignoring me!’

Breathed fire when I broke the water’s surface? … Hmmmm… ten points, no question.

‘… This point system of yours is nonsensical, bard.’

…

…

-Sigh-

…Waking up with the disembodied voice of an ancient crazy (and crazy ancient) archmage in my head? Five points.

‘A normal pony would have placed that higher.’

“Shut the ever-loving feather up, Starswirl!”

The voice that echoed throughout the innards of my mind huffed angrily in response.

‘There’s no need to shout,’ Starswirl tried to argue.

“There’s plenty of reason to shout, bitch!”

‘There’s also no need to be so hostile towards me! I’m only trying to help you here, you ungrateful little filly!’

“Yeah, some help you’ve been!” I retorted viciously. “All you’ve done so far is give me a freaking migraine! Stop talking to me already and just leave me alone. Let the dead stay dead, I always say!”

‘You’ve never said anything like that in your entire life! I should know… I looked at it myself! Besides, need I remind you that you were dead as well not even thirty minutes ago? You’re welcome, by the way.’

My left eye twitched.

“A-are you seriously trying to get a thank you out of me?!”

‘Well… yes. That seems like a common gesture one would give to another if the other, well, resurrected them… wouldn’t you agree?’

“… In any other situation, yes, I would have to agree… but!”

I could tell from her little grunts that Starswirl just winced as a result of my words. She knows what’s about to come… good.

I continued my assault. “But, my dear Swirly, that train of thought brings me to my final mark on my score card; the last little point that completely and utterly destroys my old high score and any chance you had for me being grateful!

“Because, after all… waking up in the belly of a sea serpent?! WELL THAT’S FREAKING PRICELESS!!”

Priceless!

Priceless.

Price…

The sound of my words reverberating off the cavernous (and moist) walls of the sea serpent’s inner gut. What I can only describe as ‘slime’ continued to leak from the ceiling as my words began to die down. The sounds of the serpent’s groans and the sound of the sea splashing against his torso picked up once more as I was once again made fearfully aware of how much trouble I was actually in. As I sat back down on the squishy ‘floor’ of my new hellhole, my eyes glanced over the green lake of stomach acid that lied before me. Bubbles grew and popped along its surface and each burst sphere caused this already nasty environment to become just a tad more unbearable as a toxic stank was released into the already dwindling air supply.

I growled angrily at the sight of it all.

Starswirl laughed nervously.

‘At least he’s not underwater,’ she tried to add cheerfully. ‘At least you haven’t drowned yet!’

“…”

‘…’

The old mare finally sighed.

‘Vinyl… I’m truly sorry. I really should have considered asking you how you died before ever attempting to revive you. If I had known that the seaponies killed you by drowning you I would have never resurrected you in the first place! A young, tasty looking, unguarded dead pony corpse at the bottom of the sea? Of course someserpent is going to eat it!’

Wham!

‘... I don’t know if you heard that or not, but if you did, please take heart in the fact that it was me facedesking over my own stupidity. I even went through the trouble of conjuring up a desk just for the occasion!

‘… Are we even now?’

In the face of Starswirl’s actually sincere sounding apology, I continued to pout crossly with my new wimpy arms crossed over each other to further highlight said anger. Attempting to distract myself with something, I opted to stare into my makeshift campfire, which I had created earlier by combining a bunch of random, undigested junk into a nice and neat little pile… and then proceeded to breathe fire on them.

With my blue firebreath.

Which I totally have now.

For reals.

‘… Speaking of fire breathing,’ my tormentor began to ask. ‘How’s the new body treating you? Any issues? Pains? I didn’t accidentally put one bone where it wasn’t supposed to be again, did I?’

At the question (or more specifically at the using of the word ‘again’), I decided to stand up and give myself another once over… just to be safe.

Let’s see; stubby little legs, massive tail, white scales instead of white fur, fangs instead of teeth, dark blue spines, light blue belly, no magic horn on my forehead, and, of course, claws… it’s safe to say that I’m no longer a unicorn.

Not even a pony.

Instead… I’m now a dragon.

I’m… a dragon.

…

DJ Dr4g0n… hehe, I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t somewhat cool.

… But…

“Oh, it’s working just fine,” I finally answered while running a claw through my thankfully still intact mane. “I can’t even hear the seaponies’ song now, and I think these scales were what saved me from the stomach acid I woke up in… but why in Celestia’s good name did you make me a baby dragon?!”

I stomped my (admittedly adorable) new stubby clawed foot down on the soggy ground to emphasize my ire. Starswirl turned me into the spitting image of Cogy! It’s like I’m a little filly again, complete with a blank flank!

‘Oh don’t fret,’ Starswirl replied, reading my thoughts (I really hate it when she does that). ‘Your cutie mark isn’t gone forever. It has simply been transfigured into an artificial greed flame that I can use to keep tabs on you and to also speak to you as we are doing right now... it also gives me access to your mind and memories in the same fashion as it does with a normal draconic.’

“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. I want you… to stay the hell out of my mind!”

‘Fine fine… There was nothing of interest in here anyways.’

“Hey!”

‘I’m only speaking the truth!’ Starswirl snapped. ‘Be grateful I’m speaking to you at all! Lyssa has graced me with the opportunity to speak to you in her place, because you are my creation, so do not squander this gift by directing your frustration at me.’

“Well can you freaking help me then?!” I tried to demand. “Can you convince this guy to spit me out or something?!”

‘Well… no. I lack the power to speak to any other draconic besides you. Only Lyssa can do that and even then, for her to whisper into his ear, the serpent’s greed flame would need to be burning…’

“Well then you’re useless,” I stated bluntly, finally having enough. “Just shut up already so I can die in peace… again.”

It seemed Starswirl finally had enough of me herself, and began to yell for (in my opinion) no good reason.

‘Oh by Lyssa’s scales why are you still so angry at me?! I apologized for my folly! Get over it already!’

“…”

I narrowed my eyes.

“… Hell… no.”

‘Bu-’

“Hell, freaking, no.” I proclaimed proudly. “I’m never going to forgive you, Starswirl. Never. I’m not just talking about the whole stuck in a monster’s belly thing, or the surprise species transformation, or even the age regression… seriously a baby dragon? Seriously? Screw you…

“… I’m getting off track. Like I was saying… no, I’m never going to forgive you simply because of one thing you did, Swirly. Just one, simple, little, thing.”

‘… And what, dare I ask, is that?’

“…”

-Sniff-

“Y-you tricked me into thinking I could actually make a difference,” I answered with tears in my eyes. Lifting up my shades (which I mercifully now had again) I wiped these small droplets away with a clenched fist. “T-the truth is I can’t do jack, can I?”

‘I… don’t believe I ever said you stood a chance here, bard. This isn’t something you can blame me for.’

“Yes it is!” I barked. “You wanted me to save Cogy, and I wanted to save my friend… but I can’t even do that now! Can’t use magic, can’t get out of this belly… and even if I did… even if I did save Cogy from herself, there would have been more sea serpents like this one and even more seaponies to deal with. W-we… we were all meant to die in the end… so why did I ever think that things would work out for me…”

‘…’

Starswirl remained quiet after that. I thought at first that she was finally acknowledging my wish for peace and quiet…

… But then she replied to me.

Replied to me… in my voice.

In DJ Pon-3’s voice.

‘I’ll save that ship by myself if I have to~!’

“W-what?”

‘I’ll make sure Cogy never listens to Lyssa again~’

“… Stop that.”

‘I, won’t, die this time. I’ll live on instead~’

“I said stop it!”

‘No.’

“Bu-”

‘Hell, freaking, no… I believe that is how you said it, is it not? Well… whatever. Look here, bard; these were the words you spewed at me in my own home, back when you were trying to ‘save’ your little friend from me. By my perspective that event took place yesterday, but from yours it only happened a half hour ago… what has changed between now and then? What has sapped away that strength you once held?’

“…” Curled up into a ball, with my chin resting on my knees, I asked “Why do you even care?”

‘I care, bard, because, like it or not, we are partners now. You being useless does Lyssa and I no good… and it certainly doesn’t help Cogwill at all either, wouldn’t you agree?’

“… Stop trying to use her like some kind of ‘bait’ for me. It’s… just not right.”

‘Would you prefer I use Octavia instead then?’

“Don’t you dare!”

‘Fine, I won’t, only if you pick your stupid self up again and move forward.’

“Leave me alone! I can’t do anything in here!”

‘Oh, but that’s you thinking with your silly little pony head. Your silly little negativity spewing pony head. At least pretend that your words were true and maybe, just maybe, you’ll start to actually try to follow through on your empty promises.’

“… They weren’t empty.”

‘I’m sorry, what was that? I’m afraid I don’t speak quitter.’

“I… I said that I wasn’t lying when I said those things,” I muttered weakly, unsure myself.

‘Really now? From what I’ve seen so far, bard, I find that highly unlikely.’

“B-but… but I really did mean what I said,” I repeated, more for my own sake then Starswirl’s. “I-I want to make a difference! I don’t want to lose another friend…”

‘Then I’ll ask you again, what has changed?’

“…”

‘You were already fully aware of what you were up against when you made those vows; you threw your whole heart into your words… now that you’ve been given the chance, you instantly crumble under the pressure! Why?’

“… J-just… just take the stupid answer out of my mind or something.”

‘I want to hear it from the pony’s mouth. At least give me that.’

“… I-I… I-I-I’m…”

…

…

I tightened my hold on myself as I began to shake.

“... I-I’m scared, alright?! I’m so freakishly scared right now…

“I’m scared of dying again,

“Of feeling pain,

“Of being tortured,

“Of losing another friend,

“Of being left alone,

“O-of being useless…

“O-o-of… of…”

-Sniff-

“… Of failing.”

‘… Ah. I see. So doing nothing will result in a happy ending for you, is that it? No guilt, no pain, no blame… must be nice to live in a dream.’

“S-shut up… Starswirl.”

‘Nothing ventured, nothing lost. Am I right?’

“I said shu-”

‘I’m going to play you like a lyre now, okay?’

“… W-what?”

‘Like a harp… I’m going to play your heart like one. Just thought I would give you a heads up. Only seemed fair.’

I placed my claws over my new fin shaped ‘ears’. “I don’t want to hear it.”

‘Oh no! You have defeated my ability to speak into your mind by covering up your ears! Whatever shall I do?’

“…”

‘Now… let us begin. Do you know who else ‘didn’t do anything’, Vinyl?’

“…”

‘Oh sure, please keep up that little act of yours. I can tell that you’re listening. Now… do you know who else did nothing while others suffered? A man named Spectrum Apple. Do you know who that is?’

“…”

‘Thought so. Vinyl… Spectrum Apple is a farmer in a little town called Horseton. He’s from your time era, so don’t fret; I’m not giving you a history lesson on top of an emotional whipping. Lord knows you dread history lessons… along with every other subject in school… but I digress.’

“…”

‘Hehe… How do you know about this pony, oh wise and powerful Starswirl? Well I’m glad you asked, my faithful student! There is a dragon, named Norbert, who rests within a hole in the mountain south of the village. His eyes see far and wide and, thus, so do mine. Mr. Spectrum is a hard working member of the apple family, whose ancestors were famous farmers even in my time. Now… care to guess why I’m telling you this?’

“…”

‘Oh, so very very close, but I’m afraid you are incorrect. Bard… Mr. Spectrum, along with all of Horseton, were greeted with the arrival of two ponies and their unusual machine. I now know these two, as do you, as the Flim Flam brothers.’

My ears perked.

‘Interested now, are we? Well, those two ‘fine’ brothers tried to sell apple cider to that town no less than a week ago.’

“… W-was… was Cogy in their machine at the time?”

‘Yes… she was… and Mr. Spectrum knew.’

My eyes widened.

‘Granted, he didn’t know it was a baby dragon right away, but it was one of his hypotheses. Through Norbert’s ears, I heard his many educated guesses, and a baby dragon was one of them.

‘Yet… Spectrum chose to do nothing and instead focused on preserving his own way of life… how does that make you feel, Vinyl? Someone else suffered because one person didn’t want to get involved. Personally, I don’t have any strong feelings what so ever on the subject… but you do though, don’t you?’

“… I… I…”

…

Lifting my claws up, I used these new ‘fingers’ of mine to take off my shades. Once they were in front of me, I simply stared into the purple lenses and reflected on happier days… days where the world actually made sense to me and where the hardest thing I ever had to deal with was my crippling friendlexia. No fighting, no pain, no soul searching, no tears… no friends… only wild parties and sweet music.

… Was the really only yesterday? It feels like a lifetime ago…

“… T-two days ago, Starswirl, I never knew evil ponies existed. I thought ponies were these, like, perfect little creatures. We could be jerks, like how our ancestors used to call nonponies ‘talkers’, but that was about it.

“But… then I learned about the Flim Flam brothers from Cogy, then my own experience with them, and then Captain Grey threatened to throw two kids overboard because they weren’t listening to him… and, finally, I met you.”

‘Hey!’

“I’m just speaking my mind! Sorry if I speak the truth by accident!”

‘…’

I began to rotate my shades around in my grip as I gathered my thoughts. “… What I’m trying to say though… is that my whole world view has been shattered so many times within the last twenty four hours that it’s not even funny. I didn’t think ponies could be evil, I didn’t think Heaven and Hell were actual places or that there were other gods besides Celestia and Luna! Hell… I didn’t even think aliens were real until one of my only friends turned out to be one!”

‘… So, you’re saying that the reason you’re weak is because you can’t handle change? Is that it?’

I stopped playing with my shades.

“N-no, it’s not like that at all,” I started to argue… but I then cut myself off when I realized that I don’t actually understand what’s wrong with me either!

I made a vow to save lives, even though I’m just a DJ.

I swore to become a better mare, even though I haven’t the foggiest of ideas where I would even begin on that goal.

I spat in a god’s face for a friend, even though I’ve only known her for a day!

I… don’t know how to feel.

E-everything… everything is just moving so quickly… too quickly.

And that scares the crap out of me.

…

“… Change,” I finally answered, returning my shades to my empty forehead. “I-I’m afraid of change, Starswirl,”

From the resulting silence, it was easy to imagine a look of confusion on the cobalt unicorn’s face.

I decided to elaborate. “I-I’m scared of change. I wanted to change, but now I’m scared by how fast everything has already changed. I’m no longer the same, my friend is no longer the same in my eyes, and even you have changed in the small amount of time I’ve known you! From a friend to a bitch…”

‘…’

“… That speedy change scares me more than the killer seaponies and the demonic sea serpents… even though both are pretty bucking scary in their own rights. That’s my ultimate fear, Starswirl; I’m afraid that all these changes are going to reveal something about myself that I don’t want to see. Like… something wrong or evil that will make it harder for me to like myself…

“… H-heh… I guess I just want the same thing Cogy wants; the ability to like yourself despite your… ‘quirks’. Hers being the whole dragon thing… and mine about being a lousy friend at times… okay most of the time. So, I guess what I’m trying to say is the less light shed on my own faults the better. I don’t want to get to the point where I hate what I see in the mirror.”

‘…’

“There… that’s my answer, Starswirl. I tried to save the day, saw what it actually entitled… and chose to break down because there was nothing I could actually do. Now I’m just wallowing in self-pity… please leave me alone, Swirly. I want to take what little time I have left here on this planet to repent and maybe increase my chances of entering Heaven this time around… I really hope I don’t get the same Gate Keeper.”

‘… You’re thinking too far ahead, bard. Your sense of self, your spiritual karma levels, the possibility of death… these are the things you worry about after you actually do something productive, not before.’

I scowled at her for this… despite that being impossible due to the distance between us. Why can’t Starswirl just leave me alone?!

‘Now’s not the time to be afraid of the future,’ she went on, possibly ignoring my thoughts for once. ‘Now’s the time to actually do something both for yourself and for others such as myself and your friend.

‘Something… like, say… escape this serpent’s belly and continue your ‘quest’?’

...

…

… WHAT?!

At the sudden suggestion I jumped to my feet… only to then plop down to all fours. I’ll bother with learning how to walk on two legs later.

“Y-you have a way out of here?!” I shouted happily… but then I thought about it a little longer.

“… There’s an actual way out of here… and you’ve been hogging it to yourself this whole time while I’ve been pouring my heart out for you?! What, the, hell?!”

‘If you want to view it that way… yes. I did just that.’ Starswirl admitted in her usual ‘high and mighty’ fashion. ‘I withheld information from you, like I’ve done multiple times already, simply because I didn’t want to release uncooperative deadweight into the wild. I’ll tell you how to leave… but I need a new vow from you, Vinyl; one where you promise to move forward no matter what.

‘In my time… vows were something to be treasured; something to hold on to and to always uphold. You did many things to anger me thus far, bard… but your callous disrespect of something I hold near and dear was what truly sent me over the edge. Thus, I want a real vow out of you this time to replace the ludicrous ones you made using Puddinghead’s promise. If these new vows turn out to be as empty as the last ones… well… you quit on me and I’ll quit on you… seems fair, wouldn’t you agree?’

“… You… just want me to actually try?”

‘Correct. Success or failure… I care not for the outcome at this point. What I hate most are ponies who refuse to even try; who are held back by fear or moral dilemmas when what they wish to accomplish can benefit more people than they could possibly imagine. So, that said, what I’m truly asking from you, Vinyl… is to have a little courage. At least try and maybe… you’ll accomplish your goal instead of mine. Who’s to say what will happen? Lyssa can’t see what’s to come anymore, so the future is in your hooves now… or claws, as it were.

‘Now then… what will you do, filly? Cry… or fight?’

“…”

I looked down at my claw…

… Then clenched it.

“… Can you promise me that I’ll at least make it back to the ship?”

‘Hmmm… I believe I can promise you that much at least… but understand this, bard; I cannot guarantee your safety. As long as your greed flame burns like it’s doing now, I promise to give you my guidance to at least the point where you are reunited with Cogwill. Getting to that point and what happens afterwards… well, that all depends on you.

‘But, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Am I right?’

“…”

My fist shook with the force of my slowly growing resolve. I’m still scared… so unbelievably scared… but…

“… Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I… I have to at least try!”

Starswirl’s tone of voice suggested that a big old grin was now plastered to her ancient face.

‘That’s what I wanted to hear! I still hate you with a fiery passion, bard, but what kind of teacher would I be if I didn’t crack a smile whenever my student showed progress? Now, with all this mushy friendship junk out of the way… stick your claw into your azure campfire and let’s get moving!’

“…”

My eyebrow rose.

“… Wha?”

‘… I said stick your claw into your campfire so that we can proceed… what part of that didn’t you understand?’

“Oh… the burning my claw off part! Seriously! The hell?!”

‘…’

Starswirl chuckled.

‘… Ohohoho, I see. You haven’t noticed it yet, have you Vinyl…’

“Noticed what?” I asked, thoroughly confused… well more so than usual, at least.

‘Haven’t you noticed how cold it is in that belly… despite you being so close… to a burning fire?’

… Wha? What’s that supposed to mea-

!!!

Oh my Celestia, wait! T-that… that could mean…!

With both my curiosity and sense of hope peaked, I turned to face my blue flame campfire. Shakily, I moved my claw closer to the open flame… and discovered that, although it’s been giving me light, it hasn’t been giving me heat! It’s not fire!

‘Direct your attention to your back.’

Assured now that Starswirl was telling me useful things for once, I complied and looked at my new spiny back. I followed the dark blue spines all the way from my shoulder blades to the tip of my tail… where my unicorn horn now was?!

The dots were finally starting to connect in my head. “I… don’t have wings, but I do have a horn for a tail… which… which means…”

Again, Starswirl laughed.

‘I didn’t change you into a baby dragon, Vinyl… I turned you into a magic using landwyrm! The two look similar, don’t they? You even share the title of ‘dragoness’ with them. I often got baby dragons and young landwyrms mixed up in life but now I can easily identify the two down to a subatomic level! Perfect for transfiguration!’

“…”

For what felt like the first time in a long time, a smile creased my lips.

“I… I can use my magic again?!”

‘Yes, you can… may I get a ‘thank you’ now?’

I beamed happily.

“Hell no!”

‘…’

“Sorry, but I’m sticking by my morals! Now… let me guess…”

Burning with newfound confidence, my fear all but gone, I shot my claw forward into the bright blue flame and felt… power.

My power.

Pulling it back, I watched as my claw was engulfed in the bright blue glow of familiar magic. Scanning my eyes around, I found a piece of debris, concentrated on it…

… T-twink… twink… twinkletwinkletwinkl…

… And watched it get carried away with cerulean colored telekinesis! I’m back, baby!

‘Now you’re getting it. Horntail equals prepubescent atmosphere magic filter, claws equal twin magic mediums… simple concepts to grasp, even for you, yes?’

“Shut up, Starswirl… I-I’m not going to lose my arms like those landwyrms from the bar did, am I?”

‘Unless you somehow manage to use the equivalent of thirty years’ worth of scale and bone deteriorating magic on them during the course of my spell’s lifespan… no.’

Phew…

‘Are you ready now, bard?’

Huh? “R-ready for what?”

‘Are you ready to leave? You’re going to need to wink out of here.’

“What?! B-b-but…”

‘But I suck royal flank at that spell~!’ My voice was once again imitated. ‘That’s what you were going to say, correct? Ha! Need I remind you who actually invented that spell, Vinyl?’

“Um… actually… yes.”

‘… It was me you stupid little… ugh! Nevermind. Just charge your claws up with enough magic and I’ll aid you on the aiming, okay?’

“… Okay, but I have your word that you’re going to help me… right?”

‘Only if you promise to move forward and to never cower like this again.’

“… I can’t promise all of that.”

‘And I can’t promise your survival… seems fair, no?’

“… Starswirl…”

Looking down at my twin glowing claws, I chuckled weakly as I slid my shades back down over my eyes.

“I really freaking hate you,” I replied with a smile.

There was no need to guess… I knew for a fact that Starswirl smiled as well as she said…

‘And I hate you too, Vinyl. I hate you too.’

Pop!

With a burst of powerful magic, the world around me faded from view.

And thus I formed an alliance with my greatest enemy… as well as my greatest ally

...

That’s when the true trials began

Chapter 10, To be Heard…

…

…

“… Gon’ build that wall up to the sky.”

…

“… Gon’ build that wall up to the sky.”

…

“… Someday your bird is gonna fly~

“Gon’ build that wall until it’s done.”

…

“… Gon’ build that wall until it’s done.”

…

“… But now you’ve got nowhere to run~

“So build that wall and build it strong ‘cause we’ll be there before too long.

“… I dig my hole, you build a wall…”

Repetition is the girl’s only remaining friend

It keeps her whole

It keeps her sane

It keeps her compliant to the whims of others

A compliant pawn

A compliant hostage

A compliant…

“RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!!!!!”

Shinkshink!!

SMASH!

“RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!!!!!”

Snap!

…

…

Crunchcrunch…

…

… Cog

***^***

Shwoooossshhh…

The sound of waves crashing against stone.

Sheeeeesss…

The sound of a steady stream of rain striking the surrounding water.

Crack!

The sound of thunder…

Crack!

… And the sound of giants fighting to the bitter death.

“Starswirl… w-what the hell am I looking at here?” I asked slowly and plainly, fearing that even the slightest hiccup would spell my doom in this unfriendly environment. After the teleport spell, I found myself underwater… again. One frantic swim to the surface rewarded me with the scene I was fearfully watching right now.

This wasn’t the S.S. Luna Returner.

This wasn’t anywhere near the ship!

Instead… I was now at the mouth of a giant valley.

A giant valley… with an equally giant castle looming in the distance.

Massive walls flanked it at both sides, stretching high up into the sky. At its foot lied at least a mile’s worth of water, rocks….

… And warfare.

In the distance, I could make out tiny specks taking on giant sea serpents… and sea serpents biting and clawing at other sea serpents. I can only assume that the giant I was once a resident of not too long ago is somewhere in that scuffle…

The water around my body bobbed and churned with the force of these colossi clashing, and the sheer force was enough to not only make it incredibly hard to stay above water, but it also dislodged and set ancient boats and ship pieces floating out to sea. I held on to a jagged rock for dear life, under the shadow of a cliff face, and fought desperately with what little strength I had left to avoid getting swept away.

“Am… am I in hell again?!” I asked, seriously fearing that this was the proper answer to my earlier question.

‘Are your eyes melting from the heat?’ Starswirl asked in return.

“Well… no.”

‘Are you being boiled alive?’

“No… the waters actually pretty cold.”

‘Is it so cold that your new toes are becoming icicles and falling off as a result?’

“Thankfully no…”

‘Are there piranhas?’

“… No.”

‘Then no, you’re not in Tartarus. Bard… I’m afraid I must welcome you to Moon Canyon… or, as it’s more commonly known in your modern time, The Captain’s Graveyard. It seems as though the serpent has unwittingly brought you to the foot of the seaponies’ kingdom… this is quite counterproductive towards both our goals.’

“T-the seaponies kingdom?! So, those specks in the distance… a-are those seaponies?!”

‘I can only assume… or they are baby sea serpents trying to awaken their dormant greed flames through bloody combat. Both are quite possible answers.’

“W-what?! But, aren’t…?”

‘Bard! Quick! Become somepony competent and act natural!’

“Wha?”

“Hey dude! Why are you chilling back here by yourself for?”

… Oh sweet Celestia, no.

Shaking in a manner that would have made a leaf super jealous, I turned my head and came face to scaly face with an orange, a white, and a yellow colored serpent. All were about Cogy’s (thus my new) age, all were boys… and all were obviously curious about the new arrival to their neck of the woods.

The three boys were beaming toothy grins at me.

I hid myself behind my glasses.

I don’t think even being in hell was this terrifying!

“Aren’t you going to join the fun?” The white one asked good-naturedly. His voice cracked as he did.

“Yeah!” The orange one chirped right before doing a backflip, his tail almost hitting my face. It didn’t, thankfully, but I still winced as the cold water struck my cheek. “Isn’t this just the coolest thing ever?!”

“Umm…” I replied numbly as rain continued to fall.

‘They can’t see your bottom half,’ Starswirl whispered… something I’m not quite sure she actually needed to do. ‘They think you’re one of them. Play along… if they discover that you’re a landwyrm, or a ‘worm’ as they call it, they’ll kill you on the spot in order to make a meal of your horn. They believe it will increase their powers, thus its a highly sought after delicacy.’

With a quick gulp, I followed Starswirl’s advice. “Um… y-yeah! Totally can’t wait, dude! J-just have to… um… s-stretch first! That’s all! H-hehehe…”

The three of them stared at me. I started sweating, but thanks to the earlier drenching my face was thankfully too wet for them to tell.

The yellow one finally added in to the conversation. “Aw let’s just ignore her, fellas. More seaponies for us to beat up! Let’s try to collect skulls! Ah bet our flames will wake up if we do that!”

The other two shouted their agreements into the sky right before zooming off with a war cry of “Greed Flame Awakeners, Skull Collectors, yah~!”

I didn’t make any sudden moves as I watched them swim away. Once their forms disappeared within the torrent of rain water, I took a well-earned breath.

‘That was close.’

“You’re telling me! But… w-why are the sea serpents fighting the seaponies? Aren’t they on the same side?”

‘Yes, they are… but from the looks of it a civil war has broken out here. Sea serpents are fighting their own kind as well as seaponies in front of the latter’s kingdom… this is too bizarre to ignore. If you were anypony else, Vinyl, I would be asking you to investigate this in my stead. But since you are, well, you, I might as well try to gather information from the serpents’ minds through their burning greed flames instead. With all this bloodshed I’m sure someserpent’s flame is burning.’

“O-okay,” I replied, for once not expending any energy by being cocky and instead using it to keep my head above the deep sea water. “So… what am I supposed to do then? H-how do I get back to the ship from here?”

‘Well… first of all I’m going to need to figure out where you are. The Moon Valley is an ever moving location, as impossible as that sounds, thus I don’t know from what direction the ship is coming from. Would you kindly take a look up at the sky for me? Try to locate the sun behind all those naturally made clouds.’

With my new fangs chattering madly from the cold, I nodded my head in agreement and doggy paddled out to the edge of my shady shelter. Once I was far away enough I cranked my head skywards and tilted my shades down in order to protect my eyes from the rain water. Looking back and forth, I scanned the skies until my eyes fell upon an open circle of clouds above the distant castle. Staring at it for a few seconds caused my new dragon-ish eyes to zoom in, granting me a better look and helping me see past the rain.

… They also made me feel sick to my stomach. T-this just ain’t natural! How does Cogy put up with these freaky things? The same can be said about claws… they’re just way too weird for me!

Give me hooves any day of the week thank you very much.

… Anyways, back to my sky gazing. With my eyes zeroed in to the location, I was able to spot the sun…

… I was also able to spot something quite strange and, frankly, horrifying… which was quite a feat considering my current surroundings!

Starswirl hummed to herself casually despite my inner distress. ‘Hmmmm… if the sun is there, that must mean that the castle is to the north of your location… the ship should be directly south of you, Vinyl. I don’t believe swimming there is an option, but let us gather more Intel and maybe we can form a pla-’

“S-starswirl…” I suddenly said, interrupting the mare’s words. “W-why… why is the sun blue here?”

‘… What?’

I continued to stare into the blue sun, whose rays were cutting through the cloud cover. Lifting up my shades, I confirmed that they weren’t the cause of this weird coloration.

‘… I… only see the normal sun on my side, bard.’

“I’m not lying,’ I snapped, defending myself.

‘No… I know you’re not. If you were I would be able to tell right away because, if you haven’t noticed, I’m currently in your head right now so trust me when I say that I would know. You honestly see a blue sun… but I can’t see it… quickly scan the battlefield, bard. Tell me about anything else unusual you see.’

“Why?”

‘Just do it… this could be important.’

“O-okay… ”

With my eyes still zoomed in, I drew my gaze downwards until I was looking out over the combat arena. My eyes jumped back and forth, avoiding scenes where carnage looked to be about to happen. I can’t afford to lose my lunch right now and I’m not ready to see, well, that.

Finally, as I swept my vision back and forth, I started noticing … things.

Balls of light… that’s the only way I can properly describe them. I don’t know where they’re coming from, but I can see where they’re going; to the blue sun, as well as through the front gates of the distant waterlogged castle.

“What are those things?” I asked, almost in a whisper. Out of all the strange things I’ve seen today… this might be number three.

‘I… I have a hypothesis… but I’ll explain it to you once you’re in a more desirable position. Finding discreet dry land should be our number one priorit-’

Swirly then caused me to jump (which was impressive as I was swimming at the time) by gasping loudly. My already fragile nerves threatened to snap completely as a result. Before I could bitch at her for almost giving me a heart attack, the archmage in my head started barking out orders in a hurried fashion.

‘Vinyl! Quickly bring your unoccupied claw forward and ignite it! Then dunk it under the water equally as quickly!’

Wha-

‘Just do it!’

W-well, she hasn’t steered me wrong so far. With a quick “Fwoosh!” (just like how I remember seeing Cogy doing it) I did as commanded and dunked the glowing claw underwater. Just as it made a splash…

“Hey, dude!”

… The orange baby serpent from earlier reappeared behind me. As I turned to look at him, a quick glance downwards granted me the sight of my still glowing blue claw under the water. Starswirl made me do that for insurance… I could freaking kiss her right now if I didn’t hate her with a passion.

“I forgot to ask you…” the carrot colored kid inquired as he drew ever closer, entering my shelter and briefly shaking the rainwater off his scales “… where did you score those sweet shades from?!”

…

…

-Sniff-

In the face of something relatively normal happening to me for once today, I fought back the urge to cry tears of joy.

“Oh, these sweet thangs?” I replied with an honest smile, working my way into a familiar, and happy, groove. My words flew naturally off my tongue as I repeated a story I always loved sharing. “I got these from my great grandmother! Now there was a classy mare! They’re almost like a family heirloom!”

With the flick of my new index claw, I used telekinesis to take the glasses off my face and to also rotate them around. This act caused Starswirl to go into a fit and scream about something… but I chose to ignore her. Come on… got to have a little fun, right?

“Twin amethyst gemstones for the glass and stainless steel frames!” I continued, gloating proudly. “Almost one of a kind! Pretty sweet, am I righ- OW!”

Before I could finish, I felt a sharp tugging sensation on my tail. Bursting up from out of the water, the yellow kid of the trio made an appearance…

… With my horn in his grip, tail included.

The orange one grinned evily.

“Thought so,” he remarked just as menacingly as he got up in my face. “I knew I smelled magic! Got anything to say for yourself, worm?”

…

…

-Gulp-

I smiled sheepishly.

“W-would you believe that it’s just a birth defect?”

‘You just used magic in front of them,’ Starswirl deadpanned. ‘Bard… Lyssadamnit.’

“Yo! Sour Peal!” The yellow one roared as the protective, water proof third skin peeled its way back off his eyelids. “Give the signal!”

From somewhere behind my field of vision, I heard the voice of the white serpent screaming at the top of his lungs.

“DAD! THERE’S A WORM OVER HERE!”

For a moment… there was silence. Nothing moved, no one spoke. The world… was quiet.

…

And then… the world quaked with the force of a mighty roar.

The harbinger of my end had arrived.

“RRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!” Said harbinger bellowed as a flash of lightning illuminated his massive body in ominous shadow form.

‘Vinyl you stupid showboating imbecile! RUN!’

You don’t have to tell me twice! Turning my head, I leaned backwards…

WHAM!

… And then head-butted the yellow serpent in his noggin, causing him to let go of me. Ow… shaking off the pain, I took note that the orange kid was suddenly foaming at the mouth.

‘DUCK!’

“Ah!”

Sploosh!

Diving underwater, I obeyed Starswirl just in time to dodge the kid’s aqua breath. The freezing water around me turned boiling hot for the briefest of seconds as I held my breath and tried to swim away…

...!!!

I didn’t get far though, as I quickly discovered that the white kid was now back and had grabbed onto my leg! I tried to kick him off with my other clawed foot, but he remained successful at dragging me further down into the abyss. D-damn it, he’s trying to drown me!

‘Rock!’ Starswirl screamed inside my head.

“MMM?!” I replied, still holding my breath. Rock? Wha-

… Oh! I get it! My claw is still glowing! If I can just find something…!

Jackpot!

Letting go of the magic grip I still had on my shades, I reached around the side of an underwater mountain, found and gripped a large rock, brought it over the serpent’s head…

Wham!

…And then simply let gravity take its course. With the extra weight on his back and after losing his grip from the shock of it all, the kid was sent slowly hurtling towards the empty black chasm below us. I didn’t look back as I swam my way towards the surface.

Splash!

“GASP!” Oh sweet sweet air! Let us never part ways like that again, my love.

“There she is!”

Eep!

‘Get to dry land!’

Once again I complied with Starswirl and dragged myself up on to a lone rock in the middle of nowhere. It was probably just my imagination. but I think the rain picked up ten fold as I desperately tried to catch my breath.

With a mini-army of sea serpents, both new and old, looming ever closer, I brought my shades flying back to my face as I quickly asked “N-now what?!”

‘Abandoned boat! To your left! Use it to move towards the castle!’

“WHAT?!”

‘It’s your only hope of making it through this alive! You can’t swim away now, the adult serpent would be able to get you on the open sea… but I can tell that further in the water is too shallow and that there are too many rocks! He’d have to slow down!’

“W-what about the kids then?!”

‘They’ll still be able to chase you, but they won’t if you can cross the boundary line into seapony territory!’

“But then I’ll have to worry about the seaponies!”

‘Damn it Vinyl! There’s no time for this! Get moving!'

Sploosh!

At the sound of an aqua breath burst narrowly missing my head, I decided to stop arguing with Starswirl and chose to comply instead. Jumping down, I landed on all fours into an abandoned lifeboat and then proceeded to hold on for dear life as I funneled my magic into the vessel in the form of a come-to-life spell.

Sploosh!

And with that I was off, just in time to dodge another blast. My cheeks were stung with a few drops from the attack, but it was (hopefully) nothing to worry about. My saving grace rocketed forward towards the castle, powered through the simple wish of getting me the heck out of here!

‘Stand, damn it!’ Starswirl directed. ‘My vision is limited to the altitude encompassing your eyelevel and you’re too short to see over the edge… I can’t help you like this!’

“Hey don’t yell at me! It’s not my fault I’m now a freaking munchkin! It’s yours!”

‘Just do it, bard! You’re a biped now, start acting like one.’

“… Damn it, Starswirl.”

Unsteadily, I stood up on my back (and now only) legs as I ‘surfed’ on the powered craft. Leaning to the side, the boat followed my mental instructions (more like ‘suggestions’) as I narrowly dodged a jagged rock. The water within this thing splashed against my ankles, sending chills up my body with each strike.

‘Shield your right flank!’

Not sparing the command a thought, I encased a stone in my blue aura with the wave of a claw. With the clenching of my fist, I brought the item towards my right side…

Shinkshink!

… Just in time to block a baby serpent’s assault! He had launched himself at me from out of the water, attempted to slice me with his claws but instead hit the rock, and went splashing back into the sea. With mane whipping in the wind, I turned my head and through my shades counted at least twelve new serpents on my tail. Damn it, t-they’re multiplying!

‘The worst has yet to come! The adult is firing!’

Son of a Starswirl!

‘Hey!’

From all the way back at the entrance to this moon shaped canyon, the giant adult serpent from earlier fired his gigantic water breath attack at me! I pushed more magic into my boat, resulting in a speed boost.

SPLOOSH!

Dodged it! Great!

‘Not great! Look forward!’

“RRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!!!”

OH COME ON!

Leaning to the left this time, my self-propelled vehicle made a shift just in time to dodge a second adult sea serpent’s fangs. Lightning flashed as I turned my head, revealing even more serpent's were now chasing me! Crap crap crap!

‘Don’t lose your concentration now!’

“Easy for you to say, Mrs. Backseat Trotter!"

Waving my right claw all around me and using my left to hang on to the mental ‘reins’ of the boat, I used the boulder from earlier as a rotating shield as I tried to both attack and defend against the sea serpents’ assault. I-I don’t know how much longer I can keep all this magic up! I’m already feeling weak…

‘Bard!’

“W-what now?!”

‘Move to the right! If you stay on your current course…’

SMASH!!

‘… You’ll hit an underwater rock and get sent flying.’

Too little too late! The slanted thing, hidden under the waves, acted as a ramp as it sent my speeding lifeboat sailing into the wide, dark cloud covered yonder. I braced myself for the mental recoil as I collided into the back of an adult sea serpent’s head, thus ending my spells and turning my only salvation into a rain of splinters. “Oomph!” The titan who I landed on, who was currently in battle with a group of seaponies, titled his head backwards and caught sight of me hanging off his dark green scales out of the corner of his eye…

“Shoo be do~”

SHINK!!

… But that was all he ever saw of me, as the moment he took his eyes off the seaponies was the same moment they began to sing and the same moment a thin, water-crafted blade came shooting up out of the sea…

And took his head clean off.

Red blood gushed out the stump where the monster’s head used to be, transforming the once horrific creature into an even more horrific fountain of blood and gore. A splash of red covered my vision as my shades became coated in the carnage. O-oh Celestia… I-I-I…

‘Don’t you dare break down on me now, bard! Lyssa and I still need you. There’s another craft to your right! Make use of it before the seaponies spot you!’

H-he… h-he just…

‘Yes he died. He is with Lyssa now. MOVE.’

“She’s over here!”

At the sound of the children catching up, I did my best to turn off my emotions and run on autopilot. He… he just… n-no. Can’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Just keep moving… just keep moving…

Lifting up my shades so I could see again, I quickly located the second boat and made use of it. It was of the same make as the last one… but this one had the skeleton of a pony in it…

Splash!

… Which I quickly threw out. Don’t think about it… don’t think at all. Just go.

Twinkletwinkletwinkle!!

Reigniting my claws, I pushed forward while taking my boulder with me. I soon found a purpose for it as my boat rammed into a seapony and sent it flying into the air. Too focused to spare the creature a glance, I quickly used the makeshift weapon to knock the monster to the side, successfully preventing it from entering the vessel.

Shink!

The sound of the seapony’s trident imbedding itself into the haul of my ship. I paid it no mind as I sped along.

I soon found a use for it as well though, as I used it to block a new seapony’s trident thrust. I held the shaft in my right, glowing claw as my magic continued to hold the boulder. In conjunction, the two weapons helped me push the seapony into the tip of an underwater mountain. The living eyesore crashed into this ‘wall’ and once again I was given free pass to keep moving forward.

As I drew closer to the castle, the number of balls of light around me began to multiply. I didn’t think about them at all, not even when I saw three of them exit the closed mouth of a sea serpent and enter the giant doors of the castle. Don’t think… think and you’re dead…. Go, go, go, go.

CRASH!

Another undersea rock ended this ship’s life as well, but this time I landed at the foot of the castle’s entrance. Flying through the air, I didn’t even have to think about as I used my quickly depleting magic reserves to correct myself in midair, resulting in me landing on my feet…

… In front of an army of seaponies.

‘The entrance is slightly ajar! Wink to it and enter!’

Don’t think about it… don’t think… think and you’re dead. With my mantra deeply rooted into my subconscious; I dropped my trident, quickly sparked my glowing claws with a gust from my mouth…

Pop!

… And then appeared behind the thirty or so seaponies. I coughed up black smoke from my lungs and wiped away black dust from my eyes as I stumbled forward.

Returning to all fours, as this is how I’m most used to walking, I ran inside the massive twin doors and then used the last of my magic to close them. Due to the size and weight of the monstrosities, I found myself crumpling to the water soaked floor once I managed to fully shut them. On the other side, I heard the screams and scratches of the seaponies at the door… but somehow the gates refused to open for them. Yet again, I chose not to think about it as I turned around, confirmed that the entrance I found myself in was empty…

… And then proceeded to vomit all over the floor. Tears mixed in with the filth just before I collapsed on my side and silently passed out

***^***

I don’t know how long I was out for, nor how I woke up. Starswirl… was gone. After that assault she suddenly stopped talking to me. M-maybe something in this castle is blocking communication? Is that possible? I doubt she would simply just abandon me. After all I… I’m too important of a pawn for her to just ignore me.

Well, whatever the case, it means I’m now just as alone in my mind as I am in this dark blue castle. There’s no guards here… anywhere. They must all be fighting outside… fighting in that civil war.

… I don’t want to think about. W-what I saw out there… nopony should ever have to experience something like that. Nopony should ever have to see something like that either! H-he… that sea serpent just died in front of me!

… He died because of me…

… Oh Celestia this is messed up. I-I did what I had to in order to survive! It wasn’t my fault…

… I… shouldn’t think about this anymore.

Yeah… I need to move forward. I need to find a way out of here… and a way back to Cogy. She’s… the whole reason I’m even here, after all. I can’t imagine what’s going on in her head right now if my own feels like it’s about to burst…

Splashsplash

With my mind made up and with my claws wading through the water that covered the floor, I journeyed further into the empty castle. It looks like this place is flooded… but with the way those seaponies at the door simply stood there on mini carpets of water, it could be speculated that this ‘flooding’ was done intentionally.

I mean… seaponies, duh. It would make sense that they would try to make this place easier for themselves to ‘walk’ through.

… Speaking of walking, I should probably take this time to learn how to do that.

Walking on all fours just doesn’t feel right anymore. With my back legs bent the way they are, walking like this just isn’t very efficient unless I was super tired or something. Well, this new tail of mine is pretty heavy… maybe walking on two legs will be easier?

Steadying myself on the wet, almost cave-like walls of the castle, I stood up tall (well, still slightly below my normal point of view, but tall nonetheless) on my back legs. Slowly, I used the wall to secure myself as I took a few steps forward. Ugh, I’m tiny again like a little filly and now I have to learn how to walk again like a foal. When all this is over, I need to find a bar and get wasted like a mare. Screw the repercussions; I think I’ve more than earned a drink...

…

After about ten minutes, I felt confident enough to take a few steps without the aid of the wall. Good, got that sorted… now let’s see what secrets this place holds.

The entrance I found myself in looked rather simple, containing only two curved staircases (which both led to the same floor) and only two additional doors besides the massive entrance. It must get bigger towards the back end or something… One door was on the same level as me and the other was upstairs. Not feeling up for going upstairs right away, I tried the one on my floor first. Although the water level made it hard to open, I eventually managed to do it. I had to stand on my tippy toes, which gave me embarrassing flashbacks to the last time I was this short, but I pushed on regardless.

What was on the other side was… odd. It was completely empty outside of a dresser and a dusty old mirror. There was nothing else, not even a bed to distinguish it as a bedroom. Weird…

My glowing claws became the only light source as I ventured into the room. The open door helped a bit as it allowed the light from the strangely lit candles to flood into the area. Those candles show that at least somepony was here at some point, and recently too… but so far I haven’t seen anyone… again, weird.

Shouldn’t look a gift pig in the snout, I guess.

First I searched the dresser. Its top was bare… but what about the drawers? Opening the first one I found… nothing. Same with the second. With the third one, however… I found nothing as well. Well that was a bust. That just leaves this scale garnished mirror.

I already know what I look like now, but I guess I should still check for any injuries. My body hurts so much… who knows what’s from the transformation and what’s an actual proble-

…!!!

Oh… oh Celestia, no…

I…

… I…

…

… I totally forgot about the blood.

The blood that now covered me.

Unable to fight the urge that now welled up within me; I ran into one of the room’s corners and upchucked on the wet floor. H-horrible…

-Sniff-

J-just horrible. When will this nightmare end? I just want things t-to go back to normal…

… -Sob-

I… I have to move forward.

…

Sighing, I attempted to steel my emotions yet again as I returned to the mirror. Trying to look at myself, yet not focus on the details, I cupped my claws and used the water on the ground (while avoiding the water in the corner) to clean myself off. Yuck… t-this crap was even in my mane… -Sniff-

With the dark task finally done, I dunked my shades underwater as well. It looks like the rainwater did nothing to cleanse them... Once they were clean enough, I brought them back to my face…

Splash!

And then proceeded to drop them to the floor as something finally clicked in my mind.

In the reflection… my pupils are red.

“W-what?” I asked myself as I put my claws on the mirror. My eyes are now slit like a dragon’s, I saw that coming… b-but I didn’t think a color change was in my future as well! W-why would Starswirl do this to me?! Is it permanent? Oh please tell me this isn’t permanent! Red eyes are soooo uncool! They make guards jumpy and ponies paranoid of you! They think you’re dabbling in dark magic or some crap! I… I want my magenta eye’s bac-

As if responding to my wish, my eyes suddenly went from slit red to slit magenta. I blinked in reply, and my reflection did the same.

…

I closed my eyes, and concentrated.

“… Red.”

I opened them, and they were now red.

“… Purple.”

I closed them, opened them… and they were now magenta.

“… Red, Purple, Red, Purple, Red~, Purple~, Re-… ow.”

After giving myself a self-induced headache by rapidly blinking my eyes, I looked at my red irises in the mirror with new interest. Okay… whatever the hay these things are, they’re kinda tight… but what’s it for?

… Does it have something to do with those glowing orbs and the blue sun?

While we’re on the subject of that… what the hell is up with that?! The last time I saw a blue sun it was back in… -gasp-, H-heaven!

Oh my gosh! Did my being brought back from the dead break the sun?!

… No… no wait… that wouldn’t make any sense at all! I don’t even know what the hell was up with the blue sun in Heaven in the first place! Thinking that it was my fault for something like that is just ridiculous.

Like… Donut Joe finally taking an interest in good music ridiculous!

Ha!

Or like Octy preferring her current nickname over her old one of Tavi ridiculous!

Ha!

Or like Celestia’s long lost sister returning after 1000 years of exile ridiculous!

Ha!

… Oh, wait…

… W-well… like Cogy turning out to be an alien ridiculous!

H-… oh…

… Like seaponies being real ridicu-

…

… Like the spirit of disharmony breaking out of his statue ridi-

…

… L-lik-

Oh sweet Celestia I did break the sun, didn’t I?! OhcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapIcan’tgobacktopriso-

SLAP!

… I’m starting to really like claws. I’m always accidentally punching myself in the face whenever I try to slap myself with hooves!

“Ow…” still hurts all the same, it seems. “Okay… I’m getting way too freaking paranoid over, well, everything at this point to think straight. Let’s ignore the sun for now… for all you know, filly, it’s just these weird new eyes of yours playing tricks on you. Maybe the orbs are like the same way or something. Just figments of my imagination...”

… Wait… didn’t I see some orbs entering this castle earlier? Does that mean I can…?

Deciding to test them out, I confirmed that my eyes were red in the mirror before picking up my shades and exiting the room. Looking forward, I watched the giant front door for movement. Eventually… a little orb of light, about the size of my new body, phased through the door and went up the stairs before phasing through the top floor’s only doorway. Soon, another ball appeared… and another… and then a third one. All three orbs followed the same path to the top floor. Curiosity eventually ensnared me so I took a step forward and put my claw out there in the middle of their path…

The ball that phased through my arm lacked a texture… but it was way colder than even the freaking water outside was! Yowch! T-they’re like giant ice balls!

… Oh! Wait! I forgot what I was going to test out!

Closing my eyes, I willed them to turn purple. Once I opened them, I found myself alone again. A quick switch back to red returned the orbs to my field of vision. Hmmm… I don’t know a whole lot about landwyrms; I don’t even know where they come from! Maybe… maybe this is some kind of power they possess?

I wonder what it means…

… Well I’ve got nothing better to do. I can’t leave now and, sadly, I can’t really move forward without Starswirl’s help. She actually knows what’s going on, unlike me. I really don’t want to stumble around in the dark…

I might as well see where these things are going… the information might help me in some way… somehow.

Yeah… I’m really grasping at straws here, but I’m running out of choices so what else can you do? When you’re given the options to either sit at the bottom of a well or to climb the walls… well you could dig a hole but that’s kinda lame.

I’m sick of being lame today.

Okay… let’s make some progress.

With my mind finally made up (again), I headed up the stairway and approached the doorway the spheres were using. I’ll admit my claw shook when I reached for the handle… but a quick deep breath righted me out and allowed me to push forward.

… Didn’t stop my mind from playing tricks on me when I did finally touch the handle though. Made me feel a magic charge run up my arm… but, again, it must have just been my imagination. Once open, the portal led me to a massive hallway filled with many doors, but I chose to ignore them all as I continued to follow the orbs.

Again… let’s make some progress. I’m done being lame.

… I hope.

Snap!

…

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

From DJ… to Dragon…

***^***

“FWOOSH!!!”

…

Shinkshink!!

…

CRUNCH!!!

…

“Grrrrrrr…”

“… By Ambrosine, Dragon… you have become a bigger problem than I had originally perceived you to be.”

“Grrrrrr…”

SLASH!!!

“…”

Crunchcrunchcrunch…

“… But no matter how many of my corpses you nourish yourself with, in the end all your struggling is futile.”

“… Grrrrrr…”

“… -Sigh-. You… are nothing more than a beast now. To speak to you is to waste words… and to continue to fight is to waste the opportunity to flee… why don’t you simply abandon the element user protected in your grip and use those massive wings of yours to escap-”

SHINK!

“… -Sigh-. Again… words are meaningless, yet spout them I do. We are at a stalemate, you and I… but time is the ultimate divider in the end. It is working against you, Little Cog.”

“RRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!”

“Indeed… it is working against myself as well. Fighting a war on two fronts… something I foresaw but was unable to properly prepare for… I look forward to seeing how things play out in the en- … Gasp!”

“… Grrrrr…”

“… Hehe… interesting… no one has dared to set foot into Mother’s Domain for centuries… who… hehe… I bid you farewell then, my ‘friend’! I’ll be seeing you again real soon. Don’t miss your future Princess too much~”

Pop!

“… RRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRR!!!!”

Shinkshink!!

CRUNCH!!

SLASH!

…

…

…

“…Some day those tears are gonna spill~”

~To be Continued~

Author's Note

Let's give a round of applause for this story's newest editor: Thardoc! He's already helped me in doing a little editing for every chapter up until this point, and he's the one who edited THIS chapter AND part two, to which I am very grateful! Give him and Aiovas some cheer, would you kindly? Same goes to Acidic Din who, despite having been unable to provide his services, still deserves some cheer ^_^

Other people deserving of a shout out:
TalonMach5! He sent some of you people my way through his story The Book of Water: The Marriage of the Slave King! Part two of his Slave King Saga, its a series that I've been meaning to dive into for some time now here. It looks like its bristling with love! How about you go check him out, gentlereaders :twilightsmile:?
And...
Seven Fates! Being the writer of Displaced (the very first HiE story I ever read), hearing that he liked A Cog of the Machine, and has gone out of his way to promote it all over the Human in Equestria group, filled my heart with the feels. Check him and his latest baby, When a Pony Calls (another story I need to get around to reading :twilightblush:) out!

Have a good day now,
-Derply

P.S. Oh! And lets not forget to yet again thank More Dakka for the awesome art!

Chapter 10: To Be Heard... Part 2 of ???

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

Far removed from the grand stage, where no eyes can gaze… a scene plays out in silent melancholy

Its meaning is indecipherable

Its purpose not at all clear

Its importance… great

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

…

My eyes gaze out upon… It.

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

My resolve all but gone in the face of… It.

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

My voice… brittle and weak as I speak to It.

“… Hi there… long time no see.”

It… is empty. My words do not change this fact.

Yet… I continue to speak.

“Me? Well… I’m fine. Scared… but fine.”

It remains quiet.

“… That was a lie.

“A horrible lie.

“Probably the worst lie I’ve ever used in my entire life.

“It’s so strange… I’m usually good at these…

“Too good.”

Silence remains.

“…It’s just something I learned how to do; lying. I can even trick myself at times… It helps me cope when things head south.”

…

“… Heh, right… I always aim to be truthful, and never really try to be deceitful… but… things happen, you know?”

…

“… Like now. I’m… sorry,” I plead, my whole heart thrown into my words. “I’m sorry… for everything.”

Still… It remains quiet.

… I didn’t expect anything different.

“… There’s… something I need to do,” I told It. “I’m scared… but it needs to be done… Wish me luck?”

It… sniffles.

“… Thank you.” I utter as I turn to exit. Over my shoulder, I grant It one last look as I sigh and leave… possibly for the last time.

And, strangely… I’m okay with that idea.

… I wonder why…

Snap!

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

With the falling of a single feather… we return to the DJ

***^***

… You know what? Despite having been changed into a different species; despite being miles and miles away from civilization, despite being alone in the middle of a war I didn’t want any part in, despite the long term mental scarring, and despite constantly fearing what’s about to happen to me and the few people I actually care about… I will admit that this little adventure of mine has given me the chance to see some truly gnarly sights.

I mean, Heaven? The very definition of breathtaking.

Tartarus? The very definition of breathtaking… but not in the good way.

The inside of a sea serpent’s belly? Kinda wicked, in all honesty… now that I’m nowhere near it, that is.

Moon Canyon?

Really

Freaking

Metal

… Absolutely bone-chillingly horrifying… but metal all the same. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want a picture of this place for my next album cover.

I’d also be lying if I said that this castle didn’t take the cake.

I mean, just look at this place! Despite it being wet everywhere; this place is super easy on the eyes. Fancy chandeliers, unique architecture, decent lighting, spiraling staircases (which are more like waterslides, thanks to the aforementioned flooding), and soundproof walls that block off the sound of the rain… If you had told me that this was the villain’s lair, I would have never believed you. For the first time in a long time, I actually feel safe! No guards, no war, no bloodshed, no crazy dragon worshiping bitch screaming into my mind…

… No maps…

Yeah, that’s the one downside this sw33t place has against it. Not even two minutes into my ‘quest’ to follow the magic orbs and I already lost said orbs’ trail twice due to the twisting nature of these hallways! Ugh! Both times this happened I became discouraged, but both times I was able to pick up the path again thanks to a new sphere appearing behind me. Because of this it was hard for me to tell if I was moving forward or simply being taken down a new path, but I didn’t let such doubts daunt me as I continued to move onwards.

… Actually, it did daunt me. It daunted me a lot. I hope I don’t get lost… well more lost then I already am I mean.

…

…

… I also hope I don’t die of boredom.

I mean, I didn’t expect tailing a bunch of floating light bulbs to be exciting, but I at least expected it to be interesting! My Celestia this is duuuullll! Maybe it’s just because I’ve had nothing but heart attack inducing episodes lately, but finally having a moments calm is starting to get on my nerves.

… I wonder what that says about me as a pony.

…

… Probably that I’m insane.

…

… Nothing new then.

***^***

“Okay… now we’re getting somewhere!” I shouted excitedly to nopony in particular.

Eventually (translation: fifteen grueling minutes), the orb's trail had led me to a grand dining room… one that had been seen better days. There was a giant stretched out table in here that looked similar to the ones royals like to buy for their mansions, but this one was beyond damaged. Holes, lumps, impaled through the middle by a fallen chandelier… this poor thing must have had the stuffing beaten out of it at one point. I wonder what happened…

… Maybe these pictures will give me a clue.

Yeah… this room is special for other reasons besides the table. I noticed right away that this dining room, unlike the long hallways and the previous room I had just been in, actually had stuff hanging off the walls. There was even a window in here!

… One that been bordered up with plywood (how… why… huh?), but a window all the same.

Anyways, the pictures. From a distance I was super excited to have finally found a clue that I could use, but when I reached said pictures I quickly discerned that I wasn’t going to get anything useful out of these quote unquote ‘works of art’.

Each and every painting on the wall had a blue X smeared over them, with the paint hitting the back wall as well. Something was also written on the wall at my eye level, but it was in a language I had never seen before so Celestia knows what it said. Taping into my slowly recharging magic reserves, I lifted down one of the four pictures so that I could get a better look at it.

I could barely make out what was going on in this portrait, thanks to the X. From what I could see, on the right of the scene sat a pink… thing. I think it was a seapony, but she didn’t look anything like those monsters outside so I’m not sure. I couldn’t really make out anything about her either outside of the fact that she was sitting in a chair, had pink scales…

… And a rather round belly… a rather pregnant looking belly. Interesting…

On the other side of the picture stood two creatures. I didn’t recognize them from Heaven, Hell, or even Equestria for that matter! They had hooves like a pony, wings like a griffon (kinda like Celestia’s, I guess)… but their heads were clearly different. They possessed twin horns in the same place as Cogy’s horns, and they had beaks like a griffon as well. They’re kinda cool looking, I’ll admit, but besides being able to see that they had beaks I couldn’t tell anything else. Even their expressions were lost on me, thanks to the blue X. I could only just barely make out their black fur and feathers under all that indigo!

On top of that, I was also just barely able to make out the name plate on the bottom of the portrait. Unlike the blue message on the wall, I was able to make out what this plate said, if only slightly. This picture was titled ‘Queen Gaia, Princess Silphe, BNMM 0034.’

BNMM 0034… let me think… its ANMM 2012 right now… we switched from BNMM to ANMM one thousand years ago… and we switched from YOF in the year zero… holy dubstep track this was painted almost two thousand years ago! Daaaammnn! And these two gals are that Gaia and Silphe ladies Starswirl went on about? Mmmmm… does that mean…?

Hurriedly, I put the picture (which appeared to have been drawn up with watercolors) back on the wall and took down another with my magic.

This one didn’t have what I was looking for. The tag this time was ‘Lord Asterion, BNMM 0140.’ It once again illustrated the pink seapony, but on the other side rested a creature that looked a lot like a… what’s it called? A… manticore! That’s it! He looks like those sweet lion/bat/scorpion things that chill out in the Everfree, only taller and more dog-like… also horns and, like, three times as many wings.

… The seapony was also just as pregnant in this picture as she was in the last one. Odd, considering the date… but whatever. I put this one back up and took down another.

‘Queen Chrysalis, BNMM 0350’ marked this one, and for the third time the pink seapony was pregnant. The creature on the other side kinda looked like a combination of Celestia and those bug like ponies I saw in Tartarus… Again, not what I was looking for so I put it back up.

This time, however, resulted in me finding what it was that I was curious in seeing.

‘Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Captain…’ That was all that was written on this one, the rest having been scratched off, including the date. Didn’t matter though, as I was still able to see the princesses and that was good enough for me.

Ha! Just as I thought! Princess Celestia used to have a pink mane! The rumors were right! Hehe… And Princess Luna looks exactly the same here as she did in the newspapers that came out around her return. Light blue fur, light blue non-ethereal mane, and the same cutie mark as well…

… I didn’t recognize who the other pony in the picture was though. I couldn’t quite make her (at least I think it was a mare) out, thanks to the X, but I could at least tell that she was just a unicorn, not an alicorn like the princesses, had green fur, and her armor was decorated in silvery gems. She must have been the captain of the royal guards back then or something…

For the fourth time, a pregnant and pink seapony sat on the opposite side of the picture… but this time I could tell that she was smiling. Unlike the other pictures her head was tilted to the side this time, thus saving her from the blue X. She, along with the two princesses, were all smiling as they looked on at the captain and her ‘playmate’… a tiny blue seapony kid. The little filly was blushing madly as she looked forward with a paintbrush in her little fin. The kid’s eyes were also slit, I noticed, and a piercing blue colo-

“Brrrrrr!” I shivered.

The sickly feeling of a glowing wisp passing through my body reminded me of why I was in this room in the first place. Turning my head, I watched as the orb phased through the wall in front of me and into the next room. Putting the picture back into its original spot, I exited the dining room and continued my self-imposed mission.

***^***

… This is getting eerie.

It’s only been a half-hour since I started following these things… but that doesn’t change the fact that, in that half-hour, I haven’t seen any guards, despite having gone up thirty floors.

I’ve gone up spiraling staircases that seemingly went on forever…

Traveled through a dozen or so rooms (all of which were empty)…

And I even found the throne room… yet I was apparently still all alone in here.

… The throne room was interesting, by the way, as it had an actual throne in it as well as still-intact pane glass windows. These enormous looking things were similar to the ones Princess Celestia has in her throne room (I got a sneak peak once as part of a school fieldtrip back when I was, well, this age) but unlike the throne room in Canterlot Castle these windows were completely blank, devoid of any murals or bright colors. They were just… dark glass. Rather boring…

What wasn’t boring, however, was the fact that the throne itself was slightly raised and slightly to the right. In this position, the chair revealed that it had a secret door behind itself… one that didn’t appear to be a secret anymore due to the congregation of glowing yellow balls that now occupied the space.

This area hidden behind the throne… was the scariest bucking room in this entire castle. Despite the change in species, I was still capable of tasting the magic that polluted the air of this place… and it was nasty! Bleh! This giant, circular, almost dome like area must have been used for practicing magic at some point. It even kinda sorta feels like that one training area we used to have back in magic elementary…

There’s one big difference though… the magic in this room was still here. It hadn’t faded over time, it hadn’t disperse into the air… it simply still was here. It must be because of these orbs of light… whatever the hell they are. Right now, about four of them are simply flouting in place, overlapping each other, in the center of the room. Why are they her-

…!

Oh, my bad… I meant to ask what were they doing here.

I guess this room wasn’t the final stop, and instead the room beyond it was. As the four orbs phased through the only other door in this chamber, their glowing forms remained glowing, despite the wall. That’s another odd thing I’ve been noticing… my vision of these things has been improving the longer I’ve been chasing them. At first they were kinda fuzzy, but in the last half hour they have grown brighter and brighter and brighter as well as clearer. I could now clearly see that they were yellow in color… and I could still see them through the walls. This was both cool and creepy; cool because it made it easier for me to follow them… and creepy because I was seeing through walls.

… Okay. I’ll admit it. It’s not really creepy at all. It’s all cool. Is this also some kinda landwyrm thing? Well… all the same it’s still pretty cool.

…!!!

What isn’t cool, however, is the fact that all four lights just phased through the floor and took off at high speeds towards the basement! Darn it! W-why did they do that? Was it because of something on the other side of this door?

Staring at the entrance for a good minute, my special eyes started making out another light source through the walls…

… A giant pink light source whose shape was as incomprehensible as it was terrifyingly big.

… Well now I’m at a crossroads here. I can either look inside this room and see what the hell this pink thing is, or I can head to the basement and try to continue following the yellow orbs.

… But I can’t even see those orbs now! They must be too far down…

Well… darn it. Again, I guess I don’t really have a choice.

Moving slowly up to the giant door, I gently opened it…

Skree…

Dust filled the air as the ancient portal became accessible. Water from the room I was currently in started flooding into this new room as well, making it apparent that, unlike the rest of the castle, it was waterless. It must be both old and dry… what are they keeping in here? Squinting, I tried to peer inside past the flying filt-

‘I wouldn’t go in there if I were you, bard.’

I snapped my head backwards.

“Starswirl?!”

‘Thankfully the one and only,’ my… ‘companion’ (big question mark there) replied. ‘Did you miss me? Don’t reply to that; I already know that the answer is yes.’

“Starswirl… shut the hell up.”

‘Were you lonely?’

“I said shu-”

‘It’s not nice to shout in the presence of royalty, Vinyl.’

“Tell ‘Lizzy’ to cram i-”

‘I’m not talking about Queen Lyssa… I’m talking about the other Queen in the room!’

“… Crap!”

Finally getting the hint, I ignited my claws and quickly tried to shut the door I was about to stupidly enter…

SLURP!

… But the appearance of a giant tentacle told me I was too late! Oh sweet baby Luna on high what the hell is tha-

SLURP!

Moving faster than my mind could ever hope to process, the giant pink appendage wrapped its slimy self around my puny form and dragged me kicking and screaming through its doorway… emphasis on the screaming!

‘Bard, calm down.’

“BUCKYOUTOTARTARUSANDBACKSTARSWIRL!!!BUCKYOUBUCKYOUBUCKYOUBBBBBBBBAAAAHHHH!!!”

Despite my best efforts (i.e., my screaming and attempts to scratch my way free), the monster was still more then capable of dragging me into its chamber…

And colt, let me tell you… if the last room only made me feel a little jittery then this room made me want to jump out of my own skin and re-join Starswirl in Tartarus! I was chocking on excess magic here! It was so dense that windows weren’t needed; instead, a literal rainbow of visible energy provided more than enough ambient lighting, allowing me to see everything.

Like how this place lacked a floor, instead possessing a potentially bottomless drop…

And like how the entire room was circular in design, reminding me of the inside of a silo...

… And like how an eldritch abomination now had me in it's grasp, as it’s twelve other limbs allowed it to hang from the walls!

“W-w-w-what t-the hell are y-you?!” I squeaked weakly in the face of the colossal.

… Or, at least I think it was its face! Despite all the lighting, the giant horror was still shrouded in darkness. It was like the shadows themselves were its blanket. The only thing I was capable of clearly seeing were its eyes…

.. Its rows upon rows of slit red eyes!

“… LiTtLe PoNy” it hissed low and oh so very threateningly.

And that’s my cue to exit! Screw figuring out what it is, screw figuring out where the orbs went, and screw wasting any energy on figuring out how it knew I was a pony! It’s time to get the buck out of Dodge Junction! Thankfully, my claws are still glowing with magic ener-

Fwoosh

… I now know where this thing’s mouth is. It’s directly in front of me and possess just as many rows of razor sharp teeth as the face possess rows of evil looking eyeballs. How do I know this, if the monster is still cloaked in shadows? Well… it just sucked up my magic! That’s how!

SLURP!

A-and now its tentacle just shifted its hold on me, this time restraining my claws against myself! Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap!!

‘Vinyl, stay calm.’

“S-shut the hell up Starswirl! I don’t have time for your BS!”

‘Bard, listen; I can help you here but only if you chose to cooperate with me!’

The monster’s mouth grew ever closer.

“B-b-but…”

‘I have nothing to gain in tricking you! I have everything to gain in helping you live! Just do as I say!'

My teeth started chattering as the monster’s own began to open. “O...o-okay…”

‘Good. On the count of three, look directly down and breathe magic on the first body part you see.’

“B-b-but I can’t see any of my limbs!” I whimpered.

‘That’s why I said on the count of three. Now, quickly think about… what on Equestria is the name of that racket you call music? Wubs?’

“A-actually I call it Electronic Basstastic Dubst-”

‘Wubs?’

“… Y-y-yes, wubs.”

‘Good. I’m going to start the countdown now. Think of nothing but wubs until I say three. Start now.’

The monster’s rancid breath was now fully smellable.

“S-s-starswirl?!”

‘One…’

The monster’s teeth were now fully viewable.

“Swirly!!”

‘Two…’

The monster’s drool was now fully feel-able.

“… T-think of wubs… think of wubs…”

The mouth began to close.

I closed my eyes.

…

‘… Three!’

SLURP!!

…

…

… I felt… weightless.

… I opened my eyes… and saw my tail right in front of me.

“Fwoosh!”

I quickly ignited it with my breath. Once it was glowing blue, I did the first thing that came to mind and summoned the power of telekinesis. I now found myself in a slowed free-fall, unable to figure out how I got out of the monster’s grip in the first place. Not having the time to think about it, I stretched my neck out, spotted where the exit was...

Pop!

And pulled off the most amazing straight-line teleport spell I had ever pulled off in my entire life… which isn’t saying much seeing as how I’ve only winked properly three times in said life. Still, I shot through that thing’s teeth, shot through a groove in its appendage, and shot straight through the doorway…

SLAM!

Which was now shut, thank you very much. The monster, despite seemingly possessing massive wells of strength, was just as incapable of opening this door as the seaponies at the entrance were.

… I decided not to look a gift pig in the snout by dwelling on it.

Once my glow left the door, I let out a low sigh…

… Followed by the laughing of a madmare…

… Which was then followed by the wailing of a madmare as I tried to wipe away the sweat from my brow… only to discover that my limbs seem to be missing!

Now I look like a landwyrm!

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

‘Bard.’

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

‘Vinyl, stop. We’ve already been through this song and dance before. There’s no need to repeat it.’

“I need legs to dance, Swirly! I NEED LEGS TO DANCE!”

‘Oh for the love of, here!’

Pop!

‘There! Happy?!’

Blinking once, I raised a claw that had not been there three seconds ago up to my face. A quick once over confirmed that all four limbs were now accounted for.

“How…” I tried to ask as I slowly got back up onto my feet.

‘Greed Growth,’ Starswirl replied swiftly. ‘By making you think of that which is dearest to your heart, in this case your love of music, I was able to force the artificial greed flame within you to burn hot enough for such a transformation to take place. You became a ‘teen’ wyrm for the briefest of seconds, thus freeing you from the hold you were trapped in.’

“W-whoa. That’s… actually kinda cool.”

‘Yes well it’s not something that I can easily do. Such a thing is usually Lyssa’s department, as she’s the one who donates the magic needed for such a thing to happen. Seeing as how you’re my little draconic and not hers, the task of ‘feeding’ you fell to me. I had to pump you with almost half of my mana reserves just to produce these pitiful results… side effects may include an increased tendency to lick the ink off of tomes and the sudden urge for meat.’

I stuck out my tongue. “Yuck!”

I imagined Starswirl shrugging. ‘It’s just the nature of magic transfusions. Shouldn’t matter though, now that you’re safe.’

Granting the doorway one glance, I asked in a hush “S-safe from what, exactly?”

Starswirl laughed at my expense.

‘Why, safe from The Eternal Broodmother: Queen Ambrosine, of course! You just entered the bedchamber of the most powerful being on the twin seas! Lucky you!’

Shaking madly, I took a step away from the entrance to my certain doom.

“Why would somepony like that be unguarded?!” I screamed. “W-wouldn’t I have been stopped by a bouncer or a trap or something?!”

‘You act as though being this close to a goddess is a bad thing.’

“IT IS!”

‘Hmmm… I suppose it would be for someone like you. I personally would relish in such an honor… but different strokes for different folks, I suppose.’

“F-f-freaking shut up, Starswirl.” I shook my head in a bid to forget about what just happened. “Why did you leave me alone earlier?!”

‘Heh, I knew you missed me.’

“…”

‘Greed flames can be fickle things at times, Vinyl,’ Starswirl replied, finally getting serious. ‘I can only communicate with you when it’s burning and it only burns when you feel threatened or when someone is threatening your hoard. Being inside of a sea serpent’s belly, being left out in the open in a warzone, entering an unknown room… these are situations where death is highly possible, thus your flame burned. Stay close to this doorway and we can continue to ‘chat’. Sounds fair?’

“Sounds dangerous and life threatening.”

‘Exactly!’

“…”

Unable to fight that logic, I popped a squat with my back leaned up against the door.

“Well… lay it on me, ya dragon loving nut. What the hell is going on around here?”

‘Eager to learn, are we? My, that doesn’t sound like my bard at all! Who are you and what have you done to Ms. Vinyl Scratch?’

I grunted in annoyance.

“Swirly, please… when the words ‘stop fooling around and get serious’ leave my mouth, you know it’s time to, well, get serious. It’s taking all of my willpower right now not to break down into a crying mess, so the least you can do is help me like you said you would.”

‘Hmmmm, I suppose you do have a point for once. Well then… where shall I begin?’

I blinked as my mind drew a blank. Well… crap. I don’t know where to start myself! My mind is so freaking full right now with questions that it feels like it’s going to explode! I need to know about this weird new vision thing of mine, and I also need to know about that civil war outside. I also want to know why this place is empty and how a door it preventing me from getting horribly murdered! Also… who the heck is Queen Ambrosine anyways?!

‘The Queen of the seaponies,’ Starswirl replied nonchalantly, once again reading my mind without permission. ‘I told you this back in Tartarus, don’t you remember?’

“Well that happened months ago!” I snapped. “You can’t expect me to remember every little detail when that much time has passed!”

‘… Vinyl… that took place an hour ago, not months.’

… Oh.

I blushed. “W-well it felt like months!”

‘Your inability to tell time aside, allow me to answer your questions at my own pace. Once that’s out of the way we will begin to search for a way back to the ship.’

I brought my two index fingers together as I fidgeted awkwardly. “I-is that even possible at this point?” I asked, admittedly rather shyly.

‘What did I tell you about being a quitter, bard?’ Starswirl asked assuredly. ‘Have a little faith in your betters; I’ll find you a way or you’ll die trying!’

I blinked. “Um… isn’t that saying supposed to go like-”

‘Allow me to start with the easier question,’ I was speedily cut off. ‘The one relating to the civil war.’

I stopped flapping my lips and remained quiet.

The old-as-dirt unicorn began by saying that ‘The sea serpent race has long been a treacherous and unorganized one, Vinyl. Being draconics, they worship Lyssa who fuels their inner fires as well as sate their greed. But… this world of ours possesses two oceans, as well as thousands of lakes and rivers. Sea serpents have long been a scattered people, thus no one single ruler has ever been established. Fighting amongst themselves was a common occurrence.

‘That is… until Queen Ambrosine offered them a place in her kingdom. This was long before even my time, bard, but Lyssa has willingly provided for me the memories of serpents long since dead to help me fill in the gap within my knowledge library. From what I’ve seen, the seapony Queen used to be a just and kind ruler…

‘… Unlike Celestia.’

I don’t think Starswirl meant for me to hear that bit. I pretended to ignore it (and prayed that she didn’t hear my mental opinion on it) as she continued.

‘This all changed when the Queen began to decay with age. When it got to the point where she was unable to even form a cohesive thought, her ‘daughter’ apparently took over in her stead. It was her actions that caused both wars. The serpents refer to her as the false goddess but you know this seapony simply as the mare who killed you… Princess Diamrem.’

At the mentioning of my murderer my body felt compelled to shake uncontrollably. It was like my very soul had just been dunked into the freezing cold ocean that awaited me outside these walls.

‘Hmmm, an interesting reaction,’ my mental guide remarked. ‘It is said that when you take a life a fragment of your soul remains behind in the victim’s body… it seems as though Diamrem now holds power over you.’

“W-which means?”

‘You fear her.’

“No crap, Sherlock!”

‘Don’t get snippy with me! I’m just stating the facts! I’ll keep this new phobia in mind though for when we attempt the escape…’

“I-I wouldn’t really call it a phobia,” I interrupted. “I just… don’t want to see her and her ugly mug, that’s all.”

‘How do you know her ‘mug’ is ugly if you’ve never seen it for yourself?’

“Well… if those monsters outside and the one in the next room are any indication, it’s got to be pretty damn fugly. I bet her teeth are nasty as well, and who knows how badly she must stink, what with swimming around in seawater all day long!”

‘… Bard, I know that she killed you and that you’re angry at her… but it’s not nice to say such things about people who are standing right behind you.’

…

…

“…AHHHHH!!!”

Once again screaming like a madmare, I quickly set my fist ablaze and used its magic to lift up the water at my feet. Swinging my claw with me, I turned and threw the contents of my azure aura…

… At the door to the Queen’s chamber. The liquid made a pitiful splash against the ancient wood right before falling back down to the already drenched floor.

“…”

‘Made you look~’

“… Celestia damn you, Starswirl.”

‘Oh she already did that long ago, Vinyl. That is a story for another time… like I was saying; you now have a phobia of the seapony Princess. Simply admit it and move on.’

“… I really don’t want to though. I-I’m going to need to do… well… something with her to end this war, won’t I? I’m going to need to either talk to her or, what seems more likely, f-fight her in the future, so I don’t want to admit that I’m freaking scared of her! At least let me pretend I’m brave!”

Swirly sighed. ‘Fine fine. Live your little dream; just don’t overestimate your abilities when the time comes for you to become useful. Also, speaking of abilities… I can see through your memories that you’ve taken note of your new eyes.’

Gazing forward at the latest balls of light that had just entered the room, I dismissed my ‘dragon vision’ (as I’ve taken to calling it) and enjoyed a moment of stillness.

“Yup, and I’ve got to say… they’re pretty tight!” I chirped cheerfully. “You’ve finally given me something sweet to play with! The whole ‘being a draconic’ thing has kinda already worn out its charm and these claws have turned out to be more annoying than cool… seriously, it’s like having four waggling hooves at the end of your wrists.”

‘Fascinating.’

“I suppose, but I’ve said it once I’ll say it again; give me hooves any day of the week! But, back on subject… what the heck are these things that I’ve been chasing around anyways?”

‘Well, first of all I feel compelled to correct you on your terminology. These red pupils you now possess grant you the power of celestial vision, not ‘dragon vision’… was that honestly the best you could come up with?’

I’ve discovered that shrugging is a much easier action to perform in my new body, now that I’m no longer on all fours, so I decided to do just that in response to Starswirl’s doubting of my l33t naming skillz.

“Eh, it was a tossup between either dragon vision or sw33t vision. Both sounded aight in my head.”

‘But you’re not even a dragon!’

“Well, yeah, but calling it landwyrm vision was just… no. Bleh! Heck, calling myself a landwyrm doesn’t sound right either! You said I can call myself a dragoness, right? Think I’ll do just that for now on… but now I can’t call myself DJ Dr4g0n! Looks like Cogy still has claim to that stage name… hmmm… l4ndwyr- nope. I can’t do anything cool with that! Dragoness it is then… or maybe DJ Dr4g0ne$$...”

‘… Your ability to waste what little brain power you possess on thoughts not even the word ‘trivial’ can be used to properly describe boggles my ancient mind.’

“Thank you! Thank you! You’re too kind!” I answered cheekily.

‘… Where did I put that desk? I have a feeling I’m going to need it in a bit… bleh, I’ve lost track of the conversation. Bard, what you are seeing with your… dragon vision… are the souls of the dearly departed.’

“… Are you pulling my leg again, Swirly?”

‘No, I’m afraid not. I wouldn’t joke around about such a… loaded subject matter. When your eyes glow crimson, you peer into the realm between life and death and see the world for what it truly is. The blue sun outside is proof enough that my words are true.’

“… How does that make any sense?”

‘It makes sense, bard, because the last time both you and I ever saw a blue sun it was at the pearly gates, as we waited to be judged.’

…!

Oh crap, I was right! W-which means Starswirl is also… “Well… buck. T-that’s kinda terrifying, now that I think about it…”

‘You still have doubts.’

“N-no…”

‘I’m in your mind, remember? Allow me to shatter what little amount of skepticism you had left by pointing out something you have not tried out yet for yourself.’

“A-and… and what would that be?”

‘Your vision has been improving the more you’ve been using your new gift, has it not? Now that you are capable of seeing souls through walls, such as the Queen’s massive soul… have you given yourself a once over? I know you haven’t'

“…”

I looked down at my claw.

“…”

-Gulp-

I’m… I’m almost too afraid to even try!

… B-but… but I know I have to. I need to know.

So, again, I closed my eyes…

“… Red.”

… And when I opened them, I nearly fell on my tail in shock at what I saw.

Right there, at the end of my wrist, overlapping my claw… was my hoof… ghostly pink and transparent… but it was my hoof all the same. Cranking my neck backwards, the equally ghostly manifestation of my flank and cutie mark were there to greet me in all their scary as buck glory. Despite this, despite being scared witless over seeing my ponyself again overlapping the tiny body I was now trapped in; despite me having a crap ton of questions concerning the orbs I’ve been chasing and why the hell I could even see this junk to begin with… only one question came to mind.

“… Why am I pink?”

Obviously the most important question.

‘You’re a mare, are you not?’

“Last I checked, yes.”

‘Well then there’s your answer. Have you never wondered why the color pink is heavily tied into feminine things, and blue for colts?’

“Not really, no. In fact, I really hate the color pink! Blue’s more my thang.”

‘It’s the same way for me. I prefer blue over pink, despite the color being prominent in my mane, but preference and who we are doesn’t affect the coloration. It is simply a guideline to how our bodies are supposed to grow and change as we age. The soul forms the body, not the other way around… although; sometimes the body can get in the way of this change, thus creating a dissonance between the two. Keep your eyes peeled in the future for fillies with blue souls and colts with pink… keeping their coloration in mind will aid you greatly when it comes to conversing with them.’

“I’ll… keep that in mind, I guess… wait, in the future? Like, as in down-the-road future?”

‘Well yes. What? Do you still doubt that a future even exists for you, that there is no hope? How many times do I have to tell you, bard? Quitting does neither of us any good. Our goals may be different, but surely you can see that by working togth-’

“No,” I again interrupted. “I’m not talking about that for once. I’m more concerned over the possibility of me being a landwyrm in the future instead of a pony!”

‘… You think the eyes are a part of your new body’s moveset.’

“Yeah… aren’t they?”

‘No… they are not. Vinyl… you peered past the veil that separates the land of the dead from the land of the living. You gazed upon Heaven itself and were chased by the guardian of Tartarus across its cursed soil… did you honestly believe that you would remain a mere mortal after accomplishing so much? These eyes, as well as the gift of celestial vision, are now yours to command. They will remain with you once your body shifts back into its birth form and stay with you for long after.’

…

I turned my head backwards… and confirmed that my tails (both the one with my horn on it and my ghostly ponytail) were now wagging madly like a dog’s.

I’m not surprised… I’m very very happy right now after all.

“I got super powers?!” I squealed excitedly, literally hopping in place.

‘… You were already a unicorn capable of performing the art of magic manipulat-’

“I got super powers!”

‘… -Sigh-, yes Vinyl… you got super powers. Congratulations…’

“Yay! I got super powers I got super powers~ I got… wait,” I abruptly stopped bouncing as something came to mind. “… What’s the catch?”

‘Catch?’

“Yeah! Catch!” I shouted, suddenly very nervous. “T-there’s always a catch for something like this! So, what is it then? Does it feed off my life-force? Does it make me a target for cultists? Gasp! Am I going to go blind?!”

‘… I don’t know much about the series, as I haven’t been given the chance to thoroughly look over your memories yet… but I highly recommend you stop reading so many Daring Do novels. They rot the brain. There is no ‘catch’; these are eyes meant for goddesses! Nearly perfect beings! It would make sense that they are without fault… outside of them activating of their own accord whenever strong spiritual activity is occurring around then, that is.’

Starswirl then muttered something under her breath. ‘…Well… there is also…legend… doom… thousand years…’

I blinked. “… What was that, Swirly?”

‘… Nothing. Nothing at all.’

“You sure?”

‘Positive.’

“...”

I opened my mouth to ask.

‘Don’t even try,’ she quickly cut me off. ‘You won’t get it out of me. I decided that the information was irrelevant and, if anything, it would prove nothing but a hindrance in the long run. Again… drop it.’

I huffed. “You’re acting pretty defensive about something that’s ‘nothing’.”

‘… If I were to tell you now the odds of your success would plummet from the minuscule levels they’re currently sitting at to a point where Cogwill’s survival would virtually be less than zero. Are you willing to risk your friend’s life for trivial information?’

“… This isn’t trivial. I’ve been with you long enough to know that this is far from trivial. I’ll drop it… for now, but I’ll be expecting it later though. Deal?”

‘… Deal.’

Now only a little unnerved as opposed to completely unnerved, I eased up and reorganized my thoughts. Starswirl’s right; I’ve got enough on my plate right now as is… I can’t allow anything else to bother me or else I’m boned.

… Won’t stop me from wondering about it though.

… Doesn’t hurt that I just heard Starswirl gulping on the other side of our mental connection either.

…

Taking a deep breath, I resumed our chat. “…Okay, wait… why are the orbs I’ve been chasing around yellow then if pink is for fillies and blue is for colts? And, come to think of it, why are they orbs in the first place? If my soul has a shape but they don’t… what the hay are they supposed to be anyways?”

Relief filled Starswirl’s voice as she answered me. She must be glad that I dropped the subject… for now.

‘Well, I cannot see them myself; I lack the gift you now possess.’

“Why?”

‘Last I checked I was a demon. I don’t think Heaven would take too kindly to a demon possessing an angel’s power.’

“Oh… okay, that makes sense.”

‘Good. As I was saying; I can only assume that these orbs are the souls of the seaponies being slain both here on this front and out there by Cogwill’s claws.’

I grunted angrily at that last remark.

“Cogy would sooner cry then kill, flankhole! I saw that myself! Don’t you dare try to put her in the same league as these stinky separatist sea serpents!” I stated proudly. Momma always said to always assume the best in ponies… although, that’s already screwed me over once with Starswirl…

‘But… you saw it yourself, Vinyl.’ Swirly argued. ‘Cogwill has given in to her greed… it’s the whole reason you’re even amongst the living right now! Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already.’

“Well excuuuuse me for having a little faith in my friends!”

‘… Again, I’ll allow you to live in your little dream world and argue about it no more. Returning to your question… yes, they are most likely the souls of seaponies dying and returning to their Queen in death.’

… My brain hurts.

“Soooo… the blue sun…?”

‘Is there to take the souls of slain sea serpents to the gates of Tartarus.’

“But that’s not the case with the seaponies?”

‘Correct. You didn’t see any being judged in heaven, did you? That in itself should have been a warning sign… after all, Cogwill killed three in your name when your life was taken.’

“… I don’t know whether I should feel honored or sad about that… bleh, I don’t want to think about it. So, yes, dead seaponies don’t go to the afterlife… where do they go then?”

‘You should know. You’re standing there right now.’

“… Here?”

‘Yes.’

“Why?”

‘Well… this is the foot of the Queen’s lair…’

“Yeah, and?”

‘The room beyond this is the chamber of Queen Ambrosine.’

“And that’s important because…?”

‘It is the room of Queen Ambrosine… the eternal Broodmother… it’s all in the name, bard.’

“…”

And thus I lost my lunch for the third time today… making me question how the hell I had anything left in me after all this crap!

“T-t-that’s,” -Umbh- “B-b-bucking nasty!”

‘For once I agree with you.’ Starswirl commented. ‘I always knew that Ambrosine’s gift to her subjects related to something involving flesh… but I didn’t think that every single member of the race were her children. Even those who have passed away are not free from her, as their very essence is recycled in a horrific rotation of death and rebirth. It’s no wonder these souls are both formless and devoid of a prominent color; they have been forced to live for so long that their very individuality has been taken away from them.’

“H-horrible…”

‘Horribly frightening, I’ll personally admit. The prospect of their souls being extinguished must seem like a merciful release to them…

‘Unfortunately this means that the Queen, or more specifically her ‘daughter’ who had the gall to name herself Princess, has a nearly infinite army at her disposal.’

“But, if that’s true… why is this place so empty?”

‘I can only assume that something is keeping her offspring off these grounds… they seem to be rather mindless, so maybe it was by order of the Queen herself? Maybe it was her very last command before age destroyed her once merciful mind… either that or magical seals are what’s preventing them from opening the doors… or a combination of the two. Again, I can only assume.’

“…”

‘… Bard?’

I started pacing back and forth, my claw firmly planted on my aching forehead.

“… I’m… I’m still trying to process all of this in my head, Swirly. It feels like half a library of information has just been crammed into my brain! Even better, I still don’t know why sea serpents are fighting seaponies, or what the hay the Princess’s beef is, or why I even have this soul seeing power in the first place!”

‘I just answered how you received this power three minutes ago!’ Swirly snapped.

“Yeah, vaguely!”

‘No! Straight as an arrow!’

“Well yes I am but what does that have to do with anything?!” I huffed.

There was a pause…

… Followed by the sound of Starswirl’s brain breaking.

‘… I, no I meant, but you, and the…’

WHAM!

‘… Oh dear. It seems I have broken a perfectly good table with the force of my forehead. Please, bard… for the sake of my sanity, let us just move forward.’

I cocked my head to the side. “But… what does my sexual preference have to do wi-”

‘Oh sweet Lyssa stop stop stop! Simply trying to grasp the train wreck that is your though process is causing my own to become just as warped and indecipherable!’

“…”

‘Ugh, thank you. Let me think now… where would be the best place to continue this little game of ‘catch-up’?’

I placed a clawed finger on my lips. “Ummm… how about at the ‘Princess’s beef’ part? I really want to know why I had to die in the first place and what’s Cogy’s part in all this is.”

‘Certainly. All I really have are bits and pieces of Cogwill’s memory to help me on this part… but they’ll have to do. From what I understand, Diamrem…’

My body shook involuntarily.

‘… Wishes to flood the world, as she thinks this was her ‘mother’s’ wish. I believe most draconics think this was Ambrosine’s goals as well… but Lyssa has been telling me a different story; one where the Queen only wished to flood the world with the sound of music. I’m afraid it is impossible to know what the Queen’s true goal was… it may be lost forever to the bowels of history. Maybe the gods who conversed with her would know, but I lack the means to discover the truth.’

“Wait wait wait wait,” I tried in vain to slow things down. “So… she wants to flood the world?! That… makes a whole lot of sense, actually… but how the hell does she plan to do that?!”

‘Well, that brings me to the sea serpents’ part in all this. The rebellion happening outside is due to a disagreement between tribes. One side is aligning themselves with the Princess, the other with themselves. These ‘stinky separatist sea serpents’, as you poetically labeled them, do not seem to like the methods Diamrem has used to achieve her goals. So far on her track record she has ensnared the boat you were on in the hopes of obtaining magic, killed you so that she could get closer to an element of harmony, and-’

With claws waving back and forth, I tried to pause this little ‘lecture’ of ours. “Wait wait wait wait, wait… again. Element of Harmony?”

‘Yes… one of the strongest artifacts in pony history. Gifts from the heavens themselves, as the legend goes. A pony named Rarity is one of the current bearers. She was the seaponies’ target. Cogwill knew this somehow… she claimed you were the element in an attempt to protect you from the Princess’s cruel tactics… as you can see, it didn’t work.’

“… Ow… my head… again. T-this is way too much for me to handle all at once!”

‘You were the one who wanted to know.’

“W-well, yeah… but I didn’t think that there was this freaking much going on! Who the hell can keep track of all this?!”

‘You can and will if you wish to have my aid. I refuse to help ignorant ponies, and I find that knowledgeable ponies are easier to direct and lead. You need to know these things, Vinyl, and you’ll thank me once I leave you alone to deal with this war on your own. You may even survive if you’re very, very lucky!’

“… And suddenly I remember why I hate you. Thanks for reminding me, Swirly.”

‘I’m only doing what I feel compelled to do. With Cogwill the way she is, how else were you going to learn about what’s going on? How else were you going to learn about your enemy and learn about their hostage?’

… Damn it all, Starswirl. Stop being so freaking cryptic.

I sighed and rubbed my temples as I asked the question Lyssa’s minion obviously wanted me to ask.

“And who would this hostage be then? And why should I care? I’ve got enough to deal with as is here…”

As soon as the words left my mouth, Starswirl began to laugh. She laughed the same evil sounding laugh that she had, well, laughed back in Tartarus; back when she laughed at my declaration to change the future. Just as it did back then, her laugh sent chills up my spine.

‘Princess Luna, bard. The princess of the night is now a member of the seaponies’ dungeon… makes you question the amount of power the goddesses of ponies actually possess, doesn’t it?’

“… P-princess Luna’s here?”

‘Indeed.’

“T-t-that’s so… so…”

‘Discouraging? Frightful? Eye opening?’

“Awesome!”

‘… Wha?’ Starswirl asked just as bluntly as confusedly.

“Yeah!” I shouted happily. “Don’t you see?! This is amazing!”

‘… I’m… I’m too afraid to enter your mind again and discover what the hay you’re wailing about for myself. I fear my own mind would get sucked into the infinite hole of stupidity if I did such a thing.’

“Oh shut up, Swirly,” I smiled. “Think about it! This place is empty, right?”

‘Outside of the floating souls, yes.’

“The Queen can’t do anything to me from behind this door…”

‘Again yes. I’d imagine that she is too bloated at this point to leave her chamber.’

“Diamrem is probably busy with her two wars…”

‘Possibly, yes... what are you getting a-’

“This means I have full rein of this castle, dungeon and all!”

‘… You’re… going to attempt to save Princess Luna?’

I slammed my claw against my chest. “Oh hell yeah! Somepony has finally thrown me a bone here! If I can set the Princess free, then this war will be as good as over!”

‘That doesn’t make sense, bard,’ Starswirl was quick to point out. ‘The seaponies were already capable of defeating Luna, thus freeing her wouldn’t give you the winning edge. Need I remind you that the very definition of insanity is trying the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results…’

My smile faltered for a brief second. “Hey, you don’t know that she wouldn’t be of help… d-do you?”

‘Again, I only have fragments of Cogwill’s memory to go off of for my information.’

“So you don’t know how they got her!” I pointed out, smile returning.

‘Well… that is true. I know sea serpents were used, but that’s about it. I don’t seem to have access to said serpents’ flames for some reason so I’m not sure how they did it… they must have been altered with magic or the lik- what in Lyssa’s name do you think you’re doing bard?!’

I raised my foot forward.

‘Vinyl, if you step away from the door your flame will die and you will be on your own!’

I wiggled my toes.

‘A-at least let’s think this through first before you do something dumber than usual! You don’t even know where the dungeon is!’

I pointed a claw at my eyes.

‘… Oh… right… celestial vision… b-but…’

I leaned forward.

‘Bard!’

And forward…

‘This is stupid!’

And forward some more…

‘If you die Lyssa and I wil-’

Slam!

… And with that I took a step forward and allowed the flame to die, thus ending our connection. I’ll admit… that was a really hard decision to make. I’m now alone again… but now I have a chance here! I can’t quite picture a scenario where saving a goddess didn’t equal a good thing, after all! True, she would need to have been beaten before in order for her to have been captured in the first place… but I’m sure they caught her off guard or something. Starswirl herself admitted that goddesses are ‘nearly’ perfect beings, so I bet Luna is just as likely to make mistakes as the rest of us.

She’s also just as pony as the rest of us too, which is good because I really need another pony to talk to right now. There’s only so much I can do on my own. And Starswirl… well I just can’t shake the feeling that she only sees me as a pawn. Doesn’t help that talking to her only gives me a headache…

On top of that, I also can’t shake the feeling that Swirly is going to betray me or something at some point here. After all, she’s probably the snakiest pony I’ve ever met! Yeah, she’ll help me and save my life a couple of times… but she’ll for sure stab me in the back after she does, no question.

… Hehe… and when that time does come she’ll be laughing manically and I’ll be all like ‘nooooo’ and she will be all like ‘mahaha’ and then about fifteen startling revelations will pop up in rapid succession right before somepony admits to being some other pony’s mother and then-

… Wow. Okay… Swirly might have had a point about me reading too many Daring Do novels.

Meh, Harry Trotter is better anyways.

Well… whatever. I’m getting distracted here. I’m sick of this room…

“Now… where’s that dungeon?”

***^***

… Celestial vision isn’t helping me nearly as much as I thought it would.

Reversing the orbs’ trail helped me with backtracking… but that was all that they helped me with. The souls already showed me a good chunk of the castle, but they hadn’t showed me the dungeons. Even the power to see through walls didn’t help me at all either, as each revisited room only rewarded me with jack all. At least all the orbs were a uniform color; this meant that I just had to look for another pink soul like mine or the Queen’s and I’d be in business.

… Wait… would Luna even have a soul? I mean, she’s a goddess… No, wait, the seapony Queen is a goddess as well, right? That means she has to have a soul too.

… But would it be pink, or blue?

… These new eyes have given me a lot to think about. My mind started playing around with the stupid little thoughts it was cooking up.

“Heh… I bet Blueblood’s is pink. I always thought that guy was like a spoiled little princess… wait, is that what the coloration means? I mean… mine’s pink too! Ugh! I wish I kept talking to Swirly now…”

…

…

“… Octy’s… might be blue, now that I think about it. She’s not really a tomboy like me… but she was never really a girly girl like Cogy either. Heh… now there’s a soul I can confidently say is pink! But, back on topic with Octy… yeah, blue, no question. Her tendency to kick flank when provoked; the way she carries herself, some of her mannerisms and little habits…

“Also the fact that she’s a raging fillyfooler.”

…

“… Actually, that might not have anything to do with anything. Ugh… guess I have another reason to live on now then; to see that which nopony has ever seen before!”

…

“… And then I will extort the hell out of the information. Mama’s going to buy herself a new turntable once all this is ove-”

Shuffle

“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!”

With both claws glowing bright blue, I jump backward and scanned the environment. I know I just heard something! With sweat dripping from my forehead, I took a step forward…

About-faced on the balls of my feet…

Zap!

… Then turned a mouse into a shot glass. After a few seconds the spell wore off and the mouse, though a little dazed, scurried off to parts unknown. Meanwhile, I remained frozen in place.

“… A mouse? Seriously?” I scoffed, shaking off the excess glow from my claws. “Where did that thing even come from?! Ugh! Okay… I’ll admit that having Starswirl watching my back was kinda nice. At least she could tell me if somepony was tailing me or something… oh well.”

With a shrug, I turned around with the intention of continuing down my path…

… Only to see something large quickly turn the corner in front of me and disappear.

…

Now, a normal pony in my scaly horseshoes (or would those just be shoes?) would be absolutely horrified right now. A normal pony would be screaming at the top of her lungs and running away in the opposite direction after seeing something like that…

… But I’m not a normal pony! Not anymore at least! I have dragon eyes and magic eyes! That split second was all I needed to see what exactly had just turned the corner in front of me…

Or, more accurately… who just passed me!

Breaking into a jog, I started to pursue my new guest. “Hey! Wait!”

I turned the corner… and the figure turned the other corner at the end of the hallway. This granted me a better look at this pony’s major defining feature that had caught my attention initially. Just like how my shades make it easy for ponies to identify me right away, this pony had the luxury of not only being big, but also the honor of having a unique mane.

I mean, nopony else has a rainbow ethereal mane, after all! Nopony… but Princess, Freaking, Celestia! Princess Celestia’s here! She must have come to save Luna! Swweeeeettttt!

Pushing as hard as my tiny draconic legs could take me, I broke into a full on run. Screaming at the top of my lungs failed to catch the Princess’s attention, but keeping my eyes the color red allowed me to see her pink soul as well as keep tabs on her in instances where I was too late in turning the corner. The splashing of water echoed throughout the hallways.

“Yo! Princess! Wait u-”

‘B… b-a-… b-bar-d… Bard! Stop running this instant and listen to me!’

The sudden return of Starswirl’s voice caused me to slow down momentarily, but with the shake of my head I continued my pace.

This didn’t stop the mare from screeching.

‘Vinyl! Pay attention to me!’

“Not now, Swirly!” -Huff- “N-need to concentrate here!”

‘That’s exactly the point!’ She wailed. ‘Stop being so impulsive and instead think! Does this scenario make any sense to you?! How could Celestia be here of all places?!’

-Huff- “W-well who else has a mane like that?!” I argued in between breaths. “Who else?!”

‘Well… Asterion is said to possess-’

“Exactly!” I cut her off. “Nopony! Now if you excuse me…”

Starswirl was at the point of screaming now.

‘Damn it all bard! Think! Think damn you! How am I even able to talk to you right now?! Your life is in danger! Disengage your tunnel vision and listen to m-’

“Hey Starswirl, guess what? Wubs in yo face!”

‘… What in the blue blazes are you talking abou- OH BY LYSSA’S ETERNAL WILL MY BLOODY EARS!’

Heh! Looks like I finally found out how to get Starswirl to shut up! All you have to do is get your mind to play the most annoyingly loud music you can (literally) think of and then set it on an infinite loop!

That being said… sorry, Neon Lights, but you still have a loooonnngggg way to go! Ha!

Now… back to the chase!

…

Or… not?

“Where did she…?” I asked to myself as I re-entered the grand dining room that I had visited earlier. Skimming my eyes around, I failed to locate where the Princess had gone off to. Well… crap in a hat.

“Thanks a lot, Swirly!” I pouted. “You made me lose her!”

‘Make it stop… please make it stop…’ the archmage whimpered.

I huffed in response as I went further into the room. Maybe I can find something that could point to where Celestia ran off t-

Out of the corner of my eyes, I spotted something lying on the wet floor. Kneeling down, I picked up the now slightly ruined painting of Celestia and held it in my claws.

“Huh,” I remarked. “Must of gotten knocked down when the Princess galloped by,” I said out loud simply for the sake of momentarily ending the quietness. With the quick gust of magic, I levitated the item back to its original place on the wall. As I did, my eyes fell on the illegible blue writing that I had tried reading earlier.

“Hmmmm…” I wondered, equally as out loud. “Maybe I should have Starswirl tell me what this says.”

“It’s ancient Meremare for ‘Traitors’, little pony in dame's clothing.”

My eyes darted over the blue writing, then over the blue X’s.

“Ouch,” I remarked. “That’s kinda harsh, Starswi-”

…

… Wait.

“Starswirl… you’re still suffering from my wub attack, right?”

‘My bloody ears are literally bleeding!’

... I’ll take that as a yes… But, if that wasn’t her… then who just answered me?!

Once again spinning in place, I found myself all alone in this grand dining room… until a ghostly lock of hair tickled my nose right before exiting through the doorway to another side hallway. Not even a second later, Celestia’s long and (admittedly) glorious mane peaked out from around this corner and beckoned to me as it blew in the unseen solar winds.

… Okay, now I’m a bit worried. Turning my celestial vision back on, I bypassed the wall dividing us and bared witness to a giant, Celestia shaped pink soul attached to the end of the ethereal mane.

So, this is Celestia then. I was right… b-but… but why are my knees shaking?! Something just feels off here.

…

-Inhale-

I took a step forward.

“P-princess Celestia?”

The mane continued to blow.

I took another step.

“H-hi,” I waved nervously. “R-remember me? I’m Vinyl Scratch? The pony that accidentally burned down your hedge maze, like, twice last year?”

“…”

‘Celestia’ remained quiet. When I didn’t receive a response to my words, I halted my advancement and took the moment to consider asking Starswirl for advic-

!!!

Okay… I don’t remember Celestia having the power to change the color of her mane!

I mean, I know it’s like made of pure magic and junk… but why would she change it from a rainbow, to something that looks like Nightmare Moon’s mane… and then finally to something that looks like swampy colored seaweed?!

SLURP!

And sentient swampy colored seaweed at that?! As the snakelike tendrils ensnared me and lifted me off the ground, my mind briefly returned me to my earlier visit to the Queen’s lair, where the same exact thing happened!

‘Bard,’ Starswirl chimed in weakly as my mental music loop shattered. ‘T-that’s… -cough-, n-not Celestia. Also… you, are, an, idiot.’

“Y-yeah, well…” I replied, equally as weakly. “I can’t really argue with you at this poin-”

And that’s when the mane finally reeled me in, allowing me to meet its owner…

… It’s not Celestia in the slightest owner.

The blue-eyed seapony smiled toothily at me.

“Boo.”

And then the world vanished.

…

…

…

… Tick… tock… tick… tock…

Elsewhere… the feather’s owner returns to the stage

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

…

Clickclick

The sound of my claws hitting the cold basement’s floor.

Mrrrrrrrr…

The sound of the giant before me moving his massive neck forward in response to my approach.

… Grrrrrrr…

The sound of his annoyance.

… He quickly vented said annoyance.

“What is this…Yet another child wishing to disturb my slumber? Hmph. Just my luck… What is it you want, bird?”

...

-Sigh-

The sound of what could possibly be my final breath.

“…You’re Cog’s dad, right?” I asked the embodiment of my greatest fear. “Well, sir…”

Clickclick

The sound of me stepping closer to the monster.

“... My name is Nathan De La Griffon…”

Rrrrrrr…

… The sound of my crossbow priming as I took aim.

“And the two of us… need to talk.”

~To Be Continued~

Author's Note

Artwork by More Dakka!

Also, before ya'll start asking me things concerning celestial vision, know this. It DOESN'T work on Queen Chrysalis... at all. It works on normal Changelings just fine, but not Chrysalis as well as a handful (hoofful?) of other beings. All will be revealed, don't worry :raritywink:

And lastly... lol, please check out this random deleted scene that I wrote while drunk! It was the proto-beginning for this chapter and I think my intoxicated brain was trying to tell me something :rainbowlaugh:

“… That was a close one, bard… but I fear those doors will be unable to hold back the horde forever. Head further into the castle now and attempt to seek shelter before they are able to…”

…

“… Bard?”

…

“… Oh by Lyssa’s left wing; she just passed out, didn’t she?”

“RRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!”

“Yes… yes I agree, my Queen. She is quite useless.”

Taking advantage of the momentary calm, I sat up and stretched out my leathery wings. With the wave of my azure hoof, I successfully wiped away the sweat that had accumulated on my brow. Goodness, this whole ordeal has become more stressful that I originally perceived it to be.

… But at least progress has finally been made. “I say, it was absolutely maddening watching her simply sit there and wallow in self-pity. It felt like months were passing before my very eyes, and yet nothing was happening! Who does that, in all honesty?! Who promises great things, yet provides nothing of worth for extended periods of time?! It’s like reading a book that’s still in the process of being written; it’s not ready… yet the author still sets it out there for all to see! Doesn’t even have the courtesy of declaring his work to be on a hiatus when it quite obviously is on one, the no good bast-”

“RRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!”

I blinked at Lyssa’s sudden outburst before realizing my latest folly. “Oh… oh I’m truly sorry, my Queen. I guess my mind decided to go off of a tangent there for a second. Not even quite sure what I was ranting about there either…”

“RRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAARRRRRR!!!”

I blinked for a second time. “… Fourth wall? What in your name is a fourth wall?”

“ROAR… ROAR.”

“… That’s absolutely horrifying.”

“ROAR.”

“Well thank goodness it’s not a real thing then."

That's all for now!

[BONUS CHAPTER] Chapter ??: To Be April Fooled

Derply: Ahhhh… you know what we don’t see on this site that often? Script format. God I love script format. You can be so gosh darn lazy with script format it’s not even funny. Good thing it’s not explicitly banned on here or anything.

SLAM!

The sound of a door being kicked open. The author, ManlyDerp (also known as lovable old Derply), quickly turns around from where he is sitting in response.

Derply: Da buck?

Cogwill: Yo! Author! We got a problem here!

Derply: … Cog? What the hell? Didn’t I change you into an eldritch abomination nine months ago or something? Hmmmm… I should really get around to fixing that, come to think of it...

Cogwill: Dude, that doesn’t matter right no-

Derply: I should also get around to writing the big reveal that you like guys.

Cogwill: … Wha?

Derply: Yup. Guys. You love um.

Cogwill: …Wait, so the whole shipping thing with Nate could actually happen?

Derply: If you can get over the fact that he’s, like, twelve… then yeah.

Cogwill: Huh… *shakes head* N-nevermind! We’ve got a bigger issue here! THE FUTURE CHAPTERS GOT LEAKED ONLINE!!!

Derply: Gasp! You mean the ones where we finally make it to Ponyville?!

Cogwll: Yes!

Derply: The ones that happen after time travel shenanigans completely retcon the Flim Flam brothers into not evil good ponies?!

Cogwill: Yes!

Derply: The ones I haven’t even written up yet and are in third person for reasons that are never adequately explained?!

Cogwill: YES!!

Derply: Well hogtie me and call me Samantha that’s some serious @#$% right there!

Cogwill: YE- … hogtie and call you what?

Derply: No time to explain! TITLE CARD INBOUND!

Chapter, like, 50- To Be Fooled

“Surprise surprise, you ran out again!” shouted the rainbow mane pegasus as she pointed an accusing hoof at the frazzled earth pony.

Applejack bit back the urge to lash out at Rainbow Dash for potentially fanning the flames of war, but when a yellow stallion stepped forward from the crowd, shouting “Yeah, you always run out!” the apple farmer knew that things were about to turn nasty, no matter what she did.

Fluttershy tried to calm her fellow pegasus down. “For the record, I don’t min-”

But Rainbow Dash was too furious to notice.

“Why can’t you make enough cider for all of us?” She accused. “Or at least for me!”

As more and more complaints started to circulate through the angry crowd of ponies, each member of the apple family quickly shot each other a concerned look. They did not like where this was going.

Applejack tried to cork the coming storm. “Hold on everypony,” she said. “We’ve done our best to improve supply this yea-”

“You always say that!”

With a silent curse towards Carmel, the closet-ist coltcuddler who ever did hide in closets, the young mare continued her speech with an honest smile.

“And it’s always true. But Apple family cider is made with love and integrity, and only the highest quality apples in Equestria. Sorry, but that recipe takes time…”

The crowd’s angry murmurs insinuated that this did not have the desired affect Applejack had hoped it would have. Thus, she continued.

“If y’all just be patient, we’ll have plenty more tomorrow.”

Rainbow Dash looked like she was about to assault the humble pony right there and then. At the sight, Applejack winced and prayed to Celestia that this whole incident would just end peacefully already.

Unfortunately, Pinkie Pie felt like ‘helping’.

The moment she opened her lips the apples knew that their fates were sealed.

“She’s right, y’know!” Pinkie Pie shouted happily, oblivious to what was going on. “You can’t rush perfection! And this year’s batch was perfection!”

Fluttershy tried in vain to silence the pink mare. “Uh, Pinkie Pie-”

But the party pony continued, unaware of the rage that was slowly building within her cyan friend.

“I’ll never forget the cider I just drank! It was a moment in time that will never exist again…”

As Pinkie Pie moaned dreamily, visions of cider mugs dancing in her head, Rainbow Dash growled angrily as visions of sharp, broken cider mugs danced in her head.

Just before she could commit third degree pony slaughter, however…

Toot… sheet… toot… sheet…

… The sound of twin whistles blowing pierced the air. First it was quiet and distant; easily being mistaken for as the tweeting of birds… but then they grew louder, and the sound of large wheels turning followed suit…

And finally… music.

Music, like that being produced on a gramophone, filled the silence that had fallen over the cider stand. All ponies stood stock still as their eyes went westward, trying to find the source of the pleasant song.

And, after a few seconds, they found it.

In all her years Applejack had never seen a more peculiar sight.

“What in Equestria is that?” She asked, almost in a whisper, as the great giant rose up from over the horizon.

The beast was mechanical in nature, yet possessed many qualities that made it both new yet familiar to the cowpony. It reminded her of a cross between a wagon and a snowplow, and lo and behold this great monster possessed such a tool as well. It also possessed lights made for seeing in the dark, and a podium made of wood. With dozens of turns and knobs; with steam hissing every which way and fancy equipment she could never even hope of understanding, it was safe to say that Applejack was at a lost.

Clipclop

And then, just to make matters even more confusing, two tall stallions stepped out of this great contraption just as the music reached a fevered pitch. Decked out in matching pairs of stripped shirts and hats, with apples adorning their flanks, it could be argued that the two cream colored unicorns were just as impressive in display as their great machine…

Clickclick

… But then a third figure jumped down off the contraption… a figure that was not a pony at all.

With scales of green and mane of red; with eyes of teal and forked tail, the baby dragoness stood in between the two much larger ponies. Wearing her own matching uniform, the young dame wore a fang revealing smirk as she put her weight on the yellow tinted cane she brought with her and as she casted her eyes over the crowd of gathered ponies. Momentarily titling her head downwards, allowing her rimmed hat to cover her eyes, she snapped her fingers three times in sync to the ever present music…

Snap, snap… snap!

... and on the third snap she flared her wings, gripped her cane in both claws, flashed the audience a toothy grin…

Then began to sing.

“Well looky what we got here, brothers of mine, it’s the same in every town,” she began. “Ponies with thirsty throats, dry tongues, and not a drop of cider to be found! Maybe they’re not aware that there’s really no need for this teary despair…”

“That the key that they need to solve this sad cider shortage my brother and I will share~” The mustached stallion finally spoke as he started to mingle in the crowd of gathered ponies.

As the watching equines began to chat amongst themselves, the two salesponies plus dragon let their voices be heard as they began to become truly animated. Dancing ensued.

“Well you’ve got opportunity in this very community~!”

With the twirl of her cane, the dragoness stepped forward.

“I’m the dragon with the plan and this is Flim and Flam~” she sang, pointing her cane at the youngest and the eldest unicorns in that order just as they both stepped forward passed her.

“We’re the world famous Flim Flam brothers!” The two declared. “Traveling salesponies nonpareil~”

Unable to contain her curiosity any longer (or merely the fact that she had not talked in the last three minutes), Pinkie Pie finally spoke out, simply asking “Non-pa what?”

The youngest pony, Flim, smirked as he stepped forward and answered the mare in musical form.

“Nonpareil~, and that’s exactly the reason why, you see, no pony else in this whole place will give you such a chance to be where you need to be!”

Smooch~!

The sound of Flim kissing the forehead of the youngest apple, Applebloom, in a bid to show the more ‘down to Equestira’ side of business.

He continued, setting the filly down. “And that’s a new world, with tons of cider; fresh squeezed and ready for drinking…”

The eldest, Flam, stepped forward and boasted “more cider than you can drink in all your days of thinking~!”

To that statement, Rainbow Dash simply huffed, muttering “I doubt that!”

But she was ignored as the dragon took charge yet again, leading the crowd in song with the wave of her cane. “So take this opportunity…” she sang.

“In this very community!” the gathered ponies finished for her.

Flam pointed at Flim. “He’s Flim!”

Flim pointed at Flam. “He’s Flam!”

They then pointed at the oddity of their trio, who comically pointed to herself as her tongue was sticking out, making her look adorable.

“She’s the dragon with the plan!” The brothers sang in unity right before declaring yet again that “We’re the world famous Flim Flam brothers!”

“Traveling salesponies nonpareil~” The three repeated in timing with the music. After that the dragon used her wings to lift herself up to the podium, then used her cane to point at the giant contraption said stand was attached to.

The little one chuckled once again before continuing the song. “I suppose by now you’re wondering ‘bout our peculiar mode of transport…”

Flam’s voice reached max harmonization as he reared up on his back legs, allowing his front limbs to spin in a fashion akin to the rotation of wheels.

“I say, our mode of locomotion~”

The dragoness went on. “And I suppose by now you’re wondering, where is this promised cider?”

The youngest tilted his hat backwards, showing off his teeth. “Any horse can make a claim and any pony can do the same…”

The dragon fluttered off the podium, landing on the backs of both Flim and Flam at the same time. Reaching out, she placed her head in between the heads of her fellow business ponies before moving the song forward.

“But my brothers and I have something most unique and superb, unseen at any time in this brand new world…”

“And that’s opportunity~” The brothers, minus sister, finished.

“Folks, it’s the one and only, the biggest and the best!” Flim made sure to boast.

“The unbelievable!” said Flam.

“Unimpeachable!” said Flim.

“Indispensable!” said the dragoness.

“I can’t believe-able!” finished Flim.

Then, all together, all three shouted to the high heavens…

“Flim Flam brothers’ Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000~!”

“What d’you say, sister?” Flam added quite flirtingly towards the unicorn known as Rarity. In response, the pearl white mare raised a hoof to her forehead and fainted right on the spot. Another little dragon, with scales of purple, tried to hold up the much larger pony as she threatened to crush him on size alone…

“Fwoosh~”

… But the sudden appearance of a heart shaped ball of smoke caught him off guard. The young drake turned his head, trying to find the source of the strange smoke signal, and was greeted by the smirking face of the baby dragoness. With the batting of her eyelashes and the blowing of another ‘kiss’, the dame was just as successful at ‘knocking out’ this audience member as Flam had been with Rarity.

Whoomp!

… Much to the other baby dragon’s misfortune. Now just as weak in the knees as the unicorn mare had been, Spike didn’t stand a chance as Rarity crushed him fully. This caused the dragoness to silently laugh her tail off for reasons that only she would understand.

The rest of the crowd didn’t pay this scene any attention, instead being too caught up in the song now to care.

“Oh, we got opportunity in this very community. Please Flim and Flam and the dragon with the plan, help us out of this jam with your Flim Flam brothers’ Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000~!”

Now assured that the entire crowd was under their control, the emerald scaled hatchling stepped forward. With the gently rapping of her cane against the apple cider stand’s wood, she drew all the apple ponies’ attentions towards herself. She then casted her slit eyes on the orange stetson wearing mare; the one in charge.

“Ms. Apple farmer, ma’am,” the dragon began, showing her respect. “I would be ever so honored if you might see fit to let my brothers and I borrow some of your delicious, and might I add spell-bindingly fragrant apples, for our little demonstration here?”

“Um…” Applejack replied, taken aback by both the politeness and forwardness of a child roughly the same age as her young sister… but after a split second of staring into the dame’s young and innocent looking face she finally relented. “Uh, sure, I-I guess.”

The dame smiled and turned to give her ‘brothers’ a thumbs up.

With the nod of their heads, the brothers’ horns began to glow bright green as they drew their attention towards the great contraption.

The crowd cheered. “Opportunity, in our community~!”

“Ready Flim? Ready Flam?” The dragon asked as she rested her claws on the curved portion of her cane.

Both unicorns nodded their heads with a smile.

The baby dame slammed her cane down on the wooden boards of the contraption’s podium, producing a deafening bang that the audience again cheered for.

“Let’s bing-band zam~!” The two stallions shouted together happily as bursts of green energy left their horns.

As soon as both beams struck the specified tubes of their contraption, Flim added “And show these thirsty ponies a world of delectable cider!” to the song.

“Cider, cider, cider, cider!” chanted the crowd, now fully invested. As they did, a giant vacuum detached itself from the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 and departed towards sweet apple acres through the power of magic. Once it reached a fully ripe apple tree, it began to perform its duty by sucking up all the fruit on said tree’s limbs, sending dozens of apples tumbling back towards the machine through its tubes.

“Watch closely my friends!” shouted the dragoness over the crowd of ponies as they drew closer to the machine in a bid to see what was about to happen to all these apples.

“The fun begins!” Flam declared musically, further railing the crowd.

Flim stepped forward with the crowd, pointing a hoof at a glass display that was now showing each and every apple being sorted into either good or bad piles.

He elaborated through song. “Now, here's where the magic happens, right here in this heaving roiling cider press boiling guts of the very machine, those apples plucked fresh are right now as we speak being turned into grade-A top-notch five-star blow-your-horseshoes-off one-of-a-kind cider!”

The little dragon gently tapped the glass with her cane while beckoning other ponies forward with a claw. “Feel free to take a sneak peek~!” she said quite enthusiastically.

But, just as ponies drew near…

“Now wait, you fellers, hold it! You went and over-sold it! I guarantee that what you have there won’t compare!”

All eyes fell on the green coat earth pony mare, the eldest apple Granny Smith. No longer sitting idly by, the elder shared her two bits equally as enthusiastically. Whether she was aware that she was singing, however, remained unknown.

“For the very important ingredient can’t be added or done expedient, and its quality, friends, Apple Acres’ quality and care!” Granny Smith ended by putting her hoof down.

Ready for this neighsayer, Flim stepped forward with mug at ready.

“Well Granny, I’m glad you brought that up, my dear, I say I’m glad you brought that up. You see that we are very picky when it comes to cider if you’ll kindly try a cup…”

Taking the mug in hoof, Granny Smith took the tiniest of sips… then failed horribly at hiding her pleasure in the high quality tasting beverage.

Flam chuckled as he took the reins of the song yet again. “Yes sir, yes ma’am this great machine it’s just the very best. So whaddaya say then, Apples? Care to step into the modern world and put the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 to the test~?”

The wails of “Cider, cider, cider,” picked up again as the song reared its end.

"What do you think, folks?" The dragoness egged the audience on one last time. "Do you see what the Apples refuse to see? We see it clear as day! I know she does and so does he! C'mon Ponyville, you know what I'm talking about!"

Together, all three salesponies harmonized their voices one final time to finish up with “We’re saying you’ve got…”

And then the crowd exploded into song, joining in the final verses.

“Opportunity in this very community! He’s Flim and Flam, she’s the dragon with the plan, and we’re the world famous Flim Flam brothers! Traveling salesponies nonpareil~! Yeah!”

And thus the music finally ended.

Applebloom, having been completely sold thanks to the song, raised a hoof forward as if she was speaking for the whole family. “You got a deal!”

The entirety of the crowed agreed through shouting.

Granny Smith, however, said otherwise.

“Not so fast!” She shouted, gathering the other apple ponies together into a group huddle. “No way no how that machine matches up with the care we put in our cider!” She tried again to argue, despite her earlier failing at proving this right.

“But if it really does work, we could make everypony in town happy!” The innocent little Applebloom debated with her elder.

Applejack was at a loss. “I just don’t know, y’all. We’ve always made cider the same way.”

Big Mac was, as always, the voice of reason within this family.

“Eeyup,” he added to the conversation strongly. Before anypony could nod their heads in agreement, however, two new additions to the group huddle were made known.

“We’ll sweeten the deal.” Flim suggested. “You supply the apples…”

“We supply the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.” Flam added.

They then spoke together that “Then we split those sweet sweet profits…”

“Seventy five…” said Flim. “Twenty five,” said Flam.

“Dea-”

Before Applebloom could finish, Applejack used a hoof to silence the filly.

“Hold on.” Applejack interrupted. “Who gets the seventy five?”

“Why, us naturall-”

“Now hold on there, boys.”

This time, it was Flim who was interrupted. Cranking their heads backwards, both brothers faced the tiniest member of their trio.

“But…” Flam tried to say.

Again though, the dame cut him off. “No buts. I’ll handle this deal, boys. You don’t want this to end up like the Horseton deal did, do ya?”

Looking sheepishly, the two brothers kicked up some dirt with their hooves as their heads drooped.

“No…” they muttered.

The dragon gave them both a warm smile. “Then allow me to handle this, okay?”

“… Okay…”

With that the two brothers left, returning to their machine in order to try to sell the concept a bit more with the townsfolk. The apples looked on in confusion right before looking downwards (or simply forward, in Applebloom’s case) towards the dragoness.

“Heh, I swear” the dame remarked, turning to face the Apples. “Those two’s greed can be just as potent as a dragon’s at times.” Removing her hat, the dragoness gave a little bow. “I’m terribly sorry for their behavior, and I’m sorry for not introducing myself. My name is Cogwill the Dragon,” she said, bringing a claw forward. “Pleasure to meet you!”

Applejack, having finally been given a moments calm from all the sudden surprises, gave a sigh of relief right before bringing her hoof forward in order to finish the shake.

“Howdy!” she greeted warmly, assured that she was finally talking to somepony with some sense. “I’m Applejack, and this here is mah brother Big Mac, mah sister Applebloom, and mah Granny Smith. So, you’re with this group here then?”

Cogwill rested her body on her cane. “Yup yup; I’ve been a member of this show since October. Heh, I’m kinda of a late addition though, so outside of being the accountant and the only one with her head on straight I don’t get that many spots in the song.”

“Well that’s a shame, your voice is pretty!”

At the complement, Cogwill blushed. “Well thank you kindly, Applebloom. Glad you liked it!

“Now then, we should probably talk business then, shouldn’t we? I don’t think this crowd would like us mingling for too long…”

Narrowing her eyes, Applejack now looked at the dragoness with a sense of unease. Something about her was rubbing the mare wrong way, but she couldn’t quite put her hoof on it.

Ignoring her nagging feelings, but not letting up on her narrowed eyes, Applejack replied with “Yeah… ‘bout that…”

“I’m aware my ‘brothers’ might have come on a bit… strong.”

“Now there’s an understatement.”

Again Cogwill blushed. “I-I’m sorry, Ms. Applejack. It’s just who they are, and I can assure you that their behavior has been bad for business in the past, so at least take heart that I’m willing to give you that little secret as a show of good will.”

Applejack was still not convinced. “They wanted to take seventy-five percent of our income…”

“Again, I apologize. In this case, they thought with their greed and not their heads. We don’t have any need for that much profit! You do though, correct? This cider season is how you survive the winter, yes?”

The Apples shared a nervous look.

“How…?” Big Mac tried to inquire.

“Let’s just say a little birdy told me,” replied Cogwill with another toothy smirk. “He also told me how many ponies are currently waiting in line right now and how many are not getting their cider fix today. Now…” reaching into her hat, the dragoness pulled out a notebook. “… Let’s do some fancy mathematics, shall we?

“Let’s say that sales were to end today; how much are you looking at as your ending net cash flow?” asked the dame, bringing a feathered quill forward.

Applejack blinked. “…Wha?”

Stepping around her sister, Big Mac took the quill in mouth and scribbled something onto the papery surface. Before Applejack could get the chance to look, Cogwill turned the notebook around and considered the new number.

“Hmmm…” she hummed. “Not bad... now, let’s times this number by three.”

The dragoness began to scribble on the paper. “Each digit represents one day of cider season. Because of your limited supplies, you are locked out of obtaining any more profit then… this.”

Once again, the notebook was turned around. Big Mac scratched (more like rubbed) his chin as he looked at it.

“Is this enough to last you?” Cogwill asked bluntly.

With shoulders drooping, the red stallion lowered his hoof and let out a pitiful “N-nope.”

The dragon sighed. “I see… but…”

The dragon turned the page.

“… Does this look like a better number?”

After looking at each other, all four Apple ponies (including the clueless Applebloom and the not so clueless but still rather silly Applejack) nodded their heads a resounding “Eeyup.”

“Well then… you’ll be happy to know that this is an estimated number calculated by taking the total population number of ponies in Ponyville, assuming that each pony purchases one glass each, and then multiplying it by three… while also selling each glass at half price.”

The apple family gasped.

Tucking the notebook away, Cogwill finished by saying. “Oh… and it also includes us taking that seventy-five percent cut, by the way.”

The orange earth pony was speechless. “T-that’s twenty-five percent?!”

The dragon smirked.

“Eeyup~! You guys really have a problem here. You have demand but no supply! We can help you match that desired supply but only if you let us. Listen, I agree that the cut idea is outrageous, but so is denying half your market what they want! Shortages build demand, of course, but demand can only rise so much before things turn sour and ponies are discouraged from seeking out the product all together! Someday, Heaven forbid, you might find yourself with a surplus but no demand!”

“But…”

Applejack was cut off by the waving of a green claw. “Yes yes, I’m aware of expenses. I wouldn’t be much of an accountant if I didn’t, after all! If we help you here, you run the risk of running out of the apples you need to continue business until winter breaks out. So, that’s why we won’t be taking a seventy-five percent cut. Even a fifty percent cut is a bit outlandish… How about seventy-five to twenty-five, with you taking the big slice of the apple pie?”

Again feeling uneasy, the farming mare finally decided to be straight forward by simply asking “What’s the catch?”

The dragoness smirked.

Applejack braced herself for the worse.

“We… want to come next year. That’s the catch.”

Applejack blinked. “… Beg pardon?”

Glancing towards her ‘brothers’, Cogwill stated “We… just want to be assured that we can come again next year, and the year after, and maybe ever after that as well if the demand is still there and if we can still be of service. If I were really greedy like the rest of my kind I’d also ask for some spare beds as well but that’s up for you to decide. I wouldn’t blame you if you said no either… between you and me, Flam snores. A lot. How Flim puts up with it I’ll never know…”

The orange mare was still at a loss. “Sugarcube… ah don’t quite get what you’re tryin’ to say.”

Cogwill brought her attention back to the farmer’s eyes, but her own betrayed her for the briefest of seconds. No longer were they the cocky, bright eyes of youth. Instead they held a tiny flicker, one that suggested that the small child wasn’t all that she appeared to be. Even the idea that she was a child was slowly slipping from Applejack’s mind. Applebloom, nor her friends, possessed eyes such as these after all. Not even Spike…

“These boys,” the dragoness elaborated, knocking the farm filly out of her thoughts. “Have lost their home to a rather nasty witch, and now they’re nothing more than drifters. Although they don’t talk about it much I know that it’s something they worry about. Having the knowledge that, when worst comes to worse, they’ll still have a place to hang up their hats… well… that’s worth its weight in gold, wouldn’t you agree?”

“… Youngster,” Granny Smith muttered as she rested a hoof on the small creature’s shoulder. “Y’all, the three of ya… are family, aren’t you…”

This was not a question, and Cogwill knew this, but she chose to answer it all the same.

“They’re just one of many.” She smiled. “My name was given to me by my minotaur family, and my scales my dragon family. And my life, well, that came from someplace else entirely… but yes, Flim and Flam are just as much my family as the others were and still are. They are my brothers and I’m their sister. We help each other and look out for each other… that’s what families are supposed to do after all, right? At least, that’s what I’ve always believed... does that answer that for you, ma’am?”

With a smile that was as serene as could be, Granny Smith replied “It sure does, dearie. Ah can tell that you’re a good Apple… and that’s good enough for me.”

She then raised her hoof forward.

“You’ve got yourself a deal, sugarcube.”

With the thunderous cheers of the townsfolk deafening, Cogwill took the hoof in both her claws (allowing her prop cane to hang off her wrist) and gently shook it in agreement.

“Thank you ma’am. We won’t let you down, ma’am!”

Suddenly, two yellow hooves joined the shake.

“You won’t regret this!” Assured Flim.

“I can only see this becoming the start of even greater things to come, Granny!” Cheered Flam.

Derply: STTTTTOOOOPPPPPP!!!!

Snap!

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

Ponies remain frozen in place as time slows to a crawl. The author steps forward from the shadows.

Derply: Phew! That was a close one…

From behind the author, an identical baby dragoness steps forward. She observes her clothed counterpart momentarily before directing her attention to her companion.

Cogwill: Awwww why did you stop it?! That was a fun alternate universe to read about!

Derply: Yes… but it was too good I’m afraid.

Cogwill: What do you mean?

The author sighs.

Derply: This chapter… this whole chapter was started back in January. I had this whole thing planned out and I wanted nothing more than to have it done by this date…

Cogwill: … This date? But what’s so special about toda- wait… oh crap in a hat its April first isn’t it.

Derply: That it is my dear Cog. This was supposed to be my surprise for this day: an entire A.U. universe for me and readers to play around with… but I just couldn’t finish it in time. I could have made so many silly references! I could have told an entirely different mythos! I could have interacted with the mane six much earlier then what the actual story would have allowed! And, most importantly, I could have done something I haven’t done in a long time…

Cogwill: And what would that have been?

The author smiles.

Derply: … I could have written a scenario where you were happy. An entire universe where you weren’t being tortured physically or mentally; an entire universe where you weren’t being constantly challenged, a universe where all the horrible things I have planned for you didn’t happen… but then my personal life got in the way and I lost the ability to write for fun. I’m on a hiatus now, but if I just wasn’t so stubborn maybe I could have realized my limits earlier and thus have had enough time to finish what I had planned…

Cogwill: Derply…

Derply: … Heh, I know it’s silly.

Cogwill: Indeed.

Derply But I honestly felt that… wait, what?

The baby dragoness shakes her head, smiling all the while.

Cogwill: That’s silly. You’re silly. This alternative universe was fun to read, yes… but I wouldn’t have been happier here.

Derply: Y-you… you wouldn’t have been?

Cogwill: Heh, nope. Conflict is the spice of life! It brings about greater things to those who are patient! It’s icky, yes, but it can also lead to amazing situations! Dynamic stakes! And, most importantly, glorious rewards!

Derply: … Heh. And you call me silly. Who said anything about you gaining an ultimate reward at the end of your trials, Cog?

The dragoness smirks.

Cogwill: Nopony did… but they didn’t need to. I already got my reward.

Derply: … What?

With the simple wave of her claw, Cogwill brings the author’s attention to her frozen doppelganger.

Cogwill: In my opinion, this Cogwill is less than me. She gets to meet the mane six, yes… but where’s Nate, Derply? Or Vinyl? Where are her friends?

The author is taken aback.

Derply: O-oh, well… I… I guess the Manehatten trip doesn’t happen in this universe, so she’s only really friends with Iron Will and the Flim Flam brothers.

Cogwill smirks

Cogwill: Then I will say it again. She is less them me. Iron Will hasn’t been fully fleshed out yet in this story, and neither has these new Flim Flam brothers... but Nathan De La Griffon is currently fighting a Celestiadamn dragon for me as we speak and Vinyl is trying to grow into an adult. Both are well rounded characters, both are facing their own trials right now, and both are my friends. They are part of my hoard, Derply, and you simply can’t take that away from me.

Derply: I-I…I…

Pat~

The sound of a green claw gently patting itself across the author’s back.

Cogwill: Derply, stahp. You can’t write worth a damn anymore. You’re at risk of destroying everything that made this fic special to you and others. An A.U. is dandy and all but it was supposed to be for the lolz, not super-duper hardcore intense like the rest of this 200K beastie. Go back to your hiatus, man, and get some much needed R&R. Lord knows you’ll need it for the rest of what you have planned.

Derply: … Sigh~. You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I've been stressing over this stupid little April Fools chapter, as well as the rest of this story, way too freaking much. I love this fic and I don’t want to stop it… okay. I’ll head back to my vacation, Cog. You’ve convinced me.

Cogwill: Great to hear… just one question though.

Derply: Oh, sure, shoot.

Cogwill: Where was this A.U. thing heading to anyways? Was it just going to repeat that MLP episode or…?

The author suddenly laughs nervously.

Derply: O-oh, well… h-heh, funny story about that actually. The A.U. was only half of my April fools surprise. After a bunch of messing around with the ponies of Ponyville, the whole thing would have ended with a comment from the Flim Flam brothers about how all the excess cider barrels got shipped off to a place called Wethoof Village.

Cogwill: Oh… wait, Wethoof Village?! Y-you mean…?!

The author smiles wickedly before pointing downwards towards the slowly approaching cue card. Nervously, Cogwill breaks the forth wall by looking down over the text and reading the ending for herself.

And thus A Cog in the Machine joined the Chessverse

Cogwill: … Dude.

The author continues to chuckle throatily.

Derply: Yes~?

Cogwill: That’s… really lame.

The author’s smile drops.

Derply: Wha?

Cogwill shrugs.

Cogwill: Well, yeah, it’s lame. I know a lot of your readers tell you that you should probably join The Chess Game of the Gods universe, and faking joining them would be kinda funny… but only having the one reference to it would just be seen as weak.

Derply: But it’s not just the one reference!

Cogwill: … It’s not?

Derply: Nope! I also have this scene!

Twenty chapters full of fluff and universe breaking headcannon later…

A mighty diamond dog looked out over the horizon. With spear at his side and shrouded in cloths of green, he was a powerful specimen of an Alpha to behold. Scars ran down his greyed fur, reminders of battles long since won and lost. One lied along his throat and, despite its age, it was still just as visible as the day is had been received.

With hardened eyes trained forward, the strong creature remained vigilant as the sun set in the distance. Another day had passed, and again he was alive. Truly this was a reason in itself to celebrate. Turning to leave, the mute Alpha made to travel to his strange and mystical wagon, in the hopes of spending time with his loved ones.

His… pack.

… But then he was stopped by the smacking of a small creature against his face.

Taken aback, but unable to scream, the diamond dog gently placed his weapon down against the ground just before he equally as gently removed the tiny green thing from his muzzle. Now with the creature in his paws, the Alpha blinked blankly at the little girl that was smiling toothily up at him.

The diamond dog raised an eyebrow.

The dragoness’s lips began to flap.

“Hi!” She chimed. “I’m Cogwill! I’m a dragon! You don’t know me, and I only really know you from second hand sources, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve liked everything I’ve heard! So, with that said, can I please have your puppies?”

The diamond dog blinked a second time.

“Please~?”

And a third time did the dog blink.

“Pretty please~?”

The warrior’s eyes, posture, expression, and general everything translated into quite a powerful “What?”

Having finally had enough, the dame grabbed the diamond dog’s muzzle with her claws and forced his face closer to her own. With eyes barely an inch away from each other, the dragoness commanded “You. Me. Cute little fire breathing Echo puppies. Now.”

Echo the Diamond Dog, despite having a mangled voice box, used his strained and garbled organ cords to produce the most potentate and blunt “Wha?” he had ever uttered in his entire two lives.

And thus Cogwill was horribly murdered by Daring Do

~The End~

Cogwill: …

Derply: …

Cogwill: … Derply, go home, you’re drunk.

Derply: … Okay.

Author's Note

So... THAT... well I guess saying "April Fools" is kinda unnecessary at this point. So... what the hell was that, you might ask?

PROOF that I need a break, that's what.

I had this originally planned as a straight up chapter but I was unable to finish it in time. Thus the "Talking with my own creation" framing device was used in order to tie together what little I actually had. What that resulted in was a feeling of rush-ness mixed in with a feeling of, well, WTF. I honestly still don't quite know myself, sadly... but talking/typing up what felt natural for Cogwill to say (after working my way back into the groove of writing for her, that it) really helped me sort out all these little nagging feelings I've been, well, FELLING lately. Maybe now you can see what the hell is going on in my head right now XD

One last thing though and this is NOT an April Fools prank... while all of this can be considered noncanon (for obvious reasons) ONE thing in this mess WILL be canon later on. What is that, you might ask? You'll have to wait and see!

Happy April First Everypony!

Chapter 10: To be Heard... Part 3 of ???

…

… Hmmmm…

…

… Grrrr…

…

… Sigh~…

…

…The ceiling is leaking…

…

Drip… drop… drip… drop… it’s got kind of a sweet beat, all things considered…

…

… I’m sitting at a regular old table here. Said table is empty outside of a cracked dinner plate full of what looks like stones and a tiny teacup that’s full of dirty looking water. Pure brown with little green bits here and there, looks very solid, and it’s producing a strong, if stale, smell…

… just for reference; I’m not describing the table.

I’m describing the ‘tea’.

Yuck.

…

… My spine is currently telling me that the chair I’m sitting in right now wasn’t meant for somepony of my new body type… or my age… ow.

…

… I REALLY need to use the restroom, but I’m currently tied to the aforementioned chair so there’s a fat chance I’m going to be allowed to fix that little problem any time soon here…

Double ow.

…

… My snout is itchy and I can’t do jack about it. Grrrr…

And lastly… I miss my fur. My new scales are just as itchy as my poor nose… that is all.

…

…

… It’s at times such as these, when I’m forced to enjoy the company of my own thoughts for once where I’m also forced to debate whether or not my time could have been better spent remaining dead.

“More tea, little worm?”

… Because it’s at times such as these where I find myself pining for some strand of normalcy in my everyday life… yeah! Normalcy! How whacked out is that?!

“…No? Well that is fine. More for me then~”

I know normalcy is for the weak and all, but it’s at times such as these…

When I’m being held prisoner…

In a Celestiadamn highchair…

By the princess of the seaponies herself that really, REALLY makes me wish I had some normalcy in my life… like the kind of normalcy only a place like Tartarus can provide!

“… Aren’t you going to eat your crumpets?”

“YOU TIED MY BUCKING ARMS TO THE CHAIR!” I roared into my ‘host’s’ face.

Princess Diamrem simply laughed in the face of my discomfort.

“Hehe. My my my; that is not how you’re supposed to treat royalty, little one. And here I went through all that trouble to fetch my old nymph chair for you…”

“I’m not a freaking foal” I snarled through clenched teeth.

“Well you’re certainly acting like one,” answered Diamrem casually.

Unfortunately she was just a tad too late on that reply…

Starswirl had already beaten her to the punch, you see.

‘Well you’re certainly acting like one, bard.’

“… Shut up, Starswirl” I complained under my breath.

“What was that?” The seapony questioned, momentarily drawing her attention away from her own drink.

I sighed. “Nothing nothing, just… j-just what do you want with me?” I finally worked up the courage to ask. I had only just woken up about a minute or two ago from this monster’s masterfully crafted tra-

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of Swirly snorting.

‘Pfffff!! M-masterful trap my blank flank!’ she snickered. ‘That was by no means a trap! You walked right into this seapony’s waiting fins willingly! Hahaha!’

Hey! Don’t make me break out the wubs again, bitch!

… My threat seems to have only had the effect of causing the mare inside my head to laugh even harder than she already was. Guess I should have known bluffing wouldn’t work on somepony who can readily tell just how terrifiedI really am…

Getting back on track; it was only about a minute or two ago that I woke up to the sight of my (Starswirl was ‘kind’ enough to identify for me) murderer pouring out for me a drink I had no conceivable way of reaching and to the sound of an ancient unicorn laughing at my misfortune every step of the way, so I honestly haven’t the slightest clue what’s going on right now. The simple fact that I’m still alive is a shock in and of itself!

Diamrem laughed a second time as she set her cup back down on our rather small table in our rather darkly lit room.

“Why, I just wanted to chat with you for a bit. Is that a crime?”

“I-it is when you foalnap somepony!” I retorted half in a hiss and half in a shaky voice.

After quickly running a fin through her mane, the seapony princess laid her head down sideways into the makeshift pillow of her limbs and continued to stare at me with a mischievous grin.

“Well, you see that’s just the thing…” she answered coolly, blue eyes trained on me “I smell unicorn magic on you, as well as the stench of magical generosity. You were once a pony, yes… but now you’re not a pony anymore, little one, and that has somehow granted you immunity from my people’s song… I find that fascinating. Are you perhaps an archmage trained by Celestia herself, or by the order of unicorns? Maybe you are one of Gaia’s courtmages, perhaps? Hmmm… maybe, just maybe, you are perhaps one of Asterion’s nine battlemages? Seems rather silly though… but I remember reading about how that one is a silly god so it’s not too farfetched… well, worm, care to explain?”

“I-I don’t have to tell you anything!” I barked.

Diamrem’s smile, after having worn it this entire time, finally fell. A look of slowly growing yet controlled anger replaced it as she straightened herself against the table’s frame. I shrank back down in my hig- CHAIR! I shrank back down in my chair at the sight. It felt like I was a pegasus being drilled into by the eyes of a very cheesed off wonderbolt captain…

“… Yes, you do,” the princess replied slow and calmly, a stark contrast to the ‘peppy’ attitude she displayed before. “I… have won. I have an army, I hold power over all the sea now, and I hold power over you as well. I could easily use those bindings around your body to crush your bones, collapse your lungs, and put an end to your miserable existence once and for all. With the simple wave of my dorsal fin I could easily fill your stomach to the literal bursting point, forever staining the chair you’re sitting in red with your own blood. Why, were I in the mood, I could also use my new found powers to suck all the moisture out of your body and leave you as nothing more than a lifeless husk… it would be a slow and painful process but it would be one I would find oh so much pleasure in doing. Ambrosine knows it’s usually so boring around here…

“Well, little worm,” Diamrem spoke as she leaned closer to me, allowing her forked tongue and fangs to be on full display. “… have you changed your mind yet?”

…

…

… -Sniff-

I-I… I don’t think I n-need to use the little filly’s room anymore…

‘Oh for the love of,’ Starswirl groaned in the face of my suffering, having finally stopped laughing. ‘You are by far the most useless… sigh~, nevermind. Deep breaths, Starswirl. Deep breaths… Vinyl, listen to me.’

W-what?

‘It has been stated many a time, but I feel as though I need to reiterate it here: I don’t like you and you, for reasons that simply baffle me, don’t seem to like me. But we’re partners in this, correct? You get me what I want and I help you get what you want… these conditions are still to be upheld, yes?’

I guess…

‘Good, then repeat after me.’

H-huh?

‘Repeat everything I’m about to say… to Diamrem. I will talk to her in your place.’

W-w-what?! But…

‘Hmm? Oh I’m sorry. Did you wish to speak to this mare, bard?’

Well, no…

‘Then allow me.’

O-… okay.

‘Excellent. And here we go. First thing’s first; let’s dig a little deeper…’

“W-what power?” I repeated for Swirly. “What ‘new found’ power?”

This question seemed to return the princess to her earlier ‘chipper’ attitude. With a new joyful smile, the seapony brought a tentacle forward from her backside and used it to prompt up her flowing, seaweed shaped mane.

“Can’t you tell?” Diamrem asked in a sing-songy voice, her green locks still being played around with by that weird as-all-get-out appendage. “Does this mane not look familiar?”

Starswirl digested this reply in my head.

‘Hmmmm, interesting… the last time I was given the opportunity to look upon this girl through Cogwill’s eyes she didn’t possess a proper mane; none of her seaponies did… This body must be special to her; special enough for her to have teleported it across such a great distance… Yes that seems right; the subtle shifts in the magic aura around her seem to suggest that such an event has taken place. She ‘winked’ recently, possibly from the S.S. Luna Returner… is it possible to trace that landline backwards I wonder…’

…

‘… Oh, right, silly me. I forgot about your ineptitude towards big words...’

… My inepti-what now?

‘… Maladroitness?’

…

‘… Ignoramity?’

… You’re just making crap up now.

‘… Just ask her about her mane, you damn spoony bard.’

W, w-what the hell does that even mean?!

‘It means shut up.’

…

At first I started to grumble to myself over Starswirl's, well, Starswirl-ness… but I quickly knocked that racket off when I returned my attention to Diamrem and discovered that her piercing dragon-like eyes were watching me expectantly, meaning she was obviously waiting for me to continue…

-Gulp-

“N-no?” I at last sputtered out.

The seapony princess was stunned by my reply.

“Really? It doesn’t?” she asked, her confusion plain to see. “Can you not think of a single entity who possesses a mane such as this; who possesses a mane that flows freely on invisible winds and radiates the purest magic of all? I know you know of at least one… I used her form as bait for you earlier, after all!”

‘… Oh. Oh my. It seems as though my earlier hypothesizes about her intentions were correct. This is going to prove bothersome…’

“W-what does that mean?” I asked Swirly out loud, as my mind currently lacked the stability necessary to ask it in there.

Diamrem, sadly, mistook my words as ones meant for her.

“What does what mean, child?” she hissed, this time with her frustration plain to see. “I mean I shaped my inner magic into her form and you foolishly followed it to me! Did I really just need to spell that out for you?! Ugh! For one who had the gall to sneak into mother’s castle by her lonesome you sure don’t seem to have your head on straight, pony.

“What is the meaning of this? Are you just naturally this clueless, or was your brain affected as well in your little transformation?”

“N-no it wasn’t!” I quickly snapped at Diamrem, not really thinking my words through.

‘Er, well actually it kind of was,’ Starswirl nonchalantly admitted… wait, what?!

“WHAT?!”

‘It was only a tiny alteration, I assure you,’ my ‘co-pilot’ acknowledged. ‘Nothing noticeable… but this is neither the time nor the place to discuss that. Our internal conversations are only serving to annoy our current host.’

“What are you screaming about, worm?!”

‘See? Either calm down and speak to me through your mind again or don’t speak to me at all.’

“… Freaking… hate you…”

“What was that?” Diamrem suddenly snarled at me, her face now only mere inches away from my own.

Never in my entire life have I ever backpedaled as hard as I was backpedaling right now.

“N-n-n-n-no no!” I practically wailed, tears blinding me. “I-I’m n-not t-t-talking to you! I’m… I-I’m…”

“Yes~?” the seapony probed psychotically.

“I-I-I’m…” C-crap! Swirly! Help!

A sigh escaped the unicorn in question’s lips.

‘… It would appear as though the wall has firmly greeted your backside, my little draconic,’ Starswirl stated dejectedly. ‘There’s nothing more I can do for you. Avoid being tortured for the information she will most likely not even believe and simply… give up.’

N-n-no!!

‘It is the only option left to you now,’ Swirly grunted. ‘I’m afraid this was as far as your pitiful powers of heart, will, and friendship could take you… an excellent life lesson to learn, if I do say so myself. Do keep it in mind on your next round trips through life and death… maybe you’ll one day succeed!

‘… Maybe.’

I-I-I…

…

D, D-damn it!

Damn it damn it damn it!

I-I… I-I…

“I-I-I-I-I’M TALKING TO THE VOICE IN MY HEAD!!!”

I slammed my eyes shut after that, not caring to see what horrible thing was about to happen to me because of my bluntness. My breathing and mind both became erratic as my blubbering devolved my thoughts and words into unintelligent gibberish. I feared for the worst. “O-oh Celestia t-this is,” -Sniff-, “i-it…”

-Sob-

-Hic-

-S-sniff-…

…

… After what felt like an eternity of only having my pathetic sobs to listen to, where only the sudden appearance of the disembodied heads of my loved ones could ever hope to comfort me, Diamrem finally spoke…

… but not before…

“… Ugh…”

… sighing… disappointingly…?

… Huh?

“… I see,” the seapony muttered as she slowly slid back down into her chair and as I slowly opened one eye. “And… a-and here I had thought… ugh…”

“…”

I blinked my one open eye.

“…”

Diamrem’s mane blew on an invisible breeze as she kept up her staring contest with the floor.

“…”

I blinked my eye a second time.

“…”

Diamrem… continued to be quiet.

‘… Bard,’ Starswirl finally spoke up. ‘Inquire about this whole… thing for me.’

I narrowed my one open eye.

‘… I’m sorry for abandoning you during a time where the odds of your continued living were astronomically low,’ she lazily ‘apologized.’ ‘Happy?’

… No.

‘Too bad. Ask please.’

…

Opening both my eyes, I looked across the table at the seapony princess… who was still ignoring me at this point for some reason.

“… Err…” I mentally hailed to ‘mission control’. “S-sure. I guess I can do that…”

I-I’m still a bit shaken up right now…

… But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little, well, curious as to what the hay is going on right now.

‘Hehe. Curiosity: the number one killer of cats. Thank goodness you have more than nine lives at your disposal, right bard?’

…

I ignored Swirly’s stupid (beyond stupid, in all honesty) comment as I slowly worked up the courage to ask Diamrem…

“W-what’s wrong?” -Sniff-

As I did this, I also tried uselessly to sniff back the tears left over from my latest emotional breakdown. At this point I think it would be safe to say that I’ve cried more in the last twenty-four hours then I have in the entirety of this past year alone… colt do I feel lame.

At my question, Diamrem lifted her head up from the table momentarily to look at me, but then just as quickly laid her head back down again as she replied

“… Well…” the disheartened princess began to explain. “This… might sound silly…”

… Said the psychotic and possibly bipolar world domination seeking seapony princess…

‘Keep your commentary to yourself. I’m trying to listen here…’

“… But earlier, when I felt that someone had tripped one of the alarm runes left behind in mother’s castle, I was ecstatic! I was looking forward to having another battle of wits with someone before my victory was absolute! Talking with little Cog made me realize how much I’ve missed the simple act of, well, talking to someone! She was the first one in over five hundred years to ever share words with me…Now that she’s an abomination though I highly doubt our conversations will ever be as engaging as they once were. Tis’ truly a shame; she once possessed such a powerful fire in her heart, and her eyes were full of a burning defiance the likes of which I will likely never see again…

“… you, on the other fin, are obviously insane.”

“…”

My left eye twitched.

“W, W-what?!”

Diamrem shrugged.

“Yes, insane. It’s quite obvious, worm. I mean, voices in your head? Seriously? Hehe, how humorous either way! I will never understand how people like you operate~”

“HOW PEOPLE LIKE ME OPERATE?! Lady, you’re trying to flood the Celestiadam-”

‘Don’t waste your words.’ Swirly cut me off. ‘They won’t help you here.’

Biting my tongue (and wincing at the pain that action caused me. Stupid sharp fangs...) I silenced myself and continued my conversation with Starswirl within my head. “But she’s the one whose insa-”

A “ha!” escaped the archmage’s lips. ‘Some of the scenes of your life I have witnessed in your memories seem to suggest otherwise, Ms. “I-burn-down-medical-facilities.”’

… Oh for the love of all things Equestrian THAT WAS ONE FREAKING TIME, SWIRLY! ONE, FREAKING, TIME!!!

‘… Bard? Need I remind you that I can look through your memories at a whim here? It’s currently impossible for you to lie to me.’

…

‘…’

… Er… insanity…

‘Is such a broad concept?’

Yeah…

‘Then let us agree to leave it at that and move on. In light of this… curious... turn of events, I have come to a conclusion regarding this ‘Diamrem’, Vinyl. Care to hear it?’

Do I have a choice?

‘No. Based off of her statement just now, and from evidence I’ve gathered during yours and Cogwill’s meetings, here’s what I’ve deduced… she’s you.’

… Wha?

‘Yes,’ Swirly went on. ‘A young filly, hardly even a mare, with strong beliefs and ideals who claims she will do anything to uphold them, but when push comes to shove her persona cracks like a cheap mask and what is left behind is a child whose easily depressed… sounds familiar, doesn’t it?’

… Starswirl, please stop picking on me at a time like this. It’s not cool.

‘Oh but I’m not this time. I’m speaking honestly. Despite her years Diamrem is still quite immature, just like you. She’s trying to change the entire world to fit her image, yet she was instantly sent into a bout of melancholy upon the discovery that her new ‘toy’, ala you, was ‘defective’.’

I’m still only hearing insults here, Swirly…

‘Let me finish. When I told you about your friend’s fate, you attacked me and made vows to defy me. But when you woke up in the land of the living you broke down into a nervous wreck before accomplishing anything. You wanted to protect your friend, but lacked the means. Diamrem wants to save her people, as I discovered through Cogwill’s eyes, but she lacked the means until an element of harmony presented itself to her. Once it did, she jumped at the opportunity to change her people’s fate, but along the way she slowly started to see what such a task would require. She needed to cast aside not only contact with other creatures, but also her mother’s connections to the sea serpent race, who I now know, thanks to Lyssa’s glorious flames, did not support Diamrem’s action to attack Celestia’s little ponies. Combining that tasty little morsel of information with the fact that a caste system seems to be in place for this particular tribe of serpents, in which the lowest tiers are raised to be the princess’s pawns, and we have successfully determined why a civil war is currently taking place outside these walls. Fighting such a war during a time when she needs soldiers, talking to you when she could be dealing with Cogwill or gaining more power or trying to appeal to the sea serpents or quite literally doing anything more important than talking to you and it quickly becomes quite apparent that Diamrem was not prepared for this ‘war’ of hers in the slightest! Splendid news, correct?’

… I’m so incredibly lost right now.

‘... I really shouldn’t be surprised at this point, yet I constantly am. Let me think... To put it simply, Vinyl; replace ‘Element of Harmony’ with ‘The Amazing Starswirl the Bearded’ and you two would be peas in a pod. Does that help you a bit?’

…!!!

Holy crap I understand!

‘Sacrosanct excrement you understand?!’

So, what you’re trying to tell me is that Diamrem isn’t this whole ‘genius mastermind war technician’ I’ve been fearing her as! No... what she is is desperate!

‘Yes!’

Desperate like I’ve been!

‘Yes yes and yes!’

So she has a plan, but not a fully fleshed out one…

‘Correct. There are a lot of events taking place here that she didn’t account for; holes here and there that could prove to be her downfall. Also, looking at her in this new light helps us to understand who she truly is…’

A spoiled brat with too much power at her control? One who’s grasping at straws on ways to accomplish that whole ‘flood the world’ thing?

‘Bingo.’

… Heh.

‘… You were just laughing at the fact that I, a mare well into her first millennium of un-life, made reference to a game commonly played by the elderly… I applaud your ability to find humor in the most inopportune of times, bard.’

Er, sorry, but I didn’t really see where you were going with that whole thing just now, so my mind kinda wandered.

‘I see… Where I was ‘going’, Vinyl, was in a direction that should have given you a better understanding of your current situation, thus more confidence. Nothing more nothing less.’

… Wait, hold up… you were trying to make me less scared?

Starswirl suddenly let out a low and actually sincere sounding laugh.

‘If you want to look at it like that… then yes. Correct,’ Starswirl chuckled. ‘… But don’t go mistaking it as an act of goodwill! I was simply finding it hard to direct you properly while you were a frightened, crying mess…’

...Well, all the same… thanks.

‘Ha!’ the mage shouted sporadically. ‘Don’t be thanking me yet, bard. Now that your death isn’t one hundred percent guaranteed, it’s time for us to start pushing the good princess’s buttons again… and by us I of course mean you.’

…

… My hatred for you knows no bounds, Starswirl.

‘Good,’ my ‘friend’ again chuckled. ‘Use that hatred to fuel your resolve. You’re about to need every ounce of it you can muster.’

… -Gulp-

W-well… bring it on.

‘With pleasure. Repeat after me, and do your best not to be surprised by anything you’re about to hear…’

“Luna.”

With that simple namedrop Diamrem was suddenly knocked out of the daydream she had been occupying for the last minute or so. Maybe it was about her talk with Cogy or something, I don’t know.

“… What did you say, worm?”

Taking a deep breath, I calmed my nerves as I put on an intimidating glare, one that hid my true emotions. My shades (which, thanks to a quick shake of my head, had now slid down so as to cover my eyes) helped me in this task just like they always do.

“Princess Luna,” I said through my rose tinted stare. “That mane of yours… it’s hers..."

My own words rendered me speechless while Diamrem simply became curious.

“Oh? So you finally figured it out,” she snickered as she returned to playing with the flowing item in question attached to her bony head. For a brief second the color of the bundle of magical strands changed from its dark green shade to the shimmering night purple I instantly recognized as the famous Nightmare Moon mane. I was suddenly reminded to the fact that Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon were once one and the same ponies, according to the newspapers… and also to the fact that Princess Luna was currently here somewhere in this castle.

I-if, if Diamrem is currently rocking her mane… w-what happened to the princess?!

“Draining her dry I see,” I repeated for Starswirl like a mindless parrot, still too shocked by this recent revelation to care. “If you desired having an intelligent conversation so badly, why didn’t you try your luck with her?”

“…”

The princess tilted her head to the side and looked at me oddly. I hid the fact that I was sweating a raincloud’s worth of liquid behind my ever loyal specs as she continued to drill into me with those piercing eyes of hers.

“… She’s boring.” Diamrem finally responded. “So incredibly boring. She doesn’t react to my words in the same extreme manner as little Cog does, nor does she answer them at all! She just sits there in her cage silently and shrugs off my attempts to speed up the process of siphoning her magic.”

“Siphon he-” I started to scream, but Swirly quickly shushed me and I was able to stop just in the nick of time. Slow and steady, DJ Pon-3. Slow and steady…

“So you’re trying to steal her moon I take it?”

Again I was rewarded with a strange look from the head seapony.

“… Where are these words coming from, worm? From what little time we’ve spent together, I find it hard to believe that they are yours…”

“Er, j-just asking the questions the little pony in my head wants to hear!”

“… Oh. I see. Hmmm… I find this… amusing. Continue on.”

Phew~

‘Excellent save.’

Thanks…

“But…” the princess suddenly stated. “let us a play a game, you and I. How about Ask a Question, Give an Answer? You ask one question, and then I’ll ask one question, and then you again and so on… Seems fair, doesn’t it?”

“Umm…”

‘Drat, she’s got us,’ Starswirl mildly cursed. ‘The odds of her, a mortal, believing your responses are slim to none… nothing we can do though. I’ll try to get as much information out of her as I can in as few of questions as possible…’

What are you even trying to accomplish here?

‘A variety of things. I’m trying to get a better handle of the princess’s ‘evil’ plan, I’m trying to find a way to free you from your bindings and, if all else fails, I’m also trying to help you distract Diamrem for an extended period of time. The more time she wastes on you, the less time she has to spend on killing you, Cogwill, and anybody else.

‘… I’m also trying to add some tasty pieces of knowledge to my hoard on the side here.’

H-hey!

‘I’m half dragon! Did you honestly expect anything less from me?’

“I’ll go first then~”

… Crap’ Starswirl and I swore together.

The princess hmm-ed to herself for a bit. “Hmmm… Given your form, it’s safe to assume that you were not one of the lunar princess’s peagasus guards… that must mean… You were the pony I threw off that damnable ship, weren’t you?”

“Um, y-yeah!” I quickly answered for her.

“But, ho-”

“Uh uh uh!” I just as quickly cut off. “It’s my turn now!”

Diamrem huffed.

“But that wasn’t much of an answer…”

“W-wasn’t much of a question,” I retorted cheekily as I applied a fake smile to my face. I waited a second for Starswirl to come up with another question for me to ask.

“… How much of Luna’s power do you now possess?” I asked after a few seconds.

This question seemed to amuse the seapony sitting across from me.

“Why, I’d say about twenty-five percent of it, and even then I’ve only barely scratched the surface~!”

Well that’s not reassuring…

“Back to me then. Worm, are you aware that the dragoness known as ‘Cog’ holds you very close to her heart?”

“… I do now” I muttered depressingly. “… Oh Cogy… hang in there, girl…” I shook my head, ridding myself of the dark thoughts that had begun to form. I then asked Swirly’s next question for her. “Why is this place so empty?”

“Hmmm,” Diamrem purred. “Your questions aren’t very fun, you wormy pony. How sad… but I suppose I must answer them. That is how the game is played, I’m afraid... The reason mother’s castle is devoid of seaponies, little one, is because that was her final order all those years ago. She wished not to be disturbed while the last of her mind faded from this realm…that is all. The reason her current offspring also follow this command, however, is a mystery even to me…

“… And with that it is my turn again~”

Ugh! Not good… I was only barely able to dodge the last couple ones… This isn’t going to end well at this rate.

I braced myself for the worst.

“Well, worm… what is your name?”

…

…

I blinked, tilted my head, then raised an eyebrow... my well practiced 'Huh?' face.

“Please answer it,” the seapony insisted with an honest looking smile. Creepiest thing you’ll ever see right there…

“O-oh, well, I-I’m Vinyl Scratch…”

The seapony’s smile suddenly evolved into a toothy grin.

“Ahhh… I see. So you were that pony I threw overboard then… interesting.”

“H-how… I-I just said I was the pony you threw overboard. Why did you need to re-confirm it?”

Diamrem’s sneer grew even wider after these words had left my lips, freaking me the buck out.

‘Bard…’ Starswirl commented in a hiss. ‘You just fell into her trap. Round three and already you’ve made a critical error… yet again I honestly shouldn’t be this surprised, but I am.’

Huh?

“So that’s your next question then…” Diamrem spoke, catching my attention again… and it was at this point where I realized my mistake. Ah horseapples… “I needed to re-confirm it, Vinyl, because I wasn’t sure. There were just so many ponies on that ship; there was no way for me to know for sure!

“My turn again~”

I gulped.

“Oh, but I think I’ll be kind here and answer your next question for you right now!”

“H-hey!” my voice cracked. “That’s against the rules!”

Diamrem’s leer only grew bigger as a result of my words.

“True true, but I can just sense what it is you were about to ask. The question that’s just eating away at you as we speak… or, maybe, it’s the question that hasn’t come to mind yet!”

In a futile attempt to prevent myself from getting into even more manure than I was already in, I snapped my mouth shut.

This didn’t stop the evil princess at-freaking-all.

"How does my name confirm that I was the one who was thrown overboard?” the seapony asked for me. “A simple question for sure, and one that has an even simpler answer… your dear friend told me!”

“W-what?” I gasped, only to then immediately slam my mouth closed yet again.

Too little and too late, unfortunately.

“A second question!” Diamrem playfully teased. “My oh my aren’t you just a greedy little thing! It seems as though your transformation into a draconic was a huge success in that respect! Congratulations~! Oh, don’t you worry though… I’ll graciously accept my three questions after I humbly answer your own!”

‘Great job breaking it, hero.’

“Shut up, Starswirl!”

‘… Why do you enjoy digging your own grave so much, bard? Is it therapeutic? Are there health benefits? Or maybe you just want to see me again that badly?’

What the hay are you talkin-

“… Starswirl?”

… Oh you’ve got to be freaking kidding me.

“I… just said that out loud…” I numbly spoke to Diamrem. I stopped myself short of turning it into another question by throwing a ‘didn’t I?’ on there, but at this point I don’t think it even really matters anymore…

Diamrem was currently sporting a look of pure confusion, one that replaced her earlier creepy smile… but this new expression was just as frightening as the last.

“Starswirl?” she again asked. “Do you mean to say…” she started to inquire, but then quickly cut herself off. With a quick shake of her head, her creepy-as-all-hell smile returned in full force. “Nevermind,” she spoke, returning to her ‘cheerful’ disposition. “A question I’ll save for later, perhaps… for now, I still have your question to answer~”

Leaning forward, Diamrem removed herself from her chair and laid flat across our table. Her body pushed all our silverware and plates off the surface, causing the fragile items to shatter and causing my still full cup of ‘tea’ to spill out onto the already wet floor. My spiny tail was forced up against the backboard of my immobile prison as I tried to push myself further back in fright. I could feel the almost rattlesnake-like tip of my horn push itself into the confines of my messy mane, and I could feel as each and every one of my new spines were forced up against each other in a very uncomfortable fashion.

Not as uncomfortable, however, as being yet again mere inches away from fish breath here. Yuck!

Transforming her twin tentacles once more into makeshift pillow for herself, Diamrem leaned forward just enough so that her mouth was right next to my new fin ear. Shaking madly, I was forced to simply bear it as the princess finally reached said ear and whispered into it…

“Little Cog was kind enough to scream it for me, little Vinyl. I forced her to scream it out loud for all to hear… And I took pleasure in it. I enjoyed watching her break down into tears after all she put me through, after she tricked me. I enjoyed it as she tried oh so dreadfully hard to save you from your fall. And I enjoyed watching that same little girl, after all she had said and done, finally lose all hope and give in to her greed. I don’t quite understand the last bit myself though, as her transformation has only proven to be a hindrance to my plan… but it was simply something I enjoyed doing.” Diamrem looked at me expectantly. “Here’s the first of my three questions, Vinyl… I hurt your friend, how does that make you feel?”

!!!

...

…

…

… Starswirl…

‘No, Vinyl,’ said the mare in my head. ‘I’m not going to give you the magic to greed growth out of your bindings; I don’t even have the energy needed to perform such a feat, and horrifically murdering Diamrem in the fashion you are describing to me isn’t going to solve anything.’

Yes. It. Will.

‘No it will not,’ Swirly unfalteringly answered. ‘Diamrem, for lack of time to properly explain to you, is effectively just as immortal as any other true god or goddess… well for now, at least. Attempting to kill her will only prove to be a futile endeavor.’

… Fine, whatever… but it’ll make me happy though!

‘Your ‘happiness’ is irrelevant. Logic will win out in the end, as it always does. Continue to follow my orders and the possibility to escape should present itself… eventually.

‘Turn off your emotions and proceed, bard.’

…Helpful one moment, a bitch the next… You don’t understand a damn thing Swirly…

‘… Why do you hate me so much? Again I must make comment to how your anger towards me makes no logical sense…’

… Not a damn thing…

“… Hmmmm… no reply…” the seapony remarked into my ear, her face still right up next to my own. “Then you are as boring as the former bearer of the moon.

“Question number two…” she went on, unaware of my slowly growing rage. My fists shook under my straps as all my earlier fear slowly warped and changed into pure hatred. “You… are dead, or should be dead at least.How is it that you are here now and alive?”

A quick laugh escaped my lips.

“That’s two questions, fishy,” I explained as blue wisps of magic escaped along the edges of my mouth. “Don’t think I’m not paying attention…”

Diamrem laughed from within our pseudo embrace.

“Oooooo, so scary~” she teased. “Maybe you’re not as boring as I thought… answer me now, worm.”

“… I did die.”

‘Bard!’ Swirly cried. ‘What in Lyssa’s eternal name do you think yo-’

“Changing this convo’s beat,” I retorted under my breath, never once taking my eyes off of the monster in front of me. “… And making its tempo my mare.”

The big old fishy’s head was still next to mine at this point, but my latest answer to her caused the princess to slowly back away from me. I watched out of the corner of my eye as she retreated with a bewildered look etched to her face.

“… What?” she asked as she stood up tall on the tabletop with her coiled tail, effectively dwarfing me.

I held my glare. “You’re breaking the rules again, Diamy. I just answered both of your questions! It’s my turn now.”

Diamrem’s eyes narrowed.

‘This is a dangerous game you’re playing, Vinyl!’

Do you think I don’t know that?!

‘Well, based on your track record… yes! Ask her about her mother’s state, or the position of the Luna Returner! Ask her something safe that will prolong this conversation!’

Prolong it until something comes up or until you think of something, that is…

‘… Er, well, yes. Essentially...’

… That’s not good enough for me anymore. You wanted me to push her buttons, right? Well it’s time to push them just a little bit harder.

“Why are you doing this?” I finally asked the princess standing before me.

The seaweed lovin’ mare laughed at me spitefully in response.

“Such a wasted question!” she roared with a laugh, raising her tiny fins into the air. “I wish to restore mother’s race to their former glory! To do this I must return this world to its former glory! Surely you already knew this…?”

I snarled at the mare. “There you go again, breaking the rules!”

“…”

Diamrem blinked.

“… I... I do not understand what it is you are suggesting..."

For the first time in what felt like forever, I allowed my mouth to curve upwards into my famous DJ Pon-3 smirk.

“…but I suppose I must answer them. That is how the game is played, I’m afraid~” I repeated in in a snarky version of Diamy’s voice. “See the problem here, ya witch?!”

“… No. I do not.”

My smirk grew even larger.

“You must answer them… truthfully! No lying allowed here, or else my answers are going to be just as fabricated as yours! You want the answers to your burning questions? Then speak the truth!”

“…”

The seapony huffed.

“Are you insinuating that I didn’t answer your question truthfully?” She broke her own rules to ask. “Are you trying to say that my actions are not for the benefit of my race, nor are they for my dear old mother?”

“Right on the snout, lady!”

Looks like it’s time for my ultimate gambit; the one in which I use everything I know about Diamrem to attack her weak points for massive damage and get her where I want her…

… too bad I don’t really know a damn thing about her!

All I really know is that her mom is some kind of big old blob thing that likes to hide in the dark, that the ‘great’ seapony race she wants to save is nothing more than mindless killing machines who are constantly being reborn through the same mother’s body (ewww…), and that she takes pleasure in hurting and manipulating ponies in sadistic ways...

… Sounds like any old villain from any one of the countless adventure novels and comics I rotate through on a weekly basis (hey even I need a break from being a party pony sometimes!).

I know that this is real life and all and that those books aren’t real representations of it… but sometimes there’s a little truth in them! Under that train of thought, I can safely say that Diamrem is currently tipping my ‘villain doesn’t know her own motivation’ senses off. I mean, think about it; the way she’s been handling things concerning this ‘war’, the way she’s been trying to rattle me… heck, even the simple fact that she’s talking to me can lead anypony to the logical (that word burns me inside, I assure you) conclusion that her heart isn’t into this. None of what she’s done so far would make sense if it were, so there has to be another reason for why she’s doing this at all…

… and I think I know it… think being the big word here.

Now… if only I could get her to say it and react to it in the way I think she’ll react to it…

… Move over any one of my Upper Canterlot showings; this is going to be my hardestgig ever!

Diamrem stared at me in silence as I contemplated all this in my head. With little to no Starswirl comments helping to break the tension, sweat continued to fall from my face as the seconds dragged on for what felt like decades. I held up my fake smile all the same, relying on my emotion hiding gem specs to continue to protect me just like always.

“… Hehehe…I take back everything I’ve said about you, little Vinyl. You are fun!”

No crap, princess.

… p-probably not the best time to get cocky, is it?

I remained as still as a statue as the demonic fish pony jumped down from the tabletop and slowly began to slither her way behind my chair. A chill ran down my spine the moment her cold and dead fins smacked down against my shoulders and as the good princess’s head was yet again brought down right next to my own.

“Well… maybe I do have a bit of an alternative motive…” Diamrem admitted in a whisper next to my ear.

Forced to stare at her out of the corner of my vision yet again, I held up my dirty look as best I could as I tried to keep her in my line of sight.

“And that would be…?” I asked, well aware that she would probably turn the question against me like she did earlier.

I was surprised when she didn’t… and relieved as well. Come on now… please…

My host remained quiet for a bit, humming to herself all the while as she tried to put together a response.

Then, after a brief time… she finally had one.

“… Fun. I did it for fun.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Blue flames radiated along the rim of my lips, dancing every which way as my breathing became deeper and deeper.

“Fun…?” I growled, forcing my anger to become apparent. “All of this…?”

Diamrem’s face tightened itself into a look of deep contemplation as she slowly started to back away and out from my line of sight.

“Hmmm… yes, for fun,” she went on. “Thinking back on it now, after considering how I felt after conversing with little Cog, I guess all I can honestly say is that I actually only did all of this for… fun... Hehe, although I tricked myself into believing that my actions were for the greater good, all for the sake of giving my life a reason…”

Plop

The sound Diamrem’s chin made as she laid it down to rest atop my scaly head.

“… Here’s a fun fact for you, child,” she continued after a moment of silence. “… I… I don’t even remember what my people’s culture was like. I was but a simple nymph during our last great age, after all, and I grew up on my lonesome during the great decline that followed. All I had was my mother, her stories, and what little I remember of the day the last of the gods and goddesses visited us before turning us away forever… That was, what? Almost a thousand years ago? Hmmmm… yes that sounds about right, after all it was around that time where that last of our scholars brought their minds together in the pursuit of finding a way to harness the recently awakened Nightmare Moon’s power. I remember how, for a brief time, the hopes of my people were raisedup by that goddess’s fabled birth; were raised by the mere hope that a solution to ours woes was in sight…

“…”

Diamrem’s hold on my shoulders then tightened.

“… But she was sealed away before being given the chance to as so much as glance at us.” Diamrem finished in a far off and distant voice. “Nightmare Moon... To the Abyss with you and Luna… Heh,” she laughed as her hold on me loosened. “That was over a thousand years ago, yet it seems the scars it left in my heart still remain...

“… though this doesn’t surprise me,” Diamy went on, this time with more force in her voice. Her fins tightened their hold on my shoulders a second time as well, but her grip in this instance contained more force in it just like her voice did.

“It was these very same scars that spurred me on in my mortal life to find a way to prolong my time on these waters indefinitely, after all!” she screeched, grip tightening as she subconsciously started to shake my body. “It was these very same scars that fueled my drive to save my people! To save my mother who loved me even when her mind had rotted away! If the solution to our problems was to wait for Nightmare Moon’s return, than a thousand years was but a simple drop in the bucket for one such as me!

“… Heh…”

All at once, her grip on me slackened and her voice lost all its earlier strength. It was like somepony had flipped a switch on her, turning her from one extreme to another. This was the lowest I had ever heard her at…

“… And then it happened again,” Diamrem finally admitted drearily. “The goddess of the moon came and went yet again and again did she break the promise she made as Luna to help us… all because of ‘big sister’ Celestia and her foolish ways…

“… My heart is broken, little Vinyl,” the princess continued to speak in a depressing manner. “Broken beyond repair just like my mother; just like my fellow seaponies... Stealing the moon from a goddess is the only option left, and taking my mother’s place afterwards as Queen, but even then I know, deep inside, that it’s all over for us. Deep inside I know that nothing short of a miracle will be needed to finally save us, to save me…

“… but I’m far past believing in ‘The Maker’ at this point; far past believing in fairy tales…

“…

“Grrrr… I now use his name mockingly!” Diamrem suddenly wailed, my chair vibrating as she did. “I’m far past believing in Heavens and Hells, of the invisible forces that inhabit our world alongside magic! I now know that they are lies spewed by the gods and goddesses; lies used to control their people and make them into a submissive herd! Mother always said how she was not welcomed in the same invisible kingdoms only true gods were allowed to walk in, despite ours being of the first race to roam this world… but now I know that these so called ‘kingdoms’ that exist beyond this mortal realm do not exist, and that The Maker himself does, not, exist! My poor mother’s mind must have been far too gone for one such as her to have believed in such a thing. Her memories from the cradle of creation must have been the first things the decay took from her…

“…”

Diamrem finally let go of my chair.

“… Yet here I am,” she muttered dejectedly. “making moves and decisions that rely on luck; decisions that could destroy this world or change it into its rightful form. No matter what transpires between now and then, there will be no way of determining what will happen to us until all is said and done. The control I have is nothing more than an illusion... I now understand this to be the indisputable truth of the world…

“…

“…

“…and I like it like that.”

Diamrem’s hold on my chair returned in full force as her voice reached crazy new heights (emphasis on the crazy). My vision blurred as she began to bounce up and down with me, making me feel like a stuffed toy in the hooves of a very excitable kid.

“I find this to be thrilling, fun even!” the demonic fish squealed like the giant filly I was now imagining her as. “Over a thousand years of waiting in solitude; waitingfor miracles from a being who does not exist and waiting for aid in the form of a goddess who does not care for us… I’m finally free.Free to do whatever I damn well please… heh; and I chose to rely on invisible forces yet again! Again!!

“… Hahaha…

“… HAHAHAHA!!

“HOW DELICIOUSLY IRONIC, DON’T YOU AGREE?!” she screamed at me, having gripped my head in her fins and forced it into a stare-off with her own. “Luck… everything now has been boiled down to the most basic force in existence… and that makes me laugh!Laugh over how long I waited for the perfect time to strike when I should have known it would never come! Laugh over how much I used to care about appealing to those worthless serpents for their support, thinking that I would one day need their numbers, when the truth is that I never did! That in order to succeed I needed not rely on others or the grace of The Maker, but on something as simple as luck! I am now having fun, little worm! FUN! For the first time in my long existence I am no longer sitting back, waiting patiently for things to improve! I am no longer simply trying to survive! I can now see the world for what it truly is! A land for the lucky! And I’m having the time of my life because of this!

“And! And… and I owe it all to Cog…” Princess Diamrem chuckled evilly.“…and to you as well, Vinyl! Little Cog helped me finally sort out the mind I had foolish been ignoring all these years, making me realize the futility of my own efforts… and you have helped me realize what it is I truly want out of my life, now that’s it’s come to this! To have fun or not to have fun! To seek power or not to seek power! The answers are so clear to me now! Whichever route gives me the most fun… and I love it!

“Hahaha!

"I love it!!

“Ahahaha!!

"Ahahahaha!!!

"Thank you!!

“Thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU!

“A thousand thank you-s, my friend~!

“Thank you for being here for me on my big day! The day I discovered that all I want out of this depressing, hardship littered life is to have,

“a little,

“fun!

“And if this miserable world drowns with me, then so be it! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!”

…

…

…

… Whoa.

I…

I don’t…

…

… Show time.

-Inhale-

I narrowed my eyes.

“… So you’re endangering everyponies’ lives…?”

“For… fun!” Diamrem chirped happily.

Magic began to dance angrily in the back of my throat.

“You tortured my friend…?”

“For fun~!” the princess replied with a smile I could only see out of the corner of my eye.

The blue flames of my magic grew hotter by the second as I brought my eyes forward towards the back wall. My mouth curved downwards into an honest to Celestia snarl, which put all my new chompers on full display and also allowed my magic to start leaking out in the form of, to a casual viewer, liquid flames.

“… You murdered me…?”

Diamrem chuckled as she lowered her head down right next to my own, and right next up to my ear… closer than she’s ever been to me… all for the sake of saying…

“For… fun~ I had no reason to kill you, as you are most bluntly describing it, and I didn’t gain anything in doing so… but that rush I felt when I had your life in my fins, where I was given the chance to decide whether you live or die… it was exquisite. I’ve killed in the past, child, but never have I received a response as satisfying as the one I received from our shared friend, little Cog~

“… is it my turn to ask a question yet, little Vinyl? I’m afraid I have lost track, unfortunately. Oh well, I will have to ask it regardless of whose turn it is then, I suppose. Now, answer me; how did you survi-”

CHOMP!

The sound of my new fangs embedding themselves into the side of Diamrem’s fleshy, unguarded, and finally brought down to my level face.

…

…

… Sorry folks, but I’m afraid I must interrupt tonight’s showing of Nutjob Theatre to instead conduct a quick survey. Who here knows the basics of unicorn magic?

… Nopony? Well then I guess it’s up to Professor DJ T34ch3r Vinyl Scratch to educate some fools. Okay, so there’s:

Levitation…

Illumination…

Transformation…

Teleportation…

And…

… well I’m afraid I can’t quite remember what the final one is actually called, sadly. Sorry, but I just don’t remember it.

I know it has this really complicated but nice sounding name…

… but I always just called it I’m-Going-To-Bucking-Burn-Your-Bucking-Face-Off-ation!!!

Sometimes the shortest names are the best names~

FWOOSH!!!

The sound of my magic igniting into a glorious blue blaze within my mouth, scorching Diamrem in the process. Heh, I guess this will be the closest I’ll ever get to breathing fire… I’m perfectly okay with thi-

My thoughts were suddenly cut off by the sound of Diamrem screaming at the top of her lungs.

Rude much?

“YOU HORRID WORM!” she roared as I tightened my hold on her decaying flesh.

WHHHIIIPPPP!!!

The sound of Diamrem’s back tentacle flying through the air, making to strike me for my crimes.

ZZZZZZZZZZ-

The sound of said tentacle becoming super charged with what looked like static mag-

-ZZZZZAAAAAAAAPPPPP!!!

Y-Y-Y-Y-YEP!! D-DEFINITELY STATIC M-M-MAGIC!! OWOWOWOWOW!!

Fighting with everything I had, I did my best not to let go of the seapony by screaming. My muscles helped me in this task by tensing up as a result of the electrical charge. This caused the evil princess to receive some of her own magical medicine as the energy traveled along my body to hers. Diamrem tried to shake me off while this was going down, taking my chair along with her. I held on regardless, through the pain and heat and tears, knowing full well that any minute now that I was about to get sent hurtling through the air once her skin gives way…

RRRRIIIIPPPPP!!

... Just like that…

SMASH!

… And that will result in me getting thrown into a wall, destroying my highchair… which frees me from my bindings! HA! In your face, Diamy!

… Ewwww. I guess that would actually be quite literal in this case, wouldn’t it? In her face indeed… bleh. Never doing that again.

‘I-I-I,’ Starswirl sputtered silently to herself, her mind having obviously been blown. ‘W-what is this I don’t even…’

“Heh!” I snickered as I rose to my feet. “What can I say? I’m a DJ! I may not be the best at it, but I can sometimes spin ponies my way the same way I can spin disks!”

‘That… makes absolutely no sense whatsoever,’ deadpanned Swirly. ‘Well, nevertheless, I hope you thought up a phase ‘two’ to this little plan of yours, bard, or else things are about to get very messy.’

“Spit-to-wee! Er, yeah, about that…” I sheepishly replied after engulfing my claws in the cobalt glow of my inner magic. “I’m kinda sorta just winging it he- AH!”

Jumping to the side, I sent a silent ‘thank you’ prayer to Celestia as I narrowly dodged a golden trident’s thrust. The weapon’s wielder tilted her head to the side, revealing the now heavily burned section of her face to me.

An evil blue eye glared my way.

“I, did, not give you permission to leave, pony!”

Eep!

SHINK!

The sound of the trident quickly being yanked out of the wall and then just as quickly swung at me in a downward thrust. I jumped back for a second time, causing the weapon to get stuck in the ground. Using magical TK to lift up the debris of my former prison, I placed one foot on the deranged fishlady’s downed weapon and then proceeded to fling the items in my grasp at her. Diamrem’s sentient mane blocked the projectiles I sent her way with relative ease, but for the briefest of seconds the ghostly green appendage blocked her field of vision…

I used this instant to strike.

Moving as fast as my new stubby legs could carry me, I took advantage of this tiny opening to run up the shaft of the seapony’s weapon, up the slimy tentacle gripping said weapon, and then finally up to the monster it was attached to’s eye level. My left foot landed firmly on her shoulder…

SHINK!!

…and my right foot landed firmly across her face,causing my incredibly sharp toes to slice directly into Diamrem’s eye. Four long scars could now be seen taking up residence on the princess’s ugly mug, right next to her burns.

“SSSHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEE!!!” she wailed in pain as I landed safely behind her on all fours. The magically charged water from beneath me rose up in response to my assault and began to swirl in a rapid rotation, all for the sake of recapturing me in its pull. I ran as fast as I could from the mad waves, fighting against the current that tried to sweep me off my feet, and towards the only exit this room had to offer.

It’s only, closed, exit.

‘Swat your tail to the right!’

I obeyed Starswirl’s command without question.

CLANK!

The sound the tip of my tail made when it collided with the princess’s latest trident thrust. I thankfully was able to deflect it in that tiny instance Starswirl had granted to me.

… Seeing the weapon being knocked to the side gave me a split second idea.

Funneling everything I had into my magical claws, I encased the golden weapon in the blue glow of my inner power and yanked it out of Diamrem’s grip. Not having the time to turn the blade on her (and knowing that, although I talk big, I’m still a happiness seeking pony who doesn’t hurt others... much), I instead aimed it towards the door in front of me…

FLING!

CRASH!

… and then lanced that baby straight through the wooden frame, creating a hole!

… A hole much too small for me to use. Ugh! I’ll have to fix that here in a se-

SPLOOSH!

Suddenly, familiar looking aquatic bindings rose up to greet me from out of the ever present water. They gripped me across my mouth and across my throat, effectivelycutting off my air. C-crap!

My face began to turn blue as I fought desperately to break free and as I fought desperately to keep my magic glowing. Swirly’s mental shouts started to become distant, just like the rest of the noise around me, as darkness started to streak across my vision. Just as my eyes started to roll back into my skull, the blackness started to consume me, and as I felt Diamrem’s bony fins touch my scales…

CRASH!!

The door in front of us exploded into a rain of splinters as my trident returned to me at top speeds. The shock of it caused the magical watery rope around me to revert back into its original form and splash back down on the floor below, along with my body.

Sploosh!! Shink!!

… And that last minute ‘duck’ was what saved me from being pierced through by my own projectile…

SSSSSSHHHHHIIIINNNKKK!!!

!!!

…

… D-diamrem… Diamrem wasn’t as lucky…

… as evidenced by her screams of bloody murder.

... Oh

O-oh Celestia...

I-I...

I had j-just... just... k, k-ki...

...

... My claws were drenched in a river of blue blood as I shakily rose back to my feet. Not caring... too afraid to look back... I ran out the door as fast as I could, tripping over myself with every step.

My heartbeat raced

my muscles burned

my mind strained

my fresh tears were blinding

and my thoughts...

… forced into the dark for my own good...

~To be Continued~

Author's Note

Art by More Dakka!

After months and months of inactivity, we FINALLY return to this story! I'm beginning to experiment with cutting back the overall length of my chapters, so as not to overwhelm me, so I apologize in advance for any early jankiness these next couple of chapters will have.

Like, if I were writing this chapter like I normally write these things, then I would have already transitioned into the next scene by now so we can explore Vinyl's mind a bit. I don't like overkilling ponies with cliffhangers...

... Hopefully I will be able to find a nice balance as I continue to improve myself! Please enjoy the ride in the meantime ^_^

Intro: To Begin

Intro, To Begin

Chic... chuk… chic… chuk…

Rhythmic beating resonating through layers of rusted metal.

Toot… shee… toot… shee...

Steam spewing forth from cracks in the walls. The sound of it expelling itself somewhere outside of the metal beast.

Shizzzzzzzllleeee…

Green sparks dancing to and fro, granting small glimpses of a chained creature.

-Sniff-

The sound of the creature’s sorrow

Chic… chuk…

“Why…?”

Toot… shee…

“I didn’t want to come here…”

Shiiiizzzzzllleeee…

“My life was fine the way it was.”

Chic… shee… chic… shooooooooo…

Rubber wheels gripping the dirt, forcing the great metal contraption to a halt. Steam continues to hiss.

Toot… shee… toot…

“Please don’t stop.”

Shizllllleee…

The green spark dies, drowning the creature in darkness.

-Sniff- … -sniff- ...

The creature's sorrow deepens.

“Please don’t get out.”

Clip clop clip clop

Hoofsteps; two sets. Their beats echo within the great machine.

“Please don’t…”

Shruuuummmm!!!

Cogs whirl in place.

Shhhhhhhhhh…

An unseen gramophone plays static.

Whump

The device’s needle dropping on vinyl. It releases a tune... a horribly wretched little tune. One that was once whimsical but has now warped itself into a hellish thing to the creature’s ears. It acts as a signal; a harbinger of grim things to come.

And what is to come...?

“Well, looky what we got here, brother of mine, it’s the same in every town~!”

“… Singing...”

The creature sighs; its’ captives continuing their horrible anthem, unaware and uncaring of their captive’s protests.

“Well you’vegotopportunity…”

The song fades, mentally blocked off by the creature and physically blocked off by the metal walls. The creature counts.

“3… 2... 1…”

The machine stutters.

Shruuuuuummmm!!!

Cogs whirl.

Toot Shee Toot Shee…

The steam builds up.

Whrrrriiiillll!!!

The sound of a vacuum turning on and performing its duty.

Clink clonk

The sound of horseshoes banging the surface of the metal beast, harrowing the return of one of its masters. The noise of the machine mercifully blocks off one of their voices, but not the others'.

“Feel free to take a sneak peeeeeek~”

Hisssss...

The sound of a magic charm slowing charging.

Ding, ding, ding, BUZZ, ding…

Apples being sorted.

-Sniff-

The creature whimpers.

…

Silence falls. Then… the creature chuckles weakly, and an even weaker smile etches across its face.

It begins to speak.

“I guess its show tim-"

It never gets to finish.

SSSSSSHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIZZZZZLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEE

The green spark returns and strikes the creature. It screams bloody murder…

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

… And bellows out a mighty orange flame, illuminating its features once more in a crisscrossing spectrum of orange and green lighting.

'It' is a baby dragon, and a sickly one at that. Its colors are indistinguishable in the neon illumination. The hide of scales that usually adorn such a creatures' body lies in ruins along this one's flesh. Each scale ranges from scruffy to barely hanging on; the former waiting for the slightest body movement to dislodge it. The dragon’s pain intensifies…

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

… And a new layer of scales falls to the floor, joining its brothers and sisters in a hefty pile of waste and vomit.

Whhhiiirrrrllll!!!

The sound of a second vacuum. It sucks up the flames until all that remains is the blackened wall; charred pitch black and only slightly warped from the constant abuse. Soon, only the green lightning remains to illuminate the dark, metal, room. It dances along the creature’s body, weaving its way through the tattered remains of its bat-like wings; a feature which singles it into the female class of dragons, a class that grows and matures faster than their male counterparts. This source of light soon vanishes as well; the creature's cries of pain soon returning to cries of sorrow.

“Ah… ah… a-h…" -Sniff- … -sob- ... "H-hic… hi-UMBH!!!”

The creature's illness soon covers the fresh layer of fallen scales.

Bubblebubblebubblebubble…

Liquid runs quickly through the series of tubes which adorns the contraption’s inner ceiling. Soon, the voices of ponies can be heard through the machine’s walls.

“Delicious!”

The voices of ponies wetting their whistles.

“Served so quickly!”

Ponies enjoying the wonderful cider.

“And it’s so warm and toasty!”

Ponies unknowingly killing the creature.

“Our pleasure, fillies and gentlecolts! And remember; oh you’ve got opportunity in this here community~!”

Evil ponies, one and all.

-Sniff-

Ponies whom the dragon could not and would not hate.

“J-just hang in there, Nathan.”

Because, once upon a time, the dragon’s life was improved by their very existence.

“J… j-just stay strong.”

Back when the creature was not a dragon, but a human.

“Stay… strong.”

When she considered herself a brony.

“S… s-stay…”

Back when she was a he.

CREEEEEEEEAAAKKK…

A hatch opens, illuminating the room in natural sunlight for but a few scant seconds; long enough for a bucket to be telepathically levitated inside with a sickly green aura.

ClANKCLANKCLANK!!!

It empties its contents of rusty old screws, bolts, and broken glass over the dragon’s head. Most of it falls into the pile of waste and green scales below her while some of the glass gets stuck in the miserable and filthy tuff of red hair adorning her head. Long ago did the dragon learn to close her eyes when that hatch opened; not only to shield her eyes from the painful sunlight but to also avoid getting strands of glass in them. A yellow stallion’s muzzle sticks out briefly from the hatch.

“Feeding time, you damn talker.”

SLAM!

With that the unicorn was gone.

“… Strong." -Sniff- "Oh God, please help me.”

SSSSSSNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAPPPPPPPP

The scene freezes. The dragon’s tears halt in midair.

Tick… tock… tick… tock...

An unknown clock echoes throughout the dragon’s cell, becoming the only sound present. Not even breathing could be heard from the worn-out creature.

And then... the dragon’s tears return to her eyes, as if they were never shed to begin with.

The unicorn, Flam, returns and uses his powers to bring back the bucket which in turn re-absorbs its’ original contents. Soon, all the bolts and glass are gone and the unicorn leaves once more through the hatch.

Time is moving backwards.

Tick tock tick tock

And the pace at which it flows is in direct response to the clock’s ticking.

Slowly but surely the room begins to change.

The mess of filth, scales, and lost 'food' begins to clean itself and the blackened walls turn back to their original steely smoothness.

The wall next to the dragon, with a large collection of spiked tail made scratches in it, begins to mend itself. Each scratch removed represents one day being returned to the sickly dragon.

The most dramatic change, however, comes from the dragon herself.

One by one scales begin to reattach themselves to the skin, filling in the once blank spots that exposed her flesh. Her hair shortens itself, going from belly length to just a bit over the shoulders. Its general appearance seems to improve as well; removing bits of glass that the creature’s bonded arms could not reach. Finally, the most drastic of changes comes in the form of the dragon’s eyes and posture. Before a casual viewer's watchful gaze the dragon has gone from the absolutely devastated creature seen earlier to one whose eyes burn with rage and hope.

Tick… tock… tick…

The clock slows down as does the scene. The room has now returned to its former glory, with little to no indication of the horrors it would later see. In the corner lies the still chained and restrained dragon, fuming with ire and anger and holding no love for two unlucky unicorns.

The wall to her left bares three small scratches.

Tick… tock… tick…

Two scratches.

Tick… tock…

One scratch.

Tick…

The wall is now bare, and the dragon is gone.

***^***

Ever since they were little colts, the Flim Flam brothers had a dream; a dream to make a wondrous machine to set their lives on the fast track to success. The machine, known as the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, was missing just one component to make it all complete. Just one elusive item that no sane pony or pony with values would ever consider using:

Fresh dragon's breath.

Guess what I am.

I was taken from my home, my family, and my wings were slashed. I am no longer a person, I am simply a cog; a cog in the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.

This is the beginning of my wonderful tale

A Cog in the Machine
A fictional story by ManlyDerp
I do not own Hasbro’s MLP, FiM

Chapter 1: To Be Deceived

Chapter 1, To be Deceived

Equestria is truly a beautiful place...

... Or at least from orbit it is.

The world the mighty country resides in is a pure blue shining globe that sits motionless in the vastness of space. It doesn’t rotate like a normal planet, nor does it share its section of the galaxy with other large bodies of floating rocks. No, Equestria seems to be set in, for lack of a better phrase, its own little world; one where the sun revolves around it like the moon and, instead of being a constant presence, the stars wink into existence for only one half of the globe at a time instead. The rest of the time there is nothing but blackness in their place, but this is soon rectified with the return of the sun.

I briefly allowed myself to ponder if the stars were actually real and if Luna simply allows them to shine through the darkness, or if they're instead magic constructs, perhaps used by Luna herself and the unicorns of the past to practice interplanetary levitation. From what I've seen this night, most of the constellations remain the same as the ones that can be seen from Earth... its almost as if Equestria's planet has taken Earth’s galactic position amongst the stars... Maybe Luna actually copies Earth’s sky from human mental images and that's why its so accurate?

... No no, that seems ridiculous... although it would explain shooting stars.

...

No... no, wait, it wouldn’t. That wouldn't explain them at all! Stupid brain, sleeping through astronomy classes...

Well... whatever. What if…

“You’re getting distracted, dragon.”

I quickly snapped out of my moment of universal assessment at the sound of my one and only companion’s voice.

“Oh, right. S-sorry!” I quickly sputter out in my now awkward (to me at least) sounding voice. I'm still not quite used to its higher pitch... Being a dragon? Not a problem, but being a girl? Heh, still working on it! Ha!

...

Yeah... I’m going to need to explain a few things, aren’t I? Just give me a sec, would ya? I'm not used to being put on the spot like this...

"Ugh..."

After letting out a small sigh of frustration, my companion takes advantage of the moment of silence to readjust the logs in our campfire with her magic. She was making sure that the lovely orange fire that I spat-up earlier kept on burning and thus kept us warm against the early fall windchill. Sitting back on my tail, I watched quietly as leaves, old newspapers, and the various wooden sticks (that we found around the campsite) were consumed by the flames. Inside I was smiling and mentally patting myself on the spiky back (somewhere between the new wings) for figuring out how to breathe fire right off the bat. Sure the circumstances for figuring it out kind of sucked... but whatever.

Fire breathing is sooooo coo-

"Ahem."

Another small interruption from my friend once again sets my thoughts back on track. Embarrassed, I rubbed my clawed hand against the back of my head while making sure to not scratch myself with it or get it tangled in my new longer hair… again.

“Um, where was I?” I questioned sheepishly.

My friend sighed a second time. “You were speaking about Equestria; about how you were observing it from space while comparing it to your supposed homeland, an 'Earth'?”

I snapped my claws: a habit carried over from my former form which did not seemed dampened by the lack of smooth fingers. “Oh, right! Well yes, I was observing all of this from space. How? I have no real idea. It was like I was in a small transparent cocoon, simply orbiting around in the atmosphere...”

***^***

The images and feelings from that time returned to me as I continued my tale.

Before me lies Equestria, yet I didn’t know it at the time. At that moment, I was in a state of hyper relaxation... I think. It’s the only possible explanation I can think of as to why I didn’t freak the buck out when I woke up and found myself in a tightened fetal position in pitch black darkness.

Instead of panic stricken I was calm and capable of forming basic thought. I could discern that something massive was in front of me but what it was exactly I couldn’t quite figure out. My first solid decision with my refreshed brain was to take an emergency inventory check.

Shifting my form around slightly, I had to rely on small finger and toe movements, followed by fetal position pat downs, to figure out if I was in one piece or not.

All limbs were accounted for, thank goodness, along with all ten digits on both fronts. From what I could tell, I was in one piece. Good.

Shifting my arms around as much as I could in this position, I was able to feel the outside of my pant's pockets, confirming that I still had my wallet; house keys, and cell phone on me... but I couldn't reach any of it in my current 'cage'...

***^***

My companion interrupts my train of thought once more. “Cell phone?”

“Uh, it’s kind of hard to explain without showing you, but unfortunately it disappeared later on along with my clothes." 'And my manhood.' I mentally added. “But I’m getting ahead of myself. Anyways…”

***^***

After the check, I began using my finger tips to instead feel around the surface of the cocoon in a bid to figure out where I was.

The surface was smooth yet springy, like what I'd imagine being inside of a rubber ball would feel like. I breathed a small sigh of relief when I made the connection that I was probably not in a burlap sack and probably not being kidnapped. Still, the question of where I was had yet to be solved and the surface of my prison didn't yield any answers.

I attempted to speak.

“…”

But my words were muted here, like I was being gagged magically but not actually... if that makes any sense.

Frustratingly, with that last action performed I had reached the extent of what I could do in this confined space. Fear was starting to grip my senses and the walls of the cocoon seemed to react to this, tightening themselves for my discomfort.

I took a deep breath to relax my nerves and mentally berated myself for slipping up like that. 'Now's not the time to panic.'

Once I calmed down, I attempted to search my memories in order to retrace my steps. The beginning seemed as good a place as any.

'Okay, lets start with the obvious.' I thought. 'I'm a rather un-remarkable college student, 21 years of age. Accounting is my major but I'm not as fluent with numbers as people would assume I would or should be for the job. I’m the eldest of five brothers, to my poor mother’s eternal regret, and I’ve been living on my own now for almost three years. To my knowledge, I don’t have any rich relatives that would give enough of a damn to deal with a hostage situation so, once again, I can rule out kidnapping. Most of my brothers are still in elementary school except for one, and I highly doubt he would have anything to do with this. Even if he did make an enemy of someone powerful, these guys should have known better then to take me. Its like trying to bait a cat with a dog...'

This left me to recount the events of that current day, opening with breakfast. I started out with scrambled eggs made with rice-milk and fake butter in a vain attempt to offset a cruddy milk allergy, and once devoured and out of the way I finished up some extensive accounting homework... which was due that day... which was assigned weeks ago... and only started that morning.

... Nothing out of the ordinary so far, in my opinion.

After that a shower was taken, clothes were worn, a backpack was loaded, a door was locked, a massive hill that was needed to be traversed was given the one finger salute, and after that a destination was to be reached but instead my mind drew a blank.

This could have either meant that I had a hole in my memory that could coincide with when I was placed into this situation...

...Or it simply could have been my brain deciding not to function anymore when the sun decided, or Celestia in this case, that this would be the perfect time to rise and douse my world in light, revealing for me that I was in freaking space.

My panic attack returned immediately after that.

'Now's the time to panic! OhGodohGodoh... ugh, stupid nerves. Knock that off.'

After once again calming my nerves (which took much more effort then last time) I did the only thing I could do.

Sit back, relax, and blankly watch my surroundings.

My spacey surroundings.

As strange as it sounds, staring directly into the sun became my new favorite hobby. Whatever the heck that cocoon was made out of, it blocked off most of the sun's harmful rays, making it safe for viewing. I’d like to use the word 'breathtaking' to describe the scene but that would have reminded me that I was in the vacuum of space and thus such a statement could be considered an oxymoron, and I wasn't in the mood for laughing at stupid thoughts. Moving on, the whole being in freaking space thing kind of throws off a guy’s sense of time, but if I were to wager a guess I’d say I was staring into that hot gassy beauty for a good, oh, three days.

***^***

“Three days? What makes you think that?” asked my companion.

I shrugged. “This world only has like, what, two major continents, right?”

“That is correct." She replied. "Although they are connected together by the Northern and Southern Great White Ice lands.”

“Well I saw the sun grace both their surfaces three times.”

My companion raised her muzzle up in the air and gave a little huff. “Little dragon, your statement seems to contradict the story. You have stated that the world does not spin, something even a foal knows, and then you claim to have witnessed the sunrise not only in person, but three times in person on two separate sides of the planet? Impossible.”

I bit my tongue, hoping to hold back the constant wave of stupid ideas my brain was currently cooking. The most recent one was to scream ‘objection’ at the pony before explaining her mistake.

I mean, come on. Rude much?

Instead, I decided to take a deep breath. This proved to be a poor choice on my part as all it did was cause my companion to wince in fear over being struck down with my fire-breath. Her reaction caused me to faceclaw; an act resulting in 20% less accidental eye gouging compared to my first few attempts.

I groaned before continuing. “Look, I only said that the sun raised once while I was up there. After the initial rising I can only assume that that my cocoon, prison, thing followed the sun around on its journey across the globe. I honestly don’t know... all I did was stare at the sun and give this world a couple of glances every now and then...”

***^***

And please allow me to reiterate on that last point. Equestria, and by extension this entire world, is beautiful, especially from space. Both oceans (my companion's earlier comment about connected continents leads me to believe that there are only two) are pure blue with not a single cloud obscuring the view. I believe this is because of the supposed monopoly Cloudsdale and whatever the other continent’s equivalent has on cloud production. If ever there was a need, however, to water the ocean I’m sure the pegasi would simply take care of it closer to shore, or something.

The continents of the world were something else too, full of life and color even from space. I was amazed by how much detail I could actually make out from up here. On one han-, er, claw/hoof, we have a mostly flat spread of land with a sprinkling of mountains here and there, a big old stretch of brown plains followed by green foliage (which I assume now was the Everfree), and a southern section that seems to be covered up by clouds of ash and smoke.

The other continent is pretty much entirely mountains outside of a few small patches of land where I assume they pray for fertile dirt or else they’d have to rely on the other continent for food. I remember my thoughts drifting to China (an Earthen country, I explained to my single planetary audience) which has a similar geology.

The northern section of this continent is pitch white from orbit, suggesting that eskimo ponies have their work cut out for them there. My prison seemed to be rotating around from the southern to the northern hemisphere of the planet, so I didn’t receive a good look at the southern region of this continent, but I do believe that I saw a large amount of foliage, so I guess that it can’t be all mountains and snow.

The last point of interest was the moon and boy if the moving sun, the standstill globe, the completely different geology, or the cloudless oceans didn’t tip me off that this wasn’t Kansas anymore then the moon sure did.

It was quite a doozy, but one I'll make a point to brag about in the near future, now that I know I didn't just imagine it. I mean, how many people can say that they had a face to face stare off with the Mare in the Moon?!

“OH THIS IS PREPOSTEROUS!”

***^***

I placed my claws over the two red spiky horns that were fixated to the sides of my head (both of which were pointing towards the back of my head slightly to the sides) in response to the yelling. I don’t know how it works, but despite being slightly above where such a thing should be on a person’s head, these things were now my new ears and holding on to them protected me from my companion’s sudden outburst.

She went on. “The Mare in the Moon hasn’t existed for over a year now! With Princess Luna’s return the moon has returned to its former glory... yet you claim to have seen it recently? How? How could a mere hatchling, no older than a day, have seen something that no longer exists?"

She then huffed. "This is not the first time your story has become odd, dragon. How do you expect to entertain anypony with this when you've not only been calling yourself a colt during the course of it, but also been naming places and events that don't exist?! No... I'm sorry, green one; but your story has become a bore and one that should not be continued.”

... Rubbing my temples used to be another one of the little habits I’d do in my human form to relieve stress, but sadly unlike finger snapping this one didn’t carry over as well. It now offers an 80% chance of eye gouging, thus making it no longer my default 'calming' technique.

I opted to instead huff and blow smoke out of my nostrils, something I found infinitely more relaxing and amusing. Once completed, I began my 'attack'.

“I never said my story was going to be interesting. I’m merely trying to offer to you an explanation as to how a ‘mere hatchling, no older than a day’...” I used my claws to make air quotes around that statement... a motion I fear was lost on my equine friend, “... could be able to walk, talk, and hold a relatively intelligent conversation with you. Maybe it’ll also answer why I look like a 21 year old dragon despite only just being hatched today... By the way, been meaning to run this by you... 21 year old dragons look and are considered baby dragons while dragons 50 years of age act like and are called teenagers? That’s kind of messed up when you think about i-”

It was at this point that I noticed that my little rant seemed to have shut up my little pony... something I was not aiming to do.

I owe this mare a lot, after all.

Thus I looked up at her apologetically. “Look… just… just let me continue my story and maybe it’ll make more sense to you. I didn’t mean to talk to you, of all ponies, like that... I owe you my life, Trixie, and I didn’t mean to bore you with my literal life story... but this is kind of necessary if I’m going to have any chance of going home. There has to be something from my recollection that could be useful to a mage like you...”

My blue unicorn companion stares at me for a moment, making no noticeable facial expressions or any other kind of movement that would insinuate what she was thinking, before raising her muzzle into the air again. She huffs and replies “Very well. Trixie would like to hear the end of your tale, but make it quick.”

I offered her a smile. “I’ll try to hurry up…”

She smiled in return.

Despite not quite having a handle on them yet, I was still able to exercise enough control over my new bat wings to order them to cover me up in a nice blanket of flesh. This successfully blocked my bright, blushing cheeks as I added “…But I’m not even at the half way point yet…”

I tried smiling again only to produce the infamous squeeing sound effect, which in turn was followed by me trying to hide my embarrassment in my wings in the same way Fluttershy tries to hide it with her hair. I mostly did this to be silly, but also because I actually was embarrassed. Not even a day here and I’m already adorable... lord help us.

Trixie only facehoofed in response to my antics.

"So, um, where was I?" I asked, before remembering myself. "Ah yes, the moon. Yes I bared witness to the Mare in the Moon in all her former glory. Big old tattoo on the moon and what not. I swear to my Earthen God that I saw some sand castles when I passed by as well, followed by some writing in the sand making out; ‘Discord was here’ and ‘Celly can kiss my fat black…’”

Trixie started tapping a forehoof impatiently.

"Er, yes, anyways, I was only there for but the briefest of seconds before I was finally sent hurtling into the sun."

“Oh for the love of Celestia!”

My wings flared backwards as I threw my claws into the air. “I’m just telling it as it is!”

***^***

Yes... my epic adventure into space ended with me being banished to the sun, bizarro eternal-day-Nightmare-whatever style.

I remember feeling intense heat and the very air in my throat igniting into pillars of fire as I tried to scream. It was unbearably agonizing... but after a moment I felt… nothing.

I felt and was surrounded by nothingness.

The only source of light was again gone and I was once more surrounded by darkness. The difference this time, however, was that my mind was starting to feel dark as well, along with my senses. I couldn’t think straight anymore and my fingers were numb and motionless.

It truly felt as though I was dead.

I’m usually a very optimistic person, as things rarely get me down and I’ve had experience in the past in finding reasons to smile even in the darkest of times, but this…

This was death to me.

And the very notion that this is what I’d have to face for the rest of eternity, just the idea that nothingness was all that I’d get to look forward to... it nearly broke me.

...

And that's when the cocoon began to break down.

It was very subtle at first... just the tiniest of cracks; small enough to see some light but so small it makes you question whether its even there...

Over time, this crack began to grow.

For the longest time I really did think that is was just my imagination, but even if it was my heart rejuvenated at the mere idea that my brain was actually working again to a level where it could produce imaginary items. Sure, any doctor would tell you that this was probably a sign of me going insane, and for all I know this is all just a really neat fever dream, but dream or no dream I had hope again.

After awhile that crack started to grow even faster, and it quickly became apparent that this wasn't an illusion. It went straight down the middle of the cocoon, starting right where I assume my eyes were looking down at. From there, it broke off and started to grow towards the left and right sides of the chamber.

Oh, it went as slow as molasses, but my God it was something.

The greatest test of my faith, however, came when the crack started to grow outside of my limited field of vision. My senses were still shot, so I couldn’t hear or feel if it was still working its way back there, so all I could do was pray.

And prayed I did, for what felt like an eternity...

... Until the day when my prison hatched.

My eternal patience was finally rewarded with a blast of green light coming straight out the crack. This blinding light hit me squarely in the eyes and, well, blinded me before also hitting me with a huge amount of blinding pain. I can’t really describe it too well... try to imagine your entire body falling asleep and then being forced to move everything at once in order to smash open a cocoon/brick wall… and then get hit by a lightning bolt.

Not fun, to say the least. At least all my senses were kick-started thanks to this...

... You know what else is not fun? Experiencing sunlight again after being in complete darkness for so freaking long, followed by trying to block out the sun with your hands only to gouge your eyes out with your new super sharp claws. Let’s just say that I had a few choice words for such a rude return to the land of the living, and it went a little something like this...

~Earlier that day~

“MOTHER HUBERD IN THE CRADLE WITH MARY JOAL OSMEN AND THE SEVEN DWARFS!”

A voice spoke over my cries of pain. “It looks like it worked, brother of mine… but did that dragon just talk or has the stress finally gotten to me?”

Another voice answered him. “Not at all, my good Flam. I heard it too... Shall we consult the manual once more?”

“Yes... lets.”

As my mind started working again, I began to form rational thought. 'Voices... oh sweet Jebus, voices. Other people! And they sound… show-tuney... Oh they could be drunk for all I care at this point, just so long as they aren’t going to mug me or something. Now if only I could freaking see...'

Weather report? Sunny with a 100% chance of eye gouging. Where’s Pinkie’s eye-patch-stash when you need it?

“ZEUS, ATHENS, OLYMPIAN CAR INSURANCE, THE PAIN! THE PAAAAIIINNN!”

~Present~

“What I can only describe as a telekinetic bitch slap followed; nothing but raw telekinetic force aimed directly at the side of my head. I didn’t quite know it was magic at the time, but all the same it shut me up good. One of them said,” I tried my best to impersonate that one’s accent. “'Shut your Lunadamn mouth thing, we’re trying to read here!’ They called me a thing! A freaking thing! What the hell?!”

Trixie's face remain bored looking. “Yes, Trixie is afraid that some ponies in this part of Equestria tend to have an older mind set when it comes to non-equines. ‘No mark, no soul’ is how Trixie believes the old saying goes.”

I blinked. “R-really?”

She nodded her head. “Afraid so.”

This stunned me greatly. As you've probably discerned from my behavior earlier today and from my few references to the show, I’m a brony. No, I haven’t explained what that is to Trixie yet, so all the references are flying right over her head. Anyways, I’m a regular watcher so no, I don’t have a 'waifu' or a laptop full of pony. I just feel that its a very good show that I love so I’m a normal nerd about it, whatever... but that bit of information doesn’t matter for the point I’m about to make.

On the show, anything non-pony is a minority and rarely seen. Its a show about ponies so it makes sense, but then we get to things like the cows and sheep that seemingly live on Applejack’s farm...

You know, the ones that are herded and lockup up in pins?

It’s not like they're only semi-sentient either, as cows have been seen shopping at Sugercube corner for cookies! That has to mean that they're paid for their labor… their labor that involves sleeping in a barn overnight and yet still having to pay to feed themselves.

Sure, I could see there being racism for winged, fire-breathing, as-large-as-your-house dragons... but any creature without a cutie mark is considered a minority? Cows, mules, buffaloes, sheep, griffons, minotaurs, and everything else that’s sentient on this planet isn't considered a person unless their flanks are branded? If that's true, that just leaves ponies and maybe zebras at the top of the food chain...

Wow... just, wow...

Obviously, I’m going to need to hit up a few books and dive into some history first chance I get… after I figure out how to stop setting things on fire every time I yawn, that is.

“Trixie is getting impatient, little dragon. Either finish your story or allow Trixie to get on with her chores,” huffed, well, Trixie.

I blushed. “Right right, sorry again. Okay, so after the slap I rubbed the side of my head where I had been struck, somewhere near the ear area, only to discover that my ears were missing!”

~Earlier that day~

“Oh God, not again! Wherearetheywherearethey?!”

~Present~

“Again?” asked Trixie.

“Long story.” I replied.

~Earlier that day~

While still being blinded by the sun, I began to pat the ground around me in order to try and find the allusive appendages. First thing I noticed was that I seemed to be sitting on something crumbly... something that seemed to be made up of hundreds of little pieces, all of which were scattered everywhere around me.

I tried to organize my thoughts. 'Lets see, what could this be... kinda feels like… an egg shell? Was this what I was in? Wait... did any of that freaky stuff actually happen or has the stress of these stupid exams finally gotten to me? Where am I anyways...?'

I attempted to speak to my current company again. “Um, excuse me?”

And this earned me another slap.

“Ow!" I shirked. "Alright I’ll drop it... jeeze." If my eyes weren't shut, I would have then blinked blankly over the sound of my own voice. "Hey, wait…oh God, what happened to my voice?! It’s like I swallowed helium or something... what the heck have I been doing?”

Abandoning my search for my ears, I decided I was sick of being blind. I attempted to open my eyes again and was met with a blurry haze. I could vaguely make out the image of a dark corner, presumably shade, and closed my eyes again. I attempted to stand up and make my way over there, but this resulted in me taking notice of a few… quirks… that had somehow been made to my body... quirks such as the fact that I seemed be rocking two to three extra appendages.

I reacted to this in the most dignified matter I could think of...

... By freaking the buck out.

“Thisisn’thappeningthisisn’thappeningohGodthisishappeningwhyisthishappeningohGodohGodohGo-”

This outburst was followed by another collective bitch slap from my (presumably two) hosts, this time with enough force to propel me in the direction I was facing. I crashed against a wooden wall of some description and was shortly thereby bombarded with the contents of said wall’s shelves falling off and nearly giving me a concussion.

Despite how much that hurt, the one good thing that came out of this was that I was now in the shade, where the sun wasn’t so bright, and it was now safe to open my eyes. Slowly, I began to open my teal colored babies and found myself staring into the side of a red tool box. I pushed this off of my head with the help of my… green claws?

... Oh haha, must be someone’s joke. I just have to pull these gloves off and… ow… Okay, so my hands are actually four-fingered green claws now.

... Neat. No problem there. Nope, none at all. Panicking isn’t going to solve anything and my current company doesn’t find it amusing, so moving on...

I pushed off the rest of the junk that I was buried in and began to take stock of the front half of my body. Green limbs for my arms and legs, feet are also made of green skin... no, scales. Yup these are scales... My belly seems to be cream colored and I appear to be naked... cool.

So I’m now Kermit the Frog’s demonic love child...

Again, neat.

... What the hell is going on?

No, more importantly, where the hell am I where this is a thing that is happening?!

I decided that looking around at my new surroundings was a much better course of action then giving myself a migraine was. I need to calm down before even attempting to glance at my backside to discern what the extra pair of limbs are.

Let's see now... I'm in a garage of some sort, and a dark one at that. There are workbenches around me that are up to my eye level... great, so I’m short too. Some things stay constant, it seems...

Anyhow, beyond the work benches and the single window providing light (outside of the open garage door), the only other thing of interest in here is the giant machine covered in a tarp.

...

... In all honesty, I probably should have spotted this thing first before the benches.

Heck, I probably should have noticed it before the green claws.

“Oh brother of mine, this isn’t making any sense to me.”

“Nor does it to me, Flam.”

In my… excitement question mark… I seemed to have forgotten that I wasn’t alone. Discovering who these people are, or at least glancing at them, should help alleviate some of my questions.

With that in mind I carefully stepped over the mess I had made…

... And tripped on my own tail.

Tail? What the fu- argh, no! You’re getting distracted, Nathan! Focus! Mysterious strangers first, additions to the condo later.

I picked myself back up and walked up to the edge of the garage. Carefully, I peeked around the corner...

... And what I saw nearly caused me to disengage all of my safety switches and go into full on geek mode.

I’m looking at a pair of ponies here.

Honest to God... oh, I should probably say Celestia now, shouldn’t I?

... Ah, who cares? Ponies!

And it's the Flim Flam brothers to boot! Not my first choice for a first encounter, but again, who cares? I’m in Equestria, baby!

~Present~

“So you claim that you had prior knowledge of the pair that hatched you before the initial hatching, and knowledge of Equestria as well? Trixie finds this hard to believe.”

I chuckled to myself. “Oh, and that’s the beauty of my story... you can’t prove that I’m lying about anything I’m saying, can you? Need I remind you what that carnie-level age reading spell that you cast on me said?”

We’re getting to that part, folks. Don’t worry.

Trixie looked away, unable to face me. “I-it said that you were only about four hours old at the time.”

“Yet, once again, I have the brain power necessary to give you this story in the first place.” I have probably the biggest dragon dung eating smile ever on my face right now. “Plus, I’m clearly a dragon 21 years of age, as you've said." I put my claws behind my head and leaned backwards. "So you’re claiming that I’m lying about my story, yet in going down that train of thought you would have to admit that you still don’t have a logical explanation for how I can talk and lie in the first place, do you?”

Oh God, Trixie’s angry pout-y face is adorable! Must, resist, urge, to, pinch, cheeks!

“J-just continue your stupid story, lizard,” she spat out.

I held back a snicker. “Sure thing, Tricky.”

She shot me a glare. “Call Trixie that again and she’ll turn you into a green toad.”

"..."

I gulped.

~Earlier that day~

After discovering where I was I just stood there, dumbfound in silent awe, for a good two minutes all the while still trying to process this new information.

I’m in Equestria...

In a new body...

With the Flim Flam brothers...

Whoa. Just... whoa.

Okay... time for another inventory check. I have claws and things on my back. Soooo… a griffon? No, I’m clearly standing on two legs and my feet also have claws on them, not paws. Scales… crap, that means I’m a dragon. Well, it looks like I’ve got hundreds of years of watching everypony I wanted to meet and be friends with grow old and die without me to look forward to...

... But I can breathe fire, so I guess that’s a fair trade off.

Let’s see that tail now… nice! It looks like a green tuning fork, with two prongs as the tip and the entire tail itself is covered in red spins that go from the tip all the way up my back and between my… wings? I have wings?! Ballin'!

Wait, so I’m clearly older then Spike (he's like, what, seven?) but not old enough to be as big as this workshop/garage. Soooo, what? Am I just in that awkward stage of dragon growth?

... Meh, at least I can still walk inside buildings for a few more years... not that I’m planning on staying that long, but one thing at a time for now-

My train of thought was cut off by a tape measure levitating itself up to me in a green magic aura. It quickly measured my height and around my waist before returning to one of the two yellow unicorns, the one with the mustache… Flim, I believe?

“What does it say, Flam?

Swing and a miss.

“According to the book, brother of mine, we have what appears to be a baby dragon, at least 18 years older than what we were aiming for, Flim.”

“Well ain’t that a pickle. Do you know why it’s a talking already despite having just been hatched?”

Just hatched? I was hatched? Well, I guess that’s an… interesting way to get here, but it makes me worried about how I’m going to get back home…

“Can’t say that I do, brother. I told you we shouldn’t have nabbed that derpy looking dragon’s egg! Remember what that thing looked like? It had at least six legs and was covered in gems! Probably considered discarded food in dragon terms, like crumbs in my mustache... Certainly not a good sign of quality, brother of mine!”

I decided that I was far away enough to begin testing out my new voice. “Derpy looking dragon? Oh, for the love of all that is holy please don’t tell me my ‘mother’ is Crackle the Dragon!”

Flim raised a hoof to his mouth, holding back a cheeky laugh. “It may not have been the best of quality, brother, but unlike the rest of the pickings this one’s mother is less likely to hunt us down across Celestia’s great land in pursuit of fire based justice. You saw it, Flam; wimpy little wings, big and bloated, couldn’t even talk! It just made these yelping noises that reminded me of a content dog. There’s no way, I say there’s no way it’s going to notice her egg is a rock until half a year from now when it’s supposed to hatch! Hahaha!”

“Haha! You're right, Flim! Nothing for us to worry about! Hahah!”

This caused me to shake my fist in anger. No… pony… insults my mother; no matter what world, dimension, or possible fever dream. Besides, Crackle takes up the same place as Derpy Hooves in my heart; as best, pony, ever.

I decided that I needed to cool down before I did something stupid on my first day in a strange new land. Be still my brony heart if I have to choke a bitch. I peeked around the corner again in order to continue hearing their conversation.

Flim continued. “So what’s with the wings, Flam? Baby dragons aren’t supposed to have wings, right?”

“That’s correct, brother of mine." Replied Flam. "That is... unless they are girl dragons; looks like we have a dragoness to work with, Flim.”

“Ah shoot, a dame. Just our luck.” Pouted Flim.

...

The phrase, ‘the size of saucers’, does not do what my eyes did justice.

“G-girl?" I squeaked. "What?! Oh, my, God. W-where’s a mirror? Need a mirror need a mirror!”

With that I ran back into the garage as fast as my new legs could take me and, looking around for any kind of reflective surface, finally spotting a rear-view mirror laying down on its side on one of the workbenches. I assumed it was for the Flim Flam brother’s machine, the Super Squeezy something 6000. I gingerly picked it up in my claws, making sure not to scratch it, and I raised it to my head.

After that I raised a claw to my mouth and gasped.

As anime and manga have taught me, many things can run through a man’s head if they were suddenly transformed into a girl. Some may openly weep the loss of their favorite limb, some may just openly weep for other good reasons. Some may become confused as the rush of new hormones and new body singles enters their brains, threatening to change their very being. Some may become introspective; reflecting on all that they've taken for granted up to this point and become humbled by their new perspective on life. Fear seems to be a popular one amongst these 'victims'; fear of the new world of public expectations and glass ceilings that they have accidentally stepped into, or fear of how their relationship with their friends and loved ones has changed along with their body. Fear of not being recognized, or fear of being recognized...

Fear of what the future brings.

... None of these things were going through my head at the time.

Instead...

Well…

I was listening to a choir of Angels singing.

“Hair! Honest to goodness hair!" I wiped away a tear. "Ponies, Equestria, hair; t-this is the best, day, ever!”

Yes, well, about that. You see... I kind of got the short end of the stick when it came to the gene pool. Males on both sides of my family are doomed for baldness, this much I was assured of, but somehow the two baldness genes had combined at one point into a super gene and thus, at the fresh age of 21, I was already bidding farewell to a good chunk of the top of my head. The second eldest brother next to me got skipped completely, the lucky son of a bitch, and was currently rocking a goddamn mullet... but I digress.

As I was saying; being a dragon, I would have assumed that I’d be bald as well, given what I’ve seen of other dragons from the show, but I did remember that a few of them did have hair so there was a slim chance that I too would be blessed. With the revelation that I was a girl, I figured that the odds could only go up in my favor.

Boy, er, girl was I right! I have what could probably pass as a mare’s mane in length! Its bright red like my mother’s (the original one, not Crackle) and it replaces the greasy black mess that I usually hide in shame quite majestically. A redheaded dragoness? Ha! Nothing strange there!

Cue the rim-shot.

I also took note of my two new red horns that were pointing towards the back of my head, coming up about to where the spines on the back of my head were in length. They were pretty noticeable on my green scaly face, but the red hair seems to compliment it quite nicely, making them stand out a little less.

After playing with my hair and horns for a good chunk of time, I passingly glanced into my mouth and observed my fangs, my weird snaky dragon tongue thing, and a tiny orange flame in the back of my throat that appeared and disappeared as I was breathing.

Orange flames huh... hmmmm, I would have liked blue, but at least it’s not generic red or green. I'm not the biggest fan of the color green (yes I’m aware of the irony of being an accountant and not liking green), as it was my grandfather’s favorite color and my grandfather was a man I’d like to punch in the face.

That’s a story for another time.

Moving on, the green scales thing was kind of a downer, but I felt that the red hair, horns, and spinal fins were enough to make it okay… also the fact that I was in a mystical land of magic and ponies... but mostly the hair.

I winked at myself in the mirror with my teal eyes. At least something carried over from my old form, even if the eyelashes are a bit longer now... also the whole slit pupils thing.

“Looking good, Nathan. Oh... hehe, I guess that name’s not going to work anymore while I’m here, is it? Let’s see, the female version of Nathan is... Nathania? Nathenia?

"... Blah, nope. Forget those. Hmmm... I wonder what could be considered a good female dragon nam-“

I was suddenly rudely cut off by being yanked into the air by one of the Flim Flam Brother’s magic. They dragged me out of the garage and towards themselves, but once I got to their location they didn’t let go. They were having a conversation while I was being taken to them, and my addition to the group didn’t change that fact.

“… while your concerns are logical, my good Flam, I assure you that the only thing that matters in the end is whether the dragon can breathe fire or not. We’re not getting this machine off the ground without some magic flames coursing through its veins!”

“I’m aware of this, brother of mine, I just wanted to make sure you're aware of what we’re about to get ourselves into. Yes this can be the start of our great new life, the one we’ve dreamed about since we were small, but one wrong step and shink!” Flam used is front hoof to make a little line across his throat, severing it through the power of imagination. “There goes our one chance at fame and fortune!”

I cleared my throat in a futile attempt to get attention. “Um, excuse me?”

Flim just kept talking. “Relax, Flam! Noponies going to know! Besides, like mama Shim and Auntie Sham would always say, ‘Morals, smorals! The ends always justify the means, especially if bits are involved!’ Also, it’s just a damn talker like the rest of them, and they live to serve ponies everywhere... I’m sure we’ll find plenty of supporters down the road!”

This whole conversation was starting to make me nervous. What did they need a dragon for exactly? Magic fire was brought up a couple times, I remember that much. Unfortunately, I found it hard to think while hanging upside down from my tail, blood rushing to my head.

“Hey, guys….”

Flam put his hoof down. “Oh I’m sure there will be supporters, Flim, but we’re bound to run into ponies who are soft and weak of heart. We might even run into a town full of damn talkers, Celestia protect us. All I’m saying is to make sure you’re concentrating all the way while we put in these protective wards, because we will need them one way or another.”

“You have my word, brother: nopony is going to catch us. I swear to Celestia that you have nothing to fear. Now let’s get back to checking out our ‘precious cargo’ Flam.”

“Fine fine. After you Flim!”

They both turned to me, finally acknowledging my existence. While upside down I was observing where this garage was set up. It seemed to be located out in the middle of the woods with only a single beaten path in or out of the area. A small campsite was to the side with a pair of tents and in the middle of the clearing was the shattered remains of a red egg, presumably the one I was just birthed from. Eww.

Flim’s magic field intensified, covering my whole body now and repositioning myself away from the two. Not sure what to make of this... I again tried to speak up.

“Yo, Flim and Flam, what’s up?”

I assumed that hearing their own names would cause them to take at least one glance at me, maybe even making them want to ask me how I knew who they were. I would then answer this question by simply stating that I overheard them talking and move on to questions of my own. Then we'd go back and forth with questions until we're all buddy-buddy and having a good time...

None of that happened, sadly, as Flam instead struck me with magic lightning.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

Most painful experience in my second life. My insides were quite literally on fire, as evident by fire spewing forth from my mouth.

Yup, orange flames. Koolio. I tried to make a mental note about how it felt so I could use it willingly later on, but my mind was too busy crying in pain to form rational thought.

“You’ve could have just asked!” I cried.

“Brother! The dragon can breathe fire!” Chirped Flim happily, ignoring my shouting.

“Indeed it does, Flim. Looks like it’s not completely as defective as its mother after all!” Replied Flam, equally as happy.

“Is the fire hot enough though, Flam?”

“I would need another reading, brother of mine. Ready?”

I was titled around in my magic hold again by Flim. "Ready."

Panicking, I tried desperately to remember how I just breathed fire “N-no no! That’s not necessary, my good gents! I am perfectly capable of doing it on my own! See? Watch!”

I took a deep breath, after cooling down from my rapid panting, and attempted to bellow forth fire. All I could manage was a pitiful tongue of fire… not a tongue as in a small amount of fire, but as in my tongue actually caught on fire.

“AHHHHHHHHH!”

Flam struck me again with lightning.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

And ushered forth a great pillar of orange flame. My tongue somehow extinguished itself with help of the saliva exiting my open mouth. I was letting it hang open, not really giving a damn anymore, as I was in too much pain to care.

“Well, Flam?”

“This flame will work one hundred percent, Flim! We’re in business!”

“Yahoo!”

They hoofbumped, abruptly ending their magic hold on me as Flim removed his hat and wiped away sweat from his brow. I simple fell into a heap on the ground, panting heavily. I think I was laying on a wing funnily but I really couldn’t care less.

“This morning has been pretty eventful, hasn’t it brother?”

“It sure has, Flim. Let’s take a break, shall we?”

“Oh lets. We’ll have to discuss how we’re going to keep the thing though. Do we simply chain it up inside the machine? How would that affect its performance?”

My eyes shot open and my breathing stopped when I heard the word 'chain'.

“Well I don’t see the negatives of doing such a thing, brother of mine. We would just need to make a few modifications to compensate for the thing; make sure it doesn’t damage anything important in there, make sure it can’t escape, and make sure it doesn’t make any noise.”

“Can’t we simply gag it, Flam?”

“I’m afraid not, Flim. We need it to breathe fire, remember? We’re going to have to magically soundproof the walls I'm afraid. I know a charm we can use, but it’ll set us back a little bit... I’m sure that it will be worth every bit, though, as we can then start selling 'Dragon Roasted Cider' to all of Equestria!

"Oh... actually, I guess we can’t really call it dragon Roasted without somepony asking about the dragon, can we?”

“That is true, Flam. Maybe simply 'cider'? We’ll lose one of our marketing strategies but we’ll still have the speedy part to work with!”

“Excellent idea, Fli-… brother of mine? Why aren’t you holding the dragon anymore?”

“I thought you had it, Flam!”

“Me?! I just fired off three lightning bolts in a row! Do you honestly think I can still hold up a spell of any description after that?!”

“Hey I helped with cracking open the damnable egg too you know! Plus, I had to endure the mental backlash every time you struck the inside of my aura! I’m just as tried as you are!”

“Why you little, ugh, never mind, brother. Where is the thing now?”

That was the last I heard of them before diving into the woods.

~Present~

“Where you ran into the Great and Powerful Trixie." Finished Trixie, as she felt it necessary to wrap up my own story. "There... your story ends, little dragon. Please grace Trixie with the sound of silence now.”

“But, I still have a bit left to say,” I argued.

“That is not necessary. Trixie was there so Trixie does not need to be reminded.”

While we were talking, I started experimenting a little bit with how my wings felt. I was running my claw up and down the smooth red membrane in-between the green fingers, making sure not to slice anything.

Not looking up, I replied “At this point it’s kind of more for my own benefit. Everything that happened was just so… unreal. I just need to speak my mind a bit in order to get over it and to assure myself that it was real. It’s the reason why I started talking about things that you honestly wouldn’t know about; things like what a brony is, ponies named Derpy and Pinkie Pie, or how I know my mother’s name is Crackle. Its all really for my own benefit...”

Letting go of my wing, I allowed it to fold itself behind me. I opted to start playing with my tail instead.

“I just… I need to do this for myself, okay? Would you allow me to please do this, Trixie?”

After glaring at me for a bit, Trixie threw her hooves in the air in defeat.“Ugh, fine! Continue with your little soapbox. Afterwards, Trixie is going to go into town and pick up some more supplies from the stores that are still open. Somedragon ate all of Trixie’s cheese!”

I dropped my tail. “Hey! You’re the one who told a kid who went his whole life without milk that his draconian immune system could handle the stuff now! I’ve got 21 milk-less years to make up for now, thank you very much! Oh, please tell me you have some form of pizza in this universe!”

“Finish your damn story, dragon!”

“Eep!”

~Earlier that day~

Oh God, this feels amazing.

No, not the whole being chased through a forest at break neck speeds while trying to escape a pair of slaver ponies thing. I meant gliding. Gliding felt amazing.

Getting a little ahead of myself here, as soon as I heard that chains would be involved I changed my plan from 'befriend and help misunderstood background ponies' to 'get the buck out of dodge'.

And thus I did, through the forest.

I figured that I’d be able to outrun them better while bobbing and weaving through the trees, as they were a tad bigger them my new shrimpy form. Speaking of size, in comparison to where those two stack up to normal ponies and where Spike stacks up to them I’d say that I’m just a tad bigger them him, not by much but I think I might be a little below eye level with a normal pony, where Spike is about Sweetie Belle’s sized. During my run I also discovered that I didn’t have as much baby fat as Spike and was in fact a pretty thin thing. Picture a female Spike with Garble’s body shape and you’d have a good idea.

Anyhow, so I came to a cliff.

No indication.

No warning.

Just suddenly the forest ended and a giant cliff began.

Even better, I didn’t spot it until the last minute so I didn’t have enough time to put on the breaks. I think you can guess what happened next.

So I fell off it and began plummeting to the ground. I don’t know if it was instinct, dumb luck, a combination of the two, or the will of a flying spaghetti monster in the sky but somehow I was able to manage enough control on my new leathery appendages and enough sense to simple stretch them out and hold them both vertically to the sides. This is what saved me from becoming a flat imprint in the ground. Sure my fall was still very fast, sure I only really pulled up at the last second, and sure it wasn’t so much gliding as it was zooming dangerously fast vertically vs. horizontally...

... But it was still gliding to me and it was amazing...

… Up until I hit a tree at like 65 miles per hour and blacked out.

***^***

“… Is it dead?”

“I think so, Captain. What are your orders?”

“Continue poking it with a stick, first mate Shrimpy!”

“Eye,eye Captain Pip!”

I stirred from my slumber. “Ugh, wha?”

“It's alive!”

“Ah! Flee Mateys! Flee!"

I woke up to the sound of children fleeing. Just a typical Saturday morning... except its not Saturday and this time it was random kids because I’m a dragon as opposed to my brothers because I’m home for the weekend.

... Wait, was that Pipsqueak? Huh... so that means there’s a chance that I’m in Ponyville… or I’m in Trottingham and this encounter was horrific enough to mentally scar the kid so badly that he had to move away.

Dark.

Shaking away a few strands of hair, I slowly got back to my feet and placed my claw on a nearby tree. Oh man was I dizzy. I briefly wished that I kept that mirror. I bet I’m doing a good Derpy impression right now. I laughed at the mental image.

“Anything yet Flim?!”

“Nothing over here Flam!”

“Well keep looking!”

I abruptly stopped laughing and covered my mouth to prevent a gasp from escaping. Speaking of escaping, I should probably keep doing that.

I pushed past the tree I was using as support and fell down flat on my face again. Ugh, still dizzy. I opted to instead start running on all fours, which worked a lot better than I thought it would. Wasn’t as fast as earlier, and I tripped over myself a couple of times, but it was better than nothing. I kept diving further into the forest, away from the voices. As long as they don’t head my way I should be fin-

“Whaa! Monster!"

“Hold it there, my good colts. Tell uncle Flimmy here what you saw.”

“Y-you have to help us, mister! There’s a green monster after us!”

"Lead the way boys!"

Damn it Pip you rat face bastard!

With that I kept pushing forward into the foliage.

***^***

-Huff- … -huff-… "C-can’t stop, going to die. Can’t stop, going to die.”

It’s been hours, hours since I woke up and started running. I’ve been switching back and forth between four and two legs in order to keep moving. Somehow, they haven’t caught me yet. Said forest hasn’t stopped yet either… what, the, hell? This place looks way too nice and empty to be the Everfree, so I haven't got a clue where I am. Where are all the animals, by the way? I know they don’t take care of themselves in Equestria, but you’d think some would at least make these trees their home or something.

I haven’t seen Flim or Flam either in a while either and I’m unsure if they’ve even seen me yet or not in their pursuit, but I can for sure still hear their galloping echoing throughout the forest. Why are they still chasing me? How are they still chasing me? They have to be tired by now! Am I actually moving slowly and they're just waiting for me to tire myself out so they can take me back? If that’s the case, why are they letting me go so far? Ah! This makes no sense and is driving me nut-

My current panicked thoughts were instantly halted by me crashing into something furry.

“Omph! Watch where you’re going, dragon! You almost scratched the Great and Powerful Trixie with your filthy claws!”

I took a moment, while flat on my tail in front of the lady (sounded like one anyways), to take a huge gulp of air and rest.

“S-s-sorry, Miss!" I gasped. "I-I was running f-from these… these…" I took another big gulp of air. "These bad ponies and I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

I took a glance backwards, but was surprised when I couldn’t hear the two anymore. I also noticed that I was in a clearing that I didn’t remember seeing while running earlier. Also behind me was a… treadmill?

“Is there something wrong, green one?”

I shook my head and glanced at the pony in my company… only for my mind to shut down again when I realized that I was talking to a very familiar blue unicorn.

“What is it?” She asked.

Pointing a claw backwards, I stuttered a response. “N-nothing, ma’am! I was just wondering about the… giant rock?”

That treadmill was gone now, replaced with a Tom-sized rock… although now I’m not really even sure if it was ever there in the first place. I’m so tired from running, my mind was probably playing tricks on me. That makes sense, I guess. I mean, what are the odds that I’m really talking to Trixie of all ponies?

“Trixie sees no problem with having a giant rock in her campsite. Now, you have yet to answer Trixie, dragon; what are you doing here in her campsite?”

Oh... so I am speaking to the Great and Powerful Trixie.

Wow... I must have some amazing luck. Not even here a day and I’ve already seen four ponies from the show, plus one background colt that I didn’t get a good look at. More importantly though, this pony seems to actually be willing to listen to me! Better be on my best behavior.

“Oh, um, well you see Miss… Trixie, is it?" I asked, already well aware of the answer.

“The Great and Powerful, but that is correct. You may grace Trixie with your name now.”

Hehe, oh that’s so me. Always finishing assignments at the last second... at least something somewhat normal is happening to me for once today.

“I, uh, don’t really have one yet. You see…”

I guess I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was actually staring at Trixie’s horn while we were talking. It was glowing pink like she was about to cast a spell. What exactly I’m not sure. I only remembered this detail because my eyes started staring past it as my ears picked up the sound of galloping in the distance. Crap, they've caught up!

I jumped up. “Nononono! I’m sorry Trixie but I’ve got to run! Those bad ponies are going to catch me if I stick around! I’m sorry for disturbing you!”

I started to straighten myself and got ready to flee...

“… Hide in Trixie’s tent over there.”

... Only to trip over myself thanks to Trixie’s sudden comment. “W-what?”

She tilted her head backwards. “It’s by the rock over there, dragon. Hide under Trixie’s hat and cape until she comes in to tell you that the coast is clear.”

Trixie is… being nice? Wha? Sure, I’m not one of the bronies who thinks she’s evil, in fact I’m in the group that thinks she’s just misunderstood. Even so, willingly helping a dragon without asking any questions? Well… actually, now that I think about it, she did try to save Ponyville from the Ursa, so I guess it’s not so farfetched.

Better not look a gift pony in the mouth.

... Hehe, I’m already making terrible puns.

I beamed at her. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“Keep it down!”

“Oops, sorry!”

She had a rather small tent, only large enough for one pony, but I didn’t care as I dived in. I quickly located her hat and cape in the corner by her star and wand branded saddle bags and hid underneath them. The cape and hat were charred and torn in a couple of areas, I noted. Coupled with the fact that I didn’t see her wagon anywhere in the clearing, I think it’s safe to say that she might have been to Ponyville already. A bit of a shot in the dark but I'll take all I can get at this point.

I remained deathly quiet as I listened to the sound of galloping approaching the campsite. It slowed down as it came near and then finally came to a complete halt. After what felt like an eternity of silence, the galloping picked up again and disappeared into the distance. A single pair of hoofsteps then approached the tent.

“The coast is clear. You can come out no-“

I pounced out of the tent a smothered Trixie in a bear hug. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"

“Trixie, would like, to breathe, please!”

Blushing, I let go. “S-sorry.” Damn, I don’t remember being a huggy person, nor do I remember being the kind of person who blushes a lot. I blame the new double X chromosome. Sexist? Probably, but it’s the best explanation I have at the moment outside of Equestria’s atmosphere being made out of pure love and kindness, which is obviously not true.

“That’s much better. Now, dragon... care to explain why you were running away from your hatchers?”

“H-how did you know that those two were the ones who hatched me?” I’m starting to notice that this whole incident has left me with a bad case of shuttering when I speak.

“It’s quite elementary. Your scales are green, the same green as the Flim Flam brother’s magic. Despite how little ponies know of your kind, Trixie remembers her lessons from magic kindergarten about how a dragon’s color is based off of their hatcher’s aura, unless they were hatched naturally.”

Oh great, so I have those two to thank for my hideous scale coloring. Looks like I have even more reason to burn their stupid machine down now...

... Wait…

“H-how do you know what color their magic is, Trixie?”

Trixie sighed. “Trixie has had the great, displeasure,” She literally spat out that word, “of being business partners with those two dolt colts in the past.”

Dolt colts. Cute.

“That is a story for another time. Trixie is more curious about you, dragon. She does not seem to remember those two having a dragon in their possession the last their paths crossed her own. Trixie’s aware that they’ve been in need of one for a while now for their grand masterpiece's completion. They’ve even sought out her assistance in locating one, something Trixie refused to do simply on the principle of the matter. “

How amazingly noble.

The mare turned her head and muttered something under her breath, something that I picked up on. “That and their offer was nowhere near Trixie’s usual price of service.”

Now there’s the Trixie we know and love.

Trixie then lifted her head up and looked at me funnily. She ignited her horn and lifted something that had gotten stuck in my hair out gently, kindly making sure not to take any hair with it.

“What is this, green one? Trixie does not recognize it.”

I took a look at what was in Trixie’s magic grip. It appeared to be a piece of some kind of egg shell. I couldn’t quite make out the color until Trixie shifted it around so it was only being held by a portion of the aura. It was red with some green spots.

“Oh, I think that’s a part of my egg.” I answered.

She raised an eyebrow (where did that come from?). “You still have your egg? Trixie thought a dragon's egg burned up on its own accord a week after hatching.”

“They do? That’s pretty hardcore.”

“Hardwhat now?” Trixie asked.

“It’s not important. But yes, my egg is still out there. I was only hatched, like, a couple hours ago.”

“Obviously not, as Trixie has seen what a newly hatched dragon looks like herself. You are obviously not a hatchling, neither in form nor in mind.”

Dang. I was hoping that I could use ponies’ ignorance of dragons to avoid having to answer any tough questions such as this. I need Trixie on my side if I’m going to survive here long enough to figure out a way home. Sooo... first order of business will be to convince her that what I’m saying is true. Let’s see…

I smiled hopefully. “Well, why don’t you check for yourself? I’m sure a great unicorn, such as yourself, would have an age reading spell in your collection. You did say that you were ‘Great and Powerful’, right?”

This seemed to interest Trixie, as she smiled as well, before shaking her head and resuming her ‘holier than thou’ posture.

“But of course. Was there ever any doubt?”

In the words of Pinkie Pie: 'Nailed it!'

Trixie went on. “Trixie once upon a time worked in a carnival. It was owned by her family and it was there that she earned her cutie mark. During her early days she learned from all the circus unicorns. Trixie can read ages, weight, and height with the simple wave of her horn. Observe, dragon, and be amazed!”

Her horn ignited once again right before she waved it in front of me, encasing me in a pink glow. I could feel an itching in my scales... maybe they're sensitive to magic? No... no I don’t think I felt this when those brothers lifted me up earlier.

Something to ponder for later, I guess.

“And complete! The Great and Powerful Trixie has discerned your age with 100% accuracy! Care to challenge this accusation?”

I blinked. “Um, no?”

She blinked as well. “Oh, um, Trixie is sorry. That was a force of habit from Trixie’s carnie days.”

“So, you would scan somepony and then dare them to tell you otherwise, even though your results are always correct? That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. Maybe if your horn wasn’t glowing when you did it…”

“Well, Trixie would have to pretend to be wrong every now and then to make it seem legit. She is a showmare first above all else, after all. Anyhow, the results are actually 100% accurate, so Trixie can state with confidence that you are… f-four hours old?! B-butbutbutbut… but that makes no sense! You should be sucking on your own tail and playing with those things on your feet! Toes or whatever they're called! You shouldn’t be able to talk, let alone speak intelligently! Yet, Trixie’s spells are never wrong, so it must be true!”

Oh, that reaction was priceless. My new friend was pacing back and forth and her silver mane was getting all frazzled as she spoke. Her actions were starting to remind me more and more of a certain purple unicorn with her own dragon companion...

... Hmmmm... I wonder if Trixie is hiring.

Shelving my question for now, I held my sides as I wiped away a tear. “Oh Trixie, its okay! Your spells are working just fine! I really am only four hours old… although mentally and, hopefully, physically I’m actually 21… and a monkey… and from another dimension or world entirely... see? There’s always a logical explanation!”

Trixie slammed her hooves on the ground. “B-but that just raises even more questions! This isn’t scientifically possible. You are not scientifically possible!”

And it was at this point that I freaking lost it and fell to the ground laughing my new tail off, much to Trixie’s further confusion.

~Present~

“Haha, and that's how Equestria was made!” I finished jokingly.

Trixie had long ago fallen asleep while listening to my story. Thank goodness too, because I don’t’ know how she would have reacted to the comments I made about knowing her from the show. She just kind of shrugged off the mentioning of other ponies and places earlier, but I was unsure how she would react to anything involving herself. I’m not sure what she thinks overall either... she was very quiet during all of it. Maybe she thinks I have, I don’t know, residual memories from Flim and Flam? Can something like that happen? Ugh, magic is as magic does I guess.

I briefly reflected on what happened after that meeting. We had a little adventure into the nearby town of Trottingham (called it) in order to help Trixie restock on food, something that we agreed upon after realizing that we both had not eaten yet today. I was initially worried that we were going to run into Flim and Flam, but Trixie assured me that she sent them on a wild goose chase of some description. “They’ll be half way to Fillydelphia by the time you and Trixie are back at camp” she said. I agreed to go, along with promising her I would tell her my story when we returned.

Trixie talked the entire time about herself until we got there. Yes, she did have the incident in Ponyville, something I got out of her by casually asking why she was out here. She apparently retreated here after her wagon and all her possessions were pancaked by the Ursa minor. She remembered how she had done a show here in Trottingham a few months back and also how this town had given her a warmer reception than Ponyville, thus she deemed it the perfect place to regain her footing (hoofing?). Unfortunately, despite the warm reception she received, she had done her usual thing of out talent-ing everypony and this included the local inn keeper. This explained why she was camping out...

Trixie didn’t really speak too much about herself personally, just about her (fake) exploits which I only half paid attention to. Well, she only half paid attention to my own story, so I guess we’re even.

Yawn~

Okay, that’s enough reminiscing for tonight. I’ve had a loooonnngggg day and need my rest. There wasn’t too much to the Trottingham trip anyways, just that Trixie ate up all the extra attention she got with me on her back. The only reason she let me ride her, I figured, was so ponies would think she was some kind of Celestia School for Gifted Unicorns student. One pony we passed pumped his hoof in the air and shouted "Go CSGU! Manticores forever! Whoo!"

... He was an earth pony, by the way.

There were also a few other notable highlights, but my mind is getting really laggy now so I’m just going to have to call it a night.

Trixie's asleep in her tent right now, but she was kind enough to lay out her extra pillow for me to sleep on next to a pair of… open coconuts?

... Wha?

Um... okay then. I guess Trixie likes to eat coconuts. We were wrong, bronies; it’s not pine-cones. Better luck next time.

Well… whatever.

I made it a point throughout the day to keep reminding my companion how I was eternally grateful to her for what she did for me, and how I promised to pay her back for her kindness. She was surprisingly okay with the idea of getting her own dragon assistant, and also okay with helping me get back home at the same time. It’s a bit suspicious, now that I think about it, especially since she hadn’t heard my story until now. Regardless, I’m too tired to worry about it tonight, and I'm just grateful I have a place to sleep at all.

I smiled warmly at Trixie's sleeping form. "... and also grateful that I'm not alone here."

Yawn!

Ugh, okay, enough of that. I attempted to lay down on the pillow, head first, like a normal human being... but then I remembered the horns and spines.

Great, so how am I supposed to sleep? How does Spike do this...?

... Oh, that’s right... like a dog.

... Great.

I curled up on top of the pillow until I was nice and tight. One of my wings folded inwards and the other stretched itself out over my curled body, effectively becoming a small blanket for me against the cold.

...

... Oh, wow.

This is really freaking comfortable.

No, seriously! I found this out earlier with hay fries. Things in Equestria are never what they seem! Hay fries taste nothing like hay and this position is the opposite of uncomfortable. This place is soooo random, and I’m loving every minute of it!

…

... Although, I do hope my family isn’t missing me.

…

“... Dylan, Caleb, Ben, Sam… wait for me, please. I'll be home soon.”

Darkness overtook me as I fell asleep.

***^***

Brrrriiinnngggg!

I jumped up in a snap and got on all fours, wings flared upwards to appear more menacing.

“Whowhatwhenwherehow?!”

“Calm down, dragon. It is simply Trixie’s alarm clock.” The awake and dressed Trixie replied.

I stood up and folded my wings back up. “Oh… wait, why is it still night then?”

“It was set for other reasons outside of simply waking up. Come, follow Trixie.”

“Oh… okay then?”

Trixie had already attached the saddle bags to her sides when she levitated me up to her back. Where are we going that needs us to be moving at night? Sadly, the cry for sleep was too great and I simply curled up and continued my rest on Trixie’s bouncing back. Remind me never to joke about Spike's sleep ethic again. Being a dragon is hard work!

***^***

Chic… shee… chic… sheee

Something loud interrupted my sleep. It sounded like wheels turning followed by multiple hoofsteps. Trixie’s rhythmic trotting had stopped as well, meaning that we were probably where she needed to be… wherever that was. I shifted around and tried to continue sleeping.

“My, you out did yourself you two. Trixie is impressed.”

“Always a… pleasure… Trixie. Now, if you’d like to return to us our stolen goods, we’d very much appreciate it.”

Ugh, whoever Trixie is talking to sounds a bit... s-show-tuney?! She’s not talking to who I think she’s talking to, is she?!

“Yes yes, don’t get your tails in a knot. See, it’s here in one peace, is it not?”

I heard the familiar twinkle of a horn igniting, followed by a feeling of weightlessness. My eyes shot open as I observed that I wasn’t in Trixie’s pink aura, but instead a green one. A sickeningly familiar green aura. N-no…oh God please tell me it isn’t-

“Well, brother. How’s it look?”

I was lifted off of Trixie’s back and brought forward to the mustached face of, -gulp-, F-flam!

“Seems to be ours, Flim. Same scale coloration, same red mane, and same red skinned wings... just have to check one more thing...”

My eyes were wide open and I could feel myself physically shaking, despite being in the air.

“T-t-Trixie? W-whats going o-AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

I was cut off by a familiar feeling of lightning striking me, followed by orange flames escaping my throat.

“Boy oh boy, brother of mine! It’s ours! We’re back in business!”

“Indeed we are, Flim! Indeed we are!" Flam turned to address Trixie. "Thank you for returning it to us, Trixie... even though you were the one who stole it from us in the first place.”

Trixie huffed. “Well, Trixie needed her stage returned to its rightful glory, but she lacked the bits. I’m sure you boys can understand.”

... No.

No... oh please tell me I didn’t just hear that.

My shaking intensified “T-trixie? W-why? Why are you doing this? I thought y-you wanted to h-help me?”

Damn renegade emotions. I wanted to scowl at her, to make her see my anger, to see my pain... yet all I could do was weep uncontrollably. To this, Trixie simply huffed.

“Help you? Whatever gave you that idea, dragon? Trixie was simply using you and nothing more.”

I tried to shake away my tears. “B-but you listened to my story! You fed me when I was hungry, you gave me a place to sleep! You saved me that first time in the forest and for that alone I wanted to help you, to be your assistant and help you achieve great things! Why Trixie? Why?!”

She raised her damn muzzle in the air again, like this wasn’t a big deal! S-she was even smiling!

“Be my assistant? Please. While Trixie did enjoy the extra attention the ponies of Trottingham garnished her with, it would have been too much of a hassle in the long run. So many of Trixie’s tried and true stories would need to be rewritten to incorporate you. You claim to have been an accountant? Well look at it like this; you’d have been an improper debit when what I needed was credit.”

I shot her an angry glare. “That is not how the concept of debit and credits works and you know it!”

She stomped a hoof. “Trixie does not care, dragon! But rest assured, you have already paid Trixie back by assisting her today. You assisted Trixie with her spells in the forest for example.”

Still being held in the air, I just blinked in response instead of simply standing there and looking stupid. “Wha?”

Trixie smirked. “Yes, you helped Trixie practice how to capture a target in an infinite illusion loop without their knowledge. Did you honestly think a forest could stretch on forever as yours did? Trixie thought the lack of animals would have tipped you off, but Trixie must have given you too much credit. Regardless, you gave Trixie a wonderful magic workout; forcing her to maintain the illusion, a transfiguration spell, and levitation all at the same time will surely increase her mana pool!”

Oh crap, the treadmill from earlier... I guess I didn’t imagine it... oh, and the coconuts too! Why didn’t I think that was strange?! She’s a showmare who focuses on illusions, so of course she’s going to use props to imitate noises! The freaking galloping was her all along! She must have been moving them behind my back when we first met! Damn it damn it damn it! Why is this happening?!

“Oh, and that is not all you have helped Trixie with. You helped sharpen Trixie’s acting skills as well. Pretending to care for so long... it truly was Trixie’s greatest act!” She giggled menacingly.

I held back another sob. “Then… t-then why wait so long to do it, Trixie? W-why did you string me along for so long?”

“Quite simple, my little dragon." She answered nonchalantly. "Trixie had to wait for Flim and Flam to hold up their end of the bargain.”

Flim stepped forward, spitting on the ground in front of me. I felt a little bit of the spit hit me in the face. Despite this, he wasn't looking at me, he was glaring at Trixie.

“Damn broad," he spat. "Stealing our inventory and holding it ransom for a stupid wagon. If we weren’t so exhausted from hatching this here dragon we’d have kicked your sorry flank back to Canterlot!”

Flam held up a hoof in front of Flim. “Steady Flim, we got what we came for."

“Indeed you have, brothers." Trixie added, before shooting me one last smirk. "Trixie must make a comment about the oddity of your dragon though... it’s clearly defective as it spouts nothing but nonsense! Hahah!”

Flim took a threatening step forward. Why? To defend my honor? Please, he just doesn’t want her smack talking his things. Flam stops him by holding out a forehoof again.

“… Let’s just get back to the workshop and start getting things set up, brother of mine.”

“… Coming, Flam.”

While I was still facing Trixie, Flim and Flam turned away and started trotting away. Trixie turned to do the same.

“W-wait. Wait! Trixie! P-please, just… just answer me one thing!” I pleaded.

Trixie stopped in her tracks while Flim and Flam kept walking.

“Wait just one more second, boys.” She demanded.

The brothers groaned and stopped.

“Spit it out quick, dragon. Trixie has already given you enough of her time.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Trixie has already answered this for you, or have you already forgotten?”

“N-no, I mean, why? Really, truly, why did you do it, Trixie? I thought we were friends…”

As a result of my words, Trixie came closer, looked me in the eyes...

... And laughed.

She laughed at me bleeding my heart out here for her, laying myself bare for her. She laughed at me with so much venom I could hardly believe it.

“Friends?! Oh, that is rich, dragon. In what world did you think we were friends? Perhaps the fictional one you came from, hmm? No... we were never friends. All you did was steal Trixie's bits, steal Trixie's time, and tested Trixie’s patience with your damnable story!” She stomped her hooves to further her point.

I stared directly into her eyes. “But that’s what friends do, Trixie. They help each other out in dark times, they feed them when they’re hungry, spend time with them when they’re lonely, and lend an ear when they’re hurting. And it’s never one way, Trixie. The term, 'You scratch my back I scratch yours'? It may seem crude, but it applies here. You were my friend as much as I was yours. I truly wanted to help you as your friend, not as your assistant, out of the goodness of my heart, because you opened your heart for me… or, at least I thought you did.”

"..." Trixie remained silent for a bit after that rant, she simply looked down at the ground in deep contemplation.

...

Finally, she spoke up.

“… Friends make you weak, dragon. They steal your thunder, they mooch off your fame, and they kick you when you’re down!” She raised her head and glared right back at me. “I don’t need friends to be great and powerful! I’m not like those foals in Canterlot who shun anypony who isn’t in their social circle or those foals in Ponyville who’ll kick you out for being a loner! I don’t need them or anypony else, dragon! I’ll become the best I can be by, my, self!!”

...

Silence.

Nothing but silence.

Trixie was silent, the brothers were silent, the forest was silent, and the world was silent...

... I ended this silence by saying probably the dumbest thing I could possibly say.

“… And that is why, Trixie Lulamoon, you will never be better than Twilight Sparkle.”

Throughout the course of the day I had been frozen in space, burned by the sun, birthed from an egg, hit by magic lightning about three times, hit upside the head by a tool box, bitched slapped by magic many times, gouged my own eyes out twice, was dropped several times, and crashed into a tree at high speeds.

... None of those hurt me as badly as being smacked across the face by Trixie, my last saving grace and only friend in this new world.

“You know nothing, dragon.”

With that she left, damnable wagon in tow. Soon, Flim and Flam left as well, dragging me with them as they ventured further into the dark woods.

And thus began the most painful months of my life

Chapter 10: To Be Heard... Part 2.5 of ???

Silence reigned.

Despite the creaking of the ship, my heavy breathing, the sound of Cog’s father’s stomach growling angrily, and the pounding of my heartbeat in my ear… silence was absolute.

And then… the dragon started laughing.

“…Hahah… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

In the face of the deep, harsh laughter I stood my ground, not finding any humor in what I had just declared.

Still, the dragon continued to laugh, ignoring me and my words. Pretending that I wasn’t even here… just like how the many adults before him treated me… I narrowed my eyes, trying to show the beast how serious I was.

Still... the dragon continued to laugh.

“HAHAHAHAHAH!!!” He bellowed mightily. With the swipe of his claw he leveled a gem pile next to him, and with a simple jump he laid himself bare upon the remains. His fist banged the floor, causing the very room to shake, as his mad cackling finally reached a fevered pitch.

“Hahaha… hahahaha… ha… B-bird! Why… why are you making my sides hurt?” the drake asked, desperately trying to hold back another fit of the giggles. “W-why are you saying such nonsense? You look at me as though you… you… -Snort-, a-as though you wish to slay me! You, who is nothing more than a mere hatchling?! This… -Hack-, t-this is truly the highest form of comedy! Hahaha… HAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Still I held my glare. Momentarily balancing on my hind legs, I raised my free claw forward and cracked it in an attempt to look threatening. It worked well on the Flim Flam brothers earlier but here the action didn’t produce any favorable results… Again I was being ignored.

The dragon wiped away a tear with a mighty claw, still completely engrossed in the jest I had all together missed. Giving me a toothy grin, the giant raised himself back up into a sitting position and then lowered his massive neck, drawing his head ever closer to my own. Retaining his smirk, he let out one last chuckle before finally seeing fit to let me in on the apparent ‘joke’ I was being left out of.

“Heh… Child… even elders amongst your kind turn tail from me,” he explained, treating me like the child I unfortunately was. “That is what is so humorous here, don’t you see? You griffons; the ‘true’ hunters, the master carnivores… nothing but chickens! They crumble at the sight of my kind! Putting taboos on our names, claiming that they are cursed… Emeraldgrey.”

I raised an eyebrow at the sudden sporadic namedrop.

With cocky grin ever present, the dragon elaborated.

“That… is my name, bird,” he hissed proudly. “And Cogwill is my daughter’s… Are you now cursed then, griffon?” he mocked. “Have I access to your very soul? These are the ridiculous things your kind believes in, so I must ask, do I now own you?”

I remained quiet.

… Deep inside, I was secretly saddened by the fact that I now had the knowledge of Cog’s full name… but I tried not to show it.

The monster’s smirk grew ever larger all the same. “I see… you are quite amusing. I have met many griffons in my long life, bird. Males and females, old and young, cowards and warriors… all are dead now by my claws. They made excellent meals, child, because they all possessed their credos and were fully grown because of them… Yet here you are; a hatchling without a cause, without a pack, lacking any meat. I… I… -Snort-, I-I simply can’t take this!” He wailed merrily. “This is too much! It’s as if a flameless whelp has challenged me, or a brandless pony! HAHAHAH!!!”

And thus he laughed…

“HAHAHA!!!”

And laughed…

“HAHAHA!!!”

And laughed some more.

“HAHAHA!!! HAHAHA!!!

“HAH-”

Fling!

The sound of my arrow flying through the air.

Squish!

The sound of it imbedding itself into the monster’s claw.

… The laughter died after that. Silence rained yet again…

“… Bird, what was your name?” The dragon asked me quite casually as he, with a simple shake, dislodged the tiny dart from his swampy green flesh. “You gave it to me earlier, even though it is taboo amongst your people to do so… grant me the ‘honor’ of hearing it again.”

“Nathan De La Griffon, sir,” I replied swiftly as the tips of my good wing went to work with reloading my crossbow. “Of the Roc-y Mountains, in the Kingdom of Lemuria. Son of Triiodide De La Griffon, The Alchemist, and Zhar-Pititsa De La Griffon…”

Click!

The sound of the arrow being locked in.

“… The Drake’s Bane,” I finished as I took aim. Stretching my arm out, using the other to stable myself against the floor, I held myself firm.

The dragon snorted.

“Hmph, you boast a long title, yet none of these acquaint to who you are, boy. Well then, Nathan… you are a friend of my daughter, yes? Part of her ridiculous hoard?”

“Yes,” I answered stalwartly, trying to hide the fact that the tips of my wings, as well as my fingers, were shaking. After quickly adjusting my glasses, I continued. “I-I think she thinks I’m afraid of her, and the truth of the matter is that I am… but sometimes… sometimes there are personal lines that need to be crossed in order to become friends with someone. Cog was willing to give in to her greed to protect me, even though she thought our friendship was over, thus it only seems fair that I should try to conquer my own fear for her sake… it’s what friends do, sir.”

The dragon growled.

“Conquer your fear? Is it me you fear then, bird?”

I nodded my head slowly, not taking my eyes off him. “Yes. All dragons, actually… even Cog at times like now.”

“I see…” Emerald replied in a tone I didn’t quite like. “Yet… you still attacked me just now… heh, well then…”

Hhhhhhhhhh!!

The sound of air being sucked in. Emeraldgrey was inhaling… which means… Crud!

“FWOOSH!!!”

Breaking into a roll, I tucked my wings against my barrel as I dodged the giant funnel of red flames that had been launched at me. The fire singed my feathers, and utterly destroyed the already tarnished bandages that were wrapped around my bad limb. As the ashes of the ruined wrappings fell off my body, both my plumy appendages flared out on instinct and remained strong. The pain I once felt was all but gone at this point, despite the pain in my heart still being ever present.

Cog’s father simply smirked.

“You are trespassing in my domain, child. Leave now or the next blast will hit you…. Hmmm… it has been such a long time since I’ve savored roasted flesh. My meals have been tasteless for far too long!”

Despite my ever growing anxiety, I refused to allow my body to seize up in the face of this monstrosity’s furious glare.

“No,” I spat, weapon still aimed. “Not until you help me fix Cog! She’s a monster now, just like you… but that’s not Cog. That monster isn’t my friend! Cog is better than that! My friend is better than that! So, you’re going to help me get her out of her greed growth or I’m going to make you do it!!”

“… Heh… still you make me laugh, bird!” The true dragon roared. “You boast power you do not possess, that no one possesses… do you think yourself a hero? Do you think yourself a warrior capable of commanding the will of a god?!

“Do you think yourself a dragoon like the foolish ponies of old?!”

…

“… No… I don’t,” I answered truthfully after a second. “I don’t think of myself like that. N-no one really thinks of themselves like that anymore. Not even mom did… and I… I-I really don’t either. I’m just a kid after all… but…”

Fling!

The sound of another arrow flying through the air, courtesy of my trigger finger. The dragon was prepared this time and clenched his fist in response. He swung at the tiny projectile, aiming to destroy it easily…

Fwoosh!

… But what Mr. Emeraldgrey wasn’t prepared for this time, however, was the dragonfire that came along with my attack. He never noticed it (as he was too focused on my eyes) but I was able to light my weapon up when I dodged his earlier burst. Now, the once fearful giant was engulfed in his own flames. His pained cry threatened to rupture my eardrums, but bared it I did, allowing me to stay standing.

My resolve hardened as I reloaded my weapon a second time.

“What I do think of myself as though,” I professed, screaming as loudly as I could. “… is a good friend! One who returns favors that have been given to him! One who sticks up for others! One who keeps his promises!”

Click!

The sound of my crossbow yet again being made ready to fire. I aimed it forward once more, this time with both claws glued to it. My wings gently fluttered in place, allowing me to stand.

“So,” I shouted loudly. “For the sake of Mr. Red and Mrs. Blue and Vinyl and everyone else who’s been lost this day because of your cowardice, and for… for…”

…

I looked down at my claw…

… Then clenched it.

“… And for that wonderful dragoness who opened and stole my heart in one fell swoop; whose own heart was broken by my spinelessness … I will make you fight you stupid, cowardly, bastard!!!”

From within the burning flames, the monster roared right back at me.

“I SHALL FEAST ON PHEASANT THIS DAY, BIRD! TO THIS I SWEAR!! RRRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!”

And thus with the beating of my wings I charged the great blazing behemoth, finally having gained the courage to fight my own battles

…

… Mom… please give me strength, wherever you are

***^***

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

Within the land of lost souls, a deity rests.

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

Under the gaze of this deity, a pony sits.

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

As this pony sits, flames silently burn all around her. As these colorful flames burn, images appear and disappear of their own accord.

The blue one’s blaze holds the pony’s attention…

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

The orange one behind her, however, is left ignored.

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

Tis truly a shame… for the slightest of seconds the fire flickered, playing out quite an interesting scene…

A scene neither the witch nor the bard will ever get to see.

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

These poor, little, ponies…

Tick… tock… tick… tock…

And thus we return to she who is the true child of our story, both in mind and now in form

She who possess eyes both of deep magenta and blazing crimson…

~To Be Continue~

Author's Note

Black sheep chapter is black sheep-y. This one was cut short due to this story entering a hiatus around the time this chapter came out. That's why it's so short... hopefully you were still able to enjoy it ^_^